The basic structure of early worship revolved around Word and sacrament. . . . By Word and sacrament God has made known his plan of redemption. The Word proclaims it and the sacrament reenacts it and both Word and sacrament, by the power of the Holy Spirit, bring us the grace of God, the benefits...Read More
We should . . . recapture the conviction of the early church that the corporate action of worship is a rehearsal of God’s plan of redemption. Worship sets forth the gospel. It proclaims the entire faith of the church. -Robert E. Webber, Common Roots: The Original Call to an Ancient-Future Faith (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009),...Read More
Pentecost Sunday ends the extraordinary season that began on the first Sunday of Advent. In approximately six months the church has been carried through all the saving events of God—his incarnation, manifestation to the world, life, death, resurrection, and ascension as well as the coming of the Holy Spirit. All these crucial events form faith...Read More
The climax of worship is the Eucharist, for the symbols of bread and wine are the material objects that in a mysterious manner are connected with the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ, through whom [one] worships the Father. For this reason the early church had a high view of the symbols of...Read More
Worship is a rehearsal of who God is and what he has done, and gives expression to the relationship that exists between God and his people. The focus of content in a sermon alone, or . . . worship [that] centers around a single aspect of God or a theme, misses the point of worship...Read More
The reformers Luther and Calvin did not wish to break from the early church, but to reform the church of their day to make it truly evangelical and historic. Both agreed that the church of the first five hundred years had succeeded in maintaining the essential substance of New Testament Christianity. . . . A...Read More
In the history of the church lies untold treasures of theological thought, devotional literature, and guidelines for nearly every issue that Christians face today. My interest is to help us recapture this history and to be so judged by it and challenged because of it that we will turn from our modernizations to the practice...Read More
Robert E. Webber (Nov. 27, 1933 – Apr. 27, 2007) Though deeply missed, his vision thrives. Whatever thy hand finds to do, do it with all your might (Ecclesiastes 9:10). There is no story but God’s; no God but the Father, Son and Spirit; and no life but the baptized life. -Robert Webber, The Divine...Read More
The biblical metaphor for Easter spirituality is found in baptism. The baptized life is a life that is lived in the pattern of death and resurrection. . . . The message of Easter is that the way of being in Jesus, the way of living the new resurrected life is through participation. . . ....Read More
Worship is central to all we do. And for that reason our whole life is both a procession toward worship and a procession out of worship. Life is a cycle of constant return to the source of our new life and to the empowerment for life that we receive from the Christ we meet and...Read More
In this issue: The Transformation of Lives (From the editor) · Reframing the Conversation (President's column) · Let Someone Else Praise You (Darrell Harris) · January seminar reflections · June worship seminar with Chris Hall · Faculty news · Alumni news · Alumni focus: Alan Brisco · Student focus: Jonathan Powers · Spiritual Formation Institute:...Read More
Worship is the “summit” toward which we always proceed. For we take to worship the issues we deal with on a day-to-day basis with an expectancy that God will bring healing into our lives. But worship is always the “fount” from which our lives flow because worship not only brings healing to our life issues,...Read More
What happens in worship is that our struggles with the powers of evil that disturb us and seek to dismantle our relationships and our lives are brought to Jesus the victor over all evil. In worship we deal again and again with the ultimate truth that Jesus, who overcame the powers of evil through his...Read More
Visualize an hourglass set on its side. At the very center, the waist of the hourglass is worship. On the left, everything that one does in life, work and leisure, moves toward the center, worship. On the right, everything that one does in life, work and leisure is empowered by worship. . . . Worship...Read More
Worship is a means through which we can see, hear, smell, taste, feel, and come into contact with the infinite. Therefore the arts can mediate the message of Christ and minister to me in the depth of my being. . . . The future of the arts in worship, I believe, holds considerable promise for...Read More
