English 
Chinese 
Dutch 
Arabic 
Spanish 
Portuguese 
Russian 
French 
Italian 
German 
Japanese 
Continue reading with a subscription
Get unlimited access to all our premium content and exclusive features.
Enjoy unlimited access, cancel anytime.
Summary
- Christian worship is giving honor to the one God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, together on Sundays and through the whole of life, as “a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1).
- In the Bible to worship is first to bow down (Hebrew shachah, Greek proskyneo) and to serve (Greek latreuo); singing is one way of doing it among several.
- The first Christians met for “the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42), and Justin Martyr, writing around 153 to 155, describes a Sunday of readings, a sermon, prayer, bread and wine, and a collection for the poor.
- Catholics call the Eucharist “the heart and the summit of the Church’s life”, and the Orthodox call the Divine Liturgy “the central mystery of the Church”.
- Churches that hold the Westminster Confession worship only in ways “prescribed in the Holy Scripture”, while Baptist congregations each shape their own service.
- Christians meet on Sunday because Jesus rose on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; Revelation 1:10).
Bibliography (Click to show)
- The Holy Bible, King James Version (public domain), via BibleGateway: Genesis 22:5; Psalm 95:6; Matthew 4:10; Matthew 28:9; John 4:20-24; Acts 2:42; Acts 20:7; Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 14:26; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 13:15-16; Revelation 1:10. https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/King-James-Version-KJV-Bible/
- Blue Letter Bible, Strong’s lexicon entries H7812 (shachah), G4352 (proskyneo), G3000 (latreuo), G2999 (latreia) and G2842 (koinonia). https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h7812/kjv/wlc/0-1/
- Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96-97, Internet History Sourcebooks, Fordham University. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/pliny1.asp
- The Didache, chapter 14, trans. M. B. Riddle, Ante-Nicene Fathers vol. 7 (1886), New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0714.htm
- Tom Nash, “How Old Is the Didache?”, Catholic Answers, 24 March 2023. https://www.catholic.com/qa/how-old-is-the-didache
- Justin Martyr, First Apology, chapters 65-67, trans. Marcus Dods and George Reith, Ante-Nicene Fathers vol. 1 (1885), New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0126.htm
- Jules Lebreton, “St. Justin Martyr”, The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 8 (1910), on the date of the First Apology. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08580c.htm
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1406-1419, 2096-2097 and 2174-2178. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM
- General Instruction of the Roman Missal, paragraph 28. https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20030317_ordinamento-messale_en.html
- Alciviadis C. Calivas, “The Sacramental Life of the Orthodox Church”, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. https://www.goarch.org/-/the-sacramental-life-of-the-orthodox-church
- The Augsburg Confession (1530), Article XXIV, Of the Mass, Book of Concord. https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/of-the-mass/
- The Church of England, “Planning and Preparing Holy Communion”, Common Worship: New Patterns for Worship. https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/common-material/new-patterns-3
- The Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 21, Orthodox Presbyterian Church. https://www.opc.org/wcf.html
- The Baptist Faith and Message 2000, articles VI, VII and VIII, Southern Baptist Convention. https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/
- Assemblies of God, Statement of Fundamental Truths. https://ag.org/Beliefs/Statement-of-Fundamental-Truths
- Peter Reske, “The Divine Service in Lutheran Service Book”, Concordia Publishing House (publisher of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod), 27 November 2018. https://blog.cph.org/worship/the-divine-service-in-lutheran-service-book
- The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689), chapters 22 and 30. https://www.the1689confession.com/1689/chapter-22
- Hanno Terbuyken, “Viele Menschen werden Lobpreis nicht verstehen”, evangelisch.de, 5 June 2015. https://www.evangelisch.de/inhalte/121958/05-06-2015/diskussion-ueber-lobpreis-und-worship-mit-albert-frey-und-siegfrid-zimmer-auf-dem-kirchentag-2015
- Duden online, “Gottesdienst”. https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Gottesdienst
- Larousse, Dictionnaire de français, “culte”. https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/culte/21053
Leave a Reply