Read the Bible

Objectives:

Examine the “how” of worship: Read, Preach, Pray, Sing, and See the Bible
Explain why the “How” of worship matters, which includes the elements, historical evidences, cultural accommodations, biblical characteristics, and challenges of worship in our modern culture, particularly in regards to the reading of the Bible

Corporate worship is called such because because of the Body of Christ
1. Corpus = body
2. The church is collectively involved with this encounter with God
Gathered worship, assembled worship, public worship, congregational worship are all the same thing
1. Other types of worship: family worship, private worship, worship in all of life
2. There are chapters on each of these in Give Praise To God

God gets to our conscience through our ears
Through the sacraments, God confirms what he’s been saying in our ears through our other senses
A worship service influenced by the teaching of scripture will contain reading of the Scripture

Reading of the Bible in early worship services: 1 Timothy 4:13
Just years after the end of the New Testament, Justin Martyr records the public reading of the Bible

What has happened in evangelical protestant circles is that in the 18th and 19th century, worship services became sermon sandwiches
1. A hymn, a sermon, and a hymn, and then you’re done
2. Not much thought was put into the rest of the service
The sermon is really important, but the sermon wasn’t designed by itself to carry the whole tray of Christian, gathered worship
If you’re going to spend twenty hours preparing a sermon, you want to spend eight preparing the service

VI. Reading the Bible Needs To Be An Event

Importance of Public Reading
Westminster Directory of Public Worship
1. Don’t just read from the sermon reading for public worship
2. Suggests that you read an entire chapter of the Old and New Testaments in every worship service
3. Don’t rush through the reading
Heart of the Old Testament
In the Word, God speaks most directly