Liturgy

“Evangelical worship services often feel kind of shallow. A lot of times it’ll feel like a concert and a TED Talk about Jesus.” - Gavin Ortlund

“…since ordering my church’s worship is a part of my job, I knew I needed some help. I needed to get organized. For pastors like me, here are some tips for getting organized for the task.” - 9 Marks

“Each Sunday gathering has two themes based on the preached Word: a theme of revelation and response. The first focuses our attention on a facet of God’s glory and grace. The second focuses our response in a way appropriate to what God has revealed.” - 9 Marks

“more important than the shape of our meeting space is the shape of our meeting. What are its parts, and how do they flow from one to another? Those are the questions we will consider in this post.” - 9 Marks

“Even in the ‘freest’” of liturgies, the leaders have established at least some order of events. Further, we must remember the clear command from the Apostle Paul: ‘Let all things be done decently and in order’” - Ref21

“Apart from a real encounter with the Spirit of the Living God, liturgical traditions are little more than superstitious incantations….However, I have begun to think that many of our evangelical churches have overcorrected for these shortcomings.” - Kainos

“Benedictions can be confusing. Are we blessing God? Is God blessing us? Is it a prayer? Is it a pronouncement? The answer to the questions above is yes. But also that it is more of some of those things than others.” - Ref21

“I know the term itself can be a little slippery. I’ve seen it applied to everything from an ancient prayer book to your morning coffee routine. But where it refers to an intentional structure for our weekly gatherings, liturgy captures something that ought to be precious to all of us.” - 9 Marks