Worship the First-Century Way


Book Description

If you would like to worship as the apostles did, this book is for you. Their worship was dynamic in its simplicity. Do you take for granted that the founders of major Christian denominations would approve of the way your denomination worships today? Find numerous quotes from them at the beginning of each chapter on various forms of worship we engage in. Do you take for granted that second-century apostolic fathers worshiped the same way your congregation worships today? You will find at the end of each chapter quotations from these early Christian leaders in the 2nd and 3rd centuries about what they approved of and did not approve of in Christian worship. Do you take for granted that the way your congregation worshiped is pretty much the same as Christian worship has been since Jesus’ apostles began the church? Numerous scriptures are quoted throughout each chapter in order to help the reader know what God wants in worship to him. Yes, we are worshiping God, not ourselves. Cain’s sin was that he worshiped to please himself. Are we a Cain or an Abel? In this book, every form of Christian worship common today is reviewed. Is your worship unbalanced with so much of one thing that it chokes out other ways that please God? This book ends with an appeal that is applicable also to the other book in this two-book series: Can the denominational world unite? Pagan religions and atheism are trying to take hold around the globe and to choke out Christianity. Divided we fall. United we stand. Let us go forward! Back to the first century.




Worship the First-Century Way


Book Description

Would you like to worship as the apostles did? If so, this book is for you. It was dynamic in its simplicity and still is. Do you take for granted that the founders of major Christian denominations would approve of the way your denomination worships today? Find numerous quotes from them at the beginning of each chapter on various forms of worship we engage in. Do you take for granted that second-century apostolic fathers worshiped the same way your congregation worships today? You will find at the end of each chapter quotations from these early Christian leaders in the 2nd and 3rd centuries about what they approved of and did not approve of in Christian worship. Do you take for granted that the way your congregation worships is pretty much the same as Christian worship has been since Jesus' apostles began the church? Numerous scriptures are quoted throughout each chapter in order to help the reader know what God wants in worship to him. Yes, we are worshiping God, not ourselves. Cain's sin was that he worshiped to please himself. Are we a Cain or an Abel? In this book, every form of Christian worship common today is reviewed. Is your worship unbalanced with so much of one thing that it chokes out other ways that please God? This book ends with an appeal that is applicable also to the other book in this two-book series: Can the denominational world unite? Pagan religions and atheism are trying to take hold around the globe, and to choke out Christianity. Divided we fall. United we stand. Let us go forward! Back to the first century.




Worship in the Early Church


Book Description

Refers to New Testament teachings while delineating the nature of early Christian worship of God. Bibliogs.




Did the First Christians Worship Jesus?


Book Description

To answer the title question effectively requires more than the citing of a few texts; we must first acknowledge that the way to the answer is more difficult than it appears and recognize that the answer may be less straightforward than many would like. The author raises some fascinating yet vexing questions: What is worship? Is the fact that worship is offered to God (or a god) what defines him (or her) as "G/god?" What does the act of worship actually involve? The conviction that God exalted Jesus to his right hand obviously is central to Christian recognition of the divine status of Jesus. But what did that mean for the first Christians as they sought to reconcile God's status and that of the human Jesus? Perhaps the worship of Jesus was not an alternative to worship of God but another way of worshiping God. The questions are challenging but readers are ably guided by James Dunn, one of the world's top New Testament scholars.




Ancient Christian Worship


Book Description

An Important Study on the Worship of the Early Church This introduction to the origins of Christian worship illuminates the importance of ancient liturgical patterns for contemporary Christian practice. Andrew McGowan takes a fresh approach to understanding how Christians came to worship in the distinctive forms still familiar today. Deftly and expertly processing the bewildering complexity of the ancient sources into lucid, fluent exposition, he sets aside common misperceptions to explore the roots of Christian ritual practices--including the Eucharist, baptism, communal prayer, preaching, Scripture reading, and music--in their earliest recoverable settings. Now in paper.




In the Shadow of the Temple


Book Description

Oskar Skarsaune gives us a new look into the development of the early church and its practice by showing us the evidence of interaction between the early Christians and rabbinic Judaism. He offers numerous fascinating episodes and glimpses into this untold story.




Worship Changes Since the First Century


Book Description

Trace the exact date changes were made in church worship since the first century. These changes were mostly led by popes who had bought their office, led armies against people rejecting them, and had illegitimate children. Trace the protesters since the second century and the persecution they endured, often being burned at the stake. Discover the hymns we sing still today written by the protesters, sometimes just hours before their torturous death. Then be challenged to go forward! Back to the Bible. Be challenged to get rid of denominationalism and unite only in Christ with our only headquarters being in heaven. Can it be done? Christian unity? Read this, and make the challenge your own.




A Brief History of Sunday


Book Description

In this accessible historical overview of Sunday, noted scholar Justo Gonz lez tells the story of how and why Christians have worshiped on Sunday from the earliest days of the church to the present. After discussing the views and practices relating to Sunday in the ancient church, Gonz lez turns to Constantine and how his policies affected Sunday observances. He then recounts the long process, beginning in the Middle Ages and culminating with Puritanism, whereby Christians came to think of and strictly observe Sunday as the Sabbath. Finally, Gonz lez looks at the current state of things, exploring especially how the explosive growth of the church in the Majority World has affected the observance of Sunday worldwide. Readers of this book will rediscover the joy and excitement of Sunday as early Christians celebrated it and will find fresh, inspiring perspectives on Sunday amid our current culture of indifference and even hostility to Christianity.




The First Apology of Justin Martyr, Addressed to the Emperor Antoninus Pius: Prefaced by Some Account of the Writings and Opinions of Justin Martyr


Book Description

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.




A History of Contemporary Praise & Worship


Book Description

Christianity Today 2023 Book Award Finalist (History & Biography) New forms of worship have transformed the face of the American church over the past fifty years. Drawing on a wide range of primary sources, including interviews with dozens of important stakeholders and key players, this volume by two worship experts offers the first comprehensive history of Contemporary Praise & Worship. The authors provide insight into where this phenomenon began and how it reshaped the Protestant church. They also emphasize the span of denominational, regional, and ethnic expressions of contemporary worship.