Scripture Reading in the Old and New Testaments and the Early Church

In the assemblies of the early church, the Scriptures were read to the congregation by a lector, or reader. This practice was modeled on that of the synagogue, wherein the Old Testament Scriptures were read aloud every Sabbath by a reader appointed from the congregation. The practice of the synagogue, in turn, had developed from the ancient concept of a literary document as something recited, rather than something read silently from a manuscript.

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Biblical Models of the Doxology (Gloria)

A doxology is a hymn of praise ascribing glory to God. Scripture includes many doxological expressions, and several traditional doxologies have developed through use in the historic liturgies of the church. In Christian usage, doxologies are often ascriptions of praise to the Trinity; they constitute an important element in the acts of entrance.

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Biblical Models of the Invocation

Although the presence of the Lord is always with the people of God, worshipers may especially focus on the divine presence through a prayer of invocation. The invocation is based on scriptural models for “calling upon the Lord” and celebrating the dwelling of God with the covenant people.

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Biblical Models of the Processional

Traditional Christian worship often begins with a processional in which the officiants and other representative worshipers, such as the choir, enter the sanctuary. Processions may also occur outside the church on festive occasions. The procession is based on biblical models and is a way of proclaiming the victory and dominion of the Lord and of his Christ.

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Speaking in Tongues in Early Christian Worship

Speaking in tongues is not a natural gift or talent for languages but a gift from God, a supernatural endowment. Tongues are not ecstatic utterance but an activity under the control of the speaker, offered in obedience to the prompting of the Spirit.

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Worship As Spiritual Warfare in the Old and New Testament

Only recently, in its expanded awareness of entrenched spiritual evil, has the Christian church begun to recover the scriptural understanding of warfare in the realm of the spirit. The Bible clearly reveals the spiritual nature of the struggle against sin and the opposition of demonic powers to the gospel of Christ. As the celebration of the Lord’s dominion and victory, worship is a major weapon in the arsenal of spiritual warfare.

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