What Are John Calvin’s Views on Music?
John Calvin’s views on music can be found in his 1543 “Letter to the Reader,” his Institutes 3.20.31–32, and his commentaries on Colossians 3 and 1 Corinthians 14. In a recent article published in the Calvin Theological Journal, I argue that Calvin’s reliance on early Christian writers in the promotion of singing reveals that early Christian writers […]
You Can’t Have Worship without Missions
This brief post could have been entitled, “You Can’t Have Missions without Worship.” But considering my ministry background and current area of doctoral studies, as well as what I estimate to be the primary readership of this blog, I choose to speak to the “worship crowd” about worship without missions. Missions and worship are inseparable. […]
What Did Early Christian Music Sound Like?
Unfortunately, there are no extant Christian musical compositions from the first century, but we do have a surviving Christian hymn from the 3rd century. This hymn is called the Oxyrhynchus hymn (pronounced Oxi-REEN-kus). The reason why this fragment is so important is that both the music and the text are preserved. And, thanks to the […]
“In the Shadow of the Temple” by Oskar Skarsaune.
Students of Scripture have long recognized the Jewish influence on the Christian church during the time of Christ and the Apostles. Even after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in AD 70, one might expect some residual effects to linger on into the second century. But Oskar Skarsaune, professor of church history at Norwegian Lutheran […]
The Importance of Community in Worship
The Earliest Glimpse at Community in Worship In Acts 2:41-47, we get the first glimpse of community life among the earliest believers. At the heart of their community was worship. Since our concept of worship encompases both the daily life of the believer and the formal gatherings of the church, in Acts 2, we must […]
Worship Verbs in the New Testament
The two primary Greek verbs used for “worship” in the New Testament are προσκυνέω (proskuneo) and λατρεύω (latreuo). προσκυνέω (proskuneo) Προσκυνέω occurs 60 times, and it generally has the idea of bowing down to pay homage. Such examples would be the Magi at the birth of Christ (Mat. 2:2, 2:8, 2:11) and the people who […]
The Heart of Worship: Temple Imagery as Instruction for New Covenant Worship
Here are my rough notes that I used to present this topic at the National Association of Free Will Baptist. Eventually, I will circle back around and update these for clarity. In the Old Testament, one of the first principles we learn about worship is that sincerity alone is not acceptable (see the narrative of […]
Shorter Readings for Christian Worship
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What Was Early Church Worship Music Like?
This is an important question because many earnest believers desire to worship on the Lord’s Day in form and content the same way that Christ and the Apostles worshiped. The New Testament is very clear about the purpose of music for the church, but it does not give explicit indication as to what the form […]
Justin Martyr Does Not Mention Music while Describing Christian Worship
In his First Apology, a letter to the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius in defense of Christian practice, Justin Martyr (c.100–c.165) describes a Christian worship service in great detail. Because Justin Martyr was born around the same time that the Apostle John died, Justin’s record is just one generation removed from the practice of the Apostles. […]