Asking questions
I met Jack (“Flight Level Musings“) at the “Developing a Biblical Ecclesiology” seminar last March. In his latest post, “??????Questions??????“, Jack gives us a list of questions that he intends to ask people. I think these are good questions for all of us to consider:
- What does the bible say about the gathering of the saints?
- What is the purpose of the gathering of the saints?
- What is a church service?
- Is the gathering of the saints or worship service the place for believers to participate or spectate?
- What is a worship service?
- When does the worship service start?
- What does the bible say about the worship service?
I’ve been asking some of these same questions, and turning to Scripture for answers. The answers that I find there are not always what I thought I would find.
1. don’t forsake it.
2. exhorting, teaching, admonishing, equipping.
3. depends. are you talking about a service based on temple worship, or a gathering of believers based on the NT model?
4. see answer to number 3.
5. see answer to number 4.
6. better question: when does it end?7. the modern church service emerged out of synagogue gathering, with a mixture of Greek thought, pagan Roman practices thrown in for good measure (St Augustine/Boethius) yet we often seek justification for present day worship practices in OT temple worship-a practice which ceased in AD 70.