The You're going to do you.

Do you do you do you do you do

do you do What does authentic worship look like? We hear strong opinions about music or style of leadership, how a congregation ought to participate in worship,

but does the Bible teach or favor one particular style of worship?

Today on Truth for Life Weekend, Alistair Begg looks once again to the early church for guidance about worship. While keeping your finger in Second Chronicles for future reference, you may like simply to turn to Acts Chapter 2 and to notice that it says there at the end of verse

46 that they were together in the homes of one another eating together and their hearts were glad and sincere and they were praising God

and enjoying the favour of all the people. We also had noted earlier in verse

43 the opening phrase that everyone was filled with awe.

That they were in that little section meeting not only in the temple courts but they were also meeting

within their homes and so what happens is that there emerges very clearly a

pattern of both formal and informal dimensions of worship. The formal

within the framework of the temple courts, the informal in their gatherings in their home. I think it is safe to say

that their worship was at times structured and at other times unstructured that it would be within the context of the temple precincts

if you like somewhat traditional whereas in the opportunities in gathering in the homes of one another it was probably

more spontaneous and there is this balance in these verses that is so very very important because it is often this very

balance which is not found in worshiping communities. So you go from local church

to local church and they ask you questions like,

well do you have traditional worship or do you have non-traditional worship?

Immediately polarizing the two opportunities and assuming that they are somehow or another mutually exclusive?

Or do you do things in a very structured way or are you a more unstructured group? Are you a joyful group or are you a more

somber group? Again, all was seeking to polarize that, which in the balance of scripture I don't find

polarized. And indeed, as I'm suggesting to you here, there is this wonderful ebb and flow.

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