In the Lords Service

The Lord's Service: The Grace of Covenant Renewal Worship

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Their stories, thoughts and ideas highlight the mission and vision that ring out from the bell towers on this Hill in southern Indiana. Echoes from the Bell Tower: School for the Lords Service. School for the Lords Service by Fr. Newer Posts Older Posts. Looking Back on a Life of Service Fr. January Enclosure Benedictine Values: Abbot As Father Benedictine Values: Bringing Prayers to Life Benedictine Values: School for the Lords Service Chant: Saint Meinrad monks have the answers Benedictine Values: Prayer and Work A Day in the Life January Remembering Fr.

What monks do besides pray and work Pondering the Word Let's get personal - what's your name? August Is Anybody Listening? July Recovering the Sacred Benedict and Thoreau: Brothers in Simplicity Stability: January With Diligence Saint Meinrad: November Benedictine Spirituality and You Community: Don't be scared off by the length of the book--the print is big, the chapters are short, you'll get there. The book is about form and ritual in worship, coming from a robust Presbyterian viewpoint.

Some things I particularly liked: It always puzzled me why the Lord would give such detailed explanations for OT worship, only to wipe them all out and leave us with so little in the NT. Meyers doesn't go particularly in-depth but what he does have to say is incredibly helpful. Meyers ably counters this with some illuminating history lessons, such as the way that Reformers like Calvin conducted worship. According to Meyers, before the Reformation the service was conducted by the priest, at the front of the church, with little or no participation by the congregation.

Strong congregational participation was a Reformed innovation, aimed at restoring the idea of the priesthood of all believers. In summing up, Meyers says, "Who really ought to be fenced from the Table? Christ's little ones or traditionalist Presbyterian theologians and pastors who continue to oppose the unity of the entire body of Christ, adults and children, around His Table?

There were things that I remain unconvinced on--for instance, while Meyers made a good case that ministerial robes are historically normal and practically useful, he doesn't provide a very strong Scriptural case, simply referring to Aaron's special priestly wardrobe. Otherwise, have I mentioned how much I enjoyed this book?

I'd recommend it to anyone looking to improve their church's order of service, or anyone who needs to know the reasoning behind the uses of liturgy in the Church. Jul 21, Peter N. A very good book on the nature of worship. A detail explanation of covenant renewal worship, as well as numerous extra chapters on liturgical matters, such as the Apostles'Creed, wearing robes and paedocommunion. Jan 22, Douglas Wilson rated it it was amazing Shelves: Also read in December of Great read for understanding the graciousness of the Covenant Renewal Service.

Oct 29, Denise rated it it was amazing. I never imagined that I wouldn't be able to put down a book on liturgy. But that fact tells of neglected and misunderstood state of liturgical practice in evangelical churches.

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The loss of the drama and grandeur of the Christian faith reflected in worship is causing droves of youth to cross the Tiber into the Roman Catholic faith. When we read in Colossians to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, it's not a suggestion to fill time with a pleasant activity before the sermon. It's a command of I never imagined that I wouldn't be able to put down a book on liturgy. It's a command of solidarity with other believers in the presence of God, as if the roof of the church is opened and the choirs of angels and those who have gone before us join in.

Lex orandi, lex credendi: How we worship influences what we worship. Arius in the fourth century was able to infect his heresy into hymns he wrote that surrounding churches began to sing. But it's not just the content of what we sing that matters, but its form as well. I hesitate to use the term "Jesus-Is-My-boyfriend songs" but it does describe well the songs I have in mind and grew up with.

Vlogger Joffre Swait discusses that the problem with these songs is not in focusing on God as the object of believers' affections but doing so clumsily. As we cycle through these songs Sunday after Sunday without tapping into the vast liturgy the Christian church has passed down through the centuries, I fear our view of Jesus will become a docile and sentimental one. It was refreshing to read about the continuity of the Old and New Testament.

I grew up without being taught an appreciation of the Old Testament and its rich typologies that foreshadowed the New.

Indeed, my appreciation of the New Testament grew with this book as well. How do we know that the new covenant of Jesus' reign as Immanuel—God with us—is better than the old covenant unless we know what the old system was like?

The Lord's Service: The Grace of Covenant Renewal Worship by Jeffrey J. Meyers

Also, in honor of Reformation day, I'll note that I learned that the reformation was as much about worship as it was about theology. Liturgy often stinks to people as Romanist, but Calvin and Luther revived the singing of the people, whereas the services in medieval Catholic churches took place without the congregations' participation, even with the Eucharist—watching on as the priest took the elements. Sep 12, Larson rated it it was amazing Shelves: This was my second time through the book.

It's a very reformed and modern approach to liturgy. By that I mean that Pastor Meyers does a really wonderful job of laying out a defensible, biblical, and systematic approach to worship. His focus is on "truth" more than "beauty". This is a great place to start, especially if you are a modern evangelical Christian that is new to the idea of liturgical worship.

I will also commend Meyers for how practically useful this book is for churches who are tryin This was my second time through the book. I will also commend Meyers for how practically useful this book is for churches who are trying to sort through how to approach this topic. I think Meyers provides a great foundation covenant renewal for liturgy. For a more poetic appreciation of liturgy and sacraments - you must read Schmemann's "For the Life of the World", but he will just sound like a hippy to you if you're not already convinced of the importance of liturgical worship.

Feb 08, Timothy Nichols rated it it was amazing. If you're ministering in a context where you will have to do some liturgical innovation or design, you need to read this book. Myers gives a good overview of the biblical imagery and theology behind Christian liturgy. This book will make you think, hard -- but the chapters are also relatively short, so it comes in digestible chunks.

When my church plant was wrestling with what to do on Sunday mornings, this book was invaluable to me. Now that I'm ministering in a radically different context than If you're ministering in a context where you will have to do some liturgical innovation or design, you need to read this book. Now that I'm ministering in a radically different context than before, I'm thinking I should read it again, just to 'freshen up. But evangelicalism is awash in ways to worship poorly, so it's a valuable starting point. Apr 29, Gray rated it it was amazing. The silliness that permeates modern evangelical worship is mind numbing; it almost begs the question: The King of king's and Lord of lord's is deserving of all honor and glory, and the simpering childishness that passes for tribute is a sad commentary of the current state of the church in the U.

The church militant is defintely not the image currently presented.

This book lays an excellent foundation to restore the honor that God deserves to be given. If, by the grace of God, the American evangelical culture could one day regain the discipline as outlined herein, the name of God would not be as readily blasphemed by the heathen. Dec 24, Christopher Waugh rated it it was amazing Shelves: This, coupled with Mother Kirk, was the primary theological and liturgical work that convinced me of the Reformed liturgical tradition.

What's truly great about this book is the common sense approach it brings to the debate over the forms of proper worship acceptable on the Lord's Day. It is not reactionary, as so many other polemics often are, but reformational-- namely that it aims to restore a truly biblical piety and practice to the Church.

“The School of the Lord’s Service”: St. Benedict, His Monks, and Western Civilization

The essay on restoring our children to the Lord's T This, coupled with Mother Kirk, was the primary theological and liturgical work that convinced me of the Reformed liturgical tradition. The essay on restoring our children to the Lord's Table is incredibly important today, not just for Reformed churches, but for every church that wishes to include every member of the Body of Christ in the Lord's nourishment and grace.

Jul 22, Ryan rated it it was amazing. The juvenilization of current American Evangelicalism and the silly childishness that saturates its idea of sunday worship is wearisome. It is a movement that has neglected to go to the Word of God to pattern its Sunday worship. Instead it finds its pattern from a culture that is for the most part, completely against the God of the Bible. I wonder if there is a blinding to the times of the age going one. If you are a Christian who lives in the twenty first century, read this! You will be enlightened! Apr 11, Matt Carpenter rated it really liked it Shelves: This book is the foundational text for the reawakening of liturgical worship among many conservative Presbyterians in the U.

It is a study of worship that begins with the sacrificial system of the Old Testament and uses the typology of those sacrifices to interpret the limited directions for worship in the New Testament. The end result is a biblical guide to worship that honors the regulative principle while giving greater flexibility than the old Puritan interpretation of the regulative princ This book is the foundational text for the reawakening of liturgical worship among many conservative Presbyterians in the U.

The end result is a biblical guide to worship that honors the regulative principle while giving greater flexibility than the old Puritan interpretation of the regulative principle because it is informed by the Old Testament types. Mar 30, Shep rated it it was amazing. Eye-opening, thorough, and well-written. Jeffrey Meyers connects the covenants to worship in a Scriptural manner that aids readers in understanding what the meaning of worship is and what the worship service is all about. Meyer's positions on certain elements of worship will be controversial to some, but his arguments are well-thought out and cannot be cheaply discarded.

While I disagree with Meyers on a few points, overall I agree with and benefited greatly from this amazing book. This is one o Eye-opening, thorough, and well-written. This is one of the best, if not THE best, book on worship out there. Nov 13, Aaron rated it really liked it. This book is a great explanation of Covenant Renewal Worship and it's place in a reformed service. From a RPW perspective, I still have a difficult time seeing where this is regulated in new covenant worship.

Are we to continue to worship in the shadows? Did the primitive churches apostolic period worship in this way? If not, are we regulating ourselves according to 2nd century tradition? These are all questions that I was left to grapple with.

However, the service designed as such is thorough This book is a great explanation of Covenant Renewal Worship and it's place in a reformed service. However, the service designed as such is thoroughly Reformed and for that I cannot completely ignore it. Apr 23, Luke rated it really liked it Shelves: Thorough treatment of Biblical approach to worship. Makes a compelling argument for God's initiating action in worship rather than the people doing all the work of worship. Not exactly a new conception for this reader, though I will admit that I didn't realize the vast implications that Meyers presents in regards to this approach.

Meyers is insightful throughout, though many times is long winded and likely to bog down the reader. Feb 03, Megan rated it really liked it Shelves:

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