Is there a way to present the history of Christian worship in a blog? I was asked recently to summarize succinctly my understanding of the trajectory of worship over history and found it a helpful and thoroughly daunting task, one I thought appropriate for a blog. De...

“True religion is to have fellowship with the living God. That fellowship is richly enjoyed together 'with all the saints.' And the goal of all worship services must be to let the assembled congregation taste that fellowship with their God.”1

When Abraham Kuyper offers...

Does the Apostle Paul agree with my definition that worship is the celebration of God as Creator and Redeemer, and how does he develop it in light of Jesus Christ? I have chosen the benediction of Ephesians 1:3-14 as a representative summary of Paul's view of the Chri...

We move from Daniel to the Psalms as a testing ground for my definition of worship, and especially of my choice of the word celebration – ceremonies marked by festivity and rejoicing – as appropriate summary description of worship. I serve in the Reformed tradition. D...

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” A slogan at Apple Computers (1977)

What exactly is worship according to the Bible? A common use of worship today is as a synonym for Christian music - we worship, stop to pray, start worshiping again, stop to read Scripture...

Over the last couple centuries, archeology has opened a number of windows into the cultures and literature of the Ancient Near East. This has increased our insight into the historical context of Holy Scripture and our ability to read Scripture as ancient literature. I...

This question might strike you as odd. It certainly did me when I first heard it in connection with the work of Robert Webber.1 When object and subject are used in the process of definition, I tend to default to grammar. In the sentence, “We worship God,” we is the sub...

Daniel uses six terms for these court advisers: wise men (חכמים), enchanters (אשפים), magicians (חרטמים), Chaldeans (כשדים), determiners (גזרין), and sorcerers (מכשפים). I am of the opinion of S.R. Driver, the great Oxford scholar of the last century, that these terms...

(A bas-relief from Nineveh, depicting three Israelite musicians among the prisoners taken by Assyrian King Sennacherib into exile.)

This might seem a small detail in the story of Daniel. It is when compared to his soaring visions of salvation history. But in my experie...

The very title of this blog might comes as a surprise to some. I myself was raised in a church tradition that honored Daniel as one of the great prophets. His personal conduct was exemplary, a perfect model for any younger soul, and the subsequent favor of God gave hi...