Five years ago I began ‘The History of Worship’ project. I felt the need to revisit the subject of worship by reviewing every passage in Scripture that contributed to our understanding of this vital subject. I believe I would be correct in saying that if you miss the significance of this first commandment, to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, you will miss the significance of the entire Bible message. Every book of the Bible has something to add to the perspective. Surprising to me was the richness of the concepts of worship in the New Testament especially in the life of Jesus and those interacted with Him.
There are 12 lessons from the Old Testament and 12 from the New Testament providing an ongoing narrative of the subject. Israel’s failures in the past were all associated with the breakdown of their understanding and practice of worship. The failure of God’s people in New Testament times begins with replacing the preeminence Christ with something of lesser value or emphasis. Worship is seen as the central issue of the believer’s life and the nuclear energy of the church. Who or what we worship labels us eternally. Worship is more than music, it is responding to God’s grace towards us by our words and actions of gratitude and love. Worship matters!
I wanted to do a DVD teaching and have it available on live stream. The first version of ‘The History of Worship’ was 12 lessons of 50 minutes in length. It was too long to watch each of the information filled lectures. After scrapping the entire project that took a year to produce, I came up with this new format. The lessons are 20 minutes in length with illustrations of some biblical examples from Gustave Dore and other artists. There is a booklet available that contains the teaching outlines, scriptures and questions at the end of each chapter for classroom discussion or personal reflection.
I felt this would be suitable for a 45-50 minute class where the 20-minute DVD could be watched, the teacher could add their materials and there would be time for classroom discussion and application. It is also hoped that worship teams could watch together as a part of their rehearsal and enrich their vision of God’s purpose for worship.
It is also suitable for putting translations at the bottom of the screen and presenting to other nations and languages. The hard copy edition that includes a book is more expensive as it costs more to produce, package and mail. (39.95) Additional books can be purchased through my website for 9.95 if multiple individuals in a class setting would like to have their own reference material. The live stream edition can be downloaded and notes may be printed in any volume of copies to suit the class size. The on-line version is less expensive (29.95) and once access is given, can be used indefinitely by the purchaser.
I want to thank my publisher and friend, Timothy Johnson who worked with his team to publish this excellent product in a beautiful, artistic format. Many thanks to my daughter Ruth Villatoro, for producing, filming and editing the project. Thanks also to Elizabeth Clark for finding and inserting artwork to heighten the interest in the lesson. Thanks to my wife Marsha, for doing camera work.
And so, here is ‘The History of Worship’ from Genesis to Revelation. I pray this work will strengthen God’s people to love and serve our Lord in a greater way.
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