Biblical Worship as Response to Saving Events

Because it is God who always takes the initiative, Christian worship is best discussed in terms of response. In worship people are responding to God; this is true of the whole of the liturgy, whether it be praise, thanksgiving, supplication, repentance, Eucharist, baptism, liturgical prayer, or the celebration of the church's year. If this is so, as the next three entries explain, worship must be seen in the context of saving history, which is the record of the divine initiative.…