“ And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good deeds. And do not neglect our own meetings, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another— and all the more so as you see the Day approaching.”
Here the author of Hebrews instructs the believing community of Jewish followers of Yeshua not to avoid fellowship and worship with the community. Various other passages support the structure of communal prayer in the Body of Messiah. Paul provides us with the earliest Covenant Memorial / Lord’ s Seder service order in 1 Corinthians 11. Various scholars have pointed to passages such as Romans 1:3-4 or Philippians 2:6-11 as being part of pre-Pauline hymns.
The development of ancient liturgies is clearly present in the New Testament. The Body of Messiah was developing its own unique ways of worshipping God and was revealed in Yeshua very early on, and stands in parallel to the development of post Second Temple Jewish prayer arising after 70 AD. In short, liturgy is an ancient, as well as aBiblical practice for both traditional Judaism and Messianic practice.
The Liturgy of Israel We are exhorted in the Haggadah during Passover to recite the following,
In each and every generation a person must view himself as though he personally left Egypt, as it is stated:“ And you shall tell your son on that day, saying: It is because of this which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt”( Exodus 13:8)
This idea is radical. Each time we recite the Haggadah and remember the Exodus of Egypt, we are reminded to consider ourselves as personally reliving the story and remember our own personal redemption out of Egypt. How does one facilitate this? It is done by engaging experientially with the text of the Haggadah.
My wife and I always spend the first night of Pesach together with her family. Each part of the Seder has its own tradition, whether it is the table filled with plastic frogs or the singing of Marty Goetz’ s Isaiah 53 right before we partake in the Body and Blood of the Lord. This ancient liturgy as well as family traditions guides us into an experiential, and supernatural encounter with the living God. I know I am especially blessed during our long Seder each year.
The Liturgy of the Church Many in the Messianic movement are not as familiar with the liturgical practices of the Church. While most think of liturgies as being either Catholic or Orthodox, liturgies have
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