Posts by Mark Lautenschlager (Page 4)

Hey Church! I had a group of friends in college who, at some point in their faith journey, had become disillusioned with the institutional church and decided to form their own “house church.” On Sundays, they would have a potluck meal, sing along with selections from a worship-music CD collection, and have a good old-fashioned Bible study, free of all the…

Hey Church! When Solomon’s Temple was destroyed and the people of Israel were exiled to Babylon in 586 BCE, faithful Jews began to gather together in worship-houses called synagogues (literally “assembly”). Since it was against the Law to offer sacrifices on foreign soil, and without the proper and necessary provisions of the Temple (altars, veils, priests, etc.),…

Hey Church! If you have been tracking with these prepare-for-worship newsletters in recent weeks, you know that we have been tracing the subject of worship through the Scriptures. Our brief survey has examined themes like God’s mediated presence, His desire to dwell among His people, and the use of the Psalms in worship. Today, I want to take a one-week break from that…

Hey Church! The book of Psalms is, for many, a favorite book of the Bible. It is an anthology of prayers and songs written over the span of 1,000 years of Israel’s history, so it grants us access to the thoughts and spiritual lives of King David, Moses, the sons of Korah, and other poets of the time. Thus, reading and re-reading the Psalms over a lifetime trains us to…

Hey Church! Our recent weekend newsletters have traced the subject of worship from the Garden of Eden to the first Temple of Solomon. The central theme that continues to emerge with each new instance of Scripture’s tabernacle/temple motif is this idea that the all-powerful God desires to be…