We begin The Evolution of Church this week. This will be an 8 week worship series which will trace the unfolding of worship through the centuries. WIth a focus on the shifts in music, prayer, gender roles, and location (as in architecture), we will “walk the paths” of those who came before us. Beginning with the way the people of God worshipped following Exodus in the Hebrew Bible, we will stop each week to explore how our worship of God has been formed and transformed over time. We’ll spend a week with the house churches of early Christianity, a week with Monastic communities of the first few centuries, a week with the worship of the Reformation. Our journey will take us through a predominantly western-European path of Church until we end up amidst the diversity of Christian worship in the world today.
This Sunday, June 3, we will return to how the people of God worshipped following the Exodus recorded in the Hebrew Bible. Our scripture will be rooted in Exodus 15 and the Song of Miriam (v. 20-21). Miriam and the women lead the people in a joyous celebration of how Yahweh has overcome the seemingly invincible power of armed might that enforces aggression and oppression. Exodus 15:20-21 is regarded by scholars as perhaps the oldest Israelite poem we have and was perhaps composed very close to the time of these actual remembered events.
What we learn from this passage is that worship grew from the experience of liberation following oppression. Worship grew out of the human emotions of joy and exultation for victory and well-being.
Consider taking a few moments of quiet and “look back” through your history of worship. What do you recall about the church of the your childhood, adolescence and adulthood? If you have not been part of a worshipping community then “look back” through your school life and your community.
Are there moments you recall? What about those moments has transformed your life? Why was it transformational?
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