When You Come Together: Gathered Worship in the New Testament

The new edition of Foundations contains the papers delivered at our recent Theological Study Conference on the theme of corporate public worship. The second paper was “When You Come Together: Gathered Worship in the New Testament” by David Kirk, from Highland Theological College, University of the Highlands and Islands. He began his paper with these words:

“Gathering together is fundamental to the life of the church in the New Testament, but is this gathering to be understood as worship? After beginning with a consideration of the key New Testament term for the church (ekklēsia), this paper surveys the data on this gathering in Acts, in the letters of Paul, and in Hebrews. Conclusions are drawn regarding the importance of gathering, and the content of these gatherings. Elements of Paul’s understanding of worship are then used to consider the relationship of these gatherings to worship in a broad sense. Further New Testament data lead to the conclusion that ‘gathered worship’ is a legitimate concept…”

The full paper is available here and the complete journal (over 180 pages, including book reviews) can be found here.