In this brief Sunday afternoon post I’m using the word “liturgy” for the planned and calendar-based order in a Sunday worship service for Christians. Something happened, and we have to wonder if it is good for us. The complete obliteration of the traditional liturgy for Sunday services was not something the Reformers did — Luther had one; Calvin had one; Westminster had one. So also Rome has always had one; the Orthodox have always had one, too. 

By examining low church evangelicalism today, one has to wonder “What happened?” 

Where did we lose it?

What did we gain?

What did we lose?

There is a brand new book that is truly exceptional on this topic. Bryan Chapell, in Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice
, examines the liturgy of the Church. That liturgy always was shaped by the gospel itself, and he is urging for more churches to let the gospel shape our practice — our Sunday morning worship times.

Alongside his brief survey of the history of liturgy, accompanied by some magnificent charts, Chapell provides worship resources for those who want to dip Sunday services more into the liturgical practices of the Church.