John Calvin's Liturgy and Israelites' Tabernacle Worship - Shawn Eng

Reflecting on Rev Tan Tiong Ann's teaching on Worship in light of my personal reading of the institution of the Tabernacle in the last few chapters of Exodus has proved enlightening for me. Seeing how worship was ordered by God in two senses of the word, that He not only commanded it, but arranged it in a specific fashion. And because Moses and the Israelites obeyed God's order of worship, they were able to experience His manifest presence with them. This inspires me to better understand how/whether this order is instituted in Sunday worship in my church as well as in my own personal life. 

Seeing the parallels between John Calvin's outline of a Sunday Service and the outline of the Tabernacle  develops a confidence that there is biblical value in the form of a Presbyterian Sunday Service. From entering the 'Courtyard' with praise, to engaging in confession and accepting the forgiveness of our sins through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, to being enlightened to His Word through the Holy Spirit and offering prayers/worship that is acceptable in His sight. I will definitely be observing how my church and subsequently New Creation church structures Sunday worship in light of this 'divine order'.

I have come to realisation that as Rev Tan mentioned, we need to worship God according to who God is as revealed to us in Jesus Christ. That there is relevance to the 'Order of Worship' for the very first 'Order of Worship' was prescribed by God Himself and in the Israelite's obedience they experienced the manifest presence of God not just through the cloud that descended on the Tabernacle, but in God's active involvement in their lives for the 40 years they roamed the wilderness. 

This has to hold true for us as well, the divine and human encounter is to permeate throughout our lives and not just be anticipated on a Sunday Service. Through Christ each of us are now the temple of God and individual vessels for His Holy Spirit presence, so may we, in every day and every moment, be engaged in the worship of God, in God's way.

Shawn Eng