What is liturgy?
Malachi 1:6–14 “When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil?” (Mal. 1:8). Some of the most heated debates in church history have been associated with worship, and this should not surprise us. People tend to argue passionately about the things that are most important to them, and worship is perhaps the most important labour of the church. Men and women engage in debates about worship because, consciously or not, they recognize the importance of worship issues. We do not have to look into the debates concerning worship very long before we see people draw lines regarding the church’s liturgy. Some Christians argue for highly structured services, where everything is laid out in print precisely for the worshipers to follow. Others think worship services should have more of an informal structure. Often this argument takes the form of whether it is better to have liturgical or nonliturgical worship, “liturgica