Have you ever noticed that often the letters in the word “LORD” are all capitalized? Other times the Bible only capitalizes the first letter. However, both “the LORD” and “the Lord” refer to God. Why is there a difference?
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What is worship? If you asked ten people this question you might get ten different answers. Most people might respond by describing acts such as praying, singing, giving, taking communion, etc. These all could be acts of devotion, but they are not necessarily worship.
I’m afraid that many people think they are worshiping if they are doing these (or similar) actions just by virtue of the fact that they are doing them. Their mentality is that I went to church on Sunday, participated in the service, and therefore I worshipped. The fact is that participating or going through the motions does not necessarily mean that you worshipped.
Atonement is a word rarely heard outside of a church service or Bible study. The English word atonement is defined as “the act of making amends or reparation for guilt or wrongdoing.” The act of atonement brings about reconciliation between two parties when something happened which damaged their relationship.
In the Bible, atonement is used to translate the Hebrew word kipper (כִפֶּ֣ר). The word appears over 100 times in the Old Testament. Just as in English, the Hebrew word kipper denotes the idea of reconciliation or the making of amends.
Nearly every group, profession, guild, etc. has their own insider language which they understand amongst themselves, but sounds like gibberish to outsiders. Likewise, Christians have their own insider language which can sound really strange to new Christians and non-Christians alike. These “churchy words” are increasingly unfamiliar to a society that is no longer biblically literate and is largely secularized.
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