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What Ancient Worship Sounded Like: The Psalms w/ Dr. Kevin Foth
Manage episode 511181109 series 2837425
What did worship in ancient Israel actually sound like? Were the Psalms quiet devotionals, or loud, communal songs that echoed through the temple courts? In this episode, Dr. Kevin Foth, Academic Dean at Prairie College and author of Semantics and Poetics of the Righteous and the Wicked in the Psalms, joins Johnny Ova to bring the Psalms to life.
Together they explore how the Psalms were sung, the instruments and voices that may have filled the temple, and how these songs carried Israel through exile, injustice, and joy. We also dive into why lament was central to worship, how Israel wrestled with God’s silence, and why these ancient songs still challenge and comfort us today.
📖 Check out Dr. Foth’s book here
🎥 Watch the full conversation and more episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johnnyova
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Visit Apostle Johnny's Church on Long Island.
Chapters
1. Welcome and Intro (00:00:00)
2. What Ancient Worship Sounded Like (00:01:00)
3. Worship in the Temple and Beyond (00:05:15)
4. Writing the Psalms: Composition vs. Practice (00:08:25)
5. The Psalms in Historical Context (00:13:40)
6. Relating Israel’s Struggles to Today (00:18:55)
7. Raw Emotion and Honesty in the Psalms (00:22:45)
8. Why Lament Was Central to Worship (00:28:30)
9. Wrestling with God’s Silence and Absence (00:35:10)
10. What the Psalms Teach About Worship Today (00:39:40)
11. How to Recover Ancient Use of the Psalms (00:44:30)
12. Dr. Foth’s Book and Closing Thoughts (00:47:00)
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