What is 'church worshiping' like?

I had a conversation with a friend of mine this week and he mentioned that he likes having a sing-a-long (what he and most of us church people call "worship") during the message ("sermon") because then both the "temple worshipers" and the "synagogue worshipers" get to "worship". My raised eyebrows alerted him that explanation was needed (to be honest I was wondering "who worships a temple?").
He said that the "temple worshipers" come for the singing before the message and the "synagogue worshipers" come only for the message; thus adding some singing in the middle of the message allows both to "worship" God.
I understood from this explanation that he was referring to the characteristics of jewish worship during the era when they had the temple in Jerusalem and afterwards, when they met in a local synagogues. But this also made me wonder, is there such a thing as "church worshipers" or are we as Christians (as the Church) supposed to follow one of these models for worship?
So I was thinking about this and I remembered a talk I heard by Dave Parker, a Vineyard pastor in California, about these three styles of worship. I decided to find my notes on it and publish it here since I believe it is important to make the distinction between them and then, be the church rather then just a temple or synagogue. So here we go...

Old Testament Temple ( and before the Temple was built, the Tabernacle or Tent of Meeting):

Meeting place for:
House (or dwelling place) for God.

It's a symbol of:
God’s national presence (that He is connected to Israel).

The emphasis is on:
God’s holiness (and that our sin keeps us separated from Him). There are even levels of separation: Holy of Holies (1 visit by high priest/yr), the Holy area (for devout followers/believers), and the outer Court of the Gentiles (or unbelievers).

The experience is:
Spiritual distance (and humility i.e. God is God and you are not).

Centered around:
Sacrifice (there are rivers of blood showing that sin brings death).

Oriented to:
Preparation (getting people ready for God).

Led by:
A hierarchy of priesthood (which also shows our spiritual distance from God).

Present day examples of:
Catholic church in some ways like the hierarchy of priests, the Eucharist i.e. the sacrifice of Christ is the center of the service, the experience is of spiritual distance through the style of buildings (cathedrals) and formalness (and strangeness) of the service which creates an atmosphere that participates must be quiet and humble and they are focused on preparing themselves for Heaven.
Pentecostal churches where the church leadership is elevated (i.e. the Great Prophet or Apostle So and So is highly anointed and it is only through their laying on of hands that counts), and the focus of the worship is the awe and glory of God, and participants are geared towards the power encounter with God and are to prepare themselves (have holiness) for revival (or the great move of God that is about to happen) thus intercession becomes really big.


Synagogue (where the Jewish people met together while exiled from their land and also after the Temple was destroyed):

Meeting place for: Believers! God is not really expected to show (he’s not behind any curtains) and since the main thought of the people is survival i.e. resisting being assimilated by the nonbelievers, nonbelievers aren't made to feel comfortable or welcomed.

It's a symbol of:
God’s local presence (that God’s people are still alive, still hanging on).

The emphasis is on:
God’s Law (and thus the teaching of His commandments).

The experience is:
Spiritual discipline (being instructed and conformed to the law).

Centered around:
Sabbath (and obeying the Law).

Oriented to:
Preservation (like a life-boat to keep Israel safe during rocky times without necessarily much focused on future).

Led by:
Rabbi (pastor/teacher to teach the law).

Present day examples of:
Most churches today. A house for believers with preservation as the goal (defend and perserve the faith for us and our children), considers the world to be a really bad place so big boundaries have to be place in between. The focus is on the power of the law (just as the Jews teach Moses’ law, Christians teach Jesus’ law) and spiritual disciplines to keep us and one another in line (public rebukes).

New Testament Church (Acts – church is thrown out of Temple and Synagogue):

Meeting place for:
God, believers, and searching hearts. Its as if the Temple collapses into itself (the Holy of Holies, Holy area for believers, and the Court of the Gentiles all become one space) and the synagogue blows up (vertically - letting God in and horizontally – letting the world in).

It's a symbol of:
God’s personal presence (He’s with me (Emanuel) not just with 'His people').

The emphasis is on:
God’s grace (His gift, generousity, mercy, forgiveness where He crosses offer our unholiness, our failure to the law; to redeem/recover/reconcile us to himself).

The experience is:
Spiritual discovery (believer and visitor alike encounter His presence, His truth, His love, His power and are changed by it).

Centered around:
Salvation (the Good news that God sent His son to perfectly follow the Law and be the perfect (and final) sacrifice for us thus saving us from judgment, this world, and ourselves; as well as making it possible for us to have the best life possible).

Oriented to:
Proclamation (telling this Good news of God's love to all that will listen i.e. outward focused (even to the "worst") which is why in the book of Acts, the church was kicked out of the Temple and the synagogue).

Led by:
A body of people/team of ministries (the community of gifted, called and committed or as the Bible says, the priesthood of all believers).

Further notes on what this is like:
Worship, Word, but also Witness of who Jesus is to the the World. Sharing in: the passion/compassion of Jesus for what's missing (Luke 15), the process of Jesus (Proclamation, Demonstration, Explanation, and Invitation), the patience of Jesus, and the perseverance of Jesus.