I had a great time the last part of this week at the Psalmody conference at Erskine. The plenary lectures by John Witvliet, Terry Johnson, Mark Ross and Robby Bell were excellent. Witvliet in an address similar to the one given earlier at Union argued for the formative use of the Psalms. Johnson gave a …
Reading the notes on the Psalms in The ESV Study Bible I was struck by the assumption of the Psalms being sung, both by Israel and the church today. Regularly the introductory note on a specific Psalms includes a comment that “the singing congregation” affirms a certain truth or “When the faithful sing this Psalm…” …
Here is a good word from a great new commentary on how the Psalms can help shape our worship and a warning on how we can easily worship a false god under the guise of worshipping the one true God. This is a needed warning for the church. “Like the temple worshippers, Christians too need …
I love corporate worship. I realize this more and more as the years go by it seems. In the corporate gathering of the saints as we worship God, I see things more clearly than just about any other time. It is as if the reality of heaven breaks through my clouded vision and those realities …
Christian Focus has recently published an interesting little book titled, Calls to Worship: A Pocket Resource, by Robert Vasholz. I was interested in this book because I think we fail to think enough about how Scripture can function as a true call to worship. Bryan Chappell in the foreword makes an excellent point: “The call …
Bob Kauflin’s new book, Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008), is gaining a lot of attention and rightly so. Through his work at Sovereign Grace Ministries Kauflin is one of the leading voices on worship today. I knew I would agree with Kauflin on the core …
Too often in our churches today we fail to appreciate the importance of the corporate aspect of our worship. We are encouraged to “forget that anyone else is around”, to “tune everyone else out,” or to “pretend it’s just you and God.” Have we forgotten that the Scriptures envision our worship as involving “addressing one …
Continue reading ‘Celebrating the “Corporate” in “Corporate Worship”’ »
At my blog on children’s literature, The Children’s Hour, I have recently posted a review of Mr. Pipes and the British Hymn Makers, by Douglas Bond. It is a great book with insights useful for adults as well as children. Here are some particularly good quotes that speak to our role in directing the worship …
Continue reading ‘More on Great Hymns from a Children’s Book’ »
Having pointed out something alarming in the Episcopal Church yesterday, let me today point out a great article from an Episcopal priest. I read this article back in November and have been meaning to comment on it since. The article, subtitled “An Episcopal Priest on Casual Ministers & Reverent Marines,” appeared in the November issue …
Continue reading ‘The Place of Solemnity and Ritual in Worship’ »