Worship Matters

Numerous people have asked me to post the songs we sang at the Together for the Gospel conference. I’ve listed them below. I’ve also given the song number from the 1990 Trinity Hymnal (TH). Wednesday PMPraise to the Lord the Almighty (words by Joachim Neander, tr. by Catherine Winkworth, TH53)In Christ Alone (Lyrics by Stuart [...]

It’s Saturday, and as I thought, the Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville, Kentucky was a whirlwind. Much to remember, much to celebrate, much to respond to. Who knows what kind of fruit will emerge from these three days? One thing is certain. C.J. Mahaney, Lig Duncan, Al Mohler, and Mark Dever have not [...]

I recently received these questions from Lisa, a music coordinator whose church has had an influx of new guests. People are starting to comment more frequently that they don’t know the songs being sung. That situation has raised these questions: 1. How important do you think familiarity is in facilitating worship? 2. Do you limit [...]

I should have known these things by now. I’m down in Louisville, Kentucky this week, enjoying the privilege of leading corporate worship at the Together for the Gospel conference. About 3000 pastors have gathered to learn about, celebrate, and respond to the central truth around which our unity is built – the Gospel of Jesus [...]

I didn’t meet her until yesterday. I’m not even sure of her name. Julia maybe. Perhaps Kate Our interaction was somewhat one-sided. I talked. It didn’t look like she was listening at all. But I know this about her. God has been intimately acquainted with her for quite a while now. For you formed my [...]

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. (1Cor. 16:23) Grace. It’s a term that’s much easier to understand than experience. Actually, I’m not sure we understand it very well, either. Do you have a malnourished view of grace? It’s not too hard to tell. Do you live in a constant state of fear [...]

This question came in from Amy, after reading my post on “Entering the Draw Me Close Conversation.” “How do you balance discernment without being critical? I find myself struggling with this constantly. Where is the balance between noticing and being concerned that the theology presented in songs/sermons is man-centered, or that the gospel is missing, [...]

(I mistakenly thought I had posted this last Thursday. Instead, I had saved it as a draft. Oh well…) My friend Ron Man, who puts out the monthly Worship Notes, has composed a number of fictitious letters based on C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. In light of recent conversations about Draw Me Close to You, [...]

Our senior pastor, Josh Harris, spoke on Luke 24 yesterday at our church. His insightful preaching on this passage provoked some of these thoughts. What were the days following Jesus’ resurrection like for the first disciples? Jesus had died, and he was dead no longer. Just as He promised, He had overcome death, the last [...]

Near the end of 2005, I offered to send a free copy of the Sovereign Grace children’s CD Awesome God to the first 50 people who would post a review on their blog. THANKS to all of you who responded! We read every one and were grateful for the encouragement and helpful feedback. I wanted [...]

A few weeks ago I shared thoughts on preaching the Gospel to yourself. I find myself continually returning to this theme. Perhaps that’s because we so easily forget what is meant to be the mainspring of our lives – the relationship made possible with God through the saving work of Jesus Christ. I’ve been thinking [...]

In the latest issue of Christianity Today, Chuck Colson has an article entitled “Soothing Ourselves to Death.” He begins with this paragraph: When church music directors lead congregations in singing contemporary Christian music, I often listen stoically with teeth clenched. But one Sunday morning, I cracked. We’d been led through endless repetitions of a meaningless [...]

I’ve added a new URL to my list of recommended websites. It’s called Doxologue and describes itself as "conversing about, and calling for, God-centered worship in the local church." It’s a newly begun conversation between David Ward, who is a good friend; Eric Schumacher, who has written some great hymns; and Kevin Larson, a pastor [...]

I’m in the middle of a writing retreat, working on a book for Crossway Publishers. I mentioned a while back that this book was going to cause me cut back on blogging somewhat. However, I wanted to finish this series today so that I could move on to other things next week. Watts’ final chapter [...]

Over the past few weeks I’ve been sharing summaries of chapters from the book A Guide to Prayer by Isaac Watts. I’ve been using it in my own prayer times, and want to share the benefits. I know I could be addressing many other topics, and will eventually get to them. But if my sense [...]