Worship Matters

For those of you who regularly read Worship Matters, it’s obvious I’ve been doing other things. But they’re all enjoyable and I pray fruitful. We had a wonderful Resurrection Sunday. I am once again astonished at the power, goodness, and mercy of God displayed in our redemption through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. [...]

Last week I had the privilege of speaking and leading worship at the Calvin Worship Symposium in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Why I chose to go to Michigan in January is a question I still haven’t answered. On Thursday, I taught an all-day seminar called Musical Arranging for God’s Glory. I shared thoughts not only on [...]

Worship is about gladly giving God the glory he alone deserves and is worthy of. God is the only being in the universe whose glory is intrinsic. All other glory is derived and second-hand. God is absolutely committed to his glory above all else, especially through those his Son has redeemed. I found that out [...]

At the WorshipGod06 conference, and a number of times since then, I’ve been asked to recommend a basic reading list for worship pastors and musicians. While no book can replace the study of God’s Word itself, other books can help us grasp biblical truths more clearly so that we return to Scripture with renewed vigor [...]

I’m still away with Julie on our 30th anniversary trip, seeking to bless her for God’s glory. This is another quote from Harold Best, this time from his book, Unceasing Worship. He is helping us to distinguish between music as an act of worship and music as an aid to worship. We make and offer [...]

This quote comes from Music Through the Eyes of Faith, by Harold Best. It’s the most biblical treatment of using music for the glory of God that I’ve read. The Scriptures include or allude to just about every approach to worship there is: organized, spontaneous, public, private, simple, complex, ornate, or plain. Yet there is [...]

I’m in Europe right now with my bride of 30 years, seeking to communicate how much I love her for the glory of God. In the mean time, here’s a quote I pray will encourage your soul today. It’s from an article entitled “Advice on Reading,” by the Puritan pastor, Richard Baxter. After commending Scripture [...]

Waiting for a CD project to be released is a little bit like having a baby. I say “a little bit” because I’ve experienced absolutely nothing like labor pains that every mother goes through. However, we have been working on this for about nine months… If you’re a regular reader of Worship Matters, you know [...]

I’ve been a little lax on my posting lately, as I’m in the thick of preparing for the WorshipGod06 conference. I’ll have the privilege of teaching three seminars and one main session there, and appreciate the opportunity to meet and serve those who are coming. In the midst of my preparation, I came across this [...]

For over 20 years, Sovereign Grace has been seeking to write and publish biblically faithful, Christ-exalting, emotionally moving songs to serve our churches in congregational worship. Songs that help us, as John Piper has said, think truly so that we might feel duly. Songs that enable God’s Word and purposes to be planted deeply in [...]

I’m in the middle of a writing retreat, working on a book for Crossway tentatively entitled Worship Matters. Catchy title, I know. Lord willing, it will be published some time in early 2007. I’m working on a chapter related to worship and the Word. One of the quotes I ran across is from a book [...]

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 [...]

I’m continuing my summary of the chapters from Isaac Watts A Guide to Prayer, which is enriching my communication with God. Today, I’m reviewing Chapter 3, The Grace of Prayer. Watts distinguishes the gift and the grace of prayer in this way: “The gift chiefly consists in a readiness of thought appropriate to the various [...]

Yesterday I shared my burden for giving more attention to the way we pray, both publicly and privately. This is an area I very much want to grow in. For that reason I picked up Isaac Watts’ A Guide to Prayer. I’ve been so encouraged by it, I wanted to give you a synopsis of [...]