Last week I had the privilege of participating in the Sovereign Grace Leader’s Conference. What a fire hydrant of grace, encouragement, truth, conviction, and fellowship. RC. Sproul spoke on the holiness of God and the holiness of Christ, David Powlison helped us apply the doctrine of indwelling sin without getting morbidly introspective, and C.J. Mahaney spoke to us on the final night on "Trinitarian Pastoral Ministry" from 2 Cor. 13:142 Corinthians 13:14
[14]The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of
God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
(ESV)
. You can download the messages by R.C., David, and C.J. for $8 at the Sovereign Grace website. Seminars will be available by the end of the month.
This was our bi-annual leaders and wives conference and it was a joy catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. We had over 200 non-Sovereign Grace folks there which amazes
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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.
This week I’ll be at the Sovereign Grace Leadership Conference. R.C. Sproul, who will be speaking on the holiness of God, and David Powlison will be guest speakers, but I’m probably most looking forward to C.J. Mahaney’s message Friday night on Trinitarian Pastoral Leadership. The longer I’m alive, the more persuaded I am that God being Father, Son, and Spirit has profound implications for everything we do. Due to the schedule, I most likely
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A few weeks ago I wrote a post on downloading music. Since then, we’ve been having discussions about how we can better serve worship leaders who’d like access to our songs but don’t want to buy the whole CD. Just wanted to let you know that Sovereign Grace offers $.99 downloads of any song we’ve ever recorded at Songbox. They’re listed there by project and individual song.
Also, we’ve redesigned our website and made it more user friendly. New features include a section that categorizes many of our teachings on worship, the ability to search songs by lyric, theme, or author, and a listing
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A friend just made me aware that the e-mail "Subscribe Me" link on Worship Matters hasn’t been working. If you’ve had trouble in the past getting my posts delivered to your In-box, try again. I just updated the link URL, so it should work now.
I’m currently at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, PA, with 1600 men for "The Quest: A Journey Through Biblical Masculinity." It’s a conference being hosted by Sovereign Grace Ministries, but we have a significant number of guests. I have the privilege of leading corporate worship three times along with my good friend Joseph Stigora. I’ve also been asked to teach a seminar on "The Pursuit: A Fresh Look at Courtship for Fathers and Sons." I’m happy to encourage young men to give more thought to pursuing a woman in a way that pleases God, and challenging dads to serve their sons in the process. One of the highlights for me yesterday was meeting Shai Lynn, an African-American Christian rapper from Philadelphia who told me how much he enjoys
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The number 52 took on new meaning for me a few days ago.
I was aware there are 52 cards in a deck and 52 weeks in a year. As of this past Sunday, there are 52 years in my life. I’m getting old.
Growing older has its drawbacks. We’ve seen them first hand as our parents have confronted things like Alzheimer’s, injuries, and debilitating diseases. But I’m certain that God intends us to think of getting older in a positive way. Or else why would he say things like this:
“Gray hair is a crown of glory;
it is gained in a righteous life”
( Prov. 16:31Proverbs 16:31
[31]Gray hair is a crown of glory;
it is gained in a righteous life.
).
“The glory of young men is their strength,
but the splendor of old men is their gray hair”
( Prov. 20:29Proverbs 20:29
[29]The glory of young men is their strength,
but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.
).
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting
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I trust your Christmas season was peaceful and Christ-exalting and that you’re starting the new year filled with fresh faith to embrace God’s promises in Christ.
I’ve been trying to finish my book, which was due Jan. 1. Didn’t quite make it. Lord willing, the book, Worship Matters: Priorities in the Pursuit of God, will be out in August, published by Crossway.
At the start of a new year our thoughts inevitably turn to goals we’d like to achieve in the next 12 months. Here’s an unedited section of my book that has to do with goals. It’s from the last chapter, "The Goal of Worship," where I describe ways the worship of heaven should affect us now. I pray it will be an encouragement to you.
Most of us realize we’re on
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A friend just e-mailed me to ask me about a comment he heard me make at the last New Attitude Conference. I mentioned that I frequently listen to soundtracks when I’m studying, reading, or writing, and he was wondering which ones I have. I enjoy soundtracks because they don’t have words and if I haven’t seen the movie (which is often) I can make my own associations. They also enable me to thank God for the gift of common grace which enables unbelievers to write music that expresses in some small degree the beauty and creativity of God.
As I’m in the process of writing my book, I’m listening to music a lot these days. Since Christmas is approaching, I thought I might make some recommendations for potential gifts
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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 the hard way in 1994.
I had helped start a church in Charlotte, NC in 1991, and was serving along with the senior pastor, Brent Detwiler, in various capacities. Things were going well in the church, but not in my soul.
In January of that year I experienced what is often called a "nervous breakdown." It began at a friend’s house, where we were
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Ethan, my first grandson, turned five years old last August. Like most five year olds he’s a combination of energy, inquisitiveness, joy, and occasional mischief. Leave him alone for ten minutes and you never know what’s going to be spilled, turned over, broken, or missing when you return. Experience has taught me it’s always a good idea to keep close watch on a five year old.
There’s another five year old that we might keep a close watch on. I’m referring to the iPod. This past Monday, the iPod turned 5. That’s right. It’s only been five years since the appearance of the ubiquitous machine that has now sold over 65 million units. It makes me feel very old to think that in my lifetime …
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