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 only instructed us on the unity the Gospel brings. They have demonstrated it. This conference brought men from very diverse backgrounds together to talk, worship God, learn, and grow. And it’s all because of the Gospel.
Music was one area in which the effect of the Gospel was obvious. There’s no question that music in the church is an explosive and divisive issue. In fact, early on in the conference planning, there was talk of
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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 Christ.
The conference is the fruit of four men who have share a deep and meaningful friendship around the Gospel. Ligon Duncan pastors a church in Mississippi and has significant influence in the Presbyterian Church in America. Al Mohler is president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is often quoted or interviewed by secular news sources. Mark Dever pastors Capitol Hill Baptist Church in downtown Washington, D.C., and is an increasingly heard voice for building Gospel-proclaiming,
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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 inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there
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(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, I thought this one was particularly appropriate.
Let me make it clear that pastors need to determine what kinds of songs their people are singing, and repeatedly singing theologically shallow or emotionally driven songs will produce Christians who live by musical experiences rather than the unchanging Word of God. However, in these discussions, our first concern should be our own hearts, and how tempted we are to sound more authoritative when we have
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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 to let you hear what others are saying about the CD, partly to give you a better feel for the CD, but more importantly to provoke your thinking in the area of songs for children.
Joshua Richie at Deception in the Church picked up on the intentional progression of the songs.
“The whole CD seems like one complete message that flows from creation to the culmination of salvation. Brilliant! That God has created
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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 in Columbia, Missouri. While you may not agree with everything they say, they will definitely cause you to think more deeply and precisely about why and how we worship God.
Which is always a good thing.
Dave Wilcox, the technical director from my church has started a blog that I couldn’t recommend highly enough. I’ve known Dave for about seven years, and he’s been on staff here at Covenant Life Church for five years. He completed his degree in 1998 in Audio Engineering and Visual Media Communication at American University and is a man of prodigious gifting. He oversaw the installation of our 1.2 million dollar sound system, and has put together a fairly large sound/video/lighting team of joyful and faithful servants.
But what I want to commend to you about Dave is his humble heart to serve the Savior. The first time I met Dave, he was attending a training session we were holding at the church for potential sound engineers. Although he could probably
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It’s a funny thing coming back from India…My body still thinks I’m taking a nap when I go to sleep at night, so I wake up every two hours thinking it’s time to get up. I’m sure I’ll adjust eventually…
There are many things I’m looking forward to discussing on the blog in the coming months, but at this point I wanted to make you aware of an event we’ll be hosting August 9-12 , 2006 here in Gaithersburg, Maryland. We’re calling it the WorshipGod06 Conference: The Glory of His Presence. It’s our fourth bi-annual conference related to the topic of music and biblical worship. This year the main messages will focus on the topic of God’s presence.
In Scripture God is described as being present everywhere ( Ps. 139Psalm 139
[139:1]O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
[2]You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
[3]You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
[4]Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
[5]You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
[6]Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
[7]Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
[8]If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
[9]If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
[10]even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
[11]If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,"
[12]even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
[13]For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
[14]I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
[15]My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
[16]Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
[17]How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
[18]If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
[19]Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
[20]They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain!
[21]Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
[22]I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
[23]Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
[24]And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
:-7-8), and yet
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Tomorrow (Sunday) I’ll be flying out of Dulles International Airport
with my good friend Larry Malament, headed for India for 12 days. Larry sersves as a pastor at the Sovereign Grace church in Charlotte, North Carolina and is definitely the guy you want to go to India with. This will be his
12th visit.
As I mentioned in a post last week, I’ll have the opportunity to train
pastors and worship leaders in two separate three day conferences. The
first will be with Love-N-Care Ministries in Vishakhaptanam on the east
coast of India, and the second will be hosted by Logos Wholistic
Ministries in Ahmedebad, on the west coast. These are ministries and
leaders that Sovereign Grace has interacted with for a number of years
now.
It’s a tremendous privilege to serve these men, most of whom
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Item #1. I had lunch with my friend Ron Man today. A few years ago, I contacted Ron after reading some articles he’d written on worship. I was encouraged by his love for the Gospel, God’s glory, and the church. Since then, we’ve chatted by e-mail, exchanged resources, and shared fellowship over a few meals. I’ve found out he spends quite a bit of time in Europe, training pastors and seminarians in the theology of worship. He also has a website with many helpful articles that he’s written, and a monthly newsletter that you can subscribe to. I’ll be adding his site, Worship Resources to my Recommended Websites.
Item #2. For a number of years Sovereign Grace Ministries has sought to serve two different ministries in India, one led …
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