Worship Matters

Last month, we introduced a number of songs at the Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville, KY. O Great God was one of them. I originally wrote the song for our album, Valley of Vision, a collection of songs based on The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. It comes from [...]

In the midst of other activities, I’ve been preparing to lead the singing for a group of 7000 mostly pastors at Together for the Gospel, to be held Apr. 13-15, 2010 in Louisville, KY. The conference emerged out of a friendship between four men – Al Mohler, Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, and CJ Mahaney – who [...]

My daughter, Brittany, sent me this video today. It’s by the folks at Desiring God, who excel at using technology in a creative way to draw attention to what’s being said. The content is part of a John Piper sermon set to techno music. Piper addresses the question, “How do we treasure Christ above all things?” which [...]

At the recent WorshipGod09 conference, I taught a seminar called, “Let the People be Glad: Corporate Worship and Expressiveness.” I attempted to present some biblical principles for what we’re supposed to do with our bodies when we gather to praise God together. I know for some of you that’s a no-brainer, but for others it’s still [...]

Even though 2008 isn’t finished yet, I’m in the midst of planning for our next worship conference, WorshipGod09: From Generation to Generation, to be held Aug. 5-8, 2009, in Gaithersburg, MD. The main messages will address the importance of passing on biblical values of corporate worship from one generation to the next. I was thrilled [...]

Last April I had the joy of leading over 5000 individuals, mostly men, in times of corporate worship at the Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville, KY. Dave Mackenzie, who works for Sovereign Grace, set up mics to record the event, and I’m happy to let you know you can now buy the CD [...]

I’ve been using the English Standard Version as my primary Bible for about six years and have benefited from its clarity, faithfulness to the original languages, and its beauty. Here’s Crossway’s explanation of why they published the ESV in the first place: The goal and vision of the ESV Study Bible is, first and foremost, [...]

I had the privilege of speaking at the Desiring God National Conference last Saturday morning. It was a whirlwind trip that I made with my daughter (and assistant) Chelsea. We got there for dinner on Friday and caught a 7 PM flight out on Saturday. It came at the end of our two week beach [...]

I’m heading out from vacation today with my daughter, Chelsea, to speak at the Desiring God National Conference, The Power of Words and the Wonder of God. I’ll be addressing the topic of “Why Does God Want Us to Sing?” It’s a real privilege to speak at this conference along with Sinclair Ferguson, Paul Tripp, [...]

A few months ago I was shocked to receive an invitation to speak at John Piper’s National Conference, The Power of Words and the Wonder of God, at the end of September. Shocked for two reasons. First, that I was asked. Second, that it came on the last two days of my vacation with my [...]

More than once I’ve heard Christians claim that worship should be fun, or act like they had a responsibility to prove that Christians knew how to “party” in church. I’ve always been uncomfortable with that connection, so I started thinking about the place of “fun” in worship, if one even exists. I’d like to address [...]

I received my weekly “Fresh Words” e-mail from pastor-theologian-author John Piper today. He had surgery for cancer this morning, and appears to be doing well after surgery. Last night, on the eve of his surgery, he wrote down ten ways we can benefit from cancer, if God chooses not to heal us. Here’s a portion: [...]