Longer Form Articles
Colossians 3:16 (ESV) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. This is an incredibly familiar passage. Equally familiar are the debates about the use of traditional versus contemporary music in worship. […]
Yesterday, Today, Forever Read More »
On the cover page of our weekly bulletin we print the words “A service of worship.” In the wider church culture we have essentially dropped the word service, or replaced it with something to do with experience. That’s unfortunate. Rarely would anyone object to the idea of service. We serve our communities, families, organizations, etc.
Bringing Service Back to Worship Read More »
Those charged with the glorious task of planning for corporate worship must take seriously their responsibility to think carefully about the words we sing. They must also think critically about the tunes we use. Often, this means vetting newer tunes which have not been proven by the passage of time and may be problematic because
What Should We Sing? Read More »
This past weekend was a gift. It was one of making music together, eating together, and worshipping together. I believe the process of creating, sharing a meal, and giving thanks to God is part of the gift of iron sharpening iron and helps us be more Christlike in our relationships. All this happened both with
It’s rare to have a conversation about church sound systems that doesn’t include some frustration. Sound systems are clearly a blessing and a curse. They enable the sound source to be heard, and yet they can make it unbearable. A post on sound could go on and on, but I will make just one comment
Turn it up! Turn it down! Read More »
During the Reformation of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the church worked to find a biblical principle that would guide the way we worship. Two main approaches have become common. The normative principle of worship (typically practiced by Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans) says that whatever is not prohibited in the Scriptures is appropriate, while the
The Freedom of the Regulative Principle Read More »
Recently, I visited a church which meets in a wonderful historic building. The architecture was beautiful, the music was well executed, and even the sound was decent. Even better, the content was great, the preaching was solid, and the final hymn fit well with the scriptures. All in all, it was very good. Unfortunately, it