Scott Aniol

Scott Aniol is the founder and Executive Director of Religious Affections Ministries. He is Chair of the Worship Ministry Department at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he teaches courses in ministry, worship, hymnology, aesthetics, culture, and philosophy. He is the author of Worship in Song: A Biblical Approach to Music and Worship, Sound Worship: A Guide to Making Musical Choices in a Noisy World, and By the Waters of Babylon: Worship in a Post-Christian Culture, and speaks around the country in churches and conferences. He is an elder in his church in Fort Worth, TX where he resides with his wife and four children.

Author Archives: Scott Aniol

Important Announcement

Important Announcement

I am very pleased to announce that I have accepted a position with G3 Ministries as Executive Vice President and Editor-in-chief. I am so thankful for the strong stand for biblical truth that Josh Buice, Virgil Walker, and others in G3 leadership have taken over the years, as well as the enriching ministry the G3 conferences have… Continue Reading

God’s Universal Natural Revelation

God’s Universal Natural Revelation

This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series The Law of the Lord You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Last week I started a short series looking at God’s two-fold revelation as expressed in Psalm 19. This week we focus on the first form of God’s revelation—his natural revelation. Verses 1–6 of Psalm 19 express God’s natural revelation. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” This is… Continue Reading

God has revealed himself

God has revealed himself

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series The Law of the Lord You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

A central doctrine of biblical Christianity is that God has revealed himself, and he has done so in two ways, both of which we can find in the first chapter of Genesis. The opening phrase of Scripture expresses the first form of God’s revelation: “In the beginning God created.” Creation itself is God’s revelation—it is… Continue Reading

Book Recommendation: What Happens When We Worship

Book Recommendation: What Happens When We Worship

Every so often a book warrants the thought in my mind, “I wish I would have written this book.” Such is the case with What Happens When We Worship by Jonathan Cruse, pastor of Community Presbyterian Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Cruse’s primary concern is Christians who find worship boring; the solution to this problem, Cruse… Continue Reading

The Work of the People

The Work of the People

This entry is part 15 of 15 in the series Fundamentals of Corporate Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

A biblical understanding of the corporate importance of gathered worship should impact everything we do in corporate worship. First, although every church member is a priest with direct access to God, we do need to remember that the Spirit of God does gift different individual Christians in different ways, and he does gift some men… Continue Reading

Sacerdotalism in Contemporary Worship

Sacerdotalism in Contemporary Worship

This entry is part 14 of 15 in the series Fundamentals of Corporate Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

The medieval church suffered from a kind of sacerdotalism that removed worship from the people and made it the worship of priests on behalf of the people. But as we have seen the last couple of weeks, the New Testament clearly identifies all believers as priests who have access to God through Christ by the… Continue Reading

The Work of Ministry

The Work of Ministry

This entry is part 13 of 15 in the series Fundamentals of Corporate Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Last week we saw that since all who are in Christ are priests who are able to draw near and offer sacrifices to God, therefore, all believers should be active participants in worship. But there is a second biblical reason that all believers should actively participate in corporate worship, and it is connected to the… Continue Reading

The Priesthood of All Believers

The Priesthood of All Believers

This entry is part 12 of 15 in the series Fundamentals of Corporate Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

In the year 365 a council of church leadership met in the city of Laodicea to discuss various problems that had arisen in the churches of the region and decide what to do about them. The fourth century was a time of theological controversy and unrest in the church. Church meetings had become disorderly; heretics… Continue Reading

Dialogue with God in Corporate Worship

Dialogue with God in Corporate Worship

This entry is part 11 of 15 in the series Fundamentals of Corporate Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Over the past several weeks I have been developing the biblical idea of the dialogical structure of corporate worship. Historically, church worship services have been designed in such a way to both display and nurture this kind of communion by being structured as a dialogue. God speaks, we respond. God calls us to worship him… Continue Reading

God Speaks, We Respond

God Speaks, We Respond

This entry is part 10 of 15 in the series Fundamentals of Corporate Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Last week we noticed the dialogical structure of worship manifest in the terms “spirit” and “truth” in John 4. So let’s unpack this two-part, dialogical structure of worship. First, God speaks. One of the most remarkable statements Jesus makes in this conversation is what he says at the end of verse 23: “The Father is… Continue Reading

Dialogue with God

Dialogue with God

This entry is part 9 of 15 in the series Fundamentals of Corporate Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Jesus’s conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4 illustrates well the essence of worship with God as a relationship of communion with him. But where this passage helps us further is that it explains the nature of this all-satisfying communion with God. After Jesus uncovers the fact that the woman is seeking for satisfaction in… Continue Reading

Living Water

Living Water

This entry is part 8 of 15 in the series Fundamentals of Corporate Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

For the past several weeks I have been building the case for a biblically-founded theology and practice of corporate worship. The first few posts established the bedrock foundation for all theology and practice of worship, the inspired, inerrant, authoritative, and sufficient Word of God. God’s Word leads us to understand the goal of worship, communion… Continue Reading

Covenant Renewal in Corporate Worship

Covenant Renewal in Corporate Worship

This entry is part 7 of 15 in the series Fundamentals of Corporate Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

The understanding of the purpose of corporate worship that I have been exploring for the past couple of weeks is this: Corporate worship is communion with God in his temple, or better yet as his temple, the church, which is made possible only through Christ by the Spirit. This understanding has important implications for what… Continue Reading

Brought Near by the Blood of Christ

Brought Near by the Blood of Christ

This entry is part 6 of 15 in the series Fundamentals of Corporate Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Last week we examined two images Scripture uses to describe the Old Testament temple that should be applied equally to the New Testament Church has God’s temple—sanctuary and house of God. From these images, we can recognize a bit more clearly the nature of who we are and what we are to do as the… Continue Reading

The Church: God’s Temple

The Church: God’s Temple

This entry is part 5 of 15 in the series Fundamentals of Corporate Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

So far in this series I have established the importance of grounding our theology and practice of worship in the sufficient and authoritative Word of God. Then remainder of this series will address the natural next question: What is that theology and practice of worship that the Bible prescribes? And in this post I will… Continue Reading

The Authority of Scripture over the Order of Corporate Worship

The Authority of Scripture over the Order of Corporate Worship

This entry is part 4 of 15 in the series Fundamentals of Corporate Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Last week I discussed implications of the doctrine of Scripture’s authority over our corporate worship, and I suggest that it involves at least three aspects: elements, content, and form. The fourth implication of biblical authority over our corporate worship is that the order of our worship should be derived from the Word of God. If… Continue Reading

The Extent of Biblical Authority over Worship

The Extent of Biblical Authority over Worship

This entry is part 3 of 15 in the series Fundamentals of Corporate Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

For the past couple of weeks I have been establishing the need to root our theology and practice of worship in the authoritative and sufficient Word of God. So what would it mean, then for our worship to be truly governed by the authority and sufficiency of Scripture? This emphasis upon biblical authority over our… Continue Reading

The Authority of Scripture over Worship

The Authority of Scripture over Worship

This entry is part 2 of 15 in the series Fundamentals of Corporate Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Jesus’s confrontation with the Pharisees during his earthly ministry highlights the fact that God rejects worship based on the traditions of men; rather, he insists that worship be regulated by his inspired Word. The key biblical text that emphasizes the authority of God’s Word is 2 Timothy 3:16–17: All Scripture is breathed out by God… Continue Reading

The Traditions of Men

The Traditions of Men

This entry is part 1 of 15 in the series Fundamentals of Corporate Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Ever since Cain and Abel, God’s people have been asking, “What is the proper way to worship God?” Uncertainty reigns today in churches over whether or not certain service elements are really helpful for congregational worship. What is acceptable? Some godly Christians, attempting to enhance their worship, believe they have freedom to use anything to… Continue Reading