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

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 13: Judges

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 13: Judges

This entry is part 13 of 52 in the series Bible Narratives Devotional You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Week 13: Judges Weekly memory verse: Judges 3:9 – “But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them.” Weekly hymn: He Who Would Valiant Be (free download) Weekly catechism: What is the greatest commandment? The greatest commandment is to… Continue Reading

The Universal Common Kingdom

The Universal Common Kingdom

This entry is part 2 of 13 in the series Citizens and Exiles You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

At the heart of our philosophy of the church’s responsibility toward culture is a proper understanding of how God rules sovereignly over all things, how he specifically rules his redeemed people—particularly now the NT church, and how his rule will culminate in the future. Another way of saying this is that central to a biblical… Continue Reading

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 12: Invasion of the Promised Land

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 12: Invasion of the Promised Land

This entry is part 12 of 52 in the series Bible Narratives Devotional You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Week 12: Invasion of the Promised Land Weekly memory verse: Job 19:25 – “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.” Weekly hymn: This is My Father’s World (free download) Weekly catechism: How can you glorify God? I can glorify God by loving him and doing… Continue Reading

Christians, the Church, and Culture

Christians, the Church, and Culture

This entry is part 1 of 13 in the series Citizens and Exiles You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Evangelicals today are enamored with culture. Visit any Christian blog or pick up a catalogue of recent Christian books, and you will likely find discussions of the cultural mandate, redeeming culture, forming culture, and creating culture. In fact, I would go so far as to suggest that despite differences among various kinds of evangelicals such… Continue Reading

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 11: Preparing to Enter the Promised Land

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 11: Preparing to Enter the Promised Land

This entry is part 11 of 52 in the series Bible Narratives Devotional You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Week 11: Preparing to Enter the Promised Land Weekly memory verse: Joshua 1:8 – “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make… Continue Reading

The importance of cultural discernment in Christian education

The importance of cultural discernment in Christian education

If Christian educators are intent upon educating their students with truth, both its factual content and the way the truth is imagined, then they must commit to utilize the best of our classical tradition. We have at our fingertips a rich heritage of cultural forms that have grown within value systems that are fully consistent with what it… Continue Reading

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 10: Wandering in the Wilderness

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 10: Wandering in the Wilderness

This entry is part 10 of 52 in the series Bible Narratives Devotional You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Week 10: Wandering in the Wilderness Weekly memory verse: John 3:14–15 – “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” Weekly hymn: Be Thou My Vision (free download) Weekly catechism: How do you know there… Continue Reading

The Unproven Premise Strikes Again

The Unproven Premise Strikes Again

The Gospel Coalition recently published an excerpt from a new book by Brett McCracken in which he makes a very common argument about music in worship that may sound pious at first glance, yet has a fatal flaw. Here is the core premise of McCracken’s argument summarized in two pull quotes from the post: “We… Continue Reading

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 9: Worshiping God at Sinai

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 9: Worshiping God at Sinai

This entry is part 9 of 52 in the series Bible Narratives Devotional You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Week 9: Worshiping God at Sinai Weekly memory verse: Deuteronomy 6:4–5 – “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Weekly hymn: Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken (free download) Weekly… Continue Reading

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 8: God Saves His People

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 8: God Saves His People

This entry is part 8 of 52 in the series Bible Narratives Devotional You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Week 8: God Saves His People Weekly memory verse: Exodus 15:1 – “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.” Weekly hymn: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah (free download) Weekly catechism: In how many persons does this one God exist?… Continue Reading

Aus Tiefer Not – “Out of the Depths”

Aus Tiefer Not – “Out of the Depths”

This entry is part 13 of 13 in the series Out of the Depths You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

For most of church history, singing songs of repentance was part of regular, weekly corporate worship, a practice with precedent in Psalms like Psalm 130. During the Reformation in particular, men like Martin Luther wrote songs of repentance, one of which is a paraphrase of Psalm 130. “Aus Tiefer Not”—“Out of the Depths”—was Luther’s German… Continue Reading

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 7: God Raises Up a Deliverer

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 7: God Raises Up a Deliverer

This entry is part 7 of 52 in the series Bible Narratives Devotional You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Weekly memory verse: Psalm 77:11 – “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.” Weekly hymn: God Moves in a Mysterious Way (free download) Weekly catechism: Are there more gods than one? There is only one true and living God. Day 31: A Father’s Wise Instruction Reading:… Continue Reading

The Tradition of Singing Songs of Repentance

The Tradition of Singing Songs of Repentance

This entry is part 12 of 13 in the series Out of the Depths You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

We are coming to the end of our study of Psalm 130. Last week we saw that when you’re living in a state of unconfessed sin, or you are taking the grace and forgiveness of God for granted, a song of repentance may be just what you need to shake you out of your lethargy.… Continue Reading

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 6: God’s Good Plan

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 6: God’s Good Plan

This entry is part 6 of 52 in the series Bible Narratives Devotional You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Week 6: God’s Good Plan Weekly memory verse: Genesis 50:20 – “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” Weekly hymn: What God Ordains is Always Good (free download) Weekly catechism: What is God like? God is the first and best of beings. He is holy, powerful, and good.… Continue Reading

Using Song to Shape Hearts of Repentence

Using Song to Shape Hearts of Repentence

This entry is part 11 of 13 in the series Out of the Depths You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Up to this point in our study of Psalm 130, we have talked only about the poetic part of a song, but Psalm 130 wasn’t read; Psalm 130 was sung. So I’d like to address the music side of things. Clearly the music—the melody, the harmony, and the rhythm—doesn’t make a clear statement like words… Continue Reading

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 5: Trust in the Lord

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 5: Trust in the Lord

This entry is part 5 of 52 in the series Bible Narratives Devotional You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Week 5: Trust in the Lord Weekly memory verse: Proverbs 3:5–6 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Weekly hymn: Blessed Jesus at Thy Word (free download) Weekly catechism: Who is God?… Continue Reading

Why We Sing Repentance

Why We Sing Repentance

This entry is part 10 of 13 in the series Out of the Depths You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Psalm 130, a corporate song of repentance, has shown us the power of art to both tell us what true repentance should be like and also show us artistically through use of metaphors, and repetition, careful word choice, and names for God. And this is why we sing. We sing not only to say right things, although… Continue Reading

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 4: A Just God Justifies

Bible Narratives Devotional, Week 4: A Just God Justifies

This entry is part 4 of 52 in the series Bible Narratives Devotional You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Week 4: A Just God Justifies Weekly memory verse: Romans 4:5 — And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. Weekly hymn: Not What These Hands Have Done (free download) Weekly catechism: What is special about God’s creation of you? God… Continue Reading