I have strong convictions about worship philosophy. I also have strong opinions about certain applications of that philosophy. But these are not the same thing.… Read More »Why I don’t preach specific applications in church meetings
Last week we heard what Psalm 130 might have sounded like in ancient Jewish settings, as well as the Gregorian chant version of it. As… Read More »Renaissance and early Reformation Settings of Psalm 130 (Part 3)
Restoring a right view of the affections may take many years of teaching and instruction. Most Christians exist with very foggy notions of ‘the emotions’… Read More »The Centrality and Nature of the Religious Affections
I’ve been doing some reading on the missional movement, and one of their big arguments is that we live in a post-Christendom West, and therefore… Read More »Alan Hirsch on cultural distance
This is a series looking at how Psalm 130 has been set to music by the people of God throughout history. In my first installment,… Read More »Ancient and early Medieval Settings of Psalm 130
Probably the greatest difference between a thoroughly conservative Christian church and more nominally conservative Christian churches will be found in differences over the religious affections.… Read More »The Religious Affections and Beauty
The theology of worship from the book of Hebrews is that Christian worship is drawing near to God through Jesus Christ by faith, and therefore… Read More »Draw Near to God Through Jesus Christ By Faith
Beyond the matter of exposing Christians to past and present examples of Christian piety, a pastor or leader within the local church can seek to… Read More »Teaching Piety
Throughout the history of the Church, Christians have always been tempted to follow after more physical, more sensory forms of worship because of a misunderstanding… Read More »Worship that Cannot Be Touched
How can we conserve and promote true piety within the lives of the Christians in our churches? Phrasing the question differently reveals the size of… Read More »Exposure to Piety
What becomes apparent when studying worship in Hebrews, as exemplified by this central idea of faith, is that all of these continuities between OT and… Read More »Continuities between OT and NT Worship
Conservative Christian churches wish to weather the winds of secularism and pass on authentic Christianity to the next generation. This means conserving the gospel itself,… Read More »Conserving Christian Piety
Faith (πίστιϚ) stands in Hebrews as the supreme continuity between OT and NT worship since it functions as an essential link between the physical and… Read More »Worship by Faith
There is a narrow way of worship that walks between two great gulfs of peril. One one side you have terror, on the other you… Read More »Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling
Finishing worship well is as important as beginning it that way. Just as a call to worship consecrates the time for worship, so a benediction… Read More »Some Things To Consider Including In Your Worship – Benedictions
Restoring biblical worship in churches within a culture given over to various forms of narcissism, sentimentalism, consumerism and amusement is an uphill struggle. If a… Read More »Leading Corporate Worship
At this year’s Conference on Conservative Christianity (which concluded Tuesday), Steve Thomas of Huron Baptist Church made a point in one of his sessions that… Read More »The conservatism of the normative principle
Significant discontinuities exist between OT and NT worship, and it is important to note that each of these cases of discontinuity stems from the author… Read More »Jesus Christ as the Fulfillment of OT Worship
UPDATE (5/29/11 6:24a EST): Several people have requested that I include links to the extra hymns in these services; they are linked below. Next week… Read More »Worship Services for Conservative Christians [Updated]
Biblical worship is the worship revealed in the Bible as pleasing to God. Since the Bible reveals God’s nature, will, and works, we should expect… Read More »Restoring Biblical Worship: Heeding God’s Prescriptions