Christian public worship ought to be simple. It should not seek to add to the elements warranted by Scripture or to elaborate forms not endorsed by the word. This is just the faithful application of the general biblical principle that we have nothing to add to God’s word that improves it! Moses tells us in Deuteronomy 12:32 that God says: “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.” (Deu 12:32 ESV) and Proverbs 30:6 warns: “Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke…What gathered worship should look like: Simple
Christian public worship ought to be simple. It should not seek to add to the elements warranted by Scripture or to elaborate forms not endorsed by the word. This is just the faithful application of the general biblical principle that we have nothing to add to God’s word that improves it! Moses tells us in Deuteronomy 12:32 that God says: “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.” (Deu 12:32 ESV) and Proverbs 30:6 warns: “Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke…
I want to introduce you to my friend and colleague Dr. Scott Redd, President and Associate Professor of Old Testament at the Washington campus of Reformed Theological Seminary. Scott previously taught Old Testament and served as Dean of Students at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. His PhD was under the supervision of the Department of Semitic Language and Egyptian Languages and Literatures at the Catholic University of America. While pursuing his doctoral studies, he taught and ministered at Fourth Presbyterian Church in…
What qualities should a public worship service evidence? What ought to be its essential characteristics? With the principles in mind that we have already articulated, let us consider a non-exhaustive list of qualities that we aspire to in biblically-informed and directed congregational services of worship. In biblical public worship, the congregation will offer Scriptural, simple, Spiritual, God-centered, historic, reverent and joyful, mediated, corporate, evangelistic, delightful, active and passive, Lord’s Day worship to the living and…
Isaac Watts (1674-1748) is probably best known to you as a great hymnwriter (think “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and “Joy to the World”), but did you know that he was a faithful preacher too? Dr. Matthew McKellar of Southwestern Baptist…
A few months ago, Daniel Darling (of the ERLC) wrote a special for the CNN Belief Blog called “Millennials and the false ‘gospel of nice.'” You can go directly to that article here:…
Protestants have always believed that how we worship, the manner of our public worship, matters. The main reason for this is because Protestants believe that the Bible itself, in both the Old and New Testaments, commands a number of important things…
Do you need help with prayer? Many Christians struggle there. Over the centuries, learning to pray the Scriptures has been the best solution to the problem. But where can one find help in learning how to pray Scripture? For the last three hundred…
Yesterday, at the monthly Executive Committee meeting of Reformed Theological Seminary, I read from C.H. Spurgeon’s classic work Morning and Evening as part of our devotional. I have been deeply moved by his meditation on “Brethren, pray…
The congregation that aims to be biblically directed and informed in its approach to public worship will gather weekly on the Lord’s Day for Bible reading, Bible preaching, Bible praying, Bible singing and biblical observance of the sacraments.…