This next installment of “What our Gathered Worship Should Look Like” has been helped by the internet storm caused by Victoria Osteen (wife of Joel Osteen of “Your Best Life Now” and prosperity gospel fame) because of comments she made in a recent service at Lakewood Church in Houston, TX. In exhorting the audience to participate, she laid out a case for why they ought to be motivated to do so. In sum, she said, affirmatively: “You’re not doing it for God, you are doing it for yourself, really.” Here is…
I want to make a case for you (especially pastors) to approach your planning of public worship, with a view to being “historic.” Let me explain. Using a word like historic in connection with worship can immediately raise defenses and lead to misunderstandings. When some folks hear “historic” they think: “Oh no, you want a boring formal service with no new songs” or “you are trying to impose extra-biblical standards on our public worship.” Indeed, a word like “historic” may have (and…
Christian congregational worship is Spirit-gathered, Spirit-dependent, Spirit-engendered, and Spirit-empowered, because left to ourselves we will not worship the right object, according to the right standard, for the right motivation(s), through the right means and to the right end. It is the Holy Spirit who creates, enables and energizes our desire and capacity to worship. By his ministry we are ushered into God’s presence and commune with him. The is one of the lessons of Jesus’ words in John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who…
If you have your Bibles, I’d like you to turn with me to Acts chapter 20 verse 32. My heart is filled with many very specific thanks and if I get started on those thanks I would leave someone out and so as much as I want to do that I am going to restrain myself. I do think that I need to publically thank Anne and Sarah Kennedy and Jennings who have enabled me to do the job that I have been called to do here at First Presbyterian Church, often quietly and behind the scenes bearing the cost…
Well tonight makes, I think, about twenty-four weeks in Psalm 119. Even though there are only twenty-two sections you’ll remember that one Lord’s Day Evening we read through the entire psalm in one sitting, something that I don’t think I’ve ever heard anywhere else but here at First Presbyterian Church. And then we did sort of a one message overview of the entire psalm and then for the last number of weeks, over a period of time, we’ve been working through section by section. And…
This coming Lord’s Day, we will (DV) bring to a conclusion our study of the book of Hebrews, looking at the glorious benediction and final words in Hebrews 13:20-25. “20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.…
If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me to Hebrews chapter 13. We’re going to be looking at the final verses of the book together as we come to the end of our exposition. Over and over again in our study of this book we have said that it is emphasized that Jesus is better – Jesus is better than Moses, better than the high priests, better than the Old Testament sacrifices. Jesus is better. And this final section of the book has been very much about the living of…
If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Psalm 119 again to verse 161 as we come to the second to the last section of this psalm. God willing, on the evening of the 15th, we will complete our journey through Psalm 119. Now if you have Bibles that have headings for each of these sections you have seen an English rendering of the name of the letter of the Hebrew alphabet, perhaps, over each of these sections and for this one you have one that looks like “Sin” or “Shin” – probably…
From these passages we can glean at least eight things we can pray for ministers: Gospel fruit in ministry; dependence on the grace of God in ministry (and not earthly wisdom); boldness and clarity in proclaiming Christ and the Gospel; faith and faithfulness even in suffering for Christ; Gospel opportunities and successes; deliverance from evildoers and persecutors; ministry to be well-received by God’s people; and the joy and refreshment of being with God’s people