Posted April 10th, 2006
This is a previous post from my blog. Brothers, any other thoughts about singing covenants? What about other ways to utilize them in worship gatherings?
At Grace Church, we see the great value in, not only holding to a confession of faith, but also giving ourselves to a church covenant.
Mark Dever, in his great new book (with Paul Alexander), The Deliberate Church, says this about church covenants:
As mentioned before, a church covenant answers the question, How do we commit to living together? The form of the covenant is the way we express our commitment. The content of the covenant is the way we understand our commitment. Our church here in Washington, D.C., was founded with such a covenant, and the original still hangs framed in our main meeting hall, complete with the original signatures from 1878.
Requiring people to sign a church covenant lets them know that they will be expected not only to believe the statement of faith, but to live it. It also lets them know how they will be expected to live it out-- i.e., in clear ways that build up the corporate body and enhance the corporate testimony of the church in...
Continue reading...
Posted April 6th, 2006
Although it's doubtful I'll be using "Draw Me Close to You" in the near future (we use tons of Indelible Grace, Getty, and Sovereign Grace), I think it's dangerous to make the kind of statements Colson makes. First, how dare we have requirements for song lyrics that the Psalmist himself couldn't stack up to! Second, to make mention of specific songs, in the manner Colson did, by no means reflects the love of Christ that should bind His people together.
Simplistic proclamations deeming some songs as shallow and some not are not helpful. Regarding simple love songs, often the how is as important as the what. If we're stringing together scores of sentimental, shallow songs to form a complete worship service, that's not wise. Imagine if you just talked in sappy, baby speech to your wife all the time. Using a simple song in the context of several theologically rich songs, however, can be quite moving. For example, Chris Tomlin's "How Great Is Our God" is a simple, yet God-centered, song. Placed at the end of a song service, perhaps following "How Great Thou Art," results in a moving, fitting response to God's greatness.
Posted April 5th, 2006
What do you think of Sam Storms' response to Chuck Colson?
Posted April 5th, 2006
So, Kevin...I guess #5 on your list rules out building the entire service around a drawing where one lucky guest wins a new car?
Posted April 5th, 2006
Eric raised a great question. How should we consider unbelieving guests as we plan our Easter gatherings? Here are five fairly obvious thoughts:
1) As Eric stated, we should be proclaiming the gospel and Christ's resurrection all the time.
2) It is wise, however, to particularly celebrate Christ's Resurrection at this point in the church calendar.
3) Nothing is better for a believer than seeing Christ's people worship Him with joy. We could do no more loving a thing than worship God so passionately in our meeting that he falls down saying, "God is really among you!" (1 Cor. 14:25). That is truly "seeker-sensitive."
4) However, we should not pretend that unbelievers will not be among us. We must seize this wonderful opportunity to proclaim the gospel simply and clearly during our Easter meeting, praying for the Spirit's work in their lives. We truly have a "captive audience" that comes perhaps once a year.
5) We must not do this in a way, however, that deprives the gathering body from celebrating Christ's resurrection. The purpose of our gatherings is to do just that-- gather as God's people to praise Him corporately. A meeting solely concerned with the seeker can forget the purpose of the meeting--...
Continue reading...
Posted April 5th, 2006
Well, I started this discussion, so perhaps I should answer my own question:
Good Friday Songs (taken from our Good Friday gathering song list):
Thy Mercy My God is the Theme of My Song (Indelible Grace)
There is a Fountain Filled with Blood
Beautiful, Scandalous Night (great tune by Daugherty, Hindalong-- "the Choir")
Who Is This So Weak and Helpless? (Indelible Grace)
Sacred Head, Now Wounded
How Deep the Father's Love for Us (Townend)
The Power of the Cross (Getty/Townend)
O Come and Mourn with Me Awhile (Indelible Grace)
Lift Up They Bleeding Hand (Indelible Grace)
(as you can tell we love the IGrace stuff! we may add a few more in here, as well)
Easter Songs (gathering not planned; incomplete list)
See What a Morning (Getty)
Christ the Lord is Risen Today (Wesley)
Beautiful Savior (Townend) (line: "you're the risen One; heaven's Champion")
Jesus Is Lord (Getty)
In Christ Alone (Getty)
He Is Risen (Schumacher)
I am very encouraged about the increasing quality of great Easter hymns! Soli deo gloria!
Posted April 4th, 2006
David covered a lot of quality songs for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.
My comment: Should we be singing anything special for Good Friday and Easter? After all, if our focus is not on the cross and resurrection every Sunday, we've got other things to worry about than these two days.
That said, I do believe it is wise to account for an unusual amount of unbelievers in attendance on Easter morning. I think it is wise to preach directly and simply on the Gospel, as opposed to preaching on its applications and implications (as we might do most Sundays as we move through books). This is always good for believers and unbelievers alike.
I want to highly recommend the songs from David's CD
Cross-Centered Worship. I plan to review this on
An Infant in a Cradle in the future. For now, let me say that I have been listening to this CD for a few months now and every listen brings fresh blessings. I look forward to singing more of these songs and hope others will do so as well. The "cross-centeredness" in
Cross-Centered Worship makes them more than applicable for Good Friday and...
Continue reading...
Welcome to Reformed Praise!
Reformed Praise is a music ministry dedicated to providing songs for corporate worship which are rich in theology, diverse in musical style, and centered on the gospel of grace, that our praise might be informed by Biblical truth.
Featured Song
Reformed Praise presents Martin Luther's setting of Psalm 130 in a fresh, reflective, piano-driven setting suitable for a wide range of worship music styles.
Recommendations
Bob Kauflin, Director of Worship Development for
Sovereign Grace Ministries"The uniting of unchanging truth with contemporary expression is an idea as old as the Word of God itself. What a joy it is to see more songwriters bringing new life to hymns rich in theology and biblical doctrine."
Bob Glenn, Pastor of Preaching and Vision at
Redeemer Bible Church"One of the most difficult challenges for pastors today is locating music that is not only lyrically orthodox and spiritually edifying, but also that speaks to the heart of the contemporary worshipper. Reformed Praise accomplishes this beautifully. I know of nothing like it, and commend it enthusiastically to anyone willing to listen."
