A Description of Public Worship

I thought it might be helpful to share a paragraph that I wrote on the purpose of public worship that's included on the front of our Sunday bulletin each week:

You have come to our fellowship of worship, otherwise known as the public worship service. This is a special time of the week in which we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ who rose from the dead on a Sunday morning. We celebrate by worshipping the God of the Bible together; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Worship involves more than just being present at today's service; it is the inner attitude of our hearts as we seek, with the Spirit's help, to turn our attention to God's character and works and respond appropriately with our whole beings: our minds, bodies, and hearts. Though worship is a blessing to us, our primary task this morning is to give God the praise and glory that He deserves. God is present when His people gather and His Word is proclaimed and we pray that you will sense His presence with us today.

The Practice of Family Worship

The
      Precedent
      Priority
      Practice
      Pitfalls
of Family Worship

When to have a family worship time
Lord willing these articles have been convincing you of your need to meet with your family or household regularly to worship God. When should you do this? Unfortunately there is no simple, pat answer that will be work for every household. Instead of trying to come up with a standard time of day that we all meet for family worship, it is more important for you find a time of day that works for your family and plan that time into your routine. Put it on the family calendar, the weekly agenda, or however else you plan your family life. Strive to plan a time when the whole family can be together, including Dad. Feel free to be creative with your time and piggyback it onto a meal, during driving time (as long as there is a reader who isn’t driving or you can listen to the Bible on CD!), or while dinner is in the oven. If you need to have it at different...

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I Once Was Ignorant of Grace

In the tradition of songs like “And Can It Be,” this song articulates a Christian’s journey from one who is “ignorant of grace” to one comes to know God’s grace shown at the cross, then to one who will forever weep and sing because of God’s mercy. In verse one we remember our spiritual condition before God called us - we did not understand the grace of God (Colossian 1:6) even while enjoying the benefits of God’s goodness to humanity in general (Matthew 5:45). We were dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1) and needed new hearts (Ezekiel 36:26). But God began his work when he opened our eyes to see our true condition before him and the wonder of grace that he would still give His Son for rebels like us. Because of the cross we need not shrink back before a holy God but may admire, love, and approach Him, thanking Him for giving us our savior, Jesus. And that thanksgiving will overflow into song as we forever remember the Lamb of God who was slain for us (Revelation 5:9).

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The Fury of the Wind, The Raging of the Sea

This text is the fruit of contemplating a week in Biloxi ministering amongst Hurricane Katrina damage, anticipating the landing of Hurricane Rita, and mediating on some passages in Job 37-42.

This text has also been set to a modern tune.

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The Priority of Family Worship

The
      Precedent
      Priority
      Practice
      Pitfalls
of Family Worship

Family Worship and Parenting
The Bible contains everything we need to know about how to live life this side of eternity for God’s glory (2 Peter 1:3) but doesn’t go into specifics for many of the details of our lives. This is the case with our job as parents – God has not given us many specifics about what’s involved in raising children such as what their education in the world is to look like, what standard of living we should seek to give them, what kinds of skills they should learn, or what kind of schedule infants should be on. So when He does give specifics we should take great care to seek to be obedient in these areas. Deuteronomy 6 :4-9 is one of those passages:

“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is 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. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.

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A New Project from Eric & David

We’d like to let you in on a project that Eric and I have begun and also make a request for your support of this endeavor. We have begun writing hymns on God’s attributes. Why write hymns on God’s attributes? Aren’t most good hymns about some facet of God’s character? I have been involved in choosing songs for corporate worship for nearly fifteen years and have often had a difficult time finding songs that taught much about a particular attribute of God. Eric recently preached through the attributes of God and for every sermon was on the lookout for hymns that tied into the specific attribute he was preaching on but to little avail. There are many wonderful hymns about God’s character in general, but they normally mention a few different aspects of God and do not explore one in detail. An example of this is the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy.” It teaches that God is holy (the title), merciful, mighty, glorious and worthy of praise (this is inferred by the picture of heavenly worship), everlasting, self-sufficient, loving, and all-powerful. It does mention both the moral and distinctive aspects of holiness,...

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He is Altogether Lovely

This text is based off of Jonathan Edwards' sermons "The Excellency Of Christ" from Revelation 5:5-6 in which he discusses the "admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies in Christ." It is an extended meditation on the "meekness and majesty" that meet in Jesus Christ.

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The Precedent of Family Worship

The
      Precedent
      Priority
      Practice
      Pitfalls
of Family Worship

Before discussing the precedent of family worship we should define what is meant by the term. Family worship is the gathering of a household to turn their attention to encountering and responding to God together. It is the regular practice of believers gathering in the place where they live to read and apply God’s Word, sing His praises, and pray together. It is a practice that is constantly under attack from our suburban lives. We face the unspoken pressure to fill our schedules so that we might measure up to those around us and live productive lives that serve and honor God in various ways. But far too often we buy in to the world’s definition of productivity instead of remembering what Jesus taught Martha in Luke 10.

Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations;...

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There Is No Sin That I Have Done

A Christian is one who has been set free from the power and penalty of sin, both in this life and in the next, through the only means that God has given for such redemption, the substitutionary death of Jesus who took the awful punishment for sin that we deserved. (1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:2) This central message of the Christian faith is our deepest delight and surest anchor and deserves to be on our hearts and lips every day. We should never tire of singing praise to Jesus who has redeemed us from our sin and guilt. Nothing can fill our hearts with gratitude like remembering how wicked we really are, the severity of punishment that our sins deserve before a holy God, and the love that God has shown us in giving His Son to endure our punishment for us. (Romans 5:8) Jesus has taken the “wormwood and the gall” (severe bitterness associated with judgment - see Jeremiah 9:15 for an example) for us and has completed the work of reconciliation; there is no way we can add to or subtract from its saving value. Let this closing thought be the theme song of our lives: “my Beloved, He is mine, for He has made me His.”

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Praise God Who Gave this Day to Me

This is a hymn intended to be sung in private or family worship at the start of each day. It reminds us of the great truths of Romans 5:1 "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" and Romans 8:1 "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" which we are so prone to forget. It is easy to begin our day living as if the gospel were not true; as if we needed to earn favor or acceptance from God by our performance. We demonstrate this attitude when we feel dejected by God, far from God, or are oblivious to God's presence with us. We must start our day preaching the truth to ourselves that we are accepted and free before God only because of what Jesus has done for us.

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