The central work of the Holy Spirit is to bring order to the people and plan of God, and he does this work primarily through the Word that he inspired. This is no different for corporate worship. Paul stresses this in 1 Corinthians 14:36–38: Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. 38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. Paul was inscripturating direct revelation from the Lord here; car ..read more

Fret not thyself, nor envious be, when wicked workers thou shalt see, who prosper in their way; for like the grass they perish soon, and, like the herb cut down at noon, they wither in a day, they wither in a day. Trust in the LORD and still do well, within the land securely dwell, feed on His faithfulness; delight thee also in the LORD, and to thy heart He will accord the good it would possess, the good it would possess. Yea, to the LORD thy way is known; confide in Him who on the throne abides in pow’r divine; thy righteousness He shall display; resplendent as the light of day, it shall unc ..read more

First Corinthians 14 is clear that the central purpose of corporate worship is the disciplined formation of God’s people. All things should be done decently and in order in corporate worship, for the purpose of building up the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit’s work in worship, therefore, is to bring order and discipline to the worship of God’s people. With orderly, disciplined formation being the expectation for how the Holy Spirit will work in worship, what role does emotion and music play in worship, and how are they related to the Holy Spirit? This question is particularly relevant since ..read more

One great way of teaching the Bible is to summarize the doctrines in such a way that the complex becomes clearly visible to the common man. This was one of the main approaches of the learned theologians of the Reformation era. They were capable of teaching learned doctors of theology and at the same time proclaiming the doctrine of the atonement to farmers. While it may seem like a helpful summary statement, “No creed, but Christ” is actually a superficial creed that provides shade to false teachers who lurk in the shadows with their false doctrine and perverted theology. We need far more tha ..read more

In 1 Corinthians 12 the apostle Paul begins his important discussion of spiritual gifts within the context of the local church. In that discussion, Paul highlights the need for the church to understand four things. First, there is a unity of the church as one body. Second, there is diversity in the church as many members. Third, God sovereignly places people in each local church. But there is a fourth aspect, which is most important, and that aspect is love. The Greeks had four words to describe love. One was the word eros and meant primarily the sexual kind of love. This word is no ..read more

Immortal, invisible, God only wise, in light inaccessible hid from our eyes; most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise. Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light, nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might; Thy justice, like mountains, high soaring above Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love. To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small; in all life Thou livest, the true life of all; we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree, and wither and perish–, but naught changeth Thee. Great Father of glory, pure Father o ..read more

Often when Christians today think of the Holy Spirit’s work in worship, they anticipate that if he is working, then there will be high euphoria, and surprising, spontaneous outbursts of praise. But is that really how we ought to expect the Spirit to work in corporate worship? The metaphor of the Spirit building believers into a temple for God in Ephesians 2 helps us understand his role in corporate worship corporate worship. The temple metaphor is not coincidental; the gathered NT church is the dwelling place for the Spirit of God in this age in the same way that the temple was God’s dwellin ..read more

Romans 3:21–26 bursts with soteriological fireworks after the dreary darkness of man’s sin and unrighteousness in Romans 1:18–3:20. Though man is unrighteous, guilty of sin, and will therefore face the righteous wrath of God (Rom 1:18–3:20), God declares us righteous through our faith in Jesus Christ who suffered the wrath of God for us (Rom 3:21–26).  Not only are these saving truths enough to light up our sky in and of themselves, but their brilliance stands out all the more when seen against the backdrop of the Old Testament. I’ll focus on just three words in Romans 3:25–26 and try to ..read more

STANZA 1 Let all the just to GOD with joy their cheerful Voices raise; for well the righteous it becomes to sing glad songs of praise. STANZA 2 Let harps, and psalteries, and lutes in joyful concert meet; and new made songs of loud applause the harmony complete. STANZA 3 For faithful is the word of GOD, His works with truth abound: He justice loves, and all the earth is with His goodness crowned. STANZA 4 By his almighty word at first, heav’n’s glorious arch was reared, and all the beauteous hosts of light at His command appeared. STANZA 5 The swelling floods together rolled He makes in heaps ..read more

The church is in desperate need of gospel clarity. Rampant on every social media platform is a barrage of claims to Christianity rife with compromise. Gospel clarity must be anchored in biblical and theological consistency. Ultimately, that clarity must begin in the pulpit. An old preaching adage I first heard in my expositional preaching class asserts, “If there is a mist in the pulpit, then there will be a fog in the pew.” The lack of gospel clarity among Christians stems from a lack of clarity within the local churches’ leadership. A church devoid of conversions is, plainly speaking, a dyi ..read more