What happens when someone argues that their own private times with God are more important than corporate gatherings of the church as a whole?Each of us, I'm sure, have heard those who have questioned the necessity of corporate worship, thinking that it is less "spiritual" than their own private times of reading and meditation.Well, R. Scott Clark, professor of Church Histo...

In the introduction to "Give Praise to God, A Vision for Reforming Worship," Philip Ryken describes how the late Dr. James Boice (who died in 2000, and in whose memory the book was written) was (rightfully) troubled by what he saw happening in the contemporary church. Ryken writes:"Given the priority that he placed on honoring God in our worship, Dr. Boice understandably w...

In the introduction to "Give Praise to God, A Vision for Reforming Worship," Philip Ryken describes how the late Dr. James Boice (who died in 2000, and in whose memory the book was written) was (rightfully) troubled by what he saw happening in the contemporary church. Ryken writes:"Given the priority that he placed on honoring God in our worship, Dr. Boice understandably w...

On November 11, 2011, Wayne Rice, one of the founders of the largest, most influential student ministry organization, Youth Specialties, confessed: "We got what we wanted. We turned youth ministry into the toy department of the church. Churches now hire professionals to lead youth ministry. We got relevance but we created a generation of teenagers who are a mile wide and a...

While there is no one particular form that we can point to as being the only form for genuine worship, there are some forms which are better than others at being faithful to what God has called for in our worship of Him.We should take warning from the story of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu found in Leviticus chapter 10. They had just been installed as priests and took it u...

In other words, why do we gather on Sunday mornings in the first place? Various people may answer in various ways, but to get at the answer we cannot simply take a poll, we have to look to see what the Bible says. And what we find is Paul speaking to the Christians in Corinth concerning their weekly gathering saying, "So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifesta...

The Dove Awards have always fascinated me- and not in a good way.They seem to run so counter to the Christian value of humility and self-forgetfulness as well as the fact that God's pleasure is to be thegoal of our worship and of all that we do to facilitate that worship- not man's praise. I'd love to talk with whoever came up with the idea and and try to understand their ...

In a message entitled "The Issue in the Church," J. Gresham Machen (preaching sometime before his death in 1937) said some things as relevant and important for us to hear as they were in his day: "The world of today is hoping for something new. Things that seemed to be new have proved to be old; the newness of modern inventions has been found not to touch the depths of li...

"The modern habit of doing ceremonial things unceremoniously is no proof of humility; rather it proves the offender's inability to forget himself in the rite, and his readiness to spoil for every one else the proper pleasure of ritual." C.S. Lewis from A Preface to 'Paradise Lost'...