How do you draw near to God in a way that you can discover his wonders? This article addresses this question, explaining that true worship is drawing near to God in a mind renewed by the truth of God. It offers some pointers on how to prepare for worship.
How does a worship leader prepare to lead the congregation in worship on Sundays? This article focuses on the personal preparation of the worship leader.
This article is a short reflection on worship as an activity of the people of God that must be approached with utmost seriousness and care.
Many congregations make use of children's bulletins to help bridge the generation gap in worship. Making use of pictures and quizzes, such bulletins involve the children in the service and answer some of the questions children ask about worship and general church life. This article gives some suggestions on how to use such a bulletin to enhance the participation of children in the worship service.
This article discusses the use of handbells as musical instrument in worship.
Gratitude for a church's heritage and reflection on its significance can add depth to its worship. This article wants to be a help in preparation of a Reformation Day liturgy.
A frequently debated question on public worship is, Which are more appropriate in the worship service—free prayers or set prayers? This article reflects on the place of spontaneous and formal prayers in worship.
Do you preach doxologically? This article shows how preaching itself needs to be an act of worship.
The order of worship is something whose meaning and significance can be lost on worshippers. By focusing on the meaning of the salutation at the beginning of a worship service, the author shows that understanding the meaning of this can keep worshipers humble and grateful for God’s grace.
Is there a link between worship and ethics in Romans 12? Too often the main inspiration for Paul's thinking behind this text is ignored. The biblical-theological background to Paul's argument and the wider context of Romans must be taken into consideration. Peterson argues that the first two verses of Romans 12 proclaim a reversal of the downward spiral depicted in Romans 1.
Public worship is a means of grace. How can you benefit from public worship? This article lists three things.
This is a study of the main ethical points found in the decision of the Jerusalem council in Acts 15:4-29. It proposes that the council members attitudes of mutual trust, honoring God and his Word, and responding with some concession toward the others form important parts of the ethical teaching. The situation of the council is described in terms of the historical background and the flow of the narrative.
How do you deal with distractions of the mind during worship? This article looks at three such types and how you can remedy them.
What is the role of congregational praise in worship? This article is a short survey of some of the biblical evidence.
Worship that aims at God’s glory will be characterized by solemnity, simplicity, and orderliness. This article explains what this all means.
The call for liturgical renewal, that worship be more user-friendly, exuberant, and ritualistic is a man-centred call. This article shows why this call is not biblical, defending the Reformed character of worship.
To worship God is to enter God’s presence in order to have fellowship with him. This article explains the character of this worship and its nature.
This article reflects on music in worship, and says that it must be structurally sound. The text and the tune need to be well-matched. The article provides a host of useful questions to ask in evaluating the merits of a song for worship, and they revolve around three standards: the insight, perfection, and inexhaustibility of the song.
Reformed worship has been accused of being a one-man show. This article shows that such an accusation cannot stand. From the beginning the Reformers understood that all members participate in public worship.
The second commandment is related to how God’s people must worship him. This article looks at the reasons why God forbids the use of images. It looks at the explanation of this commandment from Lord’s Day 35, showing that it points to a regulative principle of worship.
Psalm singing and the regulative principle of worship cannot be separated. This article calls for singing psalms in worship, giving both the historical and biblical grounds for such a call.
The act and content of worship are important to God. Knowing this should shape the way congregational worship is conducted. From Psalm 96:9 this article shows that worship must be covenantal, holy, and fearful.
This article looks at the place of preaching, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper in public worship.
Reformed worship cannot be judged by whether is it traditional or contemporary. In its nature it is covenantal. The nature of covenant worship is found in its union between God and his people, centred on God’s Word. In this article the focus is on preaching in worship.
What is worship? It is essentially the glorifying of God by responding to his revelation of himself.
This article considers what happens when worship appeals to the senses of man: a return the Old Testament forms of worship.
The goal of this volume is to present the worldview characteristic of different periods of Western thought. In Chapter 1 Frame explores the ancient Greek worldview and evaluates it in the light of the gospel.
This article provides a brief discussion on the lack of scriptural justification for an altar call in public worship.
Why do we worship the way we do? This is the question this booklet seeks to answer. It looks at corporate worship from a Presbyterian practice. It examines the principles of worship, preparing for worship, and the elements of liturgy: salutation, prayer, singing, offering, place of sacraments, and the benediction.
In this chapter John Frame argues for a limited use of Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) or Contemporary Worship Music (CWM) in the worship of the church. Frame seeks to define CWM and wants to place it in the context of its relationship to the broader phenomenon of Contemporary Worship (CW).
Chapter 1 is a short history of early Christian worship. It explains what should be understood by “worship.” The sources for our understanding of early worship are introduced: the New Testament text, Jewish evidence, church orders, and other writings like those of the apologists.
We find the first song in the Old Testament in Exodus 15. Its focus and purpose is the magnification of God and his work. This chapter considers the theology and message of this Song of Moses as Moses led the people of the Lord God in worship. This song is again sung in Revelation 15 by those who conquered the Beast.
God is worthy of the daily worship of families. There is no direct, explicit commandment in Scripture about family worship, but the Bible certainly implies that God is to be worshipped in our homes. The author discusses this view with a number of scriptural examples and exhortations.
What do people do when they gather for worship? What does it mean that worshippers gather as the people of God? Chapter 1 considers the fact that God is gathering a people for himself throughout history and that they meet for worship and to receive God’s blessing.
In this chapter Wenham first gives a brief overview of the history of the use of the Psalms in congregational worship. He also discusses the specific impact of setting the words of the Psalms to music. Wenham further notes a secondary use of the Psalms, as a resource for private meditation and devotion. He suggests that the book of Psalms is a deliberately organized anthology designed for memorization.
A place of worship between the fall and the exodus is called an altar. Chapter 2 gives an overview of how these altars functioned as places of God’s presence. Longman reflects on the altar law of Exodus 20: 24-26, the significance of the altars of Noah and the patriarchs (Genesis 12), and God’s special presence at these altars.
What is worship? This article gives an overview of worship from the Garden to the New Jerusalem. It argues that the theology of worship cannot be separated from the practice of worship.
The article deals with the subject of worship. Believers should find themselves able to worship God as he has revealed himself to us, as triune God. There are a number of different ways in which this happens in a worship service, which the article outlines.
The heart of Christian meditation is the enjoyment of the presence of God combined with the joy experienced in praising the Lord. Meditation is therefore an act of worship, an act of seeking communion with the living God.
Worship is a response given to God based on who he is as revealed in the Scriptures and through his deeds. This article shows how God ordered worship in the Old and New Testaments.
There are mainly three questions facing the church about worship: In what sense are the Scriptures authoritative for Christian worship? What regulations are proper for Christian worship? What discipline is proper in connection with worship? The Puritans answered these questions by pointing to the essence of worship.
Chapter 1 is an exposition of Heidelberg Catechism Lord’s Day 21, Q&A 54. The authors seek to understand from the Catechism what the relationship between the church and the world is in worship. Should the aim of the church be to make worship accessible to the world? Should worship be one occasion where the church displays her otherworldliness?
Christians are increasingly divided over how they ought to worship God. There is significant confusion about the nature, purpose, and practice of worship. Questions that arise are, What do we expect from worship? Can we discern between good and bad worship? Is there such a thing as bad worship? How would we recognize it? The burden of the Introduction in this book is to demonstrate that how worship inevitably follows from our theological convictions.
In chapter 1, John Frame wants to give an answer to the question, “What is worship?" He emphasizes that it should be God-centred, gospel-centred, and it is worship of the triune God. He also explores how in worship attention should be given to the relationship with our fellow believers and society as a whole. Frame also explains his understanding of worship in a narrow and broader meaning.
In worship musicians and preachers share in the ministry of the Word. Purposes of church music include proclamation of the Bible, and the edification and encouragement of the saints. The ultimate goal of all of this is to give glory to God.
This book is a challenge to worship leaders to discover how the gospel reshapes every dimension and element of worship. The author makes the bold statement that the gospel is the story of worship. In Chapter 1 he starts to tell that story at Genesis 2 in the Garden of Eden. Worship is rooted in the eternal love of God.
Children must be taught to worship. This article looks at ten areas that can assist parents in teaching their children to worship.
This book argues for the historic Reformed Protestant approach to worship and ministry over against contemporary styles of worship. This chapter paints a picture of the challenges regarding worship which face evangelical and reformed churches today. The author maintains that the heritage of Reformed worship, which weaves theology, piety and worship together, is the cure for these challenges.
This article addresses the dangers in worshipping in a certain way without properly understanding why we worship in that way. The author gives some guidelines around how to structure meaningful worship that focuses on God.
What kind of worship does God require? The author of this article emphasizes that worship should be God-centered, with everything in the service pointing towards God. Indeed, there is also an element of individual experience of God's presence in the worship service, but this must not be the central focus.
This article revisits the history of liturgical worship in the Reformed tradition from the time of the Reformation through the various ages. The author highlights differences in how worship was viewed in the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and later Presbyterian Churches. The author commends the early Reformed Churches' principle of conforming to the Word of God in regard to worship.
Nowadays, the question of how we should worship is a hotly contested issue in churches. The author of this article emphasizes that how believers worship should be determined by Who they worship, and not by personal taste. Believers should offer worship that is befitting to a holy and awesome God.
This author laments the fact that most modern churches are falling into the trap of seeking to please people in their worship rather than conforming worship to God's demands. Worship is becoming increasingly man-centered.
What kind of worship is acceptable to God? This article explains why, according to Hebrews 12:18-20, reverence and awe are both important aspects of true worship to God.
This article defines five elements of the reformed practice: the need for church membership, creeds and confessions, reformed worship, giving and tithing biblically, and infant baptism.
Does God have a certain way that He wants us to worship? This article looks at various aspects of biblical worship: the need for true worship, the character of worship, worship and the Word, leadership in worship, music and worship, worshiping with the heart. The author also discusses evaluating worship service and Hebrews 12:28-29.
This article shows that Christians can prepare for worship by focusing on God. The author discusses the activity of worship and the importance of dedicating the whole day to God.
This article looks at Reformed worship. The author defines the nature and characteristics of worship and examines the elements of the liturgy.
This article gives reasons why the Psalm singing should not be exclusive in church music, but how other songs can be included in the worship service.
What is worship all about? The theology of worship can best be explained by the practice of worship. This article discusses the pattern and structure of worship in the Old and New Testament, drawing conclusions for worship today.
If prayer is speaking to God in His own words, then this should shape the way public prayer is done. This was the concern of John Knox as he sought the reformation of worship. This article shows Knox's contribution to the structuring of public prayer and prayer during and after the Lord's Supper.
The regulative principle of worship is based on the conviction that we are to worship God only as He commands. This article shows the basis of this conviction, and discusses what our worship should look like.
This article discusses the regulative principle of worship. God has prescribed how he wants to be worshiped, and our worship is a meeting with God.
What should the worship service be like? This article looks at John Calvin's principles on worship, which state that worship must be God-focused, biblically based, and spiritually simple.
This series of articles is about the elements of the worship service. Here the author looks at the importance of prayer in corporate worship. This prayer is guided by an understanding of God as the covenant God. Within the covenant God reveals Himself as a personal God, a promise-keeping God, and a holy and merciful God. This character of God shapes the response of God's people in prayer.
This series of articles is about the elements of the worship service. Here the author looks at the importance of prayer in corporate worship. This prayer is guided by an understanding of God as the covenant God. Within the covenant God reveals Himself as a personal God, a promise-keeping God, and a holy and merciful God. This character of God shapes the response of God's people in prayer.
This series of articles is about the elements of the worship service. Here the author looks at the place of the Ten Commandments in the worship service, discussing the character and goal of the law.
This series of articles is about the elements of the worship service. Here the author looks at the place of the Ten Commandments in the worship service, discussing the character and goal of the law.
This series of articles is about the elements of the worship service. Here the author looks at corporate singing during worship. Corporate singing has a characteristic of dialogue, and comes as a response to God's word.
This series of articles is about the elements of the worship service. Here the author looks at the significance of singing in worship, discussing the goal, necessity and nature of corporate singing.
This series of articles is about the elements of the worship service. Here the author looks at the significance of public reading of scripture and preaching during the worship service. The focus of the article is the impact God's word must have on the life of the believer and the attitude a Christian must exhibit when listening to God's word.
This series of articles is about the elements of the worship service. Here the author looks at the significance of public reading of scripture and preaching during the worship service and the place they have in the liturgy of the church.
This series of articles is about the elements of the worship service. Here the author discusses the call to worship, the salutation, the votum, and the benediction and their place in the worship service.
This series of articles is about the elements of the worship service. Here the author discusses the call to worship, the salutation, the votum, and the benediction, and their place in the worship service.
The regulative principle of worship states that God does not only call us to worship him, but also tells us how to worship him. Public worship is regulated by God, and this is where the true freedom of worship lies. This article explains this principle as it appears in the New Testament.
The regulative principle of worship states that God does not only call us to worship him, but also tells us how to worship him. Public worship is regulated by God, and this is where the true freedom of worship lies. This article explains this principle as it is rooted in the Old Testament.
What should motivate God's people to come together in public worship? Looking at Psalm 95:1-7, the author shows that a true understanding of God as Creator and Redeemer is what causes the covenant child to come and worship God. This understanding and desire is the work of the Holy Spirit, and causes the worship service to be God-centered, with the word of God taking the center stage.
A proper understanding of corporate worship is that it is rooted in God who calls His body together into the official assembly of public worship. The assembly comes together to meet with God as God's covenant people. Therefore, the worship service is not directed by personal preferences, but by God who calls His people as His own.
What does it mean to be a Reformed church? How can one plant a Reformed church through mission work? This article answers these questions by discussing five aspects of being reformed: history, doctrine, worship, lifestyle, and church government.
What does it mean to be a Reformed church? How can one plant a Reformed church through mission work? This article answers these questions by discussing five aspects of being reformed: history, doctrine, worship, lifestyle, and church government.
What does it mean to be a Reformed church? How can one plant a Reformed church through mission work? This article answers these questions by discussing five aspects of being reformed: history, doctrine, worship, lifestyle, and church government.
The church of Jesus Christ must supply her deacons with that which they need to do their work. Therefore, giving for the care of the poor must be a priority for the church, and must be an act of the church as an institution. But even more, giving is an act of worship to the Lord. The church’s giving is obedience to, love for, and gratitude to God for all He has done for us in Jesus Christ.
The fruit of the reformation in the Netherlands is visible in the changes in the worship service. The reformation resulted in the restoration of the true preaching of God’s word, the use of the Heidelberg Catechism and reformed liturgy, and a change in church singing.
"Oh, what God is this?!" Won't it be wonderful if these are your words after hearing a sermon? Preaching should lead to worship similar to that of Revelation 4. The minister has a calling to behold God unto the church.
How are we to worship? This article discusses what Reformed worship is. The author also speaks about the heavenly pattern of worship which is outlined in the Old and New Testament.
How is public worship different from private worship? Why is it necessary? This article discusses the importance of the assembly of the saints in worship.
The author of this article identifies several characteristics of a true Christian experience and true biblical worship.
In the New Testament worship service there was no distinction between laity and clergy; rather, there was a priesthood of all believers. However, this does not mean that everyone had the right to preach or teach - this God entrusted to the elders. We should take this into account when reflecting on our worship today.
Working from the book of Revelation, this article highlights elements that are essential for true worship of God. True worship is shaped by a right fear of God and involves thanksgiving expressed in singing and a life of service to God. Corporate worship should have these attributes while believers anticipate worship in eternity.
This is the second article in a series on the work of the Holy Spirit. The church is the body of Christ, with Christ as the Head. Such a church only exists through the work of the Holy Spirit. This article shows how the Spirit shapes the unity of the church and her worship.
Working from the scripture passage of Joshua 5:13 - Joshua 6:5 on the conquest of Jericho, this article shows the relationship between worship and evangelism, or mission work. Just as in worship God's people are led by Christ and are in His presence, so in evangelism Christ leads His church and His people go with His presence.
This article shows how the church can become worldly by desiring to appear to be normal before the world. In this article, the author shows how Satan uses the desire for normality to bring a worldly influence into the worship service. This is the second in a series of four articles looking at some examples of worldly thinking infiltrating the church.
This article shows how the church can become worldly through distraction. In this article, the author shows how Satan can use distraction to negatively influence public worship in church. This is the first in a series of four articles looking at some examples of worldly thinking infiltrating the church.
Our celebrity culture, with its self-promotion attitude, has eroded the practice of true confession of sins. This article shows Martin Luther's perspective on confession of sins as part of the worship service and in private communication with others.
Looking at the covenant of creation and covenant of grace, this article shows how understanding worship within the covenant helps to cure the modern individualistic approach to worship. A covenantal understanding shows that worship is obligatory and that in worship Christ's authority remains final.
Looking at Revelation 5, this article shows how prayer, singing and the congregational amen are vital to Christian worship.
This article shows that John Calvin and Martin Luther shared the same conviction: that restoring singing to God's people is part of restoring true worship. The author shows how their differing starting principles led to their different views on the place of hymns and psalms in a worship service, as well as the place of musical instruments.
Discussing the principle of "Soli Deo Gloria" in relation to worship, this article shows that worship is not only about God, but also about the church. The author validates this argument by distinguishing between man's ultimate goal and man's immediate goals. This is applied to the regulative principle on the place of children in worship and the singing of laments.
What kind of music is appropriate in church? This article looks at the use of instruments to support congregational singing during the worship service. The author does this by examining John Calvin's reaction to the use of instruments.
This article looks at the place of singing in the worship service. The author does this by looking first at the place of singing in the temple and synagogue services, and the role of the Psalms in shaping this singing. Singing takes a central place in corporate worship, and must be done in such a way that it is in accordance with God's word.
The determining factor for liturgical principles is the conviction that God determines what happens during worship service. This article discusses worship in the Old and New Testament, looking at how the principles of Old Testament worship influenced the liturgy of the New Testament church. The author then draws conclusions for what this means for our worship today.
Atkinson gives us an overview and critique of the alternative worship movement. She outlines its roots and then focuses attention on four of its central characteristics. These characteristics are the concerns for contextualisation, experience, multi-sensory worship and participation.
This article is about the difference between Reformed and Evangelical worship. Two aspects are discussed: the presence of God, and the understanding of the minister's office in the worship service.
This article is about the relation of hope and piety, and hope and worship. The promises of God and afterlife is also discussed.
This article wants to show what liturgy and worship has to do with the Christian life. It also talks about hypocrisy, formalism in worship, and individualistic and corporate worship.
Here is provided a vision of evangelical, cross-centred, gospel worship. This is held together with catholic instincts about the ecclesiastic character of worship and charismatic experience of the dynamic of the Spirit in worship.
This article is about our worship with the one holy catholic and apostolic church.
What are the key aspects of worshipping God?
Part of our calling as the family of Christ is to hold membership in a local church. This membership involves commitment to worship the Lord corporately, edifying brothers and sisters through mutual exhortation and service, cooperation in mission, and holding each other accountable to walk in a manner pleasing to the Lord.
John Stott is surely one of the most influential evangelical Anglican of the twentieth century. He wrote much on worship but it is one of the more neglected aspects of his theology.
This article is about the central place worship has on a Sunday. It also discusses the reformed practice of two worship services on a Sunday.
Do we take worship seriously? This article discusses how people coming late to church can serve those who are already seated by waiting.
This article is about Calvin's view of the reformation of the church. The author discusses Calvin's view on worship, justification, sacraments, and church government.
This article is about the martyrdom of Justin (ca. 100-165 A.D.), his work in apologetics, and his worship practices.
"How can I find a church where I will hear Christ preached from his Word? Where is his glory not camouflaged under lots of fluff and distractions?" We can appreciate the concern and even frustration that accompanies the search for the right place to worship. In the first place however, as with product labels, it is important to recognize what church labels mean and don't mean.
This article on the Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter 21:6 is about worship.
This article on the Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter 21:3, 4 and 5 is about the regulative principle in worship.
This article on the Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter 21:1 and 2 is about the regulative principle in worship.
In this article about the majesty of God, the author looks at the majesty of God in nature, in Jesus Christ and in worship.
