This version of the site is now archived. See the next iteration at v4.chriskrycho.com.
Topic: “worship”

We increase the intensity, joy, and fidelity of our worship, not by including the verb “to worship” in every second line in our so-called “worship songs,” but by knowing more about God, and bringing our adoration to him, as he is. Insofar as our conceptions of him diverge from what he has disclosed of himself, so far are we worshiping a false god, which is normally called idolatry. To study hard what holy Scripture says about the Son of God, who has most comprehensively revealed his heavenly Father, is to know more about God, and thus to begin to ground our worship in reality rather than slogans.

—D. A. Carson, Jesus the Son of God: A Christological Title Often Overlooked, Sometimes Misunderstood, and Currently Disputed

Firebrand Preaching: A Call for Exultation and Exhortation

Published:

Comments:

Filed under: Posts

Topics: , , , , , , ,

Martyn Lloyd-Jones once famously defined preaching as “logic on fire.” I am afraid that in most churches, the preaching is more like logic in tepid bathwater, or emotional claptrap on fire. Neither is particularly helpful.

In the church circles I frequent, preachers have the logic part down. I might have a quibble here or there with an interpretive point, but these are quibbles and matters of personal taste. These pastors recognize the importance of truth and labor to communicate that truth to the congregation. Praise God for pastors who care that their congregations apprehend the truths of Scripture, and who care that the men and women in the seats walk away with some idea of how to put God’s commands into practice.

In my experience, though, the other half of Lloyd-Jones’ equation often goes missing. Read on, intrepid explorer →

Perhaps it does not make sense to begin a story about suffering with a song, but that is how this one begins. The real miracle in my story is that God is faithful, that he proves His faithfulness even in the direst of circumstances, and that He is to be worshiped.

For me, that is the miracle of the Killing Fields: God drew me inexorably toward Himself, and I worshiped.

—Barnabas Mam with Kitty Murray, Church Behind the Wire