2007 New Attitude

Video from the 2007 New Attitude conference in Louisville, KY Memorial Day weekend! John Piper, CJ Mahaney, Josh Harris, Eric Simmons, Al Mohler, Mark Dever, and So much more!

IBC Session 6: Mark Dever on Worship in the Puritans

By Ian Vaillancourt.

*I hope these rough notes of Dr. Dever’s message will be helpful. I write notes as an aid to listening and internalizing, and when I wrote these, I did not know that Paul would later ask me to type them up for his blog! That, along with the occasional brain freeze (it was a long 15 hour day at the conference on Friday), explains the brevity of the notes. However, I do believe that the meat here is very good, and worth reading. I hope you enjoy! Ian.

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- Since the center of Puritan worship is preaching, that is what Dr. Dever will be lecturing on this morning.

- He explained that the term ‘Puritan’ is notoriously difficult to define. For the purposes of today’s lecture ‘Puritan’ will refer to those Reformed English Christians who were concerned to Reform and Purify the Church in the 200 or so years after the Reformation.

- The Puritans were great preachers.

- Many people have heard of the Westminster Assembly, and the Westminster Confession of Faith, but not as many have heard of the Westminster Directory for Public Worship. This small document presents the Puritan ideal!

- Dr. Dever explained that this is a lecture, and not a sermon. On Sunday Mornings at Capitol Hill Baptist Church his messages look a lot more like the one he preached last night (on Worship in the New Testament, from Romans 12). In that message he unpacked a particular passage of Scripture and applied it to life.

- This morning’s message will be a lecture. It will not be an expository message, but a historical one. It will be primarily aimed at preachers, although he invites and encourages all non-preachers to listen in, as it is very important for everyone to hear and understand what makes good preaching.

I. Dr. Dever began with nine simple statements on preaching, preachers, and sermons, according to the Puritans. He warned that all note-takers would be frustrated because he did not have time to go slow, or to unpack these points (but he did go slow enough for me to record the meat).

1. Preaching Matters

2. Preachers are not just anyone

3. Regarding sermons and texts: texts are selected by series or special occasions. Puritans typically only interrupted a series for a ‘special message’ (e.g. Christmas)

4. Introductions to sermons must be short and related to the message

5. The structure of the sermon is: text, then truth

6. The content of the sermon: not just examining words, but whole sentences

7. Sermons should be true, biblical and helpful (all three of these characteristics are essential to a sermon).

8. Sermons should be clear

9. Every part of the sermon matters. Arguments must be solid. Illustrations must be effective

II. Controversy In Sermons

- A preacher must pick his fights carefully. He must deal with currently dangerous heresies, but not with every heresy that is around at the time, or that has ever been around. Controversy is important and allowable, only in so far is it is deemed needful. The Puritans were particularly concerned to defend the true biblical gospel against the ever encroaching Romanism in England and Arminianism in New England.

- Dr. Dever pointed out that this really reflects the New Testament way to preach. Note especially the New Testament Epistles – heresies are dealt with, but only the ones threatening the particular community. Controversies are dealt with, but not every controversy is dealt with.

III. Application is essential.

- Doctrine must never be left unapplied. A preacher must argue! William Perkins, in the earliest English Puritan book on Preaching, The Art of Prophesying, reminds preachers to remember the kinds of hearers there are. Again, this is in line with the New Testament model of preaching, especially the epistles. The New Testament authors commonly move from doctrine to application. James 1-2 in particular speaks directly at how dangerous unapplied truth is.

- Lives will be unaffected by truths unapplied!

- The Puritans believed that such application should be practical. Richard Sibbes, for example is always very practical in his sermons (Dr. Dever did his PhD at Cambridge in Richard Sibbes).

a. Puritan application deals with guilt, grace, and gratitude

- This application is not moralism – works based salvation

b. In application, deal with sin fully

- For example, notice Jonathan Edwards’ clarity on the sin of selfishness in Charity and Its Fruits.

- Notice that this is again, the New Testament way of preaching. For example, Romans 1-3 gives glory to God by exposing sin.

- Dr. Dever told a story about a woman who had been attending Capitol Hill Baptist, who was powerfully effected by the Word preached. Her entire world view had been transformed. On one occasion she was in tears as she realized this! He then exhorted the preachers not to forget the powerful infusion of reality that preaching is to those who are lost!

c. In application, comfort fully

- In a time of depression caused by over-working in the ministry, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was grateful to Richard Sibbes for providing salve for his soul. Particularly The Bruised Reed was a blessing to him.

- Notice that the New Testament books of Hebrews, 1 Peter, and Revelation were written specifically as encouragement for afflicted Christians

d. Sermons should cause self-examination

- For example, Paul is calling for serious self-examination in 1 Corinthians 11, etc.

e. Preach helpful doctrines

- One can’t preach every doctrine from every text. Choose the particular doctrine in the text that will be most helpful for the people. The truths we preach are timeless, but must be presented in the barb of our times.

IBC Session 4: Mark Dever "Worship in the New Testament"

By Pastor Paul Martin

Mark introduced 9Marks ministries.

One of the longest sustained treatments of worship is in Romans 12 and following. This presents the gospel in action… practical issues of living the Christian life.

The key issue of worship is not drums or stained glass, etc. [Mark read Romans 12]

To worship God correctly is what starts off this chapter. The nature of worship is offering your whole self to God as a living sacrifice. That may be the most important point in this message – the offering of your self. When we restrict worship to church buildings and singing songs then we miss the point. The NT does not use the word worship the way we do in English. You can avoid a lot of trouble in your church if you define worship for your people the way the bible does – offering yourself as a sacrifice.

It is our “self” that is to be offered. The whole of us being offered always and continually. We are called to gather publicly – and we can call that worship (although the NT never does). Our public worship (in this sense) includes all kinds of things like singing, giving, preaching, etc.

Worship as it is described in the NT is the whole of life. You cannot limit worship to one event on one day of the week. It encompasses everywhere we are, every day of the week, everything we do with everyone we know. That is the nature of worship.

Why do we worship? “Therefore,” said Paul, “in view of God’s mercies…” chapters 1-11 are about divine initiative and human response. Worship should be a delightful activity because we delight in the God that we worship! Consider how this God has loved us! Consider the songs we have sung today!

There can be some worship that is not holy and pleasing to God – otherwise Paul’s instruction is pointless. Cain’s offering was not acceptable. The Golden Calf was an idol of YHWH – a visual image of the real God. They did not worship God as He had revealed they should.

How do we know we are worshiping God correctly?

Do you worship God?

Let’s look at these features in Romans 12 as a test of our worship.

Ten questions to test for true NT worship of God:

1. Are you being transformed?

12:2 – Paul specifically cautions Christians from being conformed to the pattern of this world because we are no longer of this age. “Be transformed.” To reflect more and more the Lord’s glory and likeness. It happens by mind-renewal – God’s supernatural work through the Word of God as worked by the Holy Spirit. True worship is the furthest thing from being a mindless activity. Every part of us is to be affected, so that we may know how to please God. We need humility in discerning God’s will… not just what we feel is right. Preachers – teach your congregation that humility is a fundamental part of following God!

2. Are you thinking about yourself soberly?

12:3 – Paul exhorts us to not think too highly of ourselves. We have a tendency to think too highly of ourselves. Do not be greater than you are – a Christian. It recognizes what you have in common and what is the special gifting of you – God gets all the credit for both. There is nothing to boast of. “What do you have that you did not receive?”

Peg our value by God’s own standard – the gift given us in Christ. Your status in Christ is so much more important than any status in this world. The world will never tell you that!

Like the Iraqi information minister during the American invasion – we deny what is real and around us. It is not our wisdom and diligence that brought about blessing in yoru life!

3. Are you using your gifts?

12:4-8 – If you have a singing-only concept of worship, this will sound strange to you. True biblical worship is not demanding to have gifts that you do not already have. You fail to worship God biblically if you fail to use the gifts God gave you to build up His body.

:4-6 – There is an analogy of the one body with many different contributing members. Paul assumes the people he is writing to are converted. When some people’s preferences are violated, they go their own way, not God’s. Yet God, in His incredible love, He took on flesh, lived a perfect life, died the death we deserved, and God raised Him from the dead to show to all that His sacrifice was accepted. God calls on all men to call on this Jesus to be saved. People who have done this are converted. That is to whom paul writes.

For example, there is teaching, encouraging, giving, leading, showing mercy, etc.

And these things in God’s way – we are not to be mercy-martyrs… “this is costing me something!” – rather, generously! It all goes back to the gospel.

The best way to identify your gifts is to serve in your church in a way to meet needs. Gifts are so you can bless others, not so you can experience release! 1 Corinthians 13 makes clear that the gifts from the Spirit are all about love and the building up the body.

“The worship was good today” – do you mean you were tickled or do you mean you were inconvenienced by loving another.

Your gifts are not a heavenly identity card – they are to serve others.

4. Are you loving others?

12:9-10 – So many conversations about worship are so Satanically-ironic. The talk is all about me and what I want. Do not mistake that I am saying intense personal godliness is bad. I am saying that true worship necessarily includes love for others. The quality, direction and nature of love.

Quality – real and sincere. From the heart. A community of mutual love is the goal. Folks have come to CHBC and been converted by seeing love in action there. The love of the church is strange in this world and is a powerful call to God.

Direction – a love for the good, not evil. Do people around you think of you as being attached to what is good? Are you inseparable from good?

Practice – by a devotion to honour others more than yourself. 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 is not a rhetorical trick. Paul is identifying evidences of God’s grace in their church – then came a lot of chapters of blistering correction! But the love he shows there is genuine, not fake. I pray we would become better students of God’s grace in each others lives. Let it be your strategy to find good in your fellow church members.

5. Are you persevering?

12:11 – the kind of Christian life that only includes occasional prayer and assumes a pass on suffering is really no Christian life at all. It is not that you have a higher Christian life and normal Christian life. You have Christians and not-Christians. God brings us to the boiling point spiritually. It is a steady boiling enthusiasm.

We need to persevere in joy and hope (:12).

We persevere in tribulation. You cannot endure around suffering – you must endure through suffering.

We may hear stirring stories of God’s grace, but they do not eliminate the need of any one of us from having to suffer.

We persevere in faithfulness in prayer. Perseverance is the grand mark of real believing. It is not just about having our emotional senses pleased.

6. Are you sharing?

12:13 – This is not hard theology. If you want to be a Christian this basic impulse to share should be typical of you. Why would you not share when God has given you so much? Share with God’s people who are needy (1 John 3). We have a special obligation to one another in Christ. You share the burdens of others in your church.

We are also to share with strangers – to pursue loving strangers.

7. Are you blessing?

12:14 – Bless those who persecutor you. God’s charity is to be reflected in our blessing of those who are our enemies. We pray for and say good things of them. This is not a natural response. Isn’t this what Jesus said? Isn’t it the way God has treated us in Christ?

8. Are you sympathizing?

12:15 – We are to care about the success and trials of others.

9. Are you being humble?

12:16 – No pride or conceit. Be of the same mind toward one another. (Philippians 2). It is not so much me agreeing with you as us agreeing with Christ. That brings harmony. Have you ever noticed how much harmony comes from humility.

We are not to be proudfully standoffish. The Roman church had members of Caesar’s household and slaves in it. But this is profound! It means, don’t stick with those that you feel most comfortable with.

The whole concept of a Saddleback Sam goes against this. It may be okay as an in-between evangelism strategy, but that cannot be the goal of the church.

God associates with the humble – so must we.

What kind of Christianity is it that befriends people on a worldly status. Canadians have a kind of genetic humility, I know. But apply this to your own hearts. “Do not be conceited.” Twice he has said essentially this.

10. Are you overcoming evil with good?

12:17 – Taking revenge is being overcome by evil. As far as it is possible and as far as you can, make peace. We live in a moral universe and justice can be left for God. Deuteronomy 32 says God will take care of revenge. Besides this, there are benefits of not taking revenge. This quotes Proverbs 25 – treat your enemy as someone in need. Cause your enemy to blush, shame him by giving him food and drink.

The summary command: Overcome evil with good. Do not be overcome by evil.

There is worship.

It is a lot more than getting into a song or two. Living sacrifices have one problem – they often crawl off the altar. There is no passivity in the Christian life. You cannot claim inaction as the golden key to living the Christian life and pietize it by calling it “abiding in Christ.”

Isn’t this chapter a great prayer list for you yourself and for other members of your congregation? We are worshippers by nature – who are you worshipping this evening? Have you been shown that you worship your comfort, your ideas, yourself? Or are you worshiping the God of the Bible?

I pray we all worship Him in a way that truly brings Him pleasure.

Prayer.

IBC Session 3: Roger Bergs "Choosing Music for Corporate Worship"

By Pastor Paul Martin

Note: I was absent for the first half of this lecture.
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We can’t navigate a music and text without some form of meter. Catholics, and other ancient religions use chanting – but it flat-lines emotions and makes it nearly impossible for the congregation to join in.

Metrical Psalms

You might sacrifice the sense of the text if all you do is try to sing the English words. To put them into metrical sense like Isaac Watts. Watts was the inventor and perfector of English language Psalter. He gave a NT sense to the Psalms. But now you are in the realm of interpretation… and that means error might creep in.

Other Hymns

These are based on specific texts, without using the exact language. Colossians 1:15-20 is a prime example of this as it is then put into hymn form as “Come, Let us Worship the Christ of Creation.”

Corporate Singing: Word of the Father Everlasting

Narrative passages into versified form: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night (Luke 2). Romans 10:14-17 is versified into How Shall They Hear the Word of God (sung to the tune Huron Carol – Canada’s great hymn contribution!).

Hymns of Human Composition

They deliver biblical truth, or response to God, or build up the faith. An example, “All My Hope on god is Founded.” All the lines justify themselves by using many different Scriptures and putting them together thematically. Systematizing Truth, you might say.

Take various threads of Scripture

It used to be that the ministers of the Word wrote the texts of hymn. They chose the hymns. Then musicians set these things to music! We need a return to this.

A Well-Written Tune

Peruse the composer index of any hymnal and see great composers, but they had their works used in part only. They did not write hymn tunes. There were men like Lowell Mason who wrote lots of tunes that we sing. Townend, Getty, and the like are men like this – writing singable tunes. Must respect the limits of congregational range.

Choosing Music

One hymnal. A hymnal and another book or two. Or limitless on powerpoint or bulletin. You must still use discernment in choosing what is sung.

Discussion of types of prayer in worship. Every prayer has a form and content that is appropriate for where it falls into the service. The same is true with songs. We need to think through these choices carefully. If you would not be speaking what the hymn says at this point in the service, then don’t sing it!

Order of Worship

Revivalism worked like this: music was the opening act for the main guy. Music is not a warm-up act to get people into the frame of mind. Choice then, is all boiled down to personal preference. If your content of singing is optional, why would anyone listen to the preaching?

Identify the principle theme of the sermon. A theological angle and an anthropocentric angle.

Limit new tunes to one per service at most. Resist the standard to equivocate to sub-standard hymns. “If I Were a Butterfly!”

People need to understand what they are singing. Introduce a song, but you have to know it and understand it first to do this correctly.

People have to sing. The musical accompaniment must not be so loud that you cannot hear voices around you.

All of this takes time and a degree of talent.

We finished with “Crown Him with Many Crowns!”

IBC Session 2: David Barker "Worship in the Psalms"

By Pastor Paul Martin

Bono said, “To kiss the heavens, you have to learn to kneel…”

This presentation is a summary of a couple of decades of thought. Petersons says, “Worship must come under the criticism and control of the revelation on which the Church is founded.

For several decades worship has been the divisive mantra of the church. People have been trying to find “meaningful worship.” The theologian of the community must guide public worship. Pastor dons the mantle of priest, prophet and sage in the New Covenant context. Too often we have passed off this responsibility to musicians who may or may not be theologically informed.

Col 3:15

The reference to “Songs” at least included the OT Psalter. New Covenant church worship needs the Psalms for it brings order to the chaos and trouble in our churches.

Who is God?

Who are the worshipers?

A Whisper of caution in our worship.

Some preliminary suggestions.

1. Who is God in the Psalms?

God is King – this is the clearest picture of God in the Psalms. Other metaphors include, shepherd, judge, warrior, lord – all the royal functions of ancient Near Eastern kings. YHWH’s kingship pervades the Psalter. At the literary centre of the book, 7 Psalms (enthronement Psalms) all point to YHWH as King. This is a providential and deliberate design on the book (93-99). Further, 7 are there – a number of totality and completion. This is followed by the doxology of Psalm 100 – enter His royal gates and courts with thanksgiving and praise.

Worship, therefore, is entering the throne room of God. We approach the “throne of grace…” When we engage in worship, we learn who we are, where we are and who God is as we open the Psalms.

2. How do we respond?

The Psalms are a unique Biblical genre. The Psalms speak for us, whereas most of the Scriptures speak to us. This does not lessen the authority or the inspiration of the Psalms. The Psalms are answering God (Peterson). They give us our words when entering the throne room. It gives the church a common form of prayer.

3. What are the voices in the book of Psalms?

We often fail by spending too much time on our awe and wonder of God. Complaint, praise, petition all are spoken in Psalms. Brueggemann’s model is that of orientation-disorientation-re-orientation sequence.

a) The voice of Orientation

Hymns of praise form the core of this grouping. Doxology, praise – these are the response of a well-ordered world. (33:1; 113). There is no tension to resolve according to Brueggemann! But praise to God places us totally outside of ourselves. We dismiss other gods as nothing. We evangelize when we doxologize. The praise of God brings order out of chaos in creation. Praise must correspond to praxis, so there is an ethical dimension to this.

Praise is an act of audacity and implicit trust; we address the Creator and we abandon ourselves to His way.

It is doubtful when we gather to worship that we are orientated correctly.

b) The voice of disorientation

The lament songs, form the largest category of the Psalms! In my own life, the lament songs became real to me while my life lay in a coma and near death. Most heard voice of the Psalmist is not the voice of praise, but the voice of lament. These voices are real. “How long…?” The words of lament would certainly catch people’s attention.

In our worship, we need to be truthful about our lives and sufferings. We need to bring the voice of lament into public worship. These lament Psalms were not meant for some kind of private piety. Why don’t we sing them now?

These Psalams are religious: not in the polite sense, but in the real sense. They lament, but they are not Psalms of resignation! They end with a vow to praise, a confidence in worship of God. These are authentic voices – they make us uncomfortable. As Baptists who have abandoned liturgy, what do we do with Psalm 88:18? But the reality is we gather as disoriented people, who need to express this to God. These are living realities.

c) The voice of re-orientation.

Christians have hope! Primarily these are thanksgiving songs. (105, 106) Songs of trust, the celebration of YHWH as king, royal Psalms, wisdom Psalms, etc. These Psalms are less declarative of God and more descriptive.

These Psalms take us into disorientation, then bring us out. They articulate the most critical voice of worship for the church.

Our worship leaders assume we are ready to worship – while we are not! All of life needs to be brought into the throne room in all of its facets.

4. Entering the throne room with courage and care.

Do we come with impunity or petulance? We need to recall Psalms 1 and 2 – they are the gateposts to get into the Psalter. All of the Psalms except these two have an introduction. “Blessed” starts Psalm 1 and ends Psalm 2.

Psalm 1 brings us to attention, and Psalm 2 calls us to adoration of the “anointed one.” This is not to dull the impact of passion and pathos in worship (see Psalms 3-7 which are all lament Psalms). We come boldly to God by bringing all of life into the presence of God.

5. Concluding with a new tehilllim (ending).

The Psalter has 5 endings or five doxologies. The final expression of Torah is always hallelujah!

6. Some suggested responses

a) Bring the Psalms back into the worship life of the community of faith. Not lines, phrases and ideas that are there, but all the words as they are. We need new music to get these ageless voices of the Psalms into the church in new and fresh ways.

b) Lets come to a new and better understanding of what it is to bring all of life into the worship of God. That ACTS prayer formula is not sufficient. Read those lament Psalms with the passion with which they were meant to be read.

c) Understand that the task of worship is to bring a new orientation – a reorientation! People are saying, “Give us some hope.” So we need to begin where they are.

Conclusion

Bonhoeffer said: “Whenever the Psalter is abandoned, an incomparable treasure vanishes from the Christian church. With its recovery will come unsuspected power.”

Lets revel in the unsuspected power that comes when we speak to one another in PSALMS.

Questions:

1. The Scottish Psalter – do we need it? How do you pray or sing imprecatory songs?

The Psalter is a stylistic thing – use it if you your people are good with it. “New song” means that it reaches the community. Maybe drums or Bono are needed?

Imprecatory Psalms: the most difficult part of the discussion. Calling for curse is rooted deeply in the Abrahamic covenant. This is the foundation of the discussion. While it was the voice of the people to sing these songs, but it was often the anointed king or priest of God that sang the imprecatory Psalms. As far as we embrace the Abrahamic covenant we can embrace these Psalms. We can sing these against those who are arrayed against God… but understanding the move into the New Covenant.

2. The difference between expressing lament, then accusing God.

We need to be very careful of using the Psalms our final statements of theology. Psalms are full of metaphor, hyperbole, etc. Words like “abandon, forsake” etc – this is the stock and trade of lyric. These words are not intended to be calculated systematic declarations.

3. There is a distinction between Israel and the church. Israel was a mixed multitude, but the church is made up of Christians alone.

IBC Session 1: What is worship? (Rev. Joe Boot – Director of Ravi Zacharias Ministries – Canada)

By Pastor Paul W. Martin

Roger Bergs began with a conference introduction and an explanation of worship. Worship is first of all to honor God by speaking of who He is, or what He has done (or doing). How we feel about these attributes is secondary to their Truth.

Glendon Thompson welcomed all and stressed that part of the purpose of the IBC is to bring Baptists together of different persuasions, so we can learn from one another and grow in our fellowship.

Dr. Haykin introduced Joe Boot, and noted two books authored by the speaker.

Rev. Boot:

My goal in ministry is to direct people to Christ and I want to direct them to God. Tozer once said, “Christians don’t speak lies; they sing them!” What we express outwardly often varies from our external experience.

Amos 5:21-24

What comes to mind when you hear the word “worship?” We often think we know what it means but find it hard to define. The music time. A band. Whole service. Songs from the Psalter. Romans 12:1. Diverse results even within evangelicalism. But so often it is confused with music and singing. Posturing and celebrity-ism often follow.

Labels help us fight each other – and often they are defined by our worship style. The more innovation that is pursued, the more we cater to a fussy generation of church shoppers! Too often we do not define things and just run to what we like.

What Amos says raises a certain rebuke, whomever we are. Worship is a contraction of the old Anglosaxon “worthship.” To love, admire or idolize. When the world looks at the church they should be able to see something of the God we love and adore. They should perceive what is worth most to us?

Gibben described worship in ancient pagan Rome: no one took anyone else seriously. No one form was distinct from another in justice and love. They all looked the same and ignored one another. In Canada today, people look at all religion as the same way. Politics uses religion when expedient. What sets Christian worship apart in Canada? Music style, festivals, meetings? Are we just another demographic?

What is worth most to you and how do you express that order of worth in your life? Singing, prayer, sacraments, special days, reciting of Scripture, giving our money – are all forms of public worship. But do these constitute worship? Amos says they do not.

Just being solemn is not what God desires! Just singing does not work either! Offerings don’t cut it either! Is there something wrong with these things? No. Israel’s problem was a disjunction between what they expressed and how they lived. This grieved God’s heart. True worship is a life of justice and righteousness. Jesus spoke in John 4 that worship is a matter of “spirit and truth.” The mountain, the soft chair, the pew – they don’t matter. A just heart and life – the right value structure: love to God and men.

Israel obsessed over forms of worship even in the times of our Lord. It was this that brought so much division between them and Jesus. To worship is about obedience to God. We know God if we keep His commandments.

The greater our love for God, the clearer our understanding of worship as justice. Pascal said, “Unless you love the truth, you cannot know it.” Our prayer should be for an increase in love for God so that our worship would grow. So, worship is love. We cannot be worshippers in name only – otherwise it is pure theatre. A person’s ultimate love directs their lives and highlights their value structure. What kind of love you have distinguishes the kind of person you are – you become like what you worship.

I was a major Elvis fan as a youth. I conformed myself to all things Elvis! You become like what you worship. We conform ourselves to the object of worship. Love unites us with the object of our love.

Augustine: Love God means a mutual indwelling – God in us and we in God (with a big difference!). No one can love God while not loving their neighbour that disagrees with them about worship in the pew beside them.

We worship God alone since only God can make us truly happy. True worship is the one vocation that is everlasting. We all worship something and we will be conformed to it. True rest is in worship of God.

Power of Worship (and its public perception)

When we meet together to worship and mouths are reflecting the reality of what is true in your life. David danced before the Lord. So our whole self might engage in worship. We might listen, sing, bow down, light a candle or two, and give of our money. Public confessional worship has an enormous impact on the unbeliever. Paul desired orderliness in worship so it was recognized that God is amongst us.

In the early church, hymn-singing was often a crucial part of teaching the people. It was a means of passing on Christian truth. Ambrose led his people in Trinitarian hymns to teach this faith. There was a reciprocal relationship between hymns and theology.

Many illiterate meant there was a need to get Scriptural truth into the hearts of the people. The sound flowed into their hearts and the Truth was distilled into their hearts. Every time we sing we join the angels and all the saints through the ages.

Psalms were the first hymn book, but very soon (even in Scripture) there were other words being written to communicate truth.

God, Creator of All Things – Ambrose (quoted).

Note that there is not only theological truth, but expressed love for the Lord as well.

Here is a good place to start in our current worship wars. What are we doing when we come together to worship? Just because something is from the 19^th century does not mean it is good. Some of it is rationalistic. We need to ask what Truth is being distilled into our hearts.

We are not the first to struggle with music, truth content and … Is it entertainment to enjoy the music in worship? Augustine could speak of “enjoying the musical element in song. I can give more affection to some truth when it is sung, rather than just spoken. Sometimes this feeling leads to a kind of soulishness that runs in front of my thinking. But a seriousness may distract from our heart worship – our minds cannot keep up with our worship.” Doesn’t the Spirit pray through us?

Augustine continues: “When I recall the tears I shed at the songs that are sung… I vacillate between dangerous pleasure and helpful exercise.” “Heal me, O God.” Perhaps if we had this attitude we would avoid some of the conflict.

Worship is God’s gift to us, not the other way around. He does not lack anything in Himself. He needs nothing. Will we possess God or will we be His possession?

God demands, commands and implores us to worship so that we might discover to be truly human. No one knows what it is to be truly human until lost in wonder and praise. Do not squander this gift.

God is worthy of our worthship.

Questions and Answers:

1. What is the biblical defense for an inflow of Truth as being a part of worship?

The Psalms are just this.

2. Corporate worship. How should leaders in worship deal with those who have different tastes in style and instrumentation?

I am bound to upset somebody this answer. I do not think there is a blueprint on how to deal with this. If leadership asks for some to lead, their priority is to express biblical worship. The task is not to cater.

I love choral music, but I was also part of a contemporary music band that evangelized in prisons.

My difficulty is with splitting services to cater to worship preferences. The critical issue is content. Is there a demonic b-flat, a demonic drum beat? I don’t think so. Extremes do not work because they do not bring to God.

Singing about me all the time is a problem. We need to sing of God.

We can become overly divisive over instrumentation. Are we caught up in wonder, love and praise? That is what matters. Content-less songs have no purpose.

Some contemporary expressions of song do have excellent content. That is the issue – not entertainment.

International Baptist Conference 2006

By Kirk Wellum

Well I have never tried "live blogging" but since there is a break in the action here and I have access to a computer I thought I would report on what has happened thus far. The theme of this year's conference is "Worship" and so far today we heard a messages on "What is Worship?" by Joe Boot, "Worship in the Psalms" by Dr. David Barker, and "Choosing Congregational Music for Worship" by Roger Bergs. All the sessions have been stimulating and helpful and have reminded us of the significance of worship in the life of the Christian and the Christian church. While we are all aware that there is much confusion in this area, we have been reminded of the need to return to the Scriptures to discover what it means to worship God in spirit and truth.

One thing that has struck me in the whole discussion up to this point is the importance of biblical theology. The tendency to read the Scriptures a-historically while only paying lip service to the redemptive-historical structures that are built into the Scriptures results in some of the bizarre and all too common ideas that float around the evangelical church today. The balance between form and freedom, simplicity and profundity, and an awareness of sins alongside deep new covenant joy is illusive even when pursued with the best of intentions.

Another thing that has come up more than once is the rising biblical illiteracy in our day. Too many people who are sitting in church (not to mention those outside of it) just do not know the main contours of the biblical story. This means that we need to be concerned about proclaiming the truth at every point, whether it be in the sermon, prayer or song. Worship is something that is going to go on forever when in the new heavens and earth, the redeemed of the Lord, joyfully glorify him and enjoy him forever. What we do now should help get us ready for that great day.

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I am home now and unable to go in for the final sessions of the conference because of speaking commitments this weekend. But I wanted to report on Mark Dever's message on "Worship in the New Testament." Mark chose to expound Romans 12 as a key text that explains what NT worship is all about. He ably demonstrated that "worship" is not restricted to what is commonly thought of as worship today in many church circles. Worship according to the apostle Paul is a comprehensive category that embraces the entire life of the Christian. It is something that we do as those who have known the mercies of God in Jesus Christ. Accordingly Paul begins with what worship is and why we are to worship in Romans 12:1-2 before going on in the rest of the chapter to describe in detail how this works itself out in our lives. Mark's exposition set before us the big picture and helps us get at what is really important in debate (some would say "worship wars") that is going on all around us.

If I step back and assess all that I heard yesterday about worship it appears to me that when we talk the totality of the biblical revelation as it reaches its climax in Jesus Christ, we see that worship is transformed from being something that is strictly personal and religious, into something that is very practical and touches every part of our lives. It seems to me that one of the obvious implications of such a position is that what individual congregations do when they come together on the Lord's Day and other occasions depends on the unique makeup of the congregation and the gifts and abilities God has given them. This is not to suggest that anything goes. The Bible clearly gives us various elements that are to be a part of our corporate gatherings. But the Bible does not legislate details. There is room for individual expression from church to church. The danger of hearing how the experts "do worship" (a regrettable expression) and how they think it should be done is that a new orthodoxy can be laid down that goes beyond anything legislated in the Bible.

Of course, it doesn't have to be this way. It is very valuable to hear the thoughts of others. To see what they are doing and why. To study how Christians in the past have wrestled with these issues and the conclusions they have or have not reached. It is good to think about what we are doing and to be aware of the constant possibility of doing what we are doing simply because that is how it has always been done. But when we get to the heart of things, given the way the New Testament fulfills the Old on so many levels, we must allow room for our Christian brothers and sisters to praise and worship God within the boundaries of Scripture. In these last days, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ has gone out into all the nations. Our response to that gospel, which afterall is what worship is all about, it as colored and varied as the glory of God revealed in the natural realm. As we hear the Word, sing, pray, give, love, serve, and all the other things that are presented to us in the Scriptures we do so in a way that individually and corporately expresses the infinite glory and yet the personal immanence of the God who has told us to approach him each day as "Our Father in heaven." While many questions remain, and there is still lots to think about, if we grasp this much we are on the right track.

The Supremacy of Christ Audio Execerpts

online audio excerpts from the recent conference. Enjoy. [Note: click the link above to go to the DG page. I've also reproduced the links below.]

David Wells

• Christ’s Supremacy in the New Testament
• Christianity Is Becoming De-Westernized
• Fear in the West Is Not of Being Unsafe, but Unsuccessful
• Risk in the West Is Not of Danger, but Distraction
• Contextualization and Foreign Missions
• Contextualization and Preaching
• What Christianity Has to Offer

Voddie Baucham

• Four Questions Everybody Asks
• Question #1: Who Am I?
• Question #2: Why Am I Here?
• Question #3: What Is Wrong with the World?
• Question #4: How Can What’s Wrong Be Made Right?
• The Supremacy of Christ in Education
• Argue for the Bible from the Bible
• The Risk in Racial Diversity
• Racism in Christian Cultures

Tim Keller

• All Theology Has To Be an Exposition of the Gospel
• If You Think You Understand the Gospel, You Don’t
• The Gospel Must Be Urbanized to Reach the Culture
• Contextualization Makes the Gospel Plausible
• We Must Confront Unbelievers with Compassion
• Argue Against a False Worldview Using Its Presuppositions

Mark Driscoll

• The Bible Is True for Everybody
• Without the Virgin Birth There Is No Jesus
• Christ’s Death Saves Us from God
• Jesus Is the Only Way to God
• We Must Stress Both Christ’s Humanity and His Divinity
• Everybody Believes in Hell
• Contextualizing the Theology We Contend For
• John Calvin’s Contextualization
• Relativism vs. Relevantism

D.A. Carson

• Encouragement to Press On When You Feel Unsuccessful
• The Value of Preachers Listening to Other Preachers
• How to Contextualize a Church Service
• Christian Unity Shows the World What God Is Like
• We Must Know Truth to Be Holy

John Piper

• Encouragement for Pastors of Small Churches
• Missions and Seeker-Sensitive Contextualization
• The Personal Effect of Writing What Jesus Demands from the World
• Affection for Emergents
• The Supremacy of Christ and Joy in a Postmodern World: Short Version
• Why You Should Be Happy that You Are Less Valuable Than God

Above All Earthly Pow'rs: Conference Audio

David Wells
The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World

Justin Taylor, John Piper, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll
A Conversation with the Pastors

Voddie Baucham
The Supremacy of Christ and Truth in a Postmodern World

Tim Keller
The Supremacy of Christ and the Gospel in a Postmodern World

Mark Driscoll
The Supremacy of Christ and the Church in a Postmodern World

Justin Taylor, Voddie Baucham, John Piper, D. A. Carson, David Wells
Speaker Panel

D. A. Carson
The Supremacy of Christ and Love in a Postmodern World

John Piper

The Supremacy of Christ and Joy in a Postmodern World
Read Listen

Commentary on Desiring God’s National Conference

By Bob Hayton

I feel somewhat foolish not being at Desiring God’s 2006 National Conference when I live right here in St. Paul and attend Bethlehem Baptist Church. Actually I would have loved to go, but the $100 was too much for us. And also I normally work nights on the weekends, and so I would need time off from work to boot.

But I hear the conference messages will be posted for free online at Desiring God’s exciting new website. So I can download the audio or video of the sessions and listen to them just a little bit late.

I am blessed in that we Bethlehem members will be treated to a sermon from David Wells this Sunday. He is the author around whose book the conference is named. He wrote Above All Earthly Powers and the conference is named “Above All Earthly Powers: The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World”.

For info on all the conference speakers along with clips of interviews and more, be sure to check this link out. I’ll be sure to link to the conference messages when they get posted. But for now, you might enjoy some commentary on the conference like I did.

Tim Challies of challies.com is liveblogging the conference. He gives a synopsis/precis of the message from each session.

• Introduction post
• Session 1: David Wells “The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World”
• Session 2: Voddie Baucham “The Supremacy of Christ and Truth in a Postmodern World”
• Session 3: Tim Keller “The Supremacy of Christ and the Gospel in a Postmodern World”
• Session 4: Mark Driscoll “The Supremacy of Christ and the Church in a Postmodern World”
• Stay tuned for more

There are a whole bunch of other great posts out there on the sessions or different aspects of the conference in general. Adrian Warnock’s blog gives the best rundown on all the various posts out there. Just go to his blog and you’ll be able to navigate around easy enough to find all the info I’m talking about. I will, however, list a few of the highlights below as well as point out a few Adrian missed.

• Tim Challie’s pastor (Paul Martin) posts the best summary of the first Q & A session with Driscoll, Piper, and Keller that I have seen.
• Josh Harris posted some great reflections from all of the Q & A sessions so far. Especially interesting is his description (and application to his own self) of a pastoral correction that John Piper gave to Mark Driscoll publically after his message. (Adrian posts an excerpt dealing with just that part of Josh’s post.)
• SB of Exhibiting the Value of Knowing God gives a great “cornucopia” post with a hodgepodge of pictures, video clips, and links.
• That post is what clued me in on some great liveblogging that is going on at Samshua. That blog has the first three sessions blogged, but also has several videoclips taken live during the conference, and lots of photographs. Just go to the blog and scroll through the various posts. (I think that Adrian missed the resources on this blog!)
• Lastly, the New Attitude blog is the only one I found that has all five sessions summarized for us. This is the fifth post on DA Carson’s presentation (Challies’ post on this is not available yet). (Adrian didn’t link to this one either, but I’m not sure what time it is over there in England. He’s probably in church right now.)

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