The medievals had a slogan, “The law of praying is the law of believing.” It means, “If we can change liturgy, we can change what folk believe.” This axiom means that whoever controls the liturgy controls the future of the church, humanly . . . Continue reading →
Reformed worship
Reformed Smokers, Rockers, and Air Supply
Darryl Hart takes the occasion of a comment by John Frame about smoking to lauch a salvo against “Reformed Rockers.”
Reformed Churches are Scripture-Singing Churches
If your congregation is in a confessional Reformed denomination/federation but it isn’t a Scripture-singing congregation, there’s a problem.
Kick Off Calvin’s 500th Birthday Celebration with WSC!
Westminster Seminary California is very happy to begin the year-long birthday bash for our favorite Reformer, John Calvin (1509-1564). We’re doing so with a conference 16-17 January, on the WSC campus, Calvin’s Legacy: Reforming the Church Today.
A Useful Resource for Psalm Singing
So Psalm 58 invites us to have patience under persecution, to take comfort in the justice and judgment of God. Why? Because we know that that judgement – all the curses of Psalm 58 and the rest of the Bible – was borne for us by Christ. We, too, were children of the devil, deserving of all of this curse. But now, because that curse was carried for us, we know that when that last trumpet shall sound we will in Christ be found. So we need not fear the judgment. Rather, we look forward to it, knowing that finally God will be ultimately vindicated and glorified. Continue reading →
What To Do With the Joy That Wells Up Within?
Responding to the Gospel with God's Word
Aimee Byrd at Housewife Theologian asks a great question about what to do with ourselves after a baptism. How do you celebrate this moment? Let me ask you readers, do you clap in your church after a baptism? Our church congregation doesn’t. . . . Continue reading →
Directory for the Publick Worship of God
The Directory FOR The Publick Worship of God CHARLES I. Parl. 3. Sess. 5. An ACT of the PARLIAMENT of the KINGDOM of SCOTLAND, approving and establishing the DIRECTORY for Publick Worship. AT EDINBURGH, February 6, 1645. THE Estates of Parliament now convened, . . . Continue reading →
Reformed Churches Of Nassau (1578): No Organs In Church
Latin songs, as well as organs (first introduced into the churches by Pope Vitellianus about 665) are for the most part abolished in the churches of this land. Not that the use of the Latin language or of music is rejected of . . . Continue reading →
We Neglected The Reformers On Worship
Although I had been raised in Methodist and Presbyterian churches and attended Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, was ordained in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, served pastorates in that church and in the PCA, I nevertheless found myself at different times in my . . . Continue reading →
Psalm 23 As You’ve Never Heard It Before
God's Word Transcends Cultural Boundaries
Psalters!
When I began to become Reformed, c. 1980–81, the Reformed churches I knew were hymn-singing congregations. Typically they used the blue (1961) Trinity Hymnal, published by OPC (and later by Great Commission Publications). There are Psalms (for singing and reciting) in the . . . Continue reading →
On Catechetical Preaching
The reason this is a wonderful practice is that this type of preaching demonstrates the unity of Scripture. In reality, different texts from various authors and generations testify to a unified body of truth. This manner of preaching ensures that we develop . . . Continue reading →
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
God’s Word Is Transcultural
The Psalms (or any of the rest of God’s Word) are not sung in Reformed worship as often as they once were. In some places neither the Psalms nor any other part of Scripture are sung at all but it is still done . . . Continue reading →
1920s Arguments Over Absolution In The CRCs (2)
Perhaps a few words regarding the context of this service of reconciliation will not be amiss…. Note first of all that it follows the opening service. In this service the Lord and His people greet each other. After the greeting comes the . . . Continue reading →
Hungarian Reformed Churches: Instruments For Antichrist Masses And Marks Of Idolatry
The musical instruments, however, adopted for the pantomime Mass of Antichrist, together with images, we have whore. There is no use for them in the church, and indeed they are marks and occasions of idolatry. Continue reading →
Worship: A Dialogue Not A Checklist
Most of the debate over the so-called “worship wars” for the last 30 years has focused on the disagreement between those who favor a progressive/contemporary style of worship and those who favor a more “traditional” style of worship. One of the reasons . . . Continue reading →
The Judgment Of A 1574 Dutch Provincial Synod On Organs And Alms
50. As to the playing of organs in the church, it is maintained that this should be completely discontinued in accordance with the teaching of Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:19. And although some of these churches still use it at the end . . . Continue reading →
Review: Reformation Worship: Liturgies From the Past For The Present
Unless you are a member of a congregation of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America (RPCNA, “the Covenanters”) or another similar denomination, in all probability the way your congregation worships today is not much like the way Reformed and Presbyterian congregations worshiped in the 16th and 17th centuries. If, however, you are like most other P&R Christians, you probably are not aware of that discrepancy. You might assume that the way your congregation conducts its public worship is the way the P&R churches have always done but, in fact, that assumption would not be justified. Continue reading →
Reformed Worship Is For Pilgrims
One of the several challenges faced by those who are moving from outside the Reformed churches to inside the Reformed churches is the transition from, e.g., worship in the broader evangelical world to worship as the Reformed churches understand it. Underneath the . . . Continue reading →