Worship

“Last Sunday, as my family settled into our couch to watch our church’s online worship service, I was simultaneously saddened and filled with joy. …This is not the way this is supposed to be, I thought.

“Larger churches will have a more difficult time staying larger. At least, that is my postulate according to our early research. And to be clear, I am defining a larger church by the size of its largest worship service, not by its total attendance.” - Thom Rainer

“…the brilliance and the power of Sproul’s book is that it shows us a God who is holy, holy, holy. And really, there’s nothing the English language offers that can adequately explain what’s bound up in that three-fold repetition of ‘holy’…. When I look at much of contemporary evangelicalism, I see churches that so obviously do not regard God as holy, not to mention holy, holy, holy. Their small worship proves they worship a small God.

“In its simplest terms the regulative principle holds that the Word of God alone regulates, directs, and warrants all elements of worship… . We may worship God only as he has commanded us to do in the Bible.” - Church Leaders

“We subconsciously oblige the sorrowing among us to swallow their grief, pipe up, and praise the Lord. Disconnected from the celebratory riffs and confident proclamations, the crushed in spirit become sorely neglected by the exclusion of their spiritual pain in corporate worship.” - Making Church a Safe Place for Sorrow

“In an interview with The Christian Post, Getty said many modern worship songs focus on emotionalism rather than sound doctrine and Scriptural truths. This, he said, leads to a generation ill-equipped to understand or defend the Christian faith.” - Christian Post

“For those of us who employ elements of a more traditional liturgy in our services, it’s worth asking the question from time to time, liturgy should aim to do what? And on the flip side, what should our liturgy NOT aim to do?” - Church Leaders

“…All we are doing is reading a summary of what the Bible says. Second, we believe recitation leads to memorization. It is very important that we understand the basics of Christianity…third, when we recite the creeds, we are affirming that what we believe about the teaching of Scripture is the same as what the Church has believed throughout history.” - Ref21

“We should not, however, conclude that any old act of worship informed by faith is pleasing to God. The second ingredient — also absolutely essential — to sweet-smelling worship is careful attention to God’s own instructions regarding how he wishes to be worshiped.

“Why do pastors or service leaders use phrases like these? And what are the most beneficial things for pastors or leaders to say at the beginning of a worship service?” - Challies