Reading the title, I was hoping to find a reference to Hebrews 3 in there! ;)
As an associate pastor who leads music and preaches from time to time, I can say that it is hard trying to make that distinction clear for people even when preaching is not merely moralizing the text. It’s so pervasive in our culture to think of the singing as “worship” and not the other elements of the service. Many, many times those leading have propagated that culture of “worship leaders.”
Thanks for the comments, Josh. And yes, Hebrews 3 *should* have made an appearance. I'm not sure how I failed to get that in there. Alas, I did preach on Hebrews 3 a few months back and made the same argument as this article, though not from the perspective of "worship leaders."
Very nice Brad. I enjoyed and agree with every sentence. That being said, the focus on the sermon as the center of worship comes later in the church's history though not so late as the focus on praise choruses. The great Philip Schaff identifies the focus of early church worship as...communion. The sermon is where the gracious provision that the Lord makes for us is to be proclaimed to the ears and the mind but it is to be followed by actually receiving that provision in your body.
The sermon has been watered down by Law as you say, such that it is scarcely missed when it is replaced by praise choruses. The Reformers complained about a priesthood that had withdrawn the use of the cup from the congregation what are we to say about churches where Christ is not presented to the congregation at all, or at very infrequent intervals and the provision of His body and blood is glossed over with nonsense about metaphors and symbols and we are told that only the worthy can receive Him?
Good stuff, Jon. I would say that it is the "Word, Water, and Wine" that constitute the church's worship, which is just to say that the observance of the sacraments *cannot* be separated from the sermon, from the actual "delivering of the goods" of God's word of gospel. Blessings to you, brother.
Reading the title, I was hoping to find a reference to Hebrews 3 in there! ;)
As an associate pastor who leads music and preaches from time to time, I can say that it is hard trying to make that distinction clear for people even when preaching is not merely moralizing the text. It’s so pervasive in our culture to think of the singing as “worship” and not the other elements of the service. Many, many times those leading have propagated that culture of “worship leaders.”
Thanks for the article!
Thanks for the comments, Josh. And yes, Hebrews 3 *should* have made an appearance. I'm not sure how I failed to get that in there. Alas, I did preach on Hebrews 3 a few months back and made the same argument as this article, though not from the perspective of "worship leaders."
Very nice Brad. I enjoyed and agree with every sentence. That being said, the focus on the sermon as the center of worship comes later in the church's history though not so late as the focus on praise choruses. The great Philip Schaff identifies the focus of early church worship as...communion. The sermon is where the gracious provision that the Lord makes for us is to be proclaimed to the ears and the mind but it is to be followed by actually receiving that provision in your body.
The sermon has been watered down by Law as you say, such that it is scarcely missed when it is replaced by praise choruses. The Reformers complained about a priesthood that had withdrawn the use of the cup from the congregation what are we to say about churches where Christ is not presented to the congregation at all, or at very infrequent intervals and the provision of His body and blood is glossed over with nonsense about metaphors and symbols and we are told that only the worthy can receive Him?
Good stuff, Jon. I would say that it is the "Word, Water, and Wine" that constitute the church's worship, which is just to say that the observance of the sacraments *cannot* be separated from the sermon, from the actual "delivering of the goods" of God's word of gospel. Blessings to you, brother.