Note: This is the second in a three-part series on Psalm 63. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. 6Â On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. 7Â Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. 8Â I cling to you;Â your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:5-8) Hiding in the desert from…
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” (Psalm 119:105)  A profound truth struck me while reading our Associate Pastor Kyle’s last devotional for our church’s e-newsletter. It wasn’t the devotional itself (no offense, Kyle), excellent though that was; rather, it was the passage Kyle had chosen. Our church is using The Gospel Coalition’s Read the Bible Bible-reading plan this year, and he chose a passage from this week’s reading…
For my last post in this short series on worship, I’d like to comment on consumerism’s insidious influence on our worship preferences and practices. That we even need to speak of consumerism in worship represents a deep and shameful irony (and one in which I am sure Satan relishes). After all, what could be more antithetical to worship—which is meant to be wholly Other-centered, the active denial of self in the exaltation of Another—than insisting…
As I continue in this short series on worship, spurred in large part by two excellent posts by Tim Challies, I’d like to interact with one particular comment he made in “What We Lost When We Lost the Hymnal.” Challies helpfully points out that, when we lost the hymnal, we lost an established body of songs. Hymnals were updated only every decade or so, which means songs were chosen carefully and introduced slowly. He writes…
As I mentioned in my last post, I’d like to offer a series of short reflections on worship, spurred in part by two interesting posts by Tim Challies (1 2). I don’t intend this to be a polemical series, but do want to offer some thoughts on the ongoing “worship wars.” Thankfully these have stilled for the most part, but I’m not always sure why the ceasefire. In many cases, I don’t think it has…
Recently Tim Challies put out two excellent blog posts on “What We Lost When We Lost Our Hymnals” and “What We Gained When We Lost Our Hymnals.” The posts are balanced (as the titles suggest) and thoughtful. I think he is correct when he suggests that it would be unwise to return to the hymnal on the one hand, and equally unwise not to think through the implications of losing the hymnal on the other.…
My kids are at that point in their lives when they have to buy uniforms—lots and lots of uniforms. Inevitably, a handful of these uniforms are “one size fits all.” I’m not sure who came up with this concept, because it is manifestly absurd. The children who need these uniforms are very different dimensions, and my peanut-sized children often swim ridiculously in clothes that fit other children quite nicely. I am not a fan of…
In hauntingly beautiful words, the psalmist declares, “One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving.” (Psalm 62:11-12a, NIV) There is much to meditate on in these short verses. What does it mean if God is strong and loving? What rest can we find in the sweet promise of these words? If God is strong and loving, we have no…