DBG Weekend Spotlight (1-6-17)

Josh Buice

When people ask me to name preachers that I enjoy listening to and learning from, the name of Alistair Begg always comes up in the conversation.  This clip from a Ligonier conference will demonstrate why Alistair Begg is such a good preacher and one that I commend to you.

Why You Should Consider Living Near Your Church – There is some good wisdom in this article.  What would happen if more people found a church before finding a home?

Best of 2016: Tabletalk Magazine – Enjoy some of these great Tabletalk articles.

Piper, Carson, Packer & More: Save on Your Favorites in the Crossway Publisher Spotlight – Some really good books are included in this Logos bundle.

What Is Time? – Paul Tripp looks at the subject of…time.

What Is Effectual Calling? – This is a good explanation of a doctrine that’s often misunderstood.

Why is the Reformation Still Important? – James White explains why the Reformation is still important and why it isn’t over.

Passion With No Discernment Is Deadly – My friend, Chad Everson, takes an interesting approach as he points to the problem of Carrie Underwood’s performance at Passion 2017.  He writes, “If one were to save 10,000 girls from being sex slaves but miss the Gospel they have still done irreparable damage.”

GoPro wants the moments you capture on the internet instantly – The digital world continues to advance, and this will likely be a big game changer or boost to what’s already trending.

Theology Word of the Week:  Worship

Worship. Man’s sense of awe in the presence of the magnificent, the frightening or the miraculous illustrates something of what is meant by ‘worship’. His response may be one of speechlessness, paralysis, emulation or dedication.

Revelation and response

At the heart of Christian worship is God himself. In order truly to worship two fundamental elements are needed: revelation, through which God shows himself to man, and response, through which awe-stricken man responds to God. Martin Luther claimed that ‘to know God is to worship him’. In so saying, he succinctly embraced both aspects of worship. He also insisted that worship is not an optional extra for the godly person, but an essential symptom or expression of that knowledge.

God makes himself known in a number of ways: through his works in creation (Ps. 19:1); through his written word (Ps. 19:7); supremely, through Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:18); and through the Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:13).

Christian worship will depend on that revelation. It is therefore founded on theology—the knowledge of God. The shortest route to deeper and richer worship is a clearer theology. This will enable the worshipper to know who, and how great, God is. Further, it will inform the worshipper how God wants worship to be expressed.

Service

The biblical words used for worship convey significant insights into its nature. One of the most common Heb. words comes from the root ’eḇeḏ, meaning ‘servant’. This contains the idea of service of every kind, acts of adoration as well as doing the chores (e.g. Ex. 3:12; 20:5; Dt. 6:13; 10:12; Jos. 24:15; Ps. 2:11). The occasional use of hištaḥa (prostrate, religiously or in the course of duty), refers exclusively in OT to ritual acts (Gn. 27:29; 49:23). The Gk. equivalent, proskyneō, is used more extensively in the lxx and in the NT (e.g. Mt. 4:9–10; 14:33; Mk. 15:19; Acts 10:25).

The two most important words for worship in the NT are: 1. latreia, meaning ‘service’ or ‘worship’. Its exact translation depends on the context (see particularly Rom. 12:1 and commentary discussion; also Mt. 4:10; Lk. 2:37; Acts 26:7; Heb. 8:5; 9:9). 2. leitourgia, a word taken from secular life, means service to the community or state, frequently without charge or wage (Lk. 1:23; 2 Cor. 9:12; Phil. 2:30; Heb. 9:21; 10:11). The implication is that Christian worship and service are essentially one.

According to the Bible, God alone is to be worshipped or served (Ex. 20:1–3). He is to be served with man’s whole being (Dt. 6:5; Lk. 10:27). Mind as well as emotions, physique as well as feelings are to combine in God’s praise. The very nature of God, overwhelming in his attributes, demands everything of man. Personal, individual worship is practised (e.g. Psalms) and corporate acts are described (e.g. 2 Ch. 7). Wesley’s ‘O for a thousand tongues to sing/My great Redeemer’s praise’ reflects this fact: that God is so great that no one person can adequately worship him.

God, transcendent and immanent

The tension between God’s transcendence (his wholly otherness) and immanence (being at hand) has frequently brought dissension. In both testaments these attributes are explicit (Ex. 19:10; Jb. 38–41; Ps. 8; Is. 40:12ff.; Jn. 1:1–14; Heb. 1–2; and Gn. 3:8; Dt. 7:21–22; Ps. 23; Is. 43:1–2; Mt. 1:23; 28:20; Phil. 4:19). From the OT it is clear that sin cuts people off from God, but through sacrifice he brings about a new oneness (Gn. 3; Lv. 16; cf. Redemption). With the ultimate atonement made by Jesus’ own sacrifice, the rituals of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy are no longer relevant; but their careful exposition is still important since they reveal abiding principles of worship. For example, sincerity, purity and holiness are constant requirements, as is the offering of what is best to God (e.g. Ex. 24–40; Lv. 1–10; 16; 21–27; Nu. 7; 15; 28; 2 Ch. 3–4).

In the NT the commands of Jesus embrace a comprehensive understanding of worship and service (e.g. fellowship, Jn. 13:34; ordinances, Mt. 28:19–20; 1 Cor. 11:23–24 and evangelism, Mt. 28:19–20). The fulfilment of these commands is worship—‘in the beauty of a holy life’ (Ps. 96:9, rsv).

With the giving of God’s Spirit in fulfilment of prophecy (Joel 2:28–32; Jn. 14:26; 16:7) at Pentecost upon all who believe in Christ (Acts 2), the church was empowered as a ‘kingdom and priests to serve … God’ (Rev. 1:6; Ex. 19:6). From time to time in its history, the church has been engaged in divisive controversies about the nature of the gifts of the Spirit, but without exception Christians agree that the Spirit’s enabling is vital to worship-service.

Worship in history

From the outset the Christian church recognized herself as a people who worship and not so much a place of worship. In the early church Christians normally worshipped in homes (Acts 2:46; 11; 12:12), public halls (Acts 19:9), synagogues (Acts 13:14ff.; 14:1; 17:1–2) and at the Temple (Acts 2:46; 3). Evangelism was conducted in those places and in the open (Acts 16:13–14; 17:22–23). The conversion of emperor Constantine (ad 312) brought greater freedom to build basilicas for corporate worship.

Music and singing were an important part of the worship of biblical Judaism (e.g. Pss; 1 Ch. 16:7ff.; 25). Together with the reading and explaining of the Scriptures and prayer, this constituted the heart of synagogue worship and stood alongside the sacrificial aspects of Temple worship (1 Ch. 22:17–19; 2 Ch. 6:12ff.; Ne. 8:1–8). The early Christians included music and singing in their corporate gatherings (Col. 3:16; Eph. 5:19) as well as in personal devotion (Acts 16:25), though history shows considerable differences of opinion about the place of music and other creative arts in worship.

The division between the Church of the East and that of the West in the 11th century reflected tensions in approaches to worship, to which the stronger mystical element of the East and the rational element of the West contributed.

With the Reformation in the West, religious practice was largely released from superstition, and from what had become merely ceremonial or ritual. The Reformation’s emphasis on the word as central to worship led to the Protestant emphasis on preaching as the royal sacramant and as the highest raison d’être of corporate worship. In the context of mind-stretching, relevant and passionate exposition of Scripture, the liturgy of music and prayer become simpler and less ritualistic. Together with an emphasis on the need for the Holy Spirit to enliven preacher and congregation, this emphasis has undergirded evangelical worship until today. Tensions continue between those who look for a common liturgy, uniting churches wherever they meet, and those who depend on the spontaneous expression of faith. Many have found the need to be free to use both forms. What is central to Christian worship is not ‘forms’ but the presence of the triune God, who through his word, the Bible, and by his Holy Spirit, enlivens, enlightens and enables all who believe in order that they may worship-serve him in spirit and in truth. [1]


  1. Sinclair B. Ferguson and J.I. Packer, New Dictionary of Theology (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 730–732.
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Author DBG Weekend Spotlight (1-6-17)

Josh Buice

Pastor Pray's Mill Baptist Church

Josh Buice is the founder and president of G3 Ministries and serves as the pastor of Pray's Mill Baptist Church on the westside of Atlanta. He is married to Kari and they have four children, Karis, John Mark, Kalli, and Judson. Additionally, he serves as Assistant Professor of Preaching at Grace Bible Theological Seminary. He enjoys theology, preaching, church history, and has a firm commitment to the local church. He also enjoys many sports and the outdoors, including long distance running and high country hunting. He has been writing on Delivered by Grace since he was in seminary and it has expanded with a large readership through the years.