Welcome to the online home of Tim Challies, blogger, author, and book reviewer.
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This week I came upon a prayer written by the Puritan Matthew Henry. This prayer comes from his book A Method for Prayer and is meant to be used “At the entrance upon the public worship on the Lord’s day, by the master of the assemblies.” What is most notable to me is how the prayer is almost entirely Scripture; it moves from one verse to the next, all the while seeking God’s blessing upon the worshipers. It’s a beautiful …
Today’s guest blog comes courtesy of Matthew Smith. Matthew is a singer-songwriter from Nashville who takes old hymn lyrics and sets them to new music. He is a founding member of the Indelible Grace community, and tours full time, playing concerts of hymns at churches. I blogged here last week about his new song “Goodnight,” from his forthcoming album Watch The Rising Day. For this article I simply asked Matthew to writes about how he came to find such joy …
Only on rare occasions can I bring myself to buy greeting cards. When it is Aileen’s birthday or when it is our anniversary, I either tell her how I feel (not something I’m particularly good at most of the time) or I buy a blank card and fill it with my own words. Or occasionally, to my shame, I forgo to card altogether. For some reason it just seems fake, disingenuous, to give her a card with a little poetic …
This quote comes courtesy of D.A. Carson and the book he edited entitled Worship by the Book. It seemed appropriate in light of what I posted this morning. Carson has just defined worship and is now expanding on his definition. I have bolded the section that I found most edifying. “In an age increasingly suspicious of (linear) thought, there is much more respect for the “feelings” of things – whether a film or a church service. It is disturbingly easy …
The band All Star United has released some good and fun songs over the years. Unfortunately I’ve sometimes found them to toe the line a little bit with their humor. On the whole, though, they write some memorable songs and songs that tend to speak to some of the trends in the Christian world. They have an album coming out in a few weeks and one of the songs is called “Song of the Year.” Written by Ian Eskelin, who …
Until yesterday it had been quite a while since I had written about worship. I had forgotten what a difficult and even contentious issue it is within the church. I guess, at least to some extent, it has always been this way. The issue of music brings out both the best and the worst in Christians. While I had another article ready for posting today, I thought I would put it off for a day and dedicate one more article …
For many believers, and especially those who are conservative in their theology, contemporary worship music has become nearly synonymous with theologically-shallow, emotion-filled content. These Christians may look to the great hymns of the past and see in them a depth of content that escapes most modern music. Much of the music that does exist is simply inconsistent with Reformed theology or talks far more about personal experience than the transcendent truths of God’s Word. Songs for the Cross Centered Life …