Corporate Worship

What Does a Prayer of Lament Sound Like?

9Marks | 06.25.2018

Last week, we posted an article entitled “Why We Added a Prayer of Lament to Our Sunday Gathering.” Below are two samples of such prayers from Hinson Baptist Church in Portland, Oregon.

Why We Added a Prayer of Lament to Our Sunday Gathering

By Neal Woollard | 06.20.2018

Lament is ingrained into the culture of Jesus’ people and will be until he returns. That’s why we recently added a corporate prayer of lament to our public worship.

C. S. Lewis on Corporate Worship

By Joe Rigney | 05.29.2018

Over time, C. S. Lewis came to see the dangers in both individualism and collectivism in Christian worship. More importantly, he came to see how the church is the antidote to both.

Episode 51: On How the Reformation Changed Sunday Gatherings (with Jonathan Gibson)

By J. Gibson, J. Leeman, M. Dever | 05.08.2018

Through the liturgies of the Reformation, evangelical doctrine was as much caught in public worship as it was taught in published writings.

The Local Church as a Counterculture

By Brett McCracken | 9Marks Journal: Church Life: Our True Political Witness | 04.17.2018

The local church was never meant to be a cultural, comfortable, bourgeois social club that affirms people in their idolatry and helps them along on a journey to their “best life now.” It was meant to be a counterculture, a set-apart community embodying a radically different vision for human flourishing.

Book Review—The Whole Church Sings: Congregational Singing in Luther’s Wittenberg, by Robin Leaver

Review by Carl Trueman | 03.05.2018

Of all the Reformers, Luther knew the ways in which Christianity struck deep emotional chords in the heart of the believer. But this meant he paid more attention, not less, to the words and the appropriateness of the music.

Episode 41: On Bringing Back the Prayer Service

By J. Leeman, M. Dever | 02.27.2018

Jonathan Leeman and Mark Dever discuss the benefits and best practices of hosting a regular church-wide prayer gathering—in addition to the Sunday service.

Mailbag #72: Small Groups with Christians from Other Churches? . . . Which Churches Should We Pray for Publicly?

By Jonathan Leeman | 02.16.2018

— What do you think about small group Bible studies and prayer groups comprised of Christians from different churches? — How do you determine which churches to pray for publicly?

Want Your Church to Sing? Then Train Them As Children!

By David Leeman | 12.08.2017

Let us not give lip-service to the importance of congregational singing if we’re not willing to back that up with some devotion to education.

Episode 30: On Planning the Sunday Gathering (with Matt Merker)

By M. Dever, M. Merker | 12.05.2017

What goes into planning the Sunday gathering? Who should pick the songs, the Scripture readings, the types of prayer?

Episode 26: On Multi-Site Churches (with Matt Chandler)

By J. Leeman, M. Dever, M. Chandler | 11.07.2017

Mark Dever and Jonathan Leeman interview Matt to talk about the reasons behind this transition.

Mailbag #66: Is Preaching Necessary on the Mission Field? . . . Is “Closed Communion” Biblical?

By Jonathan Leeman | 10.27.2017

— Is preaching required in missionary contexts, or do Bible studies suffice? — “Closed communion” seems exclusive and arrogant. Is it in the Bible?

The Reformation’s Restoration of the Sacraments

By Bobby Jamieson | 9Marks Journal: The Reformation and Your Church | 09.26.2017

The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century restored the gospel to the sacraments and the sacraments to the congregation.

Book Review: Church Order in the New Testament, by Eduard Schweizer

Review by Simeon Williams | 09.11.2017

Schweizer’s arguments for a perpetually developing polity are unpersuasive because they depend on faulty arguments regarding differences among the apostles.