Doctoral Studies and the First Commandment

By / Feb 2

Editor’s note: Midwestern Seminary is highlighting doctoral studies this February, and this article offers an encouraging look at the rigor, heart, and faithfulness such work requires.

Doctoral studies is a journey, one which only a small percentage of the world completes. In America alone, census data shows that only 2% of the country holds a doctorate degree.[1] By the numbers, it is hard to complete a doctorate. Most people do not have the time, smarts, or resources to get it done. Having said that, I regularly speak with Midwestern Seminary doctoral students at the beginning of their journey, and I encourage them to squeeze themselves into that 2% of the population. Here’s how I encourage them from Matthew 22.

Love the Lord Your God with All Your Mind.

The Midwestern Seminary doctoral program is explicitly for the Church. We want all our graduates to angle their studies and formation for the benefit of Bob and Sue in the fifth row on Sunday morning. Naturally, this vision for doctoral studies attracts leaders who are already serving in ministerial roles. But that comes with a challenge. If you are not careful, you will arrive at your first seminar with a paper in hand that sounds more like a sermon than an essay. Doctoral work requires a mental gear shift. Students must learn to marshal arguments rather than make assertions, use reason over rhetoric, and learn to cite 16th century sources, not merely 21st century sages. This kind of shift requires time, effort, and renewed focus.

Doctoral work requires love for God with one’s mind. It will require deeper thinking, broader thinking, and more creative thinking than previously imagined. You must explore, be challenged, and wrestle with the truth. You might leave with a broken hip, but you will be blessed. Your new scholarly eye for truth and detail will enrich your church later, but it requires mental wrestling now.

Love the Lord Your God with All Your Heart.

Imposter syndrome is a real thing. Every new doctoral student feels it, every new graduate feels it, and even old scholars feel it. The truth is, we are all imposters at some level. It does no good to claim, “I’m not an imposter, now let me go prove it.” No, the pursuit of scholarship—by necessity—is a venture into thoughts unknown that we might acquire more of the truth.

Settle it in your heart to make scholarship about the pursuit of truth, not proving yourself. When pursued in a spirit of self-justification, your heart is in the wrong place. This warped spirit stunts love of God and promotes love of self. Even the language of “defending your thesis” can set you up for failure. Your chief aim when writing and presenting papers is to grow. If you present a good paper—praise God, it grew you! If you present a paper that gets torn to shreds—praise God, it grew you! Win-win.

Learn to love God first with your heart. In so doing, you will be well-positioned to receive critiques of your work. You will welcome it, for that critique is helping you contend for the truth once for all delivered to the saints.

Love the Lord Your God with All Your Soul.

Simply put, you will not finish a doctoral degree unless you put your soul in it. Your time, your sweat, your tears, your sleep—they will all be thrown into the refining fire. You will question your abilities. You will sacrifice your comforts. You will defer other noble pursuits. Because of such losses, you will want to quit multiple times over. Settle it in your soul: I will not quit.

This commitment requires a team of people around you—your spouse first and foremost. Your spouse must embrace the struggle with you. Your co-workers must know the sacrifices you are making. Your church must stand ready to pray for you. Your kids must know that your work is worth it. When you are questioning your decisions, these co-laborers need to preach to you, “Over my dead body, you will not quit.”

The truth is: you do not need a top 2% IQ score to earn a doctorate. You just have to be in the top 2% of perseverance. I compare it to Major League Baseball. Though hitting a major league pitch is considered the hardest skill in sports (much like the challenge of marshaling a clear, cogent, and convincing argument), it is not even the hardest part of MLB baseball. The hardest part is managing your own failure and enduring anyway. MLB hitters fail at the plate three-quarters of the time for a 162-game season spread out over six months. That is grueling. Like an MLB hitter, doctoral students need unwavering resolve. Will you keep going back for more? Can you keep your head in it? Can your body, your mind, and your very soul endure the slow erosion of pride?

The answer is “yes” if you love the Lord your God first with all your soul. He is the reward and the reason for your work. Put your soul into your studies as an act of suffering sacrifice for his kingdom. If you can love the Lord your God above all else, you will earn a great reward far greater than three more initials behind your name.

[1] https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2022/demo/educational-attainment/cps-detailed-tables.html



Passing on a Heart for God’s Global Glory

By / Jan 29

Over twenty years ago, I read Let the Nations Be Glad, and something awakened in me. The beauty of God’s glory going forth among the nations captured my heart. I was gripped by the wonder of the gospel advancing to every tribe and tongue.

Over time, that passion faded quietly into the background—buried beneath the good work of life: serving in the church, raising six children, doing the next faithful thing.

Recently, I reread that missions classic, and it stirred something I hadn’t realized had faded: a joyful, wide-eyed awe at God’s redemptive plan unfolding across the globe. It reawakened a part of me that had once burned brightly but had grown quiet.

As I reflected on how far I’d drifted, I began praying—praying that God would reignite my passion and shape my children’s desires too. I want them to be thrilled that God is saving souls all over the world—and even be eager to join His global mission, however He leads.

With this renewed excitement, here are four simple ways we’re seeking to pass on a heart for God’s global glory.

Four Ways to Pass on a Heart for Missions

1. Wow Your Kids with the Vision

Our God is worthy of worship from every tribe, tongue, and nation. Missions begins not with strategies, but with wonder: “All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name” (Ps. 86:9).

Help your kids see the big picture. Trace the storyline. Let them feel the weight and wonder of what God is doing—and where history is headed. Explore missions together in practical ways: learn about churches around the world, find out where unreached people groups live, talk about places where Christianity is illegal, and read stories of faithful missionaries and martyrs. Leave inspiring resources around your home for them to encounter.

2. Make Missions Personal

Missions becomes most real when it has a name and a face. Get to know the missionaries your church supports. Read their updates, watch their videos, and share their stories over dinner.

When your kids see that missions matters to you, it begins to matter to them. Help them understand that missions isn’t only for a select few—every Christian is called to join what God is doing.

3. Pray with a Global Focus

Make space in your family’s prayer life for the world. Pray for missionaries by name. Intercede for unreached people groups. Remember the persecuted church.

You might set aside one night a week for focused prayer or weave these requests into your regular rhythms. A prayer guide or missionary update sheet can give children something tangible to use in their own time with the Lord.

And don’t forget to pray for your own family. Let your kids hear you asking God to make your home more captivated by Christ than by the world, and to help you be ready to serve anywhere for the sake of the gospel.

4. Give Joyfully and Generously

We spend money on what we value. If missions matters, and you want your kids to see that it matters, show it through the way you give.

Bring your kids into the process. Talk about who you support and why. Let them hear you say no to certain purchases because you chose to give instead.

Share your joy in seeing God’s Kingdom advance—even when it requires sacrifice.

A Family That Longs for His Glory

Few things matter more than helping ourselves—and our children—rise above the noise of daily life to see God’s eternal work unfolding across the world. And few things are more exciting.

Praise God that it’s never too late to be more wrapped up in His global cause. But let’s do more than admire the vision; let’s be shaped by it. May our hearts, homes, and habits center on the greatness of God and His global glory.

Let’s pass on not just awareness, but awe. Not just information, but worship. Let’s raise kids who rejoice that the good news is reaching the nations and who long to be part of this great work.



Grab Bag!

By / Jan 28

It’s the return of the Grab Bag! Jared Wilson and Ronni Kurtz come with surprise questions for each other. You never know what you’ll hear when the guys are put on the spot.



A Theology of Body Image: Stewarding the Body God Gave Me

By / Jan 27

I worked out today for the first time in four years. Yes, you read that right—four years. I’ve walked and done a few small things along the way, but today was the first time I stepped foot in a gym. As a former college athlete, my life used to revolve around getting faster, stronger, and better. Now, it revolves around the needs of others, which is the main reason I haven’t been to the gym in so long.

This gym, like many, has mirrors. I understand what they’re for, but I hesitate to look at myself. I don’t want a view of fat spilling over my sports bra, the new lumps and bumps that weren’t there before having kids, or my legs shaking after a few squats. The last view I saw in this mirror was of a newly retired college athlete with no children and a lot of free time—no stretch marks, no cellulite, no double chin.

Four years and three children later, I turn my back to the mirror so I don’t have to watch a body unfamiliar to me struggle to do things I’ve always done. If I thanked my body for its work in bearing children, would that make me feel better? If I practiced the self-love people rave about, would the sight of myself in the mirror no longer sadden me? Compliments and “You’re doing great!” plastered on cellulite won’t make me hate it less. Thinking or convincing my way out of poor body image is behavior modification, and it offers little long-term hope.

But I am a Christian. I believe God’s Word is true. Every worldly idea about how I should feel about my body—positive or negative—comes under His scrutiny. Here are four foundational points to start building a theology of body image.

  1. God Owns Our Bodies (1 Cor. 6:19–20; Ps. 100:3).

God did not create us and then leave us to our own devices. He created us and therefore owns our bodies. Whatever we do with them is subject to His judgment and His Word. My body has value simply because it belongs to the Lord.

  1. Our Bodies Are for God’s Glory (1 Cor. 6:20)

Because God owns our bodies, we should use them for His glory. Whether fighting temptation or viewing our bodies as vessels for His purposes, all we do should honor Him, not ourselves. My body image struggles often stem from self-glorification. When I look in the mirror, I focus on looking like I’ve never had a baby, not on glorifying God. I want toned arms because I want to enjoy the way I look in tank tops, not because I want to lift my children with greater ease. My desires are rooted in beauty standards, not in honoring Christ.

  1. Our Outward Appearance Should Reflect the Heart (1 Tim. 4:8; 1 Pet. 3:3–4).

If I managed to get washboard abs, you could guarantee that would come at the expense of the duties God has given me to prioritize. The reason I don’t have a perfect stomach is partially because of genetics and mostly because of the lack of time spent pursuing that physique. My outward appearance bears the mark of childbearing, eating in fellowship with friends, and time spent studying Scripture and caring for my home. There’s nothing wrong with having washboard abs. For me personally, though, that wouldn’t be the best use of my time given what God has placed before me. Physical fitness has benefits, but godliness is profitable for all things. Pursuing the Lord through what He has entrusted to me is far more valuable than perfect abs. My outward appearance is far less important than my heart. My outward appearance is so much less important than my heart. Nitpicking my body shows where I’ve neglected adorning my heart with the gospel. Worrying about arm fat reveals a heart far from cultivating a gentle and quiet spirit (1 Pet. 3:1–3).

  1. This Body Is Marred by a Broken World, but One Day It Will Be Restored (Phil. 3:21).

We struggle with body image because our world—and our bodies—are fallen. Eve likely never had stretch marks in the perfection of the Garden. Our body image can point us toward our true longing: a world no longer distorted by misplaced desires and sin-cursed bodies. What we really want when we look in the mirror likely cannot be attained in this lifetime. No matter how fit we become, we can never stop our bodies from aging. One day, we will return to the dust (Gen. 3:19), but even this is not the end for us! Our bodies will still matter in eternity when we are resurrected to a glorious and perfect body. Even when our bodies fail us, more than jiggly thighs and the “mom pooch,” Christ gives us a future hope that is secure. We will have our glorified body for far longer than we have this broken one now.

Because of these truths, I don’t have to focus on my body’s appearance, what it can or cannot do, or how much space I take up. When I see my imperfect reflection, I can think of the ways God has called me to use my body. I can thank Him for a vessel that does His will. I can look forward to a perfect body that will worship Him fully in Heaven. A biblical view of my body moves me from slavery to an idealized appearance to freedom to enjoy and steward the body I actually have. By seeing my body rightly, I have the opportunity for self-forgetfulness and to exalt Christ with a body that was once my enemy.



Why Should We Seek to Glorify God?

By / Jan 26

Our kiddos have firmly planted themselves in the “why” era. You know the season—Why are we going to church? Why are we eating dinner? Why aren’t we having pizza? Why are we having pizza? Why are you going to work? (If you think I included too many examples here, you’re getting the point.)

And inevitably, at the root of all their why questions is just one answer.

Think about it: The question, “Why are we having pizza?” will eventually lead to “Because God is a good God who loves to give good gifts.” (What other answer could there be when pizza is on the table.) And if you give a few more mice some cookies[1] (let the reader understand), eventually you end up with the answer: Because God loves you and wants you to glorify Him for His goodness.[2]

Now at this point, the parent (me in this scenario) is about to face the ultimate question of reality. Yes, the original topic was pizza—but since theology is “the study of God and all things in relation to God,” as the great and late theologian John Webster said, the possibility of pizza leading to thoughts about God is certainly not off the table.

Here’s the ultimate question: Why should I seek to glorify God?

The catechumen responds: “Because it’s our chief end!” A great response, truly. And just as any parent is technically in the right to tell their kids to obey “because I said so,” this reason is sufficient for us in relation to God as well. We should praise God because it’s why He created us—it’s what He told us to do.

But, biblically speaking, and what I find to be immensely devotional, is one additional thing that can be said. Behind the call to glorify God because it’s our purpose lies an even more relational motivation to glorify Him.

Here it is: We should seek to glorify God because we want to please Him.

 Focusing our attention on the pleasures of God reframes the whole pursuit! We don’t praise God merely because He told us to. We praise Him because in Christ God has become our Father and we love to see our Father rejoicing.

As with any affectionate language about God, though, we must distinguish what we do and don’t mean by pleasing God.

The Eternally Happy God

Before anyone might think that pleasing God means trying to appease an otherwise upset deity or tiptoe around a sleeping bear, let me remind you: Our aim in seeking God’s pleasure is to seek the pleasure of our Father, who is eternally pleased with us in Christ!

God does not and cannot change. He is eternally turned toward His people in Christ. That is a fixed truth.

We seek to glorify God—to bring Him good—not because He needs some good that He doesn’t already possess or that anyone could contribute to the fullness of His goodness, but because our hearts desire the things which He rejoices in.

His desires, His will, His pleasure becomes our purpose. And in our very pursuit of God’s pleasure, God rejoices. He has actually told us so!

Why else would He say to us in His Word: “The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love” (Ps. 147:11), and, “Whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him” (2 Cor. 5:9). These verses and countless others remind us of what God delights in, for the expressed purpose of us seeking to please Him!

His very nature is to be the eternally happy God.[3] When we walk in the path of obedience, we are wading in the streams of His delights. The streams exist whether we walk in them or not; again, you cannot change God. But when we walk in His ways and seek His ways carried out in the world, we get to enjoy the streams of delight and participate in His unchanging joy.

The reason we obey, the reason we praise and glorify God, the reason we do all things is because He is our friend—and we long for Him to delight in His creation, in His people.

Pleasing God as Participation in His Delight

“Pleasing God” is accommodated language. It is to help us understand, from a creaturely perspective, how we relate to God. When we act in ways that are pleasing to God, we are not changing God—we are living in accordance with His will and desires.

Just as pleasing a friend here on earth would mean that we’re living in ways that are in accordance with the friendship and not contrary to it, so pleasing God is living in a way that accords with His desires.

So, while God does not change, we see the invitations throughout Scripture for us to walk in the pathways of His delight. God truly relates to His children in ways that they experience as pleasure and delight. The Christian whose heart has been transformed by the goodness and grace of God seeks nothing less than to live in the light of his Father’s smile.

To please God, then, is not to earn His favor, but to live in the good of a friendship He has already established. Friendship delights in the other’s good, and true friendship requires participation in the good of the friend. We don’t contribute to His goodness or happiness; He is goodness and happiness itself! Yet, we can participate in it. As we walk in accordance with His will, we participate in His delight, seeing His name and His fame extend to the ends of the earth—because He has become our joy.

Glorifying God through obedience does not increase God’s pleasure; it deepens our experience of God’s already-settled pleasure. We can feel God’s pleasure through obedience.

God does not stand by, cold and distant, waiting to see if we will earn His favor. His heart is eternally turned toward mercy, and His delight is to communicate Himself ever more fully to those who walk according to His will (John 14:21, 23).

So, in whatever you find yourself doing today—eating pizza, answering a child’s endless questions, laboring unseen—do you know that your Father delights in you already? Do you walk in the paths of His pleasure? Or are you seeking to appease a God who you mistakenly believe is otherwise distant from you?

[1] Our kiddos are toddlers if you didn’t pick up on it yet.

[2] Not every good gift leads naturally to worship—even pizza believe it or not. But Scripture insists it ought to (Ps. 145).

[3] 1 Tim. 1:11



Maintaining Joy in a Ministry Job Search

By / Jan 22

As I approach the end of my final year in seminary, the reality of applying to ministry jobs can feel like a consuming fire. Instead of reading for class, catching up with family, or recovering lost sleep, I am drawn to the ministry job boards. The pressure to apply my seminary learning in the right church, in the right position, and in the right location can become a constant thought pattern, eroding my ability to stay present in my current work and home responsibilities. It doesn’t help when church search committees progress at the pace of molasses. How can one maintain joy during such an extended season of unknowns, filled with job applications, interviews, and the candidating process—especially after repeated “no’s”?

1. Remain Diligent to the Priorities of Pastoral Ministry. Nothing shatters joy faster than becoming disqualified during the church search. Hold fast to what Paul told Timothy: “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching” (1 Tim. 4:16). This requires spiritual discipline in your personal life, including regular rhythms of prayer, meditation on Scripture, and faithful participation in your local church.

This verse also calls you to pay attention to teaching; both to the act of teaching itself and to the content of the teaching. In other words, stay prepared. Stay fresh. Continue reviewing what you believe, why you believe it, and where you source your beliefs scripturally. Continue exercising your ability to teach. Of this, Pastor Albert Martin says, “God is not going to send down a sheet of paper on the day of our ordination which says, ‘My son and my servant, here is your job description.’ It does not work that way. It does not come automatically.”[1] One must stay ready for the moment God has prepared for him, else he may find himself not qualified to teach, and therefore not qualified to pastor (1 Tim 3:2).

2. Remain Secure in Jesus’ Timing. Your desired timeline rarely aligns perfectly with the Lord’s. While this may be theologically obvious, it can feel far less obvious when glancing at a dry inbox, sifting through job boards, reading rejection letters, or visiting churches that do not lead anywhere. Remember that Jesus “upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3) and that He is sovereign over the building of His church (Matt. 16:18).

Practically, this means avoiding the temptation to accept a call out of desperation, to embellish yourself on applications or interviews, or to try to preach “knockout” sermons designed to impress. Attempts to control the process reveal a heart that forgets Christ’s sovereignty. Letting go of control releases anxiety and exalts Christ. There is joy in that freedom.

3. Remain aware of grace. Thinking ahead is wise, but the present reminds us, “From His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16). You have not received anything that was not given to you already (1 Cor. 4:7). Your time, talents, and treasures are from God and belong to God. Your ability to use those resources is a gracious gift from God, who has withheld nothing good from you, for He has given His own Son for you.

It can be tempting to grow impatient or despondent after a long season of fruitless searching. However, God has supplied you with enough to sufficiently glorify Him (Phil. 4:19), which is where He calls us daily. To know and follow God’s will is the greatest joy.

If you love Christ, you will love His Church. If you love His Church, your joy will be found in the knowledge that you were saved from ruin, resourced with grace, and being sanctified for the situation Christ Himself chooses for you. In the meantime, remain prepared, trust in Jesus, and remind yourself of His sufficiency each day.

[1] Albert N. Martin The Man of God: His Calling and Godly Life, vol. 1, Pastoral Theology (Montville, NJ: Trinity Pulpit Press, 2018), 401.

 



Why We Sing

By / Jan 21

The Christian faith is a singing faith. A singing saint brings deep joy to the heart of God. There is not a chapter and verse in Scripture that explicitly states this, but when you consider the sum of singing commands and the role singing plays at so many critical points in redemptive history, we easily come to the conclusion that our God really, really likes to hear his people sing. It brings serious joy to God’s heart to hear his people sing psalms of praise, hymns of devotion, lyrics of lament, melodies from hearts made new. Like my heart swells when I hear my children singing within our home, the heart of the Father is stirred by his sons and daughters singing to him in love and devotion.

Psalm 96:1–3 will serve as a sturdy foundation for us to build on.

1 Oh sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!

An Act of Worship

The first truth we come to is that singing is an act of worship (Psalm 96:1). For the Christian, singing is not merely singing, but is something so much more. It is an expression of worship unto God. Of course worship is more than singing, but as we lift our voices in song it is certainly not less than an act of worship. Whether we sing alone, at home with our family, or in a chapel with our church, our singing should be seen first and foremost as an offering unto God.

Our song involves a divine audience. Not once, not twice, but three times the Psalmist calls us to sing to the Lord in this opening verse. Implicit in this passage and explicit in others (Psalm 40:1) is the stunning reality that the Lord of All Creation condescends to hear our song. What a profound thought that he would receive our songs. So we worship God not only with narrative and prose, but also with music and poetry, melody and harmony, rhythm and rhyme, notes and hearts joined together.

Let’s ask a few questions of these opening two verses to help highlight some important aspects to worshiping through song.

A New Song

First, let’s explore, “What kind of song is called for?” You will notice first that it is a new song. In the same way that God’s mercies are new every morning, each day brings new reasons for praise.

This new song is a “fresh song responding to a freshly received, fresh experience.” There is something about singing new texts and tunes of praise that causes us to pay attention in a fresh way. Crisp expressions allow our hearts to experience the same unchanging truths in brand-new ways.

Each published hymnal has a beginning and an end. However, the hymnal of the church has no back cover. The reason for this is clear. New songs will continue to be written as the Lord continually gives his people reasons to sing.

At the time this psalm was written, David could not have imagined the ways that new songs would be birthed in the millennia that followed. New songs of God’s praise expanded far beyond the border of Israel to include a diversity of developing styles and genres, many multicultural and musical expressions: the talking drum of West Africa, the high-church hymn of London, the buzzing sitar of northern India, the Gaelic psalm singing of the Hebrides, and the blues guitar of Muscle Shoals. Just as God’s new mercies visit us daily, new songs should be a welcomed addition to our ever- expanding hymnals.

Does this mean old hymns should be boxed up and stored in the church attic never to be hummed again? Not so fast! Old songs are also a meaningful part of Christian worship. With equal zeal to sing new songs, let us sing the old ones too. Scripture is replete with timeless songs which are meant to be sung through the ages. Church history contains a repository of riches that we should continue to sing. Historic hymns of our faith remind us that we are not the first generation who have wrestled, prayed, lamented, and praised through life. Many of us remember particular songs from our past that carried us through specific seasons of our lives. So, we continue to bring out the old songs while gladly welcoming the new.

A Congregational Song

The next question we ask of this text is, “Who is summoned to sing?” Here is where a particular choir takes the stage to lift their voices together—a congregation composed of every tribe, every tongue, and every nation. All the peoples of the earth are summoned to join in the chorus. The ancient Israelites would have understood this phrase to anticipate the day when Gentiles joined their song of praise to the Lord Almighty who is “great and greatly to be praised” (96:4), the One True God who is to be “feared above all gods” (96:4). This is a bidding for people to leave behind the worthless things they have worshiped in the past (96:5) and bring their collective worship to God alone. Though individual praise has its place, the singing called for here is not a solo performance but a congregational song.

We will return to this thought again, but for now let this pebble roll around in the shoe of your thoughts: if Scripture envisions people singing together, how well does your church sing together? When you think about the sound of your church’s music, do you first think about electric guitars and drums, keyboards and a choir, or does the sound of the whole congregation singing come to mind? Each person has been welcomed to come and sing praise to the King!

One of the results of the Reformation was that congregational singing was given back to the people of God. For too long, Christians gathered for worship as a choir of church leaders sang praise while the congregation simply watched the performance. The reformers sought to return the practice of singing to the church with songs in their own language. This allowed the people to participate once again in worship. If we are not intentional in our day about involving the whole church in singing, I fear we may retreat to having professionals lead worship under the lights while the congregation silently disappears in the dark. Let us see that the songs of Scripture are largely meant to include the whole congregation.

A Commanded Song

The final question I’d like us to ask is, “Why do Christians sing?” I realize this might seem like a silly question at face value, but have you ever stopped and thought about it? Of course, there are untold reasons that believers sing. We sing as a practice of prayer, to express emotion, to communicate creatively, the list goes on. But the ultimate reason that Christians sing is because we are commanded to. Singing is not a divine suggestion but a holy commandment from the Almighty God. Yet, like all the words of God, this command is not a burden to bear us down but a law to lift us up. The command to sing to the Lord sends our thoughts and hearts Godward understanding that each member of Triune God is worthy to be praised.

Paired with this commandment to sing to the Lord is the admonition to bless his name. Singing for the people of God is more than just melody making and lyric reciting. Singing is an act of worship by which we bless the Lord. To bless the Lord means to praise and adore him. So, how can we summarize an answer to the question: why do we sing as Christians? We sing to the Lord as an act of worship, together with the people of God, because we are commanded to.

A Delightful Command

Christian singing is a harmony of duty and delight. It is a delightful command. God delights in our singing, and singing fuels our delight in God. I had become a Christian some years before, but at the age of 15, the Lord gripped my heart with his grace in such a profound way that the only thing I knew to do in response was to sing. I started writing songs about who God is, what God had done, and what he was doing in my life. I had something to sing about. God’s love causes the silent heart to sing.

When we truly enjoy God our hearts are compelled to praise him and in the act of praise our joy is made complete. C.S. Lewis drew a straight line between these themes when he wrote, “I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.” If your heart has been remade, reformed, and recalibrated by the love of God in Christ, the deepest part of you can’t help but sing in response to what God has done.

Think carefully and you will realize that you have 10,000 reasons to lift your voice. As you consider the privilege of singing—the who, the what, and the why of it all—you understand from Scripture that congregational singing is more than an arrangement of melody and lyrics performed by a group of strangers. Congregational singing is an act of worship offered to the Living God by a group of fellow believers who have participated together in Christ.

The next time a service begins, try not to see the songs as a prelude to preaching, or think of them as a warm-up exercise before an exposition of Scripture. Treat singing seriously, like something you have been commanded to do before the Lord. Join your voice with those around you with whom you share a great salvation. Sing as an expression of worship with your heart full of this divine mixture of faith and song.

Editor’s Note: Excerpted with permission from What if I Don’t Like My Church’s Music? by Matt Boswell. Copyright by 9Marks, published by Crossway.

 



Is Hell Real?

By / Jan 21

Another cold take on a literally hot topic. Kirk Cameron recently announced he was moving away from the doctrine of eternal conscious torment and toward conditionalism or annihilationism. On this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared Wilson and Ronni Kurtz discuss what’s at stake in this doctrinal shift, the relevant passages that should inform our views, and why ETC is an important doctrine for gospel fidelity.



Growing in Godliness Through Faithful Examples

By / Jan 20

Discipleship is both taught and caught. We need faithful teachers who open the Scriptures for us and living examples who show us what it looks like to follow Jesus. In Philippians 3:17, Paul exhorts the church, “Join in imitating me, brothers and sisters, and pay careful attention to those who live according to the example you have in us.” His counsel is simple and wise: look around your church, identify ordinary people who embody godliness, and pay close attention to them.

The Christian life is learned in community. We need models of godliness in action. But what kind of examples should we look for, and what kind of example should we aim to be? Here are four traits of ordinary godliness worth noticing and imitating.

Joyful Obedience to God 

Not all obedience is the same. Jesus warns in Matthew 6 against obedience that seeks attention: “Whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do” (Matt. 6:2). Others obey the way children sometimes obey their parents—grudgingly, simply to avoid punishment.

The examples we imitate should be marked by joyful obedience. Attitude matters. Look for people who serve quietly, put chairs away without being asked, and do so with glad hearts. Scripture says, “Happy are those who keep his decrees and seek him with all their heart” (Ps. 119:2). Godliness is not merely compliance; it is delight.

Fierce Commitment to Orthodoxy

Orthodoxy means right belief, and right belief matters. A church filled with kind people but deliberately corrupted theology is not a godly church. Truth and godliness always belong together.

Paul is clear about this as he entrusts ministry to Timothy: “Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me… Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who lives in us” (2 Tim. 1:13–14). Godly examples are people who know their Bibles, love sound doctrine, and resolve to hold fast to the gospel.

Love for the Local Church 

Jesus loves the church, and his disciples share that love. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).

Every church is imperfect. Jesus knows this—and still loves his bride. If He can love our churches, then so can we. We should be wary of those who speak constantly and exclusively about their church’s flaws. That posture breeds pride and bitterness. Paul provides a better model. His letters to Corinth contain strong rebuke, yet they are framed by gratitude and affection: “I always thank my God for you” (1 Cor. 1:4), and “My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 16:24). People who love the church help us love Jesus.

Humbly Receiving Correction 

How we receive correction reveals much about our character. Even faithful Christians can drift out of step with the gospel, as Peter did in Antioch (Gal. 2:11–14). God graciously uses correction to restore us.

Sometimes that correction comes through reading our Bible or hearing a sermon. Sometimes over coffee with a friend, or even an innocent conversation with your son. However it comes, receive it with gratitude because it shows that God is caring for me like a father for a son (Heb. 12:7).

I once watched my pastor receive unsolicited feedback between services from a visiting attendee. His sermon—prepared with prayer and care—was being critiqued. A pastor’s sermon is precious to him. He spends all week prayerfully putting it together and now a random visitor was offering correction.

How my pastor responded was a model of receiving correction with humility. He didn’t get defensive or dismissive—he listened well. Even though he didn’t agree with every point, he thanked the visitor for his insight and acknowledged this conversation with gratitude.

Godly people don’t have everything figured out. They are teachable.

Ordinary Godliness, Together

Apart from Jesus, no one is the perfect example. Thankfully, we don’t need perfect models. As others watch us follow Christ in our brokenness, they learn how to follow him in theirs.

This collage of imperfect yet faithful believers—pursuing Christ together—is where ordinary godliness is most clearly seen. Pay attention. Learn from them. And follow Jesus.



Bright Hope for Facing the Unknown

By / Jan 16

In Sickness and in Health

How do I care for my husband when he is sick more than he is well?

I asked myself this question as I sat beside my husband in his hospital room, feeling the weight of living in a sin-cursed world press down on both of us.

Three years into our marriage, this wasn’t what I imagined our life together would look like. On our wedding day, at twenty and twenty-one, the words “in sickness and in health” didn’t feel heavy or serious. They sounded more like promises to fetch cold medicine for sniffles or hand over Tums for an upset stomach.

Most young, healthy couples don’t imagine that these words will be tested in a hospital room just a few years into marriage. Yet there we were, staring at the fleeting reality of life, and I realized I had promised to love and care for my husband “in sickness and in health”—and I had no idea how to do the former.

Facing the Unknown

I had seen my husband sick quite a few times as we served overseas as missionaries in a third-world country. I heard him giving up the entire contents of his stomach on various occasions, and I felt the fever on his forehead as his body fought off a variety of illnesses. Those moments of sickness felt like just that—moments. They passed with the help of antibiotics, fluids, and naps. We were young and living in a third-world country where that kind of sickness was normal. I knew what to do in those moments: give him plenty of water, take him to get more antibiotics, make some light-hearted jokes, and move on.

But when my husband was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease after months of sickness and a week-long hospital stay, I found myself at a loss. This was not a stomach bug or the common cold. This had no easy fix—and still has no easy fix. This was night after night of vomiting, weeks of losing blood and increasing weakness, and waking up in the middle of the night to a pain-ridden, feverish, shaking husband, feeling helpless and afraid. This was spending a week in the hospital trying to figure out why his body was failing him.

Yet I was confronted and comforted by the truths of Isaiah 26:3: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”

During my husband’s week-long hospital stay, I repeatedly thought, “This isn’t how it was meant to be.” Our hearts felt drawn to despair as we sat in that hospital room, but thankfully, years of hearing and learning the truth about God, his sovereignty, and his promises were in our hearts. Scripture passages about suffering and pain that had been tucked away for a rainy day became real, and we clung to them. God’s Word became a refuge as we faced the unknown.

Steadfastness in Trials

As we faced the unknown, the words of James shone true: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (Jas. 1:2–4).

Steadfastness. Endurance. The Lord gave it in abundance. We made it through days of physical pain and the spiritual pain that comes with watching your best friend suffer. We weren’t expecting my husband to die that week in the hospital, but not knowing what his diagnosis was at the time brought forth a conversation I didn’t think we would have in our twenties. The unknowns were looming over us: How serious is this? Is it curable, or is it terminal?

We were heading for despair, but again, the Lord was kind as years of abiding in his Word bore the fruit of hope. We both knew that even if the worst happened, our hope was secure in Christ. He would faithfully carry us through whatever lay ahead. He did—and he continues to—as we face a future battling a chronic illness.

As my husband and I have been faced with the harsh reality of our finiteness, Paul’s words have been a comfort: “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:16–17).

Grieving Properly with Bright Hope for Tomorrow

I just finished reading the Wingfeather Saga for the second time and love how stories we’ve read before can give us fresh insights and emotions during different seasons of life. The youngest character in the story, Leeli, is confronted with the death of her beloved dog, Nugget, and the brokenness of their overall situation. Her brother observes her in her grief and notes, “She seemed older, no longer shocked that such a thing could happen in the world, but heartbroken because it had. Her tears struck Janner as the right kind of tears.”

Later, he notices how their current sufferings were already shaping something good in his sister: “Podo and Leeli finally came back to where the others rested, and though her face still bore the weight of her sorrow, Janner could see that his sister was present. Her eyes didn’t stare into nothing. They saw the situation, grieved for it, and faced it.”

Her tears were right and good. It’s not wrong to grieve what ought to be grieved! Death and suffering were not a part of God’s original design and good creation. Sin brought pain, suffering, and death. So we grieve what God does not call good, but we don’t become stuck in our grief. Like Leeli, we shed the right kind of tears. We grieve, but we face it. And thankfully, as believers, we do not grieve like the world does because we have hope that one day all will be made right. One day, my husband, Brett, will be in eternity with a body that is no longer broken and no longer causes pain and suffering, because his body will be like God intended it to be.

This side of eternity, I seek to care for Brett in sickness by relying on the grace of God to give me the strength to be compassionate and servant-hearted toward him on the hard days. I grieve the loss of health and take that grief before the Lord, knowing that he is the God of all comfort. However, I don’t remain in that grief because the hope of eternity is in my heart. Saying our vows almost nine years ago, I did not think this would be my lot. Even so, it is well with my soul.