Sound Plus Doctrine

What does it mean to pursue a “worship experience?” How do we balance the tension between being biblically faithful and expecting God to meet with us in power? In this episode David and Bob seek to provide a biblical framework for how we’re to think about experiences with God as the church gathers on Sundays.

References:

12:41 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3.18, ESV)

17:06 “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63.1, ESV)

17:16 “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42.1–2, ESV)

19:30 There can be no substitute for that manifested presence of God which is always a biblical possibility for the people of God. When it is not being experienced they should humbly seek him for it, not neglecting their ongoing duties, nor denying their present blessings, but recognizing that there is always infinitely more with their God and Father who desires fellowship with those redeemed by the blood of his Son and regenerated by the work of his Spirit. – (Graham Harrison, Worship and the Presence of God)

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We’re jumping right into the new year and Season 2 as David asks Bob how he thinks about planning Sundays in his local church, Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. If you are involved in planning the liturgy for your church every week, or just want to know better how to serve your church in your meetings, this episode is filled with helpful advice that is theologically rooted, pastoral, and practical.

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How should we think about planning and leading songs during the Advent/Christmas season and into the new year? What opportunities can we take advantage of as unbelievers visit our meetings? How can we help Christians understand that the Incarnation of Christ is greater than any songs we will ever sing about it? How do we keep from sentimentalizing, sanitizing, and spiritualizing Christmas? Those are just a few of the questions David and Bob discuss during this episode of Sound Plus Doctrine.

Resources referenced:

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This is part 5 of 5 in the series, “Shepherding Souls Through Song.” In this episode David, Bob, and Bob’s son Devon explore how leading songs are an opportunity to protect the church and be an example to them. They also share where you might start practically if shepherding souls through song is a new idea for you.

Resources referenced:

04:37 Alisdair MacIntyre quote: “I can only answer the question ‘What am I to do?’ if I can answer the prior question ‘Of what story or stories do I find myself a part?’” (After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory. 3rd ed. 1981. Reprint, Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2007)

08:09 The Necessity for Reforming the Church, John Calvin

19:48 Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund

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This is part 4 of 5 in the series, “Shepherding Souls Through Song.” David, Bob, and Bob’s son Devon dig deep into the heart of counseling and caring for God’s people through singing. They talk about the importance of applying the gospel when we sing, giving people both comfort and faith during times of suffering, and learning to lament well.

Resources referenced: “Being moved emotionally is not the same as being changed morally.” Harold Best, Music Through the Eyes of Faith Remember Death: The Surprising Path to Living Hope by Matthew McCullough

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This is part 3 of 5 in the series, “Shepherding Souls Through Song.” David, Bob, and Bob’s son Devon explore how singing provides an opportunity to faithfully lead a congregation both before and during the meeting. They discuss different styles of leadership and what to say when you’re not singing. As a bonus, Bob and Devon try to nail down whether Jonathan Edwards can really be claimed as an “American” theologian.

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This is part 2 of 5 in the series “Shepherding Souls Through Song.” David, Bob, and Bob’s son Devon explore the way leading songs can be a means of feeding the church though doctrinally rich, gospel-driven, emotionally engaging songs.

Referenced in this podcast:

“The reason we sing is because there are depths and heights and intensities and kinds of emotions that will not be satisfactorily expressed by mere prosaic forms, or even poetic readings. There are realities that demand to break out of prose into poetry and some demand that poetry be stretched into song.” (John Piper message, “Singing and Making Melody to the Lord”)

“It is true that all evil speaking (as St. Paul says) perverts good morals (1 Cor. 15:33), but when melody accompanies it, it pierces the heart much more strongly and so enters inside it. Just as by a funnel wine is forced into a vessel, likewise venom and corruption is distilled into the depths of the heart by melody. What then is to be done? We must have songs not only honorable but also holy, which are to be like needles to arouse us to pray and praise God, to meditate on his works, in order to love him, fear, honor and glorify him.” John Calvin

Lester Ruth study on the Trinity

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In this part 1 of 5 of “Shepherding Souls Through Song,” David, Bob, and Bob’s son Devon discuss the often neglected perspective of leading songs as a means of pastoral care. They cover ways we typically think about leading music in the church, and the specific functions God assigns to pastors.

Referenced in this podcast: The Care of Souls: Cultivating a Pastor’s Heart by Harold L. Senkbell.

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Sovereign Grace Music has a new Christmas album, Heaven Has Come. In this episode, Jon Althoff joins David and Bob to share stories behind the album and specific songs. They also spend some time discussing ways to think about and introduce songs during the Advent & Christmas season.

Listen to Heaven Has Come

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In this episode, Bob’s son Devon joins us to talk about how the truths we sing about on Sundays are meant to affect and reflect our daily lives, especially when it comes to the home. In this transparent and hope-filled session, both father and son reflect on how the gospel has made all the difference in their relationship and ministries.

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