We were made to worship God Almighty for all eternity. This is the work God made man for—the primary job we were made to do. Speaking of heaven, the poet John Donne wrote, “Since I am coming to that holy room, where, with thy choir of saints for evermore, I shall be made thy music; as I come I tune the instrument here at the door, and what I must do then, think here before.” What will worship in heaven be like? And what does that teach us about worship on earth?

In corporate worship, does your congregation only sing pleasant and peaceful parlor songs, or is there martial music as well? Does the music of your corporate worship speak of the fear of God and the coming Judgment? Does it only comfort the afflicted, or does it also afflict the comfortable? Does it speak of sin, battle, Heaven, and Hell, or does it avoid these themes, speaking only in soft, assuring tones? In this session, the Good Shepherd Band will present and illustrate biblical worship that exalts Jesus Christ in His fullness as Prophet, Priest, and King.

Today’s evangelical knows forgiveness comes from God’s grace, but too often he knows nothing about the grace of God’s Law or the life of repentance. Learn why proclaiming forgiveness without concern for repentance produces “cheap grace,” and why “grace” today has become a cliché used to avoid dealing with the gaps in the wall. Learn how true grace is costly enough to confront our sin and strong enough to conquer what we want to conceal.

“Contextualization”—or the process of making Scriptural interpretation relevant to a modern setting—is precisely what everyone must claim to understand and do in order to join contemporary discussions of being “missional.” But who’s doing what kind of contextualization? When the gap between Scripture and our society is clear, does contextualization mean an intentional advance or a studied retreat? Do we try to camouflage the gap, or do we stand precisely there, wielding the Sword of the Spirit? Come and learn why the faithful soldier of Jesus Christ contextualizes by igniting himself with zeal for God’s truth at the precise place where the battle rages.

Scripture says that to be a Christian is to enlist for battle. But it’s one thing for a Christian to be a soldier in name; it’s another for him to stand and fight precisely where the battle rages. God has called us, charging us to repair the breach in the wall and to realize that truce with the enemy is not an option. Join us as we see how to stand firm at these gaps in the wall—and to recognize where the gaps are in the Church today.