Jesus joins us in our weirdness. In this episode, Gillespie and Riley continue their discussion of how to judge a hymn with Joseph Scriverner’s classic hymn, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."

Pump the hate brakes, Riley! This week, Gillespie and Riley begin a four-episode discussion on how to judge a hymn. In the first installment, they look at Amazing Grace and ask: "Is this a great, good, or bad hymn?" What makes a Christian hymn great? What should a church do with bad hymns?

The minister’s clothing represents his office of service, derived from the ministry of Christ, and never himself.

The majority of churches still use the traditional eight-sided font. The question I’d like to explore in this post is, “Why?”

This week, we read from Bo Giertz’s novel, “The Hammer of God,” and discuss belief, revivalism versus liturgy, and what happens when Jesus alone is the focus of all our attention.

In this episode, Gillespie and Riley read and discuss Billy Graham’s sermon, and the consequences of preaching law after the Gospel, adverbs, and the importance of staying away from God where He isn’t preached, revealed, and worshipped in Christ Jesus.

“In a culture that promotes self-interest, children in church learn that something much bigger and more important than themselves is going on in their midst."

Many Christians (including preachers) have succumbed to the idea that good preaching must be about practical living, and so most sermons are geared to scratch this pragmatic itch.

I once heard an old, retired Lutheran professor give in interview on a podcast. He was asked by the interviewer why people should bother going to church if they could just be saved through a personal relationship with Jesus?

We are continuing our summer series on a theology of worship through the lens of language. Before moving forward, let me highlight a few points by way of review.

Like any language, the liturgy has syntax—a structure that provides order and intelligibly communicates meaning through all that is said.

Over the next few months, I invite you to join me in looking at what the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions have to say about the subject of worship through the lens of language.