We need to know and remember that our sin is primarily against God (Psa. 51:4). Therefore, confession of sin to God needs to be absolute with no waffling and no holding back. It needs to include motives, desires, thoughts, behavior, emotions, actions, reasons, justifications, hesitations, excuses, and anything else that will break down the wall […]
Scripture Reading
Another practice that is common in CREC churches is that of listening to Scriptures read aloud. This is distinct from the reading of the text for the sermon-it is simply a time in the service where the Word of God is recognized as central and foundational to our lives. We usually have at least one […]
Musical Style
Apart from offering praise to God, the music of a worship service also has the important role of setting the tone of the service. Scripture teaches that music sets the mood. A particular kind of music is for mourning, and another is for dancing (Luke 7:32). When the prodigal son returned, and the elder brother […]
Singing Parts
Another notable thing about our worship services m the CREC is that we are interested in learning how to sing “in parts.” It is a testimony to the damage that has been done in the realm of church music over the last few decades that many young Christians don’t even know what that means. This […]
Live in Love — For the Pre-Married
Dr. Pastor Lawyer, I have been wrestling in my and my fiance’s interactions. It seems like there is so much gray area. I want to be affectionate, not cold, but not ruin our marriage by sinning now. It’s also challenging for me because I know a bunch of rules isn’t the answer. Do you have any […]
We’re Walkers
One thing that I think would be really helpful is if we stopped using non-Christian or non-Biblical terminology to describe what we’re going through. For example, we keep saying we are “obsessing.” What does that word mean? In psychological terms it means essentially that you have no control, or that your thoughts are out of […]
Psalm Singing
One marked feature of worship in the CREC is the abundance of psalms. There have been some in the Reformed tradition who have insisted in staging only psalms, but that is not what we are doing. We do not hold to “exclusive psalmody,” but it would be fair to say that we seek to practice […]
Posture in Worship
Churches can generally be categorized as “truth oriented” or as “feelings oriented.” It would be fair to rank our churches as among the former, but one the temptations faced by such truth oriented churches is that of sliding into thinking that this means “brain oriented” churches. But the truth is for the whole man. The […]
Psalm 63 – The Watering Hole
‟O God, You are my God Early will I seek you. My soul thirsts for You My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.” (v.1) In the first line, ‟O God, You are my God,” this states possession, a close relationship. The Lord is his God and it puts everything […]