Practical Studies

Psalms, Hymns, and Watts

January 13, 2001

There are parallels between the new hymnody of the present day and the state of church music in the late seventeenth century.

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Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs

March 13, 2000

Should we determine what we sing in church simply on the basis of what is familiar to us, that is, what we like? Or are there biblical principles that must guide what we sing?

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Beyond Style Wars – Recovering the Substance of Worship

April 1, 1999

While there is freedom with respect to the circumstances of worship, we can no longer design worship according to our own specifications.

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The Decision to Leave: A Home in the URC’s

January 26, 1998

An interview with Dr. W. Robert Godfrey about his exodus from the Christian Reformed Church into the United Reformed Churches.

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An Interview with W. Robert Godfrey (Originally Published in 1997)

October 7, 1997

Dr. W. Robert Godfrey discusses his own Reformed background along with the state of the Reformed church in the late 1990's.

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A Reformed Dream

September 1, 1997

Our confessional Reformed denominations should consider a bold move to express their unity and increase the credibility of their witness by joining together under one general assembly with each former denomination becoming a particular synod under that general assembly.

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A Big Tent

October 7, 1996

Reformed churches must be big tents in the sense that they welcome all persons regardless of gender, race, ethnic background, or sinful beliefs or lifestyles that they want to put behind them. But Reformed churches, especially in their worship, must not seek to satisfy unconverted desires for entertainment and self-gratification. They must teach, worship and live according to the Word of God alone.

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Practical Ecumenism

October 9, 1994

A biblical expression of Christian ecumenism in a pluralistic age.

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Reformed Faith at the Crossroads

June 18, 1993

The Reformed community faces especially intense issues and decisions in our time.

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Reformed Ministry

April 30, 1993

An examination of the Reformed tradition's upholding of the general office of believer.

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Reformed Life

March 4, 1993

A discussion on the foundation, the disciplines and the pattern of Reformed life.

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Word-Centered Piety

December 14, 1992

The center of Reformed piety is and always has been the Word of God.

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“Expounding”: Not Exhorting, Preaching or Leading Worship

July 20, 1992

An interview with W. Robert Godfrey concerning the state of the Christian Reformed Church in the early 1990's.

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Serious Misgivings

June 22, 1992

Areas of concern regarding “The Confessional Conference” of 1993 are expressed.

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The Importance of Preaching

January 1, 1992

Too often we have trouble placing such a high evaluation on preaching because it does not seem to correspond to our experience.  Many Christians today believe that they came to faith through the witness of family or friends or through a small group Bible study.  They may have heard relatively poor preaching and find it hard to attribute such importance to preaching in general or in their own spiritual development.

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The Offering

November 24, 1991

The offering clearly has a vital function in the financial life of the congregation, but how does it function spiritually in the worship of the church?

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The Triumph of Vulgarity

September 24, 1991

How Christians are to thoughtfully engage with pop culture.

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Blessings

September 3, 1991

The importance of the blessings pronounced in our worship is a significant teaching of Scripture that ministers need to insure that the people of God understand its meaning and value.

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Ancient Praise

March 16, 1991

The ancient worship of the church, which focused on the Psalms and sung without musical accompaniment, was simple, spiritual, and reverent.

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Article Thirty-One

December 1, 1990

The action of Synod 1990 in the Christian Reformed Church was tyrannical, judged purely from the perspective of Church Order Article 31. In 1990 as in 1944, Article 31 is at the center of our church struggles. 

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