A bigger view of Jesus

In July, I had the privilege of attending the Worship God conference run by Sovereign Grace Music in Louisville, Kentucky.

We dwelt upon how our union with Christ shapes our Christian lives and our congregational worship. It was a blessed time of faithful preaching and rich times of singing. Two things in particular stood out to me:

The centrality of the word of God

One of the hallmarks of Sovereign Grace that has become central in my own ministry is that leading congregational worship is pastoral. This leads to a strong emphasis on the word of God in our leadership and our songs, because through the word we see Jesus, and He is the One we (and those we lead) need.

In my every interaction with Sovereign Grace, they are far more excited about Jesus than music, without devaluing the latter; music is a means to feasting on God’s word and so encountering our risen Lord. This emphasis has made this time rich and precious, because we have tasted and seen so much of Jesus through His word, by His Spirit.

The primacy of the local church

A repeated theme of our time together is that the local church is where the action is. ‘Jesus didn’t come to build a conference; he came to build a church,’ Bob Kauflin said. In the best possible sense, the music was ‘ordinary’; not drawing attention to itself by excessive refinement – or lack of skill. Not once did I think: ‘If only we had …’. We have all we need; His name is Jesus.

I returned to London with a love for my church, a renewed confidence in God’s work through His Word and Spirit, and with a much bigger view of Jesus. The talks will be made available at worshipgodconference.com and I’m sure all who listen will come away with these same blessings.