God-honoring, Biblical, Spirit-Empowered Worship

In this part of the sermon: Martin opens with warm personal gratitude, citing Acts 11:23 as he reflects on seeing the grace of God visibly at work in the congregation after a ten-year absence. He exhorts the…

A member met Martin at the door with handwritten notes from a sermon preached ten years earlier, willing to swear under oath it had been that long. Used to open with warm gratitude and frame what it means to see the grace of God at work in a congregation over time.

Before we turn to the Word of God, I want to take just a moment to express from my heart, on my behalf, and that of my wife as well, how thankful to God we are to be back amongst you after a hiatus of ten years. Someone met me at the door this morning. They had notes from one of the sermons I preached the last time I was here, and they would state under oath that it was ten years ago. Well, it hardly seems possible in many ways.

0:04 - 0:35 Read in full sermon

The point: Test every element of your corporate worship by Isaiah 1:12's question: 'Who has required this at your hand?' Remove anything not prescribed by Scripture and retain everything that is.

Martin uses the image of grabbing a theological and practical tiger by the tail to describe the act of addressing corporate worship - you can rarely do so without hearing it snarl. He acknowledges the controversy while declaring his fearless intention to press on.

But I don't know which of the words I could omit and still have a good conscience that I'm calling you to those old paths and a good way with respect to the corporate worship of God. For the old paths and the good way is indeed God-honoring, Christ-exalting, Bible-shaped, Spirit-empowered corporate worship. That is, not the individual worshiping in his prayer closet, not the family worshiping around the table, individual worship, family worship, blessed realities, but I'm speaking of the worship that we've offered to God in this place this morning. And again, this evening, as we have gathered ...

6:15 - 7:40 Read in full sermon

The point: Test every element of your corporate worship by Isaiah 1:12's question: 'Who has required this at your hand?' Remove anything not prescribed by Scripture and retain everything that is.

Martin notes he has grabbed more than one tiger in his life and carries scars to prove it, but regards those scars as a badge of honor. He uses this personal history to establish his willingness to address difficult subjects when Scripture requires it.

But I've grabbed more than one tiger in my life, and I'm still alive to talk about it. I've got a few scars from some of those tigers, but I'm still breathing. And I regard my scars as a badge of honor, because at the end of the day, dear brethren, no human being is worthy of such an honor. You are now, at the end of the day, all that matters, what says the Scriptures.

9:46 - 10:09 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin defines the regulative principle from the Second London Baptist Confession chapter 22, establishing that God alone determines how he is to be worshiped. He grounds this in…

After Adam sinned and was banished from the garden, God alone had the right to determine: (1) whether he would welcome sinners back, and (2) in what manner they must approach him. This two-part question grounds the regulative principle in the logic of the Fall and redemption.

sinned and was banished from the garden and from the tree of life, it was up to God and God alone to determine two very basic things. Number one, would God ever welcome man back into his presence? And number two, if so, in what way were they to approach him? Only God has a right to determine those two issues. And blessed be God, he has revealed his mind in that matter, that he does indeed welcome sinful men back into his presence. And he gives that great gospel seed, preached not to Adam, but to the devil. You know, the gospel was first preached to the devil. Genesis 3.15, God speaking to the ...

13:02 - 13:59 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin defines the regulative principle from the Second London Baptist Confession chapter 22, establishing that God alone determines how he is to be worshiped. He grounds this in…

Martin makes the striking observation that the protoevangelium of Genesis 3:15 was addressed not to Adam but to the serpent - God announcing the coming crushing of his head to the devil's face. Used to illustrate how God himself opened the way and prescribed the terms for sinners to approach him.

I will put enmity between you and a woman, your seed, her seed. He was speaking those words to the devil, announcing a time is coming when your head will be crushed. Though in the process, you will bruise the heel of the seed of the woman. And throughout the scriptures, God, by ever increasing clear revelatory data in the scriptures, tells us how to do that. Now, we have a warrant to approach him. And therefore, by speaking of and seeking purity of worship, we desire to have the confidence that when God asks this question, the question found in Isaiah chapter 1, who has required this at your h...

13:59 - 15:19 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin defines the regulative principle from the Second London Baptist Confession chapter 22, establishing that God alone determines how he is to be worshiped. He grounds this in…

Martin uses Isaiah's question - 'Who has required this at your hand?' - as an imaginative test applied to each element of a worship service: prayer, Scripture reading, singing, preaching. Every element must be able to answer: God has required this.

with his people here. He says to you, to me, who has required this at your hand? Pastor Smith led us in prayer, and our hearts, entered in with him? We sang the praises of God to the Triune God. We had the reading of the scriptures. This man is now standing here, and he's going to preach the Scriptures. And Almighty God says, Who has required Pastor Smith's prayer at your hand. Who has required this reading of the scriptures at your hand? Who has required this singing of these hymns at your hand? Who has required this preaching at your hand? Tomato 없이 hulk let our aly это ayatəkeriques, נ怎麼了 t...

15:19 - 16:25 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin expounds 1 Peter 2:4-5, showing that the gathered church is the new covenant spiritual house and holy priesthood. He draws out the three-fold structure - temple…

Martin unpacks the three-fold structure of 1 Peter 2:4-5 - living stones forming the temple, believers constituting the priesthood, and spiritual sacrifices as their offering. The logic drives the entire purity section: if we are a priesthood, what are our required sacrifices?

in Old Testament concepts, and he says, God's people, regenerated and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, gathered together in these communities, each one of them is a living temple having derived life from being brought into union with Christ, the living stone, united to him, I am a living stone, constituted with my other living stones, into, this spiritual sanctuary, this spiritual house. Now what's a house of worship without a company of priests to carry on the worship? He said, oh, you're not only the stones that constitute the place of worship, you are the priests who engage in the acts of worshi...

17:33 - 18:33 Read in full sermon

The point: Church leaders should ensure that corporate worship services are genuinely marked by much prayer of all kinds for all people, not just brief opening and closing prayers that give no impression prayer is central.

Martin laments that in many churches - including some Reformed ones - there is only a brief token prayer here and there, leaving no impression that God has commanded much prayer. Used to contrast the biblical standard with common practice.

of the pillar and ground of the truth. So he's been writing to Timothy about behavior and conduct in God's church, his living temple. And after the concerns of the first chapter, when he begins to focus in upon church behavior, what is his emphasis? Look at chapter 2 and verse 1. I exhort, therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgiving, and prayer be done in the house of God. I exhort, therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgiving, and prayer be done in the house for all men, for kings and those that are in high places, tha...

21:33 - 22:39 Read in full sermon

The point: Resist the pressure to minimize public Scripture reading in order to seem user-friendly. Paul's solemn adjuration to read the whole epistle to all the brethren overrides contemporary sensibilities about attention spans.

Martin describes the modern practice of telling attendees not to bring Bibles because unconverted people might not know Genesis from James. He contrasts this with Paul's solemn adjuration in 1 Thessalonians 5:27 that the entire epistle be read to all the brethren.

I adjure you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the brethren. How's that for a nice, modern, user-friendly service where people are told don't even bring Bibles because you get unconverted people present and they don't know Genesis from James or 2 Chronicles and you can't be having a long reading of Scripture. Paul says, I charge you that this epistle, not a verse every Lord's day until you get through it, this epistle, all five chapters. Now, does it mean that they should have all been read at the same time? Well, not necessarily, but one thing is clear. Read this epistle unto all...

24:39 - 25:40 Read in full sermon

The point: Resist the pressure to minimize public Scripture reading in order to seem user-friendly. Paul's solemn adjuration to read the whole epistle to all the brethren overrides contemporary sensibilities about attention spans.

When the book of Revelation circulated to the seven churches, there were no copy machines - so within each congregation appointed readers read the whole book aloud in the public gathering. This historical observation supports the mandate for substantial Scripture reading in corporate worship.

blessed is he that reads, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein. They didn't have copy machines, and when this went to the seven churches, within every church, there would be appointed readers, and it says, blessed is he that reads, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein. They didn't pass out individual copies so they could use the book of Revelation in their personal devotions. No, it was to be read in the public gathering of the people of God. And I commend you for your commitment to cons...

26:58 - 27:57 Read in full sermon

The point: Preachers must not reduce their ministry to comfort and encouragement alone. Urgency, reproof, and rebuke are commanded by Paul in 2 Timothy 4:2 as essential components of faithful preaching.

Martin describes a culture in which every sermon is measured solely by how much comfort it delivers, producing what he calls a 'cult of obsession with comfort.' This is contrasted with Paul's command to reprove, rebuke, and exhort as well as encourage.

a cult of obsession with comfort. Every message is measured by how much comfort it gives. Well, that doesn't look like what Paul told Timothy. Preach the Word. Be urgent. Don't just be a talking head, Timothy. Make it plain that if nobody else believes what you're preaching, you do. Have the urgency of felt conviction. That's not something a true preacher paints on for the sake of effect.

28:51 - 29:21 Read in full sermon

The point: Evaluate your congregation's singing: is it a spiritual sacrifice directed unto God by the whole people, or is it a performance by gifted individuals for the congregation's entertainment?

Martin contrasts the performance model of worship - trained voices and skilled musicians giving a show to the congregation - with the biblical model where the entire congregation brings the spiritual sacrifice of praise with Scripture-soaked psalms and hymns directed 'unto God.'

It's not people with unusually well-trained voices, or who think they have well-trained voices, accompanied with the musicians that feel they have some gift to contribute, giving a performance to you. No, it is the people of God in their corporate life and identity. Bringing the spiritual sacrifice of praise with Bible-soaked psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. And then, of course, in the fifth place, we as the people of God are to come together to remember the Lord in His dying love for us.

30:56 - 31:38 Read in full sermon

Driving home: We sing the word. We pray the word. We read the word. We preach the word.

Martin recounts reading Ligon Duncan's summary of the regulative principle - 'we sing the word, we pray the word, we read the word, we preach the word, we see the word' - being so moved he raised his hands in his study, then tracked down Duncan's phone number in Mississippi to call and thank him personally.

If not, then it ought not to enter into the worship of our God. I remember several years ago, I was reading a book on this matter of worship, and I came across the statement of, I think it was Ligon Duncan III. He said, At the end of the day, the regulative principle, the purity of God's worship, consists in these very simple things. We sing.

34:50 - 35:16 Read in full sermon

Driving home: We sing the word. We pray the word. We read the word. We preach the word.

Martin references a Puritan treatise on the death of Nadab and Abihu, who brought unauthorized fire to God's altar and were consumed. The story illustrates that God does not accept worship elements he has not required - the severe practical force of the regulative principle.

It's what God requires at our hand that we might worship him acceptably. One of the old Puritans wrote a treatise on that whole incident in the Old Testament of what happened when Nadab and Abihu said, well, God wants fire in his worship. We'll bring our own fire. And God consumed them.

36:19 - 36:41 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin diagnoses the cultural disease of crass egalitarianism that levels all distinctions and has infected the church. He argues from Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 and 1 Timothy 5:1-2 that…

Martin describes seeing a picture of a notable corporation's CEO dressed indistinguishably from the company janitor as a concrete example of crass cultural egalitarianism that levels all distinctions of station and respect.

And the way you see it is in many, many ways very tangible. It's expected now that everyone from the janitor in a corporation headquarters to the CEO will show up with jeans and a t-shirt.

38:00 - 38:16 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin diagnoses the cultural disease of crass egalitarianism that levels all distinctions and has infected the church. He argues from Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 and 1 Timothy 5:1-2 that…

Martin recounts visiting doctors' offices and being called 'Al' by an 18-year-old receptionist fresh out of high school - something he says would have been unthinkable 25 or 30 years earlier. Used as a vivid illustration of the egalitarian flattening of all relational distinctions that has infected the culture and the church.

I've had a lot of medical concerns, so I've been to a lot of doctors' offices. And in recent years, it's almost been amusing, if it weren't so grievous. I go in, and some young twit who's probably 18 years old, just graduated from high school, she comes perking out into the office and says, Well, Al, the doctor's ready to see you.

38:28 - 38:49 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin grounds the dignity of worship in Hebrews 12:28's call to reverence and godly fear, surveys Psalms 95 and 96 to show how holy enthusiasm and reverent prostration coexist…

Martin describes the epistle to the Hebrews as the 'drive and draw' epistle - sometimes drawing readers back with the glories of the new covenant and sometimes driving them forward with solemn warnings. This framing sets up the context of Hebrews 12:28's call to worship with reverence.

Toward the end of this wonderful epistle, in which the privileges of believers under the new covenant is laid out along one line after another, I call the epistle to the Hebrews the drive and the draw epistle. Here are people tottering on whether or not to continue in the faith or go back to Judaism. And Paul, the writer to Hebrews, seeks to draw them back into the way of fidelity to the new covenant. So he says, He sets out the blessings of that covenant and urges them to continue in that way.

42:27 - 43:05 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin grounds the dignity of worship in Hebrews 12:28's call to reverence and godly fear, surveys Psalms 95 and 96 to show how holy enthusiasm and reverent prostration coexist…

Martin distinguishes between the cringing fear of a criminal dreading arrest around every corner and the reverential awe of a child who knows their Father is also the awesome God of heaven and earth. The consciousness of redemption's great price heightens rather than reduces worshipful fear.

But the recognition that the God who is my Father is the awesome God of heaven and earth. That's why Peter said, If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges each man's sojourn, pass the time here in fear. You call on him as Father, pass your time in fear, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold. The consciousness of the great price of my redemption does not lead to a casual, laid-back, irreverent approach to God.

44:33 - 45:16 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin grounds the dignity of worship in Hebrews 12:28's call to reverence and godly fear, surveys Psalms 95 and 96 to show how holy enthusiasm and reverent prostration coexist…

Martin contrasts John's intimate posture at the Last Supper - resting his head on Christ's bosom - with his response when he sees the glorified Christ in Revelation 1: falling as one dead. The contrast dismantles the assumption that intimacy with Jesus produces casual familiarity in worship.

John has this vision of the ascended, glorified Christ in the midst of the lampstands, the churches. Here's the man who rested his head upon the bosom of his Lord. But when he sees Him in His present glorified exaltation, exalted splendor, what does he do? Does he look up and say, O Lord, You're just like a lovely, big, cuddly baby?

47:43 - 48:09 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin applies the principle of dignity practically to dress, posture, and pulpit demeanor. Through the funeral and wedding analogies and the 1 Timothy 2:8-9 text on modest…

Martin poses the scenario of attending a neighbor widow's funeral in beach attire - arguing that even without speaking a word, the dress communicates that her grief means very little. Used to show that clothing sends a message about how much we value what we are attending.

Suppose you had a neighbor that you'd been seeking to witness to, and you'd established, you'd established goodwill, and that neighbor lost her husband. She's become a widow. And you knew her funeral was going to be, say, next Thursday night. Would you show up at her funeral in shorts and flip-flops?

50:34 - 50:53 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin applies the principle of dignity practically to dress, posture, and pulpit demeanor. Through the funeral and wedding analogies and the 1 Timothy 2:8-9 text on modest…

A parallel to the funeral illustration - showing up at a wedding in casual clothes communicates to the couple that their wedding is nothing special. Used to argue that meeting the living God deserves conscious effort toward dignified appearance.

Suppose someone was having a wedding, and you show up at the wedding in jeans and a shirt, and you show up at the wedding in jeans, and a t-shirt. What are you saying to the couple? Your wedding's nothing special to me. You may feel it's the most special thing in the world inside, but your clothing is a contradiction of what you really feel.

51:39 - 51:59 Read in full sermon

The point: Give conscious thought to how your external appearance when you come to corporate worship communicates to yourself and others the value you place on meeting with the living God.

Martin recalls the childhood practice of 'Sunday go-to-meeting clothes' - special clothing reserved exclusively for the Lord's Day gathering. If you wore them during the week people would ask where you were going. He argues this practice has deeper-than-cultural significance as a self-reminder of the special nature of meeting with God.

When I was a kid, you know what we called, our Sunday clothes? They were called our Sunday go-to-meeting clothes. Some of you are old enough to remember that. And if you showed up with your Sunday go-to-meeting clothes during the week, people would go, well, where are you going?

52:43 - 52:58 Read in full sermon

The point: Pastors should lead worship with sanctified, warm, dignified words and demeanor - not casual informality designed to seem relatable. The pulpit is a place of dignified leadership.

Martin describes pastors who dress in cargo pants and open shirts, lean casually over the pulpit, and open with 'Hey, it's nice to see you folks' - thinking this laid-back manner glorifies God. He calls it a 'silly accommodation to a shallow age.'

It's saying something. My very posture. The place of dignified leadership in the pulpit. You've got pastors who've gone crazy thinking that if they can come dressed in cargo pants and an open shirt and lean over the pulpit and instead of leading us with sanctified, warm, dignified words and demeanor, they think the way to glorify God is to stand up and say, hey, it's nice to see you.

54:22 - 54:52 Read in full sermon

The point: Bring the totality of your redeemed humanity to corporate worship - mind, heart, voice, and body. Spirit-empowered vivacity is not manufactured enthusiasm but the natural overflow of theological engagement with God's maj…

Martin notes the striking context of John 4 - the richest teaching on worship in the Gospels occurs in the course of Jesus evangelizing an immoral woman at a well. This grounds the teaching on Spirit-and-truth worship in a concrete pastoral moment.

It's an amazing thing. He evangelizes an immoral woman in the context of some of the richest teaching on worship to be found anywhere in the Bible. God is a spirit. And those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.

57:46 - 58:05 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin introduces vivacity - life, energy, animation, and enthusiasm - as the third mark of true corporate worship. He draws on John 4:23-24, Philippians 3:3, the Psalms, and the…

Martin points to the heavenly worship of Revelation 4-5 - beings falling down, crying 'Blessing and glory and honor and power,' wrapped up entirely in God - as the biblical model of vivacious, whole-souled, whole-body corporate worship. He notes he requested Pastor Smith read these chapters before the sermon.

The whole picture is that they are wrapped up in God. And as they render to God the sacrifice of praise as Hebrews 13, 15 describes it, it is whole-souled, whole-body engagement in that worship. I had an interesting incident at the door this morning. One of the sisters approached me and said, Pastor Mark, and you remember so many years ago, it was 20-something years ago when you were in this area, you preached a sermon that had to do something with worship.

61:53 - 62:28 Read in full sermon

Driving home: A lively, vivacious worship of God. Not something whipped up and stirred up by somebody up there whipping up the troops, but stirred up by the very truths that are engaging our minds and our hearts.

At the door that morning, a woman told Martin that 20-something years earlier he had preached that if you are truly worshiping, your stomach muscles ought to hurt when you finish singing. She said she took that seriously and still sings until her tummy muscles ache. Martin uses this as a vivid picture of whole-bodied engagement in vivacious worship.

And she said, I remember something you said. You said that if you're really worshiping, your stomach muscles ought to hurt when you're done singing a hymn. She said, I took that seriously. And she said, I sing until my tummy muscles hurt.

62:29 - 62:43 Read in full sermon

Driving home: A lively, vivacious worship of God. Not something whipped up and stirred up by somebody up there whipping up the troops, but stirred up by the very truths that are engaging our minds and our hearts.

Martin imagines that when Paul composed the great eulogy of Ephesians 1:3ff., the quill on his secretary's pen must have seemed about to melt from the intensity of his passion - used to argue that the truths of election and redemption should produce equally passionate proclamation.

The wonder of the salvation of Christ. The blessings that are ours in Christ. When you read that eulogy in Ephesians 1 where Paul is composing a hymn of praise to the triune God, I wonder at times if he felt that the quill on his pen, if he were writing it, or the quill on the pen of his secretary was going to melt. If you ask Paul, Paul, read Ephesians 1, 3 and following to us.

63:05 - 63:35 Read in full sermon

Driving home: A lively, vivacious worship of God. Not something whipped up and stirred up by somebody up there whipping up the troops, but stirred up by the very truths that are engaging our minds and our hearts.

Martin performs a deliberately flat, monotone recitation of Ephesians 1:3 followed by his actual passionate reading with full voice, calling the flat version 'Ridiculous!' This dramatic live contrast illustrates that the content of Scripture demands vivacious, emotionally engaged delivery.

Do you think he would have read it this way? Blessed be the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ, according as, He has chosen us in Him before the...

63:35 - 63:53 Read in full sermon