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Author: Scott Connell

How Should Baptists Apply the Regulative Principle to Worship?

Whenever anyone asks me if I am an adherent to the Regulative Principle (RP), I cannot give a simple “yes” or “no” response. I must first ask about their version of the Regulative Principle. For those who do not know what I am talking about, the RP is a means of governing the corporate worship life of a church that affirms the authority and sufficiency of Scripture. John Calvin seems to be the first to formally codify it in response to the Reformation, and Westminster later enshrined it in their 1647 Confession. It has been applied in so many different ways since I must know the terms of the application before I can confirm or deny my allegiance to their version. The way Baptists first affirmed it is shown below: The acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by himself and...

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How Many Fruits?

For several years I served as a minister of music and youth. We call this Student Ministry now. It was not in my natural disposition to be a “wild and crazy” youth pastor. I have always been a bit more serious than that. But I did my best to fit the prototype of youth ministry frivolity when the role called for it. And this included singing silly songs (sometimes “with Larry,” if you remember him). One of those songs that continues to be somewhat popular today is the “Fruit of the Spirit Song.” (You can find this on YouTube if you need a refresher.) The fruit of the Spirit’s not a *banana. The fruit of the Spirit’s not a banana. If you want to be a banana, you might as well hear it. You can’t be a fruit of the Spirit. Cause the fruit is Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,...

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I Want to be Like Epaphras

As a child, it is common to seek out heroes you would love to be like as you grow up. They become models for future growth and even icons in dreams for the future. I can remember baseball players I wanted to play like when I played little league, musicians I wanted to sound like when I became interested in music, and pastors whom I wanted to emulate when I was called to ministry. We know that the perfect image we are to “grow up” in is that of Jesus Christ. But who can we look to in the Scriptures to follow because of their example of following Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1)?   The obvious choices are the heroes of the faith. The book of Hebrews gives us a list of options in Hebrews 11: Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, David, and many more are obvious choices listed there. In the New Testament,...

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O Come All Ye Faithful

“O Come All Ye Faithful” is one of the oldest hymns we sing at Christmas. It was initially a Latin Hymn bearing the title “Adeste Fideles” and appears to have been written by John Francis Wade (c. 1711–1786). The first existing manuscript of this hymn is dated 1743. The Latin title literally means “Come, faithful ones.” This Catholic hymn was translated into English in 1841 for use in the Church of England by Frederick Oakeley (1802–1890). The Oxford Movement was an effort in the mid-19th century to translate older Catholic hymns from Latin into English for use in Protestant churches. This literary movement was primarily based at Oxford University and was an effort to recapture older hymns from the high church tradition. It is like those today who want to bring back the more formal...

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It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

Many of the most profound hymns of the faith were birthed from life’s most challenging circumstances. “It is Well with My Soul” was written in the throes of the sudden and tragic death of all the author’s children. “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” was written upon the death of a spouse. “Just as I Am” was written by a bedridden invalid, and “To God Be the Glory” by a blind poet. Trials are the wellspring of profound proclamations of hope. Christmas of 1849 saw the nation stumbling out of the recently ended Mexican-American War and marching toward an inevitable Civil War with increasing strife between the North and South. Europe also was experiencing an ongoing revolution and political unrest. The thoughts of “Peace on Earth” were far from the reality of most inhabitants of the mid-19th century...

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Away in a Manger

The story of this delightful children’s carol is a tangled web of attributions and additions. This is, unfortunately, common for hymn stories. They can become larger than life. This story even includes a couple of magnificent lies in its history, seemingly intended to build notoriety for the song. Despite the folklore associated with this song, it has become one of the most recognizable Christmas carols for more than a century. While no fewer than four names have become associated with its composition, no one knows who actually wrote the words. This anonymous hymn was believed to have been written in 1883, apparently in recognition of the 400th anniversary of Martin Luther’s birth (1483–1546). It first appeared in a newspaper in Boston, MA, under the title “Luther’s Cradle Song.” It included...

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Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

One of the first Christmas hymns that Charles Wesley wrote happens to be one of the greatest Christmas Carols of all time. How is that for beginner’s luck? In fact, many consider it one of the greatest hymns ever written (for any season). This is a remarkable feat, given that Wesley went on to compose over 6,500 hymns. He originally called it a “Hymn for Christmas Day.” He first wrote it in 1739 when he was 32 years old. It has since become one of the most beloved Christmas carols of Christendom, including us. Baptists have been singing this Methodist hymn for almost 175 years! The original first line was “Hark, how all the welkin rings, Glory to the King of kings.” Most people today don’t know what “the welkin” is, and you may have already looked that word up while reading that last sentence....

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Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

Now that the Advent Season is upon us, it is our challenge to slow the pace of our lives enough to acknowledge it and then enjoy it. However, the busyness of our ordinary lives abruptly resumes following the Thanksgiving holiday, and a new but familiar tyranny descends upon us with the approach of December. The calendar fills quickly with celebrative events, and the task list explodes. It is the most wonderful time of the year… but will we take the time required to enjoy it? Singing Christmas carols is a wonderful way to pause and reflect. During a much simpler time, at least from our perspective, Charles Wesley, one of the most prolific hymn writers in history, wrote special Christmas hymns for the church to sing during this special season. Wesley loved celebrating Christmas, and singing...

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The Amazing Grace of Friendship

January 1, 1773 is a momentous date for hymnody. It not only serves as the date that ‘Amazing Grace’ was first presented to the public by John Newton now almost 250 years ago, but it is also the date that William Cowper penned ‘Conflict: Light Shining Out of Darkness,’ based on John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” We know the hymn today as ‘God Moves in a Mysterious Way.’ It is hard to imagine a more fruitful single day in English hymnody nor a starker juxtaposition of two texts depicting the nature of the friendship that these compositions represent—grace and darkness. January 1773 was a difficult month for Cowper, a man often plagued by lengthy periods of depression and even moments of insanity. By the winter of 1773, Cowper and Newton had...

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Praying Without Ceasing

Most Christians know that 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says that we are supposed to “pray without ceasing.” But how are we supposed to start a prayer that never ends? Don’t we have to live life in a way that requires us to say “amen,” then get up and go do the stuff we have been praying about? Recently I have begun to think more seriously about what it means to lead a life of ceaseless prayer. While I believe some aspects of this kind of life will always be “under construction,” I also have begun to delight in how this pursuit can change everything about how we live—in the most beautiful ways! I remember as a child watching the old Batman series with Adam West. Commissioner Gordon had this special hotline to Batman on a pedestal under a glass cover in his office. It was called the Batphone, and...

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