If you were to ask the average Christian today what our expectation should be regarding how the Holy Spirit works, I believe most Christians would answer something like this: If the Holy Spirit is actively working, his work will be evidenced by some sort of extraordinary experience—intense feelings, inner promptings, miraculous gifts, or even visible manifestations. Listen as Scott Aniol explains where this expectation comes from. You can read an article version of this podcast here:...

One key reason Christians shy away from some of the psalms is the sometimes violent imprecatory language found in them. In this article, Scott Aniol explains that psalms like these are deeply rooted in confidence that God is the Sovereign King of Kings, and therefore to sing them helps form within us a hope-filled longing for the Return of the King.

Why is it so important to have our motivation right about how we live in society? Why is it important that we don’t try to motivate ourselves and others with grand ambitions of societal transformation?

When the prophet Isaiah “saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up,” what he saw was the reality of God’s heavenly temple: “and the train of his robe filled the temple.” Heaven is a royal palace from which God sovereignly rules, but it is also a holy temple, filled with God’s glory.

“Our church’s worship is pretty formal, but I prefer Holy Spirit-led worship.” Such was the comment I overheard recently by a young evangelical describing his church’s worship service, illustrating a very common perception by many evangelicals today—if the Holy Spirit actively works in worship, the results will be something extraordinary, an experience “quenched” by too much form and order. A common perception, to be sure, but how grounded in Scripture is this expectation concerning the...

In order for worship to properly form God’s people as God has intended, every aspect of our worship—including our worship aesthetics, must be formed and shaped by the Word of God.

In contrast to the Reformed understanding of the regulative principle, Baptists have historically and theologically insisted upon New Testament warrant for both the substance and forms of church practice.

The immediate causes for Reformation in various regions, as well as what caused divisions among various Reformation figures, are diverse. However, much of what lay at the core of what both unified Reformers in their reaction against the Roman Catholic Church and what ended up dividing them in the end, involved theology and practice of worship. Yet what is remarkable is that some of the very same problems with worship that the Reformers criticized with medieval worship have appeared again in...

Believers from the earliest years of Christianity—especially those coming out of Judaism—struggled with how to understand the relationship between Israel’s worship, Christian worship, and the real worship of heaven. In fact, the confusion escalated to such a point that some apostatized from Christianity in favor of returning to the worship of their Jewish heritage. The book of Hebrews functions as the New Testament’s supreme answer to this fundamental problem, which was written specifically...

"Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.” This ancient hymn captures three eras of worship: as it was in the beginning—the worship of Old Testament Israel, as it is now—the worship of New Testament Christianity, and worship in the world without end—the worship of heaven. In one sense separating worship into these three eras emphasizes their discontinuity; yet, while there are certainly...

Churches as formal, local institutions have been given a very specific, singular mission in this age, best articulated in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19–20. You can read this article here.

It is very important that we carefully consider the central mission that Christ has given through his apostles for gathered New Testament churches. Listen as Scott Aniol discusses this topic. You can read an article version here.

Do you ever feel like everything around us is crumbling? You look around and wickedness seems to be everywhere, and you wonder: where is God in all this? And not only that, they're prospering! One of the core purposes of the psalms is to help us navigate this kind of reality, which has indeed been a reality for all of human history. Listen as Scott Aniol explains. You can read this essay here: https://g3min.org/if-the-foundations-are-destroyed-2/ Scott Aniol's...

Rick Warren is pushing the SBC to stop "bickering about secondary issues" like women pastors and focus on our mission. Is this a fair argument? Listen as Scott Aniol refutes Warren. You can read this essay here. Scott Aniol's blog: https://g3min.org/blogs/scott-aniol/ Article, audio,...

When it comes to the issue of whether or not women may preach and/or hold the office of pastor, it has become common to argue in favor of women preachers or women pastors on the basis of unclear texts of Scripture. However, several texts regarding the nature of pastoral ministry are clear. Listen as Scott Aniol explains. You can read this essay here. Scott Aniol's blog: https://g3min.org/blogs/scott-aniol/ Article, audio,...

What does it really mean to serve the Lord? Unfortunately, there is actually a lot of confusion about the proper answer to that question among evangelicals today. Some Christians believe that the only way to really serve the purposes and plans of God is what is sometimes referred to as “full time Christian service.” All other vocations are just “secular” and therefore are of lesser value. If you’re a farmer or a firefighter or a contractor or a computer programmer, those jobs are not really...

Where in the New Testament do we find anything like building Christendom? Where do we find anything like pursuing full nations explicitly referring to themselves as Christian? Where do we find anything like pursuing a civil order modeled after Old Testament Israel? Where do you see anything like the pursuit of establishing Christianity as the established religion of a nation? Surely if this were God's intent for us, we would see even a hint of it in the New Testament epistles. Put simply,...

Discussions of "Christian nationalism" are on the rise among evangelicals in recent months. We've seen an uptick of books, podcasts, conferences, and evangelical ministries promoting the idea of a "Christian nation." What would it mean for a nation to be Christian? Would that be a good or bad thing? Listen as Scott Aniol considers this important question. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scottaniol/support

What is the relationship between this eternal worship of the world without end and the worship taking place here on earth, both as it was in the beginning (OT worship) and as it is now (NT worship)? This is critical for us to understand since throughout church history, many of the errors that have crept into Christian worship resulted from a mistaken understanding of the proper biblical relationship between worship as it was in the beginning, as it is now, and the true worship of the world...

Christians have long wrestled with the continuities and discontinuities of worship, and confusion in this area has often led to problems with theology and practice of worship. The solution is found in our focus in this essay: worship in the world without end. Understanding properly how worship as it was in the beginning and worship as it is now relate to worship in the world without end helps us to recognize what shall ever be, the center of true worship and, consequently, the purpose of what...

Listen as Scott Aniol explains why for biblical truth, form and content are not so easily separable. You can read this essay here. Scott Aniol's blog: https://g3min.org/blogs/scott-aniol/ Article, audio, itinerary: https://www.scottaniol.com/ Podcast: https://anchor.fm/scottaniol Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scottmaniol Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScottAniol Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottmaniol/ --- Support this podcast:...

What do the psalms mean when they say to sing a new song? Listen as Scott Aniol explains. Scott Aniol's blog: https://g3min.org/blogs/scott-aniol/ Article, audio, itinerary: https://www.scottaniol.com/ Podcast: https://anchor.fm/scottaniol Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scottmaniol Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScottAniol Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottmaniol/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scottaniol/support

True religion does consist in the religious affections, and music is a wonderful gift from God that helps to give expression to the affections created by the Spirit through his Word. But we must be careful to define spiritual affections biblically and put music in its proper place. Otherwise, we risk worshiping chords instead of Christ. Listen as Scott Aniol explains. You can read this essay here. Scott Aniol's blog: https://g3min.org/blogs/scott-aniol/ Article, audio,...

Is what has been happening at Asbury University true revival? Is the kind revival they are claiming even promised in the New Testament? Should we be expecting or seeking a fresh "outpouring of the Spirit" today? Listen as Scott Aniol examines the biblical data. You can read this essay here. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/scottaniol/support

Listen as Scott Aniol explains how psalms help to form hearts of praise. You can read this essay here. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/scottaniol/support