15 April
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On
In Current Issues, History and Doctrine of Worship

Historically the Christian faith as understood by Presbyterians has experienced tension between the three aspects of correct doctrine, personal piety and social engagement. All these aspects are necessary to a well-rounded Christian faith. They were well represented in James Forbes (1813-51), the first Christian minister settled in that capacity in Melbourne. He served the Scots’ Church and then founded the Free Presbyterian body in 1846. On the one hand he held definitely to the Confession of Faith and thought deviation from strict adherence would come back to haunt the church, but he also maintained a personal devotion and piety that included special gatherings for prayerRead More →

26 March
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On
In History and Doctrine of Worship

From The Presbyterian Banner, December 2010 plus Appendix March 2011 and important Supplement August 2013 I confess very happily that I am an inclusive Presbyterian: I’ve very ready, despite my own prejudices, to live in the same church with office-bearers who have different viewpoints on many issues that are not decided by our Confession of Faith.  I’m also very happy to have close fellowship with churches like the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in the USA that do not have the same form of worship as ourselves, but do cling loyally to the Reformed Faith. Still, I’m very sorry to see that the Free Church of ScotlandRead More →

20 January
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On
In History and Doctrine of Worship

Knox PCEA uses The Complete Book of Psalms for Singing with Study Notes [1991, second printing 1994; 368 pages, full music, hardbound.] ‘This is beyond doubt quite the finest English language Psalter I have ever seen. The language is both majestic and modern; the words are Scriptural and simple; the tunes are nearly all very well known. This book merits a very wide circulation in the interests of true ecumenism.’ – Rev Dr F.Nigel Lee, Brisbane which can be obtained from the church. From time to time additional fresh translations will be added here. Readers are invited to submit suggestions to: rowland.ward@gmail.com   Psalm 116Read More →

03 August
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On
In History and Doctrine of Worship

[This article appeared in Australian Presbyterian, June 2008] In 1550 John Knox was called by the authorities in Scotland to give a defence of his claim that the Roman mass was idolatry. Knox stated as his first proposition: “All worshipping, honouring, or service invented by the brain of man in the religion of God, without his own express commandment, is idolatry. The Mass is invented by the brain of man, without any commandment of God; therefore it is idolatry.” We might shrink back at the boldness of this statement. We might recall some half-forgotten history lessons about image-burning by Protestants in the 16th century, andRead More →

31 May
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In History and Doctrine of Worship

Notes of the sermon at the opening of the Synod of Eastern Australia 12 May 2008 by Dr Rowland S. Ward, Retiring Moderator. John 4:24 is a familiar text: “God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.” Yet although this text is described by one writer as “the most important teaching on worship in the entire New Testament” it is difficult to find an entirely satisfying explanation of it in the commentaries. Even books on worship seem to pass over it very lightly. This may be because it is assumed that the text is merely stating that worship must agreeRead More →

01 December
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On
In History and Doctrine of Worship

Extracted from The Psalms in Christian Worship, pp. 1-6 It should be noted that the author holds the singing of the Psalter in public worship is a godly practice and supported by a number of lines of argument. However, he does not hold that use of other song material in public worship is necessarily sinful. He recognises there have always been differences over the application of the regulating principle of Scripture in this area, and has no interest in advancing exaggerated underpinning for the practice. While this book is not intended as an exhaustive study of the principles underlying the practice of singing only theRead More →