“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!”—Psalm 150:6
We’re all called to worship God. It’s an incredible privilege and responsibility for all of us—every culture, every church, every Christian, every generation. And yet believers have been arguing about worship music since the days of the early church. Why is this? Perhaps we rely on our traditions, personal tastes, cultural backgrounds, and trends more than on God’s Word.
New Heart, New Spirit, New Song attempts to reorient our thinking about worship in fundamental ways. This volume creates a biblical foundation for worship methods, exploring:
In these pages, you will find simple, direct help in making your musical praise reflect the glorious Savior you worship.
In the Logos edition of New Heart, New Spirit, New Song, you get easy access to Scripture texts and to a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Hovering over Scripture references links you instantly to the verse you’re looking for, and with a wealth of tools from Logos you can delve into your study of worship like never before!
“Worship is about giving to the object of worship what He desires, what He demands, and what He deserves.” (Page 73)
“The music we use can reinforce what we believe from the Scriptures, or it can undermine it. It can literally rip away at that foundation so that our thinking about some of those truths will be subtly and slowly changed, though we don’t even realize it is happening. This is why we so often hear of a church choosing a sensual kind of music communication in an effort to reach lost people, or keep young people coming to their churches, or for other good reasons, and within just a few years, the same churches are radically changed.” (Page 28)
“Not everything that is being communicated through music is necessarily of God, or compatible with biblical Christianity, even though the words or performers might be ‘Christian.’” (Page 22)
“When you find styles of music that are communicating things that are worthwhile, things that are in keeping with Philippians 4:8, you need to hold on to those things.” (Page 23)
“When sin is made an object of humor or pleasure, our hatred of it is diminished. Any song text or context that does this should be avoided.” (Page 95)
Doug speaks with refreshing clarity to an essential issue: the theology behind sound communication. New Heart, New Spirit, New Song reawakens the honest reader to simple truths God intends to be obvious: a refreshing and timely help.
—Dr. Phil Gingery, assistant pastor and minister of music, Bible Baptist Church (PA); music director, West Chester Christian School
Having witnessed firsthand the author’s work and ministry, we have anxiously awaited such a publication of his lectures on Biblical music. A well-articulated and accessible resource for developing a theologically sound and God-honoring music program.
—Dr. Hugh Givens, professor of voice, St. Cloud State University (MN)
Dr. Marcie Givens, assistant professor, College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University (MN)