Life Together: The Gathered Church, a regional worship conference meant to strengthen our convictions about why we gather as local churches, will be held at Cornerstone Church of Knoxville, July 29-31, and Covenant Fellowship in Glen Mills, PA, Sept. 2-4.

After more than a year of trying to figure out if we can meet as a church, how we meet as a church, and where we can meet as a church, we think it’s the perfect time to remember why we meet as a church. 

And if you’re not a member of a Sovereign Grace church, we’d love for you to join us. We figure we’re not the only ones who are more grateful than ever for the privilege of gathering with God’s people each week. 

And we pray this conference will help us do that with greater joy, faith, and fruitfulness. 

The cost is only $15 for an individual, maximum of $35 for a family. You can register for either event here.

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Bob Kauflin (@bkauflin) is director of Sovereign Grace Music. He equips pastors and musicians in the theology and practice of congregational worship, and serves as a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He writes at worshipmatters.com and is author of True Worshipers: Seeking What Matters to God. Bob and his wife, Julie, have six children and a growing number of grandchildren.

The full post originally appeared on Worship Matters, on June 14, 2021.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16 ESV

Have you heard about the Sound Plus Doctrine podcast?

Sound Plus Doctrine, hosted by Bob Kauflin and David Zimmer, is the podcast of Sovereign Grace Music, designed for those who plan, lead, or participate in their church’s Sunday gatherings. Bob has been a pastor for over three decades and leads Sovereign Grace Music. He’s well-known as a worship leader, songwriter, speaker, and author. David, his good friend, is an experienced drummer, vocalist, teacher, and songwriter. Both are now both part of Sovereign Grace Church in Louisville, KY, and they’d love for you to join them each week for an engaging, Christ-centered conversation about music and the church. Click here to listen to Sound Plus Doctrine on your favorite podcast app: https://linktr.ee/soundplusdoctrine​

Recently, Mark Prater, Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches, encouraged SG pastors to listen to a two-part episode entitled, “The Pastor-Worship Leader Relationship” to grow in serving their churches more effectively in worship. Mark also gave an update on Sovereign Grace Music in his weekly podcast on April 5, 2021, highlighting an upcoming Spanish album, a Psalms album and two regional conferences that will emphasize the prominence of the Word of God in worship.

“Let me just first of all say, though, Bob is a very unique gift to us. He's very unique in the evangelical world to have the theological mind that he does, the gospel-centeredness that he brings to all of his life including how he leads Sovereign Grace Music, how he has learned and led worship for decades now. And then just his musical ability. That mix is very unique, and God gave Bob Kauflin to us which we thank God for. So, we want to continue to benefit from his training and from his experience.” Mark Prater, Executive Director, Sovereign Grace Churches.

The inaugural episode of the Sound + Doctrine podcast, The History of Sovereign Grace Music, was released on October 6, 2020:

Christ Will Be My Hideaway, based on Psalm 91, reminds us that Jesus will always be our refuge, even in the midst of a pandemic.

VERSE 1
I will dwell within the shelter of the God who reigns above
I will rest beneath the shadow of the mighty King of love
Though a sickness hides in darkness, though a plague destroys by day
I will stand upon His promises, Christ will be my hideaway

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Christ Will Be My Hideaway was released on January 22, 2021 by Sovereign Grace Music, a division of Sovereign Grace Churches. Words and music by Tim Chester, Bob Kauflin, Nathan Stiff, David Zimmer, Lacy Hudson, and McKenzie Fuller. Produced by Grace Nixon. Vocalist: McKenzie Fuller.

Not too long ago I took one of my grandsons out for a bagel and asked him a question. “What’s the most important thing in the world?” I told him it had to be a person or an object. 

After a long pause, he responded, “The Bible?” “That’s right,” I said. 

I went on to say that apart from God’s Word, we would have no way of knowing God’s thoughts, commands, warnings, or promises. We’d be limited to general revelation, which gloriously declares aspects of God’s character and deeds, but is silent when it comes to our separation from God and his plan to reconcile us to himself through Christ.

The Bible is an unspeakably precious gift that men and women have given their lives to protect, proclaim, and publish. So it makes all the sense in the world to spend as much time getting to know God through his Word as we can.

A Plan for Reading

As 2020 comes to a close, a lot of us are thinking about a Bible reading plan for 2021. I’ve spent numerous years since 2001 reading through the Bible. It’s always a rich, rewarding practice, whether I’m reading through a study Bible, using the McCheyne Bible reading plan, or benefiting from the Prof. Grant Horner plan.

When I want to slow down and go more in-depth I’ll read Scripture along with a trusted commentary (Christopher Ash on Job and Greg Beale on Revelation were both fantastic). 

But a couple years ago my church committed to reading through the Bible and I decided to use the 6 volume ESV Reader’s Bible. 

Wow. 

I discovered early on that I do better reading the Bible in a year when I seek to finish early, rather than always trying to catch up. So I aimed to read 25 pages each time I sat down. I didn’t always achieve that, but I succeeded often enough to enable me to finish by the end of September.

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Bob Kauflin (@bkauflin) is director of Sovereign Grace Music. He equips pastors and musicians in the theology and practice of congregational worship, and serves as a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He writes at worshipmatters.com and is author of True Worshipers: Seeking What Matters to God. Bob and his wife, Julie, have six children and a growing number of grandchildren.

This post originally appeared on Worship Matters, on Dec. 11, 2020.