WORSHIP
Its priority, principles and practice
By J.C. Ryle. Banner of Truth. 31 pages
ISBN 0 85151 906 7
This is a short and strident pamphlet lifted from Knots Untied, which has much to commend it.
Its subject is congregational Christian worship. It sounds many helpful notes concerning worhsip being Bible-directed, intelligent, heartfelt, spiritual and reverent, which need underlining again in our day. It was written against a background of the rise of both the anti-clergy Plymouth Brethren movement and the Tractarian semi-Catholic idolatry within the C of E, and this colours what is written (not unhelpfully).
The re-emergence of heavy shepherds
What would you think if you received a letter from your church leaders that read like this? ‘Are church members …