In Sunday’s sermon, “The Growing Crescendo of God’s Praise,” Ryan unfolded Psalm 96, a psalm that calls on God’s people to praise God over a dozen different ways.

One of the ways that we’re told to praise God is through exultant description. For example, in verses 7-8 we’re told to “ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.”

To encourage us in this, Ryan mentioned a list of God’s attributes alphabetically listed in a book called, Prayer Coach. In the appendix of this book, there’s a section titled, “A to Z of Biblical Names, Titles, and Attributes of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” The book is available online or at our newly refreshed Resource Center, opening this Sunday. This is a great tool for ascribing to God glory in our prayers.

Here’s an example from the letter A:

• Able (Dan. 3:17; Matt. 9:28; Rom. 16:25; 2 Cor. 9:8; Eph. 3:20; 2 Tim. 1:12; Heb. 7:25)
• Abounding in love and faithfulness (Ex. 34:6)
• Adam, the last (1 Cor. 15:45)
• Advocate (Job 16:19; 1 John 2:1)
• All (Col. 3:11)
• Almighty, the (Job 5:17)
• Alpha (Rev. 1:8, 21:6)
• Amen, the (Rev. 3:14)
• Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:22)
• Anointed One (Psa. 2:2; Acts 4:27)
• Apostle and high priest (Heb. 3:1)
• Architect and builder (Heb. 11:10)
• Atoning sacrifice (2 John 2:2)
• Author and perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2)
• Avenger (2 Sam. 22:48; Psa. 94:1)
• Awesome (Ex. 15:11; Neh. 1:5; Dan. 9:4)

Another church that caught on to this great idea published this list in Pdf form for printing as a tri-fold pamphlet. Click here for a Pdf of the list of attributes found at the end of Prayer Coach.

When we speak about gifts in the church, what usually comes to mind first are the gifts that God’s Spirit has given to individual believers for the building up of the church. Some of these are mentioned in passages like Romans 12:6-8, and 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.

What we don’t consider often enough is the gifts that God has given to his church in various kinds of leaders.

In Sunday’s sermon, “Jesus’ Plan for Your Growth,” Ryan spent some time unpacking Ephesians 4:11-12, where Paul writes, “God gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…”

If God has given these leaders to his church, and if they are integral to the growth of the church, then we should know who they are and what they are given to do. Some of these roles are clear from the title, but some require some dot-connecting.

Clues To Understanding The Gifts in Ephesians 4:11-12

First, from verses like Ephesians 2:19-20 and 3:3-5 we can discern that “apostles” and “prophets” were closely related to one another and were unique in their foundational role in the establishment of the church.

So then you are . . . members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone…
—Ephesians 2:19–20

When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
—Ephesians 3:3–5

So, while there are different kinds of prophets and prophecy in the New Testament, there is also a more specific kind of “prophet,” as mentioned in Ephesians 4, closely related to the role of an apostle. These prophets were probably Scripture writers along with the apostles. Luke is an example of a Scripture writer who wasn’t an apostle.

Second, there is good reason to see a logical or chronological order to this list in Ephesians 4. Obviously, “apostles and prophets” are foundational, and they are first in Paul’s list. But in 1 Corinthians 12:28, another passage dealing with the unity and growth of the church, Paul gives us a similar list but this time he actually numbers a few of the roles: “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.”

The whole list isn’t meant to be logical or chronological. But at least part of it is. Tongues is last for a reason, given the context. And the order of the first few are actually numbered, and probably according to a kind of priority: “. . .first apostles, second prophets, third teachers. . .”

So, here are some short role descriptions for each of the leaders in this Ephesians 4 list:

• Apostles – These are the twelve appointed by Jesus, which included Matthias who replaced Judas, and also, Paul.
• Prophets – These are men like Luke who wrote Scripture but weren’t an apostle.
• Evangelists – These are the men who took the Word and the gospel to places where it hadn’t reached. These were what we would call, “missionaries,” or, “church planters.”
• Pastors – These are the shepherds who led churches once they were established, most often raised up from within the church itself. These are in other places called, “elders,” or, “overseers” (1 Peter 5:1-2).
• Teachers – Since teaching is a function of pastoring, and since “pastors and teachers” seem to be paired grammatically, these are often seen as the same role. But if this is a list of five different kinds of roles in logical and chronological order, then teachers would be those in the church with a ministry of teaching under the authority of the elders of the church. In our immediate context, this would include Sunday School workers, Community Group leaders, Men’s and Women’s Ministry teachers, and others.

But then notice that each of these leaders is given in order to “equip the saints for the work of ministry.”

Some Implications

There are several neat implications that we can draw from Ephesians 4:11-12. Here are a few:

1. God has given special care to the establishment and structure of his church. He is a careful builder and has his own designs for the creation and growth of his people.
2. Each of the equipping roles that God has established work together to grow the church. We need the Scriptures given to us by the apostles and the prophets. We need some to go out and take the Word where it hasn’t gone. We need some to shepherd and lead established churches. And we need teachers.
3. Central to the church’s growth is the Word. Each of these roles is related in some fashion to the Word. There are Word-writers, Word-takers, Word-feeders, and Word-teachers.
4. Every member of the church is a minister. The role of each of these leaders is to “equip the saints for the work of ministry.” Who are the “saints”? That’s all of us. From Ephesians 4:14-15 we learn that we grow as we mature in right doctrine, and we are held to the truth as we – the saints – speak the truth to one another in love.

In his book, The Heart of Evangelism, Jerram shares about the importance of asking questions in our conversations with those who don’t know our Lord:

We need to learn to ask questions that will help us understand what is in a person’s heart and mind. That is what Jesus did with this man (expert in the law in the Good Samaritan story), and we find Him taking this approach repeatedly in His discussions with people. Francis Schaeffer used to say that if he had only one hour with someone, he would spend fifty-five minutes asking questions and five minutes trying to say something that would speak to his or her situation, once he understood a little more about what was going on in his or her heart and mind. What is needed is genuine love and concern for the person we are meeting, a readiness to ask questions because we truly desire to know the person, and prayer for the discernment of the Holy Spirit about what to say.

The Heart of Evangelism and Learning Evangelism from Jesus, both by Jerram Barrs, are available at the Resource Center.

We’re looking forward to having Jerram Barrs with us this weekend for a Saturday Seminar, “Barriers and Bridges: Loving Others to Christ,” on Saturday, from 9 AM – 12 PM. The cost is free, and you are welcome to invite anyone who might be helped by our guest.

In Ryan’s series through the Psalms, Pour Out Your Heart to Him, it was inevitable that he would weave in and out of the theme of praise. Even psalms of lament eventually turn to praise. The theme is everywhere because, as we’ve been saying, the LORD is great and greatly to be praised (Psalm 145:3).

Because the Psalms have so much to teach us about praise, Ryan spent his last four sermons on the subject in a miniseries called, A Both/And Kind of Praise. Like the title suggests, praise in the Psalms reflects the breadth of our great God. So, on the one hand praise is to be heavy, but on the other hand it should also be happy. God can be praised with shouts, but also with silence. Praise is about giving to God, but it is also about getting from God.

In Sunday’s sermon, “A Both/And Kind of Praise: The Aim,” Ryan quoted Tim Keller about the mingling of head and heart in our worship of God:

In order for us to worship, our mind, emotions, and will have to be moved. They’re all organically connected. Merely learning a truth about God is intellectual education, not worship. For example, I can know intellectually that God is good but still be worried silly about something that’s coming up this week. If the morning’s sermon is on the sovereignty and goodness of God, I haven’t worshiped unless that truth descends from my mind and touches my emotions and my will.

I worship, then, when I realize I’ve been trusting in my own abilities, not the sovereignty and goodness of God. When I pull my affections off the other things I’ve been trusting in—which is why I’m anxious—and put them on God, I will be touched emotionally. I may cry; I may not. It depends on what kind of personality I have. But the truth will affect my emotions.

My will is also affected when I decide to change the way I handle that threat next week. Worship is grasping a truth about God and then letting that truth strike you in the center of your being. It thrills you, comforts you. That’s when the truth has moved from left to right brain—from mind to heart. On the spot, it will change the way you feel. The whole brain, the whole person, is affected.
–Tim Keller, “Worship Worthy of the Name: Worship is Seeing what God is Worth and Giving Him What He’s Worth,” in, Changing Lives through Preaching and Worship

In the course of Ryan’s four messages, he worked through twenty-two pairings. In case you missed one of the sermons, or if you wanted to work through them again, here are Ryan’s twenty-two pairings in his four-part miniseries, A Both/And Kind of Praise:

Part 1: “The Basics”

• Constant and Corporate
• Bible-Formed and Bible-Filled
• Revelation and Response
• Greatness and Grace
• Historical and Heavenward

Part 2: “The Ingredients”

• Head and Heart
• Tasting and Telling
• Emotional and External
• Authentic and Aspiring
• Heavy and Happy

Part 3: “The Form”

• Pastoral and Participatory
• Formed and Free
• Past and Present
• Skillful and Simple
• Awe-filling and Not Amusing
• Shouts and Silence

Part 4: “The Aim”

• Giving and Getting
• Exalting and Edifying
• Teaches and Transforms
• Covenantal and Contagious
• Summons and Sends
• Sung and Spoken

In Sunday’s sermon, “A Both/And Kind of Praise: The Form,” Ryan addressed a number of principles that give shape to our Sunday gatherings.

The Role of the Sermon Listener

We learned that corporate praise should be both pastoral and participatory. So, while some are responsible for leading in song, all of us are part of the “church choir.” We should be engaged in singing, in relating with one another, and in prayer. But we should also be engaged in the preaching. That is, we should actively listen to and digest Sunday’s sermon as it comes at us. Much of our listening in a week is passive. Not this listening.

To help with this, there are two resources available at the Resource Center that teach us sermon listening skills:

Expository Listening: A Practical Handbook for Hearing and Doing God’s Word
by Ken Ramey

Listen Up!: A Practical Guide to Listening to Sermons
by Christopher Ash

Principles for Song Selection

Song selection is pastorally directed as well, a function of the shepherding role of our leaders. And our leaders aim to select songs that are singable and encourage our unified engagement in song. In addition, our praise, as Ryan explained, should connect us with the past and the present. For this reason, we work to utilize the best of older and newer songs for congregational singing. We want to sing songs that accurately, thoughtfully, and beautifully express the truth we love in a manner that fits that truth.

Several writers and writing groups are worth mentioning, each devoted to serving the church with texts and music for congregational singing.

Keith and Krystin Getty are modern hymn writers. You might recognize the songs, “In Christ Alone,” “By Faith,” or “O Church, Arise.” We have the Gettys to thank for those tunes and many others. Their two popular albums are, In Christ Alone, and Awaken the Dawn.  

Then, there’s Sovereign Grace Music, writing new songs and putting old songs to new tunes. You might be familiar with “Arise My Soul, Arise,” or “Now Why This Fear.” Both of these songs are from the newest Sovereign Grace album, From Age to Age.

Another group to check out is Sojourn Music, from Sojourn Church in Louisville, KY. Like Sovereign Grace Music, Sojourn writes a number of their own songs, and sets some of the better older songs to updated or new arrangements. A full list of songs with links for purchase is available here, including “Before the Throne of God Above,” “Warrior,” and “Absent from Flesh.” Examples of excellent songs that might not be familiar to you are, “Glory Be,” “Only Your Blood,” and “In The Shadow of The Glorious Cross.”

And, of course, at DSC we sing newer songs, many written by our own members, and older songs with updated arrangements. Click here for albums previously released by DSC, and check back to DSC’s bandcamp page for a slow trickle of free downloads of songs recorded at last year’s Cause for Praise concert, including, “He Hideth My Soul,” and “Kyrie (Lord, Have Mercy).”

The most important singing we do in a week is on Sunday morning when we’re together. But you can’t go wrong by investing in some of these songs for listening throughout the week.