A hush fell over the ministry of worship class during the first session. After the preliminaries, I began my first teaching module, titled “Worship as God’s Communication of Covenant Grace.” In this module, I emphasize God’s covenant commitment to His church as a worshiping assembly. The added emphasis is the work to which God commits Himself as He dwells in the midst of His people worshiping together.

As my class began to comprehend this teaching of Scripture there was quiet, attentive contemplation. When I asked if there were questions or comments, one student asked, “How do we get people in the church to understand these things?”

My response was simple. First of all, a pastor must grasp the concept that, in a preeminent sense, worship involves God’s communication of covenant grace. He must then teach this truth to the congregation and practice it as a guiding framework for corporate worship.

My hope is that all of you reading this article ...