“It should come as no surprise that in Western culture, triumphantly individualistic as it is, institutions tend to suffer in people’s estimations. Christians, shaped too much by this culture, predictably have a diminished appreciation even for their very own institution. They may recognize a certain need for the church, but neither loyalty to and love for her, on the one hand, nor a conviction that an individual Christian’s fortunes are bound up with those of the church, on the other, is as central to Christian piety as in earlier ages. Christians nowadays do not typically sing songs in their worship that express the same sentiment as did the once treasured hymns ‘Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken,’ ‘The Church’s One Foundation,’ or ‘I Love Thy Kingdom Lord.’” – Robert Rayburn

“There is no one book of scripture that is more helpful to the devotions of the saints than [the Psalms], and it has been so in all ages of the church, ever since it was written and the several parts of it were delivered to the chief musician for the service of the church.” – Matthew Henry

“Holy Scripture is no dogmatics. It contains all the knowledge of God we need but not in the form of dogmatic formulations…. Scripture is a gold mine; it is the church that extracts the gold, puts its stamp on it, and converts it into general currency.” – Herman Bavinck

“Church leaders, teachers, and pastors must themselves embrace an accurate Biblical theology of worship and then teach their people to do the same. The Lord seeks worshippers who will worship Him in spirit and truth: worship from the heart (by the power of the Spirit) and worship that results from having had minds informed by the truth of God’s Word (cf. John 4:23–24).” – Bill Parker

“God-centred public worship is worship that is fundamentally, foundationally, primarily, and exclusively focused on God. Furthermore, it is shaped according to His revelation for proper worship, which, therefore, makes it acceptable to Him.” – Bill Parker

“Church discipline, however, has two aspects to it: corrective and preventive. Preventive discipline may be compared to preventive health care—eating correctly to avoid health problems. Corrective discipline, on the other hand, may be compared to surgery—removing the problem for the health of the body.” – Bill Parker

“Arguably the best general description of the effect the New Testament Church had on its society is given by Luke in Acts 17:6. When an unruly mob could not find Paul and Silas — the source of their irritation — they dragged other Christians before the city officials and declared, ‘These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also’ (Acts 17:6). What was intended as a damning criticism, however, was actually an unintended accolade” – Bill Parker

“we need churches that are self-consciously distinct from the culture. We need churches in which the key indicator of success is not evident results but persevering biblical faithfulness. We need churches that help us to recover those aspects of Christianity that are distinct from the world, and that unite us.” – Mark Dever