The Most Important Part of a Church Service

From the beginning of this ministry, I have given testimony of my parents raising their children to stand on the authority of God’s Word, never knowingly compromise God’s Word, and have a heart for reaching people with the gospel message.

I have testified many times of my father’s leadership of my family and how he led us to stand boldly on the Bible’s authority. We all saw our parents’ love for God and his Word and their heart for the gospel. I can’t emphasize the impact our parents had on our lives enough. As I’ve often stated, Answers in Genesis is part of the legacy of our godly parents.

What a blessing it was recently when I received the following testimony from a lady in Australia after she read the book that details the history of Answers in Genesis from my birth to the present. What I loved is that she testified to what I’ve always said about my parents. She wrote:

I recently ordered a copy of Ken Ham’s new book Miraculous! and have been absolutely astounded at what has been achieved from Ken’s very humble beginnings as a high school teacher.

For several years in the late 1970s, I attended the Acacia Ridge Presbyterian Church in Brisbane. Ken and Marylyn (Mally) and several of their young children were there, along with Ken’s sister Rosemary and her husband Paul, and their young twins, another sister Beverly (a friend of mine in the church youth group), and of course, Ken’s parents, Merv and Norma. On more than one occasion, I was invited to Merv and Norma’s home, probably for Sunday lunch. At the time, I was a trainee nurse at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane and a fairly young Christian.

As I have read the book, I have reflected on many things. Norma always said that when Ken was very ill with sepsis, she believed he would be healed and was destined to do great things for God. At times, Merv preached or spoke at the church, and I have never forgotten him reading the Scriptures one Sunday morning and stating that the reading of the Bible in a church service was the most important part of the whole service. Such godly people, and I am forever indebted to so many people who were influential in my life when I was a fledgling Christian.

In recent times I came across some children’s books written by Ken and purchased some for my grandsons—how wonderfully written they are and much appreciated by our family. I have since ordered more resources to give out at Christmastime to younger members of our family and friends—I am passionate that children should grow up with a knowledge of the Scriptures. I might also add that I have always been a believer in the literal biblical account of creation.

Some of the accounts in Miraculous! are nail-biting to say the least and a testament to faith, prayer, and the hand and provision of God.

As I read this testimony, the following words really stood out to me. She wrote that my father said that “the reading of the Bible in a church service was the most important part of the whole service.” I must admit I had forgotten that he often said that. After reading it, I could “hear” my father saying exactly that. But note the impact my father’s stand (and my mother’s stand too) had on this person so many years ago. And who knows how many more people were impacted by my parents—not counting the millions now impacted through Answers in Genesis. I know there had to be so many others impacted directly by their lives as they proclaimed and lived out the truth of God’s Word and the gospel.

As we are in the second month of this new year, I want to once again emphasize that Answers in Genesis is really an evangelistic biblical authority ministry. That’s always been our focus. In our day, the lies of evolution/millions of years have been a major part of the attacks on biblical authority, particularly on the authority of Genesis 1–11. This is why we have also specialized in providing resources to teach creation apologetics (as well as general apologetics) in regard to a defense of the Christian faith.

He was always emphasizing the authority of God’s Word.

Every time my father was reading scripture and he came across phrases like “it is written,” “thus says the Lord,” and so on, he would stop and talk about the authority of the Word of God. He was always emphasizing the authority of God’s Word. And depending on which translation you use, phrases like “thus says the Lord” or “thus says Yahweh” (LSB) occur 3–400 times throughout Scripture.

As we are in the early part of a new year, I thought it would be good to ponder some special verses from Scripture which remind us of the vital importance of the Word of God (all from the LSB):

All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

Forever, O Yahweh, Your word stands firm in heaven. (Psalm 119:89)

Do not add to His words lest He reprove you, and you be proved a liar. (Proverbs 30:6)

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what pleases Me, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)

And ponder the events Nehemiah records:

And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they said to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which Yahweh had commanded to Israel. . . . And he read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the ears of the people were attentive to the book of the law. . . . And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed Yahweh the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped Yahweh with their faces to the ground. (Nehemiah 8:1, 3, 5–6 LSB)

Do you think we would have the patience to hear the Word of God read from early morning to midday? And consider this, when Ezra opened the book, “all the people stood up.” Wow! What reverence and respect for God’s Word!

Over the past 50 years, I have visited hundreds of churches from many different denominations. In some churches they sit down to sing and stand up to pray and read God’s Word. For some, they stand to sing and sit down to pray. In some churches they don’t even sit down! But when I read Ezra, I think, “Did they stand up for the whole morning while Ezra read from God’s Word?” Scripture tells us they stood for about six hours! Would any of us be prepared to do that today? I must admit with my chronic back issues, I couldn’t stand that long, but I think God would understand the effects of the fall causing me problems.

How many people in our churches do you think would have such reverence and respect of God’s Word as the people in Ezra’s day did? Now, please don’t get me wrong. I love music and love singing and praising God. But sometimes I wonder if the emphasis in a lot of churches today is much more on music than it is on the reading and preaching of the Word.

My favorite expositional preacher is Martyn Lloyd-Jones. He preached at Westminster Church in London during the last century. He was a phenomenal defender of the Christian faith and preached a lot on the importance of biblical authority. He greatly challenged the church on this topic. In one of his published sermons on the authority of Scripture based on Ephesians 6:14, he stated the following:

There can be no doubt whatsoever that all the troubles in the Church today, and most of the troubles in the world, are due to a departure from the authority of the Bible. And, alas, it was the Church herself that led in the so-called Higher Criticism that came from Germany just over a hundred years ago. Human philosophy took the place of revelation, man’s opinions were exalted and Church leaders talked about “the advance of knowledge and science,” and “the assured results” of such knowledge. The Bible then became a book just like any other book, out of date in certain respects, wrong in other respects, and so on. It was no longer a book on which you could rely implicitly. There is no question at all that the falling away, even in Church attendance, in this country is the direct consequence of the Higher Criticism. The man in the street says, “What do these Christians know? It is only their opinion, they are just perpetrating something that the real thinkers and scientists have long since seen through and have stopped considering.” Such is the attitude of the man in the street! He does not listen any longer, he has lost all interest. The whole situation is one of drift; and very largely, I say, it is the direct and immediate outcome of the doubt that has been cast by the Church herself upon her only real authority. Men’s opinions have taken the place of God’s truth, and the people in their need are turning to the cults, and are listening to any false authority that offers itself to them.

We all therefore have to face this ultimate and final question: Do we accept the Bible as the Word of God, as the sole authority in all matters of faith and practice, or do we not? Is the whole of my thinking governed by Scripture, or do I come with my reason and pick and choose out of Scripture and sit in judgment upon it, putting myself and modern knowledge forward as the ultimate standard and authority? The issue is crystal clear. Do I accept Scripture as a revelation from God, or do I trust to speculation, human knowledge, human learning, human understanding and human reason? Or, putting it still more simply, Do I pin my faith to, and subject all my thinking to, what I read in the Bible? Or do I defer to modern knowledge, to modern learning, to what people think today, to what we know at this present time which was not known in the past? It is inevitable that we occupy one or the other of those two positions.1

Wow! You would think he was preaching to the church today! This message he gave in the twentieth century is just as relevant in the twenty-first century. Really, this message he preached is the same message Answers in Genesis is preaching—and it’s the same message my father preached!

The solution to the social and moral issues and the solution for a lukewarm and compromising church is God’s authoritative Word and the gospel (there are, of course, exceptions). God’s Word and the gospel have always been the solution to man’s problems ever since Genesis 3, which we see in the prophecy in Genesis 3:15.

At Answers in Genesis, we will continue to proclaim the gospel as we stand on the authority and truth of God’s Word from Genesis 1:1 without compromise.

Your prayers and financial support are vital to helping us boldly continue the ministry that the Lord has called us to do—would you prayerfully consider sending a generous gift today at AnswersDonate.com? Your donation of any size will be a great blessing to AiG.

Thank you for being part of our Answers in Genesis family and supporting us prayerfully and financially. Please know that support is an investment in eternity as we reach as many as we can with the truth of God’s Word and the saving gospel.

In Christ,
Ken