“I can see clearly now!” For generations before the year 2020, most of us only associated the term “2020” with vision. Generally speaking, those with 20/20 vision are considered to have normal eyesight. They can see objects clearly at a distance of 20 feet, which must be a wonderful feeling! For years, I’ve fallen into the camp of those who don’t have normal vision. For me to be able to see clearly at 20 feet -- or less than two feet -- I need glasses to correct my vision. Glasses filter the world around me to help my eyes and brain work together to process things more clearly. Without my glasses, things look blurry. Details are missing. My understanding of who or what I see is unsure. I can easily get confused or even deceived by what I think I see when I don’t have on my glasses. But once I put on my glasses, my vision is corrected. I can see clearly. Things aren’t blurry. Details are present. My understanding of who or what I see is sure. I don’t easily get confused or even deceived by what I see when I have on my glasses.

The situation of 2020 was the impetus of this book. This book is the result of some straining that we did in our church to get focus on one important issue: Worship. What is biblical worship? When it comes to the issue of worship, the year 2020 made me step back and really ask this question. It forced me to begin to deeply explore how God’s Word answers that question. During the period of time that our church couldn’t physically gather, we wanted our church to continue to be faithful. During the period of time that we were gathering together under cleaning, masking, and social distancing restrictions, we wanted our church to be faithful. How do we do that? What does it really mean to worship, and what are the essential expressions of biblical worship? How does God define worship, and how have God’s people displayed faithfulness in worshiping God throughout the biblical period of history until today?

This book is the result of months of study and prayer that led to that sermon series on worship in 2020. This was a time of putting on new glasses for me, and it was a time of seeing worship more clearly through the lens of God’s Word.

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Joel Williams serves as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in St. Francisville, Louisiana. Joel loves to preach and to teach God's Word. His teaching ministry extends from his church into the classroom both in Louisiana and internationally, where he teaches for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS).

Dr. Williams holds a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana Tech University, a master’s degree from Louisiana State University, and a master’s degree and doctoral degree from NOBTS.

He and his wife Tiffany have two adult children, one son-in-law, and one grandchild, who all live in Louisiana.