Sunday Matters: 52 Devotionals to Prepare Your Heart for Church

Paul Tripp

Reviewed by: Jeffrey S. Carter

Sunday Matters: 52 Devotionals to Prepare Your Heart for Church, by Paul Tripp. Crossway, 2023. Hardcover, 288 pages, $24.99. Reviewed by OP pastor Jeffrey S. Carter.

How often do we arrive for worship on Sunday without giving a moment’s thought about what we’re about to do? How easily do we forget or neglect to consider the sobering glory of corporate worship? Paul Tripp knows the answers most believers would give to these questions. He wrote Sunday Matters to help readers prepare for the single most significant activity of life: the worship of the triune God.

Tripp needs no introduction. For decades he’s proven steadfast in applying the grace of Christ to all of life. This recent devotional is no different. Tripp divides the book into fifty-two devotions, best read before entering into worship. They are short and well-structured. A one-sentence summary introduces each entry, outlining its content and theme.

The devotions themselves are typical of Tripp’s style. He offers personal anecdotes and stories that connect with our daily lives. His tone is gracious, even as he presses us with hard, searching, and convicting questions. Frequent references to Scripture from both testaments fill the entries. And each devotion concludes with one or two Scriptures specific to its topic. These are often short enough to memorize and pray in preparation for worship. Tripp also includes questions for personal reflection, which help to apply the material, together with instructions for family discussion to aid those leading family worship.

There’s much to appreciate about the weekly march of devotions presented in this book. They’re down-to-earth and accessible both to young and old, those new to the faith and mature saints. Tripp doesn’t hesitate to confront sin, especially in its destructively subtle forms (a strength of his pastoral approach). With a surgeon’s precision, he exposes our heart. Yet all along the way, he presents the gospel as the hope for sinners and points us to the ordinary means of grace. Indeed, gathered corporate worship is where we rejoice in the Savior who died and rose again for us. Tripp leads us to rest in the finished work of Christ and to rejoice in him with fellow redeemed sinners.

I found the stylistic variety of the devotions helpful. Some focus on weighty concepts like law and grace, repentance and faith, justification and sanctification. Others deal with specific sins that deaden the ways we enjoy or engage in corporate worship. Among these are the sins of grumbling, worry, or a distracted busyness. A few of the devotions are even set in verse and offer a poetic take on a particular aspect of preparing for worship (a feature I found very refreshing).

Some entries return to similar themes and could thus seem repetitive. But if read over the course of a year (or longer), such repetition keeps Christ and his gospel constantly before us. In this, Tripp succeeds in his goal. This book helps us all to prepare well for the week-in, week-out worship of the triune God.