Worship And The Reality Of God

Is God missing from our worship? Obstacles to true worship are not about contemporary or traditional music, electronic gadgetry or seeker sensitivity. Rather it is the habits of mind and heart, conditioned by our surrounding culture, that hinder our faith in the real presence of the transcendent God among his people. Sensing a real need for renewal, John Jefferson Davis offers a theology of worship that uncovers the most fundamental barriers to our vital involvement in the worship of our holy God. His profound theological analysis leads to fresh and bracing recommendations that will be especially helpful to all those who lead worship or want to more fully and deeply encounter the glory and majesty of God.

True worship can only be understood as it exists in the kingdom of God. David Ruis begins The Worship God Is Seeking by revealing how Jesus Christ is the perfect worshipper. During His time on earth, He left a legacy that would teach us what it means to worship with our lives, our hearts, and our every thought and action. Through Christ's example, we have been given an invitation to join with Him in the powerful presence of God for all-out kingdom worship. Find out how to achieve Jesus' perfect worship for yourself as you come with David Ruis on a journey to attain the worship God is seeking.

The invitation to worship God is the highest privilege of human beings - a privilege squandered by sinful rebellion, but also gloriously restored to us through the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. Biblical worship is a response to God's revelation of himself, empowered by the Holy Spirit, which finds expression in every aspect of human life and experience. At the same time, there is a great deal of music and song in the Bible. Music is a wonderful gift of God in creation, and there is every reason to embrace its riches and harness its power responsibly for the glory of God and the blessing of his people. However, Christians have often been divided over the theology and practice of worship, with differing views about spiritual gifts, the place of liturgy, priorities attached to various functions of the church, the weight given to congregational and 'whole-life' worship, and the role and style of music. While many of these areas are touched on in John Risbridger's excellent exposition, his intention is not to court controversy, but simply to allow Scripture to speak, in the hope of establishing as much common ground as possible. He follows a loosely trinitarian structure, in which the main sections explore the connection between worship and the purpose of the Father, the supremacy of the Son and life of the Holy Spirit. Each section concludes with two chapters on the Psalms, in which we hear a variety of 'voices', and learn to join their distinctive song.

Now in paper! "There is a distinct weariness with market-driven, showbiz worship. The pendulum has swung to the longing for transcendence, substance, challenge, and biblically driven worship. Michael Horton shows us the way." --Robert Webber, president, Institute for Worship Studies; author of Ancient-Future Faith "Horton's enlivening wisdom is surely a godsend to all evangelicals." --J. I. Packer, Regent College

Worship That Pleases God: The Passion and Reason of True Worship is a comprehensive book ranging far beyond the sanctuary to the private altar, to the heart of the worshiper and even to the workplace. Whole-life worship is the kind that pleases God. "...let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praiseÉAnd do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased (Hebrews 13:15, 16 NIV). A worship leader for more than thirty years, Dr. Phifer, brings a passionate writing style and sound biblical interpretation to this search for the meaning of "spirit and truth" worship (John 4:24). Dr. Phifer believes that True Worship establishes the Kingdom of God in our hearts, our homes, our places of worship as well as in the workplace and the marketplace. This book is about much more than what happens on Sunday morning. "Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit," the three characteristics of the Kingdom of God found in Romans 14:17, form the themes of each section of the book. Section One, Righteousness, deals with a biblical theology of worship. Dr. Phifer offers biblical definitions for the essential elements of worship and he presents seven biblical models for worship. Section Two, Peace, presents the priority of worship as the factor of church life that is intended to bind generations and cultures together in a bond of peace. Section Three, Joy, treats the daily life of the believer dealing with issues of craftsmanship, creativity and the spiritual warfare of private worship. Paul urged the Roman church to "...present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (of worship)" (Rom 12:1 NKJV [NIV]). Worship That Pleases God is a passionate book presenting that reasonable service of worship to God. HR ALIGN=LEFT

Refuting the notion that the doctrine of the Trinity may be indispensable for the creed but remote from life and worship, James B. Torrance points us to the indispensable "who" of worship--the triune God of grace. He demonstrates why trinitarian theology is the very essence of Christian confession.

Building on years of research and teaching, experienced author and theologian David Wells offers a remedy for evangelicalism’s superficial theology and weightless conception of God: a journey to discover the paradoxical nature of his holiness and love. We all struggle, at times, to hold that paradox together, commonly resulting in problems such as liberalism or legalism. Yet understanding how God’s holiness is inextricably bound to his love is what enables us to live between the two extremes and defines our life of service in this world. In the vein of classics such as Packer’s Knowing God, Wells’s biblical theology is written at an accessible level so that all readers can cultivate a balanced vision of the God who belongs in the center of it all.

In keeping with the classic Christian tradition, Great Is the Lord sets out the doctrine of God in a way that illumines the mind, moves the heart, and stirs the soul to praise the triune God. Ron Highfield introduces students, ministers, and others to the “traditional” doctrine of God held by the majority of the church from the second to the twentieth century: God is triune, loving, merciful, gracious, patient, wise, one, simple, omnipotent, omniscient, eternal, omnipresent, immutable, impassible, and glorious. Irenically challenging open theism and process theology, Highfield shows that the classical doctrine of God actually preserves our confidence in God's love and his liberating action better than its opponents do. This traditional doctrine, Highfield argues, grounds our dignity and freedom in the center of reality, the trinitarian life of God. Highfield's work maintains the highest intellectual standards throughout even as it offers a true theology for the praise of God.