Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship [Paperback]

David A. Peterson (Author), I. Howard Marshall (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 2002

Worship is of immense concern in the church and ironically the source of controversy and dispute. Can we get behind the question of what style of worship we should engage in to understand the bedrock foundation for God's people--honoring him as he desires? Is the dissatisfaction with worship voiced by so many perhaps a result of our having wandered from biblical teaching on the subject? Through careful exegesis in both Old and New Testaments, David Peterson unveils the total life-orientation of worship that is found in Scripture. Rather than determining for ourselves how we should worship, we, his people, are called to engage with God on the terms he proposes and in the way he alone makes possible. This book calls for a radical rethinking of the meaning and practice of worship, especially by those responsible for leading congregations. Here is the starting place for recovering the richness of biblical worship.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The author cuts back through the undergrowth of our inherited traditions to the clarity and straightforwardness of the biblical teaching. . . . Despite the scholarship behind it, all this is done with a beautiful simplicity and clarity that makes the book readily available to a wide circle of readers." (I. Howard Marshall )

About the Author

David Peterson lectures in New Testament at Moore College, Sydney, Australia. He is the author of Hebrews and Perfection (Cambridge University Press) and Possessed by God, in the New Studies on Biblical Theology series (IVP).

Product Details

• Paperback: 317 pages
• Publisher: IVP Academic (July 3, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830826971
• ISBN-13: 978-0830826971
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,778 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #36 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Worship & Devotion > Rites & Ceremonies
  • #80 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Practices > Ritual

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the few true Biblical Theologies on the topic, September 5, 2002

By 

Timothy Wat (Concord, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship (Paperback)

In preparing to develop and teach a theology of worship for our church's Sunday School, I have of late accumulated a large number of works on the topic which provide some rudimentary background and systematic foundation, only to turn and focus primarily on practical methodology. I have also found a fair number of writings with 'an agenda'...several appear to have been intended to rebut a recent argument or conflict.

What has been sorely lacking is a balanced and sound exegetical development of a Biblical theology of worship FROM THE BIBLE, apart from the contemporary rhetoric and 'worship wars' which characterizes so much current thought.

Peterson begins with a thoughtful (though not entirely comprehensive...Carson's seems more thorough to me) definition of worship, and works through detailed examinations of key OT and NT passages of prescriptive and descriptive texts. I found his textual work both defensible and insightful, and his conclusions provocative and resonant with the corpus of the Scriptures.

This book, in conjunction with the recent "Worship By the Book" (edited by D.A. Carson) to be the two most useful materials on worship I have found for my preparations.

Other works which I found more narrowly useful on particular related subtopics include John Frame & Marva Dawn (useful in a David Wells-ish postmodern perspective on worshippers, although a subtle Christian Feminism perspective is noted).

Hopefully, an objective reading of Peterson and Carson will yield similar conclusions in your studies.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Important Perspective about Worship, February 10, 2004

By 

Larry Ellis "Author of Forgiveness: Unleashin... (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship (Paperback)

This book had moments of diffculty when I read it. However, the clarity with which he develops the relationship of God to humanity is powerful.

Throughout all scripture we see God's consistent and faithful initiative to be with us and to draw us to himself. We see it from the leading of the Israelites out of the desert and giving of them the Ten Commandments, the tabernacle, the temple and finally through the sending of Jesus to give his life for us. Our perpetual challenge is to respond with acceptable worship, according to God's his criteria, not ours. Perhaps the greatest temptation to which many of us fall is to respond to God's love with our preferences in offerings, choices and individual preferences based on style. From Genesis to Revelation we see mankind's attempt to remold what God says is acceptable worship into what is culturally relevant and appealing to society. Worship is a lifestyle not an activity. Worship, which is acceptable to God, can take many forms such as service to others, confession of sin with grateful submission and respecting him to the point of obeying his commandments. However, all external acts are of no avail, if our hearts are not humble before God. Peterson is clear that the only worship that is acceptable is perfect worship - that given by Jesus to his Father. We are invited share in that worship because of God's design and the work and person of Jesus, his incarnation, sacrificial death, his resurrection and ascension to be in the presence of God the Father.

I can certainly recommend this book for one who is looking for a biblical basis for what God's calls worship. Peterson does a great job.

Larry Ellis
Denver CO

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clearly, The Best Work on This Complex Subject, January 11, 2004

By 

Tom Wadsworth "Tom Wadsworth" (Dixon, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship (Paperback)

I've been studying this issue for more than 25 years, and I've read many more than 100 scholarly books and articles on the subject. Peterson's work stands far above all others as the premiere treatment of the biblical material on worship.

He successfully cuts through today's all-too-common misconceptions of the word and presents a comprehensive picture of what the Bible really says about it. Peterson is a qualified scholar, and his research and handling of the Greek and Hebrew origins ably demonstrates his expertise.

He is also unafraid to challenge other scholarly works on this complex subject. His respect for scriptural teaching and his capability for "rightly handling the word of truth" is obvious on every page.

This is not light reading, yet it is apparent that Peterson has endeavored to write in a style that may be understandable by seminarians and professors, as well as those in the pulpit and those in the pew.

Properly understood and applied, Peterson's book has the potential to revolutionize Christian churches and revitalize Christian lives. A hundred years from now, I dare to say that Peterson's landmark work will still be regarded as the benchmark book on the subject.