Customer Reviews

Unceasing Worship: Biblical Perspectives on Worship and the Arts

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Harold Best posits that "nobody does not worship." He develops the idea of "continuous outpouring," saying that God has eternally been continuously outpouring and that human beings, as creatures made in God's image, are also created "continuous outpouring." For humans, that outpouring is expressed in worship. In fact, all human beings are always in a state of worship. The problem is, worship is not always directed God-ward. For the Christian, though, because of Christ's work, our worship can be redeemed and can be directed toward God.

Best understands that all of life is a matter of worship--of honoring and serving that which (or the One whom) we value. Moreover, Best understands corporate worship to be a continuation of the worship Christians do even when they are not assembled together. Thus, there is no need to have a "call to worship" at the beginning of a corporate worship service, as though worship was something Believers need to begin doing for a while (and which they will stop doing in an hour's time or so). Rather, there is only One call to worship and once we respond to it, our lives are lived out in continuous worship. Interestingly, if all of the Christian life is a matter of worship, then evangelism can easily be seen as an invitation (or a call) to the Unbeliever to worship.

This is a great book for anyone wanting to build their knowledge of the theology of worship. It sets the ground for learning about how people interact in a worship gathering. It is impossible to know how to engage people in a worship gathering without first knowing how we all worship in everyday life.

I picked up this book because it was recommended by Tim Smith, worship pastor at Seattle's Mars Hill Church. Best writes on a scholarly level, carefully expounding his points, so this is not a book one wants to blaze through. It needs to be chewed slowly and digested. What's here, though, is sensational. Kudos to the team at IVP for publishing this and a number of other great books like Know the Truth.

The middle section, in which Best treats on worship and the arts, is perhaps the best. Highly recommended.

While it is an effort to worth through the first few chapters, the gold mine of discussion on the real meaning and purpose of worship is well worth the effort. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to live a life in worship of the Almighty God.

This book is amazing! Highly recommended for any Christian desiring a deeper understanding of God and relationship with Him.