Worship Seeking Understanding - John D. Witvliet (Book)

Description

Worship Seeking Understanding is a collection of fifteen essays on the practice of Christian worship. At first glance, this may seem like an unlikely collection. As you drop in at various points along the way, you may find references to both aesthetic theory and popular music, both metrical psalm singing and enthusiastic revivalism, both sacramental theology and funerals. You may discover some paragraphs that aptly describe your church on a Sunday morning and others that seem so far afield that you may wonder if they have anything to do with your Sunday churchgoing. These juxtapositions are exactly the point of this collection, for these essays, taken together, attempt to build bridges in three directions at the same time: between theory and practice, between one worship-related discipline and another, and between one Christian tradition and another. As challenging as building these bridges might be, I am convinced that the most fruitful avenue to worship renewal involves all three.

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Worship Seeking Understanding

Part 1: Biblical Studies
1. The Former Prophets and the Practice of Christian Worship
2. Praise and Lament in the Psalms and in Liturgical Prayer

   Part 2: Theological Studies

3. Covenant Theology in Ecumenical Discussions of the Lord's Supper
4. Theological Models for the Relationship between Liturgy and Culture

   Part 3: Historical Studies

5. Images and Themes in John Calvin's Theology of Liturgy
6. Baptism as a Sacrament of Reconciliation in the Thought of John Calvin
7. The Americanization of Reformed Worship
8. Theological Issues in the Frontier Worship Tradition in Nineteenth-Century America

   Part 4: Musical Studies

9. The Spirituality of the Psalter in Calvin's Geneva
10. Soul Food for the People of God
11. The Blessing and Bane of the North American Evangelical Megachurch

    Part 5: Pastoral Studies

12. Making Good Choices in an Era of Liturgical Change
13. Planning and Leading Worship as a Pastoral Task
14. Celebrating the Christian Passover in Easter Worship
15. How Common Worship Forms US for Our Encounter with Death

Other Worship-Related Writing by John D. Witvliet

Index

Length:	319 pages
Size:	6 x 9 inches
Format:	Softcover
Available Date:	June 2003
Published By:	Baker Book House
ISBN:	0-8010-2623-7