Fewer topics in the church today arouse more interest and debate than the issue of worship, but settling the "worship wars" will demand more than simply catering to opinions and satisfying personal preferences. Authentic worship must begin with a truly biblical understanding of its purpose and object, as well as an informed perspective of how the Bible, baptism, the Lord's Supper, and music contribute to genuine God-centered worship.

In this important work, recognized experts offer worship leaders and those preparing for ministry a valuable resource for sorting through layers of tradition and unchanging biblical tenets. The authors--including a historical theologian, a systematic theologian, and a specialist in cross-cultural studies--examine three key components to authentic worship:

Enthroned on Our Praise, volume four in the NEW AMERICAN
COMMENTARY STUDIES IN BIBLE AND THEOLOGY series,
examines God's revelation of Himself in the Old Testament, prompting
readers to deeply consider what He truly desires from faithful followers
in times of worship.

An excellent resource particularly for pastors, worship leaders, and
worship classes, Enthroned on Our Praise looks at what the Scriptures
identify as elements of worship and fosters a fresh appreciation of the
Old Testament and its contributions to a close relationship with God.

Users will find this an excellent extension of the long-respected NEW
AMERICAN COMMENTARY series.

Do we think about worship?

In the 'emerging' generation 'worship' is something to do with style, rather than substance. A matter of live-and-let-live choice.

But pure worship is declaring with our words and lives that God is more important to us than anything else - that he is our deepest desire and that he is worth more than anything else we hold dear. God alone is worthy of worship because he alone is righteous.

Louie Giglio points out that worship is simply about value. Our worship is a response to what we value most. If we consider that a person, a thing, or an experience is what matters most then we are willing to sacrifice in order to get it. Worship is coming before the 'throne' of what is of ultimate value to us.

In the Old Testament the priests would build an altar on which to offer the sacrifices to the One whom they worshipped. In order to find your altar of worship just follow the trail of how you use your time, energy, money and affections. The more time you spend before that throne, the more your life will reflect what or whom you worship.

It is time to re-engineer what we value most so that worship is something that truly honors God. Some values we hold dear will have to be cast aside, some new ideas adopted, still others will need to be strengthened.