Reformation Worship: Liturgies from the Past for the Present

Christians learn to worship from the generations of God's people who have worshipped before them. We sing psalms, because thousands of years ago, God's people sang them. Five hundred years ago, the leaders of the Reformation transformed Christian worship by encouraging the active participation and understanding of the individual worshiper. Christian worship today is built on this foundation. Jonathan Gibson and Mark Earngey have made worship resources from the Reformation era accessible by compiling the most comprehensive collection of liturgies from that era into newly translated modern English from the original German, Dutch, French, Latin, and early English. The structure of the liturgies, language, and rhythm continue to communicate the gospel in word and sacrament today. They provide a deep sense of God's call to worship and an appreciation for the Reformers as, first and foremost, men who wanted to help God's people worship. This book will also be of great interest to theological scholars and students who wish to understand early Reformation leaders. A useful tool for individuals, Reformation Worship can be used as a powerful devotional to guide daily prayer and reflection. By providing a connection to Reformation worship, Gibson and Earngey hope their work will inspire readers to experience what John Calvin described as the purpose of all church worship: "To what end is the preaching of the Word, the sacraments, the holy congregations themselves, and indeed the whole external government of the church, except that we may be united to God?"

Publisher: New Growth Press
Type: Hardback
ISBN: 9781948130219

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Jonathan Gibson, PhD, is ordained in the International Presbyterian Church (UK) and serves as Associate Professor of Old Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. He is the author of The Moon Is Always Round. He is married to Jackie and they have four children: Benjamin, Leila, Zachary, and Hannah. Mark Earngey (DPhil candidate, Oxford) is ordained in the Anglican Church of Australia (Diocese of Sydney) and is a doctoral candidate in historical theology at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University. He is coeditor with Jonathan Gibson of Reformation Worship. Mark is married to Tanya, and they have three children.

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"The book you now hold in your hands, or that perhaps lies on your desk, is a resource of almost unparalleled richness in its field, representing as it does an immense labor of love on the part of its editors and translators. Here, gathered together in one large volume, are liturgies crafted by some of the leading figures in the Protestant Reformation and employed by them to aid worship in a wide variety of places and churches." Sinclair B. Ferguson, Chancellor's Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary (from the Foreword)