"O Come, Let Us Worship" by Robert G. Rayburn. A Short Review

 


Okay. It may not be the most thrilling book you'll ever read, but it is very useful, well thought out, and instructive. Robert G. Rayburn wrote this volume in the early 1980s as an elder pastor to ministerial students and young ministers. It develops the rationale of seeing the Sunday morning worship assembly not as evangelistic; not as a Christian version of a Tupperware party; but as a time when Christians gather in dialogical adoration of God. Rayburn gives many persuasive reasons and reflections on how to see each element of worship in this way. He does write from a Presbyterian and Reformed perspective, but he draws on church history, the Book of Common Prayer, and other traditions. And most of all, he is guided by the sacred Scriptures.


This volume should be read as if you were sitting down with an older Christian minister who is graciously coaching you as a worship leader and as a pastor. In the end, you may not embrace everything he recommends, but you will see the worship assembly in a new light and find yourself often pondering, "How is what I'm putting together for this Sunday, worship?" And parishioners will find themselves much more appreciative of the Sunday morning worship time than they have in the past, "Oh. That's why we do this. That's why we say that." I happily recommend this volume for ministers, worship leaders and congregants alike.

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