Friday, November 2, 2012

Who can be a true worshiper? Anyone can!


Heart Hungry to Worship--Is Jesus Enough?
David Herndon

It's been awhile since I've read a book about ministry. I'm glad that I was given the opportunity to read this one! In Heart Hungry to Worship, David Herndon gracefully weaves personal histories of people he has been blessed to minister to with the uplifting histories of Bible figures like Philip the Evangelist, Saul the radical Jew who became Paul the Apostle and many others. And within the pages of this easy-to-read and entertaining book, David focuses on how all kinds of people--even those no one would expect--have become true worshippers of God.

David has compared the lives of people he knows, focusing on their fears, doubts, frustrations and failures, with the merciful insight of someone who has experienced first-hand God's grace and love. And it's because of this that Heart Hungry to Worship can be a great tool for ministry. I can see David's book being used effectively in home-based Bible studies as well traditional Sunday School settings.

At the end of a few chapters of this 14-chapter "handbook," David challenges the read to accept God's grace as it has been presented through Jesus. At the end of a few others, he suggests taking the concepts presented within those chapters and applying it to our daily walk with Jesus. So what does this mean? Heart Hungry to Worship is not just a book for someone who is already a Christian; it's also a wonderfully-inspiring read for someone who has never read about Saul, the woman at the well or even Mary Magdalene.

As with any self-respecting handbook for Christian living, David has done a fine job with referencing and explaining key Bible passages, and he does this with a much-welcomed conversational style that seemed to be missing in more than a few of the other Christian-growth texts that I have encountered. Of course, it should go without saying that it could be concluded that listening to one of David's sermons would have a similar effect!

Here's one of my favorite parts of Heart Hungry to Worship: "There is no one so bad, so evil, so immoral that He cannot redeem him or her. There is no one so tainted by sin that He cannot cleanse. There is no one so far away, so lost, that He cannot find." This passage comes from the book's conclusion. But throughout the book, David hits on this essential truth about God's amazing grace. And this makes Heart Hungry to Worship a great read for everyone!

A Heart Hungry to Worship