A Taste of Heaven

R.C Sproul, A Taste of Heaven, Reformation Trust Publishing 2006, 173 pages.

If God himself were to design worship, what would it look like? Dr. Sproul starts the book by asking this question. In the church today we have many ideas and opinions as to what worship is and how it should be executed. Dr. Sproul answers this question in his book, A Taste of Heaven. This book really caught my attention because of a quote lingering in my mind from reading John Piper's, Let the Nations be Glad; he said, "Missions exist because worship doesn't."

Dr. Sproul explains that the only worship that is acceptable to God is worship that proceeds from a heart that is trusting in God and in God alone. He uses lots of examples from the Bible to drive the point home. I really appreciate the connections he made from the Old Testament that the church would be "A House of Prayer" Here is an excerpt,

Why did God want incense to be burned constantly in

His sanctuary? Incense has much symbolism in Scripture,

but one major factor is that the rising smoke of the incense

was symbolic of the prayers of God’s people ascending to

His throne (Rev. 5:8; 8:3–4). In commanding the perpetual

burning of incense, God was telling His people they were

not to draw near to Him except in an attitude of prayer.

That was the principle. So prayer was a very significant element

of the ancient Israelite cultus.

I highly recommend this book because it focuses us on the recipient of worship, namely God. We are reminded that when God looks at me, He sees the merit of Christ. My salvation rests not on my performance, but on His. Overall, I am really excited to see a book on worship that actually focuses on God and not on feelings.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Reformation Trust book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."