Called to Worship by Vernon Whaley

I received this book as a Christmas gift from my grandparents and it was an absolutely wonderful book. The book is subtitled "The Biblical Foundations of Our Response to God's Call." This book is grounded in the Word of God. This is not just a book for worship leaders, though I would say it's a must-read if you are a worship leader, as God calls for all His children to be worshippers. Dr. Vernon Whaley takes us on a journey through the scriptures to gain a Biblical understanding of what it means to worship and how these people of the Bible lived, or even in some cases to further our understanding by example didn't live, a life of worship.

This book offers great insight and a Biblical understanding of worship. It begins in the garden of Eden and ends in eternity. There is great insight into the lives of Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and ultimately how Jesus lived a perfect life of worship with His father. At the end of every chapter he has a little section called "Principle of Worship from this Chapter" and that's where this book is able to be applied in everyone's lives. This will definitely be a book that I read again and come back too throughout the years as I continue to grow as a follower of Christ, a worship leader and ultimately a worshipper. I leave you with this quote from the end of this wonderful book:

"Worship is what we were made for. God created man because He wanted relationship. It's what He's about, and by now it must be clear that the way - the only way - to an intimate relationship with God is through worship. As we worship, we must be reminded to stay focused on the God of wonder. Worship is not the music, the methods, or the messenger. Worship is our expression of love to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, lived out in our daily lives."

I would recommend this book to any follower of Christ who wants to further their understanding of Biblical worship, and every single worship leader out there. It's so important that we as worship leaders have a great understanding of Biblical worship and what worship is and isn't, because as we lead corporately, it's an outpouring of our private worship, and my heart is for the people that I'm ministering to, is for them to grow in their life of worship.