Here Is Our God: A Review

I've already mentioned in a couple of posts that I've been reading Here Is Our God: God's Revelation of Himself in Scripture. This book is an edited collection of the eight plenary speakers' talks at the 2012 Gospel Coalition National Women's Conference. And so Here Is Our God offers eight chapters with each of the talks by these eight speakers/authors: Tim Keller, Paige Brown, John Piper, Carrie Sandom, Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Jenny Salt, Kathleen Nielson, and D.A. Carson. Nielson and Carson edited this collection and put it together into this book.

There are many good things to talk about in regards to Here Is Our God. First is its emphasis on leading women to worship. As this book began as a conference for women, Here Is Our God is aimed at and written for women (of all ages). Yet, as Carson and Nielson wrote in the introduction,

We said repeatedly that the 2012 conference was for women but not all about women. The conference was about our God who reveals himself in his Word and redeems his people through his Son. [...] We want to be raising up women who shine forth Jesus, the one who shines from the Bible's pages from beginning to end. We want the church to be full of women whose lips and lives declare: "Here Is Our God!"

Second is its central importance on Scripture. Even though the subtitle is "God's Revelation of Himself in Scripture," there could have been lots of rabbit trails or at least "supplements." But there weren't. These chapters are scarce on stories and heavy on Scripture. This is sadly a bit of a rarity among lots of non-fiction written for women today, and so I found it rich and refreshing.

Third is its excitement about Scripture. These women and men love the Bible and that sings through the words they write. Each chapter is on a different portion of Scripture, covering Exodus 19, 1 Kings 8, Isaiah 6, Psalm 40, Matthew 17:1-15, 2 Corinthians 12, Revelation 4-5, and Revelation 21-22. These sparkling, thrilling accounts in the Word of God were not minimized or drained of life or cocooned in illustrations and funny stories. It was the Word that brought excitement and joy to this book.

If there was anything I had to criticize in Here Is Our God it would have to be that John Piper's chapter ("In the Throne Room: The God of Holiness and Hope" on Isaiah 6) was too short. Okay, that's merely personal, but I thought that this chapter was the absolute highlight of the book. Yet it was half the size of every other one! But do not not buy this book because of that. Please. Here Is Our God is a rich resource for women of all ages who want to dive into the Word and know our glorious God more. I would definitely encourage you to pick a copy up!

Buy Here Is Our God here.

*I received a copy of this book from Crossway through their Beyond the Page review system. I was not required to give a positive review

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