Quotes by Eugene H. Peterson

“Liturgy gathers the holy community as it reads the Holy Scriptures into the sweeping tidal rhythms of the church year in which the story of Jesus and the Christian makes its rounds century after ce...”

“The way of Jesus cannot be imposed or mapped it requires an active participation in following Jesus as he leads us through sometimes strange and unfamiliar territory, in circumstances that become ...”

“It is not easy to convey a sense of wonder, let alone resurrection wonder, to another. Its the very nature of wonder to catch us off guard, to circumvent expectations and assumptions. Wonder cant b...”

“The Bible makes it clear that every time that there is a story of faith, it is completely original. God's creative genius is endless.”

“The only opportunity you will ever have to live by faith is in the circumstances you are provided this very day: this house you live in, this family you find yourself in, this job you have been giv...”

“Stories are verbal acts of hospitality.”

“My feelings are important for many things. They are essential and valuable. They keep me aware of much that is true and real. But they tell me next to nothing about God or my relation to God. My se...”

“Joy is not a requirement of Christian discipleship, it is a consequence. It is not what we have to acquire in order to experience life in Christ; it is what comes to us when we are walking in the w...”

“Parables release the adrenaline of urgency into our bloodstream.”

“We are part of a holy community that for three thousand years and more has been formed inside and out by these words of God, words that have been heard, tasted, chewed, seen, walked. Reading Holy S...”

“Language is not primarily informational but revelatory. The Holy Scriptures give witness to a living voice sounding variously as Father, Son and Spirit, addressing us personally and involving us pe...”

“But sooner or later we find that not everything is to our liking in this book. It starts out sweet to our taste; and then we find it doesn't sit well with us at all, it becomes bitter in our stomac...”

“That's why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they're blue in the fac...”

“I had escaped the snare of certitude that I welcomed so avidly at first and entered, via the name of Jesus, the wide and comprehensive company of Jesus.”

“The Holy Spirit's instruments have no consciousness of His purpose; if they imagine they have, it is a pretty sure token that they are NOT His instruments. Nathaniel Hawthorne”

“When it comes to doing something about what is wrong in the world, Jesus is best known for his fondness for the minute, the invisible, the quiet, the slow yeast, salt, seeds, light. And manure.”

“We learn the language of prayer by immersing ourselves in the language that God uses to reveal Himself to us.”

“Liturgy is the means that the church uses to keep baptized Christians in living touch with the entire living holy community as it participates formationally in Holy Scripture. I want to use the wor...”

“The task of liturgy is to order the life of the holy community following the text of Holy Scripture. It consists of two movements. First it gets us into the sanctuary, the place of adoration and at...”

“It is useful to reflect that the word 'liturgy' did not originate in church or worship settings. In the Greek world it referred to publish service, what a citizen did for the community. As the chur...”