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Book Cover for: A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society, Eugene H. Peterson

A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society

Eugene H. Peterson

Over 300,000 Copies Sold

Pursue Deeper Faithfulness with Eugene Peterson's Classic Work on Discipleship

Since Eugene Peterson first wrote this spiritual formation classic more than forty years ago, hundreds of thousands of Christians have been inspired by its call to deeper discipleship.

As a society, we are still obsessed with the immediate, but Peterson's time-tested prescription for discipleship remains the same--a long obedience in the same direction.

Long obedience requires a deepening life of prayer. Peterson finds encouragement for today's pilgrims in the Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120-134), sung by travelers on their way to worship in Jerusalem. With prophetic and pastoral wisdom, Peterson shows how the psalms teach us to grow in worship, service, joy, work, happiness, humility, community, blessing, and more.

This commemorative edition features:

  • a preface from Leif Peterson's eulogy at his father's memorial service,
  • a bibliography of Eugene Peterson's works, and
  • the option to pair with the companion Bible study guide, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction Bible Study, for a deeper experience.

"Eugene Peterson's special gift is to stand beside us and keep our feet on the ground as he lifts our hearts to God and our minds to godliness. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, which does this stunningly well, is also the best pathway into the Psalter you are likely to find. If, like me for twenty years, you find it hard to get into the Psalms, that is another reason to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest this brilliant book." - J. I. Packer, author of Knowing God

Book Details

  • Publisher: IVP Formatio
  • Publish Date: Jul 23rd, 2024
  • Pages: 224
  • Language: English
  • Edition: Special Edition - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.20in - 5.50in - 0.70in - 0.60lb
  • EAN: 9781514011201
  • Categories: Christian Living - Spiritual GrowthBiblical Meditations - Old Testament

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About the Author

Peterson, Eugene H.: -

Peterson, now retired, was for many years James M. Houston Professor of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He also served as founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland. In addition to his widely acclaimed paraphrase of the Bible, The Message (NavPress), he has written many other books.

More books by Eugene H. Peterson

Book Cover for: Message Deluxe Gift Bible: The Bible in Contemporary Language, Eugene H. Peterson
Book Cover for: The One Year Bible the Message (Softcover), Eugene H. Peterson
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Book Cover for: The One Year Bible the Message, Large Print Thinline Edition (Softcover), Eugene H. Peterson
Book Cover for: Psalms: Prayers of the Heart, Eugene H. Peterson
Book Cover for: Run with the Horses: The Quest for Life at Its Best, Eugene H. Peterson
Book Cover for: The Message Deluxe Gift Bible (Leather-Look, Charcoal Ascension and Blue Diamonds): The Bible in Contemporary Language, Eugene H. Peterson
Book Cover for: The Pastor, Eugene H. Peterson
Book Cover for: Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading, Eugene H. Peterson
Book Cover for: The Message Deluxe Gift Bible (Leather-Look, Hosanna Teal): The Bible in Contemporary Language, Eugene H. Peterson
Book Cover for: Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination, Eugene H. Peterson
Book Cover for: The Message Devotional Bible: Featuring Notes & Reflections from Eugene H. Peterson, Eugene H. Peterson
Book Cover for: The Way Is Made by Walking: A Pilgrimage Along the Camino de Santiago, Arthur Paul Boers
Book Cover for: Leap Over a Wall, Eugene H. Peterson
Book Cover for: Praying with the Psalms: A Year of Daily Prayers and Reflections on the Words of David, Eugene H. Peterson
Book Cover for: God's Message for Each Day: Wisdom from the Word of God (a 365-Day Devotional), Eugene H. Peterson

Praise for this book

"A wonderful book, one of the very best guides to the Psalms. Peterson's combination of passion and insight match the psalmists'. And he is very nearly as good a writer!"
"Eugene Peterson's special gift is to stand beside us and keep our feet on the ground as he lifts our hearts to God and our minds to godliness. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, which does this stunningly well, is also the best pathway into the Psalter you are likely to find. If, like me for twenty years, you find it hard to get into the Psalms, that is another reason to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest this brilliant book."
"I've never read a book by Eugene Peterson that didn't stir and challenge me."
"I thank God for A Long Obedience. It is a pioneer message, first coming to us at a time when no one was talking about either 'long' or 'obedience.' And while, thankfully, others have added their voices in the intervening years, A Long Obedience retains its prophetic edge for us who live on the cusp of the twenty-first century. Rooted in the ancient psalmist's Songs of Ascents it invites us to journey with Jesus into the rich spiritual landscape of 'righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.'"
"There is a clean, bright rigor to honest life before God. Burnishing the language of the Psalms, Eugene Peterson makes that life sing like a taut wire. A long obedience is the only path of discipleship to Jesus, and this is a message we desperately need to hear and implement today."
"Into a world that does its best to deceive us into believing that everything changes, God speaks his unchanging Word. Ours is a time and a world that needs to hear in fresh ways all that that Word might mean if we would only listen. Eugene has listened. In this book he tells us all that he has heard about those fixed facets of that unchanging Word."
"All of the marks of a classic-profound, timeless, life-impacting."
"Words are weapons for good or ill, and Eugene H. Peterson uses them to wield the sword of Scripture to pierce our minds and hearts. He is one of God's most gifted wordsmiths, and we are privileged to have his work among us. . . . I have constantly used his writings and concepts in my ministry; putting them to use in drama, teaching, and books, and they have hugely enhanced my own gifting. Not least, those words have had a sweet influence in my own 'obedience in the same direction'! I am honored to endorse this Christian classic."
"Every day contemporary culture invites me to rush about in a hundred different directions that tear at my soul. I have found Eugene Peterson to have no patience for such crazed busyness. Instead he shows me how to stay focused on the long, biblical direction home to God."
"A Long Obedience in the Same Direction participates in a vital literary and theological tradition: the power of a particular text, in this case the fifteen Songs of Ascents, to release the highly original-that is to say, explosive-meditation of a profound Christian spirit. . . . These provocative meditations delivered this true evangelist into the Christian world and gave us a literary, spiritual guide whose wisdom and clear-sightedness can always be trusted. . . . Now that A Long Obedience has been complemented by Eugene's own translation of the Psalms into today's idiom, its contemporary testimony stands complete and virtually unrivaled. I would give this book to anyone who truly wanted to know what the Christian faith is about and to anyone attempting to live that faith as well."
"It has been said in today's instant society that evangelism has never been easier-it's discipleship that has never been harder. Eugene Peterson not only instructs us in his considerable wisdom about authentic discipleship, he helps us see the passion and excitement of living lives fully devoted to Jesus. And with the current torrent of interest in spirituality, his guidance on what constitutes genuine spirituality is pure gold."
"Bind this book in the burlap of servanthood: a course in the weak times, a celebration in the strong! Twenty years ago I first read this tolle lege book. Now it is a well-read friend who looks down from my Peterson shelf and daily asks: Are you faithful long-term? Are you going always in the same direction?"