If God ever became "homesick" for any of the houses of worship on earth, which ones would they include? What events would provoke the eternal mind of God to consider a particular Church His favorite? Mankind seeks God encounters at "God's house," but God seeks people encounters--at what He calls "man's house." Remember the names? "Moses' Tabernacle"..."Solomon's Temple." Since the Garden of Eden, God has been searching for intimate worship on earth. With our landscape littered with multimillion-dollar steeples piercing into God's blue atmosphere and stained windows shimmering with His sunshine, we might imagine that God's choice would be elaborate. Prepare to be surprised as you discover God's Favorite House. This expanded version of God's Favorite House , by best selling author Tommy Tenney, includes the never before released Study Guide.
Tommy Tenney is the author of multi-million selling The God Chasers series. He has written more than thirty books, with eight best-selling titles to date. Tommy has books in over forty languages, traveled into more than seventy-two countries and television broadcast into one hundred twenty nations. Tommy spent ten years pastoring and has spent over twenty years in itinerant ministry. His two passions are leading others to seek the presence of God and encouraging unity in the body of Christ. He is the founder of GodChasers.network, a mission's ministry organized to assist pastors globally, and distribute Tommy's teachings through various media. Three generations of ministry in his family heritage, and three daughters, have given Tommy a unique perspective on ministry. The Tenneys reside in Louisiana with their three daughters, their son-in-law, four grandchildren and two Yorkies.
I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve read this. Sometimes you just need to pull a favorite book off the shelf again and remind yourself what the Lord is calling you to. We are a people created to worship. The difference between Moses’ tabernacle and David’s was the 24/7 worship that went up from David’s. Tenney’s belief is that when today’s Church gets hold of this and worships God instead of religious formula, God will come down and inhabit the worship and dwell in our midst. There is nothing like it. Get a taste and nothing else will satisfy.
"After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up." Acts 15:16
Tommy Tenney's God's Favorite House is a convicting book about the presence of God in our lives. In the same vein as Practice of the Presence, the author asks its readers to reevaluate how their lives are being led and whether or not they are seeking a relationship with Him. God's Favorite House reminds the reader that the temple God chooses to remember and wishes to rebuilt is the makeshift tent of David as he transported the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. He doesn't seek the grandiose temples of old, but the tents that dwell in the midst of His people.
I didn't expect much from this book. It's a book from 1999 written by an evangelical preacher with the tagline "If you build it, He will come" pulled straight out of Field of Dreams, but I was surprised by how much I liked this book. Tenney makes a lot of solid, Biblically based points that aren't trying to sell you anything. There are plenty of great illustrations of our relationship with God throughout so that the reader can really understand how great He is. One of my favorites was a comparison of attending your child's tea party in a plastic playhouse in the backyard to God sitting in our churches; it's uncomfortable for Him, but He will endure it out of His love for us.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone trying to understand His presence more. We can never understand how great and wild He is, but we can at least try to build Him a mercy seat. The book pulls a lot form Scripture, but has endnotes for every chapter so you can keep up with where the author is pulling from. It's very well written and a chapter a day is a great way to spread it out.
Following on from the God Chasers Tommy sets out the desire for God's presence is surrendered lives. A well worth read which will provoke thought and challenge the status quo.
Whilst I am with Tommy Tenney in wanting to engage in authentic God-focused worship, I got the impression that it this was almost unattainable without lots of pre-conditions being in place. Perhaps I am not aiming high enough but am content just to be there worshipping, in simple trust and see what happens.