The New Testament in His Blood by Burnell F Eckardt Jr.

I recently finished reading The New Testament in His Blood: A Study of the Holy Liturgy of the Christian Church, by Burnell F Eckardt Jr. The book is divided into three major sections. The first section is entitled "The Biblical Basis for Liturgical Worship." Dr. Eckardt shows how all of the Old Testament is fulfilled in Christ and how the liturgy proclaims that all of the Old Testament is fulfilled in Christ. Eckardt shows the Biblical roots of the liturgy. To sing the liturgy is to sing the Scriptures. In the Scriptures, Jesus is revealed in the breaking of the bread and so the sacrament of the altar should always be the high point of the liturgy. The second section is entitled "The Case for the Holy Liturgy." Dr. Eckardt convincingly argues that historic liturgy is not something Christians can agree to disagree about. Christians are not free to discard it. To discard it in the name of Christian liberty is a misuse of liberty. The third section is entitled "The Parts of the Liturgy of the Mass." Dr. Eckardt explains each part of the liturgy--its meaning, its historical development, and why it is placed where it is in the liturgy.

This is really an amazing book. It is only 118 pages but Eckardt manages to squeeze an incredible amount of information into this small book. And yet, the book is very readable. It's a very easy read. I don't see how this book could be improved upon and I don't see how any Christian could read it and still think that there are better alternatives to the historic liturgy.