Portraits of a Radical Disciple
Considering I am of roughly the same Christian stripe as John Stott (Evangelical with Anglican sympathies) it may seem odd that I have never read a book of his from cover to cover until now. But never having read one of the many books he wrote was part of the reason that I was so interested in reading this one first. Portraits of a Radical Disciple is a collection of short slice-of-life stories penned by a variety of friends and colleagues, those who knew John Stott best.
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Sometimes a woman must make a drastic change to achieve her desired ends. Jesus didn't advocate any less. When he saw the crowds following him, he sat down on the mountainside and taught them the differences between what they had heard and the soul-killing reality of their sinful situation. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
As a reader, I often draw reading material from publishers' back catalogs (a post for another day). As a worship leader, I often draw new music from the late 1990s. Why is that?
My favorite baseball player of all time is Cal Ripken Jr., whose consistency and excellence ensured he reached 2,632 games played – the Major League Baseball record. It's a record which also ensured his enshrinement in the MLB Hall of Fame.
Peter is, I believe, the biblical figure with whom any given twenty-first century North American Christian resonates most, if they've given it any thought.
Of the books I was reading last week, I wrote a blogthru entry for one and a full review for another. I also reviewed another book I had finished last year.
On the cusp of Queen Elizabeth's diamond jubilee, it may be an auspicious time to read a Christian living book written by a doppelganger for Her Majesty (I'm a dual Canadian citizen and British subject), NavPress author Carole Mayhall – at least in her older publicity headshots. On the other hand, anytime is a good time to working towards improving the quality of the words emanating from your tongue. The re-issued NavPress National Bestseller Words That Hurt, Words That Heal: Speaking the Truth in Love by Mrs. Mayhall is such a book.
Yes, I know that we live in the New Covenant era. I know that there is no longer a temple built by human hands. I know there are no longer any appointed feasts for the people of God.
How do you like your fiction served? Prefer a character-driven story? A relationship story? A suspenseful crime thriller? Or perhaps you simply want to read something written by a master craftsman of the English language? Back on Murder by J. Mark Bertrand is all these things and at the same time is more than the sum of its parts. It may be cliché to the hilt to say the following, but I just could not put the book down, and not merely because the plot swept me up and wouldn't let go. Kindly allow me the duration of this review to explain.
