FPC Library -  Book Reviews

 

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Bread and Wine:  Readings for Lent and Easter, by Wendell Berry.  Six separate sections—Invitation, Temptation, Passion, Crucifixion, Resurrection and New Life—guide readers through the essential elements of spiritual preparation and feature writings from some of Christendom’s most celebrated masters.

 A Clearing Season:  Reflections for Lent, by Sarah Parsons.  This devotional is beneficial for someone who has never observed Lenten practices of has experienced Lent as a long, seemingly purposeless time of self-denial.  A Clearing Season shows you how to:  clear space in your life for God, identify obstacles that keep you from God and choose a Lenten practice to help you remove these obstacles.  Readers are shown how to welcome the Lenten season as an opportunity to clarify their relationship with God.

Living Lent:  Meditations for These Forty Days, by Barbara Hawthorne Crafton.  Many people find that what is heard in poetry and music sinks more deeply into the soul than anything else.  And so it is to the beautiful seasonal hymns that Barbara Hawthorne Crafton turns for inspiration for daily meditations during this great devotional season of the church year.  Crafton writes, “I hope that you find yourself humming familiar tunes to yourself as you read, and that this condition persists for the rest of the day.”

Grace Notes: Daily Readings with a Fellow Pilgrim, by Philip Yancey.  Grace Notes presents the best of Philip Yancey’s writings about his understanding of God, the world, and faith.  Readers will embark on an adventure to rediscover God through the wonders of nature, music, and romantic love.  Yancey’s honesty especially will appeal to doubters, sufferers, the disillusioned, and those seeking a break-the-mold relationship with God.

Stories From the Edge:  A Theology of Grief, by Greg Garrett.  Where is God in the midst of suffering?  How do people find strength and comfort in times of terrible adversity?  Greg Garrett explores the theological themes of biblical stories and American myths and discusses how these stories have shaped our beliefs about God.  He examines what these foundational narratives reveal about our understanding of God and how we experience God’s presence in the midst of grief and suffering.

The Hand and the Road:  The Life and Times of John Mackay, by John Mackay Metzger.  This is the first biography of John A. Mackay (1889-1983), an important Presbyterian leader, missionary, and professor who served as president of Princeton Theological Seminary from 1936 to 1959.  A leadingecumenist for much of the twentieth century, Mackay helped establish the World Council of Churches.  This biography is made all the more compelling by the fact that it was authored by Mackay’s grandson, John Metzger, son of the late Princeton Seminary Professor Dr. Bruce M. Metzger.

Introducing Christianity: Exploring the Bible, Faith, and Life, by James C. Howell.  This introductory-level book on Christianity looks clearly at what the church believed and taught throughout its history.  As author, veteran scholar, and pastor, James Howell knows the questions people ask and is adept at answering them.  In doing so, he explores what it means to live as a Christian, as part of the church community, and also what it means to live with the hope Christian faith provides.

Everyday Justice:  The Global Impact of Our Daily Choices, by Julie Clawson.  Julie Clawson takes us on a tour of everyday life and shows how our Christian lifestyle choices have big implications for justice around the world.  She unpacks how we get our food and clothing and shows us the surprising costs of consumer waste.  The more sustainable our lifestyle, the more just our world will be.  We can live more ethically, through the little and big decisions we make every day.

What Every Child Should Know About the Bible, by V. Gilbert Beers.  Gilbert Beers, author of dozens of Bible books for children, understand the importance of passing on a rich biblical heritage to our children.  He has written What Every Child Should Know About the Bible as an easy-to-use teaching tool for parents.  You will find the Top 100 Bible stories quickly and easily.  A list of the best Bible verses to review with your children will be at your fingertips, with fun Bible facts sprinkled throughout the book to encourage your children to dig deeper.

Submitted by Wanda Dobie

Listed here are titles of some recent donations to the Church Library:

  • THE CRITICAL MEANING OF THE BIBLE; How a Modern Reading of the Bible Challenges Christians, the Church and the churches, by Raymond E. Brown 220.6 BRO
  • THE CUP OF WONDER, COMMUNION MEDITATIONS; by Lloyd Johh Ogilvie 264.36 OGI
  • THE PSALMS; by Kathleen Morris 223 NOR
  • ON THE BOOK OF PSALMS by Nahum M Sarna 223 SAR
  • TO CONFESS THE FAITH TODAY; by Jack L. Stotts and JAne Dmpsey 238 STO
  • UNEXPECTED NEWS. Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes; by Rober McAfee Brown 220.6 BRO
  • SPEAKING IN PARABLES. A Study in Metaphor and Theology by Sallie McFague 230 McFA
  • PSALMS. Interpretation Bible Studies by Jerome F.D. Creach 223 CRE
  • THE GOSPELS - John Chapters 1-10 by J. Vernon McGee 220.7 McGe
  • THE GOSPELS - John Chapters 11-21 by J. Vernon McGee 220.7 McGe
  • DIVINE HOURS. Prayers for summertime by Phyllis Tickle 264 TIC
  • CONGREGATION.  THE JOURNEY BACK TO CHURCH by Gary Dorsey 291.65 DOR
  • THE NEW JERUSALEM BIBLE Ref 220.5 NEW
  • THE STORY OF RUTH. Twelve Moments in Every Women's life by Joan Chittister 248.8 CHI
  • HOPE WITHIN HISTORY by Walter Bureggemann 231.7 BRU
  • THE NEW CENTURY BIBLE COMMENTARY, I PETER by Ernest Best 227 BES
  • THE PSALMS THROUGH THREE THOUSAND YEARS by William L. Holladay
  • ISRAELI PEACE PALESTINIAN JUSTICE by Thomas L. Are 956.94 ARE
  • A THEOLOGY OF THE LORD'S SUPPER by Catherine Gunsalus Gonzalez 234.163 GON
  • THE TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT Its Transmission, Corruption and Restoration by Bruce M. Metzger 225 MET
  • BREAD AND WINE, Readings for Lent and Easter 242 BRE
  • FACES AT THE MANGER, An Advent-Christmas Sampler of Poems, Prayers and Meditions by Barrie Shepherd 242.332 SHE
  • ANSWERING GOD. The Psalms As Tools For Prayer by Eugene H. Peterson 223 PET
  • BAPTISM. Christ's Act in the Chruch by Laurence Hull Stookey 234 STO
  • THE PSALTER. A Faithful and inclusive rendering from the Hebrew in to Contemporary English 264 PSA
  • ABIDING ASTONISHMENT. Psalms, Modernity and the Making of History by Walter Brueggemann 223 BRU
  • LEAP OVER A WALL. reflections on the Life of David by Eugene H. Peterson 222 Pet
  • GIFTS OF MANY CULTURES. Worship Resources for the Global Community by Maren C Tirabassi 264 TIR
  • THE GOSPELS by Fred B. Craddock 225.6 CRA
  • THE LETTERS TO THE GALATIANS AND EPHESIANS by William Barclay 227 BAR
  • A SHORT HISTORY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE. From Legendary Times to Modern statehood by Raymond P. Scheindlin 909 SCH
  • DOCUMENTS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH by Henry Bettensor, Editor
  • DOGMATICS IN OUTLINE by Karl Barth 230 BAR
  • THE NEW TESTAMENT AND PSALMS. An Inclusive Version 225 New
  • THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST by James B. Pritchard, Editor 262.9 PRI
  • PSALMS ANEW by Nancy Schreck and Maureen Leach 223 SCH
  • MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE AGES by Thomas Cahill 909.07 CAH
  • GOD'S POLITICS by Jim Wallis 261.7 WAL
  • COMMUNION. Contemporary Writers Reveal the Bible in Their Lives Edited by David Rosenberg 220.6 ROS
  • OUT OF THE GARDEN. Women Writers on teh Bible Edited by Christina buchmann 221.6 BUC
  • THINKING THE FAITH by Douglas John Hall 230 HAL
  • THE TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICAN RELIGION.  How We Actually Live Our Faith by Alan Wolfe 200 WOL
  • WILLIAM H. WILLIMON'S LAST LAUGH 202 WIL

 


Last Updated: February 16, 2010