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Following Jesus © 1994 Eerdmans 114 pages I bought this book from Amazon.com under the mistaken impression that it was published in 2009. There’s still nothing to indicate different on the website. Just to be clear, this collection of sermons which was loosely transformed into a book was first published in 1994. The Eerdmans paperback [...]

The Faces of Jesus: A Life Story © 1974, 2005 Paraclete Press 97 pages The Faces of Jesus is Buechner’s brief survey of Jesus’ life. He takes the reader through the important moments of Jesus’ life with a poet’s eye for beauty. Unfortunately, the style of writing that so amazed me in Now and Then [...]

Prayer (50th Anniversary Edition) © 1952 Westminster Press 78 pages I’m no expert on Barth. I have, however, read Luther and Calvin on the Lord’s Prayer. This book was a nice little survey of their thought set in a devotional tone. It’s actually the translation of an adaptation of three lectures Barth gave at Neuchâtel. [...]

Keeping the Sabbath Wholly: Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting © 1989 Eerdmans 217 pages Keeping the Sabbath Wholly is a window into how Marva Dawn practices the Sabbath. She focuses on the four elements of the subtitle (ceasing, resting, embracing, feasting) as critical attitudes for robust Sabbath-keeping. The book is filled with personal anecdotes and stories [...]

Fasting: The Ancient Practices © 2009 Thomas Nelson 180 pages Fasting is the natural, inevitable response of a person to a grievous sacred moment in life (18). That statement summaries the entire book. McKnight identified a three step process in fasting: Something “grievous” happens We fast God responds Our culture is obsessed with short-circuiting this [...]

Good Grief ©1962, 1971 Fortress Press 64 pages It’s not often that a 64 page book with large print is reissued over and over again as a “classic”. In this feature-article length book, Westberg gives a quick apologetic about the need to grieve followed by descriptions of the 10 different stages a grieving person may [...]

In Constant Prayer (The Ancient Practices) © 2008 Thomas Nelson 165 pages This is a beautiful book. It’s not too technical, too profound, or too spiritual: it’s the perfect little volume for anyone considering liturgical prayer for the first time. Like C. S. Lewis, Benson has a knack for finding the right anecdote to illustrate [...]

Tithing: Test Me in This (The Ancient Practices Series) © 2010 Thomas Nelson 156 pages Tithing is the story of 11 different people or couples who find that ancient practice to be an important part of their spiritual lives. The strength of this book lies in the diversity of its subjects. You’ll find everyone from [...]

The Liturgical Year: The Spiraling Adventure of the Spiritual Life – The Ancient Practices Series © 2009 Thomas Nelson 217 pages The Liturgical Year is a collection of devotional thoughts centered around the annual liturgy followed by the church throughout millennia. It is an attempt to draw believers back to the year that begins at [...]

To Walk and Not Faint: A Month of Meditations on Isaiah 40 © 1980, 1997 (Second Edition) Eerdmans 189 pages I’ve been disappointed by devotional literature more times than I can recall. The whole lot of it seems too mushy and theologically ungrounded. Then I found Marva Dawn. The concept underlying this book is simple: [...]