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Welcome to StephenBarkley.com. This is where I post all the stuff I've been thinking, praying, speaking, and writing about. Thanks for reading.
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: [...]
The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others © 2004 Paraclete Press 335 pages This book is the answer to a question: What would the Christian life look like if everyone loved God with their entire being, and loved their neighbours also? The answer is attractive. In The Jesus Creed, McKnight paints a picture of the [...]
The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything © 2007 Thomas Nelson 240 pages One of two things has happened: Brian McLaren’s toning down the controversial aspects of his writing. I’ve grown more comfortable with the controversy. Maybe it’s a mixture of both. I started reading McLaren’s New Kind of Christian [...]
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