Twelve Weeks in Spring

Name: Twelve Weeks in Spring
Author: James Montgomery
ISBN: 978-1490857091

by James Montgomery ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 3, 2014

Eloquent meditations on the healing power of Christian community, offered in the sobering aftermath of a church community’s...

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A series of hopeful messages for a church in crisis.

Montgomery begins his series of inspirational, uplifting religious ruminations in an unusual way—by setting them in a somber context. He originally gave the sermons in a real-life small church “located on the edge of a large city somewhere in the English-speaking Western world,” which was split by inner strife and turmoil. The congregation couldn’t agree about a possible expansion into a new building and eventually the church closed its doors as a result. As the pastor, Montgomery accepted full responsibility, but he also wondered why God allowed it to happen. When he reread the 12 Sunday homilies he delivered to his congregation during the 12 weeks of crisis, he was struck in retrospect by the clear ways in which God was speaking directly to the crisis, although none of the mortals involved could stop arguing long enough to hear the message. Time and again in these sermons, readers will find the author earnestly hitting notes of exceptionalism (“If we are to come into God’s presence as we seek to do here on a Sunday morning,” he reminded his listeners at one point, “we must also be separated from and untouched by evil of any kind”) and the need to be responsive to a higher calling (“if we do not respond, God will turn to others”). By explicating various Bible passages in these sermons, from the story of Mary and Martha to the Lord’s Prayer to the original sin and exile of Cain, Montgomery effectively seeks to reinforce John Wesley’s dictum that there’s no such thing as a solitary Christian. Seen in the context of other calls to reconciliation that came too late for their intended listeners, these sermons, although very clearly phrased, may make for melancholy reading.

Eloquent meditations on the healing power of Christian community, offered in the sobering aftermath of a church community’s dissolution.

Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2014

ISBN: 978-1490857091

Page Count: 130

Publisher: Westbow Press

Review Posted Online: June 16, 2015

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION

- BOOK REVIEW
GRAY
by Pete Wentz with James Montgomery

ROSE BOOK OF BIBLE CHARTS, MAPS AND TIME LINES

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ROSE BOOK OF BIBLE CHARTS, MAPS AND TIME LINES

by Timothy Paul Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2005

Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.

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A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.

This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is â€œHow We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.

Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005

ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION

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THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS

AND OTHER ESSAYS

by Albert Camus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 1955

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This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.