Our class was looking for a study on the Gospel of Matthew. I found a fairly recent book titled Matthew: The Gospel of Promised Blessings by Matthew Skinner. Rather than cover the book in total and in sequence, Skinner chooses different themes that the original author was attempting to convey. It was an interesting and rewarding approach.
Read More & DownloadChristianity and World Religions – Adam Hamilton
If you’re looking for a good book to cover the major religions in the world, you can’t go wrong with Adam Hamilton’s Christianity and World Religions. It’s been quite some time since our class went through this series, but it has aged well.
Read More & DownloadFalling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life – Richard Rohr
I’m reaching back a decade for this one, but I’ve found that some books are timeless in their message. Father Richard Rohr’s Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life is certainly one of them. Others must have felt the same way because the book was revised and updated in late 2023.
Read More & DownloadSacred Resistance: A Practical Guide to Christian Witness and Dissent – Ginger Gaines-Cirelli
Our class has been studying this book over the last several months, taking a hiatus to discuss the Psalms during Lent. Gaines-Cirelli is a prominent figure in the United Methodist Church and serves as lead pastor at Foundry UMC in Washington, D.C. Sacred Resistance summarizes the observations and techniques driving Foundry’s resistance efforts to injustice in our society.
Read More & DownloadSeeing Gray in a World of Black and White – Adam Hamilton
This is an early Christmas present for you. One of my all-time favorite Adam Hamilton books we’ve studied is Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White. Although our class covered this back in 2017, it’s amazing how it still holds up as relevant today.
Read More & DownloadFollowing Jesus: Finding Our Way Home in an Age of Anxiety – Henri J. M. Nouwen
After working through a fairly challenging study focused on social justice, our class was looking for something that centered on our relationship with Jesus. Nouwen’s Following Jesus: Finding Our Way Home in an Age of Anxiety fit the bill nicely.
Read More & DownloadLiving Fully, Dying Well – Rueben Job
A while back, our class had been looking for a study on end of life planning and death. Our church library had copies of Rueben Job’s Living Fully, Dying Well, so we decided to give it a go. Although published a couple of decades ago, the material held up well. After all, dying is a pretty timeless subject.
Read More & DownloadA Mile Wide: Trading a Shallow Religion for a Deeper Faith – Brandon Hatmaker
I’m digging back a few years for this one. Brandon Hatmaker wrote A Mile Wide: Trading a Shallow Religion for a Deeper Faith back in 2016, and his thoughts on deepening your faith still resonate today.
Read More & DownloadScapegoats – Jennifer Garcia Bashaw
Our class just finished studying Scapegoats: The Gospel through the Eyes of Victims by Jennifer Garcia Bashaw. It took us about six months to get through this thought-provoking book, and it was well worth the time! I’m not always sure of the pace we’ll go through a new book, and for Scapegoats, our discussions were so rich, we moved along at a little less than a chapter per session.
Read More & DownloadShort Stories by Jesus – Amy-Jill Levine
In looking back at past lessons, I came across Short Stories by Jesus which our class did about five years ago. As usual, AJ Levine’s reflections are just as applicable today as they were back then. You just can’t go wrong with her interpretations of the New Testament, and I’m sure Vanderbilt feels blessed to have her on their faculty.
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