Glory of Christ Fellowship

This review was originally posted on my personal blog - Asa V.   ======================================================================= Normally, with my reviews, I start out with a quote or an anecdote from the book.  This time, I'm taking a different approach.  I want to start with a confession. As I read Lynn Wilder's Unveiling Grace - The Story of How We Found Our Way Out of the The Mormon Churc h, I wanted the story to be false.  I wanted to learn that what she was revealing was untrue about the Mormon faith.  Sadly, it's not. Before I get into the topic of the story itself, let me comment on the style.  Wilder shares their story more like a narrative, and, within their story, she weaves in teachings from the Latter Day Saints (LDS).  The story has almost the feel of a clandestine spy novel.  Her storytelling style pulls the reader along, much like a well-written dramatic tale.  From a pure storytelling standpoint, I enjoyed it. From the content,

I originally wrote this review for my blog.  The short version: I recommend this one.  - Asa V. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Many books deal with important topics.  Some books are timely.  But it's not often that I read a book I feel is of utmost, timely importance. Sam Allberry's Is God Anti-Gay? is one of these rare works. Initially I was intrigued by the title and description of the book.  When I saw a comment written by Dr.  Russel Moore, I was more interested.  It turned out this was a book that helped me process, as a Christian, a difficult topic, leading me to repentance, and helping me better process how to interact with those who claim homosexuality. Before I get into the depth of my review, I would like to thank Pastor Sam for his work.  That this is a deeply personal topic for him must have made writing this very challenging.  I appreciate his honesty and candor,

Asa's note: I originally wrote this for my personal blog and am re-posting over here. I hope you find it useful. ================================================= "The Beatitudes are a profile of the Christian.  They are a description of people who would never dream of turning the characteristics God has given them by grace into a list of moral commands because they know Jesus as crucified even their best attempts at self-centered, self-propelled morality on the cross." - R.W. Glenm, Chapter 1: "Jesus Crucifies Morality as You Know It," Crucifying Morality Overall Impression Before I get into my review, I need to confess something.  I chose to read this book for three reasons.  First, the title caught my attention, even though I knew little about the premise.  Second, I saw the author was from my home state of Minnesota, and he's about 20 miles from my home. Third, it was endorsed by a few speaker/authors I greatly respect. Am I glad I read thi

  I originally posted this review over at my personal blog.  I normally don't post reviews like this on the church's blog, but I think I was fair in my assessment.  - Asa V. ======================================================================== "The beauty of God's forgiveness is it's not a blanket waiver from our responsibility to react to His unmerited grace, but rather the opportunity to respond to the gift" - Edward F. Mrkvicka, Jr., The Sin of Forgiveness I wanted to like this book.  The title was very provocative, and that was OK with me.  What was more interesting was the content, and, from the description, it sounded like Mrkvicka was using the title somewhat tongue in cheek.  Reading the book, however, I discovered he wasn't. In short, if this book makes it to a second printing, it is in serious need of both a stylistic editor and a theological editor. I really like a book written in a conversational tone, but this one meandere

This review was originally posted on my blog.  Overall, I'd give this 3 out of 5 stars. - Asa  ============================================ "Anything at all can become an idol once it becomes a substitute for God in our lives" - Kyle Idleman, Gods at War. What a timely book for me.  I'm noticing that I go through seasons where book after book, show after show, conversation after conversation, lead to the same topic.  Modern-day idolatry seems to be the topic de jeur. Idleman starts the book with a personal story about his daughter.  It was a sweet, innocent exchange that provoked his thoughts, primarily about the topic of idolatry. An innocent statement about the 2nd Commandment, that it's the one we don't struggle with, led to this book. The book is great at demonstrating how we encounter idolatry every day.  The quote above clearly defines idolatry, and Idleman expounds on that topic.  He is especially skilled at demonstrating how many

Sometimes, in moments of doubt, fear, frustration and when I've just flat out stuffed too much inside...I spill my guts. This happens because the me who wants to hide has battled with the me who wants to be known, and the me who wants to hide finally loses. I guess I'm at that place again. The me who wants to be known is the me who wants to be accepted for who she is. I have a sneaking suspicion, I'm not alone in this. We take our parking ticket to the lady behind the desk to get it stamped, validated so we don't have to pay for parking. In the same way we bring ourselves to those we know, who sit behind a proverbial desk with a stamp of approval. We show them the thing we want validated hoping for that same type of stamp of approval. We do this because we want to be right. We don't want the embarrassment of being wrong or the guilt that comes with it, especially if we've taken action based on our sense of being right and it was less

This review was originally posted on my blog and was a preview copy Thomas Nelson Publishers gave me through their Boo ksneeze progr a m.   I am p osting it over here and would be interested in your thoughts - Asa V. ---  "What would you do if Jesus appeared to you in a dream? What if He came to you in a vision and told you to follow Him? What if these visions continued for over thirty days?  Would you believe?  Would you put your trust in Him? Would you devote your life to Him?  Would you if you were Muslim?" - Dreams and Visions , back cover I grabbed this book because of some first-hand stories I've heard.  I know those who relayed them to me, and I trust these individuals, and I was very interested in what Pastor Tom Doyle had to say.  I was not disappointed. Doyle does a great job of laying out, story by story, a pattern of the use of dreams and visions of Jesus in the a hostile part of the world.  This is a part of the world where people are murdere