Top Five Books - 2020 Edition

As 2020 comes to a close, I wanted to share some of my favorite books I read this year. They are in no particular order, except for the first one, by a long shot.

A few caveats:

1. Because I enjoyed a book does not mean that I fully endorse any of the authors or books. By telling you about a book means I found it helpful, thought provoking, or interesting in some way.

2. All the links shared (click the picture of the book) go to Amazon. If you purchase from Amazon, might I recommend you also support a local non profit like Gospel Rescue Mission, or Agape house through the Amazon Smile program? Or support a local bookstore like Peregrine Book Company, or the wonderful people at Hearts and Minds books in Pennsylvania.

3. You can always check the local library. Some of the titles are available in Yavapai County!

Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund became an instant classic this year. The whole tone of the book is one that leads you to know, appreciate and love Christ in fuller ways. It’s a book I’ll return to often. From the publisher “Christians know what Jesus Christ has done―but who is he? What is his deepest heart for his people, weary and faltering on their journey toward heaven? Jesus said he is “gentle and lowly in heart.” This book reflects on these words, opening up a neglected yet central truth about who he is for sinners and sufferers today.”

If Tim Keller writes it, I want to read it. In this book he gets to the age old question, “How could a good God allow pain and suffering?” With a pastoral heart, careful look at scripture, and gut wrenching stories, Keller helps those who suffer and those who walk alongside others in their pain.

Mark Sayers is a pastor, author, and thinker that blends theology, ministry, and culture together with insight and accessibility. In this follow up to his book “Disappearing Church” he shows the history and flow of renewal and revival and wonders if what is going wrong in the world can provide an opportunity and fresh outpouring of God’s Spirit on the church.

This book was published in 2017, and was incredibly fitting for 2020 given the state of American politics and the church’s desire for worldly power. The authors address the temptations the church has had for power, control, and influence, then points us to discover and embrace Jesus’ way in the world today.

Dr. Zach Eswine highlights an area of the “Prince of Preachers” life that was consistent, but not well known. He writes about Spurgeon’s struggles with depression as a fellow sufferer with a heart to help and show the hope Christ gives. The three main sections of the book are 1. Trying to understand depression 2. Learning how to help those who suffer from depression and 3. Learning helps to daily cope with depression. It’s a short book packed with gospel light.

Honorable Mentions:

Ruthless Elimination of Hurry - John Mark Comer - Technically read in 2019, this book gives a compelling case against hurry and hustle and toward rest, slowness, intentionality, and simplicity in our apprenticeship with Jesus.

Home/Jack - Marilynne Robinson - These are a couple novels that follow up her award winning book Gilead. Marilynne Robinson is a writer that understands humans well and creates characters and dialogue that stir the soul.

The Splendid and the Vile - Erik Larson - A look into the life of Winston Churchill, his family, and cabinet during the bombing of London during the fall and winter of 1940-41. Larson is an incredible researcher and this book shows how the people of England suffered with a strength and grit that is difficult to imagine today.

Caste - Isabel Wilkerson - If you want to understand more of the history and tension of race relations in America, Mrs. Wilkerson is a good guide. She shows the dark underbelly of racism and it’s effects in the United States with stories and accounts that are alarming and heartbreaking. While I don’t agree with her conclusion and grief the lack of a gospel lens and hope, this book is worth reading to have a greater understanding of many people’s experience of America today.

Atomic Habits - James Clear - There’s a reason this book has sold over a million copies. James Clear breaks down how habits are formed and gives insight and guidance into how we change and can build healthier, more productive new habits. It’s a compelling read with some good takeaways.

Resources on Prayer

With our recent teaching looking at the Lord’s Prayer, we wanted to provide you with additional resources to help connect you with Christ while deepening and widening our prayer lives together. We hope you find one or two of these can press you toward a greater understanding of the love and grace of God found in Jesus.

Practices:

Lectio Divina is practice used throughout church history of integrating prayer, bible reading, and contemplation all together - A helpful introduction can be found here. An article on it from Richard Foster can be found here. Click here for a simple one page breakdown.

Examen or Prayer of Examen is another contemplative practice that brings greater awareness of God’s presence throughout the day. Here’s a good introduction and breakdown, and Intervarsity shares a blog with an invitation and experience of Examen.

Podcast//Teaching//Article:

Dr. Curt Thompson has written a lot on the soul, shame, and neuroscience. Here he offers thoughts and prayer practices for those that struggle with feeling overwhelming

Tim Keller gives a sermon on prayer and the Psalms.

Jen Wilkin integrates prayer when we struggle to understand the Bible.

A collection of prayers for Advent from Bible Study Tools.

Books:

Spiritual Disciplines Handbook - Adele Calhoun - A great resource giving introductions and examples of many practices and habits of the Christian life.

57 Words that Changed the World - Darrell Johnson - Small book on the Lord’s Prayer

Prayer - Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God - By Tim Keller - Pure gold here. (Here’s 20 quotes from the book)

Resources on Anger, Lust, and Divorce

As we continue through Matthew and the Sermon on the Mount, we wanted to provide you with additional resources on the topics of anger, lust and marriage/divorce.

You can find the teaching from our gathering here. As we mentioned at the gathering, none of us are meant to figure out these things alone. If you’d like to talk with a pastor or simply get prayer, click the button below.

Anger:

Dallas Willard has written and spoken on anger extensively.

He says:

“Anger embraced is, accordingly, inherently disintegrative of human personality and life. It does not have to be specifically “acted out” to poison the world. Because of what it is, and the way it seizes upon the body and its environment just by being there, it cannot be hidden. All our mental and emotional resources are marshaled to nurture and tend the anger, and our body throbs with it. Energy is dedicated to keeping the anger alive: we constantly remind ourselves of how wrongly we have been treated. And when it is allowed to govern our actions, of course, its evil is quickly multiplied in heart-rending consequences and in the replication of anger and rage in the hearts and bodies of everyone it touches.”

For a little more from his book The Divine Conspiracy, see here.

Here’s a teaching on Jesus’ way out of anger:

Lust:

On Sunday, Jon mentioned a teaching from Tim Mackie who helps lead the Bible Project.

The audio from “Jesus and Sexual Desire” can be found here.

See below for a video of the teaching:

Marriage and Divorce:

On of our favorite books on marriage is from Timothy Keller entitled “The Meaning of Marriage” you can find it for purchase here.

For an article summarizing some of the insights from the book click here.

John Piper gives some helpful insight on how couples can heal after adultery here.

A teaching from a Google Talk that Dr. Keller gave is below:

Elections and Jesus

An election is upon us.

Here’s a couple of recent headlines:

“The Most Important Election of Our Lifetime”

“America is Hurtling Toward a Crossroads”

The hype sells. The hysteria gets attention and clicks, which happen to be one of the most precious commodities of today’s economy.

Reflecting on history can humble us. There have been some significant seasons in our nation’s history. Is the election of 2020 more important that the that of 1896 or 1932? Time will tell. We ought to be informed, engaged, and vote. Yes and amen. AND, while doing all those things, our main concern, as Christ’s people, is how we press forward in love of God and of our fellow human beings…yes…even those we disagree with.

My desire is for the Lord to root us and ground us as we walk through the deluge of headlines, coverage, speculation and tension that can easily throw us off-center.

The call is simple. Let’s keep our eyes, ears, hearts, and focus closely on Jesus and look for every opportunity to show His love to those around us. He is the only one still promising a light burden and easy yoke for any that come and follow Him. He is in control and worthy of our trust regardless of November’s outcome.

The world, our flesh, and the devil seek to distract us from that holy call, distort our vision of what’s important, and get us focused on anything but Jesus.

Let’s pursue Jesus as ultimate and most important. Let’s be sensitive to The Spirit of God as He moves us and works in and through us. Let’s go before the Father in humility and earnest prayer—for our community, our state, our country and its leaders.

How can we do that well in a hyper-charged time with tensions surrounding us?

Here’s a couple quotes, a prayer from St. Francis, and a passage from Hebrews that I’ve found helpful:

Wisdom on how followers of Jesus can vote well from from John Wesley:

“1. To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy

2. To speak no evil of the person they voted against, and

3. To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.”

On having a more Christian worldview relating to politics from Scott Sauls:

“Carefully read the 4 Gospels, Romans, and James.

Pray and dine with people whose politics differ from yours.

Name 1-2 weaknesses of your own party.

Name 1-2 strengths of the other party.

Vote your conscience.

Fight evil.

Advance good.”

A prayer from St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is offense, let me bring pardon.
Where there is discord, let me bring union.
Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
O Master, let me not seek as much
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that one receives,
it is in self-forgetting that one finds,
it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,
it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.

Hebrews 12:1-3

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted”

For further reading and a song based on the above prayer see:

Political Riptides Rip Us Apart - By my friend Jim Mullins and Jackson Wu

Politics, Important, But Not Ultimate - By Jeremey Treat (the whole series on politics and the way of Jesus from Reality LA can be found here.)

Frederick Buechner on Peace

As a little follow up to yesterday’s gathering on how followers of Jesus are a sent people, here’s a short thought on peace from Frederick Buechner:

“Peace has come to mean the time when there aren't any wars or even when there aren't any major wars. Beggars can't be choosers; we'd most of us settle for that. But in Hebrew peace, shalom, means fullness, means having everything you need to be wholly and happily yourself. 

One of the titles by which Jesus is known is Prince of Peace, and he used the word himself in what seem at first glance to be two radically contradictory utterances. On one occasion he said to the disciples, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword" (Matthew 10:34). And later on, the last time they ate together, he said to them, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you" (John 14:27).

 The contradiction is resolved when you realize that, for Jesus, peace seems to have meant not the absence of struggle, but the presence of love.” 

-Originally published in Wishful Thinking and later in Beyond Words

One Verse, On Thought, One Quote - Hillary Horn

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you - 1 Peter 5:6-7

“I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God. It changes me.” - C.S. Lewis

One Verse, On Thought, One Quote - Scott Ritchie

"And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” Matthew 10:42

Quote from "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom:

“Thank you," Betsie went on serenely, "for the fleas and for-"

The fleas! This was too much.

"Betsie, there's no way even God can make me grateful for a flea."

"Give thanks in all circumstances," she quoted. "It doesn't say, 'in pleasant circumstances.' Fleas are part of this place where God has put us."

And so we stood between piers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. But this time I was sure Betsie was wrong.”

One Verse, On Thought, One Quote - Beth Garcia

"But we see Jesus." - Hebrews 2:9

"Welcome, child," he said.

"Aslan," said Lucy, "you're bigger."

"That is because you are older, little one," answered he.

"Not because you are?"

"I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger."

-C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia

One Verse, One Thought, One Quote (7/16/2020)

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” - Malachi 3:6

“God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which he must work. ONly to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves.” - A.W. Tozer

On Living Well in the Midst of Injustice

Union Church family, the last 3 months of world history has been stunning. We are witnessing a global pandemic, economic turmoil, riots, protests, and an incredible amount of tension in our society.

How are we to live well in the midst of it all?

Our chief concern as Christians is following, honoring, and representing Jesus in every aspect of our lives. Our savior Himself has said, that if we love Him, we will keep his commandments. The two great commandments given are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

To love God and neighbor today, we need to enter into the brokenness, lament the injustice that we are witnessing, repent when and where it’s necessary, and be agents of hope in a world of despair.

A primary danger of our culture today is to take issues concerning people into mere politics. It’s become common place to take any issue or occurrence and quickly draw a line between the so called left and right. This leads to polarization and fragmentation, rather than unity and movement in love. Let’s resist this urge. 

As Christians we see a central core of the biblical faith is recognizing that every person is made in the image of God and has inherent dignity, value and worth regardless of race, creed, orientation, or socio-economic status. 

To walk in the way of Jesus today means to lament and call for justice when the image of God is ignored, and injustice is perpetuated. This includes the history and affects of continued systemic racism. This includes the tragic and unnecessary deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery and many others. 

As Dr King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

My hope and prayer for us, is that we can be a “both and” people in an “either or” world.

We can uphold truth and embody grace.

We can work for justice in social spheres and maintain the centrality of the gospel.

We can proclaim loudly that black lives matter, while appreciating, and honoring the men and women that serve as law enforcement officers.

We can be a “both and” people in an “either or” world

This is not a luke-warm middle ground but embracing and holding truth and grace in the midst of the tension. We can let go of judging, critiquing, and name calling, and pursue empathy, understanding, listening, and ask questions for greater clarity.

We are called in this season to more closely align with the Kingdom of God. This means we must repent of our apathy, indifference, and ways we’ve contributed to dividing rather than uniting around Jesus and his way. 

Latasha Morrision rightly says “In the love of the family of God, we must become color brave, color caring, color honoring, and not color blind. We have to recognize the image of God in one another. We have to love despite, and even because of, our differences. Jesus can make beauty from ashes, but the family of God must first see and acknowledge the ashes.”

To do that, we need the help of the Holy Spirit. But with God’s help we can be a people of peace in a world of chaos. We can pursue justice in a world of injustice. We can uphold love in the face of fear, and light in the midst of darkness. 

Union Church, our calling is to show the radical love of Jesus, not the position of our political preferences. His love is costly and crosses lines, breaks down barriers, and serves everyone with love, especially His enemies.

Let us be a people who are tethered to the real Jesus, united in him, looking to show His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control to the world that so desperately needs it. 

Let’s pray and lament together

(We prayed this at our gathering on 6/7/2020)

Our Father in heaven, As we look at this world, we shutter with the amount of brokenness we see and confess that we don’t know where to start. How long oh Lord will this continue? How long will you tarry? When will you break through and bring healing and hope? Help us to lament in these fractured times.

Forgive us for what we have done and left undone. Give us humility to learn where we need to grow. Convict us of our apathy and indifference. Grant us courage to walk in repentance. Please open our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our hearts to understand what it looks like to follow you today. Unite us in your love to share and show Jesus well. May your kingdom come, and will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.