Sunday, February 13, 2011

Imaginary Jesus Book

For those who read books on their smartphone or ipad, or on their computer, follow this LINK to got to Amazon.com and download Matt Mikalatos' book Imaginary Jesus absolutely free! It is an excellent novelization about the 'Imaginary Jesuses' we have constructed in our lives and how we can see our way clear to the real Messiah who wants to be our Savior and Lord.

And if you are just passionate about these things, you can also download The Dirty Parts of the Bible, which is a contemporary version of the Apocryphal story of Sarah and Tobias by the author Sam Torode. You can follow this LINK to download the book for 99 cents!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

David

The next character we will be studying is King David. The reality is we probably have more details and back story about David than anyone we do in the entire Bible. Because of this, we will be looking at several different episodes from David's life...if you are a reader and want an excellent book on David, then I would highly recommend 'Leap Over A Wall' by Eugene Peterson (the man who brought you the Message). It was a formative book in my own faith journey, and would be a good companion to our study over the next 3-4 weeks. I will certainly be pulling information from there.

The author Roy L. Laurin said this of David:

'Few men can stand to be great even as few men can stand to be rich. It is easier to bear mediocrity than magnificence...David's greatness began in smallness. It began at a time when he was overshadowed by seven brothers, all bigger than he. He was a pigmy among giants. He was a boy among men. He was small among the strong and stalwart. On the basis of assumption he did not have a chance.'

And so, here our story begins...

'Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminidab, Amminidab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse and Jesse fathered David.' (Ruth 4:18-22)

So, turn the page and keep reading in I Samuel 1...