God’s Not Dead by Rice Broocks

God’s Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty by Rice Broocks

(received for review purposes)

Genre- Religion / Christian Theology / Apologetics

Published by- Thomas Nelson

Copyrighted- 2013

Number of pages- 284

Age Group- Adult

Description of Book- hardback, list price $19.99, ISBN 978-0-8499-4853-4

God’s Not Dead was written for seekers, believers, and skeptics.  Rice Broocks describes how God still exists in our time by quoting different people in their fields in the subjects of theology, history, philosophy, and science.

The introduction discusses what Broocks will prove in this book, Jesus’s story, and his own story.  Each chapter has a complete summary at the end.

Some topics discussed are:

• How important scripture is and how it witnesses to the people.
• The life that God made was not an accident and has meaning and purpose. 

Author- Rice Broocks is the author of several books and is the cofounder of the Every Nation family of churches.  He has a doctorate from Fuller Theological Seminary.

My Thoughts- God’s Not Dead, by Rice Broocks, had a lot of potential, but fell short in my eyes.

I was excited when I read the description of this book.  I thought I would learn a lot and have an interesting book to pass onto others, so we would know how to share how God is still alive in our world.

I was disappointed.  While there was a lot of useful information, it was written in such a dry, stiff manner that I had a hard time reading the book.  I know that Broocks has a great passion for God, but I didn’t just feel it in this book.

He wrote God’s Not Dead for seekers, believers, and skeptics, but the only group I believe who will gain from reading this are the skeptics.  I would recommend this book to people who want to read a book for what it is.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received God’s Not Dead by Rice Broocks for free from the publisher through the BookSneeze Review Bloggers Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Captives by Jill Williamson (Review)

Captives (The Safe Lands- Book 1) by Jill Williams (received for review purposes)   

Genre- Juvenile Fiction / General

Published by- Zondervan

Copyrighted- 2013

Number of pages- 416

Age Group- Young Adult

Description of book- paperback, list price $8.99, ISBN: 978-0-310-72422-3

Eighteen-year-old Levi is from the village of Glenrock. He returns from Denver City to find that the people in Glenrock have been either killed or taken captive, by the enforcers. It has happened, because of his brother, Omar.

Omar has to decided to help the enforcers, so he can help Glenrock. He thinks his village is being held back by an old religion. He also thinks the Safe Lands, home to the enforcers, will keep everyone safe and that he will be given a position of power.

The third brother, Mason, has taken a job in the Safe Lands.

What will happen to the three brothers and the inhabitants of Glenrock?

About the author- Jill Williamson currently lives in Oregon with her husband and children.  She has written other books and has won the 2010 Christy Award and the Epic Award for By Darkness Hid.

 My thoughts- When I read the synopsis of Captives, I knew I wanted to read it.  I grew up in a town called Glenrock, as did Levi and his brothers.  That is the reason I selected it for review.  I wasn’t even one-fourth of the way through the book, when I knew I was reading a gem.

Captives has both male and female main characters, so both young men and women will feel comfortable reading this book.  Everyone will learn what the power of temptation is like and how you can avoid it.  You can be strong and work for what is right.

I have watched, Princess Bride.  It was a lot of fun to read references to it in the book.

I recommend Captives.  Many readers will learn how sneaky temptation can be and how to be strong.  Read today!

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Captives by Jill Williamson for free from DJC Communications. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. All links were current when posted.

Get Lost by Dannah Gresh (Review)

Get Lost: Your Guide to Finding True Love by Dannah Gresh

(I received this book for review purposes.) 

Genre- Youth / Christian Living / Relationships

Published by- WaterBrook Multnomah

Copyrighted- 2013

Number of pages- 224

Age Group- Young Adult

Description of book- paperback, list price $13.99, ISBN 978-0-307-73063-3

Do you focus mainly on guys? 

In Get Lost by Dannah Gresh, you will learn the importance of being lost in God, not guys.  The Bible is the first place to begin to look for God’s love.  It is important to know what the different kinds of love are and what they look like when God is involved.  Once you know them, then you will be able to respond correctly when you feel romantic love.

Included is a ten-day Love Feast Challenge, which will help you to learn to recognize the love of God and how you need to treat relationships.

Excerpt from this book. 

About the author- Dannah Gresh has been a contributor to FamilyLife Today and Midday Connection.  She has written, And the Bride Wore White, and other books.  She enjoys talking about purity with teens and young adults.  She currently lives with her husband and children in Pennsylvania.   Dannah Gresh’s website- http://purefreedom.org/.

 

 

 

My thoughts-  There are many books about Christian romantic relationships in publication.  I think Get Lost, by Dannah Gresh, is one of the best that I have read.

Top four things I learned or enjoyed:

• We should crave God not men.
• We need agape love for Jesus, not phileo (brotherly) love.
• “Love Feast” study, which takes ten days or ten weeks, is full of spiritual information.
• Complete group leader’s guide and questions.

This is a book that every young lady needs to read before committing herself to a young man.  I wish I had read a book like this when I was younger.  If I had, I would have had a deeper relationship with God when I met my husband and then God would have been first in our relationship.

I highly recommend this book to all young women.  It needs to be at church libraries, public libraries, and bookshelves at home. 

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Get Lost: You’re Guide to Finding True Love by Dannah Gresh for free from the WaterBrook Multnomah “Blogging For Books” program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Crucifying Morality by R. W. Glenn (Review)

Crucifying Morality: The Gospel of the Beatitudes by R. W. Glenn

(I received this book for review purposes.)

Genre- Religion / Christian / Nonfiction

Published by- Shepherd Press

Copyrighted- 2013

Number of pages- 128

Age Group- Adult

Description of book- paperback, list price $12.99, ISBN: 978-1936908-530

 

Crucifying Morality: The Gospel of the Beatitudes shows verse by verse how Jesus is describing the type of person who understands God's grace and what it means to be poor in spirit, mournful, and meek,....  At the end of each chapter, there are questions in four different categories: "For Your Head," "For Your Heart," "For Your Church," and "For Your City."

About the author- R W Glenn is currently the Pastor of Preaching & Vision at Redeemer Bible Church in Minnetonka, MN.

My thoughts-

Crucifying Morality, by R. W. Glenn, was eye-opening.  I never realized how distorted my views were about the Beatitudes. One important thing I learned is that the Beatitudes are about me and how I view Jesus.

Many times when I read this book I was reminded of Elsie in the Elsie Dinsmore series, by Martha Finley.  She was the epitome of a person who knew the Bible and followed Jesus's teaching.  One of Elsie's strengths was being meek.  I had thought being meek was a sign of weakness, but it really means, "never asserting itself for its own sake."  That takes real strength.

I did have difficulty reading Chapter Two, of Crucifying Morality, which is based on Matthew 5:3, so I read it twice.  It seemed to me that if I were poor in spirit, I would have low self-esteem.  Now I understand, that isn't true: it's just a difficult concept for me to understand.

There definitely needs to be a version of this book for children.  I would love to study the meaning of the Beatitudes with my children.

Glenn has written a book unlike what we know about the Beatitudes.  I recommend reading it.  Why not find a copy and form your own opinion?

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Crucifying Morality: The Gospel of the Beatitudes by R. W. Glenn for free from Cross Focused Reviews.  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.  All links were current when posted.