Resources and Reads from Pastor John in 2022
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am split about New Year’s resolutions, especially when it involves spiritual disciplines. Taking up challenges and pursuing growth are certainly part of the Christian life, but as we studied this past Sunday, the roots tell the story. What’s my motive? Am I building a resume? Exactly who am I hoping will hire me in this Kingdom that I find myself in? And how can that exchange be spun into good news?
Our Father is worth pursuing—there is no question about that. But is he really the subject of all our reactivity? I wonder. I’m reminded of one of my favorite Avett Brothers songs: “Shame, boatloads of shame, day after day, more of the same…please take it off, please make it stop.” Shame. It’s a poor motivator, but is there a more popular one?
If you have a desire to grow, deepen, etc., I can’t know where that’s coming from. If we were talking about it, I might just encourage you to sit with Psalm 46:10 or Matthew 5:3 or Isaiah 40:29 or John 19:30 for a few weeks. Just try to get to the bottom of those simple verses.
But if even that is a struggle, and you need a support through these coldest days of the past three years (so weather.com tells me), I’m here. But I’m guessing there are also others in our church who would love to learn about where you’re at and offer some of their crumbs. Or maybe you are the one who has something to offer another — that didn’t just happen. Maybe it’s for sharing?
That said, maybe you genuinely desire to feast on more, but you could use a recommendation or a tool to help you along. Below I’ve humbly offered some resources and reads for the new year. (I know, we’re already two weeks into 2022. Let’s say I delayed because it lifts the burden of trying to get things right from the outset. Or maybe it’s because I just didn’t get to writing it out until now. Why should we have to choose? The pressure is off.)
With all hope in our strong, persistent and compassionate Savior,
John A
Resources and Reads :
What is the Bible, and how do I make sense of it?
If you need a primer or a refresher on what the Bible is and how to make your way through the whole thing, these brief, entertaining videos from BibleProject are great. Start with the first four, or watch all 19. They’re just 3-5 minutes each.
How can I make use of the Bible from day to day?
Even if you’ve been mining the Bible for years, it’s helpful to have someone walk with you to enter the story right now — today. Jen Wilkin has a free 5-part series over at bible.com to guide you. If you don’t know where else to start, start here. It won’t waste your time.
I’ve written a brief guide of my own, called “Intro to Devotional Scripture Reading,” which is a shorthand of what Jen Wilkin walks through in more detail.
I want to pray, but how do I get started?
Two words: start simple. See our “Starting to Pray” guide!
Favorite Christian literature that I read last year
Not all of these were published in 2021 — in the words of C.S. Lewis, if it was a great book last year, it will be a great book in ten years!
The African Memory of Mark by Thomas Oden
Mark was born and died in Africa. What difference does that make for reading the Gospel of Mark? What difference did it make in Church History? What difference does it make for imagining the future Church? This is an excellent companion as we work through the last third of the Gospel of Mark on Sundays, now through Easter 2022. Note: the first two chapters are a bit dense and may make you want to quit. But chapters 3 and 5-7 I’ll never forget — start with those!Grand Entrance by Edith Humphrey
This past year we did a nine-part sermon series on biblical worship, and this book was more helpful and fascinating than anything else that I read. Humphrey is a first-rate New Testament scholar and has been a part of several different Christian traditions — she examines Old and New Testament for the key scenes of gathered worship, and how they are worked into various Christian traditions today.Prayer in the Night by Tish Harrison Warren
This is a book of prayer with, for, and as sufferers. Warren uses Compline Prayer — the last daily prayer office in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, which Christians have used to end their day for centuries — to walk readers through praying to God in the midst our suffering.Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund
Ortlund writes, “In four Gospel accounts given to us in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — eighty-nine chapters of biblical text — there’s only one place where Jesus tells us about his own heart.” I am gentle and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29). Ortlund focuses on this simple truth over the course of 23 brief chapters, cross-referencing many other Scripture passages and figures from church history. Also, we have 100 copies at the church for free! Grab one this Sunday.Deeper by Dane Ortlund
How do Christians grow? It’s not working harder or faster. It’s by going deeper into the simple truths of the Gospel.
Reading While Black by Esau McCaulley
McCaulley brings his personal experiences of racism in America into conversation with his studies as a biblical scholar, and offers a timely word for American Christians as we look at our nation’s history and walk forward in repentance and hope, all in light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.