Jan 29 2009
surprising book recommendation
It is rare that I find myself so completely and thoroughly recommending a book as I am today. I suppose that with diligence I could find things to disagree with. In fact I am sure that in the fifth chapter there was a sentence that ended with a preposition. (That was irony, see the previous sentence.)
But seriously, this book is readable, profound, clear and wonderful. It seeker friendly. In fact I think that those far from the church and from God would love this book. (It has plenty of critical things to say about the church and the people who populate it.) At the same time it is deeply challenging to those that have walked long in the faith. This challenge is so compelling that as I read I was moved almost to tears and had to stop to confess to God and to thank God for this book.
It is relevant. It is clearly designed to connect with people that are rarely tempted to open a bible or visit a Bible study class. At the same time this book is not much more than an extended exegesis of a single parable.
The book is short. It could easily be read in a quite afternoon. At the same time it is rich. You could spend a week discussing each chapter.
Now that I have written all this I realize that I ought to be setting you up for some trick like recommending the Gospel of Mark (which does meet all of the criteria I listed above). But I am not. I am recommending a regular book.
It is called The Prodigal God.
It is fantastic.
on the walk
-Ethan Magness
Thanks, Ethan! This will definately go on my reading list!
I’ll also point readers to the other full-length book on the parable of the Prodigal Son that came out last year: “A Tale of Two Sons” by John MacArthur.
My small group just finished studying that book. MacArthur takes the reader back in time so that they can hear and understand the parable in its original context. He presented the basics of middle eastern peasant life in the first century by providing a primer on shame-honor culture and Pharisaic legalism. When you read the parable in that context, you really understand just how shocking and powerful the parable really is.
We were blessed to have a Messianic Jew in our small group. He gave us some real-world insights. Like the prodigal, his orthodox family considered him dead, had the funeral, mourned him, etc (Luke 15:32).
The most surprising thing about the parable is that Jesus left it unfinished… what did the older son do? I’ll let you think about that.
We finished the study last week with a deep appreciation of repentance, grace, and the joy of God.
Here is a link to the book:
http://www.gty.org/Products/Books/451161
The sermon series in MP3 format can be downloaded free of charge here:
http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/series/260
There are a few versions of the sermon posted. I recommend listening to ‘The Licentious Son’ followed by ‘The Loving Father’ and wrapping up with ‘The Legalistic Son’.
–Matt