Book Review:. The Gift of Church

Taken from a blog posted by me in 2010:

I was excited when I found out that I had the opportunity to do my first official book review.  Then I faced a difficult decision:  What book would I choose that would be pertinent to my own life, as well as to the life of you, my blog reader?

I chose Jim Samra's The Gift of Church.  I do believe the local church is a gift to Christians, and I am saddened when I hear loved ones express the frustrations and difficulties they have experienced within their own local church.  I read in anticipation, eager to find some truths that I could share with these loved ones to encourage them to persevere in their trials.

In his introduction, Samra acknowledges that the church has been hypocritical, among other things, "and worst of all has been these things while claiming to represent God".  With all the failures of the church, why is it so important for Christians to be involved?  Simply put, "God designed and created the church for our benefit and for his glory".  The church is God's idea!

Samra walks the reader through the different parts of Scripture, showing what God designed the church to be and how He designed it to function.  Samra clearly points out the difference between churches and parachurch organizations and shows the benefits that can only truly be found in churches.  He also candidly discusses possible hindrances to the community that should be found in the church.  His conclusion brings the reader back to the fact that the church is the place where "God's infinite grace is highlighted".  What a great reminder that the church is God's design, and it is intended for His glory.

I would encourage any of you who are questioning the importance of being involved in a local church to read this book.  Although the writing is somewhat difficult to follow at times, the content is excellent.  Samra does not attempt to ignore or sugar-coat the problems that are all too often found in our churches, but addresses them with candor.  Perhaps the problems in our churches actually stem from the heart attitudes of you and me.  Or perhaps the answer to the problems in our churches is actually the involvement and dedication of you and me.

* This book was given to me for review purposes, and I do not have to return the book to the publisher. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.

Book Review: None Like Him

One of my goals for 2019 was to read one book a month.  Fiction has always been easy for me to read.  I can fly through a fiction book in a long evening, forsaking all responsibilities in the meantime.  Non-fiction seems to be a different story.  I get lost, become uninterested, or just plain fall asleep.  To help overcome this, I am choosing to focus on non-fiction for the bulk of my 12 books this year.

First on my list of books to read in 2019 was Jen Wilkin's None Like Him: 10 Ways God is Different From Us (and why that's a good thing).

The opening line of Wilkin's book drew me in and made me feel as though she and I could be good friends.  She does an excellent job of sprinkling personal anecdotes throughout this theologically-rich book.  True to the title, Wilkin clearly conveys why it is a good thing that God is different from us.  She does this in a way that is practical and applicable.  Each of the ten chapters of this book begins by defining and explaining an attribute of God.  This is followed by examples of how we cannot attain these attributes, were never intended to, and how it is truly a good thing we cannot.

I loved everything about this book.  The content was deep, though easy to read.  I had many "ah-ha" moments as I read, as well as some conviction on areas where my thinking and actions have not been correct.  Overall, I found her book to be very challenging and encouraging, and I am excited to read more by this author in the future!  This is definitely a book I would recommend to others.

Rachel's Rating:
★★★★★