I am begging you.

I am begging you to purchase and read “The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism” by Timothy Keller. I am not sure if I have ever mentioned this book on the blog or not… have I? If I have you might be annoyed but I remain at peace because it may just need to be reiterated. I just finished reading it for the second time and I loved it even more this time around. The first time around I was spending most of my energy processing and interacting with the content but this time I was able to sit back, relax on my couch and read it over a cup of chamomile tea and it has blessed me so. Dr. Timothy Keller is the Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. He engages culture and gospel in a unique way and he does it all with the heart of a Pastor.

Here is a sneak peak at just one little selection… I don’t want to spoil too much for you.
The doctrine of the Trinity overloads our mental circuits. Despite its cognitive difficulty, however, this astonishing, dynamic conception of the triune God is bristling with profound, wonderful, life-shaping, world-changing implications… Ultimate reality is a community of persons who know and love one another. That is what the universe, God, history, and life is all about. If you favor money, power, and accomplishment over human relationships, you will dash yourself on the rocks of reality. When Jesus said you must lose yourself in service to find yourself (Mark 8:35), he was recounting what the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have been doing throughout eternity. You will, then, never get a sense of self by standing still, as it were, and making everything revolve around your needs and interests. Unless you are willing to experience the loss of options and the individual limitations that comes from being in committed relationships, you will remain out of touch with your own nature and the nature of things. In many other places in this volume, I’ve traced out how impossible it is to stay fully human if you refuse the cost of forgiveness, the substitutional exchange of love, and the confinements of community… this world was not created by a God who is only an individual, nor is it the emanation of an impersonal force… We believe the world was made by a God who is a community of persons who have loved each other for all eternity. You were made for mutually self-giving, other-directed love. Self-centeredness destroys the fabric of what God has made… The universe is understood as a dance of beings united by energies binding yet distinct, like planets orbiting stars, like tides and seasons, “like atoms in a molecule, like the tones in a chord, like the living organisms on this earth, like the mother with the baby stirring in her body.” The love of the inner life of the Trinity is written all through it. Creation is a dance!” (selected from pages 215-217, 219 of “The Reason for God”).
Are you kidding me??
I love it.
Seriously.
Please bless yourself and buy this book or check it out from the library or download it on your kindle or borrow it from a friend or read it standing in the aisle at Barnes & Noble…whatever you have to do, try and make it happen. And then perhaps we can move on to downloading his sermons in the near future. Wink.
Also, please do not forget to pray for God to move mightily at Living Proof Live in Fargo, North Dakota!
Happy Friday Sweet Siestas!
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109 Responses to “I am begging you.”

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Comments:

  1. 101
    Suzanne says:

    Melissa,

    I had never even heard of this book but I went to the public library and submitted a request. It came in yesterday afternoon and I was hooked from the introduction. So many of these questions I've heard from people but never new how to respond.

    Thanks,
    Suzanne RI

  2. 102
    Andrea says:

    So funny that you should post this. I just heard of Tim for the first time when he spoke at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit and I was so impressed! This excerpt has placed the book at the top of my "To Read" list!

  3. 103
    Kristine McGuire says:

    Thank you for posting this (even if you have before) because I had not heard of this book. I'm going to get it asap.

  4. 104
    GrandCanyonMom says:

    This part: "We believe the world was made by a God who is a community of persons who have loved each other for all eternity." …kind of threw me.

    Is he saying that God is a community of persons? Doesn't that sound a little New Age-ish?

    I don't want to be negative or skeptical at all, just want to clarify. I mean, I know we are the "Body" of Christ but this sentence seems a little odd to me.

    Please offer me your thoughts Melissa. I'd love to hear your input.

    Much love,
    jaime

  5. 105
    Melissa says:

    Jaime,

    Yes, he is saying that God is a community of persons. Since God is Triune it can be legitimately stated that God is a community of persons. This whole statement was written in the context of a discussion on the Trinity. I hope this helps. This sort of language is strange at first if you haven't encountered it but is typical of theological conversations concerning the inner relationship of the Trinity.

    All my best,
    Melissa

  6. 106
    Jamie Harper says:

    It sounds like just the book I've been looking for. Cannot wait to find it. Thanks!

  7. 107
    Chelle' says:

    I know I've said it before Melissa- but this blog isn't complete without your posts! THANK GOD FOR YOU. I am encouraged and ignited in the Lord by each of your posts. Thanks for your passion for His truth. And for all things that help us gain wisdom and insight into said truth.

    Praying God's will and blessing over you!!

  8. 108
    GrandCanyonMom says:

    Melissa, thanks for the clarification. I feel much better about that now. I never want to sound less than edifying but was struggling with that. I am in an area that is swimming with New-Age teachings and perhaps I am a little sensitive. Thanks for responding with love and wisdom.

    I love you all and pray for your family and ministry continually.

    p.s. Please tell your mom Phoenix would love to be on the 2010 schedule. we miss LP Live in AZ! 😛

  9. 109
    Cindy says:

    Melissa –
    Did it. Wow! That's all I can say…WOW!! Thank you. My husband was very impacted by it too. We both consider it one of most impactful books we have EVER read. So grateful for your ministry to us. Thank you!
    Cindy

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