Christian Book Club

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Today is Wednesday, October 15th, 2008

Feature Article #1

Velvet Elvis - Week 1

This month on Christian Book Club Online we will be reading Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis. I have done a quick look through and I am looking forward to reading and commenting on the book. It looks like it should read pretty quickly, which should be helpful for everyone with a full schedule. [...]

stephenlawes | October 1st, 2008 | Continued

Feature Article #2

Joining the Club is Simple and Free

We are doing everything we can to keep another day from going by without you joining the Christian Book Club. All you need to do is decide when you want to start. To join in just begin commenting on the Current Christian Book Club book we are reading. That’s it! [...]

stephenlawes | May 24th, 2008 | Continued

Feature Article #3

Welcome to the Christian Book Club

The Christian Book Club is a place for people who enjoy reading to get together online and share their thoughts and questions. On the first of each month a new book and a new round of discussion is started. The book being read is divided into four sections and at the beginning [...]

stephenlawes | February 28th, 2008 | Continued

About this Site

The Christian Book Club is a place for people who enjoy reading to get together online and share their thoughts and questions. On the first of each month a new book and a new round of discussion is started. The book being read is divided into four sections and at the beginning [...]

Breakthrough - Week 4

September 24th, 2008 • stephenlawes • 1 comment • Related • Filed Under

This month on Christian Book Club we are reading “Breakthrough” by Derek Morphew. As we enter Week 4 we will be finishing up this book by reading; Israel, Confusion about the Kingdom, A Final Perspective, and Studying the Theology of the Kingdom.

I am not sure that reading a book like this is something that everyone enjoys. It is a theological book. I personally have enjoyed it very much. Thank all of you for reading it along with me. The subject of the Kingdom is fascinating to me. I would suggest that you take time to read Appendix III. It is a fascinating look at the Kingdom of God through the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah takes all the major themes of the Kingdom and weaves them through the chapters of his book. It is absolutely amazing. If you have enjoyed the study on the Kingdom, you may also want to read a book by G.E. Ladd called “The Gospel of the Kingdom”. Next to the Bible, it is perhaps my favorite book. I look forward to your comments on the reading this week. It is an amazing journey to be “Already-Not Yet” people.

October will soon be upon us and we will be reading “Velvet Elvis” by Rob Bell. I have heard a lot of different things about the book so I am looking forward to checking it out for myself. I will include a link so that you can order it if you need to. Have a good time reading this week and I will be praying for you!

273081: Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith

Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith
By Rob Bell

Breakthrough - Week 3

September 17th, 2008 • stephenlawes • 0 comments • Related • Filed Under

This month on Christian Book Club we are reading “Breakthrough” by Derek Morphew. As we enter Week 3 we will be reading; The Messianic Banquet, The Kingdom and the Church, ‘Already - Not Yet’ people, The End of Cessationism, and Healing.

This weeks chapters hold some of my favorite concepts about the Kingdom of God. An excellent description of the differnce between the Church and the Kingdom is given on page 150. The chapter on the ‘Already - Not Yet’, (which Ladd refers to as the Now and Not Yet) will help to explain the tension that exists between so many scriptures. The Kingdom is here and yet not fully here. Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom in His first coming, When He come back again He will consumate the Kingdom. We live in this tension,, and it is in this tension that we find our Messiah King!

I did a lot of teaching on the Kingdom of God over the last year. I am going to include the first in a series of teaching I did here. If you would like to watch more of them you can follow the video back to the rest of them.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Please pray for all the people who were impacted by Hurricane Ike in Texas, Louisiana, Cuba, and the Caribbean. The storm went to the South of us here in the Florida Keys, but we know first hand how difficult the after math of a hurricane is. If you are interested in Hurricanes, you may want to check out Hurricane Tracking Sites, which not only has links to the top hurricane sites, it also includes information about hurricanes and their impacts.

Breakthrough - Week 2

September 9th, 2008 • stephenlawes • 1 comment • Related • Filed Under

This month on Christian Book Club we are reading “Breakthrough” by Derek Morphew. As we enter Week 2 we will be reading;The Implications of the Kingdom, Bringing in the Kingdom, Acts of Intervention, The Parables of the Kingdom, Kingdom Lifestyle.

In the chapter on Kingdom Lifestyle there is an excellent discussion on the sermon on the mount. I look forward to your comments on that section as well as any other portion of the book you would like to talk about.

(Most of you know that I live in the Florida Keys. We were under the threat of Hurricane Ike all week and so this update is a couple of days late. Fortunately for us and yet unfortunately for Cuba (I planted churches in Cuba for ten years and I have a lot of friends on the Island) Hurricane Ike passed to the south of us and we are now getting tropical storm force winds. Sorry for the delay.)

In case you don’t have the book yet I will include a link here for you to get one. They have copies available at Amazon.

Breakthrough - Week 1

September 1st, 2008 • stephenlawes • 5 comments • Related • Filed Under

This month on Christian Book Club we will be reading “Breakthrough” by Derek Morphew. I really enjoy books about the Kingdom of God. My all time favorite book on the topic is by George Eldon Ladd called the Gospel of the Kingdom. This book is a close second. Having said that, please don’t feel under any pressure that you have to enjoy the book. For me it is enlightening and fascinating, but it is a subject that I enjoy talking and teaching about. I realize that it might not be as interesting for everyone else. Still, I hope you find it interesting!

Here is how we will read and discuss the book:

Week 1 - Pictures of the Kingdom, Promises of the Kingdom, Fulfillment of the Promises, The Mystery of the Kingdom, The Centrality of Christ

Week 2 - The Implications of the Kingdom, Bringing in the Kingdom, Acts of Intervention, The Parables of the Kingdom, Kingdom Lifestyle

Week 3 - The Messianic Banquet, The Kingdom and the Church, Already-Not Yet People, The End of Cessationism, Healing

Week 4 - Israel, Confusion about the Kingdom, A Final Perspective, Studying the Theology of the Kingdom

I think you will enjoy the description of the Spiritual Battle on page 18 and 19. I particularly like the explanation of how each of the plagues addressed one of the false gods of Egypt. Great stuff!

In case you don’t have the book yet I will include a link here for you to get one. They have copies available at Amazon.

What’s So Amazing About Grace - Week 4

August 27th, 2008 • stephenlawes • 1 comment • Related • Filed Under

We are entering our last few days here on the Christian Book Club with Philip Yancey’s “What’s So Amazing About Grace”. I hope you have enjoyed the book. I think it should be one of the books that all Christians should read. If the church could really become a dispenser of God’s grace it would have an amazing impact on the world. We will be reading Part this week. I particularly enjoyed Grace and Gravity. The question is raised, “What does a grace-filled Christian look like”?

I look forward to your comments on the remainder of the book. I am going to add a video clip here by Philip Yancey. I thought you might like to see and hear from the author you have been reading this month.