Staff Reviews: 5 Books to Help You On Your Journey
October 19, 2020 - January 1, 2030
Staff Reviews: 5 Books to Help You On Your Journey
Staff Reviews: 5 Books to Help You On Your Journey
Here at Marine Reach, we love to learn more about Jesus and what it means to follow Him. One of the ways we do that is by reading books…not just the Bible. Living in community means you can always go to someone for some book tips. In a community as diverse as ours, one person will give a tip for a moving novel, another will recommend an inspiring missionary biography, another a book on how to live faithfully as a follower of Jesus and yet another will give you an obscure tip about a nerdy book that will help you understand the Bible better (if you would like to get a better grip on the full story of the Bible, come join us and do our Discipleship Bible School!).
So, in this article, we will give you some book recommendations from some of our lovely staff members. There are 5 books reviewed here on pretty diverse subjects, but all able to equip you to follow Jesus more faithfully. We hope that these books will bless you and help you in your walk with Jesus.
Book #1: A Loving Life: In a World of Broken Relationship
Author: Paul E. Miller
Staff Comment: “This book taught me so much about the unconditional love of God.”
Page count: 176
Review: “This book is an expository study of the book of Ruth that will transform your understanding of its impact in the biblical story as well as how it relates to us in our everyday lives. It’s filled with real-life stories and examples of how God’s unrelenting love can look in practical terms. The book is so gripping!”
Links: Amazon, Bookdepository
Book #2: The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others
Author: Scot McKnight
Staff Comment: “Really brings the commandment of Jesus to ‘love God and neighbor’ to life.”
Page count: 296
Review: “This helped to reflect on Jesus’ command to love God with my all, and neighbor as self. In this book, the author looks at Jesus’s first-century setting. Some of the characters in the New Testament are looked at through the lens of living out the greatest commandment. It is written with the knowledge of a New Testament scholar but with plenty of pastoral sensitivity, and keeping it to a level that is easy to follow as it is written for the church. It changed much of how I viewed not just the characters in the bible or what Jesus meant with the greatest commandment, but how I viewed and lived out my own following of Jesus. A great resource! It is also the unofficial first book in an unofficial series of books by the author.”
Links: Amazon, Bookdepository
Book #3: Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul
Author: John & Stasi Eldredge
Staff Comment: “This book has helped in transforming the way I see myself as a woman of God.”
Page count: 256
Review: “This book has truly unraveled what it means to be a woman created by a loving, perfect Father. It has started me on a healing journey into deep, old wounds that have impacted me to this day. I am seeing Jesus use this book to transform the way I see myself as a woman of God and those around me through this greater understanding of our purpose. This book is full of personal stories and testimonies that stick with you and assure you- you are not alone on this journey.”
Links: Amazon, Booksdepository
Book #4: Messy Grace: How a Pastor with Gay Parents Learned to Love Others Without Sacrificing Conviction
Author: Caleb Kaltenbach
Staff Comment: “Jesus opened up my perspective on how to love others without sacrificing conviction.”
Page count: 224
Review: “Reading this book really convicted me and made me realize some hard truths in my life. The author has had experiences with the LGBT community and the church, and therefore laid out both perspectives in such an honest way. It brought me to understanding and repentance through learning more about God’s love.”
Links: Amazon, Booksdepository
Book #5: Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul
Author: J. P. Moreland
Staff Comment: “If you’re a thinker and love Jesus, read this book.”
Page count: 305
Review: “Growing up I struggled to believe that God was for me. Asking hard questions was not discouraged by my parents but it was frowned upon in the churches I grew up in largely. Eventually, Jesus got hold of me but then I struggled whether I belonged in the church and how. Being told to keep quiet at times, the struggle is still real. However, this book helped me to see that Jesus was the smartest person to ever live and that thinking done in the way of Jesus is a good thing. This book is gold not just for the person that thinks deeply but for anyone in any kind of church. The book also has a book recommendation list for all kinds of subjects, from politics to biblical worldview and from business to education, which is worth the price of the book alone.”
Links: Amazon, Booksdepository
Against The Tide
Next to these book tips we also would like to offer this tip: Against the Tide is a book about the origins of Marine Reach. Written by our very own David Cowie, who together with his wife Linda, both are also part of our base leadership team.
We hope you enjoyed some or all of our book tips. We will be sharing more of our book tips in the future. If you know any specific subjects you would like a book tip for let us know.
If you are interested in growing in your relationship with Jesus while having a community to encourage you, then come and join us for a Discipleship Training School. If you don’t love reading, but listening to someone talk is more your thing, we also have a blog post with our podcast tips.
“Being a Kingdom Come student was an awesome experience. We learned a lot about the kingdom of heaven and how to live it out in our daily lives.”
David Lindner, 21, Germany
“Before coming to DTS I had a fixed view on what it meant to be a follower of God. Being on the Wild Heart Stream completely demolished every box I put God in and taught me to have reverence for the Lord. I learned that God doesn’t want a slave, he wants a best friend, a daughter and a relationship.”
Jessica Bryant, 19, England
“We had been married for 5 years when we came to Marine Reach. As a married couple, we learned a lot about each other and ourselves and gained a lot for our marriage. What we enjoyed most during the GO PAC stream times was the mix between the depth we dove into God’s Word, getting to know His plan for us better, and the times thinking and learning about the interesting Pacific cultures. We think it is so important to get to know new cultures. At the base, there are many different cultures, but you really want to get to know the one culture where you live and where you’re going on outreach. We experienced that when spiritual basics are understood with the heart and not only with the mind, that is what brings change into your daily life, and that is what you can carry home after DTS.“
Tobias & Annika Dietrich, 26 & 26, Germany
“Prayer and Passion completely changed my outlook on the true power that prayer has. It had always been something that I knew worked and I did, but it was boring. Being a part of this stream gave me new understanding of how prayer is worship and fuels the power of heaven connecting with earth. It will move you to a place of praying out of your relationship with the Lord rather than giving him a list of things you want. You will gain a newfound intimacy with God as your prayer life is propelled.”
Tilly Logan, 21, Australia
“SPHC was honestly one of the best experiences of my life so far. From the lecture phase to outreach, my mind was constantly blown by the endless stream of possibilities that become available when you combine practical medical care with the power of prayer. Also, getting to hike, ride in boats and in the back of trucks, and setting up clinics basically anywhere was quite the highlight for a city girl like me.”
Tabitha Abishegam, 26, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
“SPHC was a transformational turning point in my faith walk where I learned to focus on others, serve, and honour others with my skills. Everything I learned in the course I put into practice to serve in the mission work that we were doing in Vanuatu. In changing me the Lord has changed my future and I walk with him and others in everything that I do.”
Paul Kerpel, 23, Alberta, Canada
“Being part of the Wild Heart stream helped me know my place in the kingdom as well as parts of my spiritual identity. It broke lies and empowered me to be who God called me to be!”
Nicole Tavares, 18, Brazil
“Doing SPHC was an amazing experience. Not only was I given the opportunity to continue to grow spiritually, but I learned things that can be used in a very practical and much needed way. SPHC gave me the opportunity to show the Father’s heart to people in a very unique way and love on the person in front of me while helping them in such a simple way.”
Karunia Been, 20, Portugal
“Medical Compassion DTS was a truly an incredible experience. Working in health centres, hospitals and pop-up clinics grew my interest in medicine and allowed me to practically show the love of God. For me, the most transformational aspect of my Med-Com DTS was the focus on compassion and its importance in achieving true holistic healing. This is an experience like no other!”
Matthew Bassett, 18, Orewa, NZ
“I’ve learn what the Kingdom means for us, how can we bring the Kingdom here and just share it with others… That makes me super excited! The key is to listen to God’s voice, seek His face and His presence! Everything else will be added as he promised is Matthew 6:33!”
Estera Welchar, 22, Poland
