Reviews

REVIEWS

BOOK OF THE WEEK

Breakfast with God (Volume 1) by Duncan Banks. Out via HarperCollins' Marshall Pickering imprint on Monday (8 May), price £3.99.

A super, punchy collection of 120 spiritual starters to the day for teenagers, students and anyone else who struggles to make time with God daily. Banbury Community Church leader Banks spins in short, thoughtful comments with a verse or two to ponder, and something to do. Each day's segments are broken down into (as the book jacket puts it): Orange Juice - a short reading; The Big Breakfast - the low-down for those with a bit longer to spend; The Continental Breakfast - if you're in a rush or want to add to the longer study; Coffee - an idea to think on. Just the thing to get hectic lives beginning to spend time with their Creator. Here's an excerpt ...

RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF THE LOST

Orange Juice - When he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them. They were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36)

The Big Breakfast

We need to recapture a sense of how god feels about 'the lost'. One of the most eventful routines in our family life is the weekly trip to the supermarket. It takes all our efforts to fill the trolley with goods while hanging on to two kids. One day we lost our four-year-old son Matthew. A chocolate bar in the shape of a light sabre had caught his eye and we got a couple of aisles ahead of him. When we noticed we were an offspring short, what do you think we did?

You couldn't imagine us saying to the manager: 'We come in most Mondays, so if you find him, we'll pick him up then'. No, Debbie bellowed his name while I ran up and down the aisles, shoving people out of the way. Eventually we found him, embraced him fondly, then berated him!

If a shepherd lost one of his sheep, he would engage in that same passionate pursuit. That is what God thinks about those who don't know him. So why is it that the Chuch lets 'the lost' slip so easily by, without even a simple word of hope?

Continental

In Britain, 1,500 people join the Church every week, but the bad news is that 1,600 die each week. The even more depressing news is that around 80,000 people leave the Church each year. Whatever country we live in, lost people matter to God, so they must start to matter to us.

Coffee

'Show your power, O Lord'. There are two lines from this song that always stir my heart: "We ask not for riches but look to the cross/And for our inheritance give us the lost". Maybe it's time to stop asking God for riches and to start asking for the lost people in your world to become your inheritance.

TO ORDER BREAKFAST WITH GOD, HEAD FOR www.christian-publishing.com

© Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.


		REVIEWS BOOK OF THE WEEK Breakfast with God (Volume 1) by Duncan Banks. Out via HarperCollins' Marshall Pickering imprint on Monday (8 May), price £3.99. A super, punchy collection of 120 spiritual starters to the day for teenagers, students and anyone else who struggles to make time with God daily. Banbury Community Church leader Banks spins in short, thoughtful comments with a verse or two to ponder, and something to do. Each day's segments are broken down into (as the book jacket puts it): Orange Juice - a short reading; The Big Breakfast - the low-down for those with a bit longer to spend; The Continental Breakfast - if you're in a rush or want to add to the longer study; Coffee - an idea to think on. Just the thing to get hectic lives beginning to spend time with their Creator. Here's an excerpt ... RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF THE LOST Orange Juice - When he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them. They were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36) The Big Breakfast We need to recapture a sense of how god feels about 'the lost'. One of the most eventful routines in our family life is the weekly trip to the supermarket. It takes all our efforts to fill the trolley with goods while hanging on to two kids. One day we lost our four-year-old son Matthew. A chocolate bar in the shape of a light sabre had caught his eye and we got a couple of aisles ahead of him. When we noticed we were an offspring short, what do you think we did? You couldn't imagine us saying to the manager: 'We come in most Mondays, so if you find him, we'll pick him up then'. No, Debbie bellowed his name while I ran up and down the aisles, shoving people out of the way. Eventually we found him, embraced him fondly, then berated him! If a shepherd lost one of his sheep, he would engage in that same passionate pursuit. That is what God thinks about those who don't know him. So why is it that the Chuch lets 'the lost' slip so easily by, without even a simple word of hope? Continental In Britain, 1,500 people join the Church every week, but the bad news is that 1,600 die each week. The even more depressing news is that around 80,000 people leave the Church each year. Whatever country we live in, lost people matter to God, so they must start to matter to us. Coffee 'Show your power, O Lord'. There are two lines from this song that always stir my heart: "We ask not for riches but look to the cross/And for our inheritance give us the lost". Maybe it's time to stop asking God for riches and to start asking for the lost people in your world to become your inheritance. TO ORDER BREAKFAST WITH GOD, HEAD FOR www.christian-publishing.com Next Page © Christian Family Network is run by CPO, supported by Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting, Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.