Grace in the theological sense is that force that infuses our lives, that keeps letting us off the hook. It is unearned and gratuitous love; the love that goes before, that greets us on the way. It’s the help you receive when you have no bright ideas left, when you are empty and desperate and have discovered that your best thinking and most charming charm have failed you; grace is the light or electricity or juice or breeze that takes you from that isolated place and puts you with others who are as startled and embarrassed and eventually grateful as you are to be there. Anne Lamott, writer
“Grace undergirds everything.” I find I’m saying this a lot lately. In part because of the role grace has on our strategic map. Grace undergirds what we do, why we do it and how it’s done. The gift of grace first extended to us by God is what then compels us to share this grace with others.
Grace is at the heart of our plans and priorities at First Covenant Church and this is good — very good. But herein lies the problem with all this “grace” talk: what does it mean? The concept of grace is so broad it’s often difficult to get our heads (and thus, our hearts) around all it encompasses.
That’s why we are devoting our summer worship on Sunday mornings to grace. Along with the assigned Scripture for the morning, a corresponding book will be highlighted during worship (some of the book titles are also the sermon title for the morning). I’ve included these books on the Summer 2010 Reading List below. Let’s all grow together in our understanding and experience of grace this summer.
Pastor Anne
Summer 2010 Reading List
Summer is a great time to dig into those books you’ve been wanting to read, but haven’t yet found time. Maybe you are looking for a good book but don’t know where to start. I’ve put together a summer reading list that relates to our theme:
Amazed by Grace.
Some of the books I read years ago and others I hope to tackle this summer. Some are the kind you devour while others you can only read in bits and pieces — but all of them are thought provoking and will speak to hearts and minds as we continue to grow this summer in the love AND the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. The Cost of Discipleship Review and Quotes
Beckmann, David and Arthur Simon. Grace at the Table
Bridges, Jerry. Transforming Grace Review and Quotes
Falsani, Cathleen. Sin Boldly: A Field Guide for Grace Review and Quotes
Kea, Elizabeth, ed. Amazed by Grace
Kraybill, Donald B., Nolt, Steven M., Weaver-Zercher, David L.
Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended TragedyReview and Quotes
Lamott, Anne. Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on FaithReview and Quotes
MacDonald, Gordon. Generosity: Moving toward Life that is Truly Life
Miller, Donald. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years Review and Quotes
McKnight, Scot. Embracing Grace: A Gospel for All of Us Review and Quotes
Norris, Kathleen. Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith
Nouwen, Henri. The Return of the Prodigal
Trueblood, Elton. The Lord’s Prayer
Yancey, Philip. What’s So Amazing About Grace? Review and Quotes
Zacharias, Karen Spears. Will Jesus Buy Me a Double-Wide?
