At the end of last week I offered a chance for you to vote for what book you would like to study together. After tallying all of the votes it was a tie between Jared Wilson’s Your Jesus Is Too Safe and John Piper’s God is the Gospel. And so because this is my blog I get to break the tie. That means the first book we will study is Piper’s God is the Gospel.
Actually there is a reason that I chose this one; it is actually to serve you better. Piper has graciously made this book available for totally free at the DG website. If you are comfortable with being an e-reader then you can download a PDF version of this book here for absolutely free:
God is the Gospel in PDF format
If you prefer to purchase the book you can get it on Amazon for just a little over 10 dollars:
God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God's Love as the Gift of Himself
As you are deciding whether or not you should commit to reading this book, perhaps it would be helpful to know why we are starting this project. The first reason is that it is very difficult to stay committed to reading a book. Many of us probably have a stack of books that we would love to read but we never seem to get around to it. A book club like this allows us to remain accountable to one another and spurs us on in reading good Christ-centered books. I want us to spur one another on.
The second reason for this project is that I want our enjoyment of God’s grace to deepen. I believe that our stomachs need to be stretched in our appreciation of God’s Word and the implications of His gospel. One way that this happens is through reading solid Bible-saturated books. I want our appetite to grow.
Lastly, I believe that as our enjoyment of God grows our passion to extend His glory will also grow. A good book has a way of spreading. When God uses a book to shape your life it is quite common to have a deep desire to spread that to others. So whenever we read books that are God-centered it has a way of shaping us, and that shaping influence has a way of spreading the glory of God to others. I want our study to equip and multiply.
I encourage you, then, to join us. You may find Piper a little difficult at times—that’s okay. Our study is a time for us to learn together. We all come from different perspectives and backgrounds and your comments and struggles through the book are needed. Your insights matter.
Every week (Monday) I will provide a short summary to each chapter and then open up the comments for you. This will be your chance to offer your thoughts and/or questions. You can leave a comment here, you can leave a comment on Facebook, or if you have your own blog you can interact there and provide a link. If you’re a quiet lurker then feel free to simply read and enjoy.
So, now it’s your turn to either buy the book
I am planning on joining in! I believe my lovely bride is as well.
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ReplyDeleteMike, I'm in. I have already pulled the book from the "David bookshelf".
ReplyDeleteBeth
Should be fun! Glad you guys are along for the ride :-)
ReplyDeleteI would like to join. When will we start? I think I want to order the book instead of reading it online.
ReplyDeleteI am going to read it too, I think.
ReplyDeleteYes! Really looking forward to this. The free PDF is so handy...
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