Kansas Books

Whether it is the preface by Bill Self or the countless stories from athletes who have graced the fields at KU, any fan of college sports will enjoy reading about Kansas sports history. Most interesting for me was the early days of KU and the athletes who loved KU just as much as the recent athletes. This book is a great trip down memory lane and clearly makes any Kansas grad or fan proud of OUR school. Rock Chalk.

Wow, the best book of sermons I have ever read. Each one a lollipop. Tracy makes Bible characters come to life. His conversational style makes it a quick and easy read. I thought I would crack up when he had Old Testament characters sipping Dr. Peppers while lolling at the Springs at Hebron. Lots to learn here, full of pathos, and humor.

I learned somethings from this book that helped me understand not only change from growing older and retiring, but the grief process of saying good byes that seems to accompany ageing. I have ordered an extra copy to give to a pastor, because it is a good reference book for a counselor.

The author of this book, Frank G. Carver, is a NT scholar with special expertise in Johannine studies. He also is a mystic who has penetrated to the heart of Jesus' Upper Room discourses in the Fourth Gospel. The reader of this study senses that Carver himself enjoys the experience of the Spirit that Jesus defines there. The volume is the culmination of years of teaching both graduate and undergraduate students. It cites the most authoritative studies of the Fourth Gospel, Catholic as well as Protestant, drawing also from the deep wells of Christian mysticism. The author writes from within the tradition of John Wesley, but often reads Wesley through the lenses of St. John of the Cross, whom he extensively quotes. The book represens a cross-fertilization of the Catholic (both Eastern and Western) and Protestant traditions. which gives the study its uniqueness and richness. Dr. Carver is also a seasoned and effective preacher; this book offers a wealth of practical, edifying sermon material for the minister who would proclaim the Johannine Christ's promise of the Spirit.

Lodahl has captured a wonderful visual point of view from the heart of Jesus; the stories show how the worst of sinners can receive His grace and eternal life. Christ meets our needs using the dust of the earth to write his message to all.

Easy read while touching the heart as Jesus looks into our eyes on our level.

There is so much I learned from this book! A lot of tools, understanding and truth is packed into an easy to read format. My husband and I poured through it and put as many of the principles we could to work right away. For me, two of the biggest principles I received, with God's help, is to detach from the difficult relationship and to look at my part and what I can change. I didn't think it was possible to feel God's peace and live my life normally during such a trying time for my family. I was able to not take everything so personally and even treat the person who was difficult with more respect and caring. I found, and it was definently a process, that I could infact feels God's peace and rest and not be so caught up in everything that I couldn't change. This book is extremely practical and truly can help anyone who's willing to change themselves. I have already referred back to it many times and know I will continue to do so. Anyone dealing with a difficult relationship and knows what it feels like to have love hurt needs to read this!

Al Truesdale has rendered a great service to the Church in the form of this little book with a lofty goal: To reach out to those Christians who have become disaffected with the usual forms and practices of worship, particularly prayer. Every local church includes a cadre of such folk, whether we pastors admit to their presence or not. Judging by the exodus of members from our own denominations, and the large chunk of present membership we deem as "inactive," many Christians certainly fall within the parameters of this book's title, and could well benefit from reading it.----------
"We assume that with proper guidance all Christians can practice successful communion with God," an assumption the author notes with disappointment. But "people who can't achieve these goals feel like lepers in the Church." For them, prayer is not merely impractical but a "major obstacle" in their quest for spiritual development and faithful service to God. Truesdale counters that God is indeed a God of hope, as the Bible attests, and that our faith has far more to do with God holding us than with our holding on to God. ------------
Drawing on case studies gleaned from his many years as a pastor and seminary professor, Truesdale correlates the inner struggles and probing questions of people caught in the crush of life who are yet searching for a satisfying spirituality, with the answers of the Christian faith, especially Scripture. This is no "How-to" manual or self-help pamphlet. Superficial, "try harder" solutions are debunked and dismissed. On the contrary fervent prayer is identified as an intense and enduring struggle in which believers remain painfully aware of the great distance separating the hope of God's coming kingdom from their own experience of the brokenness of life in the present. Ultimately, however, it is that hope which allows us to pray even in times when we feel we cannot. Christians who cannot pray can at least claim the hope of that faith which fills them and uplifts them through the power of the Holy Spirit.---------
"When You Can't Pray" would make for a wonderful adult study guide on the topic of prayer, as well as a useful evangelism tool for reaching those members who have become inactive due to experiences that shattered their naïve faith and sent them running for cover.

Smith writes on a subject many authors do not touch on - that of how to counsel a grieving group. His approach is not to ignore individual grief, but instead to move beyond it. A very easy read and good prespective for a working minister.

This most helpful and quite readable treatment of the biblical foundations of the Wesleyan perspective on the life of holiness comes from the prolific pen of William M. Greathouse, General Superintendent Emeritus in the Church of the Nazarene. A university educated churchman, he writes out of a life spent in the pulpit, the classroom, and leadership positions in church and academia, as well as in research and writing.

As he lays out before the reader the Old Testament roots and the New Testament teaching on Christian holiness, William Greathouse blends his pastoral and evangelistic spirit with careful biblical exegesis and scholarly exposition. Fully knowledgeable in the pertinent scholarly literature, he presents an optimism of grace that will inspire the heart of every Christian. The Old Testament ideal of the holy, the Christian experience of the Holy Spirit, the New Testament concepts of sanctification and perfection, and the Sermon on the Mount as a "kingdom ethic" are convincingly related to the contemporary Christian life. Both those who seek to understand the traditional Wesleyan concern for the holy life and those who proclaim it will see it firmly grounded here in Scripture. This fine work is well suited for use as a textbook or supplementary reading in courses on spiritual formation and the theology of holiness.

"Wild and Scenic Kansas" -- now how can you resist a title like that? I haven't lived in Kansas for 40 some years, but in many respects, it's still "home," and this calendar reminds me of why.