Beauty invites us into itself, and in the strangest way, we benefit and somehow learn more about who we are in the engagement. It is in this precise way that beauty calls us to be attentive, to look both inward and outward and beyond the pressing urgency of our calendars, our appointments, our plans, our worries, our failures and our own brokenness.

Summer Recommended Reading, Part 2 Rev. Robert Balfour, Associate Pastor of Grace Northridge Church, suggests two books he’d recommend this summer.

What are you reading this summer? Consider one of these titles suggested by Dustin+ Messer, Vicar at All Saints Dallas.

In the resurrection, Jesus showed us the true paradigm of the story that started so long ago in the garden, the literal resurrection of a man from the dead. In this incredible event God’s rule and reign were vindicated. The resurrection changed everything.

The verbs “give” and “forgive” are two of the cornerstones of Christian faith and practice. But if giving and forgiving are so central to our faith, why do we find it so hard to follow God’s example? This is the central question that Miroslav Volf explores in his seminal work Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace.

My soul is weary from worry and haggard from heartache. It is weighed down with impossible decisions and discouraged from setbacks. Yes, my body needs nourishment and sleep and I know, basically, how to do that. But where and when and how does soul-restoration happen? 

Sabbath is both a day and an attitude. While numerous practices can help us receive God’s blessing of rest, it’s vital that we also embrace a Sabbath mindset.

Although Advent and Lenten seasons prompt special meditation, and holy days like Christmas and Easter invite us to deeper reflection and celebrations, the most significant encounters I have had with God have been amid the “ordinary times” of my life.

At its best, this is what art does. Art makes us worship—not the object, but the reality which lies beyond the object, the Triune God of the universe. 

Focuses on how theology shapes and forms Christian ministry.