David J. Lose

As with other books by Professor Lose, this book clearly sets out the principles being discussed. That being said, his writing style of having a fictional character ask him questions and then the author answering them does present a little bit of difficulty in reading the book...but I must be a glutton for punishment as this is the third of his "Making Sense of..." books that I've read over the past couple years.

This series of books does succeed in part in explaining the different aspects of the Christian faith. There always seem to be little tidbits I take away from them. In this book, I particularly liked his explanation of the the "Kingdom of God" both being here and not being here...i.e., God's Kingdom is here in the sense that we are to enjoy His Kingdom which began by Christ being born, and yet not here because God's Kingdom is also coming in the future. His explanation of the "Second Coming" of Christ as having already happened by Christ's resurrection (His birth being the first coming and His resurrection being the second coming) is an interesting viewpoint and does help to back up his explanation of the Kingdom both being here and yet not being here.… (mer)

This is a wonderful book. Postmodernism, secularism, pluralism - the book briefly defines these social and cultural developments from over the past 50 years that have frustrated preachers. But he shows what questions are really being asked - "does my life have meaning in this world" - and shows that the Christian message can provide help and hope to a world overwhelmed by competing messages. There are tremendous challenges, but we have a great message. I believe he is is complimentary towards conservative Christians, and the Law-Gospel sermon is also useful. He gives suggestions and directions on what to focus on to help answer questions people are asking and what is going on in their lives throughout the week. I underlined a lot in this book!… (mer)

One of the most intensely rewarding and detailed book about the gospels. Lose discusses each of the gospels, talking about who the author was, what specific characteristics of Jesus was the focus, and who the intended audience was for that gospel. He also discusses several theories about why Jesus had to die on the cross (not as simple as "He had to in order to redeem us in God's eyes"), the flaws in each of those theories and in the final chapter brings out a very important explanation of where He is going with the book. I thought I fully understood the gospels, and knew that they have some very different story details about Jesus' death (was he crucified on the Passover or the day after?; Did the disciples fall asleep one time or more than once??; etc.). And what do these details say, if anything, about Jesus' ministry? If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then I urge you to get this book and read it. I'm a life-long Christian and still learned a lot. There is also a 6-session video study that goes with it which adds to the book. I also caution against just doing the video study without reading the book. The book also adds a lot of details not included in the author's video presentations. I did this book study twice (not quite simultaneously), in two different men's study groups, one with the group reading the book, the other not reading the book. Trying to convey Lose's complete discussions without reading the book misses so much. This book and video study would make a terrific congregation-wide Lenten book study - conveniently available as a video series, book, and a leader's study guide.… (mer)