The Scribe's Portion

"Mi Casa Uptown: Learning to Love Again" Rich Perez Mi Casa Uptown by Rich Perez is a book about growing a Christ-like love for your community, town, and your city. Rich has a unique way of blending a serious topic with relevant narratives. He recounts his upbringing in upper Manhatten; his childhood with his Hispanic family, the sights and smells and how much he learned to love his community. After Bible college, Rich decided to go back to his neighborhood to demonstrate his love for the people by bringing Christ to the very place where he grew up.  The take-home message is that we must learn to love our communities. This love takes many roles, from babysitting your neighbor's child to taking the message of the cross to the streets.  Rich challenges the reader to step out of our comfort zones, step out in faith and take it one step further in being that disciple of love. To bring Christ into the neighborhood.  I enjoyed Rich's writing styl...

"Daniel (Everyday  Bible Commentary Series)" John C. Whitcomb This is a good little commentary on the book of Daniel. The author offers sound Biblical interpretations of almost every verse in each chapter. Each chapter is broken down verse by verse in an easy to follow format and easy to understand for the layperson. This commentary is not by any means exhaustive nor in-depth but it does make a good introduction into Daniel. If you're looking for a more detailed commentary I would recommend something more exhaustive.  Of course, no commentary is without faults. There are some eschatology notes in here that I personally don't agree with. And I' sure you will find some disagreements of your own as well if you decide to purchase this commentary. One of the points I don't agree with, for example, is the interpretation of the 70 weeks. I understand that there are several interpretations regarding this portion but just a heads up. Mr. Whitcomb belie...

"Planning Small Groups With Purpose: A Field- Tested Guide to Design and Grow Your Ministry" Steve Gladen This book might as well have been titled "Saddleback Church's Small Groups Business Model." I was eagerly awaiting this book after I requested it for review but was disappointed when it arrived and realized that it was written by Saddleback's small group director.  This book or workbook is pretty much Saddleback's model for small groups and the techniques they've been using for years that seems to have infiltrated all the mainstream churches across the country. I have not read the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren but the author seems to mention it quite a bit and has heavily influenced this book.  While I agree that small groups need to have some organization, I do not like how this book makes small groups into business models. Instead of relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they implement man's wisdom and ...

"Praying God's Promises: The Life-Changing Power of Praying the Scriptures" Linda Evans Shepherd Praying God's Promises by Linda Evans Shepherd reads like a devotional, it is nothing of what I expected but it still makes a great book. Linda goes through 25 different Scriptural promises. Each chapter starts off with a verse and a short anecdote and then it goes through various portions of scripture that affirm each promise. At the end of each chapter, there is a short prayer. The author draws the anecdotes from other authors' and ministers' stories as well as personal stories.  Every single chapter follows this format which makes it easier and faster to read. Like I stated above, this book is more of a devotional from where you can read one chapter a day and meditate on. I love that the author uses more scripture than her own thoughts and pointless stories (as many devotionals tend to do). This book makes a great gift for friends, loved ones ...