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The Divine Hours: A Manual for Prayer

Is fixed-hour prayer an odd practice for an evangelical Christian?

The Divine Hours: Manual for Prayer, SpringtimeI’m not sure—but I have found that at times using a Book of Hours has greatly enriched my spiritual life.  Let me explain.  A Book of Hours is a devotional book that became popular in the middle ages in which Scripture, prayers, and readings were collected so that Christians could turn their attention toward God and the spiritual life at appointed hours during the day.  In some sense it is similar to the many popular books of today that blend writings of a favorite author with Scripture to form daily devotional readings.  But the Book of Hours didn’t have just one reading for the day it had readings for different times throughout the day.

“Fixed-hour prayer” is the ancient practice of stopping at certain times (as the name suggests) in Continue reading

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Free 5 Love Languages Study Guides

Download Free Study Guide for The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman!

Small Group StudyOne of the neat things about the internet is that there are some amazing things out there.  I was looking around doing some research on the 5 Love Languages and I stumbled across a free study guide for The 5 Love Languages Continue reading

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The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual disciplines for ordinary people (Expanded and Adapted for Small Groups)

The Life You've Always Wanted Book“How do I grow?  What does a spiritually mature person even look like?”  These are the questions John Ortberg sets out to answer in The Life You’ve Always Wanted.  Ortberg believes that most Christians want to grow in their faith and become more mature.  The problem they face is not a need for more desire, but a need for a practical strategy on how to attain that growth.  For Ortberg the answer to the “How” question is, “through spiritual disciplines.”

This idea might scare you.  Maybe you’re asking yourself, “But aren’t spiritual disciplines for monks, saints, and religious fanatics?”  John Ortberg would respond with a resounding “No!”  That’s why the tag line for this book is “Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People.”  This isn’t the Continue reading

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What is a good Christian book?

Woman Reading Book by WindowWhat is a good Christian book?  Sounds like a simple question.  But it really isn’t so simple.  For instance, a friend of mine once asked me, “How can a book be ‘Christian?’  A book can’t receive Christ.”  And, of course, that’s true.  Probably when we say that a book is a Christian book we mean that it was written by a Christian, or it is written with a Christian world view, or maybe more accurately, that it deals with Christian themes and ideas.  For instance, another friend of Continue reading

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