Jeff McLain

x This is a review of The Great House of God by Max Lucado , published in 1997 by Thomas Nelson . In this book, Lucado uses the Lord’s Prayer as a framework to guide readers in surrendering every aspect of their lives, envisioning it through the metaphor of their life as a house. He intends for this book to serve as a blueprint for discovering peace, joy, and love in a deeper relationship with God. Max Lucado, a widely admired Christian author and pastor, is known for his warm, descriptive, and easily understandable writing style. In The Great House of God , he employs his signature pastoral and encouraging tone to walk readers through the practical and detailed teachings found in the Lord’s Prayer. Each line of the prayer is presented as a different room in the house of our lives, where we learn to make God our true home. While Lucado draws on the insights of other authors and his own practical ideas to illustrate the meaning behind each line of the Lord’s Prayer, he largely avoids d

This is a review of The Lord’s Prayer for Today by William J. Carl III . This book is part of the For Today series by Westminster John Knox Press , released in 2006 – but stands on its own. The book examines the prayer pattern provided by Jesus and serves as a reliable and accessible resource on the Lord’s Prayer. William J. Carl’s expertise in Koine Greek and his understanding of the historical context of the framework behind this prayer offer unmatched insights. William J. Carl explores the prayer pattern given to us by Jesus in a way that is accessible to those without biblical or theological training while still being valuable for those who do have such a background. Examining the context of the Lord’s Prayer, The Lord’s Prayer for Today explores its significance for the original audience while also considering its relevance in a modern culture that may seem distant and different from that world. The book highlights the challenges and opportunities the prayer presents for nurtur

This is a review of Praying with Power, a book on the Lord’s Prayer, by John Ortberg. This book is part of the New Community Bible Study Series from Zondervan . - a series that looks to explore biblical perspectives in community with a small group. In looking at the Lord’s Prayer, John Ortberg offers six sessions each with reflection and commentary, reflective questions and journaling moments, and additional leader notes. Ortberg’s intent throughout Praying with Power , is to help the church see that “at the feet of Jesus we can learn to pray with a new depth, passion, and fruitfulness.” As a people who live by very busy and demanding schedules, we follow Jesus who “when his schedule got demanding…made space for prayer.” This workbook is about learning to quiet our hearts and speak to Jesus, simply so that we can say “Teach me to pray” and then alongside others, learn what that prayer looks like in our world of abundance and distraction. This book is written very simply and for a

This review covers Excellence in Teaching with the Seven Laws by Carl Shafer. In this book, Shafer offers a contemporary adaptation of John Milton Gregory's original seven laws of teaching. First published in 1985 by Baker Book House, this updated edition was released in 2015 by Wipf & Stock Publishers . Notably, this edition includes a preface by Philip E. Runkel, the current Superintendent of Public Instruction, who occupies the position once held by Gregory, the originator of these foundational teaching principles. I will note that this reprint features an unremarkable generic cover and a fairly large font size.  Carl Shafer was known as an author, life coach, mentor, and teacher.[1] Holding a doctoral degree in education degree from Western Michigan University, Shafer had a passion for teaching and had taught at numerous universities.[2] In addition to his academic contributions, he served as the Human Resource/Public Relations Manager at The Dow Chemical Company for 34 ye

This is a review of Reflections on the Lord’s Prayer , a timeless faith classic series book released by Zondervan in 2015. Featuring 160 colorful pages, Reflections on the Lord’s Prayer compiles quotes and scriptures that pertain to each line of the Lord’s Prayer. While there are fewer quotes than verses under each line of the Lord’s Prayer, there are still some rich quotes highlighted throughout this book. It's worth noting that the included quotes are not comprehensive or a good representation of thought throughout church history. Though there are quotes from church history, they are few and far between, with relatively few insights from the earliest church teachings and fathers. The quotes largely come from later Christian writers and voices such as Charles Spurgeon, Martin Luther, John Wesley, John Calvin, and Oswald Chambers. Additionally, each line also features highlighted quotes from the Westminster Shorter Catechism of Faith and the Heidelberg Catechism. When I purchased

This is a review of Lord, Teach Us To Pray by John C. Purdy . Released in 1994, by the Kerygma program, this small group study explores the Lord’s Prayer, offering six studies on spirituality related to each line of the Lord’s Prayer.  Exploring the pattern for prayer outlined by Jesus in the book of Matthew, the author breaks up the Lord’s Prayer into six segments, each with a corresponding study. Each study unpacks that segment of the Lord’s Prayer, its theological contexts, and its related stories from both the Old and New Testaments. Each study gives readers valuable insight into Jesus’ intent, the depth of that segment of the Lord’s Prayer, what to visualize as we pray that line, and what it means to live this truth in our lives. In addition to these reflections, each study concludes with thought-provoking reflective questions and activities but also lists additional resources to study. From the beginning, Author  John C. Purdy  points out that in the six segments of the prayer