Jesus made a path for us
Get moving – there’s a long way to go
Resources
One of the key elements in our rule of life is learning. Much of that should happen in interactions with people, but some reading and study is always a good thing. We should aim to be “loving the Lord our God with all our mind” – and doing something about that regularly.
The resources listed here are “safe”. They don’t get political in a partisan way. They don’t go to extremism, or strange teachings. They are “mainstream”.
Get a Bible that works for you
Can we suggest the obvious place to start. If you haven’t had a look yet – read the Bible. There are hundreds of translations available.
- The Good News Bible – Easy to Read
- The Jerusalem Bible – Nice literature
- The Revised Standard Version – More academic translation
- The Message – Contemporary Understanding – (If in doubt start here for the first read – and then go on to one of the others.)
If you haven’t read a Bible before – it’s a library not a book, written over 2500 years by all sorts of different people with different ideas and understandings. By reading it you get to enter into humanity’s biggest (and ongoing ) conversation. St Augustine summed it up nicely as he prayed: “Two questions God – Who are you? And, Who am I?
The Bible starts in the middle – with the stories about Jesus – and works out from there to the beginnings and the end of things. So start with
Marks Gospel – if you want the quick overview
Luke’s Gospel – if you are into social justice, women’s place in things or miracles.
Johns Gospel – for the philosophers.
Matthews Gospel – if you want to understand the back story to Jesus
Make sure you read all four before you go anywhere else. (But have a look below. Check out the Bible Project introduction to each book before you read it.
The Bible
This is your “go to” place for Bible introduction. They have fantastic (and quick and entertaining) summaries and back stories to each book of the Bible. Check out their material before you read a Bible book for the first time. There are also lots of great video and animations. You’re going to love it.
Prayer:
Daily Prayer: Download the Lectio 365 app on your mobile. This is the way the whole community prays together at least once each day. Morning Prayer is a standard part for most of us. There are three guided prayer times available every day.
Lots of fantastic guides and explanations to get you started.
For starters….
If you are starting from scratch. This workbook will cover off some of the biggest ideas and basic practices of the way of Jesus. It would be good to find someone to sit with once a week and discuss each section.
EVERYONE should read this one – slowly and in conversation with others. It’s the book we wish we had written ourselves!!! Start with the book – but the website from these people is also full of great resources. There’s a spiritual health check up that is worth doing, and an 8 week getting started course on the practices. Visit them at practicingtheway.org
This one is for people who need to unlearn some toxic religion. It is written by a guy who had to unlearn most of the impressions and even some of the things he was taught in church – to become a follower of Jesus. Remember Jesus didn’t come to establish the Christian religion. He came to bring life – in all its glorious fulness and reinvent humanity.
The Christian faith gives us freedom to wrestle with big issues—politics, family, morality, gender, and more. God’s Kingdom is full of paradox and nuance, and the goal is to keep each other centred on what matters most, not drifting too far left or right. Everyone has a theology—a way of reading the Bible and thinking about God. But every theology has blind spots. That’s why there are so many denominations. The real challenge is knowing what’s central to our faith, and when we’re majoring on the minors. In a world that’s polarised and noisy, it’s critical to know what counts. This book helped us find a centre.
Is real change in my life possible? I try. I fail!
These are friends of ours, and have a gift to get right down to the root of who we are, why that is so, and how we can move forward. We have a growing network of trained people who help others understand themselves and make real changes.
Spiritual Formation – more advanced options
Lots more
Have a look at our book page to find some more specific resources about some of the themes that inspire, interest and concern Jesus’ followers. There is also a link to Ron Hutchinson Ministries. Ron has collected some wonderful, topical resources and his site is well worth a visit.