Monday, May 14, 2012

All Creation Sings




All Creation Sings


by J. Ellsworth Kalas


Category: spiritual growth Program Year: 2012
If this author's name is familiar to you, Dr. Kalas served First Church in Madison as a young man. With his years of pastoring and teaching at Asbury Theological Seminary, xxx, Kentucky, he brings a depth of study and a breadth of life experience to his writing.

The book consists of welve essays which begin with a biblical text associated with nature, for example, Isaiah 1:1-11 and Matthew 5:43-48. Kalas then expands the natural reference to our Christian life and faith.

I started reading this book on a cold spring morning. I confess I was dubious about getting all excited about the wonders of creation. There wasn't anythin wonderful happening outside my front door. Kalas drew me in when he moved beyond extolng the virtues of gardens and forested hillsides to Jesus, the cross and daily living in the real world where “thorny” describes personal relationships rather than abramble in the Conservancy. Kalas tells us we must go beyond the green movement to learn nature's lessons about life and God

I chose to read this book as a daily devotional. The chapters are 8-10 pages long. You could also read this book as part of a book discussion group which meets either eekly or monthly. There are discussion questions in the back of the book for each chapter. Don't miss these even if you are reading this book on your own. They give a summary of the chapter, questions which step you through each essay and conclude with a prayer. These questions may help you if you like to journal or if you are uncertain of any given section of the article.

I call All Creation Sings a must read.


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