Good and Beautiful God, James Bryan Smith
Good and Beautiful God, James Bryan Smith
4 Rating(s)
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Good and Beautiful God
Falling in Love With the God Jesus Knows

Author: James Bryan Smith

Narrator: James Bryan Smith

Unabridged: 6 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/01/2009


Synopsis

"God wants me to try harder." "God blesses me when I'm good and punishes me when I'm bad." "God is angry with me." / We all have ideas that we tell ourselves about God and how he works in our lives. Some are true--but many are false. James Bryan Smith believes those thoughts determine not only who we are, but how we live. In fact, Smith declares, the most important thing about a person is what they think about God. The path to spiritual transformation begins here. / Turning to the Gospels, Smith invites you to put your ideas to the test to see if they match up with what Jesus himself reveals about God. Once you've discovered the truth in Scripture, Smith leads you through a process of spiritual formation that includes specific activities aimed at making these new narratives real in your body and soul as well as your mind. / At the end of each chapter you'll find an opportunity for soul training, engaging in spiritual practices that reinforce the biblical messages on your mind and heart. Because the best way to make a complete and lasting change is to go through the material in community, small group discussion questions also accompany each chapter. Those who are leading apprentice groups will also find additional help and opportunities to interact with other leaders at the Apprentice website. / This deep, loving and transformative book will help you discover the narratives that Jesus lived by--to know the Lord he knew and the kingdom he proclaimed--and to practice spiritual exercises that will help you grow in the knowledge of our good and beautiful God.

About James Bryan Smith

James Bryan Smith is the author of The Good and Beautiful God, The Good and Beautiful Life, and The Good and Beautiful Community. He is a theology professor at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, where he also serves as the executive director of the Apprentice Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation. A founding member of Richard J. Foster's spiritual renewal ministry, Renovare, Smith is an ordained United Methodist Church minister and has served in various capacities in local churches.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Michael on April 06, 2017

This is by far the best book I read in awhile. I tend to steer away from religious books,but this one was captivating and so relevant to today's society! It explores the facts about God that you rarely hear in churches. Did you know God is love? Did you know He is not an angry monster? Did you know......more

Goodreads review by Tim on December 29, 2019

Good, easy read. Great introduction to the work of Dallas Willard and Richard Foster. I have a few minor quibbles - Smith tends toward the mystical and pushes the "you're a saint, not a sinner" paradigm which I don't think is helpful (or accurate- I prefer Luther's simul justus et peccator or Keller......more

Goodreads review by Simon on August 24, 2022

I read this book with a group of friends this summer, one chapter per week. I would recommend it, and I think it is better if you go through it with a group at a leisurely pace. James Bryan Smith talks a lot in the book about what narratives we believe, and what narratives Jesus held (especially the......more

Goodreads review by Shannon on March 30, 2025

4.5 !! .5 points of because I felt like some chapters were talking about the same thing but it’s always nice to be reminded. Over all this was a great book to start off my family small group with ! I feel like it prepared us to be in the right mentality before diving into more scripture based studie......more

Goodreads review by Lori on February 13, 2021

Went through this book with my church. It prompted helpful conversations.......more