The Good and Beautiful God: Falling in Love with the God Jesus Knows (Apprentice Resources)

Product Description

Over 200,000 sold!

For the past decade The Good and Beautiful God has been helping readers ask hard questions about the character of God. We all have ideas that we tell ourselves about God and how he works in our lives. Some are true―but many are false.
“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.” James Bryan Smith believes those thoughts determine not only who we are, but how we live. In the pages of this book you are invited 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, you can engage in 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. Discover the narratives that Jesus lived by―to know the Lord he knew and the kingdom he proclaimed―and learn how to practice spiritual exercises that will help you grow in the knowledge of our good and beautiful God. This limited premium quality anniversary edition includes a new afterword by James Bryan Smith and a ribbon bookmark.

Review

“Most of us want to change, whether it is changing some bad habit to changing a deeply ingrained character defect, and Smith reminds us that change
does not result from willpower. The
will has
no power. Spiritual change begins with God―what we think about God shapes what we think about ourselves and those around us and our world. Spiritual change begins with a narrative where God is the center: What is our ‘narrative’ of God? What are the narratives that hinder our perception and life in God? A major feature of this series is
the power of false narratives in our lives and the power of good narratives that can effect change. The false narrative is that effort and willpower leads to change. The true narrative is about God―about Christ―about the Spirit―and about your place in the God Narrative.” (Scot McKnight, Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary)

“I don’t seem to be able to think of my friend Jim Smith and his book
The Good and Beautiful God without breaking into a cheerful, warm, and friendly smile! Jim is a delight as a friend, a teacher, and a wise counselor. Over the last ten years as I have traveled widely, I have run into countless people who testify to the grace-filled and powerful insights in Jim’s writing for discipleship, for spiritual formation, and for apprenticeship to Jesus. As Dallas Willard taught both Jim and me, ‘There is nothing more important to Jesus than our view of apprenticeship and its relationship to what we think about God.’ This is why
The Good and Beautiful God is such an important book, deserves a special tenth-year edition, and is destined to become a classic in the years to come.” (Todd Hunter, bishop of the diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others)

“I am so grateful this edition of a rich spiritual resource will become available. I hope it is widely and wisely read.” (John Ortberg, senior pastor of Menlo Church, author of Eternity Is Now in Session)

“James Bryan Smith has written a great and beautiful book. Deep, inspiring, and highly accessible, this is the best book I’ve read on spiritual practices. I recommend it to everyone.” (Ken Shigematsu, pastor of Tenth Church, Vancouver, BC, author of Survival Guide for the Soul)

“The best practice I have seen in Christian spiritual formation.” (Dallas Willard, author of The Divine Conspiracy)

“‘What do you want?’ This question, which Jesus often asked, is central to this book. If you want a life of growing connection to Jesus and a reliable plan for advancing that goal, this is a book to read and return to again and again. James Bryan Smith holds to the compelling paradox of God’s good news: that while spiritual formation is not accidental, we only learn to love him because he, in his kindness, has first loved us.” (Jen Pollock Michel, author of Surprise