11.24.2009

The Justice Project



The Justice Project is a collection of essays devoted to understanding social justice issues. There are over thirty chapters dealing with issues as diverse as urban poverty, justice for Native Peoples in the U.S., reading the Bible justly, and racial justice among many others.

I appreciate the conversational rather than adversarial tone used in these essays. You will hear from liberals, and conservatives, you will hear from evangelical, mainline, and emerging believers, you will hear from seasoned voices whose names we all recognize and you will hear from the next generation of Christian thinkers that will amaze you with their passion and intellect.

Here's a little bit from the book:

"Because God is a God of justice, in any situation in which power is misused and the powerful take advantage of the weak, God takes the side of the weak. In concrete terms, that means God is for the oppressed and against the oppressor, for the exploited and against the exploiter, for the victim and against the victimizer. Because God loves justice, he is 'a stronghold for the oppressed' and 'the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever' Ps. 9:9,18"

"God's justice to the poor is executed through God's covenant people."

"God's kingdom is God's justice: God's will being done 'on earth as it is in Heaven' Matt 6:10. When that happens, justice comes. And with it comes freedom."

"If you are neutral in a situation of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."


This book will challenge you, and convict you. I highly recommend this book.

CLICK HERE to view/download a 25 page excerpt of The Justice Project. (thank you Baker Books!)

CLICK HERE to purchase The Justice Project

Respectable Sins



Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges tackles the issue of sins in the believer’s life head on. But this book takes a different approach than you might think when you hear that this is a book about sin. Bridges writes about sins that we find culturally acceptable, the ones that we sweep under the rug.

It’s easy to point out “big” sins and pontificate about how sad it is that others are struggling with such horrible issues without realizing that we are in fact committing the “acceptable” sins of gossip, pride and judgmentalism.

Or how about the sins of envy, jealousy, discontentment, selfishness and worldliness? Not only are these sins acceptable in our consumeristic society, they’re practically viewed as a God-given birthright!

This book is humbling, and convicting. It calls us to a holistic view of sin, and to the pursuit of holiness.

CLICK HERE to purchase Respectable Sins

CLICK HERE to purchase the small group discussion guide