Back in the mid-70's, I was a high-school student of Father O'Malley. He used his "Meeting the Living God" in a theology course he taught for seniors, so it is hard, if not impossible, for me to separate the book and the person. I'd like to say this, though: One Friday or Saturday night way back then, relaxing on a cool night in a parked car with two or three buddies, we were not talking about the upcoming big game or trying to get into a bar without IDs. Of all things, we were talking about Father O'Malley and his book. One basic idea in both the class and the book was for the student/reader to realize what a Christian is and to act on that by kind of lighting a fire under one's ....arse. At one point in that parked car of twenty years or so ago, a buddy, talking about Father, blurted out (a little too emotionally), "He's a living god." Father O'Malley would balk at that, but my friend was probably talking more about himself and whatever changes he was going through. Both the course and the book really did get many of us past the point of thinking about certain things and into the realm of acting. In this way, and through my "Meeting the Living God" experience of the book and the course, I felt very similar to my feelings about Soren Kierkegaard's "Concluding Unscientific Postscript." In both books, the authors are asking and trying to find out the answer to this question: "What do I have to do to become a Christian"?

William J. O'Malley writes from his own experience - with which most of us can identify. Speaking from the frustration spawned by the frenetic pace of life, the unending demands, the gut-wrenching sorrow of another's pain, he reflects confidence that God will hear, and the generous response of a loving, understanding God. His little books are a gift to all who scrabble for words to express their feelings and their needs. They provide the words, but they also inspire our own expressions.

I will be short. "You can not fight something that you don't know". Read this book to get a glimpse on masonery.

I have to say, this book he wrote with his wife is as informative as his lectures.
While the events described in Murdered happened prior to the end of the Cold War, the story gives us pause-we really HAVE to start thinking about what our tax dollars are supporting-dictators and death squads are the same whether they are on the right or the left-to support them in the name of fighting communism or terrorism is immoral.

This book gives background information for many of the songs that Laura quotes in her books. Music was an important part of Laura's family life, and if you always wondered what those tunes sounded like, this book and cassette are for you!

This book is warm, gracious, and funny. There is a tremendous amount of wisdom in John Smith's stories. You'll laugh, cry, think about your past, pray for your future! Enjoy!

One cannot help but be more in touch with God when reading Father McNamara's work. It is a commentary on the lack of passion in secular society, as well as, or even especially, among Christians; it is also a call to rediscover the passion that exists in us all. Edifying, humanizing, Mystical Passion makes the reader open his/her eyes to amazement with life and love.

Here is book for preachers who are frustrating with the lifeless sermons they were taught to preach, but uncomfortable with glib preaching that neglects the Bible by treating it superficially. You can bring the Bible to life--in all of its literary, historical, and religious dimensions--and still interest your hearers!

Here are some reviews of this book:

"In his very readable book on biblical preaching, William Shepherd pays exquisite attention to the four things on which a preacher's life depends: language, scripture, the congregation and the grace of God. Through his careful reading of each one, he develops an approach to preaching that respects both the sanctity of everyday life and the profound "otherness" of the divine which turns a sermon into an experience of the holy. Shepherd is a scholar who knows what hard work a deft sermon requires. He is also a disciple who understands that, in the end, the effective preaching of the gospel is always God's surprising gift."-Barbara Brown Taylor

"Since preaching lies at the intersection of many disciplines, so a text on preaching should do the same. There is no "ministerial ghetto" talk here. Experience, scripture, theology, literary theories, performative views of language, and understanding the difference between written and oral communication, all meet in this book and talk to each other....It is quite evident that here is both a teacher and practitioner of preaching. He respects the task of preaching and the reader who is someone called to preach....Shepherd begins with the most basic raw material-a word-and gradually works toward the final goal-the delivery of the sermon. Such a movement in a text could not be improved upon."-Fred B. Craddock

"Bill Shepherd has written a book that delights as it profits. He knows preaching and he knows the Bible. He shows how to think about each in a way that is fresh and engaging. He makes such good use of contemporary theory and theology that it seems like just plain good sense. If you care about words and care about God's Word, this book will help you appreciate them more."-Luke Timothy Johnson

"Bill Shepherd has written an immensely practical book about how to think about preaching. Anyone who has the task of proclaiming the Gospel today will find renewal in reading and reflecting on this jargon-free and thoughtful approach to the problems and possibilities of our task."-Geoffrey M. St. J. Hoare, Rector, All Saint's Episcopal Church, Atlanta GA

This is by far Craig's most basic book. It was geared to lay people who are possibly suffering or at least asking questions such as, "Why is there suffering and pain?"

Not only does Craig cover the issues and questions surrounding suffering, but he discusses doubt in the life of a believer. He uses certain Scripture references to explain why doubt, while not necessarily a good thing, is not always a bad thing if we hand it over to God (Mark 9:24).

In the chapter titled "Failure," Craig tells the story of his second doctorate, under Pannenberg, where he initially failed his oral examination. The story itself is a very humbling story and actually encouraging in many ways. It is encouraging in the sense that here is a man (Dr. Craig) who is a great thinker in the area of Christian philosophy and apologetics, and yet he too has been confronted with failure. Which demonstrates that failure can happen to anyone, it is how we handle the trials of failure which make the difference in our Christian walk.

This is a nice change of pace from Craig's other more technical and scholarly works. The book itself is fairly easy to find in the used market, so Amazon should not have trouble tracking it down for you. It is well worth the search.