First Sunday of Lent (Cycle A)

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The Temptation of Jesus Lectionary:  22 Reading 1 -  Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7 Responsorial Psalm -  Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17 Reading 2 -  Romans 5:12-19 Verse - Matthew 4:4b Gospel -  Matthew 4:1-11 One does not live on bread alone. Every year, we begin our Lenten journey in the same place: the desert.   The Gospel for this Sunday places Jesus in the wilderness, fasting and praying, confronted by temptation. In that stark setting we find the pattern of our own Lenten journey: a movement away from distraction toward the heart of God, a testing that reveals what truly sustains us, and a call to conversion that reshapes our lives.  Throughout our lives, we are frequently confronted with tests … and these tests generally reveal something about ourselves: In school, we demonstrate that we have mastered an academic subject with a test  in sports, we demonstrate our level of a particular skill with a contest  In life, we demonstrate the integri...
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Review: Let Truth Prevail: An Introduction to European Christian Renewal Movements

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Let Truth Prevail: An Introduction to European Christian Renewal Movements Let Truth Prevail: An Introduction to European Christian Renewal Movements by Allen Diles

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is, for all intents and purposes, an academic text exploring the beginnings of the restoration/reformation movements in Europe.  There is an indirect tie-in to the Stone-Campbell movement in the United States of which I am a product of; so I found this history an extremely interesting review of how the various schismatic communities developed the various beliefs that they came to hold.  Each chapter introduces a movement and some of the founders and/or main players in the movement evolution.  This usually includes a compare and contrast against the predominant Catholic view as well as other Protestant churches … and it is remarkable how they were nearly all in alignment except for a few specific disagreements and it was the subsequent persecution that forced some of the major changes/conflicts.  The author then sums up the chapter in a Legacy section that talks about where they went from there and closes with “Questions for Thought or Discussion” and a ton of reference notes.  While some of the list of names and dates typical of a history text can be tough slogging, the terms and language used were clear and easily accessible/understood.

Introduction: The Concept of Restoration 

Chapter 1: Setting the Stage: The Medieval Church and the Need for Reformation “in Head and in Members” 
Chapter 2: “To Obey God Rather than Men”: The Waldensians 
Chapter 3: “Truth Prevails over All”: The Czech Reformation Part 1 
Chapter 4: “Jesus Christ, the Best Lawgiver”: The Czech Reformation Part 2 
Chapter 5: “Faith, Love, and Hope”: The Unity of the Brethren (Unitas Fratrum) 
Chapter 6: “For the Greater Glory of God”: The Protestant and Catholic Reformations of the Sixteenth Century 
Chapter 7: “Given, Surrendered, and Sacrificed Wholly to God”: Evangelical Anabaptists Part 1 
Chapter 8: “Overthrowing Religion and Civil Order”: Evangelical Anabaptists Part 2 
Chapter 9: “A Personal Religion of the Heart”: Pietism, Schwarzenau Brethren, and the Moravian Brethren 
Chapter 10: “No Such Thing as a National Church”: Scottish Restorationists 

Afterword: “Yet More Truth to Break Forth from His Holy Word”

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#LetTruthPrevail #NetGalley.

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