Building Bridges to God and Helping People Across
"It's urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living. -- John 5:24 (The Message)
Perhaps the story of imagination is the story of David. What most people know about David was that he
fought a giant named Goliath. We always
make it as dramatic as possible – a little shepherd boy steps in front of an
army of men and bravely takes on the primal Philistine warrior who stands some
eight feet tall. And with only a sling
shot, drops the dude with one shot.
This imagination, this
ability to believe that the weakest can overcome the strongest, that the first
shall indeed be last, and the last will march right up into first -- that is
the ability to hope beyond our condition.
One of my favorite writers,
Walter Brueggemann wrote:
The wind rushes on the lowly. Now they are equal to all the powerful who
have everything… but wind. – p 20, David’s
Truth
First and Second Samuel -- Interpretation Commentary -- By Walter Brueggemann - No one compares to Brueggemann when it comes to getting to the soul of early Old Testament literature. He reads the context of the situations better than anyone I know. When you read Brueggemann, there will be things you disagree with. But for the flavor of the story, you absolutely have to read Brueggemann.
David's Truth -- In Israel's Imagination and Memory -- By By Walter Brueggemann - Its hard to have too much Brueggemann.
David - A Story of Passion and Destiny -- By Charles Swindoll -- It is always a plus to have a book by a master preacher and Swindoll is that. While I don't always follow his interpretations, he breaks the texts into perfectly preachable chunks and reminds us to angle the sermon to a point.
First and Second Samuel -- The New American Commentary -- By Robert Bergen -- I didn't use this too much.
