
The Word Made Fresh
Description
How can Christianity continue to bring good news into the world? That's the inspiring message readers will find in The Word Made Fresh.
In recommending the Rev. Dr. George A. Mason's new book to readers, the best-selling Christian author and theologian Brian McLaren says, "In the struggle for the future of Christianity in America, George Mason embodies great courage and graciousness as he continues to preach that we must welcome the most vulnerable among us."
For three decades, Mason's weekly messages have inspired those who attend Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, as well as George's followers nationwide. Now, this unique multimedia book collects 80 of George's most memorable and thought-provoking sermons along with links to videos of many of them. This collection covers timely themes ranging from the welcoming love of God and the basics of the Christian faith to such vital issues as the stewardship of our planet, the importance of interfaith relationships, the need to include the most vulnerable in our community life, and the importance of peacemaking.
Greg Garrett, another best-selling Christian author, writes in his preface, "George Mason is one of the Christian world's most accomplished preachers and pastors. A writer, teacher, activist, and media figure, during thirty-plus years as senior pastor at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, he modeled a Christian love of and advocacy for the marginalized, the disdained, the set aside, that feels absolutely like the Jesus I know, love, and serve."
In these pages "you'll see a master at work, a preacher weaving together some teaching, some storytelling, some pushing the limits to make us think," writes Amy Butler, founder of Invested Faith and author of Beautiful and Terrible Things.
Half of the sermons in this collection include QR codes so readers can opt to view and listen to videos of Mason's original delivery of these messages.
Readers and viewers will be glad they encountered Mason's mastery, writes Allen Walworth, Teaching Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Bonita Springs, Florida. "George carefully selects words like jewels, and then polishes and sets them in sentences designed to reflect light into the secret places of the heart. Sometimes his words of invitation to faith are a warm embrace, and at other times they are a poke in the ribs."
"Week after week, year after year, George's sermons proclaim our sacred interdependence," writes Nancy Kasten, Reform rabbi and Jewish Mindfulness Meditation teacher.
In his introduction, George asks readers the simple question that he asks himself as he approaches preaching: "Can you find the good news in each sermon?" His goal is to engage all of us in spreading hope throughout our communities. As you read these pages and watch these videos, please consider passing along that potent message of hope by recommending this book to friends.
Product Details
Publisher | Read the Spirit Books |
Publish Date | June 27, 2023 |
Pages | 432 |
Language | English |
Type | |
EAN/UPC | 9781641801584 |
Dimensions | 9.0 X 6.0 X 1.0 inches | 1.4 pounds |
About the Author
Reviews
"George has a vision for the church that is so compelling and inspirational it is hard to listen to him and want to remain as you are. He invites you to come sit with him in the company of his friends: ... Jesus, familiar biblical characters, biblical characters we have forgotten or passed over, peoples of all faiths, playwrights, bestselling authors, scientists, artists, musicians and composers, young people getting ready for baptism, strangers who show up on the door of Wilshire, faith leaders, world citizens, and faceless, nameless people who are hurting."
Gary V. Simpson, pastor of the Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, New York
"While his sermons are thoroughly modern and responsive to current events, George Mason uses examples from the rich Baptist heritage and history of advocacy for religious freedom for all. ... Woven through all these prophetic sermons are not just wise words but examples of real people doing the work. He personalizes the call in a way that inspires the listener or the reader to take action to be a better Christian citizen."
Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty
"George's affirmation of Baptist roots of religious liberty and uncoerced faith now seem strangely foreign to large numbers of (people) and stand in sharp contrast to what has evolved into the neo-establishmentarian efforts of the Christian Nationalist movement."
Bill Leonard, author and Founding Dean at The School of Divinity, Wake Forest University
"I have had the privilege of engaging in interfaith work with George Mason for decades ... George challenges us to enlarge our tents of religious imagination and understanding. He affirms the blessed specific of who we are as Christians, Jews, and other people of faith, and then challenges us to see those precious particularities as part of a greater mosaic whole, the Oneness we call God. ... Interfaith dialogue not only allows us to see each other, it trains us to see God."
David Stern, Senior Rabbi at Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, Texas, and former President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis
"George Mason is widely known as a gifted preacher, but these sermons demonstrate that he is also a creative theologian and an effective teacher. ... They display his skills as a pastoral theologian. Mason utilizes the tools available in his theological toolbox-Scripture and hymnody, poetry and literature, culture and history, and more-all of which he uses to speak about God more coherently so that we might learn to love God more completely."
Curtis W. Freeman, editor of The American Baptist Quarterly and Research Professor of Theology and Director of the Baptist House of Studies at Duke University Divinity School
"All of George's preaching on vocation is rooted in a profound experience of the love of God."
David J. Wood, pastor, educator and church consultant
"George challenges us to take a step toward living lives of both generosity and gratitude. ... This journey toward practicing gratitude and generosity leads to a transformation not only of us as individuals but also of our institutions, as we work toward justice and wholeness in the communities to which we belong."
David P. King, associate professor at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
"These sermons have renewed my own yearning for the fulfillment of the Lord's prayer that the church may be one, and I hope they'll have a similar effect on you."
Steven R. Harmon, scholar, author and a leader in the Baptist-Catholic International Dialogue Joint Commission
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