A Month of Sundays: Thirty-One Days of Wrestling with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

Peterson’s excellent posthumous devotional, gleaned from sermons he gave during his tenure as pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Md., provides a month-long journey toward spiritual renewal. Pairing scripture from Peterson’s popular paraphrase of the Bible , The Message, with excerpts from his homilies, he challenges readers to wrestle with familiar (albeit complex) spiritual concepts, such as sin, repentance, and righteousness. With a mix of personal stories and quotes, Peterson evens out the heavy scriptural sections of close reading. Though he retired from the pulpit in 1991, his topics remain relevant; especially timely are several readings focused on how God continues to love the world, while many of his followers seem to be either fearful of it or angry. Peterson’s answer to this dilemma (and counsel for life in general) is to learn “to live all of the details of our lives in the company of Jesus.” Since Peterson offers more theological insight than practical application, figuring out how exactly to achieve this goal is left for readers to process on their own. Regardless, fans of Peterson’s work and newcomers looking for an easy entry point will enjoy these soothing sermons. (Nov.)