The grace that stimulates the fruit and maturity of a sanctified life comes to us through Jesus Christ. We bear much fruit only as we abide in Him.
In A Vine-Ripened Life, author Stanley Gale points us to Jesus, the Vine of life of John 15, in whom we, as branches, must live and grow to bear the fruit of a grace-grown life. He explains, “Having begun in Christ we remain in Christ, continuing to draw our life from Him and maturing in grace.” With pastoral sensitivity and an engaging style, Gale teaches readers both about the fruit of Christian character and how to cultivate it.
Questions at the end of each chapter make this an ideal study for individuals or groups.
About the Author: Stanley D. Gale serves as senior minister of The Reformed Presbyterian Church, West Chester, Pennsylvania. He is the author of numerous books and articles, leads seminars on various topics, and is the founder of Community Houses of Prayer (www.CHoPministry.net).
Book Information:
Book Information:
- Publisher: Reformation Heritage Books
- ISBN: 9781601783431
- Page Count: 160
My Take:
My Kindle has a "voice-to-text" feature, and I absolutely love to use it when I am at the gym or doing housework. The robot-sounding voice is not extremely engaging, but for non-fiction books it does quite well and is a great way for me to fit in some extra Bible study time. I have "read" many non-fiction Christian books this way, and I they have always kept my interest, even with Mr. Robot reading it to me.
I found this was the case for the most part with the book A Vine-Ripened Life. It uses many Scripture references to explain how the various fruits of the Spirit are to be manifested in the life of a Christian through The Vine - Jesus Christ. Each "fruit" is given its own chapter as well as there are chapters dedicated to humility and grace.
While I was mostly attentive to this book, there were times I did find my mind drifting while I was listening to it. (Maybe I need to re-read the chapter on self-control?!) While some of the stories and metaphors were engaging, some of them seemed to be a bit of a stretch. I think I would have gotten much more out of this book if I had done it as a group study rather than just reading it straight through, especially with the great study questions at the end of the chapters.
Overall, I really loved how everything in this book always pointed back to Christ and the gospel. This book abounded in Scripture references, and it reminded me a little of the book by Jerry Bridges - The Discipline of Grace - especially how it repeatedly made the point the apart from Christ, we can do nothing.
I will give A Vine-Ripened Life ... 4 BookWorms.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Reformation Heritage Books through Cross Focused Review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this is accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
My Kindle has a "voice-to-text" feature, and I absolutely love to use it when I am at the gym or doing housework. The robot-sounding voice is not extremely engaging, but for non-fiction books it does quite well and is a great way for me to fit in some extra Bible study time. I have "read" many non-fiction Christian books this way, and I they have always kept my interest, even with Mr. Robot reading it to me.
I found this was the case for the most part with the book A Vine-Ripened Life. It uses many Scripture references to explain how the various fruits of the Spirit are to be manifested in the life of a Christian through The Vine - Jesus Christ. Each "fruit" is given its own chapter as well as there are chapters dedicated to humility and grace.
While I was mostly attentive to this book, there were times I did find my mind drifting while I was listening to it. (Maybe I need to re-read the chapter on self-control?!) While some of the stories and metaphors were engaging, some of them seemed to be a bit of a stretch. I think I would have gotten much more out of this book if I had done it as a group study rather than just reading it straight through, especially with the great study questions at the end of the chapters.
Overall, I really loved how everything in this book always pointed back to Christ and the gospel. This book abounded in Scripture references, and it reminded me a little of the book by Jerry Bridges - The Discipline of Grace - especially how it repeatedly made the point the apart from Christ, we can do nothing.
I will give A Vine-Ripened Life ... 4 BookWorms.
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