This Beautiful Mess by Rick McKinley




How does the beauty of Jesus’ reign break into the mess of our broken lives and world?

  Rick McKinley's book This Beautiful Mess from WaterBrook/Multanomah was provided to me for review (complimentary copy). I had seen it on the shelf at my local bookstore, but that had only succeeded in putting Sixpence songs in my head. I am grateful for the opportunity to read it. Rick McKinley serves as pastor at Imago Dei.
The book is divided into 3 main parts:
Part one Discovering the Kingdom.
Part two Re-visioning life in the Kingdom. Stop analyzing and be present in the Body.
Part three Practicing the presence of the Kingdom. (reminiscent of Brother Lawrence and AW Tozer)

Fans of Experiencing God will connect with recognizing where G-d is at work and letting Him do the work in and through us to bring about change.
Rick shares personal experiences as well, how their church is moving, growing and seeing change.

New for this edition: an updated preface, three bonus chapters, and a small group conversation guide.
QUOTES
“When I became a Christ follower, the sad truth is that I transferred Christ into my kingdom, into the context of my life. My kingdom consisted of my desires and aspirations, namely the future I hoped for, an agenda that allowed me to reign as I chose….I wasn’t good at ruling my little kingdom, though.” He goes on to say “I realize now that God was not abandoning me. He just wanted nothing to do with my kingdom agenda. First, we had to settle the kingdom dilemma. Had Jesus bowed to my agenda, He would not have been the true God.”
"The gospel of Jesus is usually taken to mean His announcement of the kingdom and the life He embodied in His loving actions toward the world. The gospel about Jesus refers to His atoning work on the cross and His resurrection, through which we can receive the forgiveness of sin through our faith and repentance.”

“When I became a Christ follower, the sad truth is that I transferred Christ into my kingdom, into the context of my life. My kingdom consisted of my desires and aspirations, namely the future I hoped for, an agenda that allowed me to reign as I chose….I wasn’t good at ruling my little kingdom, though.” 

"We become relevant when we are committed to being that signpost of heaven in some part of our world...Authentic relationships make us relevant."

“I realize now that God was not abandoning me. He just wanted nothing to do with my kingdom agenda. First, we had to settle the kingdom dilemma. Had Jesus bowed to my agenda, He would not have been the true God.”

"God has this amazing judo move that He uses to attack the kingdom of Darkness. He causes all things to work for good to those who love Him, the Bible says. God takes what is meant for evil and turns it for good, if we trust in Him at those times and embrace His sovereign goodness even in the midst of our pain and loss."

"If you start with the church, you might end with the church. If you end with the church, you may never get to the kingdom. But if you always start with the kingdom, you will get the church."




 "I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review."

 SAMPLE of the book HERE

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