Rediscovering the Heart of Christianity: An Exploration of The Prodigal God

P. Warren Brown: This is an awesome study on a passage that is almost always taught inadaquately in churches. The it seeks to remind us that the so called, 'Prodical Son', passage is indeed a challenge to the Pharasees among us, not just a the folks that are wayward. For in fact, many of us that think we are "godfearing" and "righteous" are just legalistic versions of a lost person. Dr. Keller does an amazing job of reminding us of this fact. Everyone seeking to have a heart for God should read this book.

United States on Oct 20, 2023

raymond torres: This is a short book that needs to be read by every believer, even non-believer. We seldom get to hear about the mindset of the elder brother in the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. Pastor Keller beautifully captures how both sons, not just the prodigal son, have turned away from God in their own way.

The younger son wants his Father's inheritance out of selfish pleasure. And the elder son always obeys his Father because he secretly desires to have everything he wants from Him. Both sons are enslaved by selfish pleasure in their own ways. Both need to find a deeper appreciation for who their father really is.

It's interesting because it took the elder son to witness the moral failure of his younger brother to realize that he too had a problem of honoring his Father in a sincere way. In always obeying his Father, the elder son never allowed his Father to show him who he really was. The elder son always obeyed his Father because he was afraid of him and he never knew his Fathers love. His Father told his elder son, "everything I have is yours". Which means his elder son didn't need to be so afraid of failing his Father. His Father loved him whether he failed or...

United States on Oct 07, 2023

Kim Draxten: The Bible is a book about God and we often forget this. This book is very convicting to the Christian who feels like they are arrived in their faith. It was a humbling read and made me see areas of my own heart that needed God to heal!

United States on Oct 06, 2023

Rob Branchflower: This book challenges the reader to examine whether they are the younger brother, the older brother, or both in different ways. The invitation to both is to enjoy to lavish love of the Father, so undeserved. Some will be offended by this book as it will expose older brother or younger brother tendencies in their lives. Those who believe God owes them due to their pious living may be especially offended. But to the reader who graciously appreciates and receives the lavish love of the Father, a feast awaits.

United States on Oct 01, 2023

El Radar: We think we know the story of what some call the prodigal son! Timothy Keller challenges us to unlearn and connect with the authentic message of the Gospels! God’s love is so beyond comprehension as to be prodigal!

United Kingdom on Sep 21, 2023

Peggy Grall: I read this book years ago…and now, re-reading it has reminded me of deep truths I had forgotten the importance of. As with all of Keller’s books - I’m walking away a more humble and hopefully wiser Jesus follower.

Canada on Aug 27, 2023

Roshan: nicr

India on Jul 22, 2023

Robert Johnson: What a book this is!

You think you know the parable of the lost, prodigal son, but believe me. You don't!

Read this and gather a new understanding of your own ability to be both the older and younger brother all wrapped into one.

I got it because I'm writing my own Alpha Course, but with an inclusive streak.

Very happy with this book. I shall no doubt reread this twenty times before next Christmas.

Go get it and devour!

United Kingdom on Apr 28, 2023

Matt Valler: I'm really grateful to Tim Keller for this little book on Jesus' parable of the Lost Sons.

Rejecting the traditional reading of the parable as being primarily about 'The Prodigal Son' - the younger brother who insults his father, squanders his inheritance, and then returns to find a surprising and shameless embrace - Keller focusses on the older brother - the joyless, self-righteous 'Pharisee' whose loyalty is exposed as purely self-serving.

Though a well-rehearsed reading of the story, Keller's insights and focussed writing style bring it powerfully alive.

But it is Keller's deeper insight on the older brother that really got to me. Comparing this parable to the two that precede it - the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin - he notes how this third parable lacks a figure who drops everything to recover what was lost. In the first, the shepherd leaves the 99 sheep in order to find the one that got away. In the second, the woman drops everything to find her lost treasure. But here, the Father in this story waits at home.

Why is this, asks Keller - what did we expect to happen? His answer: it is the older brother whom we expected to seek out his sibling....

United Kingdom on Mar 15, 2013

Benjamin C. Janssen: The reason why this book is so effective is because its aim is so simple. Keller begins the book this way, "This short book is meant to lay out the essentials of the Christian message, the gospel" (p. xi). Christianity is certainly not lacking when it comes to the number of books written on a subject. So how can Keller be so successful while writing on something so, well, basic?

The answer is in that key word in the subtitle, recovering. Yes, the "heart of the Christian faith" has been lost like a prodigal son over the centuries. Not that Keller is the only one to attempt to recover it in recent days. But he works within the realm of an orthodox, conservative reading of the Bible and shows how many--both inside and outside the church--have failed to grasp the essence of Jesus's message.

The first thing one will want to know about this book is why it is entitled The Prodigal God when it is based on Jesus's parable traditionally known as "The Prodigal Son." The answer is twofold. First, the traditional name of the parable does not do justice to the focus of the story. It is not a story about one son, a so-called prodigal, but rather a story about two sons (Luke 15:11)....

United States on Feb 27, 2010