The Mission of the Body of Christ (Retelling the Story Series)

Review "Russ Ramsey is a kind of songwriter of prose. The lyrical nature of his writing makes his Bible teaching memorable, accessible, and evocative. This volume will help you to understand and explain the story of our church through the book of Acts. It will also prompt you to love Acts and Jesus all the more." -- Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, author of Onward: Engaging the Culture Without Losing the Gospel"Russ Ramsey has this lovely, compelling way of helping us see and savor Christ in all of Scripture. If you want to grow in your knowledge of the Bible, to be swept up into the grand story that it tells, and to see how it gives meaning to both your story and our story, then let The Mission of the Body of Christ be a mentor and companion in this quest. I can't recommend it highly enough." -- Scott Sauls, senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church, author of Jesus Outside the Lines and Befriend"Russ Ramsey is a wonderful storyteller, and in The Mission of the Body of Christ he weaves together bits from the Old Testament and the Gospels with the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles to create a beautiful tapestry that imaginatively depicts the early days of the church. The gospel shines brightly in the pages of this book and the story of the gospel's impact on the world is told in the most engaging and enjoyable way I have ever read." -- Ned Bustard, creative director of Square Halo Books, author of Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups"With the voice of a storyteller and the affection of a pastor, Russ Ramsey brings the story of the early church to life in the present. With each character and scene, these pages provide a doorway for us to walk inside the narrative, inviting us to hear Paul's journey in a fresh way as we contemplate our own questions of faith." -- Sandra McCracken, singer and songwriter, Songs from the Valley, Psalms, Desire like Dynamite"The best gift (among many) that Russ Ramsey offers the body of Christ is the gift of greater context. His writings have the power to lift readers from their present surroundings and set them down amid the clamoring, bustling, peopled streets of the ancient world. Ramsey's deep biblical knowledge and disciplined imagination serve to gently illuminate oft-overlooked nuances of culture, custom, and language, thereby allowing readers to experience these old stories as if for the first time." -- Douglas McKelvey, author of Every Moment Holy: New Liturgies for Everyday Life"Russ Ramsey's gift for retelling the stories of Scripture is second to none. This is as evident in everyday conversation with Russ as it is in his writing. I have never met an individual who loves Scripture more than this brother, and I am thankful to God for the gift of Russ and his books to the church." -- Amanda Bible Williams, cofounder and chief content officer of She Reads Truth, He Reads Truth, and Kids Read Truth"The church isn't always a welcoming place for single women in their forties (like me). But the New Testament church is radically hospitable?a place for witness, unity, and love. The Mission of the Body of Christ is a vital contribution to this conversation. Salvation, after all, is a community-creating event. As Russ writes, 'The risen Jesus not only gave his people new life, he gave them each other.' And I'm thankful for that." -- Bethany Jenkins, vice president of forums and content for the Veritas Forum"For those of us church folk who are overly familiar with the Bible, it's easy to forget (or maybe we never learned) the richness of Scripture's narrative. For those new to faith in Jesus, the Bible can overwhelm and the story of redemption, mission, and transformation gets easily lost. Russ seeks to be a 'faithful servant of Scripture' and is he ever. His retelling of the Bible's stories doesn't distract?it amplifies. This book draws the reader into God's transforming word and does so with the craft of an artist and a pastor's soul. I cannot