The Yada Yada Prayer Group (Yada Yada Prayer Group, Book 1)
by Neta Jackson | Literature & Fiction | This book has not been rated.
ISBN: 1591450748 Global Overview for this book
ISBN: 1591450748 Global Overview for this book
Registered by nyisutter of St. Charles, Missouri USA on 5/1/2016
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
I had this book for years before I read it. It was given to me by a secret pal. I guess when it first came out. But, for some reason, it just never really called to me to read it. In fact, I think I might have thought of giving it away at one point, thinking I wasn't ever going to read it. But, I started reading reviews on these books by friends and everyone loved them. So, I finally moved it up on the TBR pile. And I am glad!
It was a good book! I think the description on the back just really didn't capture what it was all about. She captures a great message about loving each other, not letting preconceived ideas and judgments cloud the way we love our friends and pray for them. Reminding us that we are all "just sinners", equally, no matter what we have done or think we have done. But God loves us all and died for each of us.
I enjoyed the different cultures and seeing them learn more about each other. The visit to the Worship Center gave me some insight. Dh and I met at a Worship Center (and yes, it was like that one, mostly black, a few token whites) and spent many years there before we had to find a church that was closer to home. We were like Stu, traveling from the 'burbs to the inner city to church. Doesn't work when church meets every day of the week for several hours! Anyway, Jodi observes that she keeps thinking that "now the sermon will start" and there is always something else. That's kind of how ours was. We joke that there were always 2 or 3 sermons as the music leader would have something to say, the deacon taking offering would have a message, the pastor would speak for a loooong time (getting out 1:30 as the Nony's Worship Center did was about on par!) As I was reading this book and how every person, even the pastor, came up, they worshiped. And then it dawned on me. "Worship Center". Our music leader (at my now predominantly white, with token blacks church) keeps teaching us worship is not just when the choir is singing. It's every part of church. The singing, the praying, the sermon. I think that the Worship Centers have that down. All of church is worship. It doesn't have to be segmented into we worship now, we listen now, we give now. It's ALL worship and we should remember that. We need to worship God in everything we do.
Another thing that caught my attention was when they were explaining salvation to Yo-Yo and she reprimanded them for using "bozo buttons". That she didn't understand what they were saying. Even the "translations" of the Bible. It brought to mind discussions with a lady in my Bible Study group, who is Jewish. Yes, even things in "NIV" have to be explained. It's true, we get so accustomed to "church talk" that we don't always realize that not everyone speaks our language. Even what seems obvious, is not. Just like explaining internet shorthand to newbie list members, we need to remember that those who didn't grow up in the church just don't get all our "bozo buttons". We have to break down what it means to be saved, born again, a follower of Christ. What a good lesson for us as we try to witness to others.
I have loved all the books in this series and the books that Neta Jackson has written since.
It was a good book! I think the description on the back just really didn't capture what it was all about. She captures a great message about loving each other, not letting preconceived ideas and judgments cloud the way we love our friends and pray for them. Reminding us that we are all "just sinners", equally, no matter what we have done or think we have done. But God loves us all and died for each of us.
I enjoyed the different cultures and seeing them learn more about each other. The visit to the Worship Center gave me some insight. Dh and I met at a Worship Center (and yes, it was like that one, mostly black, a few token whites) and spent many years there before we had to find a church that was closer to home. We were like Stu, traveling from the 'burbs to the inner city to church. Doesn't work when church meets every day of the week for several hours! Anyway, Jodi observes that she keeps thinking that "now the sermon will start" and there is always something else. That's kind of how ours was. We joke that there were always 2 or 3 sermons as the music leader would have something to say, the deacon taking offering would have a message, the pastor would speak for a loooong time (getting out 1:30 as the Nony's Worship Center did was about on par!) As I was reading this book and how every person, even the pastor, came up, they worshiped. And then it dawned on me. "Worship Center". Our music leader (at my now predominantly white, with token blacks church) keeps teaching us worship is not just when the choir is singing. It's every part of church. The singing, the praying, the sermon. I think that the Worship Centers have that down. All of church is worship. It doesn't have to be segmented into we worship now, we listen now, we give now. It's ALL worship and we should remember that. We need to worship God in everything we do.
Another thing that caught my attention was when they were explaining salvation to Yo-Yo and she reprimanded them for using "bozo buttons". That she didn't understand what they were saying. Even the "translations" of the Bible. It brought to mind discussions with a lady in my Bible Study group, who is Jewish. Yes, even things in "NIV" have to be explained. It's true, we get so accustomed to "church talk" that we don't always realize that not everyone speaks our language. Even what seems obvious, is not. Just like explaining internet shorthand to newbie list members, we need to remember that those who didn't grow up in the church just don't get all our "bozo buttons". We have to break down what it means to be saved, born again, a follower of Christ. What a good lesson for us as we try to witness to others.
I have loved all the books in this series and the books that Neta Jackson has written since.
Journal Entry 2 by nyisutter at Little Free Library #35561 in St. Charles, Missouri USA on Sunday, May 1, 2016
Released 7 yrs ago (5/1/2016 UTC) at Little Free Library #35561 in St. Charles, Missouri USA
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