Devotional Classics: Selected Readings for Individuals and Groups

by Richard J. Foster

Book Overview

Devotional Classics: Revised Edition is an updated and expanded edition of Renovar 's companion to the devotional life. Edited by Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith, this version incorporates all... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060669667
• Release Date: June 1993
• Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.9" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful Guide for Prayer and Growth

I have used this book over the past three years as a weekly devotional. I used it first as a weekly guide for reflection and prayer and now as a guide for a small group study on spiritual formation with each member using it during the week. The 52 brief excerpts from the various Christian writers are perfect for reflection and to broaden perspective. The Reflection Questions and suggested exercises are excellent tools both individually and for the small group. I am a Presbyterian Elder and find it very useful in our small group.The various studies provide a breadth and depth that few other studies could provide. I have learned through this study the thoughts and guidance from saints throughout Church history. It helps one understand not only what it means to seek God's Will, but also what it means to be a part of the Church Universal.

Weekly challenge

In our men's bible study, we have been going through several of the selections. It is definitely a thought provoking as we see how God uses other people's greatest contribution to Christendom to give inspiration and challenge to our modern day world. This is not cursory reading by any means. If you are looking for something that goes beyond the easy Sunday school answer, this is a great book for you. Many of our participants are avid readers and consider this book a great addition to their theological collection as well.

explore the wisdom of the ages

This is a compilation of spiritual food from some of the devotional masters of the past 2000 years. These are men and women who walked with God, whose meditations probed with awe the depths of God. Foster has collected some of the best of these meditations and organized them. This is a book that can be read and reread. It will be a treasure for years.

An excellent resource

This is an excellent book for several reasons. First, it is a wonderful collection of 52 different devotional Christian writers from the second century to today. Second, for anyone interested in developing spiritual disciplines the exercises at the end of each chapter are excellent launching pads. Additionally, the book gives succinct biogaphical information about each writer, lending some insight into the readings themselves. And finally, each chapter ends with a brief review of and information on the availability of that writer's works.

Connecting Us to the Full 2,000 Years of Our Heritage

I have been giving this book as a gift to as many people as I can. It is a welcome respite from the devotional books found in most Christian bookstores, whose owners seem to think that nothing of worth was written between the Bible and C.S. Lewis' conversion. As someone raised thoroughly Protestant, I have enjoyed not only an introduction to the more devotion-oriented writings of the great Protestant heavies (Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Edwards, Kierkegaard, Lewis, Bonhoeffer, et al.), and of the best-known pre-Reformation writers (Augustine, Gregory of Nyssa, John Chrysostom, Benedict, St. Bernard, St. Francis, Julian, a Kempis), but also an introduction to the great post-Reformation Catholic writers, either unknown or ignored in most evangelical literature. Writers such as Catherine of Genoa, Brother Lawrence, de Sales, de Caussade, Grou, Fenelon, Pascal, John of the Cross, Merton, and Nouwen have won a special place in my heart, having introduced me to the merits and v! arieties of Catholic traditions. I assume and hope that Catholic readers will have the same experience reading such Protestants as Bunyon, Taylor, Fox, Woolman, Spurgeon, Laubach, and Kelly, to name just a few. The benefits of learning devotion from both traditions have been marvelous -- I feel that my connection to the Church is now based on the full 2,000 years of tradition and testimony. Now when I peruse Christian bookstores, I no longer feel pressured to keep up with the latest additions to the authorial market -- I have plenty of time-tested teachers to read, and re-read, and re-read yet again....