Just Tell the Truth
A Call to Faith, Hope, and Courage
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- $27.99
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- $27.99
Publisher Description
What does it mean to live the Christian life with conviction?
Richard Lischer insists that Christians have a stake in the political and social conflicts that are dividing our culture. In whatever circumstance, Christians are obligated to tell the truth about what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
In Just Tell the Truth, Lischer explores seasons of suffering, hope, and triumph in the light of the gospel. Drawing upon Scripture and the lives of both well-known and anonymous Christians, he helps his readers imagine what truthful living looks like. While remaining biblically and theologically rooted, the sermons eloquently engage the present moment, showing how Christian conviction has a place in the controversial realms of politics, racial justice, and the COVID-19 crisis.
The nourishing meditations in Just Tell the Truth align the rhythm of the gospel with the curvature of human experience, empowering Christians to find the heart of God in what is too often a heartless world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This plainspoken, thoughtful collection of sermons from Lutheran preacher and memoirist Lischer (Stations of the Heart) offers encouragement and accountability to serious Christians. Lischer centers each chapter on an address he delivered from the pulpit. He follows the liturgical calendar, providing insight into the many occasions on which a minister must speak, including ordinations, holidays, and public gatherings to grieve. His homilies generally follow the template of exploring biblical roots, bringing in contemporary references and illustrations, and finishing with encouraging calls to betterment: "Just tell the truth. That's when the trouble starts." His sermon on preaching to an empty church during the Covid era ends with a poetic admonishment to care for strangers: "Jesus once appeared as the Stranger, veiled from the eyes of those who loved him. He is still here. Disguised. Incognito. I wonder if he is wearing a mask these days. It would be just like him." Lischer's theology of suffering and liberating redemption may not appeal to all Christians, but his patience with human ailings and failings should inspire regardless.
