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Never Beyond Hope: How God Touches and Uses Imperfect People
If you get discouraged by your spiritual failures, you're not alone. In fact, you're in pretty good company. From the life and death of Samson to Peter's denial of Jesus, the Bible is filled with stories of people who wanted to serve God but frequently failed. And yet God still worked through these men and women for his purposes and glory. Through God's power, their points of weakness became their greatest strengths. In Never Beyond Hope J. I. Packer offers his pastoral wisdom, exploring the stories of eight imperfect people portrayed in the Bible. Packer shows you how their struggles and triumphs relate to your own experiences and highlights how God works despite your mistakes. Packer also teams up with expert Bible study writer Carolyn Nystrom, who helps you process and apply what you are learning in each chapter with study questions for personal reflection or group discussion, prayer suggestions and journaling ideas. Let this book help you discover that God's vision for your life may be far bigger than what you can see right now. Though you may be far from perfect, remember that in God's eyes you are never beyond hope.
- GenresChristian LivingTheology
178 pages, Paperback
First published April 23, 2000
5 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
About the author
J.I. Packer
446 books927 followersWhat do J. I. Packer, Billy Graham and Richard John Neuhaus have in common? Each was recently named by TIME magazine as among the 25 most influential evangelicals in America.
Dr. Packer, the Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College, was hailed by TIME as “a doctrinal Solomon” among Protestants. “Mediating debates on everything from a particular Bible translation to the acceptability of free-flowing Pentecostal spirituality, Packer helps unify a community [evangelicalism] that could easily fall victim to its internal tensions.”
Knowing God, Dr. Packer’s seminal 1973 work, was lauded as a book which articulated shared beliefs for members of diverse denominations; the TIME profile quotes Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington as saying, “conservative Methodists and Presbyterians and Baptists could all look to [Knowing God] and say, ‘This sums it all up for us.’”
In a similar tribute to Dr. Packer almost ten years ago, American theologian Mark Noll wrote in Christianity Today that, “Packer’s ability to address immensely important subjects in crisp, succinct sentences is one of the reasons why, both as an author and speaker, he has played such an important role among American evangelicals for four decades.”
For over 25 years Regent College students have been privileged to study under Dr. Packer’s clear and lucid teaching, and our faculty, staff and students celebrate the international recognition he rightly receives as a leading Christian thinker and teacher.
(https://www.regent-college.edu/facult...)
Dr. Packer, the Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College, was hailed by TIME as “a doctrinal Solomon” among Protestants. “Mediating debates on everything from a particular Bible translation to the acceptability of free-flowing Pentecostal spirituality, Packer helps unify a community [evangelicalism] that could easily fall victim to its internal tensions.”
Knowing God, Dr. Packer’s seminal 1973 work, was lauded as a book which articulated shared beliefs for members of diverse denominations; the TIME profile quotes Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington as saying, “conservative Methodists and Presbyterians and Baptists could all look to [Knowing God] and say, ‘This sums it all up for us.’”
In a similar tribute to Dr. Packer almost ten years ago, American theologian Mark Noll wrote in Christianity Today that, “Packer’s ability to address immensely important subjects in crisp, succinct sentences is one of the reasons why, both as an author and speaker, he has played such an important role among American evangelicals for four decades.”
For over 25 years Regent College students have been privileged to study under Dr. Packer’s clear and lucid teaching, and our faculty, staff and students celebrate the international recognition he rightly receives as a leading Christian thinker and teacher.
(https://www.regent-college.edu/facult...)
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 6, 2015
Some chapters really spoke to me. Some didn't. I suspect more than one chapter will make reading the book worth reading it.
Youthworker said it well, "In classic Packer style, this book opens the pages of Scripture and sheds new, refreshing light on well-known stories, and some not-so-well-known characters....Insightful, witty, and very wise Bible teaching."
Youthworker said it well, "In classic Packer style, this book opens the pages of Scripture and sheds new, refreshing light on well-known stories, and some not-so-well-known characters....Insightful, witty, and very wise Bible teaching."
July 30, 2008
Really good.
April 11, 2012
I would actually give 3.5 stars if it was an option. Some parts of the book I enjoyed more than others, perhaps because those sections were more applicable to me at present. All in all a good book.
May 6, 2023
This book was a lot more devotional style than I thought it was going to be. It unpacked some Bible stories, and the way the people in them could continue to hope in God’s promises. Overall, I liked it! It would definitely be good to study with a group though more in depth.
January 15, 2025
I appreciate the chapters that opened my eyes to the truths of scripture. The chapter on Nehemiah was excellent.
July 7, 2013
A good devotional read, filled with encouragement.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews