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The Upside Down Way
Jesus' life should turn our world upside-down. His first observers, according to Luke, were routinely seized with amazement, both at the bending of physics--making the blind see and lame walk--and at the ridiculous things he did and taught. A careful look at the Jesus of the Gospels sketches a man completely out of touch with conventional thinking; a man radically devoted to living a shocking life for the sake of the broken and forgotten. In popular depictions of Jesus today he seems to be more concerned with upholding a conventional way of life than with overturning our understanding of ourselves. Jesus' life story should lead more to humble servanthood than to syncopated light shows in church or the triumph of a political candidate or a well-ordered and respectable lifestyle. The Upside Down Way is a series of devotionals drawn from the text of Luke. Each devotional is an invitation to a fresh look at the outrageous words and actions of Jesus. Author and pastor Matthew Ingalls combines rigorous historical study with a voice that is unflinchingly bold, reflective, honest, and challenging, in order to elevate Luke's ridiculous Jesus to his rightful position as the fountain of Christian faith. ""If I had to pick a phrase to describe Matt Ingalls' new book, it might be something like 'devotional with an edge.' These brief meditations on passages from Luke's gospel will touch, enlighten, and move you in your life with Christ, but they will also challenge you to think and act differently; actually, a bit 'upside down' as he puts it. And these would be great discussion-starters for groups."" --Kent L. Yinger, (Retired) Professor of New Testament Studies, George Fox Evangelical Seminary ""If your life of faith has grown a bit stale as of late, this book is for you! It delivers a powerful and extremely engaging combination of the biblical (the Gospel of Luke burns with intensity and relevance), the scholarly (with footnotes you will want to read) and the personal (the application begins right now). Matt's invitation, via Luke, is to a life of faith that turns everything on its head, where the way up is to go down, where all that is asked of you is your everything."" --Stuart Erny, DMin, Adjunct Professor, School of Theology and Christian Ministry Anderson University ""As a University student and runner, Matt inspired us to knock on our neighbors' doors offering friendship, prayer, and service. In The Upside Down Way, Pastor Ingalls blends unobtrusive scholarship, the gospel of Luke, and the daily brew of life to draw us near to the Lord of the 'upside down' kingdom. Open it up and knock on Life's door all over again!"" --David Markle, DMin, Pastor, Park Place Church of God Matthew Ingalls is the pastor of River Street Church of God in Newberg, Oregon--a small congregation dedicated to living the way of Jesus for the sake of its neighborhood. He is a graduate of Portland Seminary where he studied both Biblical studies and the history of Christian theology.
112 pages, Hardcover
Published February 14, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 12, 2018
Matt offers great insights into the life of Christ that are easy to understand and relate to. He explains Biblical truths with clarity using his own words and life to show us what that truth can mean for us as we follow Jesus' upside down way.
"Too often we see grace as something received rather than given; or the cross as an act of history on our behalf rather than a call to live likewise. When we think of the cross we think of it as a sacrifice for those of us who have accepted, rather than a blood-sealed invitation for the very people we hold in contempt"
"Too often we see grace as something received rather than given; or the cross as an act of history on our behalf rather than a call to live likewise. When we think of the cross we think of it as a sacrifice for those of us who have accepted, rather than a blood-sealed invitation for the very people we hold in contempt"
March 24, 2017
I’ve been reading "The Upside Down Way" by Matt Ingalls as part of my Lenten practices. There are commentaries and there are devotionals and there are discourses on the state of the church—in the context of biblical studies. Rarely have I found a source that manages all of the above, keeps my attention, provides thoughtful cultural insight, good exegesis, insightful observations about the state of the church and remains a challenging devotional. "The Upside Down Way" achieves that with consistency, personal and honest self-disclosure, and grounded humor.
In the next to the last chapter of the book, “An upside down sentence,” Matt reflects on these amazing words from the Cross: “Father, forgive them….” I’ve been living with the 7 last words and will continue to do over the next several days; Matt’s challenging response to these words moved and challenged me in singularly difficult ways. Acknowledging the scholarly struggle about these words (sometimes left in and sometimes left out), he finds powerful devotional insight and challenge that pretty much rocked my life:
“Too often,” he writes, “we see the Gospel as something accepted rather than offered; grace as something received rather than given; or the cross as an act of history on our behalf rather than a call to live likewise. When we think of the cross we think of it as a sacrifice for those of us who have accepted, rather than a blood-sealed invitation for the very people we hold in contempt” (90).
Again and again, Matt drew me down to ground level, inviting me to reconsider my life in the light of such undeserved and unearned grace; not once did I find an easy way out; each time I am called to consider just how wrong side up so much of my life is—and how gratefully I need to live an upside down life.
In the next to the last chapter of the book, “An upside down sentence,” Matt reflects on these amazing words from the Cross: “Father, forgive them….” I’ve been living with the 7 last words and will continue to do over the next several days; Matt’s challenging response to these words moved and challenged me in singularly difficult ways. Acknowledging the scholarly struggle about these words (sometimes left in and sometimes left out), he finds powerful devotional insight and challenge that pretty much rocked my life:
“Too often,” he writes, “we see the Gospel as something accepted rather than offered; grace as something received rather than given; or the cross as an act of history on our behalf rather than a call to live likewise. When we think of the cross we think of it as a sacrifice for those of us who have accepted, rather than a blood-sealed invitation for the very people we hold in contempt” (90).
Again and again, Matt drew me down to ground level, inviting me to reconsider my life in the light of such undeserved and unearned grace; not once did I find an easy way out; each time I am called to consider just how wrong side up so much of my life is—and how gratefully I need to live an upside down life.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews