Life in Christ: Rooted, Woven, and Grafted into God's Story: Rooted, Woven, and Paperback – February 13, 2024

I've been blessed to not only read a book from one Pastor Filpek but also to be preached too and receive the absolution, reminder of my Baptism in the triune God, as well as receive Christ's body and blood every week from another Pastor Filpek.This book illustrates an amazing recount of the OT and NT narrative in Christ Jesus. As well as give a summary of "gottesdienst", and end times. This will be a reread every year for me!

In this world, many people struggle with the question - Where do I belong?The author takes us on a journey from the Garden of Eden to Jesus' return. We discover that there is a connection between those stories and a bridge to our own lives. The stories focus on Jesus and how we fit into the life of Christ - we belong! Just as each piece of a puzzle fit together to make a beautiful picture, each of us is a piece of the story of God's plan of salvation.WE ALL BELONG!!

For Lutherans, this book ties the Bible and liturgy all together in a very clear way that will seem familiar yet very insightful. For non-Lutheran Christians, it's a not only a crash course on historical liturgy and why we cherish it so much, but it's a wonderful explanation of how the Old Testament and New Testament are intricately connected. This book is well written, easy to read, and informative for anyone that picks it up.

While I fully admit to taking too much time to finish this, I highly recommend this work of the Word of God. My favorite portion being a passage in Chapter 8 that reminds us that every day Christ is with us. If we fail today He will be with us tomorrow. In our happy moments and in our sorrowful ones, He is always with us!! Pastor Adam reminds us that God knows us. He has always known us and His love is everlasting!

What a wonderful way to tell the story of our Lord! In this book, the author leads the reader through God's story from Genesis to Revelation joining al the pieces together to make it easy for the reader to see the plan for our salvation. This book is a must read for all!

If you find reading the Bible is a puzzle, then this book will show you how the pieces all fit and how it applies to you.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I received a free copy of this book from the author. I was not compensated in any way and my review is entirely my own.If you have ever tried to read the Bible in its entirety and felt overwhelmed, either in comprehension or in personal application, Pastor Adam Filipek has written a book for you. Easy to read, easy to follow, Pastor Filipek offers a bird's eye view of the Biblical narrative alongside real life application, neither discouraging the reader by becoming too scholarly, nor diminishing the content by oversimplification. Overflowing with Scriptural citations, Pastor Filipek takes his readers on a guided tour of the richness of God's Word, with all its complexity and nuance, and makes it relevant to life. Seeing how one Bible story leads into the next and how they relate to form the beautiful tapestry that is God's love story to us in the form of Christ Jesus is a game changer in itself, but then he places you, the reader, intimately into that love story, applying it to your life with specific Biblical texts. Liturgy and hymnody are deftly woven in, familiar words made ever more relevant.With explanations that make sense, connections that bring clarity, insights that offer deeper understanding, Pastor Filipek illustrates the importance of looking at the Bible as a message in its entirety, not merely as a collection of random stories, unrelated to each other and disconnected from the reader. Easily overwhelming topics, such as the meaning of God's very intricate instructions for building His Tabernacle; the ways that the different types of miracles answer the profound question "Who is this Man Jesus?"; the significance of the ways Satan tempted Jesus, among others, readers are taught how to look at the Bible in ways that impact their actual lives. And then there are Chapters Seven and Eight -- if you read only two chapters of this book, I would beg you to read these; I feel as if I could read them over and over, basking in what Pastor Filipek shares in them -- but don't deprive yourself by not reading Life in Christ cover to cover.Who is this book for? Anyone looking to enrich their spiritual lives and grow in their faith through the Word. For the person new to reading the Bible, it takes away that feeling of being overwhelmed by the sheer volume, not to mention the pressure of trying to understand what it all means. For the more mature Christian, there is much value in being reminded of the treasure found in those stories heard so many times that you start to tune out or the seemingly obscure parts that you are inclined to gloss over; being able to see the "big picture" view of Holy Scripture changes the way you read and hear these stories, allowing you to connect them to other Biblical stories and events. This would also be a most excellent book to read and discuss as a group Bible study, whether led by a Pastor or a layperson.Pastor Filipek's message resonates loud and clear: Reading the Bible is never about nominal Christianity or mechanical memorization, but in actual life application, immersing yourself in a story that was written for everyone, but also written specifically for you, that these stories connect not only to each other, but to each reader as an individual -- rooted, woven, and grafted into Christ, the center of every Bible story, the spotlight of every Divine Service, and the core of our very lives.

Pastor Filipek’s book does a wonderful job showing the unity of the Bible. His analogy of puzzle pieces is helpful in seeing how the various Bible stories work together. He shows how the scriptures are about one story which includes the creation and fall into sin, the redemption of the world through the sacrifice of Jesus, and the sanctification of the church through the sending of the Holy Spirit.My parish ordered this book for a Bible Study and it helped connect the stories of the Bible to their fulfillment in Christ for many in the study. Also great how Pastor Filipek connects the liturgy of the church and the small catechism with the unified narrative of scripture. This is useful showing that the worship of the church and its teaching are unified because the object of scripture, hymnal and catechism are all Christ.While the theme is great and extremely helpful and well fleshed out in connection with the Old Testament, a few more examples from the New Testament would have been helpful especially looking at how the various genres of the books of the New Testament are connected to each other.Overall a very well written book, that helps us understand how to put together the pieces of scripture with Jesus always at the center!