This is a GREAT book.  It is short, easy to read and yet so very profound. I loved this book.

Although I have used the term prodigal many times and have spoken on the passage in Luke 15 which is the basis for this book, I guess I really never knew what the word prodigal meant.  It means recklessly extravagant or having spent everything.  So this book is about our prodigal God who is recklessly extravagant when it comes to grace.

The book also points out the two very distinct ways that we can be separated from God.  The younger brother represents one way, self discovery and the older brother represents the other way, moral conformity.  As it turns out Jesus was telling this story to people in both groups, sinners and tax collectors and Pharisees.  His message was always better received by the first group than the second. 

Keller points out that a church that has too many elder brothers in it is in trouble.  A church should be attracting many more people who are on the path of the younger brother who are searching for elusive peace and joy but have come to their senses and turned to the father. 

While the older brother on the surface appears to be morally on track in the end he reveals his true motives when he becomes angry over the grace that the father extends to the younger brother.  This shows that he ultimately wanted his father’s things more than he wanted his father.  When push comes to shove he proves to be selfish and self centered.  Churches in America are full of elder brothers.  They are the ones who appear to be Christ followers but who become angry when the best parking places are given to the guests.  They are the ones who want to hear their favorite style of music rather than a style that allows the younger brother to engage in worship.

I am so blessed to be a part of a church full of people who are concerned about the younger brother and passionate about helping him find his way home.  They are people who realize that our only hope is God’s reckless grace.

Let me just begin by saying this is a great book!  It is the true story of Ernest Gordon who spent three years as a POW during WWII.  He was captured by the Japanese and forced with other POWs to build the notorious "Railroad of Death".  Both the academy award winning films The Bridge Over The River Kwai and the film To End All Wars are based on this book.

I had used a remarkable story from this book as an illustration but had never read the book.  I ordered a copy last week.  I received it on Friday and finished it on Monday.  The first 40 pages or so are a little confusing but from that point on I could not put it down.

This is the amazing story of how two men who loved the Lord and their neighbors in the most horrible of living conditions, changed history.  Ernest Gordon was befriended by these men while he was in the Death House in the prison camp waiting to die.I don't want to ruin the story but Gordon who was not a Christ-follower when he enlisted ends the book with this line:

"He (Jesus) comes into our Death House to lead us through it."

Read it.  I am going to list it as one of my all time favorites.

This week as I prepared to speak this Sunday at FOTP, I was reminded of how much I love this book when I looked for an illustration in it and dsicovered how worn the pages were.  Max Lucado the author is one of my all-time favorites.  I have to admit after you have read several of his books (I counted 12 on my bookshelves and am sure I missed some) they tend to run together. I will never forget reading my fist Max Lucado book and being totally captivated.  His style will not apeal to everyone but his style of writing is so similar to my style of speaking that there was an immediate connection.

All of his books are easy to read.  You can read a chapter or two and put the book down for a few days and come back read some more.  Most of his books including this one are filled with short true stories that help you love God more than you did before you read them.

This particular book has some great stories that I have told and read to many people in many settings.  My favorite chapters are When Fishermen Don't Fish, Thanks for the Bread and the one I will share this Sunday - Joy in the Journey.

I did not realize how old this book was.  It was written in 1991 but it is still a great book to read.  I have to include it on my all-time favorite list.

Max Lucado has touched many lives including mine.  I was in San Antonio recently and visited the church he pastors but he was not there that weekend.  It was just a blessing to be there.

This book will  help you to break out of the box  of limited Christianity and tap into God's awesome power as you travel along with Dois Rosser who has taken his earthly fortune and invested it in the single most powerful means of changing the world today - spreading the good news of the gospel.  You will read about lepers in India who are joyfully builing a church and a Ukrainian church built with government donated bricks from a former Soviet missle silo.

I will not give away the story behind the title of the book but once you have read it you will  never forget it.  A friend recommended this book to me several years ago and it easily made it to my all-time favorite list.

Headed Home is one of my favorite books for one simple reason – I wrote it.  After twenty years of training others to share their faith in the context of their everyday lives, I decided it was time to share some of their stories.  So this book is made up of stories of how God used ordinary people to be a part of something extraordinary – the transformation of the life of a friend, family member or an acquaintance.

Many Christians are hesitant to share story of God’s love with others.  My prayer is that this book could inspire some of those Christians to get engaged in the most exciting activity we could ever experience.

Headed Home can only be purchased at Fellowship of the Parks Church in Keller, Texas where I serve on staff or directly from me.  If you would like a copy email me at charlesthornton@fellowshipoftheparks.com  The cost is $15 plus $3 for shipping.

Also, I have recorded a comedy cd – Just Plain Funny.  God has given me the ability to impersonate other people and just to be funny in general.  I speak 30 to 40 times a year at banquets, business meetings and retreats.  Just Plain Funny is a 45 minute cd recorded in front of a live audience.  It is nothing but good clean humor.  I guarantee you that you will laugh at least $15 worth which is what it costs plus $3 for shipping.  Again, you can simply email me if you want to order one.

I am working on my second book which will be titled Anybody Can Write A Book And I Proved It!

This classic work by C.S. Lewis is composed of a series of letters sent by an experienced devil, Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood.  Wormwood is beginning his demonic career.  The letters give a very sobering and sometimes humorous look at the spiritual warfare that goes on behind the scenes in our lives.

There are only a few book that I have read more than once.  This is one of them.  It is another of those books I recommend for every Christian.  I am not a huge fan of fiction, but this book is worth the time, an easy read and helped me as a young Christ follower become more aware of Satan’s plans to attempt to thwart my spiritual growth.

Concentric Circles of Concern by Oscar Thompson changed my life.  I read this book almost 30 years ago (there is a new version out) in one afternoon.  My life has never been the same.  It is a simple practical look at loving people and reaching them with the good news of God’s love.

Dr. Oscar Thompson was a professor of evangelism at Southwestern Theological Seminary in the 1980’s.  He died of cancer.  I heard his last public sermon when he spoke at First Baptist Church of Euless, Texas.  I look forward to getting to heaven and letting him know how he impacted my life.

More than any other book I have ever read other than the Bible this book inspired me to want to reach others with the gospel.  I can’t say this about many books but I can about this one –every Christian should read it.  I have read it at least 6 times.

I am teaching a four week course at FOTP called Christianity 101.  I taught the course in a longer format at First Baptist Church Euless for 10 years.  Many people have the same experience I had when I first became a Christ follower.  I felt like everyone else had been in Advanced Christianity and I had never been in Christianity 101.  So I started a course to answer questions such as who wrote the Bible, did men really live to be 900 years old, was there really a world wide flood, and what about evolution verses creation.

Much of what I teach in the class is based on the book, Why I Believe by D. James Kennedy.  It is one of my all time favorite books.  Dr. Kennedy who was the pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Coral Ridge wrote the book after listening to an atheist on a radio talk show who was chewing up Christians and spitting them out.  Dr. Kennedy realized that most Christians did not know that there was solid historical and scientific evidence for believing in the Bible, God, Heaven and Hell.This is not a technical book and while it was first published years ago it is still full of great information that will strengthen your faith if you are a Christ follower and make you seriously consider becoming a Christ follower if you are not already.

One of the other books I used for the basis of the course was The Genesis Record by Dr. Henry Morris.  This is another of my favorites.  It is a very user friendly commentary on the book of Genesis.  I have not read it from cover to cover but the first few chapters on creation are priceless.  Dr. Morris is a creationist scientist.  While the book was first published in 1976 it is still a very rich resource for those who want to know more about some of the more challenging aspects of creation.

These two books are two of my favorites.  I have reread parts of these books many times and have used them often as a source of information for speaking and teaching purposes.

I read Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore last year.  It goes on my list of all-time favorite books.  I laughed.  I cried.  I was inspired to love God and others more.  This is a remarkable true story that takes place right here in the DFW metroplex.  Here is a glimpse of what it is about:

 A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery.  An upscale art dealer accustomed the world of Armani and Chanel.  A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream.  A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it.

This is one of those “hard to put down” books that almost anyone of any age can appreciate.  I may forget some of the details in time but I will never forget the story.