I wanted to write a quick note about Rev. Dr. Matthew Richard’s newest book, Minute Messages: Gospel-Filled Devotions for Every Occasion. I had the joy of reading an advance copy in order to write an endorsement for the book’s inside cover.
I’m a big fan of Pastor Richard’s (you can check out his blog, PM Notes, here), so I was really excited to hear that he was coming out with a devotional book. I think sometimes people can get overwhelmed by trying to set up a regular devotional practice—for a lot of us, we either lack the time or concentration to jump right into something seemingly long and complex. The whole point of Rev. Richard’s devotional is to provide something succinct—but not sappy or legalist!—to start off your morning, work day, church meeting, after school club session, whatever. Using the one-year lectionary as well as Luther’s Small Catechism as a basis, the reader can also choose from many devotions specific to certain times of life. There are a number of devotionals for times of distress, too, which would make it nice for a sick loved one, and the content is short and clear enough to be edifying to children, adults, and the elderly alike. Also included is a short form prayer office to use with the individual devotions. I use mine with the short individual form of Morning Prayer, which can be found in a number of devotional resources, as the “reflection.” There’s a physical and ebook edition, though I must say I really like the print version. CPH did a great job designing a highly usable, eye-catching devotional.
You can check out the purchasing options (and read my formal endorsement!) over at CPH’s website here. This isn’t an affiliate link, and I don’t make any money if you buy stuff.
abovetowne 