What do you think?
Rate this book
Life in Christ: Rooted, Woven, and Grafted into God's Story: Rooted, Woven, and
When reading the Bible, it is easy to get lost or to focus on one individual story. The danger in that is that the Bible can be seen as a bunch of independent stories that have no connection to or bearing on our lives. Hence, the Christian faith can easily become disconnected and compartmentalized. But as Life in Christ shows, each one of those biblical stories, and each one of us, is like a pieces of a puzzle that is not independent but connects to form a larger picture of God’s ongoing work of salvation. Life in Christ uses Scripture and Luther’s Small Catechism to increase biblical literacy and to cultivate a love of the one true God and a desire to dwell with Him through Word and Sacrament. Primarily for Lutheran adults who want to firmly understand Holy Scripture and the Christian faith, Life in Christ also can help pastors teach the basics of the Christian faith and life.
***Enjoy walking through the Bible and the Christian Faith in an understandable, engaging, and memorable way, while increasing your biblical literacy and renewing your faith!
***Enjoy walking through the Bible and the Christian Faith in an understandable, engaging, and memorable way, while increasing your biblical literacy and renewing your faith!
150 pages, Paperback
Published February 13, 2024
About the author
Adam Filipek
1 book1 followerRev. Dr. Adam Filipek has served as pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church and Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lidgerwood, North Dakota since October 2016. He also serves as an online adjunct professor at Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. Pastor Filipek graduated from Minot State University in Minot, ND, in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in management information systems and a minor in philosophy, a Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO, in 2009, and a Doctor of Ministry from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN, in 2019. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife, playing with his four children, being a member of The North American Patristics Society, reading classic literature, symphony, theater, opera, ballet, hunting, fishing, and archery. His areas of academic interest are Early Church Patristic Homiletical Rhetoric and Biblical Typology.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 15, 2023
Reread Update: Reading the chapters that walkthrough the Bible, I kept getting an image of a storyteller telling God's story around a campfire. When I made it to the final chapter, I got the image in my mind of it turning into a bedtime story. This book is a wonderful overview of God's story of salvation for all mankind, and our place today in that story in Word and Sacrament, and how it will all culminate in dwelling with God face-to-face.
Original Review: I had the privilege of being an advance reader of this book. It weaves together God's story of salvation in Christ for His people from Genesis to Revelation, as shown in the Bible, by piecing together the key stories that show how God would send a promised Child to restore His presence to humanity after we broke the relationship in the Garden. It shows how we are grafted into God's story through Word and Sacrament in the Divine Service, whether that be on Sunday morning or at a funeral. When our life is rooted in Christ, who is our life, we can have confidence that we will live with Him and the Father throughout eternity.
Original Review: I had the privilege of being an advance reader of this book. It weaves together God's story of salvation in Christ for His people from Genesis to Revelation, as shown in the Bible, by piecing together the key stories that show how God would send a promised Child to restore His presence to humanity after we broke the relationship in the Garden. It shows how we are grafted into God's story through Word and Sacrament in the Divine Service, whether that be on Sunday morning or at a funeral. When our life is rooted in Christ, who is our life, we can have confidence that we will live with Him and the Father throughout eternity.
June 19, 2023
Life in Christ -- A beautiful, Gospel-centered narrative by a master story-teller!
Have you ever been blessed to hear an engaging, master storytelling Pastor preach and teach the Bible in a narrative and relatable manner?! If so you already know what a treat this book is!! The full scope of the Bible is told and related in engaging fashion with coordinated doctrines of our Lutheran faith (aka The Book of Concord) as well as key components of worship and the life, death, resurrection we are given in Christ! It all fits so well; it all flows so well; and in the process we learn more of Scripture and are better equipped to believe and process our faith in a meaningful way!! This book is crucial to pastors, theologians, congregants, and proselites alike! What a gift for the church h and for each person willing to grow in their faith!! Highly recommended!
Have you ever been blessed to hear an engaging, master storytelling Pastor preach and teach the Bible in a narrative and relatable manner?! If so you already know what a treat this book is!! The full scope of the Bible is told and related in engaging fashion with coordinated doctrines of our Lutheran faith (aka The Book of Concord) as well as key components of worship and the life, death, resurrection we are given in Christ! It all fits so well; it all flows so well; and in the process we learn more of Scripture and are better equipped to believe and process our faith in a meaningful way!! This book is crucial to pastors, theologians, congregants, and proselites alike! What a gift for the church h and for each person willing to grow in their faith!! Highly recommended!
January 4, 2024
Life in Christ paints the story of salvation in Christ as a broad, overarching narrative. Beginning in Genesis, Filipek walks the reader through the events of the Bible, showing how they connect to each other, to Christ, and to each of us. I recommend this book for adults who want to start reading the Bible but find the prospect of doing so overwhelming. If you have always wanted a brief, accessible, well-written introduction to the Bible as a whole, this is the book for you.
Strengths of this book are the Scripture references used throughout and the skillful writing.
Strengths of this book are the Scripture references used throughout and the skillful writing.
May 1, 2023
Pastor Filipek masterfully presents an overview of the story of salvation as told through the Christ-centered Biblical narrative. As a lifelong Christian, this book took me on a journey through the Bible and did an excellent job of reminding me of the Christ elements of the story without overwhelming the reader. I would imagine this to be an excellent tool for Pastors to share this with new Christians or more curious church attendee who needs to walk this adventure more quickly to receive a full picture of how to read his/her Bible.
March 5, 2024
FULL DISCLOSURE: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for my review. 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.
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.
June 20, 2023
Are you ready for a fast-paced, story-filled read? Rev. Filipek takes any reader on an adventure that informs those curious about Christianity, expands the Scriptures for those who enjoyed their childhood Sunday school lessons, and even challenge the theological scholar who spends their time chewing on the Scriptures in their daily grind.
In many books the title Life in Christ is about how the reader can follow Christ, but in Rooted, Woven and Grafted -- the phrase "into God's Story" is the real focus.
If you want to know how God has taken you into His story, pick up this book. It is written on every page how the Life in Christ, isn't about following Jesus, but instead of how God places you into His Story.
May take a few times to read through it to get it all, but it will reveal something everytime it is read. And definitely worth it.
In many books the title Life in Christ is about how the reader can follow Christ, but in Rooted, Woven and Grafted -- the phrase "into God's Story" is the real focus.
If you want to know how God has taken you into His story, pick up this book. It is written on every page how the Life in Christ, isn't about following Jesus, but instead of how God places you into His Story.
May take a few times to read through it to get it all, but it will reveal something everytime it is read. And definitely worth it.
October 21, 2023
As the author, I know I am biased. However, this book will help you deepen your understanding of the Bible, the Sunday Church service, and the Christian life. It is also an excellent resource for pastors who wants to teach their congregations the basics of the Christian faith.
March 24, 2023
Have you ever wondered how God's story fits together from creation through the hope and promise of Jesus coming again on the last day? Are you at all curious about how you fit into God's brilliant narrative as well? If the answer is yes, then Life in Christ is the book for you. Dr. Filipek does a beautiful job of weaving the Divine narrative found in both the Old and New Testaments into our lives today. He shows us our place in God's story, how He comes to meet us where we are, and how God continues to care for us. This book is an easy, straightforward read that is perfect for the new Christian learning about the faith, or the seasoned Christian who seeks to discover how God has grafted them into His Divine plan. He shows how the entire Bible is not a series of disjoined stories but rather a single story with Jesus at the center. I highly recommend this book for any level of reader who seeks to see how the Lord has all of us clearly in view within His greater Divine narrative.
January 19, 2024
The author has done a wonderful job of telling the story of Scripture as a whole, showing how the whole narrative converges on the work and person of Christ. His work is truly a Lutheran approach to Scripture. Unlike alternative attempts a finding the unity of the Bible in covenants, or dispensations, or even a central theme, like "Divine Glory" or "Love," the author understands that Scripture converges on the person of Christ. For the Bible, truth is not a concept, but a person- namely the person of Jesus. This book is highly recommended for all laypeople who want to see how each corner of Scripture comes together in the story of Jesus.
April 24, 2025
A good summary of the biblical narrative and the christian life. Early chapters begin with creation, and continue with Moses, plagues, escape from Egypt, entering promised land, kings of Israel, exile, return to Jerusalem. Then a chapter on Jesus in the gospels, followed by our response to christ and the early church history, and living the christian life. The book concludes with a description of divine service on Sunday morning, and explanation of conquered death and a funeral service. There are lots of scripture references throughout. References to catechism and hymnal also included.
May 22, 2023
As if taking us by the hand on a grand yet personal conversation, in Life in Christ Rev. Dr. Adam Filipek walks with us from Genesis to Revelation. He takes "the individual puzzle pieces, or stories, that we know and love" and connects them to the larger, intricate, and breathtakingly beautiful narrative of salvation through Jesus Christ. In a pastoral manner with examples, charts, and careful explanations, Rev. Filipek guides us through the entirety of God's Word "written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name."
October 23, 2023
The Kindle edition has the Bible references linked to Bible Gateway, this way readers can instantly read the Bible verses and stories that are mentioned in this book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews