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Finding Your Way Back to God: Five Awakenings to Your New Life
“God, if you’re real, make yourself real to me.”
Each of us spends our lives on a journey toward God. Yet often our most deeply felt longings—for meaning, for love, for significance—end up leading us away from, instead of toward, our Creator and the person he made us to be.
Finding Your Way Back to God shows you how to understand and listen to your longings in a whole new way. It’s about waking up to who you really are, and daring to believe that God wants to be found even more than you want to find him. It’s about making the biggest wager of your life as you ask God to make himself known to you. And it’s about watching what happens next.
Each of us spends our lives on a journey toward God. Yet often our most deeply felt longings—for meaning, for love, for significance—end up leading us away from, instead of toward, our Creator and the person he made us to be.
Finding Your Way Back to God shows you how to understand and listen to your longings in a whole new way. It’s about waking up to who you really are, and daring to believe that God wants to be found even more than you want to find him. It’s about making the biggest wager of your life as you ask God to make himself known to you. And it’s about watching what happens next.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published February 24, 2015
51 people are currently reading
325 people want to read
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June 10, 2015
Theologians and philosophers have posited for centuries that there is a longing every person feels that transcends time and mortality. Is there something more? Is life more than what it seems? It’s been said that we are wired for eternity and so we ask, “Does God exist?” If God does exist, how can I find Him?
Pastors Dave and Jon Ferguson of Community Christian Church, a multi-site mega-church in Illinois, have written Finding Your Way Back to God with the hope that it will help people on this journey.
According to Rick Warren, Finding Your Way Back to God is, “Absolutely life-changing! Dave and Jon Ferguson have written a book that could change how our generation thinks about God.” That is high praise that doesn’t just border on hype, it’s an atomic bomb; a declaration that the war is now over because we said so. If Rick Warren is right, this is the last book we’ll need on finding purpose for at least the next 30 years.
Does the book live up to that kind of hype? Unfortunately, it doesn’t. While the Fergusons remind us of God’s love and grace they fail to tell us why it matters and the personal cost involved. This sets up several problems that make the book more confusing than helpful.
#1 – Expectations
Whenever we talk about God and what it means to be a Christian it is important that we set proper expectations. In the book we are told to expect that we can find a power greater than ourselves to make it through life, discover unconditional love to transform how you think and feel, find a way to love others the way you want to be loved, purpose for life that gets you out of bed and excited every day, and hope for this life and the next. I wouldn’t disagree with those points, but they are woefully lacking and paint a picture that just doesn’t fit Jesus’ description of following Him.
Jesus told us to expect persecution (Matthew 10:16), hatred (John 15:18), imprisonment (Luke 21:12), the possibility of poverty (Matthew 19:21), and the potential for martyrdom (John 21:19) and to count the cost (Luke 14:25-33). The Fergusons leave these items out and give not much more than a nod to adversity in chapter 9 when they talk about a man who continued to believe in Jesus even those his life got worse.
#2 Proof Texting
The book is based on the Parable of the Lost Son in Luke 15:17-24. For the most part their interpretation of the parable isn’t bad, except when the lost son returns to his father. The son is received back without question, but the lost son still makes his plea for forgiveness. The Fergusons call this resisting grace, but there’s no implication that he was resisting grace, only that he wanted to repent. If they’d only included the whole parable they could have avoided this problem.
Read the parable and you’ll notice that it doesn’t stop at verse 24. It goes all the way to verse 32. In those last verses we learn about the reaction of the older son who perfectly illustrates the idea of resisting grace, but the Fergusons leave him out and call him a tattletale which is indicated nowhere in the text.
#3 Bible Translation Cherry Picking
When you study the Bible it’s good to use multiple translations in order to compare and contrast the language. When you’re teaching it’s better to stick with one translation so that you can keep the text in context and only go to alternate translations when you want to compare and contrast. The Fergusons jump between translations without offering any comparisons, or attempts to understand the context. While the Fergusons may not have intended this, cherry picking translations leads to taking scripture out of context and that is how you get the Bible to say what you want it to say rather than letting scripture speak for itself.
#4 Audience Confusion
The title of the book itself implies an audience; those who know God, but for whatever reason walked away from the faith and are trying to find their way back. That certainly fits with the Parable of the Lost Son. The Fergusons want the reader to identify with the lost son, but they also want the reader to pray, “God, if you’re real…” which is not something the lost son would have prayed because he knew his father existed. This has to create confusion for the reader. Are they a wayward Christian, or possibly a Christian going through a traumatic season in life, or are they simply an unbeliever? The Fergusons muddle this point repeatedly.
#5 Weak Assurance
In chapter one the Fergusons undermine the entire point of the book. After saying you can find your way back to God and that God wants to be found they tell us, “Let me assure you that finding your way back to God is possible. But I won’t lie to you. There’s no guarantee. It can go either way.” I’m not sure if the Fergusons realize they just said that this God who loves me and wants to be found might not be reachable after all.
Chapter 12 begins the fourth awakening and starts with the words, “In the swirl of your new life with the father…” which means that somewhere in the previous three awakenings we found God. The search isn’t over, though, and they want us to keep praying, “God, if you’re real…”
Throughout the book the various illustrations talk about people turning to God, but the Fergusons interject and leave the reader to believe that these are only the first steps to finding God. How many steps are there? The Fergusons don’t say, but they do say you must join a small group, you must join a church, or you risk losing God again. While I agree that no Christian ought to go it alone, the Fergusons leave us with the impression that Christ is unable to preserve us in the faith unless we join a small group.
#6 Gospel Confusion – Why did Jesus die for me?
Perhaps the most glaring item missing from the book is the Gospel. The Fergusons talk about repentance, although they confuse the Old and New Covenants. They talk about Jesus dying for our sins, although sins are described as mistakes that we’ve made. They talk about how we can’t change our lives on our own and we need God’s help, but they never tell us why. Theirs is a gospel without a foundation.
Jesus didn’t just one day decide to die for our sins in hopes that we would see His sacrifice and appreciate it as a way to find purpose in life. From the beginning God had a plan of redemption. God created the universe complete and good. Adam and Eve sinned and so death entered the world and came to all people because everyone dies. In our fallen state we have sinned against a holy God by failing to keep His commands. Since we are lost and dead in our sins, and dead people cannot raise themselves to life, God planned from the beginning to send Jesus, the perfect and uncorrupted sacrifice to die for our sins and reconcile us to God. If we believe Christ has risen from the dead and trust that He is God we will be saved and there is no other way to be saved.
It’s not that we need God’s help, it’s that it is impossible for us to be saved without Christ. The Fergusons never get to this aspect of the Gospel and so by the end the best they can offer is life change, but I can get life change at the chiropractor. Which means Christ isn’t necessary for what their offering and allows the reader an out to achieve life change on their own, or just find someone else to help them.
I can’t recommend this book. I simply can’t. As my pastor once said, a sermon that doesn’t require Jesus to make it work is a bad sermon and that’s what we get in Finding Your Way Back to God – a sermon that doesn’t need Jesus. I’m not for a second questioning the faith of the Fergusons, but for pastors considered experts in their field, leaders of a denomination/network of churches, I would expect this book to be clear on the Gospel and it isn’t.
The best way to find God is to follow the advice of Paul to Timothy, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).”
I received this book for free from Blogging for Books and was not required to write a positive review.
Pastors Dave and Jon Ferguson of Community Christian Church, a multi-site mega-church in Illinois, have written Finding Your Way Back to God with the hope that it will help people on this journey.
According to Rick Warren, Finding Your Way Back to God is, “Absolutely life-changing! Dave and Jon Ferguson have written a book that could change how our generation thinks about God.” That is high praise that doesn’t just border on hype, it’s an atomic bomb; a declaration that the war is now over because we said so. If Rick Warren is right, this is the last book we’ll need on finding purpose for at least the next 30 years.
Does the book live up to that kind of hype? Unfortunately, it doesn’t. While the Fergusons remind us of God’s love and grace they fail to tell us why it matters and the personal cost involved. This sets up several problems that make the book more confusing than helpful.
#1 – Expectations
Whenever we talk about God and what it means to be a Christian it is important that we set proper expectations. In the book we are told to expect that we can find a power greater than ourselves to make it through life, discover unconditional love to transform how you think and feel, find a way to love others the way you want to be loved, purpose for life that gets you out of bed and excited every day, and hope for this life and the next. I wouldn’t disagree with those points, but they are woefully lacking and paint a picture that just doesn’t fit Jesus’ description of following Him.
Jesus told us to expect persecution (Matthew 10:16), hatred (John 15:18), imprisonment (Luke 21:12), the possibility of poverty (Matthew 19:21), and the potential for martyrdom (John 21:19) and to count the cost (Luke 14:25-33). The Fergusons leave these items out and give not much more than a nod to adversity in chapter 9 when they talk about a man who continued to believe in Jesus even those his life got worse.
#2 Proof Texting
The book is based on the Parable of the Lost Son in Luke 15:17-24. For the most part their interpretation of the parable isn’t bad, except when the lost son returns to his father. The son is received back without question, but the lost son still makes his plea for forgiveness. The Fergusons call this resisting grace, but there’s no implication that he was resisting grace, only that he wanted to repent. If they’d only included the whole parable they could have avoided this problem.
Read the parable and you’ll notice that it doesn’t stop at verse 24. It goes all the way to verse 32. In those last verses we learn about the reaction of the older son who perfectly illustrates the idea of resisting grace, but the Fergusons leave him out and call him a tattletale which is indicated nowhere in the text.
#3 Bible Translation Cherry Picking
When you study the Bible it’s good to use multiple translations in order to compare and contrast the language. When you’re teaching it’s better to stick with one translation so that you can keep the text in context and only go to alternate translations when you want to compare and contrast. The Fergusons jump between translations without offering any comparisons, or attempts to understand the context. While the Fergusons may not have intended this, cherry picking translations leads to taking scripture out of context and that is how you get the Bible to say what you want it to say rather than letting scripture speak for itself.
#4 Audience Confusion
The title of the book itself implies an audience; those who know God, but for whatever reason walked away from the faith and are trying to find their way back. That certainly fits with the Parable of the Lost Son. The Fergusons want the reader to identify with the lost son, but they also want the reader to pray, “God, if you’re real…” which is not something the lost son would have prayed because he knew his father existed. This has to create confusion for the reader. Are they a wayward Christian, or possibly a Christian going through a traumatic season in life, or are they simply an unbeliever? The Fergusons muddle this point repeatedly.
#5 Weak Assurance
In chapter one the Fergusons undermine the entire point of the book. After saying you can find your way back to God and that God wants to be found they tell us, “Let me assure you that finding your way back to God is possible. But I won’t lie to you. There’s no guarantee. It can go either way.” I’m not sure if the Fergusons realize they just said that this God who loves me and wants to be found might not be reachable after all.
Chapter 12 begins the fourth awakening and starts with the words, “In the swirl of your new life with the father…” which means that somewhere in the previous three awakenings we found God. The search isn’t over, though, and they want us to keep praying, “God, if you’re real…”
Throughout the book the various illustrations talk about people turning to God, but the Fergusons interject and leave the reader to believe that these are only the first steps to finding God. How many steps are there? The Fergusons don’t say, but they do say you must join a small group, you must join a church, or you risk losing God again. While I agree that no Christian ought to go it alone, the Fergusons leave us with the impression that Christ is unable to preserve us in the faith unless we join a small group.
#6 Gospel Confusion – Why did Jesus die for me?
Perhaps the most glaring item missing from the book is the Gospel. The Fergusons talk about repentance, although they confuse the Old and New Covenants. They talk about Jesus dying for our sins, although sins are described as mistakes that we’ve made. They talk about how we can’t change our lives on our own and we need God’s help, but they never tell us why. Theirs is a gospel without a foundation.
Jesus didn’t just one day decide to die for our sins in hopes that we would see His sacrifice and appreciate it as a way to find purpose in life. From the beginning God had a plan of redemption. God created the universe complete and good. Adam and Eve sinned and so death entered the world and came to all people because everyone dies. In our fallen state we have sinned against a holy God by failing to keep His commands. Since we are lost and dead in our sins, and dead people cannot raise themselves to life, God planned from the beginning to send Jesus, the perfect and uncorrupted sacrifice to die for our sins and reconcile us to God. If we believe Christ has risen from the dead and trust that He is God we will be saved and there is no other way to be saved.
It’s not that we need God’s help, it’s that it is impossible for us to be saved without Christ. The Fergusons never get to this aspect of the Gospel and so by the end the best they can offer is life change, but I can get life change at the chiropractor. Which means Christ isn’t necessary for what their offering and allows the reader an out to achieve life change on their own, or just find someone else to help them.
I can’t recommend this book. I simply can’t. As my pastor once said, a sermon that doesn’t require Jesus to make it work is a bad sermon and that’s what we get in Finding Your Way Back to God – a sermon that doesn’t need Jesus. I’m not for a second questioning the faith of the Fergusons, but for pastors considered experts in their field, leaders of a denomination/network of churches, I would expect this book to be clear on the Gospel and it isn’t.
The best way to find God is to follow the advice of Paul to Timothy, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).”
I received this book for free from Blogging for Books and was not required to write a positive review.
August 27, 2019
This was simply beautiful! Renewed and deepened my faith, awe, reverence, and love. Highly recommend for anyone - those who are searching, skeptical, or curious; those wanting to deepen their relationship with God; those who have wandered and feel like it may be impossible to find their way back. Found myself experiencing so many emotions during this read - many smiles and tears along the way. <3
Read
March 15, 2021blæh
April 20, 2015
Two things made me request for this book--
1. Rick Warren's purpose driven life is one of my all time favorite books. Reading his comment on this book's cover :Absolutely life changing" made me thing this book will be worth reading.
2. "God if you are real, make yourself real to me"
I remember making this prayer several times as a young believer in my desperate need and longing for God. This is a very simple yet weighty prayer. Looking back at those short years, I discovered that my relationship with God was much sweeter and real then. So that prayer longing paid off, because God answered me.
Well years have passed, while I never doubt whether God is real or not, I have seen more struggles and drawbacks in my Christian life than I need as a younger believer. This challenges have sometimes made me forget God or put Him in a box, or backslide.
Whenever this happens, I always feel the need to get back to God, but it always difficult because of one fear or the other.
I was at that point where it seemed difficult to find my way back to God when I saw this book, and out of curiosity and need to revive my relationship with God, I requested for a review copy.
When I began reading this book, I wasn't quite sure where the authors where headed-- was it for a new believer? an old believer or a non believer?
Reading through this book and the 30 days wager which of course I'm going to give it a shot. I cannot imagine a better book to recommend for new, old and non believers and or anyone who wants to find their way back to God or help others do so.
Even if you have never been to church, you've probably heard some one say something like, "we're all searching for God' or 'we all have some form of emptiness in us that only God can fill' or sort.
The search for God or whom to fill the emptiness in us, or a meaningful life is not a one-way search.
God wants us to find Him and wants to reveal Himself to us more than we could ever desire.
You need to read this book, and discover or rediscover the God who's been searching and waiting for you all along.
This book is a collection of inspiring true life stories of people, some like me, who struggles with balancing up their life experiences with what they have seen or heard about God.
Reading this stories, you will find that this people have something in common; they all got to a point in their live when they cried out: "God if you are real, make yourself real to me", 'God reveal yourself to me', 'God, if you are truly God, I want you to show me''... and the likes.
These simple, one sentence, yet weighty request which is mostly born out of regrets, experiences, frustrations, disappointment, when we have come to end of ourselves and probably run out of options has proven over the years to be the beginning of a spiritual awakening and a journey into a deeper relationship with God..
In case you are at that point in your life, or you don't want to get to that breaking point but you desire your relationship with God and your Christian life to be more real, I recommend this book for you.
This book is an invitation to start or restart your journey toward an authentic connection with God.
You can find it in any online book store or your local book shops.
I received this book as a complimentary from Blogging for Books for my honest review.
Read Review at my blog: http://klassytots.blogspot.com
1. Rick Warren's purpose driven life is one of my all time favorite books. Reading his comment on this book's cover :Absolutely life changing" made me thing this book will be worth reading.
2. "God if you are real, make yourself real to me"
I remember making this prayer several times as a young believer in my desperate need and longing for God. This is a very simple yet weighty prayer. Looking back at those short years, I discovered that my relationship with God was much sweeter and real then. So that prayer longing paid off, because God answered me.
Well years have passed, while I never doubt whether God is real or not, I have seen more struggles and drawbacks in my Christian life than I need as a younger believer. This challenges have sometimes made me forget God or put Him in a box, or backslide.
Whenever this happens, I always feel the need to get back to God, but it always difficult because of one fear or the other.
I was at that point where it seemed difficult to find my way back to God when I saw this book, and out of curiosity and need to revive my relationship with God, I requested for a review copy.
When I began reading this book, I wasn't quite sure where the authors where headed-- was it for a new believer? an old believer or a non believer?
Reading through this book and the 30 days wager which of course I'm going to give it a shot. I cannot imagine a better book to recommend for new, old and non believers and or anyone who wants to find their way back to God or help others do so.
Even if you have never been to church, you've probably heard some one say something like, "we're all searching for God' or 'we all have some form of emptiness in us that only God can fill' or sort.
The search for God or whom to fill the emptiness in us, or a meaningful life is not a one-way search.
God wants us to find Him and wants to reveal Himself to us more than we could ever desire.
You need to read this book, and discover or rediscover the God who's been searching and waiting for you all along.
This book is a collection of inspiring true life stories of people, some like me, who struggles with balancing up their life experiences with what they have seen or heard about God.
Reading this stories, you will find that this people have something in common; they all got to a point in their live when they cried out: "God if you are real, make yourself real to me", 'God reveal yourself to me', 'God, if you are truly God, I want you to show me''... and the likes.
These simple, one sentence, yet weighty request which is mostly born out of regrets, experiences, frustrations, disappointment, when we have come to end of ourselves and probably run out of options has proven over the years to be the beginning of a spiritual awakening and a journey into a deeper relationship with God..
In case you are at that point in your life, or you don't want to get to that breaking point but you desire your relationship with God and your Christian life to be more real, I recommend this book for you.
This book is an invitation to start or restart your journey toward an authentic connection with God.
You can find it in any online book store or your local book shops.
I received this book as a complimentary from Blogging for Books for my honest review.
Read Review at my blog: http://klassytots.blogspot.com
January 7, 2021
My rating is generous. If you want something challenging, this is not it. If you want to be compelled to change your life around, this might help. I enjoyed it mostly because of the group of friends I read it with. If left to read it alone, I would have been much more critical of this book.
I will say, this was not a total waste of time. I did have some moments that I thought were interesting to discuss with others.
I'm just happy I finished this book. I hope to never read anything else by these two authors.
1/7/21
Looking back, it's not horrible but I still didn't like it. This book is best when used in a group setting.
I will say, this was not a total waste of time. I did have some moments that I thought were interesting to discuss with others.
I'm just happy I finished this book. I hope to never read anything else by these two authors.
1/7/21
Looking back, it's not horrible but I still didn't like it. This book is best when used in a group setting.
January 4, 2017
The Ferguson brothers have written an eminently conversational book about returning to God. Using the parable of the Prodigal Son as a template and numerous personal accounts for illustrations, they call seekers back to God through Jesus.
In the end, I felt it was too conversational—and had too many stories—for my taste. It seemed this book could have easily been 50 pages shorter. Just not for me.
The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller would be my recommended alternative.
In the end, I felt it was too conversational—and had too many stories—for my taste. It seemed this book could have easily been 50 pages shorter. Just not for me.
The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller would be my recommended alternative.
March 21, 2024
I've had my eye on reading this (these?) author(s) for a while now, and picked up this one through my library app. I really enjoyed the conversational manner in which the Ferguson's discuss what it means to be lost and ultimately how to get found through the lens of the prodigal son.
I think that the personal stories and anecdotes really drove home their point, along with their use of Pascal's wager (which I don't normally love, but they explained it in a well-written manner.
I wish they went a bit deeper into the theology in some areas, but I understand that the audience is for people who are new or curious about the Christian faith. My only other qualm with this book is that the audiobook narrator was very articulate but also very slow and deliberate, which I did not feel matched the conversational tone of the book. I listened to it on 1.5 speed, when I'm normally a 1.25 guy for all audiobooks. Otherwise, give this book a listen, the authors seem very genuine and excited to help others find their way back to God.
I think that the personal stories and anecdotes really drove home their point, along with their use of Pascal's wager (which I don't normally love, but they explained it in a well-written manner.
I wish they went a bit deeper into the theology in some areas, but I understand that the audience is for people who are new or curious about the Christian faith. My only other qualm with this book is that the audiobook narrator was very articulate but also very slow and deliberate, which I did not feel matched the conversational tone of the book. I listened to it on 1.5 speed, when I'm normally a 1.25 guy for all audiobooks. Otherwise, give this book a listen, the authors seem very genuine and excited to help others find their way back to God.
January 26, 2020
Genuine and safe.
Genuine. Speaks into reality rather than idealism. Practical approach to self assessment and self discovery. If you are curious about whether or not God might be the answer for your life, this is a safe place to begin your research.
Genuine. Speaks into reality rather than idealism. Practical approach to self assessment and self discovery. If you are curious about whether or not God might be the answer for your life, this is a safe place to begin your research.
May 8, 2023
Later in the book it articulates on the story of the son that comes back to his Father after
squandering his pre-inheritance. What is intriguing is the way they view the story in several different aspects that I did not think of.
squandering his pre-inheritance. What is intriguing is the way they view the story in several different aspects that I did not think of.
October 1, 2015
When I first saw the title of this book I thought it would be a great resource for a new believer. I actually thought, “well most of this won’t apply to me (since I am no longer considered a new or recommitted believer), but I am going to read it so that I can recommend it to others.” On man, was I ever wrong. I underestimated how much this book would also bless me. And can I also acknowledge God’s timing? It took me way longer than it should have to finish this book - not that it was hard to read at all - I just didn’t make time to read. Then when I actually spent time with this book what I was reading matched up so much with what I was going through - God Loves Me Deeply After All. I found myself underling and making notes in this book because there is so much I want to share with others.
Finding Your Way Back to God, 5 Awakenings to Your New Life is intended to be used as “a road map for discovering the satisfying spiritual experience we all want” (or so the jacket sleeve says) by taking you through five awakenings: Awakening to Longing, Awakening to Regret, Awakening to Help, Awakening to Love and Awakening to Life.
Dave and Jon Ferguson use the parable of the lost son to illustrate their five awakenings to a new life. I’ve heard sermons on this parable many times and they have each driven home different messages, but I have to say I really do love the way the Fergusons' used Jesus’ teaching in book. Dave and Jon also did an amazing job with allegories - telling stories from other people to illustrate their points. The stories of real (at least I think real) people helped to bring this parable to life and make it applicable to today.
I do have to admit that I wasn’t completely on board with the first two chapters. I found myself questioning some of their statements. At one point I wrote, “I always thought God searched for us, not us searching for God.” I also cringed at this statement: “If that sounds good to you, let me assure you that finding your way back to God is possible. But I won’t lie to you. There is no guarantee. It can go either way.” I may have been meant to have a reaction to that and it was also stated before the introduction to the parable, so I really could not see where they were going with that statement.
I am happy to say that after the second chapter I was in complete agreement with their writing. This book not only helps new believers with understanding who God is, but brings so much hope. I opted out of the 30-day wager that is included in the book because as I said before I didn’t really think this book was going to apply to me. Dave and Jon proved me wrong, though, and I found my self even sharing quotes on Facebook. I actually have plans to lend this book out already, but am praying I get it back because I can see myself referencing it for years to come.
I look forward to seeing how this book helps others. I was very excited to see there was also a bible study (with DVD) to accompany this book and trust me it will be at the top of my list if I am ever in the position to lead new or recommitted believers.
To find out more information on this book: more info
To find out more about Dave and Jon Ferguson: author bio
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
Finding Your Way Back to God, 5 Awakenings to Your New Life is intended to be used as “a road map for discovering the satisfying spiritual experience we all want” (or so the jacket sleeve says) by taking you through five awakenings: Awakening to Longing, Awakening to Regret, Awakening to Help, Awakening to Love and Awakening to Life.
Dave and Jon Ferguson use the parable of the lost son to illustrate their five awakenings to a new life. I’ve heard sermons on this parable many times and they have each driven home different messages, but I have to say I really do love the way the Fergusons' used Jesus’ teaching in book. Dave and Jon also did an amazing job with allegories - telling stories from other people to illustrate their points. The stories of real (at least I think real) people helped to bring this parable to life and make it applicable to today.
I do have to admit that I wasn’t completely on board with the first two chapters. I found myself questioning some of their statements. At one point I wrote, “I always thought God searched for us, not us searching for God.” I also cringed at this statement: “If that sounds good to you, let me assure you that finding your way back to God is possible. But I won’t lie to you. There is no guarantee. It can go either way.” I may have been meant to have a reaction to that and it was also stated before the introduction to the parable, so I really could not see where they were going with that statement.
I am happy to say that after the second chapter I was in complete agreement with their writing. This book not only helps new believers with understanding who God is, but brings so much hope. I opted out of the 30-day wager that is included in the book because as I said before I didn’t really think this book was going to apply to me. Dave and Jon proved me wrong, though, and I found my self even sharing quotes on Facebook. I actually have plans to lend this book out already, but am praying I get it back because I can see myself referencing it for years to come.
I look forward to seeing how this book helps others. I was very excited to see there was also a bible study (with DVD) to accompany this book and trust me it will be at the top of my list if I am ever in the position to lead new or recommitted believers.
To find out more information on this book: more info
To find out more about Dave and Jon Ferguson: author bio
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
April 13, 2016
This book has the potential to change your life and the lives of others you know!
Each of us spends our lives on a journey toward God. Yet often our most deeply felt longings-for meaning, for love, for significance-end up leading us away from, instead of toward, our Creator and the person he made us to be.
Finding Your Way Back to God shows you how to understand and listen to the longings in a whole new way. It’s about waking up to who you really are and daring to believe that God wants to be found even more than you want to find him. It’s about making the biggest wager of your life as you ask God to make himself known to you. And it’s about watching what happens next.
“Finding Your Way Back to God” by Dave Ferguson & Jon Ferguson, has the potential to change your life and the lives of others you know! This book is a great resource and very impactful. As a pastor who is on my continuing journey of finding my way back to God, I never get tired of seeing and hearing stories of people finding their way back to God. Ferguson tells several real life stories of this happening in people’s lives time and time again. Each time it’s hard not to get emotional about a God who loves us this much and the grace He freely extends to us.
The book reminds me a bit of Tim Keller’s “Prodigal God” book combined with C.S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity” but written in a manner that is more accessible and easy to read. I hungrily read through most of the book in one evening excited to hear more and more of God’s work in our lives.
IT’S STRANGE HOW PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF FORGETTING WHO THEY ARE.(P.9)
Ferguson takes the reader through 5 “awakening” as he calls them based on the story of the “prodigal son” in Luke 15. Regardless of where you are with God, this story will resonate with you deeply. It is your story. My story. It is all our stories.
Read full review here: https://joemcfadden.org/2016/04/13/fi...
Each of us spends our lives on a journey toward God. Yet often our most deeply felt longings-for meaning, for love, for significance-end up leading us away from, instead of toward, our Creator and the person he made us to be.
Finding Your Way Back to God shows you how to understand and listen to the longings in a whole new way. It’s about waking up to who you really are and daring to believe that God wants to be found even more than you want to find him. It’s about making the biggest wager of your life as you ask God to make himself known to you. And it’s about watching what happens next.
“Finding Your Way Back to God” by Dave Ferguson & Jon Ferguson, has the potential to change your life and the lives of others you know! This book is a great resource and very impactful. As a pastor who is on my continuing journey of finding my way back to God, I never get tired of seeing and hearing stories of people finding their way back to God. Ferguson tells several real life stories of this happening in people’s lives time and time again. Each time it’s hard not to get emotional about a God who loves us this much and the grace He freely extends to us.
The book reminds me a bit of Tim Keller’s “Prodigal God” book combined with C.S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity” but written in a manner that is more accessible and easy to read. I hungrily read through most of the book in one evening excited to hear more and more of God’s work in our lives.
IT’S STRANGE HOW PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF FORGETTING WHO THEY ARE.(P.9)
Ferguson takes the reader through 5 “awakening” as he calls them based on the story of the “prodigal son” in Luke 15. Regardless of where you are with God, this story will resonate with you deeply. It is your story. My story. It is all our stories.
Read full review here: https://joemcfadden.org/2016/04/13/fi...
May 18, 2015
I read Finding Your Way Back to God: Five Awakenings to Your New Life, in exchange for honest review from Blogging for Books. The book was written by Dave and Jon Ferguson. The book is Christian-based. I received a hard copy book and a kindle copy.
The book is about finding your way back to God, no matter what you have been through. We all have gone through and are going through something. Sometimes God gets pushed to the backburner and we have to focus on him again.
This is definitely a book to read slow because it's so powerful. One of the first things the book recommends is to ask God to make himself real to you. This is repeated throughout the book. God, if you are real, make yourself real to me..
The book focuses on 5 awakenings to get back to God. The awakenings include:
Longing
Regret
Help
Love
Life
For example, I need an awakening to longing or There's got to be more. There has got to be more than living at home with relatives. More than changing diapers and depends. More than daily meltdowns and temper tantrums. More than waking up early every day of the week.
March 25, 2016
An excellent book for the most part. Dave and Jon Ferguson focus on the parable of the Prodigal Son under five headings or 'awakenings' - the Awakening to Longing, to Regret, to Help, to Love, and to Life. Also running through the book is the idea of the Thirty Day Wager: the daily prayer 'God, if you are real, make yourself real to me'.
The five sections of the book each include several chapters built around the theme of the five awakenings. But there are also daily resources - a question to ponder, guidelines for journaling, and a prayer based on variations on the wager. I understand there are also DVD resources available.
The book is enriched by many stories of people who have experienced God's help in their lives. Refreshingly, not all of the stories have happy endings (a couple of the cancer patients died, for example). The book is also permeated throughout by a sense of God's grace - reaching out to people in their brokenness and failure with the opportunity for a fresh start.
I think this would make a fine resource for people who are not yet believers, and also for Christians who long for a deeper sense of God's presence in their lives.
The five sections of the book each include several chapters built around the theme of the five awakenings. But there are also daily resources - a question to ponder, guidelines for journaling, and a prayer based on variations on the wager. I understand there are also DVD resources available.
The book is enriched by many stories of people who have experienced God's help in their lives. Refreshingly, not all of the stories have happy endings (a couple of the cancer patients died, for example). The book is also permeated throughout by a sense of God's grace - reaching out to people in their brokenness and failure with the opportunity for a fresh start.
I think this would make a fine resource for people who are not yet believers, and also for Christians who long for a deeper sense of God's presence in their lives.
March 16, 2015
God doesn’t let go of us. He wants us to ask the hard questions, to live in the world he has created and to explore and admire his creation. He made it, good and bad. When we lack understanding it is our job to search it out, to ask hard questions, and to seek his guidance.
*Family Christian sent me Dave and Jon Ferguson’s new book Finding Your Way Back to God for an honest and fair review.
This book is a collection of people’s stories, some like mine, who struggled with intertwining their life experiences with their theology. It is framed around the parable of the Prodigal Son. Throughout the book you will find a challenge and a prayer, “God, if you are real, make yourself real to me.” It is such a simple prayer with so much behind it. It’s not about where you are now, where you have been, it’s about answering that one question that has plagued mankind since creation.
Read my full review and enter for a $25 Gift Certificate from Family Christian at http://www.hopengriffin.com/losing-fa...
*Family Christian sent me Dave and Jon Ferguson’s new book Finding Your Way Back to God for an honest and fair review.
This book is a collection of people’s stories, some like mine, who struggled with intertwining their life experiences with their theology. It is framed around the parable of the Prodigal Son. Throughout the book you will find a challenge and a prayer, “God, if you are real, make yourself real to me.” It is such a simple prayer with so much behind it. It’s not about where you are now, where you have been, it’s about answering that one question that has plagued mankind since creation.
Read my full review and enter for a $25 Gift Certificate from Family Christian at http://www.hopengriffin.com/losing-fa...
January 22, 2017
Read this book to consider using it for a sermon series/connection group series in the fall. I don't love the title (ultimately God finds us, we don't find God), but I really appreciate the way that Ferguson unfolds the parable of the Prodigal Son in this five week series.
The five weeks do a great job of unfolding a natural progression of questions for those who are engaging spiritual questions for the first time and allows a great flow to the group. The sessions go like this:
1) Awakening to longing
2) Awakening to regret
3) Awakening to help
4) Awakening to love
5) Awakening to life.
Ferguson's biggest strength in the book is ability to ask good questions. That is such an underrated quality in books aimed at small groups. All too often even when books have great content, they lack the ability to ask questions that really engage and pull in people into the conversation.
My hope is that we will be able to walk through a series based on the book. Pairing this with Keller's "Prodigal God" seems like a perfect pairing.
The five weeks do a great job of unfolding a natural progression of questions for those who are engaging spiritual questions for the first time and allows a great flow to the group. The sessions go like this:
1) Awakening to longing
2) Awakening to regret
3) Awakening to help
4) Awakening to love
5) Awakening to life.
Ferguson's biggest strength in the book is ability to ask good questions. That is such an underrated quality in books aimed at small groups. All too often even when books have great content, they lack the ability to ask questions that really engage and pull in people into the conversation.
My hope is that we will be able to walk through a series based on the book. Pairing this with Keller's "Prodigal God" seems like a perfect pairing.
November 6, 2015
It's a valuable read for a new Christian seeking to grow their relationship with God. I would not have chosen to read this book on my own. There are many more books that I could be reading that would help my relationship with God but I read this one because it was a church alignment choice and my small group used it to open communication each week. I found it general for believers who are at the start of finding their way back to God rather than believers who are already on fire and putting God first in their lives and serving in ministry for over 10 years.
March 2, 2016
There were some good points regarding our relationship with God and what the potential is to grow that relationship. There were a lot of personal stories, which can make it easier to understand concepts but I was distracted from what the true concept of each chapter was by the quantity of stories. I would not describe this book as succinct.
February 24, 2015
Great book for those who are new in the faith, seeking a relationship with God, or trying to return to Him.
November 25, 2015
Great book by my pastor and his brother. They didn't disappoint. Filled with love and nonjudgmental Christian wisdom that's great for believers and non believers alike.
July 30, 2015
It's a great book if you're the one searching & if you are someone who needs reminded of why we should be someone else's tour guide towards God
June 15, 2016
This book starts out great with stories from people sharing their expounded but rapidly declines as the stories are not as frequent. Overall a good book but it was hard to finish.
May 5, 2016
Excellent messages included for those who have lost their way in the faith, and need some guidance to find their way home. Based on the parable of the Prodigal Son.
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