The Mockingbird Devotional: Good News for Today

by Ethan Richardson (Editor), Sean Norris (Editor)

As long as it has been available, people have turned to the Bible to address the problems and anxieties of everyday life. We look to it for comfort in the midst of suffering, clarity in times of confusion, or simply to learn about God. Thankfully, what we find in its pages is not a collection of rules or demands but a message of unbending honesty and unspeakable compassion: the gospel of Jesus Christ. With humor and heart (and a surprising number of disco and B-movie references) the 365 short devotions in The Mockingbird Devotional carry the good news of God's mercy and forgiveness to the inner-rooms of human reality.

Genres: Christian, Devotional

470 pages, Hardcover

First published April 12, 2013

About the author

Ethan Richardson is a contributing staff member for the ministry Mockingbird and editor of their quarterly magazine "The Mockingbird." A graduate of the University of Virginia, he finished two years of teaching 5th grade in the inner city of New Orleans, and now lives in Charlottesville, VA and works for Mockingbird along with serving at Christ Episcopal Church.

Reviews

[fpk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favorite devotional of all time.

[Michael Heidle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This really is a great devotional and I do highly recommend it! The only reason it’s not my top pick for the year is another devotional that’s one of the top three I’ve read in my life—very consistent Gospel! The is a real Everyman devotional that has some of the most fascinating devotions, you’ll love it! And the Gospel message really shines in most of the devotions—most but not all. It is absolutely worth reading and you will be blessed so much more than most other devotions (it just couldn’t math my top read devotional this year); it’s still a five star devotional. It it a collection by various authors and I am truly interested in reading more of what they have written.

[Kyle Dupic · Rating 5 out of 5]

1A & 1B right with Tullian Tchividjian's devotional. The advantage this one had was that it was from multiple authors, offering the "same old song" of God's grace, but from different people. For that reason, this one closely nudges Tullian's devotional for the best I've ever read.

[Todd Wilhelm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best daily devotional book I have read.

[Jennifer Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good, standard devotional. It’s written by a bunch of different writers so some are better than others. It goes through different excerpts of the Bible and it has a nice rhythm to it.

[Doug Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the best devotional I've ever read. This is a daily exposure to the gospel that is saturated with peace and freedom and hope. It never shies away from the reality of our sin, our failures, our insecurities, and the darkness of our world, and yet each day this devotional uses a few verses of scripture and a short perspective on that scripture (from a variety of writers) to encourage and bring joy. Jesus has overcome the world and has saved us even though we in no way deserve it.

From the Introduction:

"This honesty about a self and a world gone 'dreadfully wrong' is merely the starting point of Christian hope. The rest of the story, that 'news from across the sea,' rests upon the cross of Christ, in the good news of his death and resurrection. While God's Law classifies the human heart as a criminal and castaway of the first degree, it is the grace of God in Jesus Christ that frees us from it's verdict."

Go get this book. Right now.