James Bryan Smith has 6 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 4 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.2★ across 13 ratings. The most-rated is The Good and Beautiful God.
The Good and Beautiful God
Summary
"God wants me to try harder." "God blesses me when I'm good and punishes me when I'm bad." "God is angry with me." We all have ideas that we tell ourselves about God and how he works in our lives. Some are true--but many are false. James Bryan Smith believes those thoughts determine not only who we are, but how we live. In fact, Smith declares, the most important thing about a person is what they think about God. The path to spiritual transformation begins here. Turning to the Gospels, Smith invites you to put your ideas to the test to see if they match up with what Jesus himself reveals about God. Once you've discovered the truth in Scripture, Smith leads you through a process of spiritual formation that includes specific activities aimed at making these new narratives real in your body and soul as well as your mind. At the end of each chapter you'll find an opportunity for soul training, engaging in spiritual practices that reinforce the biblical messages on your mind and heart. Because the best way to make a complete and lasting change is to go through the material in community, small group discussion questions also accompany each chapter. Those who are leading apprentice groups will also find additional help and opportunities to interact with other leaders at the Apprentice website. This deep, loving and transformative book will help you discover the narratives that Jesus lived by--to know the Lord he knew and the kingdom he proclaimed--and to practice spiritual exercises that will help you grow in the knowledge of our good and beautiful God.
©2009 James Bryan Smith (P)2010 christianaudio.com
The Good and Beautiful Community
Summary
In this third book in the Apprentice Series, James Bryan Smith helps us know how to live in relationship with others as apprentices of Jesus. "Apprentices of Jesus are not part-time do-gooders," he writes. "They live in continuous contact with the kingdom of God, and are constantly men and women in whom Christ dwells. They do not sometimes tell the truth, sometimes live sacrificially or sometimes forgive. There are myriad opportunities for us to impact the world in which we live." Yet many times we've gotten it wrong, tending to emphasize personal faith over social justice or vice versa. In these pages Jim Smith shows us how to bring spiritual formation and community engagement together, and then once again offers spiritual practices that root new, true narratives about God and the world in our souls. His insight and humility as a fellow learner with us will lead us to live in authentic ways as a good and beautiful community of Christ-followers, shining the light of the Spirit into every relationship.
©2013 eChristian (P)2013 eChristian
The Good and Beautiful Life
Summary
"I have never met a person whose goal was to ruin his or her life. We all want to be happy, and we want it all of the time." So begins James Bryan Smith in The Good and Beautiful Life. The problem is, he tells us, we have bought into false notions of happiness and success. These self-centered decisions lead us further into the vices that cause ruin: anger, lust, lying, worry, and judging. Eventually, we find ourselves living a beautifully packaged life of self-destruction. Following the Sermon on the Mount, this follow-up to The Good and Beautiful God guides us to look behind these character flaws and to replace our false beliefs with Jesus' narratives about life in the kingdom of God.
©2010 James Bryan Smith (P)2010 christianaudio.com
The Magnificent Story
Summary
We are story-making people. We love reading stories - and we love hearing the personal stories of others. We need stories, or narratives, to make sense of our world. And those stories shape our lives. What is the story you have been told about the Gospel? About God? About the Christian life? About Jesus? About the cross? About yourself? About heaven? Your answers to these questions will form a story that will determine how your life will go. The answers reveal your ability to trust, to love, to hope - and even your capacity for joy. Any story worth giving the power to shape our lives must pass a simple test: Is it beautiful, good, and true? If it is, then it is a magnificent story - and that is where transformation takes place. From James Bryan Smith, author of the best-selling book Good and Beautiful God, comes this spiritual formation resource meant to help both individuals and groups understand the Magnificent Story of Christ in their lives. Soon to be followed by The Magnificent Journey: Living Deep in the Kingdom (fall 2018) and The Magnificent Mission: Called and Sent by the Storyteller (fall 2019), the field-tested material within includes spiritual practices at the end of each chapter. Uncover the true story of beauty, goodness, and truth that will satisfy the ultimate longings of your heart.
©2017 eChristian (P)2017 eChristian
Hidden in Christ
Summary
Words are powerful. They contain ideas and shape the way we see God, ourselves and all of reality. We're transformed, in particular, by God's Word, and by "the Word", the Logos - Jesus himself - as described by John in the first chapter of his Gospel. Memorizing and studying a passage in depth can offer a deeper sense of the meaning of each word. In this unique introduction to the hidden life in Christ, James Bryan Smith walks listeners through a 30-day immersion in Colossians 3:1-17. Each of the 30 short chapters of this audiobook bring out the main truth of just one word or phrase of this rich passage. You'll also find a very simple daily practice to take up, reflection questions, and a guide for five weeks of group discussion. The only way to tell a story is to use words. May the words of Colossians 3 become a companion to you as God continues to write your story.
©2013 James Bryan Smith (P)2014 Audible Inc.
A Room of Marvels
Summary
Three deaths in three years. His mother. His best friend. And now, his two-year-old daughter. In this moving story, a Christian author goes to a retreat center to grieve and face the hard questions about God that he is asking in the wake of these losses. If you have ever felt alone, betrayed, abandoned - if you have found yourself asking God why - this novel may be a source of hope. And if you have ever wondered what heaven is like, this book provides a beautiful vision. A Room of Marvels is a masterful, dreamlike tale that speaks to the eternal in the midst of our most painful earthly losses. This expanded edition of the beloved book has a new afterword from James Bryan Smith. Finding your room of marvels will give you reason to live. Again.
©2007 James Bryan Smith (P)2020 eChristian