Bible Questions and Spiritual Discussion

Starting a book discussion
Hi everyone. I’ve been talking with a few other listeners, and we’ve decided to try a book discussion here in the forums. We’d also like to invite you to join along if you would like. The book we’re going to read is “Glorious Ruin: How Suffering Sets You Free” by Tullian Tchividjian. The book talks about how suffering points us to Jesus, and discusses some parts of Job.
The plan is to start a new thread for a chapter each week, with the first chapter (and intro) being posted on February 9th. I’ll start the thread each Sunday with some questions or quotes to motivate the discussion, but we certainly don’t need to be limited to that. Feel free to reply anytime that week or even after; there’s no need to stop a good discussion just because the next thread starts.
If you’re interested in joining or have a question, drop a reply.
Cheers,
Jacob
Ruin Explorer 01/20/2014 16:35

Replies:
rae 01/26/2014 21:26
I'm so excited! Can't wait to get started! :)
Douglas 01/28/2014 18:13
Looking forward to it. Will try to contribute what I can.
chioreo 01/28/2014 20:26
I second Doug's statement :)
Sharilynh 01/29/2014 22:12
I would be interested as I have the book, but have not actually read it yet.
Ray 02/05/2014 15:00
Jacob,

Could you comment on the "ruin" in your user name? Does it relate to the book title in some way? I'm considering following you here, but I'm overworked and wonder if I can add another book to the load. It does look very good from the amazon cover.

TIA
Ruin Explorer 02/06/2014 20:33
Hey all, thanks for showing your interest! I'm looking forward to starting.

Ray, of course I can say something about my username. Back in 2009, I went through a terrible break up with my then girlfriend. She had been cheating on me with a friend, and I felt utterly betrayed. It was my worst fear come to life, and it has been the most painful thing I've gone through. But I lived, and with God I began trying to understand how things went so wrong. I began 'exploring the ruins' of my life, my relationship, and my dreams. Through it, I've come to a deeper understanding of God's love, such as still loving those who betrayed me and being able to forgive them. (I also like exploring physical ruins, like forts, canal locks, and ghost towns. So the name dovetails nicely.)

While the Ruin Explorer name isn't influenced by the book, it is the reason that the book jumped out at me. It's was like the book had my name on it, literally. I just finished reading through it for the first time (so that I can better guide the discussions), and I very much felt it relate to the suffering that I went through. In that sense, they do relate, but not intentionally by myself or the author. (Probably intentionally by God, though.)

Don't worry about joining us of it's too much to handle. I'm sure the forum pages will still be around later if you pick up the book sometime in the future. You can also contact me then if you're looking for someone to talk about it with. (I think there's a way to do that on the site.)

Everyone - I will post sometime on Sunday!
rae 02/08/2014 08:52
Ruin, are we talking about ch 1 this week or the intro?
Ruin Explorer 02/09/2014 18:42
It's chapter 1 and the intro, but really just chapter 1. I weekly thread is up.