04/04/2022

This spry treatise by pastor Novotny (3 Words That Will Change Your Life) examines pitfalls to faith using Jesus’s parable of the sower, in which a farmer scatters seeds on a path, rocks, thorns, and good soil, with only the lattermost producing crops. The author distills from this story “six threats to your potential as a hearer of God’s Word”—pride, pain, worries, wealth, wants, and not waiting—and offers guidance on how to develop an enduring faith. Novotny suggests that, like the scorching sun beaming onto a plant shallowly rooted in rocky soil, the disapproval of non-Christians can be painful, and he urges readers to establish deep roots for their beliefs, reminding them that “the answer to giving up on God is getting more of God.” Wealth, the author cautions, can distract from one’s spiritual growth and stymie one’s faith just as thorns inhibit the growth of other plants; one might donate money or meditate on Jesus to temper this threat. Novotny’s sense of humor enlivens the theology (“Here’s a report from the Department of the Obvious: God is greater than people”). The result is a winning guide for nurturing Christian belief. (June)