Stu Garrard - Words from the Hill: An Invitation to the Unexpected

Someone once introduced President Jimmy Carter as a man who used the White House as a stepping-stone to do great things with his life. Stu G has done the same, using his career as an award-winning rock star as a stepping-stone to do great things with his life. Theres no message more important for the contemporary world than the words of Jesus, the red letters in the Bible. Stu dives into the heart of those red letters in this book on the Beatitudes. I know that his words will move the world just as his music has. Im honored to call him a friend.

SHANE CLAIBORNE

Author, activist, and recovering sinner

One Sunday night this fall, Stu sat in our kitchen, and instead of playing his own songs, he played songs from men and women he had befriended in his travels. Instead of telling his own stories, he told the stories of people whod been abused, forgotten, marginalized. Stu is a man who is using his voice to lift people up, who is using his talent to draw out the talent of others, who is using his influence to tell a story of hope. This book is story after story of hope, and I cant think of a more timely message or a more generous and wise messenger.

SHAUNA NIEQUIST

New York Times bestselling author

In Words from the Hill we have Stu Gs unique exploration and application of Christs Sermon on the Mount. Its a reflective, disruptive memoir, beautiful and quietly incendiary a book well written by a life well lived.

PETE GREIG

Author of Dirty Glory: Go Where Your Best Prayers Take You and founder of 24-7 Prayer

Ive loved watching Stu explore the Beatitudes in the writing of this book, making friends and discovering their stories along the way. Stus honesty and compassion have helped me hear these well-known words of Jesus in a whole new light as announcements of kindness, mercy, peace, and his presence for us all. You will love it!

AMY GRANT

Singer, songwriter, and author of Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far

Stu G has successfully penned a book on the Beatitudes that is teeming with wisdom, heart, and practical insights. Never has the world felt more riven and ready for this fresh take on Jesus Sermon on the Mount. Blessed are those who read this divinely timed book.

IAN MORGAN CRON

Bestselling author of Chasing Francis: A Pilgrims Tale and The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery

Think you know all you need to know about the Beatitudes? Think again. Enter this book with holy curiosity, and youll discover stories that will change your life stories of ordinary people who chose to collude with the power of love and experienced the blessed presence of God in ways they never imagined. I love this book!

LYNNE HYBELS

Advocate for Global Engagement, Willow Creek Community Church, and author of Nice Girls Dont Change the World

For a brokenhearted world comes the unexpected, upside-down announcement that God is on your side, writes Stu G in this remarkable manifesto of hope. Words from the Hill offers life-saving food for starving people. Here is the good news that Stu carves onto every page: God is always available to us and is fully present in the ache, the lack, the not-yet-ness of life.

STEVE WIENS

Author of Beginnings: The First Seven Days of the Rest of Your Life

Stus honest and poetic voice gives new life to some of the oldest truths in the world. I am grateful that he has used his gifts to promote loves healing power through the lenses of the Beatitudes. His book teaches us how to walk more gracefully in this harsh world.

BECCA STEVENS

Founder and president of Thistle Farms and 2016 CNN Hero

With clarity and compassion, Stu takes us on a journey into Gods upside-down world. Dont read this unless you are ready to be wrecked for everything God loves.

GABE LYONS

Author of Good Faith: Being a Christian When Society Thinks Youre Irrelevant and Extreme with David Kinnaman and founder of Q Ideas

When Jesus spoke the eight simple lines that we call the Beatitudes, he offered his listeners an alternate way to look at life, a different way to experience God. Stu Garrard invites us into a beautifully written, unfolding story to explore this unexpected way of living with God. He introduces us to people from the bright lights of the rich and famous to the shadows of death row who have each encountered this surprising transformation. I highly recommend Words from the Hill for those ready to join this journey.

TIM DAY

Author of God Enters Stage Left

Stu G writes like he plays. He weaves the new with the old, the passionate with the vulnerable. Words from the Hill is an honest, beautiful book from a man who paints with his fingers the stories that his heart perceives.

CRAIG BORLASE

Author of Fleeing ISIS, Finding Jesus: The Real Story of God at Work with Charles Morris, 10,000 Reasons: Stories of Faith, Hope, and Thankfulness Inspired by the Worship Anthem with Matt Redman, and Finding Gobi: A Little Dog with a Very Big Heart with Dion Leonard

I can think of no one better to craft a story as in-depth as this one. Mark and I have known and loved Stu G and his family for many years. His approach to life has always been thought-provoking, creative, and generous, with a hunger for truth and a passion to continually communicate the pure gospel through the arts. Here he explores the Beatitudes in all their depth and raw truth. I know this book and these songs will challenge and inspire you to find the unexpected blessings in the announcements of Jesus.

DARLENE ZSCHECH

Worship leader and singer-songwriter

Of all of Christs teachings, few feel as timely and desperately needed today as the Beatitudes. Stu G has been courageously immersing himself in this deep stream for years. With keen insights, fresh language, heart-stretching stories, and the stunning melodies of an accompanying album, Words from the Hill is a unique and uniquely important invitation into the Way of Jesus.

AARON NIEQUIST

Worship leader and curator of The Practice and A New Liturgy

In Words from the Hill: An Invitation to the Unexpected, Stu Garrard captures the surprising and challenging call of the Beatitudes. Through inspiring artistry and compelling storytelling, Stu brings fresh eyes to this ancient text. What is particularly apparent is that Stus own heart has been awakened to the beauty and confrontation of the words of Jesus. As highly involved members of our church, Stu and Karen continue to wrestle with what it means to live out these words right where they live. For years, Stus friends have been telling him to write a book. Read this and find out why.

DARREN WHITEHEAD

Senior pastor of Church of the City and author of Rumors of God with Jon Tyson

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Words from the Hill: An Invitation to the Unexpected