Fred Sievert - Grace Revealed: Finding Gods Strength in Any Crisis

The ultimate measure of Christianity (or any religion) should be whether it helps human beings live meaningful liveseven in the face of tragedy. In Grace Revealed, Fred Sievert has collected nineteen stories of humans from a wide spectrum of society and Christian traditions who have discovered the transforming grace of God in crises. These stories remind us that Gods grace is not principally a theological construct or a lofty sermon, but the reality of God in our livesa reality that helps us live meaningfully, even when we have been devastated by life.

GREGORY E. STERLING, the Reverend Henry L. Slack Dean and the Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament, Yale Divinity School

Freds mission is clearto spend the rest of his life telling people about Gods grace. In this book, Grace Revealed, Fred shares peoples stories of suffering, addiction, abuse, and loss, which prove to be the ultimate opportunity for God to display His incredible gift of mercy and redemption. These stories will inspire you to look at your own life and see just how powerful Gods grace really is!

KEVIN PALAU, president, Luis Palau Association; author of Unlikely: Setting Aside Our Differences to Live out the Gospel

Much hope can be found in the amazing stories of the Bible, but they happened so long ago that it can be difficult to relate to the circumstances and people. God has not stopped creating amazing stories in the lives of those who cry out to Him, but the stories are rarely shared and even more rarely shared in an accessible style and format that can bring hope, healing, and transformation to people in crisis today. Grace Revealed does exactly that. With insightful background on todays struggles, thoughtful reflections, and helpful biblical references, Sievert weaves these amazing contemporary stories of Gods grace into an uplifting and easy-to-read tapestry of hope, healing, and transformation for those struggling with lifes toughest challenges.

PAUL MICHALSKI, founder, Integrous LLC; president, NCS New Canaan (founding chapter of the New Canaan Society)

In Sieverts book, grace is not a theological concept or a religious term. Grace is the mode of Gods presence as experienced and expressed by flesh-and-blood people; it is a reality pulsating with life, bearing as many faces as there are human lives and situations and taking on as many forms as there are sufferings and delights, defeats, and victories. In Grace Revealed, you will hear many grateful voices giving their best to sing their ode to grace.

MIROSLAV VOLF, Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology, Yale Divinity School; founder and director, Yale Center for Faith and Culture

It is common in recommending a new publication to refer to the book as a real page-turner, suggesting that once begun, the reader will not be able to put it down. But because I loved the narratives in Grace Revealed, I occasionally had to put it down. The stories were as painful as they were personal, the revelations as raw as they were revealing. I came to care about these people, and my caring demanded not only my attention but my time. As a pastor, I am in the grace business, believing that good things really do happen when people cry out for it and accept it. I can picture them singing the words of an old Christian hymn, I love to tell the story; It did so much for me. Because it did. And with Freds help, these men and women in crisis have now told their inspiring stories.

WILLIAM A RITTER, pastor emeritus, First United Methodist Church, Birmingham, Michigan

Fred Sievert has made the biblical concepts of grace, forgiveness, and healing come vividly alive through these real-life experiences of people and their journeys from confusion, pain, and despair to hope, joy, and new life. One cannot come away from Grace Revealed untouched by the way God individually and creatively works in peoples lives. Freds ability to incorporate Scripture, commentary, and the opportunity for personal reflection will leave readers feeling both challenged and inspired to find ways in which Gods grace touches them. This book will offer encouragement not only to those of deep faith, but, more importantly, to those who question Gods love and ability to intervene.

REV. REBECCA MINCIELI, senior pastor, John Wesley United Methodist Church, Falmouth, Massachusetts

Are you stumbling under a burden of grief, anxiety, or guilt and wondering if you dare hope in the gospels promise that nothing will be impossible with God? Fred Sieverts inspiring new book will introduce you to scores of folks who have faced crises like yours and found again and again that you cannot fall farther than God can catch you. Are you puzzling over strangely beautiful but ambiguous intimations of consolation and hope and wondering whether to trust these as whispers of Gods assurance or to dismiss them as meaningless daydreams? As you read the testimonies collected here, youll find yourself whispering, Gosh, thats just what happened to me! again and again. This work will be a gift to youth leaders, and group leaders will find this book a wonderful conversation starter for gatherings of all ages. Faithful Christians will value this book as a source of daily devotionals. Spiritual seekers will be deeply grateful for the guidance and company of fellow pilgrims on the way.

SKIP MASBACK, founder and director, Yale Youth Ministry Institute; associate director, Yale Center for Faith and Culture

Once again, Fred Sievert shows us how to take the most defining choices of Christianity seriously. These stories and discussions of strong episodes of ego, forgiveness, redemption, and love trace the arc of authentic seeking. Guidance from biblical sources, psychology, and theology deepens the analysis further.

LAURA NASH, PhD, former faculty member, Harvard Business School and Harvard Divinity School; author of Believers in Business and coauthor of Just Enough: Tools for Lasting Success in Work and Life

Fred Sievert has hit another home run! Grace is Gods unmerited favor, and each of these miraculous stories outlined in Grace Revealed is shining proof of this. With God, anything is possible.

JACK KRASULA, president of Trustinus, LLC; host of Anything Is Possible on News/Talk 760 WJR

This book is a treasure of stirring stories of personal crisis and Christian transformation. Each persons voice is unique yet universalany open-hearted person will find himself or herself in these stories. The book is beautifully structured for group or personal study: smartly organized around common crises, clear questions for group and personal reflection, and suggested Scripture for memorization. I especially recommend this book for those who are self-conscious or even critical of talking about the reality of God in daily life. Talking about Gods activity in ones lifetestimonyis not weird or self-involved. Rather, it is a crucial dimension of real faith. This book shows how testimony honors God, strengthens those in crisis, and helps othersincluding us, the readers.

JOANNE M. SWENSON, ThD, senior minister, Church in the Forest, Greater Pebble Beach, California; founding minister, 12: A Foundation for Small Group Ministry

Fred Sievert is on a mission to demonstrate the grace, mercy, and power of God, and he does a masterful job in this second book of his. I found it thoughtful, emotional, inspiring, motivating, educational, informative, theologically and biblically sound, and presenting enlightening research. Grace Revealed is a powerful and memorable book to which many will relate, providing sound advice to those in pain, who hurt, are helping those who hurt, or want to understand a way to help. When I finished, I sat quietly in awe of the message, what people have endured, and how, with Gods help, they turned their lives around.