Review: As Kingfishers Catch Fire: A Conversation on the Ways of God Formed by the Words of God

As Kingfishers Catch Fire: A Conversation on the Ways of God Formed by the Words of God by Eugene H. Peterson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First off, even though I own another book or two by Peterson, this is the first one that I've actually been able to read for a little bit so far in my life. Right off the get go I'll admit that this book wasn't quite what I expected, though that might not necessarily be a bad thing.

"As Kingfishers Catch Fire" is not so much a 'BOOK' as a collection of sermons that Peterson has preached over the many years of faithful service in the ministry. While that wasn't what I was expecting when I requested to read this book, it did turn out to prove useful as a devotional type book.

If you're looking to read this book from cover to cover in a sitting or two, you might be able to do it, but I certainly was not. It's rather lengthy (since it contains numerous teachings from such a long ministry). On top of that there are many parts that I encountered that were a little 'weird' to read, though probably wouldn't be if it were preached or taught audibly (someone who tells you different modalities don't matter, I would argue doesn't quite know what they're talking about, haha).

If you are looking for a fantastic book to use as a daily devotional or as a daily personal time book, then I would strongly recommend that you at least CONSIDER looking at this one. He also conveniently divides the book up into various 'eras' of the Bible, i.e. the various parts include a part on Moses, David, Isaiah, Solomon, Peter, Paul, and John. One of the things that I really love about Peterson's book for this purpose, is the fact that he is very purposeful at pairing passages from the Old Testament with the New Testament in his sections dealing with Moses, David, Isaiah, and Solomon (as an Old Testament guy with a New Testament degree, that excited me).

Other than as a devotional, it's still a decent read, but not one that I would necessarily move up to the top of my 'to-read' list.

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