King’s Cross

King’s Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus is a great book Tim Keller wrote based on his sermon series on the gospel of Mark.  As in his other books, Keller combined an in-depth study of scripture with insightful applications that expose common cultural blindspots and make familiar Bible passages seem new.

Since this book is based on a sermon series, it works well for reading in small doses but has enough narrative flow to read in longer sessions as well.  Although it doesn’t have the question and answer format of a Biblestudy book, it is a passage-by-passage exposition of Mark, so I used it as part of my personal study.  I think it would work with a group as well.

One of the many topics that resonated with me in the book was Keller’s discussion of how Jesus addressed identity.  With examples like the behavior and attitudes of the rich young ruler, the Pharisees, and the disciples, among others, Keller writes about how we all battle a sense of our own inconsequentiality, and a need to find our identity, and how a Christian response to those needs is different from the response our culture (and other cultures around the world and in different eras).

I’d recommend King’s Cross, and really any of Keller’s other books–he is an engaging and convicting writer with a strong biblical focus and a particularly strong ability to make relevant applications.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.