I want to invite you to read a book with me and take a deeper look at why Jesus came to die.  Over the course of 50 days I will be reading a 127 page book (not exactly an overwhelming task).  In the process I will be blogging my response to what I have read each day and posting it here.  You are invited to participate.  Read along in the book, read my comments and share some of your own.

We will be starting on Easter Sunday.  Below is the scoop on the book, why I chose Easter, where you can get a copy of the book, and the schedule so we can read along together.

A few years ago John Piper wrote a book entitled, Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die.  Each chapter is approximately 2 pages in length and covers one of the fifty reasons.  I must warn you that though the chapters are brief, they are not always easy to process.  I have found in the past that reading one brief two-page chapter a day helps me to process the content of each chapter before moving to the next.

Easter is the time where we celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and Pentecost is the time we celebrate when the Holy Spirit came and empowered the followers of Jesus to bear witness to his death, burial and resurrection.  Coincidentally (or not so coincidentally) there are 50 days between Easter and Pentecost.  This provides a great time to read Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die and meditate on the reasons Christ’s death (and resurrection) were necessary.

I will read a chapter a day according to the schedule and posting my response here on this blog.  I want to invite you along on the journey and share your thoughts here as well.  You will need to obtain your own copy of the book.  If you live in the Pensacola area I have several extra copies (for free) that are available on a first come, first serve basis.  You will need to e-mail me at 311517@gmail.com to reserve a book.  If you live outside of the Pensacola area you can purchase the book in several places including Amazon.com ($9.99) and DesiringGod.org ($6.49).  Desiring God also has a PDF copy available online for free.

If you plan to follow along, please let me know either via e-mail or a comment on this post so I will be able to pray for you as we read along.

The following is a PDF of my schedule for reading: 50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die – Reading Guide.