"The Hebrew prophets were truth-tellers, called to proclaim God's word to the people of their own generations. In this book of sermons Alex Gondola is a truth-teller, carrying on the prophetic tradition by bringing the penetrating message of the Minor Prophets to bear on our twenty-first-century American context. Through the author's use of paraphrase, the telling of stories and his own pastoral interpretation, God's judging and redeeming word spoken by the prophets comes alive in these sermons and challenges us to be bearers of justice and righteousness in our own time and culture. I highly recommend this book of sermons for reading and reflection.
"Rev. Dr. Steve Rettenmayer
Faculty Member of the Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies
A student and teacher of the word for nearly four decades, Alex Gondola provides a rare glimpse into the lives of the minor prophets, reminding us of God's consistent commands of love, justice, and repentance. As Gondola uncovers the words of the minor prophets, he carefully shows us how to connect their prophetic ministries to our modern lives. "If God measured our home life against the plumb line of God's word, would God find us wanting -- wanting more of the acceptance, tolerance, and patience we are supposed to give?" This is the question Gondola comes back to again and again throughout his examination of the minor prophets, and as we travel back in time with him throughout this lectionary, we begin to understand that the words of the minor prophets hold profound influence toward shaping us as Christ-followers.
"God's Plumb Line: Preaching from the Not-So-Minor-Prophets" is a portal filled with insight and challenge, reminding us to "drink so deeply at the well of worship that justice rolls down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." Also included for each chapter are hymn suggestions, children's lesson suggestions, discussion questions, and an Annotated Bibliography.
Alex A. Gondola Jr. served as an Associate Pastor, Pastor, and Senior Pastor in United Church of Christ congregations since 1975. He retired in 2011 and currently is Interim Pastor at the First Congregational Church (United Church of Christ) in Milford, New Hampshire. A graduate of Allegheny College (B.A.), Andover Newton Theological School (M.Div.), and Colgate Rochester Divinity School (D.Min.), Gondola also has studied at Hartford Seminary and The New College of Divinity of the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). He is the author of "Come As You Are," "Don't Forget The Child," "Holidays Are Holy Days," "Pray Like This..." (CSS), and numerous articles. He also contributed seven stewardship sermons to the CSS anthology "From Every Angle."