God's Grace from Ground Zero: Seeking God's Heart for the Future of Our World [Paperback]

Jim Cymbala (Author), Stephen Sorenson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2001

In the face of unspeakable tragedy, God is reaching out to the heart of a grieving city, to the people of a wounded nation, and to a world that fears what the future may hold. Cymbala urges us that in the midst of our grief, our fear, and our lack of answers for things that make no sense, it is time to worship God with all our hearts and trust him like never before.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his most stridently evangelical book yet, Cymbala (Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire; Fresh Faith; etc.) examines the nation's mood after September 11 and declares that it is now "harvest time" for Christians. After the terrorist attacks, Cymbala says, Americans are more open to spirituality and especially to the message of Christianity. Americans are now "conscious of their vulnerability and need," an awakening evidenced by the overflowing pews at the Brooklyn Tabernacle that Cymbala pastors. While not all readers will agree with the zealous evangelical spirit that drives this book, they will be touched by its stories, particularly the tales of the four Brooklyn Tabernacle church members who were killed in the attack on the World Trade Center, and the chilling account of another member who got out of the building in the nick of time. Cymbala criticizes the response of some unnamed Christians (read: Jerry Falwell) who were quick to place blame and point fingers after the tragedy. He also notes the futility of "analyzing prophecy charts or splitting theological hairs" to try to understand how the attack fits into Christian beliefs about the end of the world. "Jesus clearly said that we will never fully understand prophetic times and seasons," he explains. The more important task for Christians, he says, is to be fully engaged in redeeming the world and its people. This well-written, poignant book will help many evangelical Christians cling to hope in the wake of disaster. (Nov. 16)Forecast: Since January of 1999, Cymbala has had at least one book on the CBA bestseller list at all times, and he has won numerous accolades, including the ECPA Gold Medallion for Book of the Year in 2000 for Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire. Expect strong sales for this title, which has an initial print run of 100,000 copies.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From the Back Cover

Out of the horror of September 11 emerges a startling message of hope. Pastor Jim Cymbala believes that in the face of unspeakable tragedy, God is reaching out to the heart of a grieving city, to the people of a wounded nation, and to a world that fears what the future may hold.

God’s Grace from Ground Zero assures us that God hates the senseless evil that destroyed thousands of lives, and that this is a time when he is pouring out his mercy in a special way. The harvest is ripe, hearts that were closed are open to the gospel, and today, not tomorrow, is when we have the opportunity and responsibility to express Jesus through our words and through our deeds. Now is the time to love our families, our friends, and those around us. Now is the time to trust God and live for him like never before. And now, in the midst of our grief, our fear, and our lack of answers for things that make no sense, is the time to worship God with all our hearts.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan Publishing Company (December 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310236622
• ISBN-13: 978-0310236627
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,867,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Current Events > September 11
  • #83 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Current Events > Terrorism

More About the Author

Jim Cymbala has been the pastor of The Brooklyn Tabernacle for more than twenty-five years. The author of the best-selling titles Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire; Fresh Faith; and Fresh Power, he lives in New York City with his wife, Carol Cymbala, who directs the Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Adequately achieves what it sets out to do, February 21, 2002

By 

J. F Foster - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: God's Grace from Ground Zero: Seeking God's Heart for the Future of Our World (Paperback)

Jim Cymbala draws from personal stories from the Brooklyn Tabernacle, along with a number of his own life experiences, in seeking to demonstrate God's grace in the midst of 9/11. While this book is far from a comprehensive Christian response to the events of 9/11, it mostly succeeds in painting an inspirational portrait of God and how He has been working throughout New York City and the nation, and also within the halls of Brooklyn Tabernacle in the wake of the tragedy.

Various portions of this book read like a powerful sermon, which makes sense given that Cymbala is a pastor. In particular, his discourse on persevering in Christ today by drawing upon various Biblical examples such as the life of Paul or the Hebrew enslavement in Egypt are especially moving and inspiring. Cymbala also takes a bold stance against what he calls 'make believe prophets' who tried to affix earthly and mostly ideologically based reasons and/or judgments to the attacks.

The book is not quite as good as it could have been for at least one reason. Cymbala could (and should) have gone farther in providing tangible reasons for folks to trust God even in the midst of tragedies that are not entirely understandable. He does touch on this, and attempts to demonstrate God's faithfulness in working through great tragedy by pointing to a couple of specific things in history, but this section could have been elaborated on in much greater length to show the reader that God has turned tragedy into victory over and over again, and that this gives us very reasonable and tangible reasons to trust God to do the same thing now. Instead, Cymbala deemphasizes this and stresses more of a 'trust God because we know God is good' approach without really supporting this assertion adequately for those who may not consider this view to be a given.

But with this exception, I think this book is good for conveying a sense of God's grace, how we need to be responding to it, how others have already responded to it, and how we can continue to have joy and hope even in the midst of great sorrow and tragedy by focusing on an eternal perspective. This book is short and not very deep, but there are many good truths that are conveyed in it, along with powerful personal stories that are very authentic, and that makes it worth reading.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoughts on 9/11 from the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, January 24, 2002

By 

Soozie4Him (Chicago suburbs) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: God's Grace from Ground Zero: Seeking God's Heart for the Future of Our World (Paperback)

This book came out only 3 months after the tragic events of September 11th. The Brooklyn Tabernacle is close to the WTC and people came by the Brooklyn Tabernacle as they dazedly walked away from the ruins at ground zero. The church quickly mobilized to offer passersby cups of water, spiritual comfort, a place to worship and pray, etc.

At the beginning of the book, Pastor Jim Cymbala tells how he couldn't sleep that Monday night, 9-10-01. This was unusual for him and there seemed to be no physical reason for this. As he lay in bed, this verse came to mind - Proverbs 10:5:

"He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son." After hours of reflecting on this verse, Jim came to the conclusion that it's harvest time in New York City and he must find a wsay to reach its people for Christ.

This book tells stories of Brooklyn Tabernacle attenders who lost people in the WTC and people who were miraculously spared. Jim Cymbala describes this whole event as a wake-up call to our nation.

This book is a must-read if you've read any of Jim Cymbala's other books.

Please check out my reviews of other Christians books!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Freshness at stake, August 6, 2002

By 

JCB Paris "christianjcb" (Paris, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God's Grace from Ground Zero: Seeking God's Heart for the Future of Our World (Paperback)

I have a great respect for Pastor Cymbala. I believe that he is a great preacher, annointed and full of God's grace. I heard him several times and have been blessed by his sermons. However, I have read several of his books and frankly I am starting to be a little disappointed. "Fresh Wind Fresh Fire" was a great book on the power of prayer but since then, Cymbala's books seem to be a little redundant in their styles. The Brooklyn Tab's illustrations are similar and Cymbala's message is too. The "Freshness" of his first book and rightly so best-seller is fading. This book addresses a vague theodicy of 9-11 and the testimonies, while touching, have less impact today than soon after. While I did not enjoy this book too much, I still think that this book would be good for someone who never read Cymbala before.