Publisher's Description: Picture a broken down house. We've all seen them sagging and dilapidated dwellings that look as if they are in physical pain. You wonder what the house once looked like, who lived in it, and how it got into such a miserable condition. Some of us look at this kind of house and are simply overwhelmed. We quickly move on, not for a moment considering the possibility of restoration. Others of us immediately see potential. We can't wait to get our hands on the mess and restore it to its former beauty. Sin has ravaged the beautiful house that God created. It sits in slumped and disheveled pain, groaning for the restoration that can only be accomplished by the hands of him who built it in the first place.
The good news is that the divine Builder will not relent until everything about his house is made totally new again. The bad news is that you and I are living right in the middle of the restoration process. We live each day in a house that is terribly broken, where nothing works exactly as intended. But Emmanuel lives here as well, and he is at work returning his house to its former beauty.
Often it doesn't look like any real restoration is going on at all. Things seem to get messier, uglier, and less functional all the time. But that s the way it is with restoration; things generally get worse before they get better. Someday you will live forever in a fully restored house. But right now you are called to live with peace, joy, and productivity in a place that has been sadly damaged by sin.
How can you live above the damage? Even better, how can you be an active part of the restoration that is at the heart of God's plan of redemption? That is what Broken Down House is all about.
250 Pages
Published May 2009
About the Author: Paul Tripp is the president of Paul Tripp Ministries, a nonprofit organization, whose mission statement is "Connecting the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life." This mission leads Paul to weekly speaking engagements around the world. In addition to being a gifted communicator and sought after conference speaker with Paul Tripp Ministries, Paul is on the pastoral staff at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he preaches on Sunday evenings and leads the Ministry to Center City. Paul is also Professor for Pastoral Life and Care at Redeemer Seminary in Dallas, Texas and has taught at respected institutions worldwide. As an author, Paul has written ten books on Christian Living that are read and distributed internationally. He has been married for many years to Luella and they have four grown children.
Related Resources:
Read a review at the Biblical Counseling Coalition: Broken-Down House.
"Paul Tripp's writing meets us where we are and directs us to where God
has called us to be. If you need to understand how Scripture sparks
change in real life, read Tripp!" - Dave Harvey, Sovereign Grace Ministries, Church Planting and Church
Care
"There is a lot of biblical wisdom here, exactly what we have come to
expect from its author. Paul Tripp makes plain how we can truly
experience the restoration of a broken-down life ravaged by sin but made
new in Christ." - Daniel L. Akin, President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
"Paul Tripp reminds us that although we often feel helpless, we are
actually filled with the same life-giving, world-changing power that
resurrected Jesus from the grave. As we embrace this power we can enter
the most dilapidated rooms of creation and transform them through the
love of Christ." - Ken Sande, President, Peacemaker Ministries
Paul Tripp has once again written a book which is both warmly pastoral and profoundly committed to the Scriptures. With unflinching honesty Tripp reminds us that we are broken people and will thus not have on earth what God has only promised for heaven. However, God has a deep resevoir of grace for His people as we live in this broken world. True to form, Tripp always helps us to see the practical connections between life and doctrine. And this he does so well in "Broken-Down House." His chapters under the heading of "Doing" will be worth reviewing again and again.