And the Shofar Blew by Francine Rivers

Rivers never ceases to amaze me in her writing.

I picked up her book, "And the Shofar Blew", a week ago and wasn't too impressed with the cover of the book. I'm one of those superficial readers when it comes to picking out a book based on the cover. I have the tendency of gravitating towards beautifully illustrated covers that attract my eye as I walk library aisles. This book was published in 2003. Perhaps Rivers wasn't took keen on impressing readers back then with the book cover. Whatever the reason, I didn't pick this one because of the cover. I chose it mostly based on the reviews and the book description.

Many of the Rivers books that I've read so far have a love story that entangles the reader and beckons you to turn page after page as you hold out to see what happens in the end. While this story does tell a story about the love between a man and woman, its not the main theme that drives the story. This book instead tells the story of the Church. God's Church that is and the struggles the Body of Christ can experience when sin enters the pulpit.

The state of the Christian Church is hotly debated today. Topics such as church growth, prosperity, and the degradation of how the gospel is presented across the pulpit fill the conversations of Church-goers. Rivers takes these topics and weaves in God's view of them with a story that grips the reader and makes them ponder over their own view of the Church and what's truly important as one seeks out a Church. If you're looking for a book that is a change from the typical man meets girls and then live happily ever after, check out this book and read about how a man (Christ as the Groom), desires his Bride (the Church) to be a light in the world.