Additional information
by Dan B. Allender (Author), Tremper III Longman III (Author)
We all want to know our lives matter.So did the Teacher in Ecclesiastes. He invested time and energy in every activity he could think of that might bring meaning and purpose to his life but found only disappointment, frustration, hopelessness.In our thirst for significance we, like the Teacher, give our lives--our time, talents, strength, heart--to anything we think will give us worth and purpose: Power. Relationships. Money. Pleasure. Work. But worshiping these idols has a high cost--and still doesn't bring the fulfillment we long for.In Breaking the Idols of Your Heart Dan Allender and Tremper Longman illuminate for us the Teacher's warnings and, after all his activities, his final radiant conclusion: Meaning and purpose comeonly when God is truly the center of our life and the object of our hope. Using a compelling fictional narrative at the start of each chapter to encourage reflection on our own life and the lives of family and friends, the authors lead us through Ecclesiastes to help us recognize and exchange cheap pursuits for the only One worth pursuing.Ecclesiastes is not an easy book to read, because transferring our worship from money, power and fame to God is not an easy road to travel. But as the Teacherdiscovered and wrote down for us, it leads to one conclusion: life lived abundantly, in freedom, hope, purpose, meaning.
Author Biography
Dan B. Allender (PhD, counseling psychology, Michigan State University) is professor of counseling at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. He taught previously at Grace Theological Seminary and Colorado Christian University. A speaker and writer, his books include The Healing Path, To Be Told, How Children Raise Parents, The Wounded Heart and Leading with a Limp. With Tremper Longman, he wrote Bold Love, Cry of the Soul, Intimate Allies and the IntimateMarriage Bible studies.
Tremper Longman III (PhD, Yale University) is Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. He is the author or coauthor of over thirty books, including How to Read the Psalms, How to Read Proverbs, Literary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation, and Old Testament Essentials.