Where All Hope Lies : Sermons for the Liturgical Year

Powerful reflections on the grace of God This book presents fifty-six select sermons preached by James Van Tholen, a gifted young Christian Reformed minister who recently lost his battle with cancer at the age of thirty-six. Though the author's untimely death gives a certain poignancy to this volume, these sermons are not at all dark or despairing. Van Tholen's conversational style, thought-provoking insights into Scripture, and frequent interaction with such writers as Annie Dillard, Frederick Buechner, and others make these sermons enjoyable as well as profitable to read. Through them all there runs a sense of concentrating on what really matters -- trusting in God no matter what suffering or difficulties might come our way. Indeed, as demonstrated by the book's title sermon -- first published in Christianity Today as "Surprised by Death" -- more than anything, Van Tholen preached the grace of God. Including a moving foreword by Neal Plantinga and an inside look at "the man behind the sermons" by Jim's wife, Rachel, Where All Hope Lies offers gracious, powerf

James R. Van Tholen (1964-2001) was pastor of Rochester Christian Reformed Church in Rochester, New York. He was twice a guest on the Billy Graham radio program, where he discussed his experience with cancer, and his sermon "Surprised by Death" also appears in both The Best Christian Writing 2000 and The Best Spiritual Writing 2000