Big News! Your Gift Will Go Twice as Far!
From now through December 31st, every dollar you donate to Renewed Heart Ministries will be matched dollar for dollar!
That means your support will have double the impact in helping us continue to educate, inspire, and work toward a more just world grounded in love and compassion as we follow Jesus together.
Whether it’s $5 or $5,000, your generosity will be doubled thanks to a matching gift opportunity.
Give today and make twice the difference!
Go to renewedheartministries.com and click on “Donate.”
Or you can mail your support to:
Renewed Heart Ministries
PO Box 1211
Lewisburg, WV 24901
Thank you for being part of this work. Let’s finish the year strong—together.
Renewed Heart Ministries Shared Table Event is Back!
Become a monthly sustaining partners for 2026 and receive a special thank-you gift: a Renewed Heart Ministries Shared Table Pottery Bowl handmade by Crystal and Herb. You can become a monthly sustainin partner by clicking “Check this box to make it a monthly recurring donation” option when you donate online.
Becoming a monthly sustaining partner helps RHM plan and budget for our ministry projects throughout the year. To sign up, simply visit renewedheartministries.com/donate and choose an automated recurring monthly donation of any amount. If you prefer using PayPal, you can also select the “Make this a monthly donation” option.
As a token of our appreciation, we’ll be sending you one of these beautiful pottery bowls at the start of the new year. Our hope is that these bowls, whether displayed or used, will serve as a reminder of Jesus’ shared table fellowship and his message of love and care for our neighbors. They also make wonderful gifts or conversation starters!
If you’re already a sustaining partner for 2026, we deeply appreciate your ongoing support, too, and you also will receive one of our Shared Table Pottery Bowls as a thank-you gift.
Regardless of how you choose to support Renewed Heart Ministries at the end of this year, we are profoundly grateful for your partnership in furthering Jesus’ vision of a world rooted in compassion, love, and inclusion. In the coming new year, we will continue to follow Jesus’ gospel together in being a source of life, healing, and love as we work to shape our world into a safer, more compassionate, and just home for all.
The Cost of Discipleship
by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The Cost of Discipleship written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian and anti-Nazi dissident.
“WHEN CHRIST CALLS A MAN HE BIDS HIM COME AND DIE”
―Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves . . . the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship . . .Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock . . .―Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship, now with new translations, transliterations, and Afterword. An insightful look at grace and the path to eternal life, featuring:
“A rigorously patient exposition of the Sermon on the Mount which compels the reader to face himself, and God, in any situation. A very moving book, lived as well as written”—Times (London) Literary Supplement
“Among the Flossenberg martyrs was a remarkable young Lutheran pastor named Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who had joined the underground convinced that it was his duty as a Christian to work for Hitler’s defeat. Bonhoeffer was only 39 when he died, but he had already made a monumental contribution to Christian thought, which today has profound and growing significance for both theologian and layman. Bonhoeffer’s books are gaining an astonishing popularity in the secular world. . . He is admired by people who have read his best-known books, The Cost of Discipleship and Letters and Papers from Prison, as the example of what a modern Christian must be.”— Life
Millions of readers worldwide have benefited from the profound insights presented in The Cost of Discipleship. In this remarkable work, 20th-century Christian theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer asserts that “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die”. Drawing from the Sermon on the Mount, Bonhoeffer offers a critical examination of the distinction between “cheap grace” and “costly grace.” He describes “cheap grace” as self-bestowed, characterized by the preaching of forgiveness without repentance, baptism without church discipline, and communion without confession. According to Bonhoeffer, “cheap grace is grace without discipleship.”
Conversely, he defines “costly grace” as the gift that must be earnestly sought, symbolized by the door at which one must knock. It is costly because it demands a person’s life, yet it is grace because it is given by God and provides a path to true life.
The Cost of Discipleship was first published in 1936. The Cost of Discipleship is an excellent addition to any Christian library.
Last Week’s Social Jesus Blog Posts
Good News for the Poor
Part 1 of the series Advent as Good News for the Marginalized
A reliable litmus test for the gospel is whether it is truly good news to the poor, rather than mere assurance for the privileged.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/socialjesus/2025/12/good-news-poor
Good News from the Edges
Part 2 of the series Advent as Good News for the Marginalized
In these stories, “the wilderness” symbolizes the edges of society. It represents those places far from centers of power, wealth, and political/religious control.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/socialjesus/2025/12/good-news-edges
Advent at the Margins: John’s Call to Build a Just World
Part 3 of the series Advent as Good News for the Marginalized
John’s repentance was to manifest itself in equitable economic practices and the compassionate treatment of neighbor.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/socialjesus/2025/12/advent-margins-john-build-just-world/
New Episode of The Social Jesus Podcast
A podcast where we talk about the intersection of faith and social justice and what a first century, prophet of the poor from Galilee might have to offer us today in our work of love, compassion and justice.
This week:
Season 2 Episode 50: Advent as Good News for the Marginalized
Matthew 11:2-11
Advent rituals remind and call us, like John’s preaching of old, to return to the social justice practices of our various faith traditions, and to renew our commitments to shaping our present world into a just, safe, compassionate home for us all. John chose a radically different calling. Rather than serve within the structured Temple State system—deeply intertwined with political and religious authority—he withdrew to the wilderness. He chose a path of challenging the status quo, calling his society to repent for complicity with Rome and to return to the practice of justice toward one another, all of this outside of institutional control. In the gospels, “the wilderness” symbolizes the margins of society. It represents those places far from centers of power, wealth, and political/religious control. It is in these edges that God’s presence is revealed most clearly. This narrative details speaks to every person who finds themselves doing justice work along the edges of our communities today.
Available on all major podcast carriers and at:
https://the-social-jesus-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/advent-as-good-news-for-the-marginalized
Upcoming Events
Januray 17, 2025
Good News Fellowship (via Zoom)
Toronto, Ontario Canada
For info: 304.520.0030
Weekly HeartGroup on Zoom Every Wednesday Night!
Each Wednesday evening, Renewed Heart Ministries hosts a Zoom-HeartGroup led by Herb Montgomery. Our discussion each week will focus on the content in RHM’s weekly eSight articles and the Social Jesus podcast. The time of each Zoom session will be on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. Pacific/10:00 p.m. Eastern.
To receive the link for the Zoom meeting, email us at info@renewedheartministries.com.
Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political & Economic Teachings of the Gospels
by Herb Montgomery
Available now on Amazon!
In Finding Jesus, author Herb Montgomery delves into the profound and often overlooked political dimensions of the gospels. Through meticulous analysis of biblical texts, historical context, and social discourse, this thought-provoking book unveils the gospels’ socio-political, economic teachings as rooted in a profound concern for justice, compassion, and the well-being of the marginalized. The book navigates the intersections between faith and societal justice, presenting a compelling argument for a more socially engaged and transformative Christianity.
Finding Jesus is not just a scholarly exploration; it is a call to action. It challenges readers to reevaluate their understanding of Christianity’s role in public life and to consider how the radical teachings of the gospels can inspire a renewed commitment to justice, equality, and compassion. This book is a must-read for those seeking a deeper understanding of the social implications of Christian faith and a blueprint for building a more just and inclusive society.
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