The Bible tells us that we are to give back to God the life we have been given - our new life received through God's love, mercy and grace. So many times we fail to do this, because we think we need to be perfect for God to use us. You may believe that God loves you, has saved you, that his grace has covered you, and you may desire to love him back with all you are and all you have. But...you are afraid you don't have anything worth giving. You don't want to offer God a messy, mixed up, imperfect life. In her book, "A Beautiful Offering", Angela Thomas teaches us that God isn't looking for perfect lives - just willing ones. As she takes us through the Sermon on the Mount, sharing stories of her own life, her own mistakes and faults and failures, we see that as she continued to trust and love God, her life became the beautiful offering she had always wanted it to be - not because she was perfect, but because she was loved by the One who is. When we lay our lives down, God will use us - every part of us - for His kingdom and His glory. ( )

Angela Thomas, author, teacher, and mother of four, wrote this wise and gentle book about the Sermon on the Mount. When her marriage collapsed, she realized that in spite of her seminary degree and her diligent efforts, she was not and could never be the “perfect Jesus girl” she had envisioned. Thomas thought that God would no longer use her, crushed and broken as she felt herself to be. To her amazement, she came to realize that Jesus understood her pain and brokeness. She saw new meanings in his words to those who mourn and those who are poor in spirit. This book is about accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ humbly and seeking to live for him in gratitude. Each chapter includes questions, making it easy for the reader to use this book as a personal study guide. A Beautiful Offering is itself a beautiful offering, one that deepens the reader’s understanding of these well-known and much loved passages of scripture.