15 Thursday Nov 2018
Take a moment to view and hear a portion of this award-winning novel.
For more information on the book visit: https://davidkitz.ca/centurion.php
For more information on the book purchase visit: https://www.davidkitz.ca/bookcart/index.php?route=product/product&path=62&product_id=58
For more information on the dramatization visit: https://davidkitz.ca/centurion.php
22 Sunday Jul 2018
Posted in book review
The title immediately caught my eye. 
Maximum Canada: Why 35 Million Canadians Are Not Enough is a fascinating book. Doug Saunders systematically builds his argument that 100 million may be the ideal population for this country. He outlines how a small population, widely dispersed, puts severe constraints on this country’s growth potential.
Saunders does a thorough review of Canada’s demographic history. He points out how wrong government policies like British-only immigration, and high tariffs impeded economic growth. Small thinking and restrictive nationalism stifled population growth and led many to Canadians to move to USA.
Saunders contrasts this with the brief periods when Canada had a more wide open policy on both immigration and trade, and how both the economy and the population flourished during such times. Saunders argues for reducing the bottlenecks that restrict growth.
Unlike America, within Canada there currently is a broad political consensus that immigration is good and needed. Saunders makes a strong case for growing Canada’s population in the decades ahead through policies that encourage both natural growth (child bearing) and immigration. Both are needed to sustain an aging population.
While Donald Trump believes he can make America great by placing restrictions on immigration and erecting barriers to international trade, Saunders effectively argues that Canada will become great by opening its doors wide to both trade and immigration.
Whether you agree with his position or not, Doug Saunders presents a cogent argument for policies that can be used to shape the century ahead.
09 Wednesday May 2018
Posted in book review, Books by David Kitz, Devotionals, Psalms
Tags
book, book review, David, David Kitz, devotional, endorsements, praise, Prayer, Psalms Alive!, study, worship
For three thousand years, God has been connecting with
humankind through the prophetic prayer, praise and poetry of the biblical Psalms. Come follow David, the shepherd king, the man after God’s own heart, as we begin a journey to intimacy with God. Discover for yourself what a soul-bonding relationship with God looks like.
As never before, let the psalms come alive for you!
In typical devotional style each chapter begins with a psalm or psalm portion. Then for five or six pages the author discusses this portion by bringing other scripture to bear, drawing from his personal life experience or relating powerful stories that illustrate the key thoughts highlighted in this psalm. Each chapter then ends with a number of questions or action prompts that are aimed at bringing the psalm to life for the reader. By including these questions, the book lends itself easily to group study and discussion.
The twenty-six chapter format provides a half year of curriculum material for churches or study groups that wish to grow their love for God through engaging with the Psalms. Of course Psalms Alive! works equally well as a personal study anchored in the unchanging truths of God’s word.
“A timely call to stop our mad rush and encounter God in the stillness of prayer and Bible study. David Kitz paints pictures with words, taking lessons from Scripture and nature to offer us a three-dimensional, multi-sensory relationship with God.”
Robert L. Briggs, Executive Vice President, American Bible Society
David writes with a dramatic and compelling flair, enticing us to meet with God and therein find life. His intent to let God’s Word speak through the psalms is accomplished with theological sensitivity to the sitz im leben and creative application to the context of our lives today. Well done, David! Psalms Alive! helped me inhabit the Word and know Him more.
Rev. Dr. Lawson Murray, President – Scripture Union Canada
American readers can click on this link to purchase Psalms Alive! Connecting Heaven and Earth.
This 237 page devotional study is also available directly from the author by clicking here.
17 Tuesday Apr 2018
Tags
Bible, Caiaphas, David Kitz, Herod Antipas, Jesus, king, Longinus, Marcus, Palm Sunday, Pontius Pilate, redemption, resurrection, Roman, Roman centurion, The Soldier Who Killed a King
The Soldier Who Killed a King was voted the top book in the biblical fiction category
for 2017 by the Christian book service, Interviews and Reviews. Having recently read this book, it’s not difficult to see why. It plays like a high-stakes movie in your mind.
Canadian author, David Kitz, closely examines the events occurring between Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and his resurrection a few days later. But we see all these events from a unique perspective—through the eyes of a Roman soldier.
This engaging, hard-hitting narrative is a distillation of Kitz’s study and prayer over a 50-year span, when as pastor, educator and Bible dramatist, he steeped himself in the wonder of this story. As a novelist, he reveals profound respect for the historical record through his characterization of Marcus Longinus, a Roman centurion who is unwillingly caught in the power struggles of the day. Furthermore, Kitz stays true to the scriptural account by integrating more than a hundred quotes from the Gospels into the story text.
Three corrupt men, Herod Antipas, “the Fox,” Pontius Pilate, “the Badger,” and Joseph Caiaphas, “the Weasel” have an insatiable lust for money and power. They each attempt to use the political tumult of the time for their own gain. In contrast to the stench of their machinations, Kitz offers a deep sense of Jesus, the donkey-riding King, as the man in whom all of heaven is invested. Jesus emerges in the Roman world offering an entirely new way for humankind to be reborn.
Above all else, this is a story of personal redemption. Marcus, the Roman Centurion is like us, caught between worlds. Who is his king? Why?
The Son of God shows unlimited compassion through healing the sick and feeding the hungry, and his purity catches the attention of the masses in a drama that still shakes the world, one aching, open, humble heart at a time. Do you need to rediscover the power of the cross? The Soldier Who Killed a King will take you there.
03 Saturday Mar 2018
Posted in book review, Books by David Kitz, Good Friday, Lent, Psalms
Tags
centurion, Christ, crucifixion, David Kitz, Easter, Jesus, King Herod, Marcus Longinus, Pontius Pilate, Savior, Scripture, Son of God, trial
It is hard to imagine a more ironic, more chilling dramatic exclamation than the confession of Jesus’ executioner, “Surely, He was the Son of God” (Matt. 27:54). In The Soldier, David Kitz gives a name to the Roman executioner – Marcus Longinus. Then he gives us an hour-by-hour account of the week in Marcus’ life in the run-up to the fatal hammer blows that drove spikes into Jesus’ broken body.
As I began to read The Soldier, I wondered if it would be a fascinating documentary of the last week of Jesus’ ministry on Earth. Fascinating it is. The sights, sounds and smells of the Jewish Passover week come to life, from the noisy, smelly commerce in sacrificial animals to the literal river of red sacrificial blood flowing through the temple aqueducts.
Political forces delicately dance in Jerusalem. High Priest Caiaphas, Samaritan King Herod Antipas, and Roman Governor Pontius Pilate, cordial but venomous enemies, vie for control of the holy city. We see and hear the week unfold through Marcus’ eyes and ears. He fears for the very lives of his men as tumultuous crowds swell Jerusalem. Two were recently murdered by Zealot terrorists. Crowds quickly become mobs, and only the iron discipline of his small garrison insulates the city from disaster.
The Soldier soon becomes more than a documentary. Marcus becomes a man we know intimately as husband, father and brave military officer. We see his family and career jeopardized by the mental anguish of post traumatic stress disorder. Horrific visions of bloody murders populate Marcus’ dreams at night and force contemplation of suicide by day.
Jesus rides into this mix of professional anxiety and personal anguish on a donkey. From a great distance He picks Marcus out of a crowd of thousands and speaks audibly to him alone and to him specifically, saying, “I have a future for you.” During the week, Marcus is repelled by Jesus and drawn to Jesus. He fears Jesus’ power over the crowds. He is the dumbfounded eye witness to Jesus’ healing miracles. He rejoices while Jesus humiliates moneychangers and Pharisees. He hopes Jesus will be acquitted by Pilate. He feels almost personally betrayed when Jesus might have saved Himself, but deliberately does not. Ordered to crucify Jesus, Marcus does so obediently and resolutely.
I could empathize with Marcus. Like Marcus, I was a career soldier. Like him, I had superiors I admired and those I did not. I had peers who were my friends and those I loathed. I worried about missions I was given when they endangered subordinates I was responsible for, and, admittedly, when they jeopardized my career if they failed. Unlike Marcus, I have not literally whipped my Savior and pierced his flesh with nails. But like Marcus, my personal sins have caused Jesus to suffer pain on the cross.
The Soldier is a two-fold page turner. It is better than an exciting read. Those of us
blessed with a lifetime of church have heard the story of Christ’s trial and crucifixion as often as our lives have seen Easter Sundays. We have read the Biblical account, in all four gospels, many times. Yet, as I turned the pages of The Soldier, eagerly, I also found myself compulsively turning the pages of the Bible to sort out exactly which details of that week Kitz lifts literally from Scripture and which tidbits his imagination supplies. The blend is seamless. For instance, the lame boy Christ heals in Scripture becomes Kitz’ Lucas, a three-dimensional character twice cursed by the world and twice miraculously loved by Christ. What Christian author hopes for more than for it to be said that his work sends readers scurrying into the pages of the Holy Bible?
We are all Marcus. All of us, like Marcus, have heard Jesus promise us a future. We have all been drawn to Jesus and been afraid of Jesus; we have rejoiced with Jesus, and we have all felt alone when our lives spiraled out of control in sin and remorse. Jesus has stretched out His hands to all of us, and, like Marcus, we have all driven spikes into them. When we read David Kitz’s The Soldier Who Killed a King, we too, confess, “Surely, He is the Son of God.”
American readers click this link to purchase The Soldier Who Killed a King.
Canadian readers click this link to purchase The Soldier Who Killed a King directly from the author.
07 Wednesday Feb 2018
Posted in book review, Books by David Kitz, Psalms
Tags
book review, centurion, conflict, crucifixion, David Kitz, drama, Facebook, guilt, Jesus, Kitz, peace, review, surprise, the Passion, The Soldier Who Killed a King
Pleasant surprises are just that—pleasant. This morning I woke up to a pleasant surprise on my Facebook page. That surprise came courtesy of Greg Thurston. He posted the following review of my book:
Last night I finished reading The Soldier Who Killed a King, by David Kitz: I was 
speechless, but I must speak.
What a compelling story of the Passion, told by the Centurion who drove the nails into Jesus’ hands. To say it was gripping, riveting, real, and fresh is completely inadequate. Kitz manages to skillfully draw you through a familiar story with uncommon drama, unexpected turns, and brings tears along the way.
This singular story is simultaneously the story of us all: seeking to deal with our guilt, our inner conflicts, and to find the elusive peace we know must be out there.
I highly recommend this book. You may think you know the story, but you don’t know it at all. Read it and see what it does to you.
27 Saturday Jan 2018
Posted in book review, Books by David Kitz, Devotionals, Psalms
This week I came upon this review of my devotional study “psalms alive!” I find it 
encouraging to know the word of God is coming alive for those who read and meditate on it. Thanks goes to Pam Godard Mytroen for the following thoughts on my book:
David Kitz’s devotional, “psalms alive!” is a book I bought for my friends and family this past Christmas and I plan to read it a second time. It is one of the best devotionals I have ever read for the following reasons:
Reading “psalms alive!” was a highlight of October/November 2017. I looked forward to it every day; it was a feast every morning that I will indulge in again. My copy is highlighted, underlined, tear-stained, and I have several pictures I drew in response to the insights I learned. It is a treasure that I recommend with the highest confidence.
http://www.davidkitz.ca/bookcart/index.php?route=product/product&path=60&product_id=62
03 Wednesday Jan 2018
Posted in book review, Books by David Kitz, Psalms
Tags
award, crucified, crucifixion, Easter, forgiven, Interviews and Reviews, Lent, Longinus, New Years Day, Passion Week, redeemed, the cross, The Soldier Who Killed a King
It’s always encouraging to get good news as you start the new year. That was my experience on New Years Day this year as I got word that my novel The Soldier Who Killed a King was voted the top book in the biblical fiction category for 2017, by the Christian book service, Interviews and Reviews.
Yes, I was pleased! Winning this award bodes well for book sales as we approach the Lent and Easter season which will commence in mid February.
The book details the events of Passion Week as seen through the eyes of the Roman centurion, Marcus Longinus. He is the centurion who at the foot of the cross made this startling confession about Jesus, “Surely he was the Son of God!” (See Matthew 27:54, NIV.)
What led this hardened soldier to reach such a conclusion?
I think we often underestimate the power of the cross and the heart-gripping story that unfolded there. Paul, the apostle, did not make that mistake. Paul writes: Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:22-24). 
The real good news for 2018 isn’t that my book won an award. The true good news is that Jesus suffered and died a wretched death on a wooden cross, so that I can be redeemed and forgiven.
He did the same for you. Do you believe that?
Have you been to the foot of the cross lately? I dare you to go there. Go there and be changed—truly changed. That’s the real power of the cross. And that my friend is absolutely the best news of 2018!
This year I pray that you will fully experience the transformational power of the cross.
12 Tuesday Dec 2017
Posted in book review, Books by David Kitz, Devotionals, Psalms
Nothing could have prepared me for the amazing revelations that came from reading
and studying this book. The combination of reading the assigned scriptures and reading each chapter opened many doors for thoughts and creativity. As I look back over what I have studied I know that God has made many inroads into my spirit.
“psalms alive!” is spirit-filled. With humour, some tongue-in-cheek, godly insight and sharing of life experiences, David Kitz brings the psalms to life.
I hope David considers writing “More Psalms Alive”.
Trade paperback — 240 pages with built in study questions, available from the author and through multiple online sources.
30 Thursday Nov 2017
Posted in book review, Books by David Kitz, Psalms
Tags
Bible study, book, book review, centurion, David Kitz, Easter, fictional, grace, Jesus Christ, Sabrina Wade, The Soldier Who Killed a King
This book review of The Soldier Who Killed a King caught my eye for a number of reasons. Sabrina Wade captured the spirit and the essence of this book. Here is her five star review:
At first, the beginning of this novel took my mind back to the movie Risen. As I kept reading, the novel blossomed into so much more.
Kitz, did an excellent job staying super close to the biblical accounts
surrounding the death, burial, and resurrection of my Lord Jesus Christ. The fictional details of the ”what ifs” concerning not only the centurion, but also the many bystanders held me captivated. Those scenes were like coloring outside the lines. They gave the reader an additional piece of art without tampering with the original.
If hearing the truth about Jesus Christ through Bible study, around Easter, or from a neighbor isn’t appealing or worth believing PICK UP A COPY. Kitz will have your heart in his hand from the beginning until the end. He will make you question why you are still in denial. And for others he will lovingly remind you why Grace is sooooooooooo AmAzINg!
For more details visit Interviews and Reviews.
