Best of
Christian-Non-Fiction

2022

Who Are You Following?: Pursuing Jesus in a Social-Media Obsessed World


Sadie Robertson Huff - 2022
    When you follow someone, it’s typically because you want to be like them or live like they do­–but who have you placed as your role models? In Who Are You Following? bestselling author and social media personality Sadie Robertson Huff dives deep into exploring who we are allowing to influence our daily thoughts and actions. With an excellent grasp of scriptural truths, using current research, surveys, and personal and biblical stories, Sadie draws on her own experience as a social media influencer and addresses topics such ashow to go from being liked to being truly lovedour true motives for famebeing seen from the outside versus being knowncomparing ourselves to othersquestioning why did I post that?!how to respond to cancel culturewondering does God still love me?This book is perfect for young Christians wondering how they can live a vibrant, bold, and uncompromising life of faith in God by following the Messiah–the ultimate influencer. Discover the love, purpose, and fulfillment that is found only in Jesus.

Rest and War: Rhythms of a Well-Fought Life (Paperback)


Ben Stuart - 2022
    God made you for a reason, and The Battle and the Build will help you find your purpose and maximize your time, energy, and resources so you can best rise up to that reason.But this is not simply a book about having more discipline so you can live your dreams. The Battle and the Build is about pushing back the chaos and bringing about order to your life. It is about driving the evil dictator out of your heart and establishing the true King so you canovercome the deceptive strategies of sin aimed specifically at your weaknesses that bend your behaviors to broken ends,stop giving your heart to aimless affections and learn how to intentionally orient your life and loves around a God who cares for you,recognize that under your misdirected affections and motivations is a deep and good longing for God, anddiscover methods of overcoming personal shortcomings that do not rely on shame-based motivation.The writer of Hebrews declares we are called to “cast off all that hinders” and “run the race marked out for us.” We are called into the action! In our race we must both flee some things and pursue others. It’s not about being free of all struggles. Rather, we have been empowered to struggle well.

If the Tomb Is Empty: Why the Resurrection Means Anything Is Possible


Joby Martin - 2022
    In a culture in which history is erased or rewritten at will, the existence of an empty tomb matters. Why?Because if the tomb is empty—then anything is possible.In his first book, Joby Martin, Lead Pastor of The Church of Eleven22, dives deep into scripture and traces the story of salvation by highlighting the seven mountains throughout scripture where God manifests himself. As he describes each encounter with God, Martin shows us how the interaction on each mountain laid the groundwork for the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary, and shows what God revealed about Himself in the process. He illuminates seven familiar passages, unveiling how God's plan for Christ's sacrifice is threaded throughout scripture, and shows why Christ's resurrection—impossible, unbelievable—means that nothing is too hard for our God. Ultimately, he asks readers, Do you live every day of your life as if the tomb is empty—or as though Jesus is still hanging on that cross?Written with New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin, If the Tomb is Empty is an insightful and spiritually rich examination of what the miracle of Christ's resurrection means for all of us.

The Last Supper on the Moon: Nasa's 1969 Lunar Voyage, Jesus Christ's Bloody Death, and the Fantastic Quest to Conquer Inner Space


Levi Lusko - 2022
    Fight as you may, unearthing the happiness and fulfillment you long for can feel nearly impossible. In Psalm 8 David urges us to consider the heavens, to look up at the night sky. Doing so will help you discover fundamental truths about God. Namely, that--even though his love for you is as beyond comprehension as the farthest corners of the universe--through his Son, you can grab hold of it, and it has the power to transform your inner space.Bestselling author Levi Lusko shares how you can:learn that life is not about "finding yourself" but discovering who Jesus isbelieve that God's love and forgiveness is grander than even your greatest failurebuck the mundane of everyday life and start dreaming againEmbark on an adventure tracing the words and wonders of Jesus on his trek to the cross. Let The Last Supper on the Moon compel you to live with a more profound sense of purpose and a grander view of Jesus, and set you on a trajectory to life, and life more abundantly.

Garden Maker: Growing a Life of Beauty and Wonder with Flowers


Christie Purifoy - 2022
      From the beginning God made a garden, so it’s no surprise if you feel closer to Him with your hands in the dirt and the sun on your back. There is something profoundly soul-satisfying about creating and cultivating beauty. If you long to experience more splendor in your life, you can grow some of your very own.   Join kindred spirit Christie Purifoy as she helps you unearth the simple delights of growing garden flowers, from preparing and planning to creating beautiful bouquets and other arrangements. Lavishly photographed and lovingly written, this all-seasons guide invites you to discover the innumerable joys and wonders to be found in the flower garden.

Fearing Bravely: Risking Love for Our Neighbors, Strangers, and Enemies


Catherine McNiel - 2022
    So why are so many Christians taught to fear their neighbors? The American church is known as a people who are afraid, who have been nurtured through fear into hatred, and who have moved from hatred to violence--or at least to neglect. This fear, too often lived out boldly in the name of Jesus, is a false religion.God instructs us to welcome strangers. We are not to withhold hospitality or help from anyone in need. So why do we fear strangers, especially those needing hospitality, afraid that their presence may threaten what we have?Jesus taught us to love our enemies. We are to pray for those who actively harm us. Instead, we create enemies in our minds, seeing anyone who thinks, believes, looks, or lives differently from us as dangerous, a threat to our way of living.The Christian community exists to declare and demonstrate God's love and to follow Jesus in practicing love over fear, even in unsafe times and places. It's time to reclaim our brave fear of God and risk transformative love for the sake of our neighbors, the strangers among us, and our enemies.We are people of the Kingdom. Fearing Bravely teaches us that we have nothing to fear. Instead, we can respond to our fear problem with a brave love that emerges from choosing to let our fear of God overcome our fear of everything else.Catherine McNiel writes with conviction, wisely guiding us to recognize our fear and, with God's help, not let it limit us to love courageously all who are among us.

One at a Time: The Unexpected Way God Wants to Use You to Change the World


Kyle Idleman - 2022
    We want to be difference-makers. But how do we do it?By revealing the way Jesus valued people, bestselling author Kyle Idleman shows us the Jesus way of changing the world--by loving people one at a time.Influencing just one person at a time may seem insignificant at first look. But as we better understand the surprising habits of Jesus, we unlock the power of small things done with great love and discover how God wants to use us to change the world one person at a time.

Invitations to Abundance: How the Feasts of the Bible Nourish Us Today


Alicia J. Akins - 2022
    From Genesis through Revelation, redemptive history is captured through feasts. Through them, God calls his people to remember mercy, delight in grace, and commune with him—and proves he doesn’t ration his rich, soul-satisfying love, but instead lavishes it upon us.Come, Feast brings alive the feasts of scripture and illuminates how relevant they are in our modern world that’s so defined by worry, isolation, and disillusionment. When your heart needs encouragement, these wondrous celebrations give you a reason to find security, unity, and hope. Each chapter presents a unique feast from Scripture—from the well-known to the less familiar—and considers how you can respond worshipfully as a partaker of these celebrations. Come, Feast shows you how to reciprocate God’s initiating kindness, and what it means to live knowing God’s table is spread before you.

40 Days Through the Bible: The Answers to Your Deepest Longings


Lysa TerKeurst - 2022
    Lysa and Proverbs 31 team wanted to create a study that would help you understand the story of the Bible from start to finish. In 40 Days Through the Bible: The Answers to Your Deepest Longings, you will:Take a journey through the storyline of the Bible in 40 days so you can see major themes, how they are all connected and what that means for us as we read the Bible today.Discover the eight major things humanity longs for and how Jesus fulfills all of them for us.Stop the endless cycle of seeking and searching for satisfaction and find the answers to your deepest longings.

I Love You, Mom!: Cherished Word Gifts from My Heart to Yours


Blythe Daniel - 2022
    Whether they are still on the parenting journey or enjoying the grandmothering phase of life, moms of all ages will be blessed and encouraged by these inspirational thoughts and special affirmations of love. Beautifully designed with cheerful full-color artwork in a unique layered hardcover package, this special all-occasion gift is a thoughtful, meaningful way to celebrate Mom and let her know how much you love, cherish, and appreciate all that she is and does!

Talking about Race: Gospel Hope for Hard Conversations


Isaac Adams - 2022
    Why is that the case? Why does it matter? Can things get better, or are we permanently divided?In this honest and hopeful book, pastor Isaac Adams doesn't just show you how to have the race conversation, he begins it for you. By offering a fictional, racially charged tragedy in order to understand varying perspectives and responses, he examines what is at stake if we ignore this conversation, and why there's just as much at stake in how we have that discussion, especially across color lines--that is, with people of another ethnicity. This unique approach offers insight into how to listen to one another well and seek unity in Christ. Looking to God's Word, Christians can find wisdom to speak gracefully and truthfully about racism for the glory of God, the good of their neighbors, and the building up of the church.Some feel that the time for talking is over, and that we've heard all this before. But given how polarized American society is becoming--its churches not exempt--fresh attention on the dysfunctional communication between ethnicities is more than warranted. Adams offers an invitation to faithfully combat the racism so many of us say we hate and maintain the unity so many of us say we want. Together we can learn to speak in such a way that we show a divided world a different world.Talking About Race points to the starting line, not the finish line, when it comes to following Jesus amid race relations. It’s high time to begin running.

Attacking Anxiety: From Panicked and Depressed to Alive and Free


Shawn JohnsonShawn Johnson - 2022
     Shawn Johnson was the lead pastor of a thriving, fast-growing church. He was supposed to have it all together. But he was also struggling in silence with anxiety and depression, suffering from debilitating panic attacks that told him the lie that this would never end, that he'd spend the rest of his life in excruciating pain. Until one day he ended up sobbing and screaming on the side of the road. He had to be brought home by his wife and two friends, who removed any potential weapons from his house while he sat with his head in his hands, begging God for a miracle.In Attacking Anxiety, Shawn vulnerably shares about this dark time and offers those familiar with that same struggle everything he's learned in his battles with anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. As readers join Shawn on this journey, he willexpose the lies that lead toward isolation and replace them with the truths that are essential to survival;reveal the things that most people don't realize are adding more anxiety and depression to their lives and replace them with the wisdom and support that lead to true freedom;explain what to do when you, or someone you love, is in the middle of a panic attack, andguide you through what you need to know, what you need to start doing, what you need to stop doing, and what you need to remember in order to start attacking anxiety and depression. This is not a one-and-done process that will completely free you from all brokenness, but it will help you recognize that, even in the middle of so much brokenness and overwhelming pain, God has a plan and a purpose for your life, and he is ready to heal you in ways you never thought possible.

Literarily: How Understanding Bible Genres Transforms Bible Study


Kristie Anyabwile - 2022
    After all, it only has one Author. Isn’t it just one big book, identical from beginning to end?While it’s true that the Bible is unified, it is also diverse. The Bible can be grouped according to key categories, called genres, that help us to read and properly interpret the Scriptures. An understanding of these genres, and the literary themes and devices used within them, makes all the difference when encountering God’s Word.Long-time Bible teacher Kristie Anyabwile discovered as she prepared her lessons that a single inductive approach doesn’t do justice to the variety of genres that make up the Word of God. Because Scripture is a collection of writings that spans 1,500 years, many literary styles are represented and each must be taken into account for the fullest understanding of God’s Word. Kristie shows you the immense value of studying the Bible literarily—that is, according to the literary style presented in a particular book, chapter, or passage. In Literarily, Kristie will take you through these eight distinct genres:LawHistoryProphecyPoetryGospelsEpistlesWisdomApocalypticThe Bible is an epic story that God has revealed to us through diverse genres and literary features. Its message and method are both meant to transform our hearts. Our goal as interpreters isn’t to meld the Scriptures into a bland conglomerate, but to recognize the multiple forms in which God’s Word comes to us. In so doing, we’ll encounter the ongoing story of Jesus’s redemption and learn how He calls His people to live in our complex world today.

A Confident Mom: Simple Ways to Give Your Child What They Need Most


Renee Swope - 2022
    You need hope and encouragement to help you find a new place to start on the days you're tempted to quit!Sharing vulnerable stories of her own struggles and doubts, award-winning author, popular speaker, and mom of three Renee Swope is a friend, cheerleader, and mentor who will come alongside to help you find purpose and meaning in the challenges and adventures of motherhood. By unpacking powerful truths of grace and love God used to rescue her from discouragement and guilt that buried her in the dirt of defeat, Renee fills this book with hope, wisdom, and practical help every mom needs.Let Renee show you simple ways to give your child what they need most through the power of heart-centered parenting that is character-focused and relationship-driven. This book will transform not only the way you parent but also the way see yourself as a mom and as a child of God.

Unbossed: How Black Girls Are Leading the Way


Khristi Lauren Adams - 2022
    They are starting nonprofits. Building political coalitions. Promoting diverse literature. Fighting cancer. Improving water quality. Working to prevent gun violence.Are we ready to learn from their leadership?Black women are literally at the helm of every movement, says Tyah-Amoy Roberts, an activist and a survivor of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting. Every push for social justice. Every push for social change. We need to take our stories into our own hands. In Unbossed, they do.From Khristi Lauren Adams, author of the celebrated Parable of the Brown Girl, comes Unbossed, a hopeful and riveting inquiry into the lives of eight young Black women who are agitating for change and imagining a better world. Offering practical lessons in leadership, resilience, empathy, and tenacity from a group of young leaders of color who are often neglected, Unbossed includes profiles of Jaychele Nicole Schenck, Ssanyu Lukoma, Tyah-Amoy Roberts, Grace Callwood, Hannah Lucas, Amara Ifeji, Stephanie Younger, and Kynnedy Smith.These are the young Black women we will be reading about decades from now. Like their foremothers in earlier freedom movements, Black girls are transformational leaders. They are pacesetters, strategic thinkers, visionaries, mobilizers, activists, and more. Their stories may often be overlooked. But Black girls are leading the way.

Sheltering Mercy: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms


Ryan Whitaker Smith - 2022
    This book contains 75 prayers drawn from Psalms 1-75, providing lyrical sketches of what authors Ryan Smith and Dan Wilt have seen, heard, and felt while sojourning in the Psalms. While each prayer corresponds to a particular psalm and touches on its themes and ideas, it is not a new translation of the Psalms or an attempt to modernize or contextualize their content or language. Rather, the prayers are responses to the Psalms written in harmony with Scripture. These prayers help us quiet our hearts before God and welcome us into a safe place amid the storms of life.This artful, poetic, and classic devotional book features compelling custom illustrations and foil-stamped hardcover binding, offering a fresh way to reflect on and pray the Psalms.

Defy the Odds: How God Can Use Your Past to Shape Your Future


Benny Tate - 2022
    Each season of life came with setbacks that often seemed insurmountable: the abusive father figure who tormented Benny and his mother, the lack of guidance in his early adulthood, and the illness and infertility he and his wife battled in their marriage. Yet in every crisis, God was there to redeem pain for glory, transforming Benny’s life into a moving testament to His power. Through his struggles, Benny’s faith grew as he saw how God provided him with the strength, wisdom, and resources he needed to overcome each staggering challenge placed before him. In parts a memoir that will tug on your heartstrings, a guide to get you through tough times, and a reminder to never see yourself as the victim of your own life, Defy the Odds will inspire your soul as it proves that you follow a God who can—and will—see you through the impossible.

Authentic Ministry: Serving from the Heart


Michael Reeves - 2022
    

Demystifying Decision-Making: A Practical Guide


Aimee Joseph - 2022
    As Christians living in an increasingly individualistic society, what’s the best strategy for making decisions that honor God while becoming more like him in the process?Writing from her own experience and pointing to biblical examples, Aimee Joseph offers a biblical and theological framework for decision-making. She explains God’s design for humans as decision-makers, the biblical model for making choices, common wrong approaches, practical tips, and what to do when you’ve made a poor decision. With the philosophy that “as we shape our decisions, our decisions shape us,” Joseph teaches readers how to worship and draw closer to Christ through their daily decisions.

How to Thrive as a Pastor's Wife: Practical Tools to Embrace Your Influence and Navigate Your Unique Role


Christine Hoover - 2022
    She has great influence on her church, her community, her family, and her husband, and she finds joy in seeing God move in the lives of others. Yet she also faces unique challenges that too often go unnoticed and unaddressed. At times, a pastor's wife may feel she can't talk about her struggles even with those who are closest to her, which can leave her feeling alone, depleted, and misunderstood. She may settle for this way of living, but that's not God's desire for her.Christine Hoover knows firsthand the unique struggles and opportunities afforded a pastor's wife--she's been filling that role for more than 20 years. Coming alongside as an understanding friend, she offers encouragement and guidance to the struggling pastor's wife, showing her how to make meaningful personal relationships with God, her husband, her children, her church community, and other women--relationships that will sustain her and help her thrive.

Beyond Racial Division: A Unifying Alternative to Colorblindness and Antiracism


George Yancey - 2022
    

The Discerning Life: An Invitation to Notice God in Everything


Stephen Macchia - 2022
    From the Garden when Adam and Eve turned away from the simplest terms of a relationship with God, to the Garden when John the Apostle wrote the book of Revelation to a distracted people anticipating eternity, discerning God has been the heart of the matter. In modern times, however, we have forgotten the basic premise of practicing a preference for God, out of which we then are invited to live for God. Instead, we have implanted strategic planning, head-to-head battling, and will-of-God knowing in its place. In The Discerning Life, Stephen A. Macchia seeks to upend the one-eyed and limited Christian understandings of spiritual discernment and invite readers and leaders to reconsider how they prioritize the care of their souls, the grace of their communities, and the mission of their lives, churches, and organizations. When we have a fuller understanding of how spiritual discernment matters to the whole of our lives, we will in turn encourage others to follow likewise and then lean fully into the mission, mandate, and message of the whole counsel of God.