Book picks similar to
Winning the War Within: Facing Trials, Temptations, and Inner Struggles by Charles F. Stanley
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Wrestling with God: Finding Hope and Meaning in Our Daily Struggles to Be Human
Ronald Rolheiser - 2018
As long-held beliefs on love, faith, and God are challenged by the aggregate of changes that have overhauled our world, many of us are left feeling confused and uncertain while old norms are challenged and redefined at breakneck speed.In Wrestling with God, Ronald Rolheiser offers a steady and inspiring voice to help us avow and understand our faith in a world where nothing seems solid or permanent. Drawing from his own life experience, as well as a storehouse of literary, psychological, and theological insights, the beloved author of Sacred Fire examines the fears and doubts that challenge us. It is in these struggles to find meaning, that Rolheiser lays out a path for faith in a world struggling to find faith, but perhaps more important, he helps us find our own rhythm within which to walk that path.
Into the Depths of God: Where Eyes See the Invisible, Ears Hear the Inaudible, and Minds Conceive the Inconceivable
Calvin Miller - 2000
A profound book of spiritual insight that helps believers live a deep life in God beneath the turmoil of our hurried business.
Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus
Kyle Idleman - 2011
In fact, you may want to read this book before you answer at all. Consider it a 'Define the Relationship' conversation to determine exactly where you stand. You may indeed be a passionate, fully devoted follower of Jesus. Or, you may be just a fan who admires Jesus but isn't ready to let him cramp your style. Then again, maybe you're not into Jesus, period.In any case, don't take the question---Are you a follower of Jesus?---lightly.Some people don't know what they've said yes to and other people don't realize what they've said no to, says Pastor Kyle Idleman. But Jesus is ready to clearly define the relationship he wants with his followers.Not a Fan calls you to consider the demands and rewards of being a true disciple. With frankness sprinkled with humor, Idleman invites you to live the way Jesus lived, love the way he loved, pray the way he prayed, and never give up living for the One who gave his all for you.
Subversive Kingdom: Living as Agents of Gospel Transformation
Ed Stetzer - 2011
But for those who know that Christ is coming to establish a new and perfect order, ours is not just a world to endure but a world to invade. Believers have not been stationed here on earth merely to subsist but to actively subvert the enemy’s attempts at blinding people in unbelief and burying them under heartbreaking loads of human need.The kingdom of God changes all that.Ed Stetzer’s Subversive Kingdom is a personal call for Christians to reorient their thinking and lifestyle to match what Jesus described of His people in Scripture, while teaming up with other believers through their churches to bring light into a dying and darkening culture. Stetzer uses the parables of Christ to unlock the “kingdom secrets” that bring this mysterious concept within understandable reach, while urging Christians to turn this knowledge into practical, everyday, ongoing missions designed to set people free from lives headed for hopelessness.
What's Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done
Matt Perman - 2012
It’s about getting the right things done—the things that count, make a difference, and move the world forward. In our current era of massive overload, this is harder than ever before. So how do you get more of the right things done without confusing mere activity for actual productivity?When we take God’s purposes into account, a revolutionary insight emerges. Surprisingly, we see that the way to be productive is to put others first—to make the welfare of other people our motive and criteria in determining what to do (what’s best next). As both the Scriptures and the best business thinkers show, generosity is the key to unlocking our productivity. It is also the key to finding meaning and fulfillment in our work.What’s Best Next offers a practical approach for improving your productivity in all areas of life. It will help you better understand:• Why good works are not just rare and special things like going to Africa, but anything you do in faith even tying your shoes.• How to create a mission statement for your life that actually works.• How to delegate to people in a way that actually empowers them.• How to overcome time killers like procrastination, interruptions, and multitasking by turning them around and making them work for you.• How to process workflow efficiently and get your email inbox to zero every day.• How your work and life can transform the world socially, economically, and spiritually, and connect to God’s global purposes.By anchoring your understanding of productivity in God’s purposes and plan, What’s Best Next will give you a practical approach for increasing your effectiveness in everything you do.
Sing!: How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church
Keith Getty - 2017
God intends for this compelling vision of His people singing—a people joyfully joining together in song with brothers and sisters around the world and around his heavenly throne—to include you. He wants you,he wants us, to sing.
The Reset: Returning to the Heart of Worship and a Life of Undivided Devotion
Jeremy Riddle - 2020
This is a call for those whose hearts burn to see it revived— who burn with reformation’s fire. Who long to see the purity of worship restored and the Lord’s house of prayer once again reflect the fullness of His glory and the wonders of His heart. The Reset is not simply a book on worship, it’s an appeal to the broader worshiping community to once again re-order their lives and practices in accordance with the sacred and priestly calling they were given and zealously return to the heart of worship.
Gashmu Saith It: How to Build Christian Communities that Save the World
Douglas Wilson - 2021
6:6).Today we see a culture that is increasingly hostile to Christians, and Christians are increasingly aware that they need to form strong communities to do for them what the culture no longer can. This is a good thing, but it will only work if like Nehemiah and his men we are committed to resisting the dictates of our culture. If we are at all afraid of looking like the crazy fundamentalists that our culture loves to hate, then our communities will be as easily led by the culture as anybody else.In this short book, Pastor Douglas Wilson describes some of the most important ways to create and maintain counter-cultural Christian communities. Whether he is talking about the need for kids to get calluses or for love and loyalty within churches, Douglas Wilson brings decades of on-the-ground wisdom and experience to the topic.A city without walls is not really a city; neither is a city without a church at the center. Get busy. Build the walls, fight sin, love your family and church, and live out the Gospel.
Stay the Path: Navigating the Challenges and Wonder of Life, Love, and Leadership
Bobbie Houston - 2017
Yet seeing yourself as a leader, discerning what one is meant to do, and navigating one's role as a woman and leader can be a challenging task. Drawing on the wisdom of 40 years of ministry, Bobbie Houston helps all women to discover their specific purpose and divine calling in Stay the Path. She shares the truths and experiences that have kept her and her husband, Brian Houston, on course, on point, and focused on the path before them. Readers will be able to recognize and believe in their unique gifts. Packed with personal stories, helpful advice, and leadership strategies for women, this book will challenge readers to claim their God-given potential and lead with confidence, poise, and grace.
The Grace Outpouring: Blessing Others through Prayer
Roy Godwin - 2008
In keeping with God s pattern of using marginal people from obscure places - fishermen, tax collectors, children, women and Galileans - this story sees God intrude into the mundane rhythms of life in a Christian retreat centre, run by a couple who would have been forgiven for opting for a quiet life when they arrived in this quiet Welsh hamlet. God s intrusion has not only sparked the growth of a House of Prayer but also touched many lives with healing, repentance and encouragement. The tangible presence of God has released visions of Jesus, angelic messengers and a steady stream of non-believers seeking to understand the encounter with God that they experience as they venture near this converted farmhouse. The multiple miracles will provoke the reader to wonder and worship but the book also imparts a fresh understanding of how the church might bless a community through prayer as a prelude to the breaking in of the Kingdom of God into every area of local life. A fresh perspective on evangelism emerges from this inspiring insight into how God might work in your community.
Love Heals
Becca Stevens - 2017
Becca Stevens, founder and president of Thistle Farms, shares true stories of healing and joy where brokenness is transformed into compassion. In each chapter, Stevens provides encouragement and practical steps for anyone going through a difficult season or searching for a deeper faith. Love Heals is:A gorgeous gift book with beautiful photography and inspirational calloutsFor women of any age seeking healing and hopeA gift of hope for a friend or self-purchaseAfter reading, readers will learn:Love heals by the mercy of God.Love heals with compassion.Love heals during the act of forgiving.Love heals past our fears.Love heals across the world.In Love Heals, you'll find principles that have transformed lives. Stevens has been featured in the New York Times, on ABC World News, NPR, the TODAY show, and PBS, and named a 2016 CNN Hero. In 2011, the White House named Becca a "Champion of Change."
Jesus Christ, Disciplemaker
Bill Hull - 1984
Peter denied. Matthew had a shady past. And most of Jesus' disciples had trouble understanding his true message and mission at times. How did Jesus take lowly fishermen and tax collectors and turn them into some of the most influential men that ever lived? And how can modern church leaders empower regular church members to meet their potential as servants of God? In Jesus Christ, Disciplemaker, Hull outlines Christ's methods in training his twelve disciples and presents a biblical pattern that emulates Christ's model for reaching the lost. By taking readers through four growth phases-evangelizing, establishing, equipping, and leading-Hull shows how these principles can be adapted for any discipler. Jesus Christ, Disciplemaker is the perfect resource for pastors and church leaders who want to learn how to help others grow in God's service.
Deep Preaching: Creating Sermons that Go Beyond the Superficial
J. Kent Edwards - 2009
Kent Edwards recalls a story that late pastor J. Vernon McGee told about seeing children in South Africa playing a game of marbles in the dust with real diamonds. The precious stones were being handled with no regard for their true worth. Edwards fears the same thing happens today when preachers offer Scriptural truth to listeners without being completely overwhelmed by its greatness themselves in the process.Deep Preaching is his call to "rethink" preaching. Edwards helps preachers learn to preach the word in ways that will powerfully change the lives of hearers. He contends that sermons "need not settle comfortably on the lives of the listeners like dust on a coffee table." He encourages preachers to join him in casting off the lines that moor their ministries to the status-quo and make every effort to steer their preaching out of the "comfortable shallows." He urges them to preach deep sermons rather than superficial ones, moving "beyond the yawn-inspiring to the awe-inspiring, from the trite to the transforming."
Covenant and Kingdom: The Dna of the Bible
Mike Breen - 2010
It is not, however, out of reach. The ability to identify the main themes of any passage is a skill you can learn, even as you seek to apply its truth to your own life. Covenant and Kingdom: The DNA of the Bible guides you on a Scriptural quest for knowledge and understanding. Stories and verse from the Old and New Testaments are woven together and cross-referenced, until the connections are clear and indisputable, like DNA from the Bible. Although the great Biblical themes of Covenant and Kingdom find their fullest expression in Jesus, Covenant goes all the way back to the beginning, when the only thing required was to maintain the "oneness" that God had created. After the Fall, the way was blocked; yet, God built a bridge, in Covenant, back to us. In Jesus, that Covenant was fulfilled, as on the cross, he offered himself as the ultimate blood sacrifice. The Bible is about God, our Father, inviting us to know him in a very real and personal way.Covenant and Kingdom: The DNA of the Bible provides guidance to the path of understanding that it will take to develop, to the fullest, your own individual relationship with God.
The Grasshopper Myth: Big Churches, Small Churches and the Small Thinking that Divides Us
Karl Vaters - 2012