Book picks similar to
God's Plans for You by J.I. Packer


christian-life
theology
christian-churchlife
spiritual

Restoration: Returning the Torah of God to the Disciples of Jesus


D. Thomas Lancaster - 2005
    Restoration is a riveting argument for a return to that original biblical expression of faith in Jesus. Discover for yourself the profound beauty of Torah life, the celebration of the biblical Sabbath, and the application of God's holy feast days. Your eyes will be opened to another dimension of the faith that is beginning to reemerge among Christians worldwide. Lancaster answers common theological objections to the Torah, while demonstrating that Christians are already keeping more of God's Law than they realize. This thought provoking, theological boat-rocker is a fun-to-read inspiring journey into the world of the Bible.

Marks of the Messenger: Knowing, Living and Speaking the Gospel


J. Mack Stiles - 2010
    It is rooted in something much deeper. It is found in what makes us whole and healthy messengers of God's truth about Jesus. Mack Stiles has lived the life of the healthy evangelist in homes and coffee shops, at universities and farms. He has lived out and spoken about the gospel to Kenyans, Koreans, Arabs and North Americans. What he has learned around the world and at home is summarized here in a few basic truths that can shape any of us into faithful people who bring good news to needy and hurting friends. The whole gospel changes much more than our relationship with God. Stiles shows how it changes all of who we are and what we do. It means learning the whole gospel without shaping its message to meet our tastes. It means not just going through the motions of accepted behaviors. It means showing the unity of witness and justice. It means love. It means community. Join Mack Stiles in a life-giving adventure of boldly knowing, living and speaking the gospel.

The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People, NIV


Randy Frazee - 1996
    There are no verse references, and Scripture segments are seamlessly woven together with transition text into a single grand narrative. For those intimidated or overwhelmed by the unabridged Bible, The Story helps people understand God’s Word more fully and engage with it more easily.Simple, accessible, and easy to use, churches are finding The Story a powerful way to engage their people in Bible reading like never before. As The Story brings the Bible to life, the broad scope of God’s message will penetrate hearts. People of all ages will be swept up in the story of God’s love and God’s plan for their lives.God goes to great lengths to rescue lost and hurting people. That is what The Story is all about: the story of the Bible, God’s great love affair with humanity. Condensed into 31 accessible chapters, The Story sweeps you into the unfolding progression of Bible characters and events from Genesis to Revelation. Using the clear, accessible text of the NIV Bible, it allows the stories, poems, and teachings of the Bible to read like a novel. And like any good story, The Story is filled with intrigue, drama, conflict, romance, and redemption; and this story’s true! “This book tells the grandest, most compelling story of all time: the story of a true God who loves his children, who established for them a way of salvation and provided a route to eternity. Each story in these 31 chapters reveals the God of grace---the God who speaks; the God who acts; the God who listens; the God whose love for his people culminated in his sacrifice of Jesus, his only Son, to atone for the sins of humanity.”

Guarded by Christ: Knowing the God Who Rescues and Keeps Us


Heather Holleman - 2016
    Like many younger women, she knew Jesus, but she wasn’t strong in Him. Her search for comfort seemed unending.Then one day, while reading a simple statement in Scripture, “God guards the lives of his faithful ones” (Psalm 97:10), that all began to change.In Guarded by Christ: Knowing the God Who Rescues and Keeps Us, Heather guides women through a series of practical mental shifts that immensely helped her live strong in the Lord. Learn how in Jesus, you are guarded:By righteousness instead of condemnationBy peace instead of anxietyBy hope instead of despairBy the Holy Spirit’s power instead of self-effortBy a crucified life instead of a self-important oneWe all need maturity in Christ that prepares us not just to endure anything, but to live from the strength and peace of Jesus in every season. Guarded by Christ will help women cultivate this maturity, reconnecting them with the Savior who rescues, keeps, and holds us with His love.

Lit!: A Christian Guide to Reading Books


Tony Reinke - 2011
    Whether books are your addiction or your phobia, Lit! offers up solid advice to help you think about reading in fresh ways.With all the practical suggestions built on a firm gospel foundation, this book will help you flourish in the essential skills necessary for a balanced reading diet of Scripture, serious works of theology, and moving devotional works, but without overlooking the importance of how-to books from expert practitioners, the storytelling genius of historians, and rich novels written by skilled artists of fiction.Literature scholar Leland Ryken calls Lit! “a triumph of scholarship,” but mostly it’s a practical and unpretentious book about the most urgent skills you need to enjoy a luminously literate life in honor of God.

Not All Roads Lead to Heaven: Sharing an Exclusive Jesus in an Inclusive World


Robert Jeffress - 2016
    But if Jesus is to be trusted when he says that no one comes to the Father except through him, the church is failing in its mission. And it's not hard to guess why. An exclusive Jesus just isn't popular in our inclusive world. Dr. Robert Jeffress calls on Christians to recover the exclusive claims of the one they claim as Lord and Savior, not as a way to keep people out of heaven but as the only way to invite them in. He tackles questions like - Can people be saved who have never heard of Christ?- What about those who worship God by another name?- Do children automatically go to Heaven when they die? True compassion for non-Christians doesn't lie in letting them go their way while we go ours, but in sharing the only true way with them.

Finding the Real Jesus: A Guide for Curious Christians and Skeptical Seekers


Lee Strobel - 2008
    In recent years, however, that picture of Jesus has come under widely publicized attack from sources ranging from critical scholars to Internet pundits to popular historians and others. The new portraits of Jesus seem persuasive. You can’t help but wonder … Did Christianity merely copy its beliefs from earlier mythology? Did the church suppress alternate gospels? Did Jesus never die on the cross or rise from the dead for sinners? Is the New Testament hopelessly riddled with errors? New York Times bestselling author Lee Strobel helps you separate truth from media hype, sound scholarship from bias, and fact from speculation. Digging below the surface, this book provides credible, informed answers to today’s most pressing questions about Jesus.

Commonsense Guide to Fasting


Kenneth E. Hagin - 1981
    Hagin encourages Christians to examine and follow the scriptural reasons for fasting. He discuss-es the proper length for a fast, and he presents an interesting alternative to the traditional view of fasting--an alternative the Lord gave him.

Sheet Music: Uncovering the Secrets of Sexual Intimacy in Marriage


Kevin Leman - 2002
    Kevin Leman offers a practical guide to sex according to God's plan. This frank and practical book is a perfect resource for married and engaged couples. Dr. Leman addresses a wide spectrum of people, from those with no sexual experiences to those with past sexual problems or even abuse. Using frank descriptions, this book has a warm and friendly tone that will help couples overcome awkwardness in discussing an issue important to all married couples.

Between Two Trees: Our Transformation from Death to Life


Shane J. Wood - 2018
    

The Path of Prayer


Samuel Chadwick - 2001
    Most books on prayer only inform the mind, but Chadwick both instructs the intellect and inspires the heart to meet God at the throne of grace.

The Cross: Crucified with Christ, and Christ Alive in Me


J.C. Ryle - 2010
    – Galatians 2:20 I want to tell you what perhaps the greatest Christian who ever lived (the Apostle Paul) thought of the cross of Christ. Believe me, the cross is of deepest importance. This is no mere question of controversy; this is not one of those points on which men may agree to differ and feel that differences will not shut them out of heaven. A man must be right on this subject, or he is lost forever. Heaven or hell, happiness or misery, life or death, blessing or cursing in the last day – all hinges on the answer to this question: “What do you think about the cross of Christ?” Let me show you: What the apostle Paul did not glory in. What Paul did glory in. Why all Christians should think and feel about the cross like Paul. About the Author John Charles Ryle (1816-1900) graduated from Eton and Oxford and then pursued a career in politics, but due to lack of funds, he entered the clergy of the Church of England. He was a contemporary of Spurgeon, Moody, Mueller, and Taylor and read the great theologians like Wesley, Bunyan, Knox, Calvin, and Luther. These all influenced Ryle’s understanding and theology. Ryle began his writing career with a tract following the Great Yarmouth suspension bridge tragedy, where more than a hundred people drowned. He gained a reputation for straightforward preaching and evangelism. He travelled, preached, and wrote more than 300 pamphlets, tracts, and books, including Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Principles for Churchmen, and Christian Leaders of the Eighteenth Century. Ryle used the royalties from his writing to pay his father’s debts, but he also felt indebted to that ruin for changing the direction of his life. He was recommended by Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli to be Bishop of Liverpool where he ended his career in 1900.

Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message


Ravi Zacharias - 2000
    With a simple yet penetrating style, Zacharias uses rich illustrations to celebrate the power of Jesus Christ to transform lives. Jesus Among Other Gods contrasts the truth of Jesus with founders of Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, strengthening believers and compelling them to share their faith with our post-modern world.

Red Letter Revolution: What If Jesus Really Meant What He Said?


Shane Claiborne - 2012
    It is a call to a lifestyle that considers first and foremost Jesus’ explicit, liberating message of sacrificial love.Shane and Tony candidly bring the words of Jesus to bear on contemporary issues of violence, community, Islam, hell, sexuality, civil disobedience, and twenty other critical topics for people of faith and conscience today. The resulting conversations reveal the striking truth that Christians guided unequivocally by the words of Jesus will frequently reach conclusions utterly contrary to those of mainstream evangelical Christianity.If the Jesus who speaks to you through the Gospels is at odds with the Christian culture you know, if you have ever wanted to stand up and say, “I love Jesus, but that’s not me,” Red Letter Revolution will prove that you are not alone—you may have been a Red Letter Christian all along.Endorsements:“This book, by a young and an elderly Christian, will help you decide how we Christians could change the world if we took the ‘red letter’ words of Jesus literally and seriously.” —President Jimmy Carter“In Red Letter Revolution the uncompromised truth of Jesus' teachings are given voice by two modern-day Christian leaders who do more than preach this Good News. They walk the talk and lead the way.” —Archbishop Desmond Tutu“I started reading this book and couldn't stop. . . . Thank you, Tony and Shane. Thank you for this book. May the movement spread around the world.” —Abuna Elias Chacour,?Melkite Catholic Archbishop of Galilee“Red Letter Revolution is an adrenaline-producing conversation with prophetic bite.” —Eugene H. Peterson, author of The Message Bible“I cannot over-emphasize or exaggerate the richness of this book.” —Phyllis Tickle, author of Emergence Christianity“In this courageous and well crafted book, we have a return to the core message of the Gospel from two Christians who first tried to live it themselves—and only then spoke." —Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M., Center for Action and Contemplation“Shane Claiborne and Tony Campolo are two of the most significant prophetic voices in the Christian world.” —Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun Magazine (tikkun.org)“This is a must-read book for anyone who is seeking to take Jesus’ call on their lives seriously.” —Jim Wallis, founder and editor of Sojourners magazine“If you ever wished you could eavesdrop on a conversation with two of the world's most interesting and inspiring Christians, just turn to page one.” —Brian D. McLaren, author/speaker (brianmclaren.net)

Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels


J. Warner Wallace - 2013
    A. County homicide detective and former atheist, Cold-Case Christianity examines the claims of the New Testament using the skills and strategies of a hard-to-convince criminal investigator. Christianity could be defined as a “cold case”: it makes a claim about an event from the distant past for which there is little forensic evidence. In Cold-Case Christianity, J. Warner Wallace uses his nationally recognized skills as a homicide detective to look at the evidence and eyewitnesses behind Christian beliefs. Including gripping stories from his career and the visual techniques he developed in the courtroom, Wallace uses illustration to examine the powerful evidence that validates the claims of Christianity. A unique apologetic that speaks to readers’ intense interest in detective stories, Cold-Case Christianity inspires readers to have confidence in Christ as it prepares them to articulate the case for Christianity.