Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels


Kenneth E. Bailey - 2007
    Bailey examines the life and ministry of Jesus with attention to the Lord's Prayer, the Beatitudes, Jesus' relationship to women, and especially Jesus' parables. Through it all, Bailey employs his trademark expertise as a master of Middle Eastern culture to lead you into a deeper understanding of the person and significance of Jesus within his own cultural context. With a sure but gentle hand, Bailey lifts away the obscuring layers of modern Western interpretation to reveal Jesus in the light of his actual historical and cultural setting. This entirely new material from the pen of Ken Bailey is a must-have for any student of the New Testament. If you have benefited from Bailey's work over the years, this book will be a welcome and indispensable addition to your library. If you are unfamiliar with Bailey's work, this book will introduce you to a very old yet entirely new way of understanding Jesus.

Life Without Limits


Nick Vujicic - 2007
    Born without arms or legs, Nick Vujicic overcame his disability to live not just independently but a rich, fulfilling life, becoming a model for anyone seeking true happiness. Now an internationally successful motivational speaker, his central message is that the most important goal for anyone is to find their life’s purpose despite whatever difficulties or seemingly impossible odds stand in their way. Nick tells the story of his physical disabilities and the emotional battle he endured trying to deal with them as a child, a teen, and a young adult. “For the longest, loneliest time, I wondered if there was anyone on earth like me, and whether there was any purpose to my life other than pain and humiliation.” He shares how his faith in God has been his central source of strength and explains that once he found his own sense of purpose—inspiring others to make their lives and the world better—he found the confidence to build a rewarding and productive life without limits. Nick offers practical advice for realizing a life of fulfillment and happiness by building trust in others, developing supportive relationships, and gaining strength for the journey. He encourages the reader by showing how he learned to accept what he could not control and focus instead on what he could. “I do believe my life has no limits! I want you to feel the same way about your life, no matter what your challenges may be. As we begin our journey together, please take a moment to think about any limitations you’ve placed on your life or that you’ve allowed others to place on it. Now think about what it would be like to be free of those limitations. What would your life be if anything were possible?”—Nick Vujicic, from Life Without Limits

To Live Is Christ to Die Is Gain


Matt Chandler - 2013
    While many give their lives to Jesus, few then go on to live a life of truly vibrant faith. In this disruptively inspiring book, Chandler offers tangible ways to develop a faith of pursuing, chasing, knowing, and loving Jesus. Because if we clean up our lives but don't get Jesus, we've lost! So let the goal be Him. To live is Christ, to die is gain—this is the message of the letter. Therefore, our lives should be lived to Him, through Him, for Him, with Him, about Him—everything should be about Jesus.

Reading God's Story: A Chronological Daily Bible


George H. Guthrie - 2011
    Everybody loves a good story. We have been reading, listening to, or watching stories all of our lives, so we intuitively know a lot about how they work. Yet, more and more, Christians are unfamiliar with the stories of the Bible and how the grand narrative of God's Word fits together. Indeed, God gave us the stories of the Bible to reveal great truth about Himself and about our lives, and He wants to draw us into the ongoing story of what He is doing in the world. By focusing on the narrative framework of Scripture we can better understand what the Bible teaches and live out its instruction more effectively. Reading God's Story takes that clear narrative approach to the Bible, arranging the complete text into a fresh chronological reading plan developed for the Read the Bible for Life biblical literacy initiative. In this plan the books, chapters, and verses of the Bible are thoughtfully arranged so readers can track the story of Scripture, day by day, from beginning to end, understanding the flow of events and how all the different parts fit together to make sense. Reading God's Story features two-color interior page layout and is organized into 52 weeks of readings (six readings per week). It presents Scripture in three main acts (God's Plan for All People; God's Covenant People; God's New Covenant People) and seventeen total scenes, providing an introduction for each act and scene to orient the reader to its importance in the grand story. Unlike other chronological Bibles, this arrangement is not date specific (e.g. "January 1"), so a person can begin using this edition at any point in the calendar year.

Let Me Be a Woman


Elisabeth Elliot - 1966
    The God who is in charge --2. Not who am I? but whose am I? --3. Where to hang your soul --4. A daughter, not a Son --5. Creation, woman for man --6. Jellyfish and pride --7. The right kind of pride --8. The weight of wings --9. Single life, a gift --10. One day at a time --11. Trust for separation --12. Self discipline and order --13. Whose battle? --14. Freedom through discipline --15. God sets no traps --16. A paradoxical principle --17. Masculine and feminine --18. The soul is feminine --19. Is submission stifling? --20. Twenty questions --21. A choice is a limitation --22. Commitment, gratitude, dependence --23. You marry a sinner --24. You marry a man --25. You marry a husband --26. You marry a person --27. Forsaking all others --28. Dynamic, not static --29. A union --30. A mirror --31. A vocation --32. What makes a marriage work --33. Acceptance of divine order --34. Equality is not a Christian ideal --35. Heirs of grace --36. Proportional equality --37. The humility of ceremony --38. Authority --39. Subordination --40. The restraint of power --41. Strength by constraint --42. Masters of ourselves --43. A universe of harmony --44. Be a real woman --45. The courage of the creator --46. The inner sanctum --47. Loyalty --48. Love is action --49. Love means a cross

The Vow


Kim Carpenter - 2000
    When she finally emerged from the coma, she recognized everyone in her life except her husband, Kim. Starting all over, they built a new love and dedicated their lives to each other all over again.

I'll Be There (But I'll Be Wearing Sweatpants)


Amy Weatherly - 2022
    Amy Weatherly and Jess Johnston address common obstacles to true connection and offer a confessional, hilarious, and practical guide for building friendships in the middle of this crazy, rollercoaster life.If you've ever wondered why it seems like such a struggle to make and maintain friendships as an adult--it's not just you. The number of Americans who claim to have no close friends has drastically increased over the last few decades. Loneliness doesn't care what age you are, how many Instagram followers you have, or where you call home. It doesn't care how "put together" you appear to the outside world. Women have a collective wound that only authentic sisterhood can heal.In I'll Be There (But I'll Be Wearing Sweatpants), Amy Weatherly and Jess Johnston, creators of the popular online community "Sister, I Am With You," offer an-easy-to-follow road map to the place we all desperately want to be--standing beside other women who see us, know us, and love us for who we truly are. With hilariously relatable vulnerability and actionable steps we can all take today to build deep and satisfying friendships, Amy and Jess show us how to break free from unhealthy habits that block us from connection;find the confidence to live freely and without fear of rejection; andintentionally pursue friends in everyday life.I'll Be There (But I'll Be Wearing Sweatpants) won't talk down to us, or boss us around. It won’t give cliché or empty advice that leaves us feeling even more discouraged than before. This book will snuggle up beside us, grab a fuzzy blanket, and say "Let me show you how to do it. I’ve been there too. It’s hard, but it’s not impossible, and it’s so much better together."

Miracles from Heaven: A Little Girl, Her Journey to Heaven, and Her Amazing Story of Healing


Christy Wilson Beam - 2015
    One sunny day when she was able to go outside and play with her sisters, she fell three stories headfirst inside an old, hollowed-out tree, a fall that may well have caused death or paralysis. Implausibly, she survived without a scratch. While unconscious inside the tree, with rescue workers struggling to get to her, she visited heaven. After being released from the hospital, she defied science and was inexplicably cured of her chronic ailment. MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN will change how we look at the world around us and reinforce our belief in God and the afterlife.

Across the Street and Around the World: Following Jesus to the Nations in Your Neighborhood…and Beyond


Jeannie Marie - 2018
    But most don't know how to build intentional relationships with people from different backgrounds.Across the Street and Around the World offers an answer to those Christians wondering, Is it possible to engage with people of other cultures right now, in my everyday world—or even beyond?Step by step, it helps them see how to prepare their souls, reshape their worldviews, and redesign their patterns of life to become the sort of people who can represent Jesus across cultural lines and take part in God's plans for their neighborhoods, their cities, and the world.

Friend-ish: Reclaiming Real Friendship in a Culture of Confusion


Kelly Needham - 2019
    Bible teacher Kelly Needham debunks our world's constricted, narrow view of friendship and casts a richer, more life-giving, biblical vision for friendship. In Friend-ish, Kelly Needham reminds us that we were called to more than halfhearted friendships and lukewarm connections. We need something more stable, secure, and sacred. We were designed for real friendship--but the difficult truth is that too many of us are settling for less. Kelly deconstructs what Scripture says about the gift of friendship and takes a closer look at the distorted view that most of us have instead. As she shares the lessons she's learned from experience, Kelly paints her own glorious vision of what Christian friendship could look like.With hard-fought wisdom, a clear view of Scripture, and a been-there perspective, Friend-ish teaches us how to:Recognize symptoms of idolatry and toxic dependencyBoldly ask for what we need from our community of friendsUnderstand and address the problems that arise in friendship--from neediness to discordRecognize when it's time to end an unhealthy friendshipReorient toward the purposeful, loving relationships we all crave that ultimately bring us closer to GodFind the friends you need and start to become that friend for othersJoin Kelly as she challenges you to view your chosen family in a new light, gain a vision of friendship according to Jesus, and finally enjoy friendships as God intended.

The Case for Heaven: A Journalist Investigates Evidence for Life After Death


Lee Strobel - 2021
    Looking at biblical accounts, Strobel unfolds what awaits us after we take our last breath and answers questions like:Is there an afterlife?What is heaven like?How will we spend our time there?And what does it mean to see God face to face? With a balanced approach, Strobel examines the alternative of Hell and the logic of damnation, and gives a careful look at reincarnation, universalism, the exclusivity claims of Christ, and other issues related to the topic of life after death. With vulnerability, Strobel shares the experience of how he nearly died years ago and how the reality of death can shape our lives and faith. Follow Strobel on this journey of discovery of the entirely credible, believable, and exhilarating life to come.

For Women Only: What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men


Shaunti Feldhahn - 2004
    Based rigorous research with thousands of men, Shaunti delivers one revelation after another , including:- Why your respect means more to him than your love.- How he feels deep inside about his role as provider.- What it means for a man to be so visually "wired."- Why sex for him is primarily emotional, not physical.- What he most wishes he could say to you.

The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving


Randy Alcorn - 2001
    Now the revision to the compact, perennial bestseller includes a provocative new concluding chapter depicting God asking a believer questions about his stewardship over material resources.Jesus spent more time talking about money and possessions than about heaven and hell combined. But too often we've overlooked or misunderstood his most profound teaching on this topic, from his words in Matthew 6. Jesus offers us life-changing investment advice. He actually wants us to store up treasures for ourselves--just not here on earth. Instead, he urges us to store our treasure in heaven, where they will await us, and last forever. We can't take it with us--but we can send it on ahead!Readers are moved from the realms of thoughtful Bible exposition into the highly personal arena of everyday life. Because when Jesus told His followers to "lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven," He intended that they discover an astounding secret: how joyful giving brings God maximum glory and His children maximum pleasure. In The Treasure Principle, you'll unearth a radical teaching of Jesus--a secret wrapped up in giving.Once you discover this secret, life will never look the same. And you won't want it to be."Supercharged with stunning, divine truth! Lightning struck over and over as I read it." - John Piper, Senior Pastor, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis

A Letter of Consolation


Henri J.M. Nouwen - 1982
    Finding Faith in a Time of SorrowBeloved author Henri Nouwen reflects on the spiritual significance of death and life in this moving meditation dedicated to "all those who suffer the pain that death can bring and who search for new life."

Relationship Goals: How to Win at Dating, Marriage, and Sex


Michael Todd - 2020
    Michael believes that relationships are the epicenter of human thriving. All too often, though, we lack the tools or vision to build our relationships on the wisdom and power of God.In other words, it's good to have a goal, but you can't get there without proper aim! By charting a course that candidly examines our most common pitfalls, and by unpacking explosive truths from God's Word, Michael's debut book will transform a trendy hashtag into a future where your most cherished relationships thrive in relational life, hope, and abundance. Now those are real #relationshipgoals.