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Christianity on Trial: A Lawyer Examines the Christian Faith by W. Mark Lanier
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Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
Eric Metaxas - 2009
One of these was Dietrich Bonhoeffer--a pastor and author, known as much for such spiritual classics as "The Cost of Discipleship "and "Life Together," as for his 1945 execution in a concentration camp for his part in the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.In the first major biography of Bonhoeffer in forty years, "New York Times" best-selling author Eric Metaxas takes both strands of Bonhoeffer's life―the theologian and the spy―to tell a searing story of incredible moral courage in the face of monstrous evil. In a deeply moving narrative, Metaxas uses previously unavailable documents―including personal letters, detailed journal entries, and firsthand personal accounts―to reveal dimensions of Bonhoeffer's life and theology never before seen.In "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy"―"A Righteous Gentile vs the Third Reich," Metaxas presents the fullest accounting of Bonhoeffer's heart-wrenching 1939 decision to leave the safe haven of America for Hitler's Germany, and using extended excerpts from love letters and coded messages written to and from Bonhoeffer's Cell 92, Metaxas tells for the first time the full story of Bonhoeffer's passionate and tragic romance.Readers will discover fresh insights and revelations about his life-changing months at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem and about his radical position on why Christians are obliged to stand up for the Jews. Metaxas also sheds new light on Bonhoeffer's reaction to Kristallnacht, his involvement in the famous Valkyrie plot and in "Operation 7," the effort to smuggle Jews into neutral Switzerland."Bonhoeffer" gives witness to one man's extraordinary faith and to the tortured fate of the nation he sought to deliver from the curse of Nazism. It brings the reader face to face with a man determined to do the will of God radically, courageously, and joyfully―even to the point of death. "Bonhoeffer" is the story of a life framed by a passion for truth and a commitment to justice on behalf of those who face implacable evil.
The Pilgrim's Progress: A Readable Modern-Day Version of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress (The Pilgrim's Progress Series Book 1)
John Bunyan - 1678
50+ illustrations. Free audio excerpt download.
Veneer: Living Deeply in a Surface Society
Timothy D. Willard - 2011
Culture tells us that in order to be liked we must masquerade as someone other than who we are. So, we lacquer ourselves with credit cards and plastic surgery and status updates hoping no one will see the person underneath. This "veneer" allows us to silence our real selves as it gives voice to the alter ego we'd like others to see. But, is this all there is to life or have we been duped? Does material success equal significance? Is our only identity the one we steal from Hollywood? God's idea of humanity is altogether different from the world's. There is a way to live that sees beauty in our imperfection and, as Tim and Jason put it, once we realize this we can strip our veneers and live an unveneered life of freedom, honesty, and beauty.
Hope for Every Moment: Inspirational Thoughts to Help You Every Day of the Year
T.D. Jakes - 2006
Jakes walks with you through the perplexing seasons of life when you feel persecuted and in pain. His striking reflections will bring strength to your spirit and emotional liberty. Hope For Every Moment provides daily inspiration from a man who shares his personal struggles to help those desperate for the Lord's comforting touch. T.D. Jakes is a best selling author and founder and pastor of Potter's House, one of the fastest growing churches in the nation, where he ministers to a congregation of more than 26,000 members.
Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life
Henry Cloud - 1992
A boundary is a personal property line that marks those things for which we are responsible. In other words, boundaries define who we are and who we are not. Boundaries impact all areas of our lives: Physical boundaries help us determine who may touch us and under what circumstances -- Mental boundaries give us the freedom to have our own thoughts and opinions -- Emotional boundaries help us to deal with our own emotions and disengage from the harmful, manipulative emotions of others -- Spiritual boundaries help us to distinguish God's will from our own and give us renewed awe for our Creator -- Often, Christians focus so much on being loving and unselfish that they forget their own limits and limitations. When confronted with their lack of boundaries, they ask: - Can I set limits and still be a loving person? - What are legitimate boundaries? - What if someone is upset or hurt by my boundaries? - How do I answer someone who wants my time, love, energy, or money? - Aren't boundaries selfish? - Why do I feel guilty or afraid when I consider setting boundaries? Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend offer biblically-based answers to these and other tough questions, showing us how to set healthy boundaries with our parents, spouses, children, friends, co-workers, and even ourselves.
Essence of Prayer
Ruth Burrows - 2006
Ought we to do so? What do we mean by prayer? What does the word mean in the Christian context? Almost always when we talk about prayer we refer to something we do. From that standpoint, questions problems, confusion, discouragement and illusions multiply. For Ruth Burrows it is essential to correct this view. Our Christian knowledge assures us that prayer is essentially what God does, how God addresses us, looks at us. And what God is doing for us is giving us the Divine Self in love. What then is the core of the central message of the revelation of Jesus? It is the unconditional love of God for us, for each one of us. God the unutterable, incomprehensible Mystery, the Reality of all reality, the Life of all Life. And this means that divine Love desires to communicate its Holy Self to us. This is the richness of the vision of a contemplative nun who contradicts the heresy of so much modern writing about the spiritual life--namely that we reach God by running faster. The growing fascination for the public of the contemplative and monastic life is evidence of the profound appeal of this approach. For this there is a real hunger. At its simplest we do no look for success so as to be assured that we do believe. We give ourselves over completely to divine love. Ultimately, we live for God and not for ourselves.
No Cure for Being Human: And Other Truths I Need to Hear
Kate Bowler - 2021
A beach body by summer. A trip to Disneyland around the corner. A promotion on the horizon. Everyone wants to believe that they are headed toward good, better, best. But what happens when the life you hoped for is put on hold indefinitely?Kate Bowler believed that life was a series of unlimited choices, until she discovered, at age 35, that her body was wracked with cancer. In No Cure for Being Human, she searches for a way forward as she mines the wisdom (and absurdity) of today's "best life now" advice industry, which insists on exhausting positivity and on trying to convince us that we can out-eat, out-learn, and out-perform our humanness. We are, she finds, as fragile as the day we were born.With dry wit and unflinching honesty, Kate Bowler grapples with her diagnosis, her ambition, and her faith as she tries to come to terms with her limitations in a culture that says anything is possible. She finds that we need one another if we're going to tell the truth: Life is beautiful and terrible, full of hope and despair and everything in between--and there's no cure for being human.
Reunion: The Good News of Jesus for Seekers, Saints, and Sinners
Bruxy Cavey - 2017
Dig into Scripture with Bruxy as he unfolds God’s message for the world in one word, three words, and thirty words. Learn why you shouldn’t follow the Bible (but why you’ll want to read it to learn how to follow Jesus). Scout out the real definitions of sin and salvation, which might surprise you. Discover your true citizenship in the Jesus nation, where you might be ready to die for a cause but never willing to kill for one. Glimpse a God who is Love itself and who, like it or not, just can’t stop thinking about you. If you’ve heard about Jesus so often that he makes you yawn, give him one more chance. If you think the gospel has something to do with religious rules or rituals, think again. Whether you are a restless seeker, struggling sinner, or sanctimonious saint, get ready for a reunion: with your true self, with others, and with the God who longs to welcome you home. One of Missio Alliance’s Top 15 Essential Reads of 2017.
A Compassionate Call to Counter Culture in a World of Poverty, Same-Sex Marriage, Racism, Sex Slavery, Immigration, Abortion, Persecution, Orphans and Pornography
David Platt - 2015
But the Bible makes it abundantly clear that is not what Christ’s followers are called to do.In Counter Culture, New York Times bestselling author David Platt redefines social justice from a biblical standpoint and makes a compelling case for why Christians are called to fully and actively surrender themselves to every cause — regardless of personal cost or consequence.Drawing heavily on Scripture and compelling personal accounts from around the world, Platt presents a pointed yet winsome call for readers to faithfully follow Christ in countercultural ways — ways that will prove both costly and rewarding for the contemporary church.
Evolution Impossible: 12 Reasons Why Evolution Cannot Explain Life on Earth
John F. Ashton - 2012
In Evolution Impossible, Dr. John Ashton uses discoveries in genetics, biochemistry, geology, radiometric dating, and other scientific disciplines to explain why the theory of evolution is a myth. Regardless of your level of scientific education, you will finish this book able to cite 12 reasons why evolution cannot explain the origin of life.
Made for More
Curtis Martin - 2008
Yet many of our youth never get beyond the material distractions of the world. In fact, in a recent survey, teenagers were eight times more desirous of being rich and five times more desirous of being famous than pursuing a life of faith. To be young and Catholic in the modern world is no easy task. Entertained and enticed beyond their ability to cope, millions of Catholic teens and college students are drifting through life living without purpose or meaning. They are searching for their own path, but they are ill-equipped at such an impressionable age to discern the direction that leads to everlasting happiness. In this book, renowned Catholic leader Curtis Martin presents the evidence that we have been made for more than just the intoxications of this world sex, partying, and money. We have been made for greatness and we will only reach such heights when we first come into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Made for More makes a compelling case that: We have been made for eternal happiness with God in heaven. The secret of happiness lies in following God's plan for our life. Jesus is the Son of God who preached the good news of salvation. Jesus founded a community of believers, the Church, and that being part of this family of God is how we find our direction and purpose and the surest path to eternal life.
One-Minute Aquinas: The Doctor's Quick Answers to Fundamental Questions
Kevin Vost - 2014
Thomas wrote, then turn to The One-Minute Aquinas, the fast-paced book that provides busy readers with simple, readable explanations of the truths that, for 750 years now, have caused the works of St. Thomas to be sought out by kings and popes, scholars and saints, as well as by ordinary souls like you — hungry to know God and to love him more and more.In this book’s lucid pages, author Kevin Vost gives you small, digestible portions of St. Thomas’s life-giving wisdom that you can enjoy one minute at a time. Tables and graphics will help you grasp and remember St. Thomas’s key ideas with a minimum of time and effort.Best of all, in The One-Minute Aquinas you’ll find quick, sure refutations of the countless relativistic, secular, and pseudoscientific ideas that are so influential in our culture today — and so shallow, contradictory, and wrong!Pope John Paul II declared that “the Church has been justified in consistently proposing St. Thomas as a master of thought and a model of the right way to do theology.” Now The One-Minute Aquinas enables even those with limited time and only a modest education to benefit from the wisdom of this great saint.Here, with minimal effort and among scores of other things, you’ll finally come to know and understand:--Why God permits evil--Heaven: what it is (and is not)--Five simple proofs that God exists--Why God became man--Why Jesus let himself be tempted--How you can grow quickly in virtue--Why all souls need the sacraments--Why Jesus let himself be crucified--The causes of lust--The natural law and the Commandments--The soul, free will, sin, and damnation--The angels, their ranks, and their powers--How God governs (and refrains from governing)--God’s power and its limits--The Bible: why didn’t Jesus just write it himself?--The surprising qualities of our resurrected bodies
In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars
Mark Batterson - 2006
In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars
Set the Trumpet to Thy Mouth
David Wilkerson - 1986
But he also brings a message of courage and comfort--a call to return to God with all our hearts and to fulfill God's purposes for us as His beloved children.
Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It)
Brian C. Jones - 2006
Jones believes that the reason most Christians don't tell their friends about Jesus has nothing to do with not knowing how--it's because they don't think they need to. As Jones writes, the first four years he was a pastor, he didn't believe in hell himself. Today, he shares his story of discovering the truth that hell exists--and why many Christians are afraid to believe in it. "Hell Is Real "motivates Christians who have grown complacent in their view of hell. Drawing on the teachings of Jesus, Jones leads readers into a head-on collision with apocalyptic urgency--the all-consuming, inspiring conviction that will overcome readers when they realize that hell is real and they can help save people from going there.