Book picks similar to
Love Secrets by John Mark Pantana
christian
favorites
faith
jesus
Return To Rome: Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic
Francis J. Beckwith - 2008
He was baptized a Catholic, but his faith journey led him to Protestant evangelicalism. He became a philosophy professor at Baylor University and president of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS). And then, in 2007, after much prayer, counsel, and consideration, Beckwith decided to return to the Catholic church and step down as ETS president.This provocative book details Beckwith's journey, focusing on his internal dialogue between the Protestant theology he embraced for most of his adult life and Catholicism. He seeks to explain what prompted his decision and offers theological reflection on whether one can be evangelical and Catholic, affirming his belief that one can be both. EXCERPTIt's difficult to explain why one moves from one Christian tradition to another. It is like trying to give an account to your friends why you chose to pursue for marriage this woman rather than that one, though both may have a variety of qualities that you found attractive. It seems to me then that any account of my return to the Catholic church, however authentic and compelling it is to me, will appear inadequate to anyone who is absolutely convinced that I was wrong. Conversely, my story will confirm in the minds of many devout Catholics that the supernatural power of the grace I received at baptism and confirmation as a youngster were instrumental in drawing me back to the Mother Church. Given these considerations, I confess that there is an awkwardness in sharing my journey as a published book, knowing that many fellow Christians will scrutinize and examine my reasons in ways that appear to some uncharitable and to others too charitable.
Victorious Emotions: Creating a Framework for a Happier You
Wendy Backlund - 2017
Victorious Emotions will help create happiness as your default emotion. Even if we have unhappy circumstances, we can build a system of beliefs that, as effortless as the tides, will always bring us back to joy.Victorious Emotions gives powerful, practical strategies to live out Romans 12:2, which says to be transformed by the renewing of the mind. The word "renewing" in the Greek means renovation. This book is about renovating and reconstructing the pathways and strongholds of our thinking. It explores how our brains create certain belief systems and how to intentionally create new ones.The goal of this book is not to focus on eliminating negative emotions, but to build a tidal wave of victorious emotions that are pulled into our lives as easily and surely as the ocean tides will appear every day. It is time to be overtaken by emotions that lead us into victory!
The Reason: How I Discovered a Life Worth Living
Lacey Sturm - 2014
The screaming match she had with her grandmother was the reason she went to church. What she found there was the Reason she is alive today.With raw vulnerability, this hard rock princess tells her own story of physical abuse, drug use, suicide attempts, and more--and her ultimate salvation. She asks the hard questions so many young people are asking--Why am I here? Why am I empty? Why should I go on living?--showing readers that beyond the temporary highs and the soul-crushing lows there is a reason they exist and a purpose for their lives. She not only gives readers a peek down the rocky path that led her to become a vocalist in a popular hardcore band, but she shows them that the same God is guiding their steps today.
Single, Dating, Engaged, Married: Navigating Life and Love in the Modern Age
Ben Stuart - 2017
This book unlocks each season's God-given purpose and shows you how to thrive within it.In a society where everyone is supposedly more connected, why do people feel so lonely? Even as marriage rates decline, recent studies find the overwhelming majority of single adults still hope to get married. But how can we navigate life and love in this disconnected culture? Has social media eroded the institutions that brought us together--and the deeper emotional intimacy they provided?Pastor and bestselling author Ben Stuart will help you navigate through the four stages of a relational life and show you how to look at the truths and intentions God has established for each.As you embark on this journey, you will discover how to:Use singleness to make an impact for the kingdom of GodPursue dating with clarity and purityUse the season of engagement wisely to prepare for marriageMaximize your life as a married couple for shared ministryContinually seek God and His will throughout each stageDiscover how to embrace God's design, invest your life in what matters most, and find meaning in whatever season of life you're in.
Simply Tuesday: Small-Moment Living in a Fast-Moving World
Emily P. Freeman - 2015
We move through the week breathless and bustling, just trying to keep up while longing to slow down. But real life happens in the small moments, the kind we find on Tuesday, the most ordinary day of the week. Tuesday carries moments we want to hold onto--as well as ones we'd rather leave behind. It hold secrets we can't see in a hurry--secrets not just for our schedules but for our souls. It offers us a simple bench on which to sit, observe, and share our stories. For those being pulled under by the strong current of expectation, comparison, and hurry, relief is found more in our small moments than in our fast movements. In "Simply Tuesday," Emily P. Freeman helps readers - stop dreading small beginnings and embrace today's work- find contentment in the now--even when the now is frustrating or discouraging- replace competition with compassion- learn to breathe in a breathless world Jesus lived small moments well, slow moments fully, and all moments free. He lives with us still, on all our ordinary days, creating and redeeming the world both in us and through us, one small moment at a time. It's time to take back Tuesday, to release our obsession with building a life, and believe in the life Christ is building in us--every day.
In His Place: A Modern-Day Challenge in the Tradition of Charles Sheldon's Classic In His Steps
Harry C. Griffith - 2016
We are to incarnate Christ in our time, being conscious of the presence and power of God within us in all of our thoughts and actions. This is what pastor Steve Long wants his congregation to understand. When Long challenges his prominent but self-satisfied congregation to become a living force for Christ in their small North Georgia town, he is blindsided by personal trials. Responding to Christ’s command “As the Father has sent me, so I send you,” Pastor Long tackles these difficult situations—and more—over a tumultuous week of trials and testing and ultimately learns (as he leads) what it means to walk In His Place.
Adore: A Simple Practice for Experiencing God in the Middle Minutes of Your Day
Sara Hagerty - 2020
Adoration is the simple practice Sara discovered for starting where you are, and letting the grit of your day greet the beauty of God's presence.Adoration is for the woman who feels frenzied and fearful in the middle minutes of her day. It is a simple practice for 7:37 a.m. when the children are waking and the dryer is already humming but also for the 12:17 p.m. lunch break and for 5:53 p.m. while stuck in traffic.Adoration is the place where we put how we feel in front of God's Word, and watch what happens to our insides. It's what you were made for. Join Sara in this soul-stirring journey through thirty attributes of God which you can walk through at your own pace. Learn how the simple habit of adoration--in the middle minutes of your day--can help you see God with fresh eyes, and talk to Him right there. Experience a new way of engaging with God in your everyday. Adore will show you how.
Fifty Years in the Church of Rome
Charles P. Chiniquy - 1885
We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
Messy: God Likes It That Way
A.J. Swoboda - 2012
Unanswered prayers. Painful choices. Unresolved regrets. We’re called to have faith, and yet we doubt. We try to be perfect, but we fall short. This is the chaos. It’s all around us. There’s no limit to it. And there’s no quick fix for it.Both annoyingly honest and refreshingly humorous, Messy reassures Christians that God can reveal Himself in their clutter. Author and pastor A.J. Swoboda offers biblical insight and vivid, personal stories to redefine faith from something that must be perfect to something that is imperfect, but can still give beauty, meaning, and purpose to a messy life. As entertaining as it is challenging, this book teaches Christians what it means to trust in each other, in grace, in hope, and in a Savior who defied the rules of death. Here’s to finding joy in your chaos!
The Fire and the Staff: Lutheran Theology in Practice
Klemet I. Preus - 2005
H. C. Fritz and C. F. W. Walther of fine works on practical ministry- Shows pastors how to carry out ministry on the basis of confessionally Lutheran theological principles- Stories and personal experience lend immediacy to the discussion- Unique in its presentation and content
You and Me Forever: Marriage in Light of Eternity
Francis Chan - 2014
It's until death do us part. Then come eternal rewards or regrets depending on how we spent our lives. In his latest book, Francis Chan joins together with his wife Lisa to address the question many couples wonder at the altar: How do I have a healthy marriage? Setting aside typical topics on marriage, Francis and Lisa dive into Scripture to understand what it means to have a relationship that satisfies the deepest parts of our souls. In the same way Crazy Love changed the way we saw our personal relationship with God, You and Me Forever: Marriage in Light of Eternity will radically shift the way we see one of the most important relationships in our life. Jesus was right. We have it all backwards. The way to have a great marriage is by not focusing on marriage. Whether you are single, dating or married, You and Me Forever will help you discover the adventure that you were made for and learn how to thrive in it. 100% of the net profits from You and Me Forever: Marriage in Light of Eternity will go towards providing food, shelter and rehabilitation for thousands of orphaned children and exploited women in partnership with global charities.
Wisdom of the Sadhu: Teachings of Sundar Singh
Kim Comer - 2000
His beggar-like existence, his intense devotion, his mystical encounters with Jesus, and his simple yet profound parables became the stuff of legends. No one who met him - including the thousands who flocked to hear him during his visits to Europe, the Far East, and the United States - remained unaffected.Known in his lifetime as India's most famous convert to Christianity, Sundar Singh would not approve of that characterization. He loved Jesus and devoted his life to knowing and following him, but he never accepted Christianity's cultural conventions, even as he embraced its stark original teachings.Wisdom of the Sadhu, a collection of anecdotes, sayings, parables, and meditations, brings together the best of Sundar Singh's teachings. Couched as they are in a distinctly Indian idiom, they probe the essence of the Gospels with unusual freshness and offer insights of great depth and value to every serious seeker.
You Can Trust God to Write Your Story: Embracing the Mysteries of Providence
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth - 2019
But when it comes to our actual lives, we prefer something less sensational, even boring—sunny skies and smooth sailing, please and thank you. We want our own stories to be predictable, safe, controllable, and catastrophe-free.When plans fall apart, jobs are lost, kids wander off, doctors give bad reports, we often wonder, "What are you doing, God? Are you sure you have this under control? It doesn’t really seem like it right now."God is the master Storyteller. He’s writing your story and it’s a part of His bigger, grander, eternal Story. But we’re still in the middle. We haven’t gotten to the happy ending yet, and it can be hard to trust Him in the thick of our struggles. That’s why Robert and Nancy share their own story, friends’ stories, and the stories of people in the Bible who have faced life-altering challenges, but, in the end, have found God to be faithful. Learn why you really can trust God to write your story—no matter what plot twists you may encounter along the way."This is a unique and charming book, integrating stories of God’s providence from His people and His Word. Nancy and Robert write personally and beautifully, infusing readers with a Christ-centered vision, hope, and trust for the future."-Randy Alcorn, author of Heaven, Giving is the Good Life, and Deception "You Can Trust God to Write Your Story is an amazing book whose title says it all. For if you are a follower of Jesus, every day of your life—whether you feel like it or not—is weighted with kingdom purpose, eternal significance, and a royal destiny filled with joy and contentment. Let my dear friends, Robert and Nancy, help you embrace the mysteries of the Lord’s Providence. For when it comes to happy endings, you can’t find a better Author than the God of the Bible. Happy endings are His forte—turn the page, trust Him, and discover it for yourself."-Joni Eareckson Tada, Joni and Friends International Disability Center
Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life
Tish Harrison Warren - 2016
But God can become present to us in surprising ways through our everyday routines. Framed around one ordinary day, this book explores daily life through the lens of liturgy, small practices and habits that form us. Each chapter looks at something making the bed, brushing her teeth, losing her keys that the author does in the day. Drawing from the diversity of her life as a campus minister, Anglican priest, friend, wife, and mother, Tish Harrison Warren opens up a practical theology of the everyday. Each activity is related to a spiritual practice as well as an aspect of our Sunday worship. Come and discover the holiness of your every day."
Stop Calling Me Beautiful: Finding Soul-Deep Strength in a Skin-Deep World
Phylicia Masonheimer - 2020
But it's not the whole truth. The beauty of being God's daughter has backstory. If you're tired of hearing the watered-down Christian teaching and hungry for a deeper spiritual life—one that gives real answers to your hardest questions—Stop Calling Me Beautiful teaches you how. You will learnhow to pursue the truths of who God is and who you are in relationship to Himhow to study Scripture, and how your view of God determines how you face life's challengeshow legalism, shallow theology, and false teaching keep you from living boldly as a woman of the Wordhow to experience God's presence in painful circumstancesJesus doesn't offer a powerless salvation. He makes your brokenness part of His whole redemption story—if you allow Him to. Don't settle for a feel-good faith. If you want victory over insecurity, fear, shame, and the circumstances you are facing, it's time to embrace Jesus. All of Him.