Like the Elvises who roam the streets of Vegas, these counterfeit christs look and sound like Jesus, but they couldn’t be further from the real deal.In Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? 12 False Christs, author Matthew Richard exposes these false christs for what they are . . . mere impostors. Richard reveals to readers who the real Jesus of the Bible is, but also reveals to us twelve false christs who are embraced, loved, promoted, and revered, even by well-meaning Christians.“My hope is that readers will connect with the different stories in this book, but will do so in a way that they can see how people’s false theology and bad presuppositions lead to taking up false christs,” says Richard. “In other words, this book attempts to combine the art of story and the discipline of theology, so that the reader can see flesh-and-blood examples of how easy false theology can lead someone into idolatry.”

    

    

    The 10th-anniversary edition of this popular book challenges you to take time to pray, to listen to God, to respond to what God is saying to you, and to overcome prayer barriers.

    This book gives you the opportunity to surrender to God's presence and enjoy just being with Him.Find contentment, peace, and encouragement from practicing spiritual disciplines, and learn simple, tangible insights into practicing God’s presence in everyday life.

    Many of us placed our faith in these things, believing they held the key to happiness, but with a sneaking suspicion they might not deliver. The recent economic meltdown has cast a harsh new light on these pursuits. In a matter of months, fortunes, marriages, careers, and a secure retirement have disappeared for millions of people. No wonder so many of us feel lost, alone, disenchanted, and resentful. But the truth is that we made lesser gods of these good things—gods that can’t give us what we really need. There is only one God who can wholly satisfy our cravings—and now is the perfect time to meet him again, or for the first time.The Bible tells us that the human heart is an “idol-factory,” taking good things and making them into idols that drive us. In Counterfeit Gods, Keller applies his trademark approach to show us how a proper understanding of the Bible reveals the unvarnished truth about societal ideals and our own hearts. This powerful message will cement Keller’s reputation as a critical thinker and pastor, and comes at a crucial time—for both the faithful and the skeptical.

    The Gutter serves as a manifesto for all different types of people in the Church: those who yearn to impact the culture around them, those who have reassessed their discovery of Christ and want to make their story known, and those who are seeking out new, fresh ways of exhibiting Christ's love to the poor in spirit.

    The Brooklyn Tabernacle pastor discusses how he built up a broken-down church to a membership of six thousand.

     We live like slaves to our fast-paced, suffocating schedules.  We spend our energy and time in triviality, relegating God to the background.  He seems distant to us, and we resist the idea that God wants to give, say, and show us more; we dismiss it as rumor.  But Jesus calls us to a better way.  Another dream- an unimagined future.  Close the gap between what you hear about and what you see.Rumors is filled with the same forward-thinking spirit that defines its authors, Jon Tyson and Darren Whitehead. ?Louie Giglio, pastor, Passion City ChurchBoth challenging and encouraging, Rumors of God will reintroduce you to a God worth talking about. ?Gabe Lyons, author, The Next Christians, founder, Q, coauthor, UnChristianThis book invites us to find the rumors of God all around us.  Read it, but be ready to be changed. ?Scot McKnight, author, One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow and Jesus Creed for StudentsFor those who are jaded by the church, or have become cynical about the power of the Gospel in our time, Rumors of God is a great antidote. ?Alan Hirsch, author, dreamer, activist (www.theforgottenways.org)Foreword by Bill Hybels, founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., and chairman of the board for the Willow Creek Association. The irony: two upstart Aussies from tiny towns half a world away wind up leading high impact churches in two of the most significant cities in North America.  Only God.Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson are deep thinking Christ followers with a bias for action in the world.  A rare combination these days.  They are both leaders and communicators, visionaries and "get stuff done for God" guys.  Extremely rare.I have had the privilege of working closely with Darren at Willow Creek Community Church for over 7 years.  He is thoughtful, relationally intelligent and one of the hardest working young leaders I know.In Rumors of God, Darren and Jon have some how succeeded in slipping 3D glasses over our eyes.  The results are that passages from scripture come alive in ways that will impact readers for a long time. I salute the efforts of these young mates and pray that readers will be as stretched in their minds and hearts as I have been.

    

    I don't much like going. So, what now?"What's happening to the Church? Why are so many people who for decades have been faithful, steady churchgoers (and others who want to start going to church but can't seem to find one that meets their needs) losing interest in even attending church, let alone getting involved? What is fundamentally wrong with the "types" of churches (Seeker, Bible, Emergent, Liberal, Evangelical) that dot the religious landscape? Larry Crabb believes it is time to rethink the entire foundation and focus of what we know today as church -- everything we're doing and are wanting to see happen. In his most honest and vulnerable book to date, the author reveals his own struggles in this area and then offers a compelling vision of why God designed us to live in community with Him and others, and what the church he wants to be a part of looks like."

    In eight stirring meditations, Darrell Johnson shows how the Lord's Prayer sums up the essence of Christian faith and, when prayed in faith, draws us into draws us into the Triune God's work of transforming the world. Darrell W. Johnson is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A popular conference and retreat speaker, he has also served as the preaching pastor for a number of congregations in North America and the Philippines and Adjunct Professor of Preaching for the Doctor of Ministry program at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. His other books include Experiencing the Trinity and Discipleship on the Edge: An Expository Journey through the Book of Revelation.

    I will show you how to waste your life. Consider this story from the February 1998 Reader's Digest: A couple 'took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30-foot trawler, play softball and collect shells. . . .' Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgment: 'Look, Lord. See my shells.' That is a tragedy."God created us to live with a single passion to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life. The wasted life is the life without this passion. God calls us to pray and think and dream and plan and work not to be made much of, but to make much of him in every part of our lives."Most people slip by in life without a passion for God, spending their lives on trivial diversions, living for comfort and pleasure, and perhaps trying to avoid sin. This book will warn you not to get caught up in a life that counts for nothing. It will challenge you to live and die boasting in the cross of Christ and making the glory of God your singular passion. If you believe that to live is Christ and to die is gain, read this book, learn to live for Christ, and don't waste your life!

    As a result, churches today are filled with people who believe they are Christians . . . but aren’t. We want to be disciples as long as doing so does not intrude on our lifestyles, our preferences, our comforts, and even our religion.Revealing a biblical picture of what it means to truly be a Christian, Follow Me explores the gravity of what we must forsake in this world, as well as the indescribable joy and deep satisfaction to be found when we live for Christ.The call to follow Jesus is not simply an invitation to pray a prayer; it’s a summons to lose your life—and to find new life in him. This book will show you what such life actually looks like.

    And a large majority of believers are unclear about what spiritual language really means. This is a balanced, biblical approach for anyone wanting to make an honest inquiry into the nature of speaking in tongues. Hayford debunks common myths surrounding the practice of tongues and shares with readers the beauty and the order of spiritual language that he has discovered during his times of private communion with God.