Book picks similar to
The Smell of Sin: and the Fresh Air of Grace by Don Everts
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Through the Eyes of a Lion: Facing Impossible Pain, Finding Incredible Power
Levi Lusko - 2015
But they never expected that, five days before Christmas, their five-year-old daughter would suddenly go to heaven after an asthma attack. How do you walk out of the ER without your daughter?Through the Eyes of a Lion will help you turn your journey into a “roar story” by guiding you to look past what you can see with the naked eye. Whether you’re currently facing adversity or want to prepare yourself for inevitable hardship, it’s time to look at the adventure of your life through Jesus’ eyes—the eyes of a Lion.
Stop Acting Like a Christian, Just Be One
Christine Caine - 2009
Without internal change, one can never fully reach ones potential and purpose, or affect a lost world.
The Voting Booth: A new vision for Christian engagement in a post-Christian culture
Skye Jethani - 2016
But are those a Christian’s only options? The Voting Booth presents a third path for a new generation of Christians seeking to love both God and their neighbor. Written as a fictional dialogue between Christian, a confused voter, and three spirits of cultural engagement—Exodus, Exile, and Incarnation—The Voting Booth addresses many of the questions being asked by those struggling to follow Christ in our post-Christian age like: -How do I respond to those who view Christian faith as oppressive? -Why has Christianity become so political? -What role does fear have in Christian cultural engagement? -How should I interact with neighbors of other faiths? -Have Christians lost the “Culture War”? -How should I think about voting as a Christian? -What is the role of the Church in the culture? With engaging writing and surprising twists, The Voting Booth will challenge your assumptions and leave you with a new way of imagining your place in the culture. What others are saying about "The Voting Booth" "As an immigrant-turned-citizen facing only my second chance to vote in a presidential election, I am troubled by the options presented. Opinions from Christians abound, complete with blogs and Bible verses, but no clear path emerges. Skye’s allegory tale succinctly— if also slightly simplistically— represents the two dominant paradigms of Christian response: the call to escape, and the call to engage. He then offers a third perspective rooted in the incarnation. While the tale stops short of instruction, it is abounding in wisdom. This is an accessible read that provides a thoughtful way to name and evaluate the subconscious grids that undergird our approach to political engagement or disengagement. Best of all, it offers us a way to reflect on our perspective, posture, and purpose in a Christ-shaped way." -Glenn Packiam, Pastor at New Life Downtown "Skye Jethani is one of the most clear-headed, sober voices writing on faith and culture today. The Voting Booth raises questions many Christians wrestle with and provides answers that challenge and delight. In a time of political unrest and cultural upheaval, we can't afford to ignore what this book has to say." - Jonathan Merritt, author of Jesus is Better Than You Imagined; contributing writer for The Atlantic “In a creative and compelling way, Skye Jethani has written yet another book that pushes the American church in the right direction. His uncanny ability to put his finger up to the wind and chart the right direction forward is a huge help to our community as we navigate the increasingly treacherous waters of the secular west.” - John Mark Comer, pastor for teaching and vision at Bridgetown Church and author of Loveology. "In The Voting Booth, Skye Jethani beautifully crafts a dialogue between ‘Christian' and three personified postures we can take toward our culture. Eye-opening and thought provoking, Skye clearly illuminates the dominant but destructive attitudes that have dominated the American church for the last 100 years, and then shines a light on a better way. Highly recommended!” - Phil Vischer, creator of VeggieTales, What’s In The Bible, and The Phil Vischer Podcast.
Sacred Marriage: What If God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy?
Gary L. Thomas - 2000
Holy is better.Your marriage is more than a sacred covenant with another person. It is a spiritual discipline designed to help you know God better, trust him more fully, and love him more deeply. What if God s primary intent for your marriage isn t to make you happy . . . but holy?Sacred Marriage doesn't just offer techniques to make a marriage happier. It does contain practical tools, but what married Christians most need is help in becoming holier husbands and wives. Sacred Marriage offers that help with insights from Scripture, church history, time tested wisdom from Christian classics, and examples from today's marriages.Sacred Marriage reveals how marriage trains us to love God and others well, how it exposes sin and makes us more aware of God's presence, how good marriages foster good prayer, how married sex feeds the spiritual life, and more.The revised edition of Sacred Marriage takes into account the ways men's and women's roles have expanded since the book was first written. It has been streamlined to be a faster read without losing the depth that so many readers have valued.Sacred Marriage uncovers the mystery of God s overarching purpose. This book may very well alter profoundly the contours of your marriage. It will most certainly change you. Because whether it is delightful or difficult, your marriage can become a doorway to a closer walk with God, and to a spiritual integrity that, like salt, seasons the world around you with the savor of Christ."
The Weight of Glory
C.S. Lewis - 1949
Lewis, the most important Christian writer of the 20th century, contains nine sermons delivered by Lewis during World War Two. The nine addresses in Weight of Glory offer guidance, inspiration, and a compassionate apologetic for the Christian faith during a time of great doubt.
You Are Free: Be Who You Already Are
Rebekah Lyons - 2017
We measure our worth by what others think of us. We compare and strive, existing mostly for the approval of others. Pressure rises, anxiety creeps in and we hustle to keep up.Jesus whispers, I gave my life to set you free. I gave you purpose. I called you to live in freedom in that purpose. Yet we still hobble through life, afraid to confess all the ways we push against this truth, because we can’t even believe it. We continue to grasp for the approval of anyone that will offer it: whether strangers, friends, or community.Christ doesn’t say you can be or may be or will be free. He says you are free. Dare you believe it?In You Are Free, Rebekah invites you to:• Overcome the exhaustion of trying to meet the expectations of others and rest in the joy God’s freedom brings.• Release stress, anxiety and worry, to uncover the peace that comes from abiding in His presence.• Find permission to grieve past experiences, confess areas of brokenness, and receive strength in your journey towards healing.• Throw off self-condemnation, burn superficial masks and step boldly into what our good God has for you.• Discover the courage to begin again and use your newfound freedom to set others free.Freedom is for everyone who wants it—the lost, the wounded, and those weary from all of the striving. It’s for those who gave up trying years ago. It’s for those angry and hurt, brilliant and burnt by the Christian song and dance. You are the church, the people of God. You were meant to be free.
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
The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?
Rick Warren - 2002
Rick Warren will guide you through a personal forty-day spiritual journey that will transform your answer to life's most important question: What on earth am I here for? Knowing God's purpose for creating you will reduce your stress, focus your energy, simplify your decisions, give meaning to your life, and most important, prepare you for eternity. Movie stars and political leaders aren't the only ones turning to Rick Warren for spiritual guidance. Millions of people from NBA and LPGA players to corporate executives to high school students to prison inmates meet regularly to discuss The Purpose Driven Life.
Restless: Because You Were Made for More
Jennie Allen - 2014
We hold our dreams close to our chest. But our passions have a purpose—they were engineered for God’s greater plan and he intends for us to use them for his glory and purposes.Do you feel like you’re missing something? What if this feeling wasn’t a bad thing? It could be a longing for more of God and a catalyst to living the life that was designed before the foundations of the earth were laid.In Restless, Bible teacher and fellow struggler Jennie Allen:Explores practical ways to identify the threads of your lifeHow to intentionally weave those threads togetherExplains how your gifts, passions, places, and relationships aren’t random; they’re deliberate and meaningfulSpeaks the truth about your suffering: it’s possible it has produced the very thing you want to give back to the worldUsing the story of Joseph, the dreamer, Jennie explains how his suffering, gifts, relationships—all of the threads of his life—fit into the greater story of God and how our stories can do the same. What would happen if God got bigger than your fear and insecurity, and you spent the rest of your life running without reservation after his purposes for you? You were created for more.To dive deeper into the Restless message, additional resources such as a DVD study and leader/participant guide books are available.
Covenant and Kingdom: The Dna of the Bible
Mike Breen - 2010
It is not, however, out of reach. The ability to identify the main themes of any passage is a skill you can learn, even as you seek to apply its truth to your own life. Covenant and Kingdom: The DNA of the Bible guides you on a Scriptural quest for knowledge and understanding. Stories and verse from the Old and New Testaments are woven together and cross-referenced, until the connections are clear and indisputable, like DNA from the Bible. Although the great Biblical themes of Covenant and Kingdom find their fullest expression in Jesus, Covenant goes all the way back to the beginning, when the only thing required was to maintain the "oneness" that God had created. After the Fall, the way was blocked; yet, God built a bridge, in Covenant, back to us. In Jesus, that Covenant was fulfilled, as on the cross, he offered himself as the ultimate blood sacrifice. The Bible is about God, our Father, inviting us to know him in a very real and personal way.Covenant and Kingdom: The DNA of the Bible provides guidance to the path of understanding that it will take to develop, to the fullest, your own individual relationship with God.
Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers
Dane C. Ortlund - 2020
As a result, they focus a lot on what Jesus has done to appease God's wrath for sin. But how does Jesus Christ actually feel about his people amid all their sins and failures? This book draws us to Matthew 11, where Jesus describes himself as "gentle and lowly in heart," longing for his people to find rest in him. The gospel is primarily about God's heart drawn to his people, a heart of tender love for the sinful and suffering. These chapters take readers into the depths of Christ's very heart for sinners, diving deep into Bible passages that speak of who Christ is and encouraging readers with the affections of Christ for his people. His longing heart for sinners will comfort and sustain readers in their up-and-down lives.
In His Steps
Charles M. Sheldon - 1897
Originally published in 1897, it continues to speak to modern readers.
Servolution: Starting a Church Revolution through Serving
Dino Rizzo - 2009
It is inspirational. It is practical. And it has the potential to revolutionize your life.” Mark Batterson—Lead Pastor, National Community ChurchA movement is rumbling through the body of Christ—a revolutionary army of people giving hope to a hurting world through practical, personal acts of service.In Servolution, Dino Rizzo shares the story of his relentless pursuit of ways to bless the lost, poor, and hurting people of his community in Jesus’ name. You’ll be amazed and inspired by the incredible ways God has used Healing Place Church to meet the needs of thousands of people. Each chapter includes practical suggestions and resources for use in any church. Be encouraged by the testimony of how God’s Spirit can use a simple passion to serve to revolutionize your approach to ministry. Wherever you are and whatever your gifts, you can play a vital role in this revolution through serving.
Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches
Russell D. Moore - 2009
Moore does not shy away from this call in Adopted for Life, a popular-level, practical manifesto for Christians to adopt children and to help equip other Christian families to do the same. He shows that adoption is not just about couples who want children-or who want more children. It is about an entire culture within evangelicalism, a culture that sees adoption as part of the Great Commission mandate and as a sign of the gospel itself.Moore, who adopted two boys from Russia and has spoken widely on the subject, writes for couples considering adoption, families who have adopted children, and pastors who wish to encourage adoption.
The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas
Ann Voskamp - 2013
In what is sure to become an instant holiday classic, Voskamp reaches back into the pages of the Old Testament to explore the lineage of Jesus via the advent tradition of "The Jesse Tree."Beginning with Jesse, the father of David, "The Greatest Gift" retraces the epic pageantry of mankind, from Adam to the Messiah, with each day's reading pointing to the coming promise of Christ.Sure to become a holiday staple in every Christian home, "The Greatest Gift" is the perfect gift for the holidays and a timeless reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.