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A Grief Observed

by C.S. Lewis

Written after his wife’s tragic death as a way of surviving the “mad midnight moment,” A Grief Observed is C.S. Lewis’s honest reflection on the fundamental issues of life, death, and faith in the midst of loss. This work contains his concise, genuine reflections on that period: “Nothing will shake a man — or at any rate a man like me — out of his merely verbal thinking and his merely notional beliefs. He has to be knocked silly before he comes to his senses. Only torture will bring out the truth. Only under torture does he discover it himself.” This is a beautiful and unflinchingly homest record of how even a stalwart believer can lose all sense of meaning in the universe, and how he can gradually regain his bearings.

tags: death, grief, suffering

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A Meal with Jesus

by Tim Chester

Meals have always been important across societies and cultures, a time for friends and families to come together. An important part of relationships, meals are vital to our social health. Author Tim Chester sums it up: “Food connects.”

Chester argues that meals are also deeply theological–an important part of Christian fellowship and mission. He observes that the book of Luke is full of stories of Jesus at meals. These accounts lay out biblical principles. Chester notes, “The meals of Jesus represent something bigger.” Six chapters in A Meal with Jesus show how they enact grace, community, hope, mission, salvation, and promise.

Moving from biblical times to the modern world, Chester applies biblical truth to challenge our contemporary understandings of hospitality. He urges sacrificial giving and loving around the table, helping readers consider how meals can be about serving others and sharing the grace of Christ.

tags: discipleship, meals, mercy, Service, stories

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A Praying Life

by Paul Miller

Author Paul Miller shares his insights and conclusions about how to connect the broken pieces of your life and allow prayer-even poorly delivered-to fill the gaps with meaning and substance. Miller’s down-to-earth approach and practical nature will help you see that your relationship with God can grow and your communication with Him can get better. Parents will find Miller’s family-life experiences especially helpful.

tags: discipleship, prayer

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Basic Christianity

by John Stott

Who is Jesus? “If Jesus was not God in human flesh, Christianity is exploded,” writes John Stott. “We are left with just another religion with some beautiful ideas and noble ethics; its unique distinction has gone.”

If Jesus is not who he said he was, and if he did not do what he said he had come to do, the whole superstructure of Christianity crumbles in ruins to the ground. Is it plausible that Jesus was truly divine? And what might this mean for us?

John Stott’s clear, classic statement examines the historical facts on which Christianity stands. Here is a sound, sensible guide for all who seek an intellectually satisfying explanation of the Christian faith.

tags: discipleship, worldview

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Counterfeit Gods

by Tim Keller

Sex, money, power, and love. So many of us have placed our faith in these glittering idols—hoping they hold the key to happiness and satisfaction, but knowing in our hearts they will only let us down. With the global economy in shambles, and the idols that we all as a society have worshiped for years crashing down around us, it is no wonder so many of us feel lost, alone, disenchanted, and resentful. But the truth is that these idols were lesser gods that could never give us true fulfillment. 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.

In Timothy Keller’s view, the Bible tells us that the human heart is an “idol-factory,” taking good, wholesome things and turning them into idols that drive us. With COUNTERFEIT GODS, Keller applies his trademark approach to understanding Christianity to show us how classic Biblical stories can reveal the key to understanding our society and own hearts. This powerful, inspiring book will cement Keller’s reputation as a leading Christian writer, for both the faithful and the skeptical, and it is a message that comes at a crucial time in our lives as individuals and as a society.

tags: idols, Money, power, sexuality

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Desiring The Kingdom

by James K. Smith

Desiring the Kingdom focuses education around the themes of liturgy, formation, and desire. The author contends–as did Augustine–that human beings are “desiring agents”; in other words, we are what we love. Postmodern culture, far from being “secular,”is saturated with liturgy, but in places such as malls, stadiums, and universities. While these structures influence us, they do not point us to the best of ends. Smith aims to move beyond a focus on “worldview” to see Christian education as a counter-formation to these secular liturgies. His ultimate purpose is to re-vision Christian education as a formative process that redirects our desire toward God’s kingdom and its vision of flourishing.

tags: habits, liturgy, worship

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Knowing God

by J.I. Packer

Over the past 30 years, J. I. Packer’s classic has revealed to over one million Christians around the world the wonder, the glory and the joy of knowing God. This anniversary edition is completely retypeset, with Americanized language and spelling, and a new preface by the author.

tags: theology, worldview

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Mere Christianity

by C.S. Lewis

A forceful and accessible discussion of Christian belief that has become one of the most popular introductions to Christianity and one of the most popular of Lewis’s books. Uncovers common ground upon which all Christians can stand together

tags: discipleship, worldview

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Pollution And The Death of Man

by Francis Schaeffer

At the creation of the world, God gave mankind the responsibility to exercise dominion over the earth. Man was to use the earth and its abundance of resources to satisfy his physical needs, but he was also to care for the earth and its creatures as a wise and godly steward. Reading about endangered species or another oil spill will make it abundantly clear that the human race has failed miserably in its God-given mandate. How did we get to this point? Where should we go from here?

This classic by Francis Schaeffer, now repackaged, looks at contemporary ecological crises through the lens of theology and Scripture. Renowned for his work in applied philosophy and theology, Schaeffer answers serious philosophical questions about creation and ecology. He concludes that we must return to a profoundly and radically biblical understanding of God’s relationship to the earth, and of our divine mandate to exercise godly dominion over it. Repackaged and republished, Pollution and the Death of Man carries an important and relevant message for our day. With concluding chapter by Udo Middelmann.

tags: ecology, environmentalism, pollution, worldview

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The God Who Is There

by Francis Schaeffer

For over thirty years The God Who Is There has been the landmark book that changed the way the church sees the world. In Francis Schaeffer’s remarkable analysis, we learn where the clashing ideas about God, science, history and art came from and where they are going.

Now this completely retypeset edition includes a new introduction by James W. Sire that places Schaeffer’s seminal work in the context of the intellectual turbulence of the early twenty-first century. More than ever, The God Who Is There demonstrates how historic Christianity can fearlessly confront the competing philosophies of the world.

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The Jesus Storybook Bible

by Sally Lloyd-Jones

Containing forty-six Bible stories from creation to Revelation with beautiful, rich, and vibrant artwork, The Jesus Storybook Bible invites children to join in the greatest of all adventures and discover for themselves that Jesus is at the center of God’s great story of salvation – and at the center of their story, too.

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The Prodigal God

by Tim Keller

This short book is meant to do no less than lay out the essentials of the Christian message, the gospel. It can therefore serve as an introduction to the Christian faith for those who are unfamiliar with it or who may have been away from it for some time.

This volume is not just for seekers, however. Many lifelong Christian believers feel they understand the basics of the Christian faith quite well and certainly don’t think they need a primer. Nevertheless, one of the signs that you don’t grasp the unique, radical nature of the gospel is that you think you do. Sometimes long-time church members find themselves so struck and turned around by a fresh apprehension of the Christian message of grace that they feel themselves to have been essentially “reconverted.” This book, then, is written to both curious outsiders and established insiders of the faith, to both the people Jesus calls “younger” and “elder” brothers in his famous Parable of the Prodigal Son.

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The Reason for God

by Tim Keller

Although a vocal minority continues to attack religious faith, for most Americans, faith is a large part of their lives: 86% of Americans refer to themselves as religious, and 75% of all Americans consider themselves Christians. So how should they respond to these passionate, learned, and persuasive books that promote science and secularism over religion and faith? For years, Tim Keller has compiled a list of the most frequently voiced “doubts” skeptics bring to his Manhattan church; here, he dismantles each of them. Written with atheists, agnostics, and skeptics in mind, Keller also provides an intelligent platform on which true believers can stand their ground when bombarded by the backlash. This book challenges such ideology at its core and points to the true path and purpose of Christianity.

tags: apologetics, discipleship, worldview

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The Screwtape Letters

by C.S. Lewis

In this humorous and perceptive exchange between two devils, C. S. Lewis delves into moral questions about good vs. evil, temptation, repentance, and grace. Through this wonderful tale, the reader emerges with a better understanding of what it means to live a faithful life.

tags: hell, Satan, supernatural

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The Walk

by Stephen Smallman

The Walk is a book written to those who have expressed a desire to follow Christ as his disciple. It assumes no prior understanding of what that means, nor does it assume that the person has actually come to a point of professing faith. It uses as a starting point someone who is simply wondering, “what next?”. Stephen also addresses those who have grown up “Christian” and may be wondering how to step out in their own faith. The Walk is designed to be used as much as read. It will be helpful to someone who wants to read on their own, but also includes readings and projects that will make it useful as a workbook for that individual, in a mentor relationship, or for use in groups. The division into twelve chapters is ideal for a typical Sunday School quarter.

tags: discipleship

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Total Church

by Steve Timmis & Tim Chester

“Church is not a meeting you attend or a place you enter,” write pastors Tim Chester and Steve Timmis. “It’s an identity that is ours in Christ. An identity that shapes the whole of life so that life and mission become ‘total church.’” With that as their premise, they emphasize two overarching principles to govern the practice of church and mission: being gospel-centered and being community-centered. When these principles take precedence, say the authors, the truth of the Word is upheld, the mission of the gospel is carried out, and the priority of relationships is practiced in radical ways. The church becomes not just another commitment to juggle but a 24/7 lifestyle where programs, big events, and teaching from one person take a backseat to sharing lives, reaching out, and learning about God together.

In Total Church, Chester and Timmis first outline the biblical case for making gospel and community central and then apply this dual focus to evangelism, social involvement, church planting, world missions, discipleship, pastoral care, spirituality, theology, apologetics, youth and children’s work. As this insightful book calls the body of Christ to rethink its perspective and practice of church, it charts a middle path between the emerging church movement and conservative evangelicalism that all believers will find helpful.

tags: mercy, missional, Service

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When Helping Hurts

by Brian Fikkert & Steve Corbett

Churches and individual Christians typically have faulty assumptions about the causes of poverty, resulting in the use of strategies that do considerable harm to poor people and themselves. When Helping Hurts provides foundational concepts, clearly articulated general principles and relevant applications. The result is an effective and holistic ministry to the poor, not a truncated gospel.

tags: mercy, Service

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You Can Change

by Tim Chester

It’s about heart change, not behavior change. That’s theconviction of Tim Chester as he seeks to help everyday Christians”connect the truth about God with our Monday-morning struggles.”This interactive book, laid out in workbook fashion, is for newerChristians struggling with sin and for more mature Christians whohave plateaued in their faith as they seek to find victory over sinin their lives. With a conviction that sanctification is God’s work and thejourney to holiness is joyful, Chester guides readers through a”change project”-beginning with the selection of one area of lifethey would like to modify. Each chapter includes a question (e.g.,Why would you like to change? What truths do you need to turn to?)to guide readers as they deal with a specific sin or struggle,truths from God’s word, and a reflection guide to help readersthrough their change project.