Living Religions

The Christian life is a process of growing in holiness, our natural response to the good news of our redemption in Christ. This kind of growth is gradual, and obstacles are plentiful. Thankfully, we don't have to go it alone. God has given us his Spirit so that we can overcome temptation and become more and more conformed to the image of Christ. But how does the Spirit work? What is the nature of our own personal involvement in the process? And how do we know if we are making progress?

UnClobber reexamines what the Bible says (and does not say) about homosexuality in such a way that breathes fresh life into outdated and inaccurate assumptions and interpretations.

It can no longer be assumed that most people - or even most Christians - have a basic understanding of the Bible. Many don’t know the difference between the Old and New Testament, and even the more well-known biblical figures are often misunderstood. It is getting harder to talk about Jesus accurately and compellingly because listeners have no proper context with which to understand God’s story of redemption. In this basic introduction to faith, D. A. Carson takes seekers, new Christians, and small groups through the big story of scripture. He helps listeners to know what they believe and why they believe it.

This fast-paced, inspirational narrative reveals how God used one man of great courage, discipline, and humility to bring countless souls to Christ. God’s accomplishments through George Whitefield are to this day virtually unparalleled. In an era when many ministers were timid and apologetic in their preaching, he preached the gospel with aggressive zeal and undaunted courage. In the wake of his fearless preaching, revival swept across the British Isles, and the Great Awakening transformed the American colonies.

We live in difficult times. Life so often seems like a turbulent river threatening to drown us and destroy our world. Why, then, shouldn’t we cling to the certainty of the comfortable - to our deep-seated habits and familiar ways? Because, Pema Chödrön teaches, that kind of fear-based clinging keeps us from the infinitely more powerful experience of being fully alive.

Men who were led by the hand or groped their way along the wall to reach Jesus were touched by his finger and went home without a guide, rejoicing that Jesus Christ had opened their eyes. Jesus is still able to perform such miracles. And with the power of the Holy Spirit, his Word will be expounded and we’ll watch for the signs to follow, expecting to see them at once. I work to speak straight to your hearts and consciences, and if there is anyone with faith to receive, God will bless them with fresh revelation.

It is indifference that leaves people alone and allows them to go their own way. It is love, tender love, that warns them and raises the cry of alarm. The cry of “Fire! Fire!” at midnight might sometimes rudely, harshly, and unpleasantly startle a person out of his sleep, but who would complain if that cry was the means of saving his life? The words except you repent, you will all likewise perish might at first seem stern and severe, but they are words of love, and they could be the means of delivering precious souls from hell.

Do you feel discouraged, even defeated, in your battle against habitual sin? Elyse Fitzpatrick delves into the heart of the problem: deep down, we're all idol worshippers who put our loves, desires, and expectations in God's place - and then suffer the consequences of our misplaced affections. Yet God loves his people and can use even our messy lives and struggles for his glory. Fitzpatrick shows us how to better search and know our hearts, long for our gracious Savior, and resist and crush our false gods. Included are questions for further thought.

In the best-selling and critically acclaimed Darwin on Trial and Reason in the Balance, Phillip Johnson took on the academic elites and exposed the misleading claims of evolutionary naturalism. Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds provides a new and powerful treatment of these issues for high-school students, parents, teachers, pastors, youth advisers, and ordinary listeners. Johnson aims not just to defeat a bad theory, but to defeat it in the right way - by opening minds to the truth.

Written for anyone who wants to develop a deeper more meaningful relationship with God, Mansions of the Heart offers a step-by-step guide through a spiritual formation road map based on Teresa of Avila's Seven Mansions. The book includes a Mapping Tool that will help you discern your place on your spiritual journey and offers church leaders a process for helping church members to grow into spiritual maturity.

This long-awaited second book by renowned spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle goes deeper into the teachings so eloquently and clearly expressed in his first book, The Power of Now.

In this landmark work of emerging African American womanist theology, Delores Williams finds in the biblical figure of Hagar-mother of Ishmael, cast into the desert by Abraham and Sarah, but protected by God - a prototype for the struggle of African-American women. African slave, homeless exile, surrogate mother, Hagar's story provides an image of survival and defiance appropriate to black women today.

Operating in the Courts of Heaven has become an international best seller that has supernaturally transformed lives all over the world. It’s not another prayer strategy; it’s a blueprint for engaging a spiritual dimension called the Courts of Heaven. Robert Henderson biblically teaches believers how to come before the Court and present their cases of unanswered prayers or delayed breakthroughs to the Righteous Judge.

In his four decades of urban ministry, Robert D. Lupton has experienced firsthand how our good intentions can have unintended, dire consequences. We fly off on mission trips to poverty-stricken villages, hearts full of pity and suitcases bulging with giveaways - trips that one Nicaraguan leader describes as effective only in "turning my people into beggars." In Toxic Charity, Lupton urges individuals, churches, and organizations to step away from these spontaneous, often destructive acts of compassion and toward thoughtful paths to community development.

People assume Christians have all the answers; yet, in the face of tragedy, death, or suffering, everyone struggles to find just the right words to bring comfort or closure to those in need. Sometimes just hearing "It is God's will" isn't enough. Sometimes just saying "God will turn this to good" seems so meaningless when despair is so profound. Often the pain goes too deep, the questions won't go away, and even the assurance of faith doesn't help. How could God let this happen? How can God love us, yet allow us to suffer in this way? What is the point of this? What is the purpose?

With her fresh approach to the familiar Bible story and its creative, practical strategies, Joanna Weaver shows how all of us, Marys and Marthas alike, can draw closer to our Lord, deepening our devotion, strengthening our service, and doing both with less stress and greater joy.

Living Beyond Offense explores Jesus's teachings about forgiveness—what it is, what it costs, and what you gain when you put it into practice. Blending theology, Scripture, and pieces of her own life story, Yana Conner writes not as a blameless expert but as a fellow traveler on the forgiveness journey. Forgiveness is hard work, but you can learn to trust again! Despite the pain you've experienced, you will find ideas and encouragement for rooting yourself in God's trustworthiness and living in shalom once more.

Many Christians think about heaven as a distant place we go after we die. But what if it's a very real kingdom available to us right now, here on earth? In What If Jesus Was Serious About Heaven?, Skye Jethani unpacks what Jesus really said about heaven and how it can transform our faith today.

Discover a holistic, biblical vision of sex and gender that honors God and offers good news to the world.

In The Well-Behaved Child, beloved psychologist John Rosemond shares his seven essential tools for raising a child who pays attention and obeys. Once you learn how to use his proven, user-friendly techniques, you'll have everything you need to deal effectively with a wide range of discipline problems in children ages three to thirteen, what John terms "The Decade of Discipline". This clear, step-by-step program includes: