Living Ministries

In Living by God's Promises, Joel R. Beeke and James A. La Belle draw from stellar Puritan treatises on divine promises by Andrew Gray, Edward Leigh, and William Spurstowe, and offer them in contemporary language for today's readers. Moving beyond historical interest, this book explores a topic that is vital for Christian living. By God's grace, it will help you treasure the promises that God establishes in Christ and conveys in His covenant love to comfort you in sorrow and strengthen your faith.

Now, as more families like Michael's are affected by a growing number of disorders and difficulties ranging from autism to food allergies, the need for programs and paradigm shifts is greater than ever. Beates thus seeks to motivate churches to pursue ministry to children and adults with developmental disabilities. He works through key Bible passages on brokenness and disability to develop helpful principles for believers and churches, teaching them first to embrace their own brokenness and then to embrace those who are more physically and visibly broken.

In This Beautiful Truth, Sarah Clarkson shares her own encounters with beauty in the midst of her decade-long struggle with mental illness, depression, and doubt. In a voice both vulnerable and reflective, she paints a compelling picture of the God who reaches out to us in a real and powerful way through the "taste and see" goodness of what he has made and what he continues to create amid our darkness. "To recognize and trust God's gift in pain," she writes, "empowers us to create and love as powerful witnesses to God's healing love in a hopeless world."

Life is short, and it can be as easily wasted as lived to the full. In the midst of our harried modern world, how do we make the most of life and the time we have? In these fast and superficial times, Os Guinness calls us to consequential living. In strong contrast to both Eastern and secularist views of time, he reorients our very notion of history, not as cyclical nor as meaningless, but as linear and purposeful. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, time and history are meaningful, and human beings have agency to live with freedom and consequence in partnership with God.

What can the call to discipleship, the adherence to the word of Jesus, mean today to the businessman, the soldier, the laborer, or the aristocrat? What did Jesus mean to say to us? What is his will for us today? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a seminal reading of the dichotomy between "cheap grace" and "costly grace."

Nicky Cruz's heart had turned to stone when he was only three. His mother nicknamed him the son of Satan, and he was severely abused, both physically and mentally. After moving from Puerto Rico to New York, Nicky became the leader of a notorious street gang the Mau Maus. He turned into a violent street criminal before he was eighteen. David Wilkerson, a skinny preacher from Pennsylvania, reached out to him with relentless love. He said, Nicky, Jesus loves you, and this simple message opened the door to a new life for Nicky Cruz.

Understand, this book is not written to make you feel bad or condemn you if you have not engaged others with the gospel message. This book is written to encourage and inspire you. Even though pastor and author Greg Laurie is a gospel-presenting professional, in this book he tells stories of his own failure and success. The most important things you will find here are biblical principles that you can apply yourself.

Imagine hearing your physician tell you that chips and queso contain more nutritional benefits than kale and quinoa. Or opening an envelope that looks like just another bill, and unfolding instead an official document declaring you the sole beneficiary of an anonymous billionaire's estate. In her new book, The Sacrament of Happy, Lisa Harper unveils a similarly extravagant, unexpected surprise, declaring that happiness - just plain feeling happy - is a gift from God that you can unashamedly enjoy.

"Living compassionately is rarely convenient and often downright challenging", writes Joyce Rupp, best-selling and award-winning author and retreat leader. The definitive Christian guide to compassion, Boundless Compassion is the culmination of Rupp's research and work as codirector of the Servite Center of Compassionate Presence. Through this six-week personal transformation process for developing and deepening compassion, Rupp nudges, encourages, and inspires you to grow in the kind of love that motivated Jesus' life and mission for his disciples.

Thirty years in the making, Audacious is a deep dive into the message that has compelled Beth Moore to serve women around the globe. Glancing over the years of ministry behind her and strengthening her resolve to the call before her, she came to the realization that her vision for women was incomplete. It lacked something they were aching for. Something Jesus was longing for.

Schreiner shares his personal experience related to spiritual gifts, but more importantly, he unpacks what the Bible has to say about them. In doing so, he brings a spirit of humility and charity, reminding us though spiritual gifts are important, we can have unity in Christ even where we disagree.

What happens when we replace courage with compromise? What happens when we replace honesty with likability? What happens when we replace conviction with cliches? What happens when we replace discipleship to Christ with a devotion to nice? We live in a culture that prizes niceness as one of its highest virtues. Niceness keeps the peace, wins friends, gains influence, and serves our reputations well, but it also takes the teeth out of our witness and the power out of our faith.

We live in a culture that more and more questions authority, truth claims, and traditional beliefs. So what are we to believe about the authority and trustworthiness of a book that is thousands of years old? Is God's word truly inerrant? How is it different from other religious texts? Why should we trust its claims?

In a 50-day reading plan journey, Welch unpacks anger while encouraging and teaching listeners to respond with patience to life's difficulties. This biblically wise resource is a useful tool for pastors, counselors, and lay helpers who are working with people who struggle with a short fuse. In A Small Book about a Big Problem, Welch invites listeners to consider how everyone can find anger in their actions and attitudes, but Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is the only one who can empower his people to grow in patience, peace, and wholeness.

In this audiobook, Transforming Center founder and seasoned spiritual director Ruth Haley Barton gently and eloquently leads us into an exploration of retreat as a key practice that opens us to God. Based on her own practice and her experience leading hundreds of retreats for others, she will guide you in a very personal exploration of seven specific invitations contained within the general invitation to retreat. You will discover how to say "Yes" to God's winsome invitation to greater freedom and surrender.

Escape the enemy's deadly trap! The Bait of Satan exposes one of the most deceptive snares Satan uses to get believers out of the will of God - offense. Most people who are ensnared by the bait of Satan don’t even realize it. Don’t be fooled! You will encounter offense, and it’s up to you how it will affect your relationship with God. Your response will determine your future. If offense is handled correctly, you will become stronger rather than bitter. John Bevere shows you how to stay free from offense and escape the victim mentality.

This book - simple and powerful - is the result of Murray's passionate exploration of the issue of surrender: why it's seemingly impossible and yet completely necessary.

The Bible is clear that women as well as men are created in God's image and intended to serve him with their lives. But what does this look like for women in the church? Helping church leaders think through what a Bible-centered women's ministry looks like, this collection of essays by respected Bible teachers and authors such as Gloria Furman, Nancy Guthrie, and Susan Hunt addresses a variety of topics relevant to women.

In Prayer, renowned pastor Timothy Keller delves into the many facets of this everyday act.

With his trademark insights and energy, Keller offers brilliant and inspirational biblical guidance, as well as specific prayers for certain situations, such as dealing with grief, loss, love, and forgiveness. He discusses ways to make prayers more personal and powerful, and how to establish a practice of prayer that works for each listener.

The days of cultural Christianity are fading. It's time to rethink normal. Suffering and exclusion are normal in a believer's life. At least they should be. This was certainly Jesus' experience. And it's the experience of countless Christians around the world today. No matter your social location or set of experiences, the biblical letter of 1 Peter wants to redefine your expectations and reinvigorate your hope.