Living Ministries

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.

Most of us have had encounters with God time and again, but we often fail to recognize them or allow ourselves to be changed by them. When God meets you, His presence, power, and love should transform your life - forever. Using the compelling biblical accounts of the children of Israel, Ruth, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, author Priscilla Shirer shows you what happens when you meet God, the obstacles that keep you from changing, and the ways to experience a miraculous transformation in your life.

Pride is often the true reason why we get our feelings hurt, why we feel rejection, why we won't admit to mistakes, why we want to be seen with certain people, and why we stay angry. Jesus gives us the perfect example of a powerful life lived without conceit, smugness, or arrogance. So why do we not want to admit to our pride? It is because of our pride! In The Power of Humility, R. T. Kendall challenges us to look deeply into our hearts and motives to recognize the pride and self-righteousness there.

Every man was once a boy. And every little boy has dreams, big dreams: dreams of being the hero, of beating the bad guys, of doing daring feats and rescuing the damsel in distress. Every little girl has dreams, too: of being rescued by her prince and swept up into a great adventure, knowing that she is the beauty.

R. T. Kendall invites you to discover what it means to be in the presence of God. In this fresh, new look at God's presence Kendall explores everything from the omnipresence of God to the tangible manifestation of His presence. You will discover why God might at times withhold a sense of His presence while at other times you might experience an acute sense of awe or reverence of God that drives you to your knees in prayer, leads you into spontaneous worship of Him, or brings about healing and other miracles.

Christians know what Jesus Christ has done — but who is he? What is his deepest heart for his people, weary and faltering on their journey toward heaven? Jesus said he is "gentle and lowly in heart." This audiobook reflects on these words, opening up a neglected yet central truth about who he is for sinners and sufferers today.

A truly fulfilling marriage involves two people focusing on each other's needs rather than their own. Lysa TerKeurst, president of The Proverbs 31 Ministry, has written a practical guide for all spouses that will open their eyes to the needs, desires, and longings of the others. She offers eight essential criteria for capturing the heart of your spouse, with creative tips on how to accomplish them.

It isn't easy being a guy today. Maybe it never has been easy, but today the challenges to guys who want to be holy, who want to honor God with their minds and bodies, seem tougher than ever. You live at a time and in a culture that seems given over to sex. Perhaps you have only just begun looking at pornography or perhaps you've been doing so for many years. No matter your situation, this short guide will help you to discover God's plan for sex and sexuality.

True manhood, polished by the hand of God, is nothing short of an awe-inspiring gift to womanhood. Contrary to the vibe that a title like God’s Gift to Women gives off, this audiobook is not merely about how men can more effectively relate to women. Men can never hope to become a gift to women, until they gain a complete vision of Christ-built manhood.

Christianity has tended to focus on right beliefs and right choices as the keys for personal growth. But biblical evidence and modern brain science show that our character is shaped more by whom we love than what we believe. Through conversations he had with Dallas Willard at the Heart and Soul Conference shortly before Dallas' death, Jim Wilder shows how we can train our brains to relate to God based on joyful, mutual attachment - which leads to emotional and spiritual maturity as our identity and character are formed by our relationship with God.

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.

Worship leader and recording artist Laura Story's life took an unexpected turn when her husband, Martin, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Their lives would never be the same. Yes, with God all things are possible. But the devastating news was that no cure existed to restore Martin's short-term memory, eyesight, and other complications. The fairy-tale life Laura had dreamed of was no longer possible. And yet in struggling with God about how to live with broken dreams, Laura has found joy and a deeper intimacy with Jesus.

I’m too busy. We’ve all heard it, we’ve all said it. Sometimes being busy seems like the theme of our lives. Yet this frenetic pace poses a serious threat to our physical, social, and even spiritual well-being. In this mercifully short book about a really big problem, best-selling author Kevin DeYoung rejects the "busyness as usual" mindset, arguing that a life of constant chaos is far from what God intends. DeYoung helps us figure out a better way forward as he strikes a mature and well-reasoned balance between doing nothing and doing everything.

The reason "sinners" ran from the religious, yet ran to Jesus had everything to do with his heart's attitude toward people. They could sense Jesus was for them - not against them. Unlike the Pharisees, who could only see the mud of sin, Jesus saw a masterpiece under the mud that was so valuable, he was willing to give his life to restore messy people to the original work of art he created them to be.

Thomas Boston's Human Nature in Its Fourfold State is often regarded as one of Christian literature's best discourses on human nature, tracing it from its perfect beginnings in Eden, through the fall of man, and on to its final state in eternity. According to Boston, the four states of man are the state of innocence, in which God made him; the state of nature, as he has unmade himself; the state of grace, as created in Jesus Christ; and the eternal state, as made by the Judge of All Things.

Is an imposter robbing you of God's love? Many Christians have bought into the lie that we are worthy of God's love only when our lives are going well. If our families are happy or our jobs are meaningful, life is a success. But when life begins to fall through the cracks and embarrassing sins threaten to reveal our less-than-perfect identity, we scramble to keep up a good front to present to the world - and God. We cower and hide until we can rearrange the mask of perfection and look good again.

A truly fulfilling marriage involves two people focusing on each other's needs rather than their own. Lysa TerKeurst, president of The Proverbs 31 Ministry, has written a practical guide for all spouses that will open their eyes to the needs, desires, and longings of the others. She offers eight essential criteria for capturing the heart of your spouse, with creative tips on how to accomplish them.

Do you feel that the ability to hear God's voice is for other people and not for you? Is it only for people who lived in biblical times? Not at all! The god who loved you enough to die for you loves you enough to talk to you. And wherever you are in your spiritual walk, God will find a way to speak to you in a way you will understand.

The healthy Christian life is one of continuing spiritual, emotional, and relational growth. But so many of us feel stuck or stagnated at one stage of the journey. It's not always clear to us where or why we are stuck, making it difficult to take the next step on our journey of the soul. That's where Bill and Kristi Gaultiere come in. After decades in private practice as counselors and therapists, they have developed a unique model for growing in grace.

One of the greatest crimes of this generation of Christians is its neglect of the Gospel, and it is from this neglect that all our other maladies spring forth. Absent from too many pulpits are the essential themes that make up the very core of the Gospel: the justice of God, the radical depravity of man, the blood atonement. In The Gospel's Power and Message, Paul Washer addresses these essential elements of Christ's good news and provides a guide to help us rediscover the Gospel in all its beauty, scandal, and saving power.