Living Religions

You know the "prosperity gospel." The "name it and claim it gospel." The "political gospel". The messages being preached on at least 90 percent of religious television. But what about the Gospel? What was it the apostle Paul was "unashamed" of? Most Christians don't understand what the true Gospel of Jesus is. In our church sanctuaries pastors neglect to preach the fear of God and eternal punishment. Church communities have grown to believe that all are saved and none will be lost. Meanwhile many other Christians lack assurance of their own salvation and focus on sanctification as their only ticket to Heaven.

If you long to invest your life in what matters most - the content of your character - join best-selling author James Merritt as he looks at 12 traits that are an essential part of godly living. As you discover from role models in the Bible, good character is built brick by brick, thought by thought, action by action, and habit by habit on a daily basis. In this book you'll find the keys to growing in integrity, humility, respect, forgiveness, perseverance, self-control, honesty, loyalty, authenticity, courage, generosity, and faithfulness.

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.

Monica Swanson knew she'd tapped a heartfelt concern when nearly two million readers shared her blog post, "What a Teenage Boy Needs Most from His Mom". In this helpful audiobook, she takes mothers deeper into the insights they need for the boy-raising journey, covering topics from dealing with the daily influences of friends and technology to helping a boy grow to be physically, spiritually, and emotionally healthy. She also addresses learning and finding passions, perspectives on relationships and dating, and work ethics and money management.

Our world constantly tells us to "do what feels good", especially when it comes to issues related to sexuality. Sadly, this mind-set always leads to guilt, pain, and heartache. And yet, in the gospel, there is good news for the sexually broken. Pointing listeners to the grace of Jesus Christ, longtime counselor and teacher David Powlison offers hope for both the sexually immoral and the sexually victimized: all brokenness will one day be transformed.

If you find yourself unsettled with Christianity as usual... If you find yourself longing for a deeper experience of the Christian life... Then Living by the Highest Life, the first volume of an Introduction to the Deeper Christian Life, is for you.

Many people find it easy to understand about God and Jesus,but struggle to understand quite how and where the Holy Spirit fits in to the picture. Who exactly is he? And how does he work in our lives? These short, simple books are designed to help Christians understand what God has said about these questions and many more in the Bible. Suitable for all Christians - especially those who are struggling with questions about who the Holy Spirit is.

There are times in life when we look back and feel desperate to make time stand still, especially when unexpected change happens and all we want is for things to go back to how they were. But we can't stop the flow of life, and we can't stop time. And looking back doesn't enable us to go back. It just makes us stuck. In a place. In a space. In a memory. In a mindset. In a habit.

Like a physician running a biopsy on lifeless faith, here A. W. Tozer offers one of the most compelling critiques of feigned spirituality you may ever listen to. In Of God and Men, Tozer exposes false religious notions and lifts up true New Testament Christianity. A loving and gentle critique of culture and even the church, it reveals lies we unknowingly believe, godless practices we unknowingly do, and treasures of Christ we unknowingly ignore.

Everyone wants to be loved - to find someone who will stick with them through all of life's ups and downs, someone who is in it for the long haul. But in a world where dating is increasingly based on split-second decisions and geared toward casual relationships rather than marriage, it's easy for single people to feel discouraged, used, or unworthy of true love. Jonathan "JP" Pokluda wants to dispel the myths, misconceptions, and fairy tales you've believed about dating and replace them with the truth from the One who invented marriage and created you to crave a relationship.

Instead of asking the Lord to do something for you - revive you, heal you, bless you, prosper you - accept what He has already done for you through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God has left you precious promises in His Word and those promises belong to you right now through Christ. As you see for yourself what God has already done for you and in you, your walk with Him will become a joy and an adventure you never thought possible. Your faith in Him will be quickened, your heart encouraged, and your feet firmly set on His pathway of victory.

Incorporate a new rhythm for those days when life feels too hard through the daily practice of receiving and releasing—receiving God's encouragement, instruction, and truth to start your day and releasing to God all that's weighing you down at the end of each day. He'll set you on a path toward healing. In this 50-day devotional, New York Times bestselling author Lysa TerKeurst helps you stay connected to God and continue loving others even in the middle of discouraging, disappointing, or even devastating circumstances.

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 1968, at the climax of the '60s, Os Guinness visited the United States for the first time. There he was struck by an impression he’d already felt in England and elsewhere: Beneath all the idealism and struggle for freedom was a growing disillusionment and loss of meaning. “Underneath the efforts of a generation”, he wrote, “lay dust”. Even more troubling, Christians seemed uninformed about the cultural shifts and ill-equipped to respond. Guinness took on these concerns by writing his first book, The Dust of Death.

Before you could tuck it under your arm, before you could bring it up on your phone–you did not read Scripture, you listened to it. For centuries, the only way to access God’s Word was to hear it read aloud in public gatherings. Today, we blessed to own personal printed copies of the Bible, but there is a surprising benefit to hearing the Scriptures read aloud as it was for so many generations.

"My father had more than 50 children." So begins the haunting memoir of Anna LeBaron, daughter of the notorious polygamist and murderer Ervil LeBaron. With her father wanted by the FBI for killing anyone who tried to leave his cult - a radical branch of Mormonism - Anna and her siblings were constantly on the run with the other sister-wives. Often starving and always desperate, the children lived in terror. Even though there were dozens of them together, Anna always felt alone.

With Intercessory Prayer, first-time author and gifted Bible teacher Dutch Sheets brings clear and startling revelation on the power of prayer and the role of intercession. With the rare grace of Lucado and Foster, Dutch unwraps the mystery of intercessory prayer, revealing our role as God's partners in His work. Have you ever wondered if your prayers really count? Or why you never seem to get any answers? If so, then Intercessory Prayer will convince you that your prayers can, indeed, move heaven and earth.

After miraculously surviving a near-fatal brainstem stroke at age 26, as told in their memoir, Hope Heals, life for Katherine and Jay Wolf changed forever - and so did the way they viewed God, the world, and themselves in it. There was no going back to normal after such a tragedy. Yet Katherine and Jay learned that suffering is not the end, but rather the beginning of a new story. In Suffer Strong, they invite us into this new story as they share universal lessons and helpful practices.

In an age where pleasing people, puffing up your ego and building your résumé are seen as the methods to "make it", the Apostle Paul calls us to find true rest in blessed self forgetfulness. In this short and punchy book, best selling author Timothy Keller, shows that gospel humility means we can stop connecting every experience, every conversation with ourselves and can thus be free from self condemnation. A truly gospel humble person is not a self-hating person or a self-loving person, but a self-forgetful person.

God has given you gifts so you can fulfill his purpose for your life, but if you're like a lot of people, you may not have recognized your talents yet. Start asking God to show you something special about the way he's made you.