Living Religions

In Biblical Critical Theory, Christopher Watkin draws a winsome vision for biblical cultural engagement in which faithfulness to Scripture and sensitivity to culture walk hand in hand. If Christians want to speak with a fresh, engaging and constructive voice within our culture, we need to press deeper into the core truths of the Bible.

If you've raised a child, you know that parenting doesn't stop when they turn eighteen. In many ways, your relationship gets even more complicated--your heart and your head are as involved as ever, but you can feel things shifting, whether your child lives under your roof or rarely stays in contact. Doing Life with Your Adult Children helps you navigate this rich and challenging season of parenting. Speaking from his own personal and professional experience, Burns offers practical answers to the most common questions he's received over the years.

Christianity isn’t about following rules, it’s about a relationship. The rise in popularity of this phrase coincides with a growing disinterest and misunderstanding regarding the role of God’s life-giving, perfect law in the Christian life. Rather than the source of joy it was intended to be, the law is viewed as an angry god’s restrictions for a rebellious people.

"Why me, Lord?" Amid the toddler tantrums, the mealtime melees, and the backseat blowups, have you found yourself asking God that same question? Maybe even screaming it into a couch pillow? You're not alone. Your most trying moments as a parent can quickly spiral into discouragement, hopelessness, and sometimes even resentment toward God or your family. Abbie Halberstadt, author of the bestselling M Is for Mama, shares scriptural wisdom and lessons learned from her own challenges as a mama of ten to help shift your perspective on the hardships of parenting and of life, in general.

The book of Esther reads much like a fairy tale: a young Jewish queen, her wise older cousin, an evil royal servant, and a self-centered king. But Esther is no fairy tale. From the beginning of the book to the end, God is the main character of the story - even though he's never mentioned. Join Lydia Brownback as she digs deeper into the book of Esther and learn how God is faithful to keep his promises and deliver his people. This story ultimately points to the gospel, revealing the need for a better deliverer, a better king, and a better kingdom than any found in this world.

Greatness and mediocrity are separated by one thing--how you respond to rejection. People who crumble beneath the weight of rejection never realize their full potential, but people who learn to use rejection as a catalyst experience fulfillment in their lives.

Modern medical advances save countless lives. But for all their merits, sophisticated technologies have created a daunting new challenge, namely a blurring of the expanse between life and death. The dying process is often hidden behind a complex web of medical terminology, statistics, and ethical decisions, making it difficult for patients and loved ones to know how to approach the end of life in a dignity-affirming, God-honoring, faith-filled way.

In For Married Women Only, pastor and author Tony Evans explores these three principles in a straight-forward yet encouraging manner. He unpacks the touchy topic of submission and lays out the rewards inherent in this biblical model. On seduction, Evans looks at the quality of attractiveness and how embodying it can be pleasing to your spouse and to God. And with surrender, readers will examine why a wife is the perfect helpmate for her husband and how to combat attitudes opposed to God's design.

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.

Exciting, revolutionary power is available exclusively to you as a Christian. It's the supernatural power to transform human nature, to enable you to be the salt and light to your world, to help you face any crisis, and to bring about a dramatic but peaceful revolution in those around you. You cannot buy this extraordinary power, nor can you find it by searching the earth for it. As a Christian it resides in you already, an awesome gift from God that you have only to claim and use once you know and accept its Source.

In Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World, Kristen shares the ups and downs in her own family's journey of discovering why it's healthiest not to give one's kids everything. Teaching them the difference between "want" and "need" is the first step in the right direction. With many practical tips and anecdotes, she shares how to help kids become hardworking, fulfilled, and successful adults.

This book is based on Proverbs 31:10: "An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels." Thousands of women have already discovered the worth of this volume and testify to lives and marriages changed because of a commitment to the principles presented here. If this is a commitment you have made, or want to make, The Excellent Wife answers the difficult questions facing you today.

This world has declared war on our children. Every day, on a multitude of battlefronts, Satan is deploying weapons of mass corruption against our children. Modern culture has been systematically designed with an agenda that is anti-God, anti-Christ, and anti-Scripture, intended to corrupt young and impressionable hearts and minds. Christian parents cannot simply float passively along with the drift of our culture. As God’s people, we need to teach our children God’s Word; give them wise and biblical guidance; and above all, show them our extravagant love.

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.

Pornography may seem inescapable, but God can free us from its destructive power. The gospel replaces the dehumanizing lies of pornography with this surprising truth: God created us as royalty. How then can we reclaim our God-given identity to take a stand against - and ultimately starve - the predatory porn industry? In The Death of Porn, Ray Ortlund writes six personal letters, as from a father to his son.

What if, in one simple devotional a day, you could glean principles from timeless wisdom to sharpen you for each day's inevitable challenges? In her lyrical, compelling, and poignant voice, bestselling author and Bible teacher Jackie Hill Perry offers sixty short daily reflections on specific passages from Scripture to help you awaken to the God you were made for, the life you were made for, and the person you were made to be.

This ambitious and critically-acclaimed presentation of the Bible is set to an original musical underscore performed by the Prague Symphony Orchestra and a Hollywood-style sound design created by Technicolor Studios.

Today, we are becoming more like the spiritual climate in the first century than like 1950 America. In a pluralistic, syncretistic society where all deities are considered equal, only the unequal display of Jesus’ power will convince people of the supremacy of Christ. This book takes an in-depth look at how we can grow in identity, intimacy, and faith so that we can develop our authority and release the kingdom.

Forgiving anyone in a meaningful way is one of the hardest things a person has to do. If you do not, resentment and vengeance begin to consume you. It is nearly impossible to move past transgression without forgiveness, but few people have the resources and the tools to forgive others fully and move on with their lives.

Granger Westberg's gentle wisdom and acute insight into human nature helps grievers understand the ten identifiable stages of grief. Whether grieving a death or divorce, job loss or disappointment, everyone must move through these stages, and we are changed by the experience. Faith makes a difference during these times.