Living Religions

Best-selling author, Thom S. Rainer, guides listeners toward a practical framework and game plan for making a difference for those who visit their church to help make churches more hospitable to guests.

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.

It should come as no surprise that misunderstandings about the gospel message and the nature of true conversion result in a problem with genuine assurance of salvation. A pseudo-gospel of easy believism has led many into careless presumption, and a poor understanding of salvation has abandoned tender consciences to near spiritual despair.

"The Wonderful Name of Jesus" by E.W. Kenyon is a Christian book that explores the profound significance and power of the name of Jesus in the lives of believers. The book delves into the idea that the name of Jesus is not merely a word but a source of authority, salvation, and transformation.

In the revised edition of his hit book The Sacred Search, author Gary Thomas helps single people of all ages make wise marital choices, in large part by rethinking what basis those choices should be made on. Listeners are encouraged to think beyond finding their “soul mate", an idea that has its roots in the philosophy of Plato, and instead adopt a more biblical search for a “sole mate” - someone who will walk with them on their spiritual journey.

The rapture is the central event in biblical prophecy. But what does it mean for us today? How can this crucial end times event draw us nearer to God in a world that is seemingly on the brink of chaos? Political turmoil, economic uncertainty, an ideological divide that feels increasingly impassable—the signs of the times point us toward the end, and that can be disconcerting.

As many have said, the church must always be reforming. It must continually move closer to a truer, more faithful expression of the gospel. The risen Christ’s powerful letters to the seven churches in Revelation are a guide to just that. Based on John MacArthur’s exposition of these letters, Christ’s Call to Reform the Church is a plea to the modern church to heed these divine warnings, to reform before it succumbs to the kinds of compromise and error that invite God’s judgment.

We can’t always control what happens to us. But we can discover how to heal the hidden hurt it leaves behind. Not knowing what to do with your suffering and fearing you'll be hurt again, you’ve learned to cope, to numb and suppress the ache within. It doesn’t have to be this way. In Healing What’s Within, therapist and professor Chuck DeGroat invites you on a compassionate journey inward to return and retune to the life God created you to live.

Thinking all monasteries were like the ones he saw in the movies, Jesse Itzler arrived at the New Skete religious community in remote Cambridge, New York, with a shaved head and a suitcase filled with bananas. To his surprise, New Skete monks have most of their hair. They're Russian Orthodox, not Buddhist, and they're also world-renowned dog breeders and authors of dog-training books that have sold in the millions.

"If God is good and all-powerful, why does he allow his creatures to suffer pain?" And what of the suffering of animals, who neither deserve pain nor can be improved by it? The greatest Christian thinker of our time sets out to disentangle this knotty issue. With his signature wealth of compassion and insight, C. S. Lewis offers answers to these crucial questions and shares his hope and wisdom to help heal a world hungering for a true understanding of human nature.

The challenge every man faces...the fight every man can win! From movies and television, to print media and the Internet, men are constantly faced with the assault of sensual images. It is impossible to avoid such temptations... but, thankfully, not impossible to confront them and gain victory over them! Millions have found Every Man's Battle the single greatest resource for overcoming the struggle and remaining strong in the face of temptation.

One of Ernest Holmes’s cornerstone works, This Thing Called You is an intimate guide through which listeners learn the important lesson of how they are an immutable part of the flow of life, and how they may fulfill the longing, within all of us, to live more fully. The book details methods of meditation used for healing, improving mind and body, and reaching one’s divine self.

Edwards gives his usual thorough treatment as he examines the difference between common grace and saving grace, demonstrates the nature and qualities of saving grace, and emphasizes how the principle of grace is from the Spirit of God. Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) is a towering figure in American history. A controversial theologian and the author of the famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, he ignited the momentous Great Awakening of the eighteenth century.

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.

So many misunderstand or overlook the connection between idolatry, witchcraft, and these serpent spirits and the impact they have our bodies. Souza has seen this time and time again throughout her years of ministry. But there is good news. You can break the serpents' deadly grip through genuine repentance of pride, unforgiveness, and other doors these spirits use to gain access to your life. Your relationships can thrive again, and you can prosper and live in health and peace.

"Does it really matter what I say?" Your greatest weapon - for good or evil - is in your mouth. From best-selling author Dr. Tony Evans comes a compelling resource to help you learn to tame your tongue. With life-changing insights shared through engaging lessons and anecdotes, you'll learn what the Bible teaches about talking.

A movement called ‘deconstruction’ is sweeping through our churches and it is affecting our loved ones. It has disrupted, dismantled, and destroyed the faith of so many, and this book can help you not only understand what’s happening but also stand your ground and respond with clarity and confidence. In this seminal book, Alisa Childers, author of Another Gospel?, and Tim Barnett, creator of Red Pen Logic, will help you understand what deconstruction is, where it comes from, why it is compelling to some, and how it disorients the lives of so many.

Learn about the essential, complementary roles that mothers and fathers play; the dangers of social media - and how to help your daughter navigate them; what every daughter needs to know about God; how to launch your daughter into successful womanhood; and more.

Discussions of the Bible and human sexuality often focus on a scattered handful of specific passages. But arguments about this same set of verses have reached an impasse, two leading biblical scholars believe; these debates are missing the forest for the trees. In this learned and beautifully written book, Richard and Christopher Hays explore a more expansive way of listening to the overarching story that scripture tells. They remind us of a dynamic and gracious God who is willing to change his mind, consistently broadening his grace to include more and more people.

Christians know that daily Scripture reading is an essential spiritual discipline. But sometimes opening the Bible day in and day out can feel like a burden rather than the joy and gift that it is. Spending even a few minutes reflecting on the truths found within God's word can strengthen your faith, help you resist sin, and inspire you to live for the eternal, unshakable kingdom of God. In the Everyday Gospel devotional, Paul David Tripp provides a roadmap for listeners who want to spend a full year in God's word.