Religious Reads

In the classic Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis, the most important writer of the 20th century, explores the common ground upon which all of those of Christian faith stand together. Bringing together Lewis’ legendary broadcast talks during World War Two from his three previous books The Case for Christianity, Christian Behavior, and Beyond Personality, Mere Christianity provides an unequaled opportunity for believers and nonbelievers alike to hear this powerful apologetic for the Christian faith.

The strength of Puritan character and life lay in prayer and meditation. In this practice the spirit of prayer was regarded as of first importance and the best form of prayer, for living prayer is the characteristic of genuine spirituality. Yet prayer is also vocal and may therefore on occasions be written. Consequently in the Puritan tradition there are many written prayers and meditations which constitute an important corpus of inspiring devotional literature. Too often ex tempore prayer lacks variety, order and definiteness. The reason for this lies partly in a neglect of due preparation. It is here that the care and scriptural thoroughness which others found necessary in their approach to God may be of help. This book has been prepared not to 'supply' prayers but to prompt and encourage the Christian as he treads the path on which others have gone before.

What is Heaven really going to be like? What will we look like? What will we do? Won't Heaven get boring after a while? We all have questions about what Heaven will be like, and after 25 years of extensive research, Dr. Randy Alcorn has the answers. In the most comprehensive and definitive book on Heaven to date, Randy invites you to picture Heaven the way Scripture describes it—a bright, vibrant, and physical New Earth, free from sin, suffering, and death, and brimming with Christ's presence, wondrous natural beauty, and the richness of human culture as God intended it. God has put eternity in our hearts. Now, Randy Alcorn brings eternity to light in a way that will surprise you, spark your imagination, and change how you live life today. If you've always thought of Heaven as a realm of disembodied spirits, clouds, and eternal harp strumming, you're in for a wonderful surprise. This is a book about real people with real bodies enjoying close relationships with God and each other, eating, drinking, working, playing, traveling, worshiping, and discovering on a New Earth. Earth as God created it. Earth as he intended it to be. And the next time you hear someone say, "We cant begin to imagine what Heaven will be like," you'll be able to tell them, "I can."

Churches and individual Christians typically have faulty assumptions about the causes of poverty, resulting in the use of strategies that do considerable harm to poor people and themselves. Don't let this happen to you, your ministry or ministries you help fund! A must read for anyone who works with the poor or in missions, When Helping Hurts provides foundational concepts, clearly articulated general principles and relevant applications. The result is an effective and holistic ministry to the poor, not a truncated gospel. "Initial thoughts" at the beginning of chapters and "reflection questions and excercises" at the end of chapters assist greatly in learning and applying the material. A situation is assessed for whether relief, rehabilitation, or development is the best response to a situation. Efforts are characterized by an "asset based" approach rather than a "needs based" approach. Short term mission efforts are addressed and economic development strategies appropriate for North American and international contexts are presented, including microenterprise development. Now with a new preface, a new foreword, and a new chapter to assist in the next steps of applying the book's principles to your situation, When Helping Hurts is a new classic!

We may not worship a sculpted god, but we definitely are guilty of trying to put our hope in something other than the true and living God. As we read the stories of the Israelites in their idolatry, we see the multitude of accounts of hope-shifting (almost every page). What is most glaring in these stories, however, is not the hope-shifting, but rather the great love of God for his people as they continually worship idols. The accounts of the Old Testament books are a continuous revelation of how God revealed his great love, the Israelites hope-shifted, they found themselves in bondage, they cried out to God, and God answered. I am an avid reader of the Old Testament, mainly because I love hearing the stories (and need to hear the truth of these stories and believe) of how God never abandons his people, even when they are in the midst of the catastrophic consequences of hope-shifting. Even in the midst of the pain of the Israelites, God is patiently waiting for them to cry out to him, so he can redeem them. That is our great God! A God who is compassionate, merciful, and full of love. You might be in the middle of a hope-shifting season in your life. You might have recognized after reading this short book you have tried to put your hope into things that are incapable of bringing fulfillment. In this moment, just like the Israelites, cry out to God to save you. Confess your hope-shifting to God and to others around. Confess that you want to find your hope in God, and that you want believers to remind you to live as loved. Begin to dwell on the fact because of the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, you are now loved by God. Your identity is now established on the never-changing, rock-solid, eternal foundation of Jesus. Although you will be guilty of hope-shifting through-out your life, the only way to change is to make a practice of remembering that through Jesus, God is willing, capable, and desirous to meet your innate needs. As God meets the needs of your heart, the painful symptoms of hope-shifting that have caused separation between you and God, and others, will begin to disappear. In their place, you will find life giving satisfaction which comes because you are learning to find your hope in him. Jim Applegate is the Pastor at Redeemer in Modesto, CA. He and his wife, Heather, have five amazing children. jim@theredeemerchurch.com Redeemer Modesto