Bethlehem Besieged by Mitri Raheb
On my first pilgrimage to Israel (I hope there will be many others), I met a man named Mitri Raheb. He is pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. In this amazing book, Mitri relates a first-hand account of the Israeli invasion of Bethlehem in April of 2002...
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Between Heaven and Hell by Peter Kreeft
Imagine a place between Heaven & Hell – a place that exists after this life and before the next. Now imagine that in that place, while waiting to proceed to their final destination, strangers meet. And what if three men who all died on the same day met in that place…
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Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
We’ve read Christian books by Christian writers – theologians, pastors, and teachers who deal faithfully with the big issues of Christianity. But every now and then it’s good to read about the struggles of ordinary human beings who are just trying to work out their faith. In this book, Donald Miller does just that…
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Crazy Love by Francis Chan
What if you were in love with God? It may seem like an odd question, but for most “religious” folk the idea of loving God is more cliché than practical application. We profess our faith, but prioritize our own desires. And our Christianity dissolves into something akin to club membership. Not good enough, says Francis Chan…
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Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris
Everyone knows what teenagers are like: lazy irresponsible, disrespectful, disobedient, and incapable of managing their lives. But what if the real problem was that teenagers are simply living down to these low expectations? Society expects so little of them that they have come to expect very little of themselves….
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Faith Under Pressure by Michael S. Moore
On this book I am far from impartial – Dr. Moore was my professor in seminary, and one of my great mentors. However, even an impartial reader will find this book to be a unique combination of faithful scholarship on the Old Testament books of 1 & 2 Kings, and practical advice from a Pastor on…
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Father Elijah: an apocalypse by Michael D. O’Brien
It seemed appropriate (as we study Revelation) to recommend a novel that might offer a somewhat different look at the end times from what we’re used to. Most of us have read the “Left Behind” books. But O’Brien offers a view through a different lens – one not so concerned with…
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Follow Me by Jan David Hettinga
Leadership is a tricky issue – both in how we lead and how we follow. So much of leadership is about submission, about surrendering control to the one who can truly lead us. Hettinga challenges us not be the kind of Christians who believe in Jesus but will not…
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Forgotten God by Francis Chan
Teaching on the Holy Spirit is widely varied within the church. Some traditions pretend He doesn’t exist, while for others it seems He’s the only thing that does. But Francis Chan doesn’t take on either extreme. Instead, like the pastor he is, he simply tries to encourage every person to seek…
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Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
For those of you who love a good novel, this one is a gem. It is told through the eyes of a 76 year old preacher coming to the end of his life. The story is basically a memoir written to the man’s young son. Through the stories of his life and faith…
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God Works the Night Shift by Ron Mehl
In the darkest hours we often imagine God furthest from us. When we face trials and suffering we make the false assumption that God is missing, or has forgotten us, or is sleeping. But Ron Mehl reminds us in a powerful way that God is at work in the dark…
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Grace Walk by Steve McVey
Most of us have been trained to understand the Christian life as “straight and narrow” path – a life of duty to a God who expects and demands strict adherence to the Law. Even those who have accepted that salvation can only come by grace have been…
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How to Read Genesis by Tremper Longman III
Genesis is a difficult book for us to read. For one thing, it isn’t like most of the books we have on our shelves. For another, Sunday School has packed it with a lot of baggage. If you really want to understand this ancient and difficult text, you need to consider…
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If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat by John Ortberg
We all want to be used by the Lord to do great things. But often the things God wants us to do don’t seem so great. They are hard work and often frightening. John Ortberg encourages his readers to be ready. God will often call us out of our comfort zones…
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Love is an Orientation by Andrew Marin
It’s a fact that books about how the Evangelical community can and should reach out to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender community (GLBT) are not very popular. But after reading this book, I realize that this fact is disappointing…
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Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
I was a bit reluctant to recommend this book. It’s a classic of Christian thought, but it’s not an easy read. Much of this will require the “cow technique” – read it, chew it over, spit it up, read it again, and chew it over some more. But I guarantee…
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Outrageous, Contagious Joy by Ed Young
Ever wonder why life seems like such a chore, devoid of that deep down feeling of joy that is so elusive to real people with real lives? Well, Ed Young believes that Joy is not elusive, but is God’s plan for us. And in this witty and easy to read book Ed talks…
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Reconciliation by Michael S. Moore
The dashing and sophisticated Dr. Moore (shameless plug) has scored again. Dr. Moore explores the Old Testament for life lessons we can apply in everyday life. It’s a unique perspective – that the Bible is not mere trivia, but was designed to teach us how…
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Reinventing Jesus by Komoszewki, Sawyer, and Wallace
So much has been made in the last several decades about who the real Jesus is. The Jesus seminar sought to cut through the myth of Christianity to discover the “real” Jesus. And certain recent authors of fiction have leaned heavily on fringe scholarship to present a Jesus…
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Repenting of Religion by Gregory A. Boyd
In this challenging book, Boyd takes on the concept that judgment and love are mutually exclusive activities for human beings. Only God can rightly do both. So for us to truly love as God commanded, we must let go of our judgment. And for Boyd…
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Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen
Few authors share their heart as gracefully as Henri Nouwen. In this book, he describes his encounter with Rembrandt’s depiction of this well-known parable. As he does, he explores his tendencies to fill all three roles…
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Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning
“Trust is the winsome wedding of faith and hope.” This is how Manning ultimte defines what he calls ruthless trust – trust without pity. Throw out all the ideas you have about what it means to trust God. Fasten your seatbelt, and strap yourselves in tightly…
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Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
What is marriage? Maybe a better question is “why get married?” We all do it, and we all come to it with different expectations. But what if marriage is something God created, and what if He created it with a purpose? What if God created marriage not to make us happy, but to make us holy?…
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Six Hours One Friday by Max Lucado
The life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus are essential to what it means to be a Christian. But how can we understand the impact of events that happened so long ago? Max Lucado brings those fateful six hours on a Friday long ago. when the very…
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The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus
We like order. We like decorum. We like things to run according to plan. Even in our religion we try to keep things in line, and make them … you know, civilized. But do you remember what it felt like to be a kid, to experience passionate abandon? Erwin McManus reminds us…
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The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
What most people think of as merely childrens books may just be the greatest 7-volume work of theology ever produced. Using his unique intellect and imagination, Lewis has created a series of faerie tales that teach great Biblical truths as they entertain us. From the…
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The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Originally published in the US as “The Cost of Discipleship,” this book will challenge your notions of Christianity regardless of the title. But “Discipleship is the title I like best, since this was Bonhoeffer’s primary preoccupation…
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The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
This is Lewis at his best – bringing to bear all of his creativity combined with with his brilliant analytical mind. More than most, Lewis believed that where we end up after this life is our decision. Eternal life has been offered; we choose…
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The Great House of God by Max Lucado
In true Max Lucado fashion, this book is filled with rare insights into the relationship God seeks to have with His people. Using the Lord’s Prayer as a model for God’s House, Max leads us room by room on a grand tour of the Father’s dwelling place. In each room…
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The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Mannin
Do you ever feel like a spiritual loser in a sea of faithful giants? Do you ever feel so unworthy of Christ’s love and sacrifice that you’re certain it can’t apply to you? Brennan Manning has been there himself, and has some good news for all of us. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a Gospel for…
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The Red Ember in the White Ash by Lloyd John Ogilvie
As Christians we each suffer moments when our faith seems to lose passion. Sometimes we call it burnout. Sometimes it’s the result of our busy lives. Sometimes we are certain God has moved away from us for some reason. But the reality is that God is always present, always…
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The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
It’s difficult to imagine the mind that produced this book. It is a fictional collection of letters from an under-secretary in hell, sent to his nephew, a novice demon tempting his first “patient.” It’s the point of view of a demon on how best to lead a human being…
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The Shack by William P. Young
Controversy, schmontroversy. This is certainly one of the best books I’ve ever read, without any further qualification. Young has taken the opportunity to share his views on who God is and how the universe functions, through the eyes of a man so beset by tragedy that suffering has descended…
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The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis
If there is life on other planets, would God still be God? Would our God be the God of those worlds as well? For Lewis, the answer to this question was a resounding yes. So all that was left for him to do was imagine how God might deal with the inhabitants of those…
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Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell
Most of us know what Christianity is supposed to look like, supposed to feel like, and supposed to smell like. Even when our Christianity falls far short of the comfort and fulfillment we really need, we do take some small comfort in knowing the familiar (if dingy) old blanket we wrap…
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