Building A Biblical Faith

We live in an age of skepticism. Our society places such faith in empirical reason, historical progress, and heartfelt emotion that it’s easy to wonder: Why should anyone believe in Christianity? What role can faith and religion play in our modern lives? In this thoughtful and inspiring new book, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller invites skeptics to consider that Christianity is more relevant now than ever. As human beings, we cannot live without meaning, satisfaction, freedom, identity, justice, and hope. Christianity provides us with unsurpassed resources to meet these needs. Written for both the ardent believer and the skeptic, Making Sense of God shines a light on the profound value and importance of Christianity in our lives.

It can be hard to share faith with others, especially when people can't agree on whether there is even any actual truth. With that in mind, Chad Meister has developed a simple, logical way for you to help others move past relativism to a place where Christian belief makes sense: the Apologetics Pyramid. In Building Belief, Meister leads you up each step of the pyramid, beginning where many find themselves today--doubting if anything is really true. From there, he powerfully builds a case for absolute truth, the existence of God, universal morals and values, the reliability and divine inspiration of the Bible, the resurrection of Christ, and ultimately, the good news that Jesus is the Son of God who offers salvation to the world.

How to run and not grow weary Following Jesus is like running a race. But it's a marathon, not a sprint. While we prefer to live in the immediate, our God is not after quick fixes. His ways and his timetable are better. He wants to make us like Christ, and that takes a lifetime. So how do we run the race with endurance? In Endure, Daniel Ritchie explores how God's people run well. Within this book, you will find direction and encouragement for how to trust God in every year, every day, and every minute. You are loved by God. And specific attitudes and habits will build your faith and connect you to God's love. Learn how the seemingly mundane choices can be the most important—for your good and God's glory.

In Confident Faith, Mark Mittelberg assures Christians that we can be confident in our beliefs. There’s no reason to be timid about what we believe, because our beliefs can stand up to the test. Truth isn’t dependent on how a person feels or one’s own point of view, as so many assert. On the contrary, we can determine truth through our five senses, and that truth reliably points to a deeper and unseen reality. Mark walks readers through twenty arrows that point towards Christian beliefs: from the intricate design of the universe to archaeological proofs, from the consistent testimony of changed lives to the reliability of the ancient documents of the Bible. After studying these arrows, you’ll put this book down with a renewed confidence in what you believe and why it matters for eternity.

How to talk about Jesus in a way that connects with modern culture. As followers of Jesus, we know that the good news is deeply attractive. But we often fear that to those on the outside, it comes across as irrelevant or even repellent. Sometimes the Christian worldview feels so out of step with everything else going on that we don't know how to share our faith. However, author Daniel Strange wants to show you that the connections are there—in fact, the longings that our culture cannot help but express are the very ones that Jesus fulfils. Building on the work of theologian J.H. Bavinck, Dan reveals five recurring themes that our culture can’t stop talking about, or, as he puts it, the "five permanent ‘itches’ that in our work, rest, and play, we have to vigorously scratch." From TV to books to social media, these are the questions we can't stop asking and the tensions we can't stop wrestling with—and Jesus speaks powerfully into each one. This book will help you to spot these connections in our culture, excite you about how Jesus makes sense of humankind’s deepest questions and longings, apply them to your own life first and then equip you to speak of him to others in a way that is truly magnetic. "Dan Strange has written another terrific, down-to-earth book to help believers engage in fruitful conversations with friends about faith." Dr. Timothy Keller, who has also written the foreword to this book.

Mothering is messy. Our joy and hope in raising children doesn’t change the reality that being a mom can be frustrating, stressful, and tiring. But just as God is using us to shape our children, God is using our children and motherhood to shape us. In The Better Mom, author Ruth Schwenk, herself a mother of four children, encourages us with the good news that there is more to being a mom than the extremes of striving for perfection or simply embracing the mess. We don’t need to settle for surviving our kids’ childhood. We can grow through it. With refreshing and heartfelt honesty Ruth emboldens moms to: Find freedom and walk confidently in purpose Create a God-honoring home environment Overcome unhealthy and destructive emotions such as anger, anxiety, and more Avoid glorifying the mess of mom-ing or idolizing perfection Cultivate life-giving friendships At the heart of The Better Mom is the message that Jesus calls us to live not a weary life, but a worthy life. We don’t have to settle for either being apathetic or struggling to be perfect. Both visions of motherhood go too far. Ruth offers a better option. She says, “It’s okay to come as we are, but what we’re called to do and be is far too important to stay there! The way to becoming a better mom starts not with what we are doing, but with who God is inviting us to become."

Over the past few years, John Pavlovitz's blog, Stuff That Needs To Be Said, has become a virtual hub for millions of people from all over the world, drawn there by his clear, compelling words on compassion, equity, love, and justice. This expansive, like-hearted community transcends race, orientation, gender, religious tradition, political affiliation, and nation of origin--and finds its affinity in the deeper place of our shared humanity, which is the True North of his writing. This collection lovingly pulls together some of John's most widely-read and most beloved essays on faith, politics, grief, and the elemental parts of being human. It is an encouraging, inspiring, challenging storehouse of "stuff that needs to be said."

Pastor John Piper shows how to sever the clinging roots of sin that ensnare us, including anxiety, pride, shame, impatience, covetousness, bitterness, despondency, and lust in Battling Unbelief. When faith flickers, stoke the fire. No one sins out of duty. We sin because it offers some promise of happiness. That promise enslaves us, until we believe that God is more desirable than life itself (Psalm 63:3). Only the power of God’s superior promises in the gospel can emancipate our hearts from servitude to the shallow promises and fleeting pleasures of sin. Delighting in the bounty of God’s glorious gospel promises will free us for a less sin-encumbered life, to the glory of Christ. Rooted in solid biblical reflection, this book aims to help guide you through the battles to the joys of victory by the power of the gospel and its superior pleasure.