Your Own Jesus

Today, so many are fearful of the unknown – a crumbling economy, job loss, loneliness, terrorism, tragic news around every corner. We are overwhelmed. Does the security and peace that should come from knowing we are in the hands of a loving God now seem to be an empty promise? Perhaps that’s because we have built our foundation on someone else’s faith – parents’, friend’s, or pastor’s, so we merely inherit a relationship with Jesus, but never find our own. A true storyteller and a teacher with a heart for ministry, Mark Hall traces the tragic, downward spiral that leads to a life of fear and spiritual compromise, and then charts the hopeful, upward road to the joy and confidence that comes when we claim our very own Jesus. Through fascinating personal stories, scriptural insights, and practical interactive studies, Your Own Jesus will liberate readers from compromise and empower them with joy and confidence.

Every day, major headlines tell the story of how Christianity is attempting to influence American culture and politics. But statistics show that young Americans are disenchanted with a faith that has become culturally antagonistic and too closely aligned with partisan politics. In this personal yet practical work, Jonathan Merritt uncovers the changing face of American Christianity by uniquely examining the coming of age of a new generation of Christians. Jonathan Merritt illuminates the spiritual ethos of this new generation of believers who engage the world with Christ-centered faith but an un-polarized political perspective. Through personal stories and biblically rooted commentary this scion of a leading evangelical family takes a close, thoughtful look at the changing religious and political environment, addressing such divisive issues as abortion, gay marriage, environmental use and care, race, war, poverty, and the imbalance of world wealth. Through Scripture, the examples of Jesus, and personal defining faith experiences, he distills the essential truths at the core of a Christian faith that is now just coming of age.

Too many people inherit somebody else's Jesus, mimicking what they see in their family, friends, orpastor rather than finding their own relationship with Jesus. Storyteller and teacher Mark Hall shows how we can find a relationship with God that is so personal, so intimate and vibrant, that it changes everything.

For the first time, united and illustrated in one volume, the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John with the gnostic gospels of Thomas, Philip, Judas, and Mary Magdalene.

An account of the life and ministry of Jesus that combines all four gospels into a single narrative and allows Jesus himself to tell us the story.

Matt Mikalatos liked Jesus a lot. In fact, he couldn’t believe how much they had in common. They shared the same likes, dislikes, beliefs, and opinions. (Though Jesus did have better hair.) So imagine Matt’s astonishment when he finds out that the guy he knows as Jesus . . . isn’t. He’s an Imaginary Jesus: a comfortable, convenient imitation Matt has created in his own image. The real Jesus is still out there somewhere . . . and Matt is determined to find him. In this hilarious, fast-paced, sort-of-true story hailed as “Monty Python meets C. S. Lewis,” Matt embarks on an incredible chase to find the real Jesus and ask him the one question that his Imaginary Jesus has never been able to answer. It’s a wild spiritual adventure like nothing you’ve ever read before . . . and it might bring you face-to-face with an imposter in your own life. This new edition now contains a discussion guide, an interview with the author, and other bonus features! (Previously published as Imaginary Jesus.)

The award-winning author of Grateful goes beyond the culture wars to offer a refreshing take on the comprehensive, multi-faceted nature of Jesus, keeping his teachings relevant and alive in our daily lives. How can you still be a Christian? This is the most common question Diana Butler Bass is asked today. It is a question that many believers ponder as they wrestle with disappointment and disillusionment in their church and its leadership. But while many Christians have left their churches, they cannot leave their faith behind. In Freeing Jesus, Bass challenges the idea that Jesus can only be understood in static, one-dimensional ways and asks us to instead consider a life where Jesus grows with us and helps us through life’s challenges in several capacities: as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way, and Presence. Freeing Jesus is an invitation to leave the religious wars behind and rediscover Jesus in all his many manifestations, to experience Jesus beyond the narrow confines we have built around him. It renews our hope in faith and worship at a time when we need it most.

Just hours before his betrayal and arrest, Jesus offered his famous High Priestly Prayer—one of the most intimate moments between Christ and his Father recorded in Scripture. John 17 has thus greatly encouraged Christians for millennia as it boldly affirms our connection to Christ. In this masterful, verse-by-verse exposition of Jesus’s words, renowned Bible teacher and preacher Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones lays before us the richness, the depth, the wonder—and the assurance—of God’s plan of salvation.