It’s time once again to share my top ten favorite books of the year. Putting this list together is always fun and hard. It’s fun because I love to read and recommend books; it’s hard because I only get to pick ten, and it’s not always easy to rank them! Nevertheless, this is always one of my favorite posts to put together. Below you will find my top 10 books of 2019. I read them in 2019, although they may…
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American television personality, musician, puppeteer, writer, producer, and Presbyterian minister Fred Rogers died in 2003 but his influence seems to be growing stronger each year. He was known as the creator, composer, producer, head writer, showrunner, and host of the preschool PBS television series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (1968–2001), known for its slow pace and calm manner. What is the spiritual legacy Mr. Rogers left for all of us? Bible Gateway interviewed Amy Hollingsworth (@AmyHollingswrth), author of The Simple Faith of…
Life has a way of becoming a tangled mess. All it takes is alarming health issues, job-related stress, parenting uncertainties, an emotional breakdown, and more. What if the mess of your life is where God is about to do his best work? Bible Gateway interviewed Luke Lezon (@lukelezon) about his book, Your Mess Matters: Trusting the God Who Creates from Dust and Redeems by Blood (Zondervan, 2019). Explain the debilitating illness you experienced and how you use it to illustrate…
This excerpt is adapted from The Lord’s Prayer: A Guide to Praying to Our Father by Wesley Hill, a new release from Lexham Press. At the center of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, He offers to his disciples a model for prayer. This would not have seemed at all unusual to Jesus’ followers. Many teachers who attracted crowds in Palestine, like Jesus did, were expected to pass on their insights about how best to beseech…
There is an airline that had commercials showing people in awkward situations and then asks, “wanna’ get away?” The Awana ministry year for many is now well underway. Everyone is getting in the groove of things and things are going Read More … This is Only a Snippet of a Children’s Ministry Christian Article written by Commander Bill Read Full Article
Many people tuning in to last January’s U.S. figure skating nationals noticed an unusual number of red baseball caps with the Kansas City Chiefs logo on them. It wasn’t because these figure skaters had suddenly developed a passion for baseball. Pairs skater John Coughlin had recently committed suicide after charges of sexual misconduct were filed against him. At U.S. nationals, Coughlin’s coach and agent distributed, in his honor, hats bearing the logo of his favorite baseball team. I thought about this incident—about…
In case you haven’t heard, rapper Kanye West titled his newest album Jesus Is King. He also had plans for a movie (though recent news is that it’s been canceled). “Jesus is king.” Just three words, but they carry a world of meaning. Tim Keller explores that meaning in Jesus the King. See how Jesus came as a king—but a king who had to bear the greatest burden anyone ever has. Part of the introduction reads, “You may know King’s…
What do you know about the growth and impact of Christianity from the apostles to the present day, not only in the Western world but also globally, including the development of Eastern Orthodox and Armenian Christianity, as well as considering Christianity in Latin America, Southeast Asia, the Baltic and Slavic states, and India? And why is it important to have this knowledge? Bible Gateway interviewed Stephen Backhouse, author of the Zondervan Essential Companion to Christian History (Zondervan, 2019). [Read the…
Today’s audiences are hungry—but they don’t want the same “food” their parents and grandparents did. Canned stories don’t work anymore. People are longing to be fed with authenticity and personal transformation. Connection is key. But how do you build that connection? Learn effective new strategies to bolster your preaching in just 45 minutes with How to Communicate Effectively to Modern Audiences. In this course from Logos Mobile Ed, Grant Fishbook shares from over 20 years of experience creatively communicating the…
Brokenhearted. Brain fogged. Exhausted. Anxious. Mid 2014 I found myself in a place I had never been before. I was suffering from severe depression. I had swerved into unknown territory. It was scary and I was embarrassed. How did this happen? I kept working, writing, traveling, trying to be present at home with my family. But there wasn’t room for much else. Seasons like these can last for months and sometimes even years. I wondered when my mind would be…
The paradise book spot doesn’t exist. I’m sorry if this has also been your lifelong daydream and you weren’t expecting this plot to twist today. I get it. I’ll sit with you while the thought sinks in. I’ve searched most of my reading life for a book spot that delivers. What are the qualities? Remote Breezy Oceanview, Mountainview, Sunset or Sunrise view Minimal Destractions With tea, chilled spritzer, coffee Comfortable Covered with option to be uncovered Low energy Next to…
This September, we’ve got a ton of great deals to keep your bookshelf full all season long. From books on biblical studies to Church history, you can save up to 40% in the monthly sale. One notable book on sale this month is Peter G. Bolt’s excellent contribution to the New Studies in Biblical Theology collection, The Cross from a Distance: Atonement in Mark’s Gospel. Enjoy this excerpt—and get it on sale while you can! ___ By Peter G. Bolt,…
By Irving Hexham The Bible begins by proclaiming the great truth that God created the heavens and the earth. It continues by telling the story of the creation of humankind and states very clearly that all people are made in the image of God. Not surprisingly, given the fact that God is the creator of all things, we are told in Genesis 1 that he surveyed his creation and saw that it was good. Today many people laugh at the…
New month, new deals—save up to 35% in July. From books on Christian living to original language research, here are some highlights from July’s monthly sale. Neither Poverty nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions From the acclaimed New Studies in Biblical Theology series (NSBT), Neither Poverty nor Riches dives deep into the Bible’s teaching on possessions. On a subject as sensitive as this one, it is extraordinarily rare to find balance and prophetic voice rolled up in one. In…
The Bible talks about trees more than any living creation other than people. Have you missed the forest…and the trees? For example, the Bible refers to its wisdom as a Tree of Life (Proverbs 3:18). What is the hidden language of trees that can help us better understand God? Bible Gateway interviewed Matthew Sleeth, MD (@MatthewSleeth) about his book, Reforesting Faith: What Trees Teach Us About the Nature of God and His Love for Us (WaterBrook, 2019). Describe how you…
By G. K. Chesterton, adapted from Heretics and Orthodoxy All the towering materialism which dominates the modern mind rests ultimately upon one assumption; a false assumption. It is supposed that if a thing goes on repeating itself it is probably dead; a piece of clockwork. People feel that if the universe was personal it would vary; if the sun were alive it would dance. This is a fallacy even in relation to known fact. For the variation in human affairs…
By Chris Norton Editor’s Note: On October 16, 2010, Chris Norton suffered a crushing spinal injury playing college football. The injury was so severe, he needed to be airlifted by helicopter to Mayo Clinic. Taken from the new book The Seven Longest Yards written by Chris and his wife Emily, this post picks up the story mid-helicopter ride through his subsequent surgery and initial prognosis. I sought the Lord, and he answered me;he delivered me from all my fears. —…
It’s free book time again! July’s free book is Paul, Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ by Thomas R. Schreiner. Like most writers of a Pauline theology, Schreiner discerns something at the heart and soul of Paul’s theology: “. . . the supremacy of God in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.” Schreiner has stitched this theme into the book’s fabric, and the result is a deeply spiritual, robust Pauline theology. Snag your free copy of Paul, Apostle of God’s…
Andy Stanley Clearly Articulates the Premise of Irresistible Maggie John of the daily Christian television show 100 Huntley Street has posted a full, 49-minute interview she did with Andy Stanley, talking first about his famous father and his call to ministry, and then focusing in more directly on his book Irresistible: Reclaiming the New that Jesus Unleased to the World. (Thomas Nelson, 2018) Some people have their minds made up about what Andy did say or did not say and that’s…
Content manager for Bible Gateway Right from the beginning of the Bible to its end, the Holy Spirit is dramatically acknowledged: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2) and “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty…
Most preaching is aimed at the people in the middle. How do we preach so people on the edges can feast, too? By Patricia Batten I preached on five verses in the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel. In verses 40–45, Mark tells us about a man who lived on the outer edges of society. He was stuck away from the community, covering his head and yelling out “unclean, unclean.” He was not allowed to live within the community. His disease…
Have Christians domesticated God? Or do we properly see God who is high and lifted up, the Creator rather than the creature, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise, and someone than whom none greater can be conceived? In this interview, Matthew Barrett (@mattmbarrett) talks about his book, None Greater: The Undomesticated Attributes of God (Baker Books, 2019). In the book you argue that Christians in the past century absorbed a view of God that is far too small; one that is not in…
This month, pick up your free Mobile Ed course by John Frame: TH207 The Clarity of Scripture. In this short course, John Frame considers what the clarity of Scripture means. He describes it in light of God’s sovereignty, authority, and presence. Dr. Frame also explains how to understand the clarity of Scripture when reading passages in the Bible that seem unclear. Get your free course now! Also, this month, get two more courses for under $30: BI103 Principles of Bible…
Competing Spectacles by Tony Reinke is graciously available free to Christ and Pop Culture members until September 5, 2019, through our partnership with Crossway. We live in a time when there is always something to see. There may not be much worth looking at, but that doesn’t mean the latest political theatrics, news event, terror attack, or sports scandal isn’t vying for our attention. It may feel as if these sorts of things have increased recently. Digital media aggressively tries…