Coming to the Resource Center - June 29, 2014

Here are just a few of the new titles you can find in the church Resource Center this Sunday, June 29. 

In this edition, we offer a boxed set of books for young readers chronicling the history of the church, a book on healing sexual and relational brokenness, and a Christian classic. (All text copy from Goodreads unless otherwise stated):

History Lives Box Set: Chronicles of the Church (2012) Mindy and Brandon Withrow

This five-volume set of books for young readers covers the following:

Vol. 1: Peril and Peace: Chronicles of the Ancient Church 

(3 BC - 550 AD)

Vol. 2: Monks and Mystics: Chronicles of the Medieval Church 

(550 - 1500 AD)

Vol. 3: Courage and Conviction: Chronicles of the Reformation Church 

(1500 - 1700 AD)

Vol. 4: Hearts and Hands: Chronicles of the Awakening Church 

(1700 - 1860 AD)

Vol. 5: Rescue and Redeem: Chronicles of the Modern Church 

(1860 AD - tomorrow) 

Sexual Sanity for Women: Healing from Sexual and Relational Brokenness (2013) Ellen Dykas, ed. 

Sexual Sanity for Women guides participants through the process of understanding why they struggle with destructive relational and sexual patterns and how the gospel brings change and a new way of living. Twenty lessons guide participants to understand God's good design for sexuality, the underlying reasons they struggle with sexual brokenness, and how the grace and truth of Jesus Christ can be applied to their struggles. Change begins as deeper heart issues are uncovered, and women learn that they are well-loved daughters of God who will find healing and wholeness as they live out God's Word in their relationships. This workbook is ideal for a one-on-one mentoring, college age student groups, and women's groups.

(The Resource Center also has Sexual Sanity for Men: Re-creating Your Mind in a Crazy Culture by David White) 

The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678/2009) John Bunyan

For more than three centuries both Christians and non-Christians, young and old, have been fascinated by the characters and story of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress: From This World to That Which Is to Come - regarded as one of the most significant works of English literature. While keeping the dignity and beauty of Bunyan's language, editor C. J. Lovik has updated words and phrases for today's readers.

This deluxe edition of Pilgrim's Progress, brought to life in forty all-new, full-page, color illustrations by award-winning illustrator Mike Wimmer, takes readers on a visually stunning journey with protagonist Christian as he seeks the Celestial City. Along the way, readers encounter Evangelist, Mr. Worldly Wisdom, the Interpreter, Hypocrisy, Watchful, Faithful, Talkative, Hopeful, Ignorance, and others. Through word and picture, readers will better understand the obstacles and encouragements they will face as they live out the Christian life this side of heaven.

(The Resource Center also has Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress: Christian Guides to the Classics by Leland Ryken)

Coming to the Resource Center - June 10, 2014

As you’ve probably noticed, we haven’t had a “New Books” newsletter for several weeks, but rest assured, we’ve got plenty of great books coming your way soon! Here are just a few of the new titles you can find in the church Resource Center this Sunday, June 15. 

In this edition, we offer books on our vocations, peace, and why the incarnation matters to our faith. Plus - and I know many of our students just graduated - a book on preparing teens for college. (All text copy from Goodreads unless otherwise stated):

Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good (2014) Steven Garber

Is it possible to know the world and still love the world? Of all the questions we ask about our calling, this is the most difficult. From marriages to international relations, the more we know, the harder it is to love. We become cynics or stoics, protecting our hearts from the implications of what we know. But what if the vision of vocation can be recovered--allowing us to step into the wounds of the world and for love's sake take up our responsibility for the way the world turns out? For decades Steve Garber has come alongside a wide range of people as they seek to make sense of the world and their lives. 

Vocation is when we come to know the world in all its joy and pain and still love it. Vocation is following our calling to seek the welfare of the world we live in. And in helping the world to flourish, strangely, mysteriously, we find that we flourish too. Garber offers a book for everyone everywhere--for students, for parents, for those in the arts, in the academy, in public service, in the trades and in commerce--for all who want to discover the virtue of vocation.

Real Peace: What We Long for and Where to Find It (2013) Andy Farmer

Peace is possible.

We all experience stress, anxiety, grief, conflict, depression and despair--pain that causes us to cry out for peace. Taking on these common yet critical hardships, seasoned pastor and biblical counselor Andy Farmer shows us where to find and how to experience true, lasting peace--peace with God, peace with each other, and peace with ourselves.

Incarnate: The Body of Christ in an Age of Disengagement (2014) Michael Frost

The story of Christianity is a story of incarnation--God taking on flesh and dwelling among the people he created. God appointing and sending people as his body, his hands and feet. Disciples of Jesus bearing the good news even as they bear the marks of his passion. Whatever Christianity is, it is at least a matter of flesh and blood and the ends of the earth. And yet so much of contemporary Christian culture is rooted not in incarnation but in escape--escape from the earth to heaven, escape from the suffering of this world, escape even from one another. Christianity is increasingly understood as something personal, conceptual, interior, private, neighborless. If Jesus was God incarnate, the church is in danger of being excarnate. Michael Frost expertly and prophetically exposes the gap between the faith we profess and the faith we practice. And he offers new hope for how the church can fulfill its vocation: to be the hands and feet of Christ to one another and to our neighbors, to the ends of the earth and to the end of the age.

Preparing Your Teens for College: Helping Them Face the Challenges: Faith, Finances, and Friendships (2014) Alex Chediak

More than ever, college is a big deal. It costs more than it ever has. A college education is needed more than it ever has been to get a good-paying job. And, on top of that, only half of those who go to college will find careers in the field that they studied. What teens do during their college years affects them more than ever. That's why college expert Alex Chediak is being asked by so many anxious parents: "How do I get my teen ready?"This book is Alex's answer. It covers everything from helping teens apply to the right college to navigating through the college financial maze. Alex covers all the hot-button issues: dating, premarital sex, dorm mates, career guidance, God, and much more. The book is designed for parents who have teens in high school and want some advice on how to prepare them. But it's also useful for parents and grandparents who are guiding their teens and young adults through the college years.You won't want to be without this essential survival manual for college.