“I used to be a lesbian.” In Gay Girl, Good God, author Jackie Hill Perry shares her own story, offering practical tools that helped her in the process of finding wholeness. Jackie grew up fatherless and experienced gender confusion. She embraced masculinity and homosexuality with every fiber of her being. She knew that Christians had a lot to say about all of the above. But was she supposed to change herself? How was she supposed to stop loving women, when homosexuality felt more natural to her than heterosexuality ever could? At age nineteen, Jackie came face-to-face with what it meant to be made new. And not in a church, or through contact with Christians. God broke in and turned her heart toward Him right in her own bedroom in light of His gospel. Read in order to understand. Read in order to hope. Or read in order, like Jackie, to be made new.
These days the terms good and God seem synonymous. We believe what’s generally accepted as good must be in line with God’s will. Generosity, humility, justice—good. Selfishness, arrogance, cruelty—evil. The distinction seems pretty straightforward. But is that all there is to it? If good is so obvious, why does the Bible say that we need discernment to recognize it? Good or God? isn’t another self-help message. This book will do more than ask you to change your behavior. It will empower you to engage with God on a level that will change every aspect of your life.
This book aims to reinvigorate discussions of moral arguments for God's existence. To open this debate, Baggett and Walls argue that God's love and moral goodness are perfect, without defect, necessary, and recognizable. After integrating insights from the literature of both moral apologetics and theistic ethics, they defend theistic ethics against a variety of objections and, in so doing, bolster the case for the moral argument for God's existence. It is the intention of the authors to see this aspect of natural theology resume its rightful place of prominence, by showing how a worldview predicated on the God of both classical theism and historical Christian orthodoxy has more than adequate resources to answer the Euthyphro Dilemma, speak to the problem of evil, illumine natural law, and highlight the moral significance of the incarnation and resurrection of Christ. Ultimately, the authors argue, there is principled reason to believe that morality itself provides excellent reasons to look for a transcendent source of its authority and reality, and a source that is more than an abstract principle.
Are heaven and hell real? How does God's election correspond to our freedom? Why did Jesus have to die? Why doesn't God save everybody? These are questions most believers and seekers have asked, and they are biblically answered by author David Clotfelter. Contrasting the theologies of Jonathan Edwards with George MacDonald, the author reconciles the difficult doctrines of divine judgement and predestination. Sure to be thought-and discussion-provoking message.
God doesn't pull back from your sharp edges. He pulls you close. In Embraced, beloved Bible teacher and bestselling author Lysa TerKeurst offers 100 devotions that will resonate with women in all stages of life by giving you a godly perspective on the issues you face each day. A real embrace indicates an intimate level of closeness. It's not a high five or a casual handshake. The best kind of embrace is when someone we know deeply loves us, flings their arms wide open, and pulls us in close. Through these 100 devotions, daily scriptures, and prayer prompts, you will be equipped to: Begin finding freedom from the struggles that have held you hostage by learning new ways to experience God's love. Surrender your deepest hurts by processing them in a godly way with Lysa, a friend who understands your pain. Hear the Lord speak intimately to your heart by learning how to seek His direction. Release the tension of wondering, If God is near why does He sometimes feel far away? by spending guided time with Him each day. Embraced will be a treasured keepsake for you, and a meaningful gift for those you love, with: An exquisite cloth cover you'll want to leave out for others to see and for easy access Highly designed interior with Scripture, call-outs, and quotes Ribbon marker to keep your place Our hearts were made for this kind of love and security, but for many of us, we know more about the pain of heartbreak and fear than the unconditional love for which we were created. In Embraced, Lysa shares her own struggles, doubts, and heartbreaks while pointing to the ultimate embrace: God opening His arms wide on Calvary through Jesus so that He could pull us close for all of eternity, welcoming us into the safety and hope of His grace, love, and embrace. Look for additional bestselling books from Lysa TerKeurst: Forgiving What You Can't Forget It's Not Supposed to Be This Way Uninvited The Best Yes
A New York Times bestseller people can believe in—by "a pioneer of the new urban Christians" (Christianity Today) and the "C.S. Lewis for the 21st century" (Newsweek). Timothy Keller, the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, addresses the frequent doubts that skeptics, and even ardent believers, have about religion. Using literature, philosophy, real-life conversations, and potent reasoning, Keller explains how the belief in a Christian God is, in fact, a sound and rational one. To true believers he offers a solid platform on which to stand their ground against the backlash to religion created by the Age of Skepticism. And to skeptics, atheists, and agnostics, he provides a challenging argument for pursuing the reason for God.
What Satan meant for harm, God meant for good. God's grace transformed pain, emotional distress, and suffering into a vibrant, purposeful, and rich life. Refusing to hide behind the dark memories that wanted to hold her captive, Joy Tan-Chi Mendoza shares her story, helping her readers towards strength, encouragement, and the healing of sexual trauma and abuse. (Harold J. Sala, author and friend)
Suffering is, in the end, God’s invitation to trust him. “As he did in his best-selling book, Heaven, Randy Alcorn delves deep into a profound subject, and through compelling stories, provocative questions and answers, and keen biblical understanding, he brings assurance and hope to all.” –Publishers Weekly Every one of us will experience suffering. You may be in such a time now. We see the presence of evil in the headlines every day. It all raises questions about God—Why would an all-good and all-powerful God create a world full of evil and suffering? How can there be a God if suffering and evil exist? Atheists such as Richard Dawkins and even former believers like Bart Ehrman answer the question simply: The existence of suffering and evil proves there is no God. But in this illuminating book, best-selling author Randy Alcorn challenges the logic of disbelief, and brings a fresh, hopeful, and thoroughly biblical insight to the issues these important questions raise. Alcorn offers insights from his conversations with men and women whose lives have been torn apart by suffering, and yet whose faith in God burns brighter than ever. He reveals the big picture of who God is and what God is doing in the world—now and forever. And he shows the beauty of God’s sovereignty—how it ultimately triumphs over suffering and evil in our lives and the world around us.
Christopher Hitchens, described in the London Observer as “one of the most prolific, as well as brilliant, journalists of our time” takes on his biggest subject yet–the increasingly dangerous role of religion in the world. In the tradition of Bertrand Russell’s Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris’s recent bestseller, The End Of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos. With eloquent clarity, Hitchens frames the argument for a more secular life based on science and reason, in which hell is replaced by the Hubble Telescope’s awesome view of the universe, and Moses and the burning bush give way to the beauty and symmetry of the double helix.
