Millions of Christian men, especially younger men, have become trapped in bondage to sexual lust through the widespread availability of Internet pornography. Porn Free: Finding Renewal through Truth and Community teaches us how the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ revolutionizes our thinking, and transforms our desires to lead us into healthy sexuality. It also shows us how living openly and honestly in community frees our hearts from guilt, and satisfies our need for true relational intimacy
You were made for more than a love/hate relationship with your body. It's one thing to know in your head that you were created in the image of God. Yet it's quite another to experience this belief in your body, against the cultural ideals of a woman's worth. And between the two lies a world of frustration, disappointment, and the shame of somehow feeling both too much and never enough in your body. Jess Connolly is a bestselling author, sought-after speaker, and trusted Bible teacher who knows this inner conflict all too well, and this book details her journey--and yours--of setting out to discover how to break free from the broken beliefs we all hold about our bodies that hold us back from our fullest life. The truest thing about you is that you are made and loved by God. And the truest thing about Him is that He cannot make bad things. This book will help you believe it with your whole self, as Jess guides you through an eye-opening, empowering process of: Renaming what the world has labeled as less-than Resting in God's workmanship Experiencing restoration where there has been injury And becoming a change agent in partnering with God to bring revival to a generation of women Far from a superficial issue, self-image is a spiritual issue, because God has named your body good from the beginning. Whether your struggle is with eating and exercise habits, stress or trauma, infertility or injury, this book makes space for you to experience God meeting you in this tender place, and ring His freedom bell over your body in a whole new way.
All men face some degree of temptation or discontentment. Here is your guide to get you past frustration into freedom. We live in a culture where 55% of married men and 70% of single men look at porn at least once a month and over half of all marriages end in divorce. To understand why that is we have to look beyond the battle to the root of both the problem and the solution... Most books for men on how to defeat lust and improve their relationships with the women in their lives preach a plan for trying harder, thinking better, and battering their behavior into submission. The problem with this approach: no matter how strong we are today, the battle continues tomorrow, and nothing ever seems to change in the long run. In Beyond the Battle, author and pastor Noah Filipiak shows you why symptom-based behavior management approaches offer short-term solutions. Instead, he unpacks the keys to a gospel-centered, long-term victory, helping you win the war against temptation and entitlement. Beyond the Battle is an accessible, effective, man-to-man resource for individual or small group use that will guide you toward freedom from sexual temptations by connecting you more deeply to Jesus—to his sacrifice and sufficiency. Filipiak addresses deep questions of marriage, singleness, and sexual temptation like: What's really the worst enemy in a man's marriage? How are my assumptions about my wife contributing to the problem? How does a corrected understanding of God's grace change my outlook on marriage or singleness? This book turns typical "purity" strategies on their head by addressing head-on our sense of self-entitlement and our self-seeking tendencies, showing how to look to God—instead of to women—for intimacy, approval, acceptance, and validation. Includes free access to 7-week small group video curriculum plus an option 40-day devotional.
Whether the issue of the day on Twitter, Facebook, or cable news is our sexuality, political divides, or the perceived conflict between faith and science, today’s media pushes each one of us into a frustrating clash between two opposing sides. Polarizing, us-against-them discussions divide us and distract us from thinking clearly and communicating lovingly with others. Scott Sauls, like many of us, is weary of the bickering and is seeking a way of truth and beauty through the conflicts. Jesus Outside the Lines presents Jesus as this way. Scott shows us how the words and actions of Jesus reveal a response that does not perpetuate the destructive fray. Jesus offers us a way forward—away from harshness, caricatures, and stereotypes. In Jesus Outside the Lines, you will experience a fresh perspective of Jesus, who will not (and should not) fit into the sides.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A candid, inspiring guide to finding lasting love and sustaining a healthy relationship by getting real about your goals—based on the viral, multi-million-view sermon series about dating, marriage, and sex “No matter where you are and no matter what stage of life you are in, Relationship Goals will be a game changer.”—Levi Lusko NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY COSMOPOLITAN You scroll through photo after photo of happy couples and think, I want a relationship like that! The thing is, those intimate relationships are a mirage—the closer you get to them, the more you realize they aren’t real at all. So what does a real relationship look like? And how do you get there? In Relationship Goals, Pastor Michael Todd digs deep to give you good news and real-life ideas for making the most of your most important relationships. Take a look at • what it means to choose intentional dating over recreational dating • how to move on from mistakes you’ve made in the past • why love gets stronger after marriage • what the Bible has to say about sex (hot take: it’s more sizzling than you think) • why the best friendships have God at the center Whether you are married, single, or it’s complicated, aiming for the right targets will make all the difference in finding true satisfaction. As it turns out, God’s got the best relationship goals of all for your life. Why settle for less?
Live Pure and Free is a 90-day devotional for men who want to win in their battle for purity. Dave Howe shares practical insights gained over 10 years of work with both single and married men who are committed to living the way God intended: pure and free. Dave writes for men from a unique vantage point. As someone who, by God's grace, has overcome the battle for sexual purity, it is his mission to help others do the same. Each daily reading in Live Pure and Free challenged men to get in the game and take action. Live Pure and Free is real. It's gritty. But most of all, it gives hope. Live Pure and Free is an essential resource for pastors and counselors. It's a vital tool for men's small groups and an effective one-on-one resource for accountability partners.
* A Real Simple Best Book of 2019: "An essential read for parents and students." * The New York Times bestselling author of Pledged is back with an unprecedented fly-on-the-wall look inside fraternity houses from current brothers’ perspectives—and a fresh, riveting must-read about what it’s like to be a college guy today. Two real-life stories. One stunning twist. Meet Jake, a studious freshman weighing how far to go to find a brotherhood that will introduce him to lifelong friends and help conquer his social awkwardness; and Oliver, a hardworking chapter president trying to keep his misunderstood fraternity out of trouble despite multiple run-ins with the police. Their year-in-the-life stories help explain why students are joining fraternities in record numbers despite scandalous headlines. To find out what it’s like to be a fraternity brother in the twenty-first century, Robbins contacted hundreds of brothers whose chapters don’t make headlines—and who suggested that many fraternities can be healthy safe spaces for men. Fraternity is more than just a page-turning, character-driven read. It’s a vital book about the transition from boyhood to manhood; it brilliantly weaves psychology, current events, neuroscience, and interviews to explore the state of masculinity today, and what that means for students and their parents. It’s a different kind of story about college boys, a story in which they candidly discuss sex, friendship, social media, drinking, peer pressure, gender roles, and even porn. And it’s a book about boys at a vulnerable age, living on their own for perhaps the first time. Boys who, in a climate that can stigmatize them merely for being male, don’t necessarily want to navigate the complicated, coming-of-age journey to manhood alone.
Winner of the Christianity Today Book of the Year Award (1995) “The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.” So begins this award-winning intellectual history and critique of the evangelical movement by one of evangelicalism’s most respected historians. Unsparing in his indictment, Mark Noll asks why the largest single group of religious Americans—who enjoy increasing wealth, status, and political influence—have contributed so little to rigorous intellectual scholarship. While nourishing believers in the simple truths of the gospel, why have so many evangelicals failed to sustain a serious intellectual life and abandoned the universities, the arts, and other realms of “high” culture? Over twenty-five years since its original publication, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind has turned out to be prescient and perennially relevant. In a new preface, Noll lays out his ongoing personal frustrations with this situation, and in a new afterword he assesses the state of the scandal—showing how white evangelicals’ embrace of Trumpism, their deepening distrust of science, and their frequent forays into conspiratorial thinking have coexisted with surprisingly robust scholarship from many with strong evangelical connections.
A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.
Discover how the barrier built by porn addiction can become a bridge to abundant life. Using personal examples, scriptural illustrations, and 20 years of counseling experience, Cusick will help you understand how to break free from the prison of sexual addiction. What if lust for porn is really a search for true passion? In a world where there are 68 million searches for pornography every day and where over 70 percent of Christian men report viewing porn in the last year, it's no surprise that more and more men struggle with an addiction to this false fantasy. Common wisdom says if they just had more willpower or more faith, their fight would be over. But is the answer really that simple? According to counselor and ministry leader Michael John Cusick, the answer is no—but the big truth may be much more freeing. Backed by scripture, Cusick uses examples from his own life and from his twenty years of counseling experience to show us how the pursuit of empty pleasure is really a search for our heart's deepest desire—and the real key to resistance is discovering and embracing the joy we truly want. Cusick discusses the origins of sexual addiction, the need for affirmation, and the heart that aches for God while falling into relapse. Handling a difficult topic with grace, mercy and honesty, Cusick's insights will help you understand: How porn struggles begin What to do to prevent those struggles How to overcome compulsions once they begin An essential resource centered on the sustaining love of Christ, this book will help guide anyone battling sex addiction or those in ministry seeking to provide encouragement to those struggling.
