The Pursuit of God
by A.W. Tozer

In the muddle of day-to-day life, have you somehow forgotten that Christianity is a living, vibrant relationship with a personal God? In this classic bestseller and recipient of both the ECPA Gold and Platinum Book Awards, The Pursuit of God reminds and challenges you to renew your relationship with your loving God.

In each of the 10 chapters, Tozer explains one aspect of hungering for God and ends with a prayer. This classic was written during a train trip from Chicago to McAllen, Texas, in the late 1940s. Tozer wrote all night, the words coming to him as fast as he could put them down.

ISBN: 9781600660153
2006 Wingspread Publishers
121 pages

Available in the Pavilion


Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
by Don Whitney

It's not uncommon for an accomplished musician to be able to sit down in front of a new piece of music and play it through without a hitch. To make it seem easy, as if it required no effort. Yet the "freedom" to play with such skill comes only after years of disciplined practice. In the same way, the freedom to grow in godliness—to naturally express Christ's character through your own personality—is in large part dependent on a deliberate cultivation of the spiritual disciplines. Far from being legalistic, restrictive, or binding, as they are often perceived, the spiritual disciplines are actually the means to unparalleled spiritual liberty.

So if you'd like to embark on a lifelong quest for godliness, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life will help you on your way. Based on the rich heritage left us by the early church fathers, the Puritan writers, and Jesus Christ Himself, Whitney takes you through a carefully selected array of disciplines that includes Scripture reading, prayer, worship, Scripture meditation, evangelism, serving, stewardship, Scripture application, fasting, silence and solitude, journaling, and learning. By illustrating why the disciplines are important, showing how each one will help you grow in godliness, and offering practical suggestions for cultivating them on a long-term basis, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life will provide you with a refreshing opportunity to embrace life's greatest pursuit—the pursuit of holiness—through a lifelong delight in the disciplines.

ISBN: 9781576830277
1997 NavPress
266 pages

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Touching the Invisible
by Norman Grubb

This short book—almost a pamphlet, really—has had a profound influence on my spiritual life. It helped shape my thinking on faith, adversity, meekness, redemption, divine guidance, and the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. It’s just 64 pages long, but it has taken me a life time to read. I’m still not finished with it, and I have read it at least fifteen times from cover to cover over the last 35 years.

Buddy Owens, Pastor of Spiritual Growth, Saddleback Church

ISBN: 9780875082226
1980 Christian Literature Crusade
64 pages

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In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership 
by Henri Nouwen

These reflections come out of his own openness to personal struggle and growth. He here recounts recent experiences at a L'Arche community for the mentally handicapped. His message lovingly conveys how his relationships with these broken people have so deeply touched him. Heart-warming and provocative.

ISBN: 9780824512590
1989 Crossroad Publishing Co.
96 pages

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A Fish Out of Water
by George Barna

If you're a leader in some capacity, you can certainly relate to feeling like a "fish out of water" and wonder if you're truly effective. In this book, Barna unveils the results of years of research and hundreds of interviews and emerges with a new definition of what leadership is—and isn't. He also discusses how to be sure that one has been called by God to lead and reveals the importance of character and the communication of vision. Each chapter concludes with a section called "Uncomfortable Questions" that will reveal your own strengths and weaknesses.

ISBN: 9781591454229
2006 Thomas Nelson
240 pages

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Mere Christianity
by C.S. Lewis

Arguably the 20th century's most influential Christian writer, C.S. Lewis sought to explain and defend the beliefs that nearly all Christians at all times hold in common. His simple yet deeply profound classic, originally delivered as a series of radio broadcasts, is a book to be thoroughly digested by believers and generously shared with skeptics.

ISBN: 9780060652920
2001 Zondervan/harpersanfransico
240 pages

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Sacred Reading: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina
by Michael Casey

This work offers a bold and engaging examination of the Western tradition of lectio divina, the contemplative approach to sacred writings, notably the Bible and the Spiritual classics. Casey offers fascinating insights into how the prayerful experience of lectio divina can be sustained and invigorated by the techniques of sacred reading—techniques distilled from the author's deep acquaintance with the Bible and the ancient books of Western spirituality.

ISBN: 9780892438914
1996 Liguori Publications
151 pages

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The Ragamuffin Gospel
by Brennan Manning

Most of us believe in God's grace—in theory. But somehow we can't seem to apply it in our daily lives. We continue to see Him as a small-minded bookkeeper, tallying our failures and successes on a score sheet. Yet God gives us His grace, willingly, no matter what we've done. We come to Him as ragamuffins—dirty, bedraggled, and beat-up. And when we sit at His feet, He smiles upon us, the chosen objects of His "furious love." Brennan Manning's now-classic meditation on grace and what it takes to access it—simple honesty—has changed thousands of lives. It will change yours, too.

ISBN: 9781590525029
2005 WaterBrook Press
272 pages

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Chasing Daylight
by Erwin McManus

In this inspiring book (formerly titled Seizing Your Divine Moment), Erwin McManus uses the biblical account of Israel's war with the Philistines (1 Samuel 13 and 14) and the characters of Saul and Jonathan to demonstrate the difference between living a life of purpose and adventure, and living one of apathy and missed opportunity. In the midst of a less-than-hopeful battle, Saul—who should have been leading—rested beneath a pomegranate tree as Jonathan seized the divine moment that would impact the future of Israel. Through this story, McManus artfully illustrates the eight characteristics of an adventurer's heart, what he calls "the Jonathan factor."

Using powerful examples from his own life and ministry, along with fresh biblical teaching, McManus asserts that God crafts divine moments specific to each of us—priceless opportunities for us to actively engage in God's big-picture plan. Apathy and apprehension prevent us from being all we are meant to be for God's kingdom. But by developing the characteristics McManus outlines, Christians can move from mundane to miraculous living.

ISBN: 9780785281139
2006 Thomas Nelson
272 pages

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Power Through Prayer
by Edward M. Bounds

"What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use: men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men: men of prayer." (from Chapter 1: "Men of Prayer Needed" )

Some Christians insist that 19th-century American pastor Edward M. Bounds offered a more profound understanding of prayer for modern believers than any other contemporary religious thinker. This classic book on personal communication with God explores how sincere prayer brings faith to life. It examines prayer, why a praying ministry will be successful, prayer and devotion united, an example of devotion, the necessity of preparing the heart, grace from the heart rather than the head, and much more. Seekers of wisdom are sure to find words of truth in this inspirational volume.

EDWARD McKENDREE BOUNDS (1835 to 1913) was an American Methodist minister and writer who served as a chaplain in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He wrote several best-selling books on prayer, including The Necessity of Prayer, Possibilities of Prayer, The Weapon of Prayer, and others.

ISBN: 1602065411
2007 Cosimo
132 pages

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