 The Purpose Driven Life
by Rick Warren
You are not an accident. Even before the universe was created, God had you in mind, and he planned you for his purposes. These purposes will extend far beyond the few years you will spend on earth. You were made to last forever!
Self-help books often suggest that you try to discover the meaning and purpose of your life by looking within yourself, but Rick Warren says that is the wrong place to start. You must begin with God, your Creator, and his reasons for creating you. You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life will never make sense.
This book will help you understand why you are alive and God's amazing plan for you, both here and now, and for eternity. Rick Warren will guide you through a personal 40-day spiritual journey that will transform your answer to life's most important question: What on earth am I here for? Knowing God's purpose for creating you will reduce your stress, focus your energy, simplify your decisions, give meaning to your life, and, most importantly, prepare you for eternity.
The Purpose-Driven Life is a blueprint for Christian living in the 21st century based on God's eternal purposes, not cultural values. Using over 1,200 scriptural quotes and references, it challenges the conventional definitions of worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism. In the tradition of Oswald Chambers, Rick Warren offers distilled wisdom on the essence of what life is all about.
This is a book of hope and challenge that you will read and re-read, and it will be a classic treasured by generations to come.
ISBN: 9780310205715
2002 Zondervan
336 pages
Available in the Pavilion
 God's Power to Change Your Life
by Rick Warren
Most people can think of different areas in their lives they'd like to change. But actually changing them? That's the problem! The good news is, God is all about changing lives. In this book, Rick Warren gives you practical principles from God's Word for change and growth in ten areas of your life.
What does it take to
Become more loving?
Live more peacefully?
Develop patience?
Have self-control?
"In the years I have been a pastor," writes Rick Warren, "the number-one question I'm asked is, 'Rick, why can't I change?'" People want to change—but they're stuck. Do you want to get unstuck? Here's how. Drawing simple but powerful truths from the Bible, this book gives you practical guidance for specific types of change, and it links you up with the power to actually make the changes you long to make. As you apply the truth of God's Word by the power of his Spirit, your life will change. You'll move out of your rut and get on track with God's wonderful purposes for your life.
ISBN: 9780310273035
2006 Zondervan
224 pages
Available in the Pavilion
 Renovation of the Heart
by Dallas Willard
Take on the character of Christ through the transformation of your spirit.
We aren't born again to stay the way we are. But how many times have we looked around us in dismay at the lack of spiritual maturity in fellow believers? It is evident in the rising rate of divorces among Christian couples. We find it in the high percentages of Christians, even pastors, who regularly view pornography. And we face it each time a well-known leader in the Christian community is found in sexual sin or handling finances dishonestly. Perhaps you have struggled with your own character issues for years, even decades, to little avail.
There's good news. You can experience significant growth in your Christian walk, shed sinful habits, and increasingly take on the character of Christ. In Renovation of the Heart, best-selling author Dallas Willard calls it "the transformation of the spirit"—a divine process that "brings every element in our being, working from inside out, into harmony with the will of God or the kingdom of God." In the transformation of our spirits, we become apprentices of Jesus Christ.
Willard suggests that many Christians today are crying out, "Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart." If that is your heart's cry, this book is the tool to take you to the next level in your quest for true, inward Christlikeness.
ISBN: 9781576832967
2002 NavPress Publishing
272 pages
Available in the Pavilion
 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.
Recommended by Clayton Coates, Kenny Luck, Doug Fields, and Buddy Owens
ISBN: 9781590525029
2005 WaterBrook Press
272 pages
Available in the Pavilion
 How People Grow
by Henry Cloud and John Townsend
All growth is spiritual growth. Authors Drs. Cloud and Townsend unlock age-old keys to growth from Scripture to help people resolve issues of relationships, maturity, emotional problems, and overall spiritual growth. They shatter popular misconceptions about how God operates and show that growth is not about self-actualization, but about God's sanctification. In this theological foundation to their best-selling book Boundaries, they discuss:
What the essential processes are that make people grow?
How those processes fit into a biblical understanding of spiritual growth and theology?
How spiritual growth and real-life issues are one and the same?
What the responsibilities are of pastors, counselors, and others who assist people in growing?
And what your own responsibilities are in your personal growth?
ISBN: 9780310257370
2004 Zondervan
368 pages
Available in the Pavilion
 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.
Recommended by Buddy Owens
ISBN: 9780785281139
2006 Thomas Nelson
272 pages
Available in the Pavilion
 Seeds of Hope
by Henri Nouwen
The inspirational writings of Henri Nouwen have touched millions of readers all over the world. Much beloved as a lecturer, author, and spiritual guide, he brought a message of hope and healing which found resonance in today's world. In the inspiring pages of the revised edition of Seeds Of Hope—the original edition of which was released in 1989—are gathered selections from the full spectrum of his work. All of Nouwen's finest books are reflected here, including The Return of the Prodigal Son, The Wounded Healer, Reaching Out, The Way of the Heart, The Road to Daybreak, and The Inner Voice of Love.
Seeds of Hope is Nouwen's legacy to his readers, providing true comfort for the challenges of our lives and pointing the way to a new spirituality.
Recommended by Debbie Eaton
ISBN: 9780385490498
1998 Bantam
296 pages
Available in the Pavilion
 Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire
by Jim Cymbala
The times are urgent, God is on the move, now is the moment to ask God to ignite his fire in your soul!
Pastor Jim Cymbala believes that Jesus wants to renew his people to call us back from spiritual dead ends, apathy, and lukewarm religion.
Cymbala knows the difference firsthand. Twenty-five years ago, his own church, the Brooklyn Tabernacle, was a struggling congregation of twenty. Then they began to pray . . . God began to move . . . street-hardened lives by the hundreds were changed by the love of Christ . . . and today they are eight thousand strong.
The story of what happened to this broken-down church in one of Americas meanest neighborhoods points the way to new spiritual vitality in the church and in your own life. Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire shows what the Holy Spirit can do when believers get serious about prayer and the Gospel. As this compelling book reveals, God moves in life-changing ways when we set aside our own agendas, take him at his word, and listen for his voice.
Recommended by Erik Rees
ISBN: 9780310251538
2003 Zondervan
208 pages
Available in the Pavilion
 What's So Amazing About Grace
by Philip Yancey
In 1987, an IRA bomb buried Gordon Wilson and his twenty-year-old daughter beneath five feet of rubble. Gordon alone survived. And forgave. He said of the bombers, "I have lost my daughter, but I bear no grudge . . . I shall pray, tonight and every night, that God will forgive them." His words caught the media's ears—and out of one man's grief, the world got a glimpse of grace. Grace is the church's great distinctive. It's the one thing the world cannot duplicate, and the one thing it craves above all else—for only grace can bring hope and transformation to a jaded world. In What's So Amazing About Grace? award-winning author Philip Yancey explores grace at street level. If grace is God's love for the undeserving, he asks, then what does it look like in action? And if Christians are its sole dispensers, then how are we doing at lavishing grace on a world that knows far more of cruelty and unforgiveness than it does of mercy?
Yancey sets grace in the midst of life's stark images, tests its mettle against horrific "ungrace." Can grace survive in the midst of such atrocities as the Nazi holocaust? Can it triumph over the brutality of the Ku Klux Klan? Should any grace at all be shown to the likes of Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed and cannibalized seventeen young men? Grace does not excuse sin, says Yancey, but it treasures the sinner. True grace is shocking, scandalous. It shakes our conventions with its insistence on getting close to sinners and touching them with mercy and hope. It forgives the unfaithful spouse, the racist, the child abuser. It loves today's AIDS-ridden addict as much as the tax collector of Jesus' day.
In his most personal and provocative book ever, Yancey offers compelling, true portraits of grace's life-changing power. He searches for its presence in his own life and in the church. He asks, "How can Christians contend graciously with moral issues that threaten all they hold dear?" And he encourages us to discuss ways to become living answers to a world that desperately wants to know, What's So Amazing About Grace?
ISBN: 9780310245650
2002 Zondervan
304 pages
Available in the Pavilion
 The Pursuit of Holiness
by Jerry Bridges
"Be holy, for I am holy", commands God to His people. But holiness is something that is often missing in the Christian's daily life. In Pursuit of Holiness, Jerry Bridges explains how God has equipped us to lead holy lives, how reason and emotion influence our will, and how habits and personal discipline play a part in holy living.
ISBN: 9781576839324
2006 NavPress Publishing
160 pages
Available in the Pavilion
 The Journey of Desire
by John Eldredge
Sometimes it seems we just can't get what we want. Circumstances thwart our best-laid plans. We struggle to live a heartfelt life. Worst of all, says Eldredge, the modern church mistakenly teaches its people to kill desire (calling it sin) and replace it with duty or obligation (calling it sanctification). As a result, at best Christians tend to live safe, boring lives of resignation. At worst, their desire eventually breaks out in destructive ways such as substance abuse, affairs, and pornography addictions. In The Journey of Desire, Eldredge invites readers to rediscover God-given desire and to search again for the life they once dreamed of.
Recommended by Brad Baker
ISBN: 9780785267164
2001 Thomas Nelson
224 pages
Available in the Pavilion
 Abba's Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging
by Brennan Manning
Is an imposter robbing you of God's love? Many of us live with an awareness that our lives are ridden with anxiety, guilt, and a lack of joy and passion. Our relationship with God and our relationships with others fall far short of our expectations and hopes. In a desperate attempt to make ourselves acceptable before God and others, we hide our true selves and present an imposter to the world—someone we hope will be accepted. The liberating message of this book is that God longs for us to know in the depths of our being that He loves and accepts us as we are. God is our "Abba," our loving Father, who knows us far better than we know ourselves. The shocking revelation of this book is two-fold. Sin has a far greater grip on our hearts and lives than we imagine. And God, who knows this full well, loves us far more than we can imagine, and longs to bring us into deeper, more joyful, passionate fellowship with Himself. This is a book for people who are tired of the shallowness and hollowness of superficial relationships—relationships that require them to keep up pretenses. It is for those who are willing to risk being exposed for who they really are and to be loved by a God who doesn't want them to pretend they are something they are not.
Recommended by Mike Constantz
ISBN: 9781576833346
2002 NavPress Publishing Group
192 pages
 Ordering Your Private World
by Gordon MacDonald
Ordering Your Private World is phenomenal selling over 1 million copies upon its original release in 1984. With revisions and new material, it is ever more timely to readers. Never admitting to have it all together, but rather using his own personal struggle as a way for readers to relate to his principles, Gordon MacDonald's classic book invites readers to bring order to their personal life by inviting God's control over every segment of their lives. His premise is that if the private world of a person is in order, it will be because they are convinced that the inner world of the spiritual must govern the outer world of activity.
Recommended by Doug Fields
ISBN: 9780785288640
2007 Thomas Nelson
251 pages
 Sacred Pathways
by Gary Thomas
"Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Spiritual Walk."
After all, its his, not yours. Better to discover the path God designed you to take—a path marked by growth and fulfillment, based on your unique temperament.
In Sacred Pathways, Gary Thomas strips away the frustration of a one-size-fits-all spirituality and guides you toward a path of worship that frees you to be you. If your devotional times have hit a snag, perhaps it is because you’re trying to follow someone else’s path.
This book unfolds nine distinct spiritual temperaments—their traits, strengths, and pitfalls. In one or more, you will see yourself and the ways you most naturally express your relationship with Jesus Christ. Whatever temperament or blend of temperaments best describes you, rest assured its not by accident. Its by the design of a Creator who knew what he was doing when he made you according to his own unique specifications. Sacred Pathways will show you the route you were made to travel, marked by growth and filled with the riches of a close walk with God.
Recommended by Kay Warren
ISBN: 9780310242840
2002 Zondervan
240 pages
Available in the Pavilion
 Seeking the Face of God: The Path to a More Intimate Relationship
by Gary Thomas
Thomas turns to the classic writings of well-known Christians to offer a program for rediscovering an authentic Christian spirituality that applies to everyday life's frustrations, problems, and even joys. "Many will be grateful for the forceful sensitivity of this survey of classical insights into our fellowship with God". —J.I. Packer.
Recommended by Kay Warren
ISBN: 9780736900195
1999 Harvest House Publishers
256 pages
Available in the Pavilion
 Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God
by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge
The God who saves is also a God who woos His own to a relationship primarily of the heart. As we draw closer to Him, we must choose to let go of other "less-wild lovers," such as perfectionist driveness and self-indulgence. Eldredge and Curtis identify the lies offered by "false loves" and instruct us on the journey back to the Lover of our souls. In carefully crafted words and images, the authors entice the reader to his or her own journey of the heart, promising, "It is possible to recover the lost life of our heart and with it the intimacy, beauty, and adventure of life with God."
Recommended by Mike Constantz
ISBN: 9780785273424
1997 Thomas Nelson
228 pages
Available in the Pavilion
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