The Case For Faith by Lee Strobel

The subtitle of the book reads A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity. Strobel looks at what he calls “the big eight” eight major objections that give a person a reason to reject Christianity. Objections like “Since evil and suffering exist a loving God cannot” or “Since miracles contradict science, they cannot be true.” How about objection # 5 “It’s offensive to claim Jesus is the only way to God” or objection # 6 “A loving God would never torture people in hell.”

Strobel interviews the experts to bring you a reasonable response to these difficult questions.

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Xealots: defying the gravity of normality by Dave Gibbons

To live a Xealots’ life is to live a not normal Christian life. A Xealot believes that through the power of Jesus Christ, ordinary men and women can develop “superhuman” abilities to change the world. The book talks about daring to do what is impossible, embracing your pain as a gift, transcending the gravity of the common life, and choosing to live a supernatural life in the Spirit.

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The Journal of John Wesley by John Wesley

The journal starts in 1729 when John Wesley was a resident at Oxford University. He talks about his trip to Savannah Georgia with the Moravian Christians and their influence on him. He talks about his conversion experience in 1738 when he felt his “heart strangely warmed.”

Much of his journal talks about his preaching throughout England, Ireland and Scotland often outdoors usually three times a day, sometimes with hecklers in the audience. He would rise at 4am and preach his first sermon of the day at 5am. He studied on horse back travelling from one meeting to another. He travelled over 250, 000 miles and preached over 40,000 sermons in his lifetime he did this into his 80’s.

His last entry into his journal was made by his friends who recorded his dying words “The best of all is, God is with us.”

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90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey

Don Piper died instantly when his car was hit head-on by a truck on a Texas highway. He was dead for 90 minutes before miraculously returning to life. I read this book a couple of years ago but was recently reminded of the book when I noticed a movie by the same title on Netflix. The story has been turned into a movie which you can see on Netflix. 

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The Day America Told the Truth by James Patterson & Peter Kim

A massive in-depth survey of what Americans really believe. The version of the book I read was a survey done in the 1990’s. Americans believe the nation has no moral leadership, Americans make up their own morality, lying is an integral part of American culture, there is no longer any meaningful sense of community in America, the United States is the most violent industrialized nation on the earth, the number one cause of our business decline is low ethics by executives, the letdown in moral values is now considered the number one problem facing the country.

These are some of the facts this survey reveals.

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Turning Fear to Hope: Help For Marriages Troubled By Abuse by Holly Wagner Green

A great book on the difficult subject of spousal abuse. I first read this book as a pastor looking for helpful information about domestic violence in the home. This book offers great information for victims and counselors. It looks at the problem of wife abuse, a Biblical perspective on domestic violence, helpful information for battered woman, and how others can help a battered woman.

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The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel

The sub-title for the book reads A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus.

Lee Strobel questions Biblical experts on a variety of topics. He asks them questions such as: do the biographies of Jesus stand up to scrutiny? Were Jesus’ biographies reliably preserved for us? Is the Jesus of history the same as the Jesus of faith? Was Jesus crazy when he claimed to be the son of God? Was Jesus’ death a sham and his resurrection a hoax? Are there any supporting facts that point to the resurrection?

Strobel questions experts like Dr. Bruce Metzger, Dr. Gary Collins, Dr. William Lane Craig, Dr. J. P. Moreland and Dr. Gary Habermas yet the book is easy to understand.

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The Overcomer's Handbook: Preparing for the Best of Times, the Worst of Times and the End of Times by Jerry Steingard

Jerry Steingard a friend of mine, gave me a copy of his book The Overcomer’s Handbook in 2013. Jerry recounts in his book the truth that has shaped his life over the years as a Christian and a minister of the gospel. Truth such as the priority of praise and worship, learning to hear God’s voice, divine healing, spiritual warfare, the coming waves of revival and the end times to name a few subjects covered in this book. 

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The Genesis Question: Scientific Advances and the Accuracy of Genesis by Hugh Ross

Those who criticize the book of Genesis often attack the first 11 chapters of this book as being non-historical. Skeptics want to treat these chapters as mythological or allegorical they can't accept them as historical narratives. No historical creation, Adam and Eve, no historical temptation and fall of man, and no historical Noah's ark or global flood.

Hugh Ross speaks as a Christian and a scientist reconciles the newest scientific evidence with Genesis 1-11. He says "Genesis 1 succinctly and eloquently narrates the beginning of “the heavens and the earth.” It explains what came into existence, how it came, and what order. It specifies what scientists have recently verified as Earth’s initial conditions….This flawless summary of an enormous body of natural-historical information comes to us in just a few dozen sentences. Moses, the probable author, penned this account more than thirty-four centuries ago. Somehow he managed to get it right – the right initial conditions, the right events accurately described and correctly sequenced, and the right final conditions-to align with the still accumulating evidence from multiple scientific disciplines equipped with space-age technological tools."

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Make Anger Your Ally by Neil Clark Warren

A great book on how to manage your anger. The first part of the book talks about four types of mismanaged anger. Part two looks at the issues connected to our anger such as aggressive behaviour like hostility and hate. Part three investigates four principles in mastering our anger.

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Azusa Street: How Pentecost Came to Los Angeles by Frank Bartleman & The Azusa Street Papers 1906-1908 by William J. Seymour

The story of how the Pentecost revival first came to Los Angeles is the early 20th century. Azusa Street is considered by historians to be the beginning place of the Pentecostal movement. Pentecost fire spread to the entire world from 312 Azusa Street an African American Methodist Church led by William J. Seymour. Meetings at Azusa Street first began in April of 1906 accompanied by miracles, healings and of course speaking in tongues that eventually attracted the attention of the world. 

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Immortality: The Other Side of Death by Gary Habermas & J.P. Moreland

Is man immortal? Is there evidence for life after death? What does near-death experiences (NDE’s) tell us? Is there a heaven or hell? What about reincarnation is it true? This book answers these questions. The book is divided into three parts looking at the evidence for immortality, the nature of immortality and the implications of immortality.

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Jesus On Trial: A Lawyer Affirms the Truth of the Gospel by David Limbaugh

Our culture often dismisses Bible stories as myths or fairy tales. Lawyer David Limbaugh presents some powerful arguments demonstrating the Bible’s truthfulness and relevance. He shows how the Bible is one of the most historically reliable books ever written amongst all ancient books. He describes how Biblical prophecy sets the Bible apart from all other books and the death and resurrection of Jesus has sound historical support.

Jesus On Trial is a great apologetics resource.

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Not By Might Nor By Power: The Jesus Revolution by Lonnie Frisbee with Roger Sachs

The story of Lonnie Frisbee one of the early leaders of the Jesus Movement. Chuck Smith was the fatherly pastor and Bible teacher and Lonnie Frisbee was the hippy evangelist of the Jesus Movement in Southern California.

The Jesus People Movement of the 60 and 70’s was the largest ingathering of souls in the history of the United States overshadowing the Great Awakening.

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