Prayer by Timothy Keller

The subtitle reads Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God.

This book is divided into five parts. Part one deals with the necessity and importance of prayer. Part two talks about prayer as both a conversation and an encounter with God. Part three looks at what Augustine, Martin Luther, Calvin and Jesus taught about prayer. Part four drills down further into prayer viewing it both as a conversation and an encounter. Prayer as a conversation includes meditation in God’s Word the listening aspect of prayer. Prayer as an encounter includes experiencing the presence and reality of God as we seek God’s face. The final part of the book deals with doing prayer. Keller talks about praise, repentance, forgiveness and petition – asking God for help. The final chapter deals with the practice of daily prayer.

Keller book on prayer is theological, devotional and practical.

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The Case For Miracles by Lee Strobel

The subtitle reads A Journalist Investigates Evidence for the Supernatural.

Strobel begins Part one of the book by interviewing Dr. Michael Shermer a skeptic looking at the case against miracles.

In part two of the book Strobel interviews Dr. Craig Keener an expert on the subject of miracles. They explore Biblical and historical miracles as well as looking at documented modern miracles.

Part three of the book is comprised of two interviews one with Dr. Candy Gunther Brown who weighs in on the STEP study which examines the effects of prayer and Tom Doyle who talks the miraculous dreams and visions of Jesus experienced in the Muslim world.

Part four of the book is two more interviews one with Dr. Michael G. Strauss who talked about the fine-tuning of the universe and the miraculous embedded in nature which points to God as creator. The second interview is with J. Warner Wallace a cold case detective who talks about the evidence of the resurrection.

The last part of the book part five includes two interviews one with Dr. Roger E. Olson who talks about the de-emphasis of the supernatural amongst American evangelicals who seem to be embarrassed by the supernatural. The second interview is with Dr. Douglas R. Groothuis who talks about when miracles don’t happen.

Strobel build a strong case for the miraculous.

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When to Walk Away by Gary Thomas

The subtitle reads Finding Freedom From Toxic People

There are some people who get in the way of you becoming the person God created you to be and for you this person is toxic. These are the kind of people who drain us, demean us and distract us from other healthy relationships and unfortunately sometimes you have to walk away.

This book is a study of the life of Jesus. There are 2 dozen time recorded in the gospels when Jesus had to walk away from some people or let others walk away from him. The first 2 chapters of the book talks about Jesus playing defense in this way. Chapters 3-5 help define what a toxic person is like and looks at the key characteristics of a toxic person. Chapters 6-10 stress the importance of protecting your mission as a Christian from the attack of toxic people. Chapters 11-19 talks about how to handle toxic people you can’t walk away from because they are family. Chapter 20-21 talks about how a man left his toxic ways behind and how to be less toxic toward yourself.

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Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman

The subtitle reads Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business

This book was written in the 1980’s before social media and the internet but it is still relevant. The book talks about how our culture has moved from communicating ideas through words and print to conveying ideas visually through television. Postman says that through this form of communication, the visual median, we have lost something, for one thing this median always seek to entertain above educating the audience. We have moved into the “Age of Show Business.” All that is offer on television from “Sesame Street” to documentaries and even the news itself is a form of entertain. His arguments are compelling and worth reading even though the material is dated.

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The Gospel in Twenty Questions by Paul Ellis

Paul Ellis author of “The Gospel in Ten Words” has also authored this book “The Gospel in Twenty Questions.”

All twenty chapters of the book addresses questions about Christianity or what the Bible teaches. Questions like:

How can I read the Bible without getting confused?

How do I endure to the end?

Is it God’s will for me to be sick?

Is grace a license to sin?

What really happened at the cross?

Who can take communion?

Questions about faith should never be discouraged of dismissed. This is an excellent book to use in Small Group discussions.

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The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron & Suzanne Stabile

The subtitle reads An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery

Yes, another book about the Enneagram. In 2015 I recommended the book The Wisdom of the Enneagram by Don Richard Riso & Russ Hudson, this is also an excellent book about the Enneagram.

The Enneagram is an ancient personality classification system like Myers & Briggs, Strengths Finders and DISC. All these personality classification systems help a person understand who they are and what makes them tick. It also will help one to understand why your friends, family and co-workers think and behave the way they do.

The personality types of the Enneagram are numbered 1-9 (See The Wisdom of the Enneagram Oct. 10, 2015).

I am classified as an Enneagram 6 with a 5 wing (6w5) which means I am predominately a 6 (A Loyalist) but I also possess some characteristics of a 5 (An Investigator). You will have to read the book in order to understand what this all means.

The Enneagram will help you better understand yourself and the people around you.

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Making Sense of God by Timothy Keller

The subtitle reads Finding God in the Modern World

I love the way Tim Keller writes, this is the first book of his I have read.

The book is divided into three parts – part one of the book Why Does Anyone Need Religion? talks about two misunderstandings about religion (1) it is not going away (2) it is not based on faith without evidence. Part two of the book Religion is More Than You Think It Is looks at six givens humans can’t live without that faith provides, they are meaning, satisfaction, freedom, identity, hope and justice. Part three of the book Christianity Makes Sense points out why it is reasonable to believe in God and why it is reasonable to believe in Christianity.

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Does God Exist? By William Lane Craig

William Lane Craig briefly covers five arguments for the existence of God. Each argument is concisely stated, logically consistent and briefly explained. (1) The Cosmological Argument – the argument from cause, (2) the Kalam Cosmological Argument a different version of the first argument but worth looking at. (3) The Teleological Argument – the argument from design, (4) the Moral Argument - the argument from morality and (5) the Ontological Argument – the argument from being.

These arguments are convincing and airtight to the open minded and a great apological resource.

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Generation Z Unfiltered by Tim Elmore

The subtitle reads Facing Nine Hidden Challenges of the Most Anxious Population

Generation Z are those who have been born from year 1995 to 2015. Most have never known life without cellphones, social media or the 24-hour news cycle. The most empowered and the most anxious generation in recent history. Think about it, they have grown up with the 911 attack on the twin towers and the threat of world terrorism, school shootings, combined with hyper protective parents, instant news and information through social median and the internet.

This book talks about the special strengths and challenges possessed by Generation Z, how to harness the strength and deal with the challenges. The majority of the book considers 9 different challenges presented by Generation Z and how to coach them through these challenges.

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The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson

The subtitle reads Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears

The Circle Maker is a reference to a legendary Jewish miracle-worker named Honi who lived during the Maccabean period. One of the notable miracles he was known for was praying for rain. The legend says he made a circle around himself and prayed to God for rain until it rained.

Batterson encourages the believer to become a Circle Maker to literally circle everyone and everything in prayer.

What an inspirational book about prayer, full of inspirational stories and insightful scriptural instruction.

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Groomed by Elizabeth Melendez Fisher Good

The subtitle reads Overcoming the Message That Shaped Our Past and Limit Our Future

The word groomed is often a reference to the sexual exploitation of children. The book does address the subject of sex trafficking a $150 billion per year industry but its major message is to everyone. Grooming is something more common than you might think, this is what the first part of the book talks about We’ve All Been Groomed. The second part of the book looks at five grooming messages children often hear What Are You Groomed For? The last part of the book is called Leaving the Life, the author talks about women who have left the life of sex work but this section also addresses letting go of the destructive messages we have picked up as children.

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Dreams and Visions is Jesus Awakening the Muslim World? By Tom Doyle

This book presents dozens of personal stories of Muslims who have had a supernatural meeting with Jesus whom the Muslims refer to as “Isa.” Many in the Muslim world are coming to faith in Christ because of these supernatural dreams, visions and visitations of Jesus. More Muslims have become followers of Jesus in the last 10 years than in the last 14 centuries of Islam. These encounters have occurred in many countries in the Middle East including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Israel and Afghanistan. Could it be that Jesus is awakening the Muslim World?

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Heaven by Randy Alcorn

Randy Alcorn provides a comprehensive look at what the Bible teaches about heaven.

There are so many unbiblical ideas about this subject – heaven is a never-ending church service, heaven is a permanent place of rest for disembodied human spirits, heaven is a boring, spiritual, unearthly existence. Even those in the Church have accepted our cultural believes about heaven without truly understand what the Bible teaches.

The book is divided into three parts – part one A Theology Of Heaven – what the Bible teaches about heaven. Part one will clear up many of our cultural misconceptions about heaven. Part two deals with Questions And Answers About Heaven and the third part of the book talk about how we are to live as a result of our beliefs about heaven, Living In Light Of Heaven.

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Love Thy Body by Nancy R. Pearcey

The subtitle reads Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality

There is a secular moral ethic that is being propagated and imposed through Hollywood, social media, our public institutions and through law. This secular moral ethic addresses subjects like sexuality, abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, assisted suicide, homosexuality and transgenderism.

This book uncovers the worldview that drives this secular moral ethic. By understanding the core principles behind this worldview, the Christian should be able to engage the controversial moral challenges our culture presents with compassion and intelligence.

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Paul by N.T. Wright

An in-depth look at the life of the apostle Paul as revealed by the book of Acts and Paul’s New Testament epistles. In this biography Wright focuses in on the experiences, influences and thinking of the apostle Paul. How God led him to invent and develop new language to explain the Jesus story to the Gentile world. How Paul, the apostle to the Gentile saw and interpreted the law in the light of the teachings of Jesus. How he attempted to convince his Jewish brethren that Jesus is the Messiah the fulfillment of the Jewish hope changing everything about their approach to God. How Paul travelled all over the Roman Empire preaching the Good News and planting Churches.

Paul’s life and writings are indispensable in understanding early Christianity.

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Every Young Man’s Battle by Stephen Arterburn & Fred Stoeker with Mike Yorkey

The subtitle reads Strategies for Victory in the Real World of Sexual Temptation

This book is a part of a series of books Everyman’s Battle, Everyman’s Marriage (see Book Recommends 2017), Every Woman’s Battle and Every Young Women’s Battle.

Every Young Man’s Battle is intended to encourage and equip young single males to live a life of sexual purity in our highly sexualized culture. The book is full of practical advice and relevant stories that serve to help young men navigate through the minefield of sexual temptation faced in today’s culture.

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AD 70 And The End Of The World by Paul Ellis

The subtitle reads Finding Good News In Christ’s Prophecies And Parables of Judgment

Ellis explains why he wrote this book, it is because “fear-based eschatology is dangerous.”

The first half of the book examines Matthew 24 known as the Olivet Discourse taking the prospective that this chapter is fulfilled historically in the events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

The second half of the book deals with the parables and prophecies of judgment regarding the end times. The author takes a grace-based view of Christ’s parables and prophecies of judgment.

This is a book that everyone should read regardless of your eschatological view point.

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Generation iY by Tim Elmore

The subtitle reads Secrets to Connecting with Today’s Teens & Young Adults in the Digital Age

What is Generation iY? Generation Y or the Millennials are those born between 1982 and 2001. The younger Millennials born after 1990 are the iY’s, those who grew up with the internet “i”.

This book takes a close look at Generation Y, looking at the cultural influences that has shaped it, examining the characteristics, struggles and challenges this generation faces. What part can we play as the older generation to best connect, educate and help prepare generation Y for the future? The book also looks at Generation Z, the generation of “digital natives” to following the iY’s.

If you really want to understand your kids and grandkids this book will help.

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Emotional Intelligence by James W. Williams

The subtitle reads The 21 Day Mental Makeover to Master Your Emotions, Improve Your Social Skills, and Achieve Better, Happier Relationships.

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to nurture and manage your emotions and also to observe and be sensitive to the emotions of others around you.

This book talks about the importance of emotional intelligence, especially for a leader or anyone working on a team. The last half of the book deals with how to improve your emotional intelligence. If you are lacking emotional intelligence this is something that can be learned and developed.

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Rebel With A Cause by Franklin Graham

This book is an autobiography of Franklin Graham son of Ruth and Billy Graham.

The book traces Franklin’s early years growing up in the Graham household in North Carolina, his struggles as the son of the famous evangelist Billy Graham. The book reveals Franklin’s rebellion and mistakes but also the godly people that helped shape him.

Franklin Graham has found his place of ministry as the president of Samaritan's Purse an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization that provides aid to people in physical need.

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