October 2024 Issue:
Our annual Missions Weekend is coming up quickly! November 2-3 marks our yearly chance to dwell on what God is doing around the world in and through our Great Commission Workers. As you prepare your heart for this amazing opportunity to see God at work, the library has resources for use with every age and stage of life.
If you would like to learn more about the country your Community Group’s missionary partner serves in, please check out Operation World and Window on the World for kids. These wonderful reference books give statistics about gospel spread in every country and ways to pray specifically for that country. Window on the World is full of colorful pictures which help students see and appreciate different cultures around the world.
If you feel the burden to pray for lost people, check out Pray for the World. You will find helpful information on church growth, societal and political events, and timely challenges needing prayer.
Who doesn’t love a great story? Our library has a wide variety of missionary biographies which will draw you in and keep you cheering for the spread of the gospel through God’s agents, His people. We have biographies for all ages, from board books to biographies that will challenge the senior saints of our body to run toward the goal Christ has set before us.
Our library strives to be a support and encouragement to you as you walk with Christ and learn what it is to make disciples around the world.
August & September 2024 Issue:
With the 2024 election just around the corner (and early voting starting soon), we want to let you know about resources that can help you be an informed voter. You can find helpful, non-partisan information about polling places, candidates, and sample ballots online here and here.
More importantly, among the thousands of titles in our church library are dozens of great books to help you think deeply, and faithfully, about God’s purposes for government and our responsibilities. The Bible has a lot to teach us about living like Abraham, a stranger in a foreign land, “looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:9-10). Our church library has more than 4,200 titles searchable here by topic, author and title.
Here are just a few books to challenge, encourage, and equip you in this political season (in no particular order):
· Before You Vote: Seven Questions Every Christian Should Ask (2020) by David Platt: This short book offers a biblical, thoughtful, and very practical approach to voting.
· Honoring God in Red and Blue (2012) by Amy Black: This book by a Wheaton College political science professor provides an excellent overview of the American political system and important considerations Christians should make as we participate in it.
· God & Politics (2016) by Mark Dever: A short book on public faith vs. private faith and what it means to “render to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar” (Matthew 22:21).
· Politics According to the Bible (2011) by Wayne Grudem: A comprehensive look (in other words, a big book!) at what the Bible has to say about politics, government, and more than 50 contemporary political issues.
· Free to Believe: The Battle Over Religious Liberty in America (2019) by Luke Goodrich: An introduction to several important questions surrounding religious liberty, written by an attorney who has won several cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
· Political Gospel: A Public Witness in a Politically Crazy World (2022) by Patrick Schreiner: A look at what it means for American Christians to have a political voice that is neither partisan nor private.
And a few more:
· We the Fallen People: The Founders and the Future of American Democracy (2021) by Robert Tracy McKenzie
· We Cannot Be Silent: Speaking Truth to a Culture Redefining Sex, Marriage, and Very Meaning of Right and Wrong (2015) by Albert Mohler
· A Free People's Suicide: Sustainable Freedom and the American Future (2012) by Os Guinness
· Faithful Politics: Ten Approaches to Christian Citizenship and Why it Matters (2024) by Miranda Zapor Cruz
· How to Be a Patriotic Christian: Love of Country as Love of Neighbor (2022) by Richard Mouw
· How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age (2018) by Jonathan Leeman
June & July 2024 Issue:
Summer is a wonderful time to catch up on some reading! One of my most vivid childhood memories is being a part of the summer book reading program at the local library. It was great to put aside the required school reading list and read whatever book struck my fancy (and earning free pizza was pretty great too!). Summer reading programs are still going strong today at all of our local libraries. I am thankful for the many books our public libraries offer, but if you're looking for wholesome, spiritually-minded options for you or your family, look no further than our very own church library! Our church library has more than 4,200 titles searchable here by topic, author and title. Below are some good choices for both kids and adults, including a few series to keep your young readers in a book all summer!
Children:
• Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey, Volume I, II, III: This children's series is based on John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and has been adapted for the younger generations. It is also fully illustrated which will keep your little ones engaged with each page.
• The Prince’s Poison Cup and The Lightlings, by R.C. Sproul: These two beautifully illustrated picture books speak to the story of redemption and the need for Jesus to pay the price for our sin.
Big Kids:
• The Wingfeather Saga, by Andrew Peterson: For the more advanced reader (and any adult for that matter), the Wingfeather Saga by singer Andrew Peterson is a wonderful choice. Written initially for his children, Peterson takes the reader through a beautiful story of a family who sticks together no matter what happens in the evil world around them.
• Where the River Bends, Three Go Searching, The Secret at Pheasant Cottage, Treasures of the Snow, and The Tangle Woods’ Secret, by Patricia St. John: These are new editions of some classic books by Patricia St. John that stir the young to imagine new environments and situations they never thought of while holding onto faith in God.
• Jack vs the Tornado (Book 1 of the Tree Street Kids) by Amanda Cleary Easter: The Tree Street Kids live on Cherry, Oak, Maple, and Pine, but their 1990s suburban neighborhood is more than just quiet, tree-lined streets. Jack, Ellison, Roger, and Ruthie face challenges and find adventures in every creek and cul-de-sac—as well as God’s great love in one small neighborhood.
• Kingdom’s Dawn (Book 1 of the Kingdom Series) by Chuck Black: Swords, knights, and battles define these captivating tales that parallel biblical events from Genesis to Revelation!
Adults:
For the adult fiction lover, here are a few choices that range from biblical historical fiction to modern day stories and are all full of gospel truth.
• And the Shofar Blew, by Francine Rivers
• Safely Home, by Randy Alcorn
• Voice in the Wind, by Francine Rivers
• Pearl in the Sand, by Tessa Afshar
• The Pharaoh’s Daughter, by Mesu Andrews
If you would like some non-fiction, here are a few biographies of some amazing Christian heroes.
• The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom
• Joni: An Unforgettable Story, by Joni Eareckson Tada
• Being/Becoming Elisabeth Elliot, by Ellen Vaughn
• Bonehoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, by Eric Metaxas
April & May 2024 Issue:
With the warmer weather, it is a great time to pull out a comfortable lawn chair, find a quieter place, and enjoy some good reading. See below for some recent additions to the church library that you may want to consider!
Our church library has more than 4,200 titles searchable here by topic, author and title. Here are just a few:
Highlights:
• None Greater: The Undomesticated Attributes of God, by Michael Barrett
For too long, Christians have domesticated God, bringing Him down to our level as if He is a God who can be tamed. But He is a God who is high and lifted up! One reviewer said, [the author] “leads us to marvel at both how much and how little we know of God.”
• Discovering God Through the Arts, by Terry Glaspey
For many Christians, art sits in the background, existing only for decoration and entertainment. But what if the arts were meant to play a more prominent role? This book seeks to help us discern how works of art offer faith-building, life-changing, and soul-stretching spiritual formation for all Christians.
• Onward: Engaging the Culture Without Losing the Gospel, by Russell Moore
We need a church that speaks to the social and political issues with a bigger vision in mind: that of the gospel of Jesus Christ! The signs of the times tell us we are in for days our parents and grandparents never knew. But that’s no call for panic or surrender or outrage. Jesus is alive. Let’s act like it. Let’s follow Him, onward to the future.
• Parenting with Words of Grace, by William P. Smith
Offering practical guidance for grace-filled communication in the midst of the craziness of everyday life, this accessible guide will help us speak in ways that reflect the grace God has shown to us in the gospel.
• Songs of Suffering, by Joni Eareckson Tada
Acting as “song leader”, the author has selected 25 beautiful hymns that speak to the grieving heart. Through personal devotions, she shares her experience with pain and invites us to find comfort as we seek the Lord.
Children’s Corner:
• 3 books by Kristen Wetherell: God Hears Me, God Cares for Me, and God Came Near to Me
• 2 books by Betsy Childs Howard: Polly and the Screen Time Overload, and Arlo and the Great Big Cover-up
Recent Additions:
· The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why are They Going, and What Will it Take to Bring Them Back?, by Jim Davis and Michael Graham
• Taking God at His Word: Why the Bible is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me, by Kevin DeYoung
· Go and Do Likewise: A Call to Follow Jesus in a Life of Mercy and Mission, by Amy DiMarcangelo
· Uncommon Ground: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference, by Timothy Keller and John Inazu
· Parenting with Hope: Raising Teens for Christ in a Secular Age, by Melissa Krueger
· Being the Bad Guys: How to Live for Jesus in a World That Says You Shouldn’t, by Stephen McAlpine
· Questioning Faith: Indirect Journeys of Belief Through Terrains of Doubt, by Randy Newman
· God, Technology, and the Christian Life, by Tony Reinke
· Beautiful People Don’t Just Happen: How God Redeems Regret, Hurt, and Fear in the Making of Better Humans, by Scott Sauls