The Prodigal prophet jonah and the mystery of God’s mercy
An angry prophet. A feared and loathsome enemy. A devastating storm. And the surprising message of a merciful God to his people.
The story of Jonah is one of the most well-known parables in the Bible. It is also the most misunderstood. Many people, even those who are nonreligious, are familiar with Jonah: A rebellious prophet who defies God and is swallowed by a whale. But there’s much more to Jonah’s story than most of us realize.
In The Prodigal Prophet, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller reveals the hidden depths within the book of Jonah. Keller makes the case that Jonah was one of the worst prophets in the entire Bible. And yet there are unmistakably clear connections between Jonah, the prodigal son, and Jesus. Jesus in fact saw himself in Jonah. How could one of the most defiant and disobedient prophets in the Bible be compared to Jesus?
Jonah’s journey also doesn’t end when he is freed from the belly of the fish. There is an entire second half to his story–but it is left unresolved within the text of the Bible. Why does the book of Jonah end on what is essentially a cliffhanger? In these pages, Timothy Keller provides an answer to the extraordinary conclusion of this biblical parable–and shares the powerful Christian message at the heart of Jonah’s story.
THE PURSUIT OF GOD
by: A.W. Tozer Whether you are thirsting for more of God or do not yet know of “mighty longing after God” that so consumed A.W. Tozer’s life and ministry, The Pursuit of God will draw you into a deep, abiding relationship with the One who “nourishes the soul.” This spiritual masterpiece exposes the roadblocks that keep us from fully knowing God, reveals our responsibility of the pursuit, and ultimately leads us into the very presence of God Himself.
The Question that never goes away
In his classic book Where Is God When It Hurts, Philip Yancey gave us permission to doubt, reasons not to abandon faith, and practical ways to reach out to hurting people. And now, thirty years after writing his first book, Yancey revisits our cry of “Why, God” in three places stunned into silence by the calamities that have devastated them. At some point all of us will face the challenges to faith Yancey writes about and look for the comfort and hope he describes. There are reasons to ask, once again, the question that never goes away: Where is God when we suffer? And Yancey, once again, leads us to find faith when it is most severely put to the test.
THE REASON FOR GOD
The Reason for God by: Timothy Keller This six-session small group Bible study, The Reason for God, captures live and unscripted conversations between Tim Keller and a group of people to address their doubts and objections to Christianity. Using literature, philosophy, and Scripture, Keller and the group explore the truth of Christianity. In his New York Times bestselling book The Reason for God, Timothy Keller established himself as a modern-day C. S. Lewis who brings together faith and intellect, theology and popular culture, modern-day objections and historic Christian beliefs. Now fans of the New York Times bestseller can find resources to help them engage with those same objections, drawing on recent scholarship and debates. The Reason for God small group Bible study can be used individually, with groups, or by any believer who is engaging with friends who don’t share his or her beliefs. Christians will be challenged to wrestle with their friends and neighbors’ hardest questions, and to engage those questions in ways that will spark an honest, enriching, and humbling dialogue, as is modeled during the DVD sessions. While The Reason for God DVD (sold separately) captures a live and unscripted conversation between Timothy Keller and the six panelists discussing their objections to Christianity, this Discussion Guide will help small groups and individuals dig deeper into the objections of the Christian faith and to learn about both sides of the issues. Sessions include: 1. Isn’t the Bible a Myth? 2. How Can You Say There Is Only One Way to God? 3. What Gives You the Right to Tell Me How to Live My Life? 4. Why Does God Allow Suffering? 5. Why Is the Church Responsible for So Much Injustice? 6. How Can God Be Full of Love and Wrath at the Same Time?
THE SEVEN RULES OF LIFE
Indespensible Wisdom for Successful Living by: Wayne Cordeiro It’s difficult in this noisy world to hear God’s still, small voice. Thankfully, he left us examples in the Bible of how we can live life more fully. By using seven character studies from Scripture and adding his own experiences and stories, author Wayne Cordeiro provides solid biblical guidance and wise counsel for living an abundant and holy life. The characters and their lessons: – Mary of Bethany : Learning to Listen – King David : When is Enough Enough? – Nicodemus : Going Public – Judas Iscariot : Fatal Choices – Absalom : A Case of Unforgiveness – Herod : Swayed by the Crowd – Abigail : Appeasing the King To these character studies, Corderio adds his own experiences and stories that will help you apply each particular life lesson. Discover sound biblical guidance and wise counsel for living life more fully!
THINK: THE LIFE OF THE MIND AND THE LOVE OF GOD
by: John Piper John Piper’s newest book will help Christians think about thinking. Focusing on the life of the mind helps us to know God better, love him more, and care for the world. Along with an emphasis on emotions and the experience of God, we also need to practice careful thinking about God. Piper contends that “thinking is indispensable on the path to passion for God.” So how are we to maintain a healthy balance of mind and heart, thinking and feeling? Piper urges us to think for the glory of God. He demonstrates from Scripture that glorifying God with our minds and hearts is not either-or, but both-and. Thinking carefully about God fuels passion and affections for God. Likewise, Christ-exalting emotion leads to disciplined thinking. Readers will be reminded that “the mind serves to know the truth that fuels the fires of the heart.”
Union with christ the way to know and enjoy god by rankin wilbourne
Winner of the 2017 Christian Book Award for New Author. Named one of the top books of 2016 by John Piper’s Desiring God ministry
To experience why the gospel is good news and answer life’s most foundational questions about identity, destiny, and purpose, we must understand what it means to be united to Christ.
If you are a Christian, the Bible says that Christ has united his life to yours, that you are now in Christ and Christ is in you. This almost unfathomable truth is the central theme of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Yet few Christians today experience or enjoy this reality. Union with Christ reveals the transformational power of this ancient doctrine while addressing the basic questions of the human heart:
VANISHING GRACE
“Why does the church stir up such negative feelings?” Philip Yancey has been asking this all his life as a journalist. His perennial question is more relevant now than ever: research shows that favorable opinions of Christianity have plummeted drastically—and opinions of Evangelicals have taken even deeper dives. Yet while opinions about Christianity are dropping, interest in spirituality is rising. Why the disconnect? Why are so many asking, “What’s so good about the Good News?” In Vanishing Grace, Yancey shows the desperate need our world has for grace, and how Christians can truly make the gospel good news again. In this video-based small group Bible study, participants will explore what kind of news is good to a culture that thinks it has rejected the Christian version. Wading deep into the transformative power of grace, they will hear illuminating stories of how faith can be expressed in ways that disarm even the most cynical.
WALKING WITH GOD THROUGH PAIN AND SUFFERING
by: Timothy Keller New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller—whose books have sold millions of copies to both religious and secular readers—explores one of the most difficult questions we must answer in our lives: Why is there pain and suffering? Walking with God through Pain and Suffering is the definitive Christian book on why bad things happen and how we should respond to them. The question of why there is pain and suffering in the world has confounded every generation; yet there has not been a major book from a Christian perspective exploring why they exist for many years. The two classics in this area are When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, which was published more than thirty years ago, and C. S. Lewis’s The Problem of Pain, published more than seventy years ago. The great secular book on the subject, Elisabeth Ku¨bler-Ross’s On Death and Dying, was first published in 1969. It’s time for a new understanding and perspective, and who better to tackle this complex subject than Timothy Keller? As the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, Timothy Keller is known for the unique insights he shares, and his series of books has guided countless readers in their spiritual journeys. Walking with God through Pain and Suffering will bring a much-needed, fresh viewpoint on this important issue.
WHAT GOOD IS GOD?
On The Road With Stories of Grace by: Philip Yancey When life is hard WHAT GOOD IS GOD? ‘My journalistic adventures have become a way to test the truth of what I write. Can “the God of all comfort” truly bring solace to a wounded place like Mumbai or the Virginia Tech campus? will the scars from racism ever heal in the American South, let alone South Africa?’ Speaker, journalist and bestselling author Philip Yancey has travelled the world speaking about his adventures in faith and observing Christianity ‘on the ground’. For each of the ten destinations in What Good is God? he shares his own inspiring words of encouragement and reveals the compelling story behind each speaking engagement. Whether he’s addressing alcoholics or Bible college students, sex workers or C. S. Lewis enthusiasts, Yancey’s experiences of redemption, hope and grace prove that when we are severely tested, faith really does matter.
WHAT’S SO AMAZING ABOUT GRACE
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 ear–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 challenges us to become living answers to a world that desperately wants to know, What’s So Amazing About Grace?
WHEN YOUR HEART CRIES OUT TO GOD
Finding Comfort in Life’s Trials by: Harold J. Sala Backed by Dr. Harold Sala’s 40–year broadcast presence and the promotional power of Guidelines International, whose Guidelines for Life reaches over 100 countries.
Foreword by Rick Warren, author of The Purpose-Driven Life. Harold Sala reminds readers that the Bible speaks to every conceivable human circumstance. His simple, plain–spoken advice will unlock just the thought or action readers need to move forward…or leave behind something that’s keeping them stuck. Twenty–five chapters cover a wide range of emotions and experiences, including… • When You Want Peace • When You Suffer • When You Hope • When Your Broken Life Needs Healing • When You Are Angry • When You Need Courage • When You Need to Say, “I’m Sorry; Forgive Me” Each chapter offers five short sections with memorable one–sentence insights and practical spiritual guidelines, using illustrations drawn from daily life. Readers will come away assured that God is always there to support, strengthen, and comfort them. Endorsements When Your Heart Cries Out to God is intended to be a source of encouragement…designed to challenge your thinking, confront your doubts, push back your cynicism and pessimism, and encourage you to look up and believe God as you make your way through the minefields of life.” — Dr. Rick Warren, author of The Purpose–Driven Life, senior pastor, Saddleback Church