The Singing God: Feel the Passion God Has For You...Just The Way You Are. Sam Storms. February 2013. (Passio)
Publisher description:
God loves us—with all our faults and failures, with all the secret sins
no one else knows about. In fact, He rejoices over us so much that He
breaks out in inexpressible joy and song as He thinks about us. “The
Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will
rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will
exult over you with loud singing.” —Zephaniah 3:17 That’s how God feels
about you! He looks at you, He thinks of you…and He sings for joy! In The Singing God
Sam Storms explores God's immeasurable love for His children. You don’t
need to be different; you don’t need to be better. You just need to
know that God loves you just the way you are now...today. When you truly
believe this, you will find the strength and incentive to fight sin,
experience freedom from shame, and walk in the fullness of all that God
desires for you.
The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield. December 2012. (Crown & Covenant Publications)
Publisher Description:
Rosaria, by the standards of many, was living a very good life. She had a
tenured position at a large university in a field for which she cared
deeply. She owned two homes with her partner, in which they provided
hospitality to students and activists that were looking to make a
difference in the world. There, her partner rehabilitated abandoned and
abused dogs. In the community, Rosaria was involved in volunteer work.
At the university, she was a respected advisor of students and her
department's curriculum. And then, in her late 30s, Rosaria encountered
something that turned her world upside down-the idea that Christianity, a
religion that she had regarded as problematic and sometimes downright
damaging, might be right about who God was, an idea that flew in the
face of the people and causes that she most loved. What follows is a
story of what she describes as a "train wreck" at the hand of the
supernatural. These are her secret thoughts about those events, written
as only a reflective English professor could.
Conversion put me in a complicated and comprehensive chaos. I sometimes
wonder, when I hear other Christians pray for the salvation of the
"lost," if they realize that this comprehensive chaos is the desired end
of such prayers. Often, people asked me to describe the "lessons" that I
learned from this experience. I can't. It was too traumatic. Sometimes
in crisis, we don't really learn lessons. Sometimes the result is
simpler and more profound: sometimes our character is simply
transformed.
Unconditional Love: Radical Stories, Real People. Edited by Ben Stroup. May 2013. (B&H)
Publisher description:
Inspired by the film Unconditional and Papa Joe Bradford's outreach to at-risk children, Unconditional Love
gathers real-life stories celebrating the best in ordinary people who
have found extraordinary ways to act as the hands and feet of Jesus in
their time and place. Through them we see what matters most in this
life, we stir our God-made desire to help others in need, and the world
becomes a better place.
Papa Joe writes the collection's
foreword, starting the conversation about how God's love compels us to
show unconditional love for others in ways simple and profound, selfless
and yet so rewarding.
We meet a band whose trip to
Africa resulted in an effort that has so far provided life-saving water
and health care to more than 600,000 people. In Tennessee, an
80-year-old woman works a plan to feed 2,000 homeless each week.
Others give from their own
struggles: a teenager who lost his leg raises money to provide other
children with prosthetics; a woman whose brother was killed on 9/11
helps Afghani refugees who fled the Taliban feel at home in the United
States; a human rights agency rescues victimes of slavery and sexual
exploitation.
A host of other stories bringing
our lives into clearer social and spiritual focus are combined with
inspirational quotes, a Bible reading plan, and other tools to encourage
further self-discovery and greater personal outreach.
Doxology and Theology: How The Gospel Forms the Worship Leader. Edited by Matt Boswell. May 2013. (B&H)
Publisher description:
Many in the church see worship leading and theological processing at
opposite ends of a big room. Theology is considered the business of
pastors and professors, while worship is the business of musicians and
rock stars.
But a new wave of young worship
leaders is hungry for something different, the desire to think not just
pragmatically (sound, charts, guitars) but theologically (the gospel,
justice, pastoral ministry) about worship. Likewise, pastors and
churches increasingly desire to be led by thoughtful worship leaders who
combine doxology and theology.
Doxology and Theology
is a resource by worship leaders for worship leaders that clearly
articulates how these two pieces join together. Contributions from
eleven respected worship leaders around the country including Matt Papa
(Summit Church, Raleigh-Durham), Aaron Keyes (Grace Church, Atlanta),
Michael Bleecker (The Village Church, Dallas), and Zac Hicks (Cherry
Creek Presbyterian Church, Denver) unite worship with themes of mission,
disciple-making, the Word of God, the Trinity, family, and more.
© Becky Laney of
Operation Actually Read Bible
