For someone who doesn’t enjoy or take time for reading, I found it quite humorous that I was the one asked to write a blog about the Resource Center at Veritas. Like many things, I know that picking up a book to read would be helpful but I find it hard to carve out time to do so. As a staff member, I am very familiar with the resource center, but this assignment has been helpful for me to understand the importance of why we would have this available for our people.
The Resource Center located by Info Central is stocked with books that we want the people of Veritas to have easy access to. The leadership team has carefully handpicked each round of books that they believe will be a timely help for our growth in our walks with God.
We believe that the Bible should be the staple in how we learn and grow with God, so why should we read anything else? As I processed this question and did some research, I came across a list that helped me understand the importance of reading good Christian books in addition to the Bible. I have included some that I felt were most helpful along with a link to the full list.
1. You will grow in your knowledge of God, yourself and the world around you.
2. You will be able to sit at the feet of some of the great Christian teachers and minds over the centuries.
3. You will be forced to cease from incessant activity and thinking.
4. You will be better prepared for the task of evangelism, after reading clear presentations of the gospel by great communicators.
5. You will be better prepared for the task of discipleship, having a good way to open up discussion about Christian life issues (what are you reading?)
6. You will be better equipped to lead in your church, marriage and family.
7. You will be drawn to worship God, especially when the book centers on God not man.
https://unashamedworkman.wordpress.com/2007/01/08/resting-reading-and-reflecting/
Now that we are all primed to pick up a book and read, below is the new round of books coming to our resource center that will be available mid September. The following book summaries were taken from the Author of each corresponding book.
You Can Change
Tim Chester
It’s about heart change, not behavior change. That’s the conviction of Tim Chester as he seeks to help everyday Christians “connect the truth about God with our Monday-morning struggles.” This interactive book, laid out in workbook fashion, is for newer Christians struggling with sin and for more mature Christians who have plateaued in their faith as they seek to find victory over sin in their lives.
With a conviction that sanctification is God’s work and the journey to holiness is joyful, Chester guides readers through a “change project” – beginning with the selection of one area of life they would like to modify. Each chapter includes a question (e.g., Why would you like to change? What truths do you need to turn to?) to guide readers as they deal with a specific sin or struggle, truths from God’s word, and a reflection guide to help readers through their change project.
The Gospel Comes with a House Key
Rosaria Butterfield
What did God use to draw a radical, committed unbeliever to himself? Did God take her to an evangelistic rally? Or, since she had her doctorate in literature, did he use something in print? No, God used an invitation to dinner in a modest home, from a humble couple who lived out the gospel daily, simply, and authentically.
With this story of her conversion as a backdrop, Rosaria Butterfield invites us into her home to show us how God can use this same “radical, ordinary hospitality” to bring the gospel to our lost friends and neighbors. Such hospitality sees our homes as not our own, but as God’s tools for the furtherance of his kingdom as we welcome those who look, think, believe, and act differently from us into our everyday, sometimes messy lives—helping them see what true Christian faith really looks like.
Gospel 101
Jeff Dodge
This small group study and practical resource invites readers to develop the biblical literacy needed to share the gospel simply and effectively and without formulas. Designed for Christians who want to put their faith into action and grow in biblical knowledge, Gospel 101 explains the foundational gospel truth with digestible amounts of Scripture without diluting the gospel message.
Christians wondering how to share the gospel effectively will find Scripture-based content on understanding the background of the gospel rather than a one-size-fits-all approach to evangelism. Rather than giving an information overload or too-simplistic view of the gospel, Gospel 101 communicates the good news of Jesus in a clear, understanding, and compelling way, inviting readers to grow in gospel fluency, gospel community, and gospel action. Practical, small group study layout helps readers experience the transforming power of new life in Jesus.
Gospel 101 will provide life-changing biblical truths so readers can speak gospel truth into everyday conversations with friends, family, children, coworkers, neighbors, fellow students, and others.
Gay Girl, Good God
Jackie Hill Perry
“I used to be a lesbian.”
In Gay Girl, Good God, author Jackie Hill Perry shares her own story, offering practical tools that helped her in the process of finding wholeness. Jackie grew up fatherless and experienced gender confusion. She embraced masculinity and homosexuality with every fiber of her being. She knew that Christians had a lot to say about all of the above. But was she supposed to change herself? How was she supposed to stop loving women, when homosexuality felt more natural to her than heterosexuality ever could?
At age nineteen, Jackie came face-to-face with what it meant to be made new. And not in a church, or through contact with Christians. God broke in and turned her heart toward Him right in her own bedroom in light of His gospel.
Read in order to understand. Read in order to hope. Or read in order, like Jackie, to be made new.
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Let’s get to reading!