Encounter's Book Suggestions
Christ. Culture. Community
We would like to reiterate that Scripture is and will always be our absolute authority. The books that make up the Word of God are the only texts that are God-breathed; all other texts are subject to error and are not to be read as Holy Spirit inspired. We do not agree with 100 % of everything every author writes, says, or does as people's theologies and character are subject to change. With that said, this list of books has has helped the Encounter team read, understand, and apply Scripture in our walks with Jesus and we pray it can do the same to you!
Prayer: Experiencing Intimacy and Awe With God
Timothy Keller
Christians are taught in their churches and schools that prayer is the most powerful way to experience God. But few receive instruction or guidance in how to make prayer genuinely meaningful. In Prayer, renowned pastor Timothy Keller delves into the many facets of this everyday act.
Tortured for Christ
Richard Wurmbrand
Richard spent fourteen years in prison. He was tortured, beaten, and locked into a solitary confinement cell. Your faith will be inspired as you go deep inside the darkest prison cells to see how the light of Christ continues to shine from the hearts of those totally committed to Him.
Church History in Plain Language
Bruce Shelly
Taking readers from the early centuries of the church up through the modern era he tells his readers a story of actual people, in a particular situation, taking action or being acted upon, provides a window into the circumstances and historical context, and from there develops the story of a major period or theme of Christian history.
The Meaning of Marriage
Timothy Keller
Based on the acclaimed sermon series by New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller, this book shows everyone—Christians, skeptics, singles, longtime married couples, and those about to be engaged—the vision of what marriage should be according to the Bible.
Before Jerusalem Fell
Kenneth Gentry
Gentry writes a doctoral dissertation seeking to demonstrate that Revelation was written prior to the destruction of the Jewish Temple in AD 70 and that it was prophesying that event.
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PSA: We don't necessarily subscribe to every eschatology we read but like to hear from all perspectives
Letters to the Church
Francis Chan
We’ve strayed so far from what God calls Church. We all know it. We know that what we’re experiencing is radically different from the Church in Scripture. For decades, church leaders like myself have lost sight of the inherent mystery of the Church. We have trained people sitting in the pews to become addicted to lesser things. It’s time for that to change.
God's Big Picture
Vaughan Roberts
Sixty-six books written by forty people over nearly 2,000 years, in two languages and several different genres. A worldwide bestseller published in countless sizes and bindings, translations and languages. Sworn by in court, fought over by religious people, quoted in arguments. The Bible is clearly no ordinary book. How can you begin to read and understand it as a whole?
The Prodigal Prophet
Timothy Keller
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.
When Helping Hurts
Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert
Poverty is much more than simply a lack of material resources, and it takes much more than donations and handouts to solve it. When Helping Hurts shows how some alleviation efforts, failing to consider the complexities of poverty, have actually (and unintentionally) done more harm than good.
No Easy Jesus
Jason Mitchell
No Easy Jesus holds the key to moving forward when you’re bored, disillusioned, and beaten down by faith-as-usual. It’s a clarion challenge to wake up each day and choose Jesus all over again; to make the tough, gritty choices that align your way with His and lead to true fullness of life. Because when you decided to follow Jesus, you didn’t sign up for what was easiest―you signed up for what was best.
Early Christian Writings
Andrew Louth
A selection of letters and small-scale theological treatises from a group known as the Apostolic Fathers, several of whom were probably disciples of the Apostles, they provide a first-hand account of the early Church and outline a form of early Christianity still drawing on the theology and traditions of its parent religion, Judaism.
Across the Street and Around the World
Jeannie Marie
In Across the Street and Around the World, Jeannie Marie shows us we can change the world right where we already live, work, play, and study—by learning to grow genuine, spiritually deep friendships with people from other countries, cultures, and faiths.
Marriage: 6 Gospel Commitments
Paul Tripp
Paul David Tripp encourages couples to make six biblical commitments to the Lord and to one another. These commitments, which include a lifestyle of confession and forgiveness, building trust, and appreciating differences, will equip couples to cultivate thriving, joy-filled marriages built on Christ.
Gospel Fluency Handbook
Jeff Vanderstelt
The Gospel Fluency Handbook is designed to help you and your group become fluent in the gospel-in other words, to help you move from unbelief to belief. The discussions and exercises in this 8-week interactive handbook provide a step-by-step immersion of your mind, heart, soul, and life in the gospel.
Hebrews (Life Change)
The Navigators
The letter to the Hebrews reinforces how Jesus’ life on earth can help us look forward to the life God promises. This foundational and deeply impactful letter encourages us to have confidence in approaching God, now possible through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Dive deep into Hebrews and receive the confidence you need for whatever hurdles you’re facing today.
Romans
John MacArthur
Paul's letter to the Romans is an inspired masterpiece of doctrine highlighting God's grace, truth, and redemption. Pastor John MacArthur will take you through the book, passage by passage, so that you can better understand everything from the cultural context to Paul's theological points.
A Handbook on the Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith
Craig Evans
This handbook serves as an introduction to the Jewish roots of the Christian Faith. It includes Old Testament background, Second Temple Judaism, the life of Jesus, the New Testament, the early Jewish followers of Jesus, the historical interaction between Judaism and Christianity, and the contemporary period.
Finding Peace in Life's Storms
Charles Spurgeon
Charles H. Spurgeon unwraps God’s gift of hope as he presents us with strong encouragement and a powerful tool for surviving daily struggles and temptations. No case is too desperate for God. There is no problem He cannot overcome. Hope in God can see you through your greatest difficulties and meet every longing of your heart.
Prodigal God
Timothy Keller
Keller takes his trademark intellectual approach to understanding Christianity and uses the parable of the prodigal son to reveal an unexpected message of hope and salvation. Within that parable Jesus reveals God's prodigal grace toward both the irreligious and the moralistic. This book will challenge both the devout and skeptics to see Christianity in a whole new way.
Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus
Lois Tverberg
In Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus, Lois Tverberg challenges readers to follow their Rabbi more closely by re-examining his words in the light of their Jewish context. Doing so will provide a richer, deeper understanding of his ministry, compelling us to live differently, to become more Christ-like. We'll begin to understand why his first Jewish disciples abandoned everything to follow him, to live out his commands.
The Challenge of Jesus
N.T. Wright
Only by hard, historical work can we move toward a fuller comprehension of what the Gospels themselves were trying to say." The Challenge of Jesus poses a double-edged challenge: to grow in our understanding of the historical Jesus within the Palestinian world of the first century, and to follow Jesus more faithfully into the postmodern world of the twenty-first century.
It Will Cost You Everything
Steven J. Lawson
Nestled in a few verses in Luke’s Gospel is a Jesus who would not have been tolerated today: He was not politically correct and He certainly did not try to save people’s feelings. Steven Lawson unpacks these few verses, looking at the unashamed honesty, passion, and urgency with which Jesus explains the life–long cost involved in choosing to follow Him.
True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In
James Choung
Join Caleb and Anna on their spiritual journeys as they probe Christianity from inside and out. Get past old clichés and simplistic formulas. And discover a new way of understanding and presenting the Christian faith that really matters in a broken world.
Finding Jesus in the Old Testament
David Limbaugh
Readers of Finding Jesus in the Old Testament will come to a startling new understanding of the Old Testament as a clear and powerful heralding of Jesus Christ's arrival. Limbaugh takes readers on a revealing journey from Genesis through Malachi, demonstrating that a consistent message courses through every one of the Old Testament's thirty-nine books: the power, wonder, and everlasting love of Jesus Christ.
Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel
David Stern
A challenge to conventional Christian ideas! Clear thinking about neglected questions such as: What central truth, ignored for 1,800 years, must be restored if the Church is to fulfill the Great Commission? How are both the Jews and the Church God’s people? Is there a difference between Jew and Gentile in the body of the Messiah?
Jewish New Testament Commentary
David Stern
Dr. David Stern, a Messianic Jew living in Jerusalem, speaks to many issues in his Jewish New Testament Commentary. In this companion volume to his widely read and highly acclaimed "Jewish New Testament," he offers an exciting and original way of understanding the New Testament from a Jewish point of view.
The Complete Jewish Bible
David Stern
Presenting the Word of God as a unified Jewish book, the Complete Jewish Bible is a translation for Jews and non-Jews alike. It connects Jews with the Jewishness of the Messiah, and non-Jews with their Jewish roots. Names and key terms are returned to their original Hebrew and presented in easy-to-understand transliterations, enabling the reader to say them the way Yeshua (Jesus) did!
