1 & 2 Peter and Jude
Sharing Christ's Sufferings
David R. Helm, R. Kent Hughes, General Editor

Though Scripture says that suffering precedes future glories for anyone who claims Christ, readers will discover in this stirring exposition of 1-2 Peter and Jude that there is no cause for despair as long as one is in Christ.

As commentator David Helm explores these three epistles in depth, he delivers clarifying messages for today: how believers may be encouraged in their Christian identity and live lives worthy of God’s calling; how the church may be strengthened; how to finish well and avoid falling due to false teaching; and why true believers must contend for the faith.

As a Preaching the Word commentary, this volume is an ideal resource for pastors and teachers, and for personal study. The latest in a series noted for its unqualified commitment to biblical authority, its clear exposition, readability, and practical application, 1 & 2 Peter and Jude assists readers in understanding, applying, and dynamically communicating the biblical text.

Author Bio

DAVID HELM is senior pastor of Holy Trinity Church, a multi-site church plant in Chicago, and is involved in training young men for full-time ministry as executive director of the Charles Simeon Trust. A graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, he has co-authored Genesis Factor (with Jon Dennis). He also annually speaks at CST workshops on biblical exposition throughout North America and in Africa.

Because He Loves Me
How Christ Transforms Our Daily Life
Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

Simply speaking, love changes people. Christians, then, by definition, should exhibit the greatest transformation of all because, rightly understood and cherished, God’s love makes them increasingly more like the One who has lavished his love on them.

This truth is meant to tell believers who they are, their purpose and destiny, and how to faithfully persevere in their struggles against all opposition. But sometimes people lose sight of this. Because He Loves Me restores that vision, reminding Christians of their true identity as beloved children of God—adopted by the Father, espoused to the Son, and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Christianity is not a self-improvement program but a transferring of identity and growth, accomplished in history through Christ and in our daily lives through his Spirit. This book explores and celebrates these truths in an unforgettable way. Study questions and invitations for deeper discovery conclude each chapter.

Author Bio

Elyse M. Fitzpatrick is not only a retreat and conference speaker but staff counselor at Grace Church in San Diego, which is part of the Sovereign Grace family of churches. She holds a masters in biblical counseling from Trinity Theological Seminary and has authored nearly a dozen books. She is also the head of Women Helping Women Ministries.

The Christian Mom's Idea Book
Hundreds of Ideas, Tips, and Activities to Help You Be a Great Mom
Revised Edition
Ellen Banks Elwell

This reissue features more than 500 family-tested ideas and creative suggestions from real moms to help fellow mothers raise godly kids—and have fun at it too.

Whether they’re mothers of preschoolers or high schoolers, mothers with one child or a houseful of children, single mothers or the parents of a special needs child, every Christian mom will be able to make the most of motherhood with this resourceful book. It’s jam-packed with 500 ideas gathered from more than 80 mothers—all intended to help women fulfill the vital role God has given them.

Among the hundreds of suggestions in this newly packaged re-release are: how to throw a great birthday party, successfully surviving car trips, discipline, handling doctor’s visits, less stressful grocery shopping, friends and hospitality, alone time and getaways, spiritual nurturing, music lessons, dealing with toddlers, clothing, keeping your marriage alive . . . and so much more in 40  categories.

Here is everything a Christian mom needs to provide a safe, nurturing environment for her family—and to make her home a wonderful place to be.

Author Bio

Ellen Banks Elwell graduated from Moody Bible Institute and the American Conservatory of Music. She lives in Wheaton, Illinois, with her husband, Jim. They have three grown sons and one daughter-in-law. Elwell has authored several books, including The Christian Grandma’s Idea Book, One Year Devotions for Moms, and When There's Not Enough of Me to Go Around.

The Christian Grandma's Idea Book
Hundreds of Ideas, Tips, and Activities to Help You Be a Good Grandma
Ellen Banks Elwell

Grandmas of any age and at any stage will find something just for them in Ellen Elwell’s sequel to The Christian Mom’s Idea Book. This volume’s nearly 25 categories feature hundreds of suggestions and ideas from 200 grandmas, moms, and grandkids in 30 different countries around the world. Its encouraging narrative that introduces each chapter, its fresh ideas, touching and humorous stories, interviews of grandmas of special needs kids, plus interviews of grandmothers of adopted kids and kids whose parents are divorced make this a resource that every grandma can use.

The Christian Grandma’s Idea Book is full of creative advice on babysitting, books, traditions, photos, gift giving, day trips, and things to do with grandsons and granddaughters separately. This one-of-a-kind book also offers spiritually meaningful content so that Christian grandmothers can make the most of their time with their grandchildren and leave a lasting legacy of rich memories and special times together.

Author Bio

Ellen Banks Elwell is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute and the American Conservatory of Music. She and her husband, Jim, live in Wheaton, Illinois, and have three grown sons and one daughter-in-law. Elwell has authored several books, including The Christian Mom’s Idea Book, One Year Devotions for Moms, and When There’s Not Enough of Me to Go Around.

Contentment
A Godly Woman's Adornment
Lydia Brownback

Author Bio

Engaging with the Holy Spirit
Real Questions, Practical Answers
Graham A. Cole

Seeks to biblically and sequentially address from throughout Scripture six crucial and common questions about the works and the person of the Holy Spirit.

Despite the growth of the charismatic movement and Pentecostal churches, people still have questions—and even troubling concerns—about the person and work of the Holy Spirit. These real questions are the burden of this book, which seeks to sequentially address from throughout Scripture six crucial questions that affect a person’s relationship to the Spirit:

• What is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?
• How does a person resist him?
• Ought we to pray to the Spirit?
• How do we quench the Spirit?
• How do we grieve the Spirit? and
• How does he fill us?

Each chapter is devoted to one question and challenges readers about their relationship with the Spirit and about Christian living in general. Readers are also given key elements for thinking theologically and implications for their belief and behavior. It’s a brief, reader-friendly book full of solid, reassuring answers.

Author Bio

Graham A. Cole is professor of biblical and systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. An ordained Anglican minister, he has served in two parishes and was formerly the principal of Ridley College, University of Melbourne. He has contributed to numerous theological journals, books, and dictionaries, as well as authoring Crossway’s He Who Gives Life.

ESV Bible, Classic Pocket New Testament Psalms and Proverbs Edition
TruTone, Black, No Design, Red Letter

This true pocket-size New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs makes it easy to keep God’s Word with you at all times.

Perfect for personal use or gift giving, the Classic Pocket New Testament with Psalms & Proverbs not only highlights the words of Christ in red but offers two of the Old Testament’s most beloved books for additional wisdom and comfort. Now in a new durable TruTone® cover, this handy edition features readable type in a Bible that is only half an inch thick and ready to go with you everywhere and every day. 

• Size: 3.125" x 4.375"
• Only 1/2" thick
• 6.8-point type
• 720 pages
• Words of Christ in red

 

ESV, Deluxe Compact TruTone Bible
Royal Blue, Eternity Design

The ESV Deluxe Compact Bible takes the features that have earned the ESV Compact Bible such popularity and enhanced them so that the new Deluxe Compact Bible is even more user-friendly. Yet it is still the most compact edition available anywhere.

The deluxe edition’s slightly larger trim size, larger font, and single-column format allow it to retain its classic portability while improving its readability. This Bible—with its four distinct TruTone cover designs and color choices—will be a favorite of anyone who likes to take God’s Word wherever they go: from daily commuters to faithful students, world travelers to busy moms.

 

[Bullet points below:]

Size: 3.875” x 6”

6.55-point type

1,184 pages

Black letter text

Concordance

Introductions to each book

Double-column format

Ribbon marker

Presentation page

ESV, Deluxe Compact TruTone Bible
Wild Rose, Floral Design

The ESV Deluxe Compact Bible takes the features that have earned the ESV Compact Bible such popularity and enhanced them so that the new Deluxe Compact Bible is even more user-friendly. Yet it is still the most compact edition available anywhere.

The deluxe edition’s slightly larger trim size, larger font, and single-column format allow it to retain its classic portability while improving its readability. This Bible—with its four distinct TruTone cover designs and color choices—will be a favorite of anyone who likes to take God’s Word wherever they go: from daily commuters to faithful students, world travelers to busy moms.

 

[Bullet points below:]

Size: 3.875” x 6”

6.55-point type

1,184 pages

Black letter text

Concordance

Introductions to each book

Double-column format

Ribbon marker

Presentation page

ESV, Deluxe Compact TruTone Bible
Chestnut, Crown Design

The ESV Deluxe Compact Bible takes the features that have earned the ESV Compact Bible such popularity and enhanced them so that the new Deluxe Compact Bible is even more user-friendly. Yet it is still the most compact edition available anywhere.

The deluxe edition’s slightly larger trim size, larger font, and single-column format allow it to retain its classic portability while improving its readability. This Bible—with its four distinct TruTone cover designs and color choices—will be a favorite of anyone who likes to take God’s Word wherever they go: from daily commuters to faithful students, world travelers to busy moms.

 

[Bullet points below:]

Size: 3.875” x 6”

6.55-point type

1,184 pages

Black letter text

Concordance

Introductions to each book

Double-column format

Ribbon marker

Presentation page

ESV, Deluxe Compact TruTone Bible
Sienna, Crossroads Design

The ESV Deluxe Compact Bible takes the features that have earned the ESV Compact Bible such popularity and enhanced them so that the new Deluxe Compact Bible is even more user-friendly. Yet it is still the most compact edition available anywhere. 

The deluxe edition’s slightly larger trim size, larger font, and single-column format allow it to retain its classic portability while improving its readability. This Bible—with its four distinct TruTone cover designs and color choices—will be a favorite of anyone who likes to take God’s Word wherever they go: from daily commuters to faithful students, world travelers to busy moms.

 

[Bullet points below:]

Size: 3.875” x 6”

6.55-point type

1,184 pages

Black letter text

Concordance

Introductions to each book

Double-column format

Ribbon marker

Presentation page

ESV, Thinline TruTone Bible
Black/Charcoal, Crescent Design

ESV, Thinline TruTone Bible
Brown/Tan, Gator Design

Francis Schaeffer
An Authentic Life
Colin Duriez

Drawing on specially collected oral history, this biography fully portrays the person, the work, and the teaching of one of the most important figures in modern Christianity.

Pastor, apologist, and political activist Francis Schaeffer had a remarkable impact on both the intellectual and the humble laborer, the scientist and the artist, the doubting Christian and the skeptical non-believer. Colin Duriez’s authoritative biography—which draws on over 150,000 words of oral history—portrays not just the man and his relationships but the development of Schaeffer’s ideas, lectures, writings, and seminars, as well as his worldview and achievements. But Duriez, who studied under and interviewed Schaeffer, doesn’t stop there. He reveals Schaeffer’s complexities as a person and the distinct phases of his life within their historical context so that readers may truly understand this shaper of modern evangelicalism.

With only one other full-length biography of Schaeffer currently available, this important book fills a void, revealing the journey of the short man whose abiding passion for truth, reality, a full-orbed faith, and the needs of people made him a spiritual giant. Includes a 16-page insert with black and white photos of Schaeffer.

Author Bio

COLIN DURIEZ has appeared as a commentator on several mainstream documentaries, has authored biographies of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, and studied for several months under Francis Schaeffer in Swiss L’Abri before reading English and philosophy at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. He writes books, edits, and lectures.

The Hidden Smile of God
The Fruit of Affliction in the Lives of John Bunyan, William Cowper, and David Brainerd
Trade Paperback
John Piper

John Piper explores the lives, and especially the sufferings, of three of God’s servants to exemplify the essential fruit that affliction can produce in any Christian’s life.

John Bunyan suffered long-term imprisonment, even when a simple promise to cease preaching would have freed him, and he was moved to rely on God even more . . . Despite month after month of debilitating depression, William Cowper’s poetry reflected the sustaining character of God and led him to worship more deeply . . . David Brainerd so desired to honor God that through the loneliness of wilderness ministry and the agony of tuberculosis, he pressed on, transforming world missions forever.

In this noteworthy book, now in paperback, John Piper invites readers into the lives of these three men to find the strength that not only endures hardship but bears God-honoring fruit. It will be an immense encouragement to those who are suffering, reminding them that “behind a frowning providence, [God] hides a smiling face.” And they will be inspired with the same hunger as their predecessors for the supremacy of God in their lives. 

Author Bio

John Piper is pastor for preaching and vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His many books include the others in The Swans Are Not Silent series: Contending for Our All, The Legacy of Sovereign Joy, and The Roots of Endurance.

In My Place Condemned He Stood
Celebrating the Glory of the Atonement
J. I. Packer and Mark Dever

If ever there was a time and a need for an enthusiastic reaffirmation of the biblical doctrine of substitutionary atonement, it is now. With this foundational tenet under widespread attack, J. I. Packer and Mark Dever’s anthology plays an important role, issuing a clarion call to readers to stand firm in the truth.

In My Place Condemned He Stood combines three classic articles by Packer—“The Heart of the Gospel”; his Tyndale Biblical Theology Lecture, “What Did the Cross Achieve”; and his introductory essay to John Owen’s The Death of Death in the Death of Christ—with Dever’s recent article, “Nothing but the Blood.” It also features a foreword by the four principals of Together for the Gospel: Dever, Ligon Duncan, C. J. Mahaney, and Al Mohler. Thoughtful readers looking for a compact classic on this increasingly controversial doctrine need look no farther than this penetrating volume.

Author Bio

J. I. Packer is a professor of theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. Dr. Packer has written many books, including Knowing God, and also served as general editor for the English Standard Version Bible.

mark Dever, author of several books and articles, serves as the senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC. Along with his pastoral responsibilities, Dr. Dever is also the executive director of 9Marks.

Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor
The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson
D. A. Carson

D. A. Carson's father was a pioneering church-planter and pastor in Quebec. But still, an ordinary pastor—except that he ministered during the decades that brought French Canada from the brutal challenges of persecution and imprisonment for Baptist ministers to spectacular growth and revival in the 1970s.

It is a story, and an era, that few in the English-speaking world know anything about. But through Tom Carson’s journals and written prayers, and the narrative and historical background supplied by his son, readers will be given a firsthand account of not only this trying time in North American church history, but of one pastor’s life and times, dreams and disappointments. With words that will ring true for every person who has devoted themselves to the Lord’s work, this unique book serves to remind readers that though the sacrifices of serving God are great, the sweetness of living a faithful, obedient life is greater still.

Author Bio

D. A. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he has taught since 1978. He has served as a pastor and has done itinerant ministry in Canada and the United Kingdom. Carson is an active guest lecturer in academic and church settings around the world and has authored or edited more than forty-five books.

Mormonism Explained
What Latter-day Saints Teach and Practice
Andrew Jackson

Sociologist Rodney Stark estimates that by 2080, Mormonism will have 267 million adherents. As a leading rival to biblical Christianity in both America and Latin America, it is a religion to be reckoned with. However, Mormons are not so much a group to be feared by Christians, says author Andrew Jackson, as a mission field to be cultivated.

As a professor and a pastor in a city that boasts a large LDS community, Jackson has had not only many discussions with Mormon neighbors but with current and ex-members from every level of the church hierarchy. These conversations have led him to study this religion and write this book.

His systematic, concise, and well-documented work offers an easy-reading explanation of Mormon teaching and practice today. This book is the first place readers will want to turn for a primer on Mormonism’s origins and specific doctrines, and what Mormons believe and why.

Author Bio

Andrew Jackson (MDiv, Fuller Theological Seminary) is a seminary professor and a senior associate pastor of discipleship and leadership development at a large non-denominational church in Mesa, Arizona. He has traveled to the original homelands of all the primary religions of the world, taught world religions on the college level, and is a frequent blogger and author.

Prayers for People under Pressure
Jonathan Aitken

Jonathan Aitken’s conversion occurred at a time when he was experiencing the pressures of political life, a public trial, pleading guilty to perjury, being divorced by his wife, going to prison, and returning to “normal” life. Amid all the pressure of those years, he was discipled in such a way that he learned the discipline of daily prayer and kept extensive prayer journals. It is  from these that he mined the material for this book.

Essentially following the ACTS approach to prayer—Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication—Aitken also adds an element of contemplation: Our Relationship with God. His acronym, then, is ACTORS, and his collection of prayers and reflections is accordingly divided into five parts, all preceded by a narrative of his introduction to a life of prayer. “Since direct communication with God in prayer is surely the truest path for a spiritual journey,” writes Aitken, “my prayer is that this small book may help others along that path.”

Author Bio

Jonathan Aitken was a Member of Parliament for twenty-three years, serving in the Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and also as Minister of State for Defense. He is president of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a director of Prison Fellowship International, and executive director of The Trinity Forum in Europe. He is the author of twelve books, including the award-winning Nixon: A Life and Charles W. Colson: A Life Redeemed.

Things That Cannot Be Shaken
Holding Fast to Your Faith in a Relativistic World
K. Scott Oliphint and Rod Mays

Students (among others!) need help today to make their Christianity “real”—something that is theirs and that they own for themselves. In the current climate of postmodern relativism, with its perceived lack of an “anchor” to hold one’s faith steady, this book turns readers to those “things that cannot be shaken” (Heb. 12:27), especially in matters of sanctification.

Rod Mays and Scott Oliphint focus specifically on providing biblical responses to the Christian concerns that seem to come up most often in the dorm room, the classroom, and even the workplace, such as the authority of Scripture and whether Christianity is true, how to apply the gospel to felt needs, the challenge of inactivity, faith in the face of temptation, and connecting Christianity and the real world on a daily basis. Things That Cannot Be Shaken compellingly highlights what believers should think and do to solidify their faith in environments that seek to undermine it at every turn.

Author Bio

K. Scott Oliphint is professor of apologetics and systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and has written three books and numerous scholarly articles.

rod S. Mays is the national coordinator of Reformed University Ministries, the campus ministry of the Presbyterian Church in America. He has also served as senior pastor of Presbyterian churches in South Carolina, Mississippi, and West Virginia.

Total Truth
Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity
Study Guide Edition - Trade Paperback
Nancy Pearcey

The Tragedy of American Compassion
Marvin Olasky

The fifteenth anniversary reissue of this groundbreaking book has a new foreword and preface to encourage a new generation in a historically and biblically based approach to welfare.

William J. Bennett once called it “the most important book on welfare and social policy in a decade. Period.” It influenced the Clinton Administration’s welfare reform and deeply affected then-Governor George W. Bush’s policies in Texas. But with the war on terror, the ideas in The Tragedy of American Compassion have taken a backseat.

Because it is based on historical successes and ancient wisdom, however, Tragedy is as timeless as ever. Marvin Olasky’s groundbreaking book turns on its head both conventional history and rhetoric, showing that America’s volunteer poverty-fighters were often more effective than our recent professionalized corps. His research also reveals that the real problem of modern welfare is not its cost but its stinginess in offering the true necessities: challenging, personal, and spiritual aid rather than entitlement and bureaucracy. So this book is now being reissued with new frontmatter to prepare a new generation of Americans to offer help that actually helps and to effectively confront once again the establishment that still impoverishes the impoverished. Foreword by Amy Sherman.

Author Bio

Marvin Olasky (PhD, American Culture, University of Michigan) is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, vice president for academic affairs at The King’s College in New York, and editor-in-chief of World Magazine. He has been interviewed numerous times by the national media as the developer of the concepts of compassionate conservatism and biblically objective journalism and is the author of twenty books.

Trust
A Godly Woman's Adornment
Lydia Brownback

While fear-provoking headlines fill our days, and struggles with anxiety are a fact in a fallen world, Scripture says fear does not need to be a fact of life for Christians. This little carry-along “pocket book” for women focuses on the Bible’s great truths about what lies beneath their fears and the means to overcome them—for those who worry just a little, those who suffer a gnawing, controlling fear or actual panic attacks, and every woman in between.

The first in a series of small, Bible-centered volumes for women, each of which covers a particular struggle, Trust is full of biblical truths and promises that will reassure readers that if they belong to Christ, they have absolutely nothing to fear.

These On-the-Go Devotionals easily tuck into a purse or gym bag and make great gifts. Each lesson is self-contained, with Scripture and a paragraph or two of teaching that will steer women away from worldly coping techniques, away from themselves and their circumstances, and onto God and their security in Christ.

Author Bio

LYDIA BROWNBACK is the author of two books, Fine China Is for Single Women Too and Legacy of Faith. She served as writer-in-residence for Rev. Alistair Begg and as the broadcast media manager for the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. A regular speaker at women’s conferences, Brownback also blogs at The Purple Cellar (purplecellar.blogspot.com). She holds degrees from Syracuse University and Westminster Theological Seminary.

Worship Matters
Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God
Foreword by Paul Baloche
Bob Kauflin

Nothing is more essential than knowing how to worship the God who created us. This book focuses readers on the essentials of God-honoring worship, combining biblical foundations with practical application in a way that works in the real world. The author, a pastor and noted songwriter, skillfully instructs pastors, musicians, and church leaders so that they can root their congregational worship in unchanging scriptural principles, not divisive cultural trends. Bob Kauflin covers a variety of topics such as the devastating effects of worshiping the wrong things, how to base our worship on God’s self-revelation rather than our assumptions, the fuel of worship, the community of worship, and the ways that eternity’s worship should affect our earthly worship.

Appropriate for Christians from varied backgrounds and for various denominations, this book will bring a vital perspective to what readers think they understand about praising God.

Author Bio

BOB KAUFLIN traveled with the Christian group GLAD for eight years as a songwriter and arranger before becoming a pastor with Sovereign Grace Ministries in 1985. He is now the director of worship development for Sovereign Grace, overseeing its music projects and teaching on congregational worship. He blogs at worshipmatters.com and hosts the biennial WorshipGod conference. He and his wife, Julie, have six children and an ever-growing number of grandchildren.