Where is God when my suffering seems never-ending? Can I really find joy in this fallen world? This powerful book confronts these questions with stories of the author's near-death experience, a daughter's suicide attempt, mental illness, and numerous other gripping stories that demonstrate not only that God is present when we need him, but that through our trials we can find true intimacy with him. Author Randy Kay recounts how, as a former devout agnostic, he survived a near-fatal accident while searching for the truth--and when he met the One he sought to disprove, his journey changed from a life of extreme trials into one of genuine joy. In these pages, Kay offers his testimony to show readers how God uses suffering and brokenness to build an intimate and indestructible relationship with him, while breaking down barriers and ushering the reader into an authentic relationship with the Author of love.

What happened to the church after the apostles were gone? Men they ordained like Ignatius and Polycarp demonstrate what it was like. They left behind nine amazing writings that illuminate the mystery of Jesus Christ and the challenges of the second-century church. This book has translations for each text with side-by-side commentary and other aids to help the reader understand and apply what is being said. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, wrote seven letters on his way to Rome to be martyred in the arena. Six of these went to churches, including three churches that the apostle John had written to. Ignatius’s seventh letter went to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna. He, in turn, wrote a letter to the church at Philippi, the very church the apostle Paul founded and wrote to. The final piece, the first of its kind, is a detailed account of Polycarp’s arrest and martyrdom in imitation of the Lord. The purpose of this book is to encourage and exhort readers to learn from the words and deeds of Ignatius and Polycarp how to follow Christ in the apostolic way of sacrificial and submissive love.

New York Times bestseller What is Jesus worth to you? It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily... But who do you know who lives like that? Do you? In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple--then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a "successful" suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus. Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment -- a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring.

Who is Jesus Christ? You've never met him in person, and you don't know anyone who has. But there is a way to know who he is. How? Jesus Christ-the divine Person revealed in the Bible-has a unique excellence and a spiritual beauty that speaks directly to our souls and says, "Yes, this is truth." It's like seeing the sun and knowing that it is light, or tasting honey and knowing that it is sweet. The depth and complexity of Jesus shatter our simple mental frameworks. He baffled proud scribes with his wisdom but was understood and loved by children. He calmed a raging storm with a word but would not get himself down from the cross. Look at the Jesus of the Bible. Keep your eyes open, and fill them with the portrait of Jesus in God's Word. Jesus said, "If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority." Ask God for the grace to do his will, and you will see the truth of his Son. John Piper has written this book in the hope that all will see Jesus for who he really is and will come to enjoy him above all else.

Which activities give you energy and connect you with God? Do you know what behaviors are life-draining for you, separating you from God? In this book Jan Johnson provides small experiments with simplicity as well as questions for discussion or reflection to help you discover the unhurried rhythms of grace.

To encounter Jesus daily and have a relationship with Him changes everything; our focus becomes eternal. Experience Jesus in such a way that His love-drenched, others-focused nature shapes your character. The spiritual practices in each chapter will challenge you to go deeper with Him.

Volume five in Piper's acclaimed The Swans Are Not Silent series powerfully illustrates through the lives of Tyndale, Judson, and Paton that the gospel advances through the sacrifices of Christ's ambassadors.