As today's Christians struggle to grasp the gospel's true power, Surprised by Grace unfolds a liberating story that helpsus come to grips with the shocking extent of God's compassion.

When Carolyn Weber set out to study Romantic literature at Oxford University, she didn't give much thought to God or spiritual matters—but over the course of her studies she encountered the Jesus of the Bible and her world turned upside down. Surprised by Oxford chronicles her conversion experience with wit, humor, and insight into how becoming a Christian changed her. Carolyn Weber arrives at Oxford a feminist from a loving but broken family, suspicious of men and intellectually hostile to all things religious. As she grapples with her God-shaped void alongside the friends, classmates, and professors she meets, she tackles big questions in search of truth, love, and a life that matters. From issues of fatherhood, feminism, doubt, doctrine, and love, Weber explores the intricacies of coming to faith with an aching honesty and insight echoing that of the poets and writers she studied. Surprised by Oxford is: The witty memoir of a skeptical agnostic who comes to a dynamic personal faith in God Rich with illustration and literary references Gritty, humorous, and spiritually perceptive An inside look at Oxford University Weber eloquently describes a journey many of us have embarked upon, grappling with tough questions and doubts about the meaning of faith—and ultimately finding it in the most unlikely of places.

In a world filled with ambiguity, we want faith to act like an orderly set of truth-claims to solve the problems that life throws at us. While there are certainties in Christian faith, at the heart of the Christian story is also paradox, and Jen Pollock Michel helps readers imagine a Christian faith open to mystery. Jesus invites us to abandon the polarities of either and or in order to embrace the difficult, wondrous dissonance of and.

God intends fulfillment for us. Yet it's easy to forget that truth in our daily life. For fifty years, Elizabeth Sherrill cowrote life-changing books: The Hiding Place, God's Smuggler, and The Cross and the Switchblade. Now for the first time, in Surprised by Grace, she shares her personal discoveries of God's unfathomable love and strength while battling chronic depression and self-doubt. "When God created you, do you think He meant to make someone else?" a friend asks Sherrill. Faced with questions like these, she learns she's infinitely valued and cherished by God. In vivid episodes, Sherrill takes you through the three stages of her awakening joy, from the thirty-some years when the idea of God was elusive to the years since then when she's reveled in breathtaking moments in God's presence and to her inspiring vision of eternity. In Surprised by Grace, you'll discover that God loves you individually and infinitely. You can find real peace, for you are God's amazing creation. Let that truth echo forever in your own life.

For years Christians have been asking, "If you died tonight, do you know where you would go?" It turns out that many believers have been giving the wrong answer. It is not heaven. Award-winning author N. T. Wright outlines the present confusion about a Christian's future hope and shows how it is deeply intertwined with how we live today. Wright, who is one of today's premier Bible scholars, asserts that Christianity's most distinctive idea is bodily resurrection. He provides a magisterial defense for a literal resurrection of Jesus and shows how this became the cornerstone for the Christian community's hope in the bodily resurrection of all people at the end of the age. Wright then explores our expectation of "new heavens and a new earth," revealing what happens to the dead until then and what will happen with the "second coming" of Jesus. For many, including many Christians, all this will come as a great surprise. Wright convincingly argues that what we believe about life after death directly affects what we believe about life before death. For if God intends to renew the whole creation—and if this has already begun in Jesus's resurrection—the church cannot stop at "saving souls" but must anticipate the eventual renewal by working for God's kingdom in the wider world, bringing healing and hope in the present life. Lively and accessible, this book will surprise and excite all who are interested in the meaning of life, not only after death but before it.

In studying the book of Jonah, Tchividjian highlights the unexpected compassion and relentless grace of God, showing how this truth impacts how we view ourselves and those around us. Now available in paperback.

A stunningly innovative visual edition of the award-winning What's so amazing about grace? by bestselling author Philip Yancey. This visual edition takes the text of the Gold Medallion Award-winning original and illustrates its themes and message with provocative full-color photography and illustrations. You'll 'experience grace' as you interact with its engaging visual content.