Books and Resources to Empower, Equip and Edify
In Beauty Will Save the World: Rediscovering the Allure and Mystery of Christianity
(Charisma House), Brian Zahnd, senior pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Miss., explains why “our task is not to protest the world into a certain moral conformity, but to attract the world to the saving beauty of Christ.” Despite the gains of the 21st century, which include technology and prosperity, causalities have occurred, he says—reminding believers that the story of the life, death and resurrection of Christ is not only the greatest story ever told, but also is the most beautiful.
Richard G. Lee, founding pastor of Atlanta’s First Redeemer Church and general editor of The American Patriot’s Bible, believes that many of the same social and religious provocations that spurred the colonists toward the American Revolution are present today. Sensing that America is on the brink of a new revolution, Lee seeks to inspire his readers to fight and win the battle for personal and national freedom in The Coming Revolution: Signs From America’s Past That Signal Our Nation’s Future (Thomas Nelson), which features a foreword by former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
Modern-day teaching on prosperity often focuses on excess, but in Supernatural Provision: Where God Guides, He Provides (Destiny Image), Mark Hendrickson, formerly a worship leader at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Mo., and now with Dwelling Place Ministries in Kansas City, sets out to equip believers with faith and a new understanding of God as their provider. Recalling the Old Testament story of Abraham preparing Isaac for sacrifice, Hendrickson recounts how the Lord showed Himself in that moment as Jehovah-Jireh, a name derived from a Hebrew word meaning “God Himself will see to it.”
Insecurity and inferiority were imparted to mankind in the Garden of Eden and are the underpinnings of all other evil, according to author Steve Foss in Satan’s Dirty Little Secret ... The Two Demon Spirits that All Demons Get Their Strength (Charisma House). After giving a short background on how this revelation came to him personally and impacted his ministry, Foss eagerly asserts that understanding this and getting the victory over insecurity and inferiority will release believers from bondage and empower them in a greater way. Foss lays his arguments out from Scripture for the cause of the problem as well as the prescription. The solution, he says, is most clearly depicted in Paul’s prayer in Ephesians for a deeper understanding of the love of God and the standing He gives His people.
After years of personal experience with the demonic realm, prophetic minister Kris Vallotton takes a unique approach to spiritual warfare in Spirit Wars: Winning the Invisible Battle Against Sin and the Enemy (Chosen). Unlike many books, Spirit Wars teaches that we are triune beings composed of spirit, soul and body, each dimension affecting the other. Vallotton writes each chapter with humility as he couples his testimony with the Word of God. A transparent account of anxiety attacks, demonic visitations, physical sickness and a spirit of fear, Spirit Wars identifies why the behavior of the spirit world is so difficult to define.
The second in the four-book Glory to Glory Sisterhood series, Princess Warriors: Engaging Spiritual Warfare (Destiny Image) by Robin Kirby-Gatto discusses the fear of the Lord and spiritual warfare, aiming to equip women to win the battle for their own life, family, destiny, church, community and nation. Kirby-Gatto instructs readers on the basics of spiritual warfare, including how to hear the Holy Spirit, use the keys of the kingdom and possess a warrior mentality.
With an emphasis on leadership in the church today, best-selling author Leonard Sweet urges believers to opt for counterculture and focus on following. In I Am a Follower: The Way, Truth, and Life of Following Jesus (Thomas Nelson), Sweet says that following is “the most underrated form of leadership in existence.” Arguing that the word follower has become a second-class term or even a term of derision, Sweet challenges church leaders to invite people into a fellowship of followers rather than to come under their leadership.
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