Library
Welcome to The Village Chapel Library!The Village Chapel Library is a place to "check out" books that may be helpful to you as you travel along on your spiritual journey. Think of these books as notes or letters from others who have walked the road before you. We hope they will stimulate your mind, encourage your faith, and help you in your relationships with God and others.
We realize everyone has different needs. Some people are more attracted to the intellectual aspects of the faith and others to the experiential. Some have been walking the road of the Christian faith for a long time while others may have just become Christians recently. Whatever the case with you, if you are looking for a book on a particular subject and don’t find anything listed here, feel free to drop us an email at: info@thevillagechapel.com and we’ll try to recommend something. Check here often, this page will be updated regularly as we add new titles to those already listed.
Here's what you'll find below:
Daily Readings and Personal Devotions
Books to help you grow and mature
Books on spirituality from a Christian perspective
Classics of the Christian faith
Books to help you understand the Bible better
Daily Readings and Personal Devotions:
One Year Bible Reading Program
Many of us at The Village Chapel are on a daily reading schedule designed to carry us through the entire Bible in a year. If you already have a one year Bible, just jump in and join us beginning with today's date.
Since the Bible is diverse in literature genres and rich in cultural references, you may have a question or two as you read. Here are some helpful links that may help you find answers to some commonly asked questions: Click here then choose a Bible book
131 Christians Everyone Should Know forward by J. I. Packer, from the editors of Christian History Magazine. If you think history is boring, we invite you to spend about three minutes a day reading the real life stories of 131 of the most fascinating personalities of the Christian faith. The list includes 2,000 years of poets, artists, musicians, theologians, mystics, evangelists, pastors, scholars, scientists, missionaries, monks, and martyrs.
Tozer on Christian Leadership by A. W. Tozer (2001Christian Publications) Compiled by Ron Eggert, this 366-day devotional is packed with inspirational, hope-filled, challenging thoughts from the author of the Christian classic The Pursuit of God. Highly recommended, practical advice on spiritual living compiled in a single page, daily devotional format.
The Business of Heaven by C. S. Lewis (1984 Harvest Books). For those looking for some bite-sized, one-page readings from one of this century’s greatest Christian thinkers, this book makes a wonderful daily read-on-the-run. Excerpts come from many Lewis favorites including Mere Christianity, the Chronicles of Narnia, the Problem of Pain, The Four Loves, Surprised by Joy, and others.
Your Father Loves You: Daily Insights for Knowing God by James Packer (1986 Harold Shaw). The well-known, well respected British theologian Packer, continues to lead us toward biblical depth and spiritual warmth. Here are 365 excerpts from his vast writings for those looking to avoid the stereotypically shallow and sentimental daily devotional.
Disciplines for the Inner Life: by Bob Benson, Sr. and Michael Benson (1989 Deeper Life Press). This book is divided up into 52 services for personal worship, each designed to be used over the period of a week. Each service includes an Invocation, a reading from the Psalms, assigned daily readings from other passages of scripture, selected writings from a diversity of Christian thinkers, time for Personal Meditation, a written prayer, a Hymn and a closing Benediction.
Near to the Heart of God compiled by Bernard Bangley (1998 Harold Shaw Publishers). 365 daily readings that include scripture, a thought from a diverse group of early Christian mystics, desert fathers, devotional writers and church leaders.
Books to help you grow and mature:
Even God Rested by Kim Thomas (2003 Harvest House Publishers) Feel overwhelmed? About run out of gas? Soul exhausted? Maybe you need to get some rest. Discover your God-designed need to pause... to be restored and refreshed. With bite-sized, practical ideas, Kim shows you how to cease from those things that drain you and feast on delight and refreshment from the Lord.
Living in the Sacred Now by Kim Thomas (Harvest House Publishers). Ever felt like you are living an "in between" life? Like you were always living in between this and that? At the risk of sounding biased, this is one of the best books I've read on how to live a meaningful life now, in the present moment. Kim helps us learn how to avoid living in the regret of the past and the fear of the future. Through these 39 vignettes, Kim paints pictures of real life that will make you laugh outloud, weep for joy, and find yourself saying "Oh, that's what I've been feeling all along and didn't know it!" (If you have trouble finding copies of this book, call or email The Village Chapel.)
Hearing God by Dallas Willard (InterVarsity Press). Can we move from a prayer life that is essentially presenting God with a list of things to do? Is there a way that prayer can move from communicating with God to communing with God? In this classic, originally published as Is Search of Guidance, Dallas leads us to see prayer as not just a device or technique, but as a means of living in a conversational relationship with the Lord. 228 pages
Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard (1998 HarperCollins Publishers). If you are turned off by "consumer Christianity" and "bumper-sticker faith" then this book is a must read. Willard presents a fresh and energizing look at what Jesus actually taught and then goes on to unfold the kind of dynamic life Jesus calls us to. According to Willard, Christianity is not just about "sin management"; it’s not just about admittance to heaven, it’s about living life now as followers of Jesus, life to its fullest, as members of His kingdom, the kingdom of heaven.
The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard (Harper Collins Publishers). 265 pages of rich inspiration and practical advice to help us understand the importance of the spiritual disciplines. Discussion includes topics like What is human life? What is spiritual life? How does God change our lives? What role do things like solitude, silence, fasting, prayer, sacrifice, study, worship, confession and submission play in helping us experience life to its fullest?
Into the Depths of God by Calvin Miller (2000 Bethany House Publishers) Miller writes what we all feel but don’t quite know how to say. He is part Christian mystic, part Biblical theologian, part poet, and part prophet. As Eugene Peterson says of this book "Every time Calvin Miller picks up an old truth or an old saint, the ‘old’ disappears."
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning (1990, 2000 Multnomah Publishers). From the back cover: "Most of us believe in God’s grace – in theory. But somehow we can’t seem to apply it in our daily lives. We continue to see Him as a small-minded book-keeper, tallying our failures and successes on a score sheet." In this world of image conscious religious celebrities, Manning’s honesty and humility bring a refreshing account of a heart in need of God’s gracious love.
Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning (2000 Harper Collins) 181 pages of stories and insights of how a deep and ruthless trust in God’s uncompromising love can transform the human heart.
Coffeehouse Theology by Jim Thomas (Harvest House Publishers). This book was honored with a Silver Medallion Award from the ECPA in the theology category and was written to offer a conversational approach to answering some of the questions most often asked about the Christian faith. It sprang from a seminar I've done around the country entitled "Did Adam and Eve Have Bellybuttons?"
The chapter titles tell you about the subject matter: What is Truth and Why Does it Matter? What’s the Difference Between Belief and Knowledge? How do We Know that God Exists? What is Christian Faith? How do We Know the Bible is God’s Word? What’s so Special About Jesus? How Should we Handle Doubt? Why Does God Allow so Much Pain and Suffering? and the last chapter: When God Asked Questions. (Can be purchased through the church)
Dangerous Wonder by Mike Yaconelli (1998 NavPress). The former editor of The Door magazine, Yaconelli has been described as "the lay pastor of a small church for people who ‘don’t like church’." This book will rekindle the fire and passion in any calloused soul. Even the chapter titles arouse curiosity in the most jaded cynic: Dangerous Wonder, Risky Curiosity, Wild Abandon, Daring Playfulness, Wild-eyed Listening, Irresponsible Passion, Happy Terror, Naïve Grace and Childlike Faith.
The Journey by Alister McGrath (1999 Doubleday) Drawing from the lives of Jonathan Edwards, Martin Luther, Anselm of Canterbury, John Bunyon, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, John Stott and C. S. Lewis, McGrath presents spiritual living as a wonderful pilgrimage, a journey which both leads us somewhere and helps us to grow and develop as we travel along.
Books on spirituality from a Christian perspective:
The Reason for God by Timothy Keller (2008 Dutton/Penguin) Why does God allow suffering in the world? How could a loving God send people to Hell? Why isn’t Christianity more inclusive? How can one religion be “right” and the others “wrong”? Why have so many wars been fought in the name of God? These are just a few of the questions and doubts even ardent believers wrestle with today. As the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, Timothy Keller has compiled a list of the most frequently voiced “doubts” skeptics bring to his church as well as the most important reasons for faith. And in The Reason for God, he addresses each doubt and explains each reason.
Keller uses literature, philosophy, real-life conversations, and reasoning to explain how faith in a Christian God is a soundly rational belief, held by thoughtful people of intellectual integrity with a deep compassion for those who truly want to know the truth.
Streetwise Spirituality by Jim Thomas (2001 Harvest House). Again, I'll let the chapter titles tell you about this book:What is Spirituality? Longing: Is this all there is? Belonging: Are we all alone in the universe? Trusting: How can I learn to trust God more? Learning: Interpreting and applying the message of the Bible. Praying: How can we pray more effectively? Struggling: How can I win my struggle with temptation? Receiving: How can I receive God’s forgiveness? Worshiping: What does it mean to worship God? Hearing: How can I recognize God’s voice when He speaks to me? Becoming: What does it take to grow spiritually? (Can be purchased through the church)
Christian Spirituality: An Introduction by Alister McGrath (1999 Blackwell Publishers). Here is a clear and informative introduction to the Christian view of spirituality. McGrath investigates the historical traditions concerning spirituality and mysticism, offers an analysis of current trends in spirituality, and shows how Biblical images like the feast, the journey, Exile, struggle, the desert, darkness and light have the potential to lead a person to deeper growth in both the intellectual and experiential aspects of Christian faith.
True Spirituality by Francis Schaeffer (1971 Tyndale House Publishers). Philosopher, theologian, author and apostle to the questioning mind, Francis Schaeffer focuses on the deep sense of separation people experience: separation from God, separation from others, and even separation from our own selves. A classic work that offers hope to anyone longing for a more fully integrated life of faith.
Created in God's Image by Anthony A. Hoekema (1986 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing). Hoekema begins: "Central to the biblical understanding of man is the teaching that men and women were created in the image of God." He goes on to show how that image of God in humankind began, how it was perverted, how it can be renewed, and how it will one day be fully restored. Of our need for connectedness with God he says: "Man is bound to God as a fish is bound to water. When a fish seeks to be free from the water, it loses both its freedom and its life. When we seek to be ‘free’ from God, we become slaves of sin."
The Gospel and the New Spirituality by Charles Strohmer (1996 Thomas Nelson Publishers) This former astrologer offers an insightful contrast between Christian spirituality and newer forms of "cosmopolitan" spirituality. Strohmer admits that Christians often appear "offensive and ineffective" when communicating with today’s spiritual seekers. He describes these new spiritualities as a blend of Eastern religions, paganism, New Ageism, self-help, pop-psychologies, the occult and "a dash of Western optimism." And then He sets out to encourage understanding and effective methods of communicating with those who may be spiritual seekers.
The Next American Spirituality: Finding God in the Twenty-First Century by George Gallup, Jr. and Timothy Jones (2000 Victor Books). How do people experience God in their everyday lives? What will the spiritual landscape of America look like for the next century? What are the significant issues facing historic faiths like Christianity? Based on a nationwide survey, the findings from one of America’s leading pollsters are both unsettling and encouraging.
The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life by Os Guinness (1998 Word Publishing). From one of my favorite Christian thinkers, here’s a practical, nuts and bolts, yet artful and inspiring discussion on life’s deepest meaning and purpose. Guinness says: "Calling is not what it is commonly thought to be. It has to be dug out from under the rubble of ignorance and confusion. And uncomfortably it often flies directly in the face of our human inclinations. But no idea short of God’s call can ground and fulfill the truest human desire for purpose and fulfillment." He also deals with questions like: How do I discover my calling? What does it have to do with identity and personal growth? Is calling only a spiritual idea or does it cover secular life too? How does calling affect work, career, and ideas of success?
Classics of the Christian faith:
Knowing God by J. I. Packer (1973 InterVarsity Press) from Amazon.com:
A lifelong pursuit of knowing God should embody the Christian's existence. According to eminent theologian J.I. Packer, however, Christians have become enchanted by modern skepticism and have joined the "gigantic conspiracy of misdirection" by failing to put first things first. Knowing God aims to redirect our attention to the simple, deep truth that to know God is to love His Word. What began as a number of consecutive articles angled for "honest, no-nonsense readers who were fed up with facile Christian verbiage" in 1973, Knowing God has become a contemporary classic by creating "small studies out of great subjects." Each chapter is so specific in focus (covering topics such as the trinity, election, God's wrath, and God's sovereignty), that each succeeding chapter's theology seems to rival the next, until one's mind is so expanded that one's entire view of God has changed. Author Elizabeth Eliot wrote that amid the lofty content Packer "puts the hay where the sheep can reach it--plainly shows us ordinary folks what it means to know God." Having rescued us from the individual hunches of our ultra-tolerant theological age, Packer points the reader to the true character of God with his theological competence and compassionate heart. The lazy and faint-hearted should be warned about this timeless work--God is magnified, the sinner is humbled, and the saint encouraged. --Jill Heatherly
Basic Christianity by John Stott From the preface of the book: "'Hostile to the church, friendly to Jesus Christ.' These words describe large numbers of people, especially young people, today. They are opposed to anything which savours of institutionalism. They detest the establishment and its entrenched privileges. And they reject the church - not without some justification- because they regard it as impossibly corrupted by such evils. Yet what they have rejected is the contemporary church, not Jesus Christ himself. It is precisely because they see a contradiction between the founder of Christianity and the current state of the church he founded that they are so critical and aloof... The Christian claim is that we can find God in Jesus Christ. It should be a help to us in examining this claim if we realize both that God is himself seeking us and that we must ourselves seek God."
The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis (1942). One of Lewis’ most well known writings which featured a "behind the scenes" look at some correspondence between two demons. The elder demon "Screwtape" training the younger "Wormwood" in the best ways to tempt his assigned human patient. 31 short but amazing chapters that unveil the strategies of demons and the vulnerabilities of humankind to temptation.
Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis (1952). Originally delivered as a series of radio talks between 1942 and 1944 over England’s BBC, this book may be one of the best defenses of Christian faith ever put to print. Lewis viewed England as "post-Christian" and felt that many people simply did not understand what the Christian faith taught. This book is an attempt to convince the reader that there is a universal moral law, and therefore, a moral Lawgiver. Lewis shows how we all break the moral law and how this leads us to a kind of brokenness and despair. He goes on to argue that in the Christian faith, God has intervened on our behalf and offers true forgiveness to those who desire it.
The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis (1940). In this book Lewis addresses the ancient and apparent intellectual "problem" of pain, evil and suffering found in a universe supposedly created by a good and almighty God.
Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewis In this book Lewis tells us about how he came to believe the Christian faith. A rare, close-up and personal look into the life of the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, The Screwtape Letters, and Mere Christianity
Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster (1978, 1988 Harper & Row, Publishers). This classic work explores the importance of daily inward, outward, and corporate spiritual disciplines that will nourish a healthy soul. Includes biblical views of meditation, fasting, guidance, prayer, solitude, study, service, confession and worship.
The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer. Here are perhaps 121 pages of the most profound, yet easy to understand, faith-encouraging words I’ve read. Tozer spoke with that strange combination of humility and confidence that carries us to true wisdom.
The Knowledge of the Holy by A. W. Tozer (1961 HarperCollins Publisher) Tozer opens the first chapter with this statement: "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." If you’re interested in learning more about who God is, what God’s nature is like, and why it’s important to have a right understanding about God, this is one of the best. This a classic book on the attributes of God including chapters on God’s wisdom, grace, mercy, faithfulness, and love.
Pensees by Blaise Pascal (1941 Random House) Pascal may have been one of the brightest minds to ever have lived. In his short 39 years of life this man of science, mathematics, and philosophy showed himself to have a passion for truth and an unquenchable thirst for God. Pensees is a collection of Pascal’s thoughts on religion and the relationship between God and humankind.
Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton (1908, 1936 by Dodd, Mead & Co.) This is one of my all-time favorites! Chesterton is at his best in this pithy, faced-paced, spiritual autobiography. "People have fallen into a foolish habit of speaking of orthodoxy as something heavy, humdrum, and safe. There was never anything so perilous or so exciting… It was sanity: and to be sane is more dramatic than to be mad." -- GKC
The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. Published originally at the end of the 17th century, this book has endured for three centuries and is more widely read today then ever. This guide is designed for all seekers aspiring union with God which, according to Brother Lawrence, is the ultimate goal of every soul.
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson (1980 IVP) For those tired of microwave life, looking for something that will reach deep into their soul, below the surface, this is a great book. The author poetically draws insight from the ancient song lyrics found in the book of Psalms.
Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. (1995 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing). "The newer language of Zion fudges: ‘Let us confess our problem with human relational adjustment dynamics, and especially our feebleness in networking.’ Or, ‘I’d just like to share that we just need to target holiness as a growth area.’ Where sin is concerned, people mumble now."
What’s so Amazing about Grace? By Philip Yancey (1997 Zondervan Publishing). One of best from this artful storyteller who gives us a street level look at God’s relentless grace. From the inside cover: "Grace does not excuse sin but it treasure the sinner. True grace is shocking, scandalous. It shakes our conventions with its insistence on getting close to sinners and touching them with mercy and hope. It forgives the unfaithful spouse, the racist, the child abuser. It loves today’s AIDS – ridden addict as much as the tax collector of Jesus’ day."
Books to help you understand the Bible better:
Let the Reader Understand by Dan McCartney and Charles Clayton (1994 BridgePoint / Victor Books) In these 292 pages you will find some of the most practical tools around to help you interpret and understand what the Bible really teaches.
Interpreting the Parables by Craig Blomberg (1990 InterVarsity Press). Many people know that Jesus often spoke in parables. Why did Jesus use this story-telling format to teach? What do the different parables mean? How should we interpret and apply the truths of Jesus’ parables to our lives? Blomberg’s book will be of great help to anyone wanting to take a serious look at the parables of Jesus.
Biblical Christian Ethics by David Clyde Jones (1994 Baker Books). Jones biblical approach sees Christian ethics as a study of the way of life that conforms to the will of God. Major sections cover the goal, motive and direction of the Christian life. Here is practical advice for anyone struggling with discerning right from wrong. Subjects covered include: the sanctity of human life, issues of sexuality, justice, divorce, remarriage, and truthfulness.
The Sermon on the Mount by John Stott (IVP). If you’re looking for a great commentary on the most famous sermon ever preached, this is the one. One of my favorite Bible teachers, John Stott, offers us practical, historical, and Biblical insights into the meaning of some of Jesus’ most well known words.
Recommended Bible commentaries:
The Bible Speaks Today Bible commentary series published by IVP. Old Testament series editor: J. A. Motyer. New Testament series editor: John R. W. Stott.
Expositor’s Bible Commentary published by Zondervan, General Editor: Frank Gaebelein
The Crossway Classic Commentaries published by Crossway books, series editors Alister McGrath and J. I. Packer. Features Bible commentaries by the likes of John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, and J. C. Ryle.
The Analyzed Bible by G. Campbell Morgan, published by Baker Book House
The Daily Study Bible Series by William Barclay, published by The Westminster Press.
The "Be" Bible Study Commentary Series by Warren Wiersbe, published by Victor Books.