Recommended Reading for What's Killing Me

Jon Ludovina, the author of this post, serves as a pastor at our Downtown church. He serves as one of our primary teaching pastors. To find out more about our leadership, visit our Leadership page.

There are many helpful books and resources available to dig deeper as our family works through the What’s Killing Me? campaign. As always with books, sermons and teachings we receive their instruction in light of 1 Thessalonians 5:20-22:

Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

Paul provides us with four aspects of gospel discernment:

1. Practice gospel humility. Don’t scoff at teaching with a critical spirit that thinks you know everything and are smarter than everyone.
2. Test everything. Do however take what is being taught and hold it up to the lens of scripture and the gospel.
3. Keep the good. Is it Biblically sound? Is Jesus the hero? Does it point to Jesus’ finished and final work for us in the cross? Does it stir your heart’s affections for Jesus?
4. Throw out the bad. Does it blatantly contradict scripture? Does it emphasize you as the decisive power for change? Does it encourage moralism instead of gospel dependency?

General help during What’s Killing Me:

• You Can Change by Tim Chester
• Counsel From the Cross by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Denis Johnson
• Death by Love: Letters from the Cross by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears
• The Mortification of Sin by John Owen
• How People Change by Timothy Lane and Paul David Tripp

Week 2: Guilt & Shame

• Shame Interrupted by Edward T. Welch
• Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler
• Rid of My Disgrace by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb
• (specifically for shame connected to sexual abuse)
• The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes

Week 3: Envy & Greed

• The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn
• The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs
• Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller

Week 4: Anger

• Uprooting Anger by Robert D. Jones
• Anger: Escaping the Maze by David Powlison
• A Loving Life: In a World of Broken Relationships by Paul Miler

Week 5: Worry & Anxiety

• Overcoming Fear, Worry and Anxiety by Elyse Fitzpatrick
• Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest by Edward T. Welch
• All Things for Good by Thomas Watson

Week 6 - Apathy

• To Live is Christ: To Die is Gain by Matt Chandler
• Rescuing Ambition by Dave Harvey
• The Biblical View of Self-Esteem, Self-Love, and Self-Image by Jay E. Adams
• Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper

Week 7: Busyness

• Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung
• What's Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Stuff Done by Matt Perman

Week 8: Lust

• Undefiled by Harry Schaumburg
• Sex and the Supremacy of Christ John Piper
• Finally Free by Heath Lambert
• Purity is Possible by Helen Thorne (purity for women)

Week 9: Fear of Man

• When People Are Big and God is Small by Edward T. Welch
• Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend
• Knowing God by J.I. Packer

Recommended Reading for Grassroots Kingdom

On Sunday, we began our new sermon series called

Grassroots Kingdom

. In the series, we'll be discussing God's plan to change the world through his people, the church. We also know that some of you may be interested in studying further on the subject. To help out, we thought we'd provide a list of books that have been instrumental in helping us plan the series, in hopes that they'll be helpful to you too:

totalchurch

Total ChurchTim Chester & Steve Timmis "Church is not a meeting you attend or a place you enter," write pastors Tim Chester and Steve Timmis. "It's an identity that is ours in Christ. An identity that shapes the whole of life so that life and mission become 'total church.'" With that as their premise, they emphasize two overarching principles to govern the practice of church and mission: being gospel-centered and being community-centered. When these principles take precedence, say the authors, the truth of the Word is upheld, the mission of the gospel is carried out, and the priority of relationships is practiced in radical ways.

everydaychurch

Everyday Church Tim Chester & Steve Timmis We live in an increasingly post-Christian culture. More and more we find ourselves on the margins as less and less people have any intention of ever attending church. What used to work doesn’t work anymore and we need to adapt. Helping us to see the way forward, this book offers practical ideas and personal stories for engaging with Western society. Find out how to effectively reach people in the context of everyday life and take hold of the opportunity to develop missional communities focused on Jesus.

community

Community Brad House Pastor Brad House helps us to re-imagine what gospel-centered community looks like and shares from his experience leading and reproducing healthy small groups. With wisdom and candor, House challenges us to think carefully about our own groups and to take steps toward cultivating communities that are able to glorify Jesus, bless one another, and participate in the mission of God.

lifetogether

Life Together Dietrich Bonhoeffer In Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, renowned Christian minister, professor, and author of The Cost of Discipleship recounts his unique fellowship in an underground seminary during the Nazi years in Germany. Giving practical advice on how life together in Christ can be sustained in families and groups, Life Together is bread for all who are hungry for the real life of Christian fellowship.

masterplan

The Master Plan of Evangelism Robert E.  Coleman For more than forty years this classic study has shown Christians how to minister to the people God brings into their lives. Instead of drawing on the latest popular fad or the newest selling technique, Dr. Robert E. Coleman looks to the Bible to find the answer to the question: What was Christ's strategy for evangelism? This convenient, portable format has an updated look for a new generation of readers.

mealwithjesus

A Meal with Jesus Tim Chester The meals of Jesus represent something bigger. They represent a new world, a new kingdom, a new outlook.Tim Chester brings to light God’s purposes in the seemingly ordinary act of sharing a meal—how this everyday experience is really an opportunity for grace, community, and mission. Chester challenges contemporary understandings of hospitality as he urges us to evaluate why and who we invite to our table. Learn how you can foster grace and bless others through the rich fare being served in A Meal with Jesus.

the-big-story

The Big Story Justin Buzzard When strangers meet today they often ask not, "What do you do?," but "What is your story?" Everybody has a story. And everybody on the planet believes some larger story in order to make sense of the smaller story of their life. We want our lives to fit within a larger plot-complete with a sense of history, conflict resolution, forward movement, and future. So, the better question to ask is, "What sort of story are you in?"