This book is a true classic that consistently makes it onto the top ten lists of books that everyone should read. Here is a description from the site:

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.

You can listen to a free audio sample from Knowing God here. Enjoy!

Here are the descriptions from the site:

The Cost of Discipleship:

This book is quite simply, one of the most profound and important books of the 20th century. Dietrich Bonhoeffer lived a testimony of his thoughtful and engaging writers. Focusing on the most treasured part of Christ’s teaching – the Sermon on the Mount with its call to discipleship, and on the grace of God and the sacrifice which that demands.

Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die:

The most important questions anyone can ask are: Why was Jesus Christ crucified? Why did he suffer so much? What has this to do with me? Finally, who sent him to his death? The answer to the last question is that God did. Jesus was God’s Son. The suffering was unsurpassed, but the whole message of the Bible leads to this answer.

You can listen to a free audio sample from The Cost of Discipleship here and a free audio sample from Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die here.

Here is a description from the site:

Scripture reveals that the great business of life is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. In this paradigm-shattering classic, newly revised and expanded, John Piper reveals that the debate between duty and delight doesn’t truly exist: Delight is our duty. Join him as he unveils stunning, life impacting truths you saw in the Bible but never dared to believe.

You can listen to a free audio sample from Desiring God here.

Here is a description from the site:

It’s not uncommon for an accomplished musician to be able to sit down in front of a new piece of music and play it through without a hitch. To make it seem easy, as if it required no effort. Yet the “freedom” to play with such skill comes only after years of disciplined practice.

In the same way, the freedom to grow in godliness—to naturally express Christ’s character through your own personality—is in large part dependent on a deliberate cultivation of the spiritual disciplines.

Far from being legalistic, restrictive, or binding, as they are often perceived, the spiritual disciplines are actually the means to unparalleled spiritual liberty … Whitney takes you through a carefully selected array of disciplines that includes Scripture reading, prayer, worship, Scripture meditation, evangelism, serving, stewardship, Scripture application, fasting, silence and solitude, journaling, and learning.

You can listen to a free audio sample from Spiritual Disciplines here.

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Saint Augustine’s contributions to Christian theology are second to no other post-apostolic author in the whole sweep of church history. Yet along side his doctrinal treatises, Augustine tells a story of his life devoted to Christ as his only satisfaction. The Confessions is at once the autobiographical account of Augustine’s life of Christian faith and at the same time a compelling theology of Christian spirituality for everyone. Among the most important classics in Western literature, it continues to engage modern readers through Augustine’s timeless illustrations and beautiful prose. Augustine’s Confessions is a book to relish the first time through and then profoundly enjoy over a lifetime of revisiting.

You can listen to a free audio sample from Augustine’s Confessions here.

Tim Challies shares 9 things he learned about God from Planet Earth. “While the films were not meant to draw attention to God, as I watched them I was continually drawn to marvel in the greatness of the Lord. As the films provided a tour of so many beautiful locations and as they gave close-up shots of such incredible creatures, I saw the hand of a Creator. I saw it everywhere.”

Seth Godin compiles a helpful list of 36 things to check before sending an email. Here are a couple of items from the list. “Am I forwarding someone else’s mail? (If so, will they be happy when they find out?) … Am I forwarding something about a virus or worldwide charity effort or other potential hoax? (If so, visit snopes and check to see if it’s actually true). Did I hit ‘reply all’? If so, am I glad I did? Does every person on the list need to see it?”

La Shawn Barber writes about a fascinating condition called “synesthesia.” Synesthesia is “a neurological and involuntary phenomenon in which people ‘see’ musical notes, numbers, letters, words, or other concepts in color. For some, these things have sounds, smells, or tastes associated with them … [There are also] other forms of synesthesia like spatial and conceptual. People with spatial synesthesia see numbers, days of the weeks, or months of the year in precise locations in space.”

Narnia scholar Devin Brown reviews the Prince Caspian movie. “Some critics have noted that Prince Caspian is a darker film than the first. It is. But since it is about a later time in the children’s lives, it is also more gray than the first and less black and white. And this is another way it is more like our world. Like us, the four Pevensies must spend much of their time and energy on this second adventure simply figuring out what they are supposed to do in a world that has grown more complicated.”

Craig Blomberg presents an underused argument for Jesus’ resurrection. “When a Jewish rebel leader was killed, one of only two things ever happened. Either the movement died out, or the movement’s adherents turned to a new leader, often a family member of the first one … What never happened … is that the rebel leaders’ followers continued to accept his claim about his identity, or the claims they had made for him … Suddenly, the first generation of Jesus’ followers stands out in dramatic, unprecedented contrast.”

Paul Krugman reflects on the new economics for creative works in the digital age. “If e-books become the norm, the publishing industry as we know it may wither away. Books may end up serving mainly as promotional material for authors’ other activities, such as live readings with paid admission … Bit by bit, everything that can be digitized will be digitized, making intellectual property ever easier to copy and ever harder to sell for more than a nominal price. And we’ll have to find business and economic models that take this reality into account.”

John MacArthur explains how the average person perceives post-modern culture. “When you talk about a postmodern culture, that’s an academic assessment of the culture. The average Joe doesn’t have any idea what that means. All he knows is he’s pretty much free to think and do whatever he wants. That’s how postmodernism filters down to the guy in the pew. It’s not a philosophy—it’s a lifestyle. The average guy just knows that the culture doesn’t care what he does. The movies he sees don’t make a moral judgment on anything except racism or somebody’s intolerance. So he’s free to do whatever he wants in the society, and nobody can tell him what to be or what to do, and the bottom line is that he should feel good about himself.”

Here is a description from the site:

John Bunyan was a simple maker and mender of pots and kettles who received very little education. In spite of that, he penned the most successful allegory ever written. He lost his first wife and was imprisoned for twelve years for his compelling—but unlicensed—preaching. Nevertheless, his preaching about the gravity of sin, salvation by grace, the cost of discipleship, perseverance, and the glory of eternal life lives on in the signs and symbols of The Pilgrim’s Progress. Embark on a perilous journey with Christian, the lead character, from the City of Destruction to the luminous safe haven of the Celestial City. The journey will encourage you to “set your hope fully on the grace to be given you” amidst the obstacles of life.

You can listen to a free audio sample from Pilgrim’s Progress here.

Here is a description from the site:

Most all Christians know the name Martin Luther. Less familiar, however, are his words. This compilation of many of Luther’s most important writings serves as an excellent introduction to those new to Luther. It also provides a fresh medium for people familiar with his writing.

Included in this volume is:

• The Small Catechism
• 95 Theses
• On Faith and Coming to Christ
• On Confession and the Lord’s Supper
• Of the Office of Preaching
• Excerpt from Luther’s Tower Experience
• The Last Written Words of Luther

You can listen to a free audio sample from Martin Luther: In His Own Words here.

I just downloaded The Legend of Squanto for my boys for Thanksgiving. (Focus on the Family Radio Theatre Dramatic Production. Including a complete cast, cinema-quality sound, and original music. Run time 1.8 hours; normally $12.98)

Here is the description from the website:

This audio drama brings to light the story of one of America’s early legends — “Squanto.” History remembers Tisquantum as the Native American who taught early settlers to fish and farm. He’s even credited with the first Thanksgiving. But few hear the story of the condemnation that dragged him outside America to a life in chains and what he discovered after his exile. It’s an inspiring true story of this little-known early American that triumphed over injustice and changed what would become the United States.

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Though he was orphaned at age fourteen, repeatedly struck with debilitating illnesses, and unfairly expelled from college, Brainerd allowed nothing to deter him from serving God wholeheartedly. He traveled thousands of miles by horseback across treacherous terrain to preach the gospel to remote Indians. His calling required a rugged man—he even slept outside in the cold without cover—yet he constantly displayed a gentle and meek love for people entirely different from himself. Their benefit ultimately brought about his early death at the age of twenty-nine. Like an invigorating shower, the listener will be rejuvenated by Brainerd’s life-giving devotional insights, refreshing clarity of purpose, and heartwarming preaching. This book offers not only a captivating story, but an uplifting buoy for those who are weary, distant, or discouraged.