10 books to buy as Christmas gifts this year

Praying Through the Psalms

by Yohanna Katanacho

This collection of 150 beautiful and unique prayers, inspired by each of the Psalms and birthed in the same land as Jesus, will help you grow in understanding the struggles of Christians in the Middle East, and deepen your love for God.

Finding Hagar

God’s Pursuit of a Runaway

by Michael F. Kuhn

Finding Hagar probes the relentless pursuit by the Living God of a fugitive woman who falls outside the line of his chosen people. This pursuit ensures Hagar’s destiny by giving her an identity as one who is seen and known by God himself. Often recognized as one of the Bible’s most powerful stories of God’s love – this book is a reminder of God’s abundant grace towards all people at a time when there is much division and animosity towards the descendants of Hagar. Features 15 hand-sketched illustrations alongside reflections.

Focus on Christ

by John Stott

In this book, John Stott draws our attention to how the New Testament speaks of Jesus Christ. He examines the prepositions used to help us understand more deeply, our position in relation to the Son of God. We are to live in Christ, through Christ, on Christ, with Christ, under Christ, for Christ, and like Christ – and this book will help you become truly Christ-centred.

Sarah’s Laughter

Doubt, Tears, and Christian Hope

by Vinoth Ramachandra

Vinoth Ramachandra confronts the intellectual, moral, and political challenges posed to faith in our increasingly broken world. Sharing his own ongoing journey with suffering and a questing faith, Ramachandra reminds us that lament and joy, faith and protest, clarity and ambiguity, belong together in faithful Christian discipleship.

The Branch Exposition of the Bible

A Preacher’s Commentary of the New Testament

by Michael A. Eaton

A resource for preachers, scholars, and everyday Christians alike, to help open God’s word and shed its light into life, ministry and teaching. Inspired by the words of the great reformer Martin Luther about shaking every branch of Scripture, Michael A. Eaton helps us understand the meaning of the Bible and taste its fruit so that we can meet the resurrected Jesus Christ in the pages of Scripture.

Ruth

A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary

by Havilah Dharamraj with Philip Ewan Yalla

This commentary presents the book of Ruth through a uniquely Asian lens that helps bring out the nuances of this Old Testament text that are often missed or misunderstood. The deep and skillful exegesis presented will satisfy a scholarly reader, yet the language used is accessible enough for lay preachers and teachers to understand, appreciate, and use. 

Echoes . . . The Lord’s Prayer in the Preacher’s Life

by Geoff New

Most Christians, whether preachers or not, are familiar with the Lord’s Prayer; maybe too familiar. In this excellent devotional, Geoff New urges us to encounter the Lord’s Prayer again – to encounter it as a text that is urgent and powerful, speaking directly to the needs and longings of the human heart. Written primarily with preachers in mind, this book addresses common ministry challenges and demonstrates how the Lord’s Prayer can meet us in every season of the Christian life. 

Following Jesus in Turbulent Times

Disciple-Making in the Arab World

by Hikmat Kashouh

Using Resurrection Church Beirut’s powerful testimony, Pastor Hikmat Kashouh teaches us how to disciple refugees from Arab contexts. In this book the church has a resource to help love, serve and disciple refugees, equip emerging indigenous leaders and understand discipleship of people from non-Christian backgrounds.

Life Through God’s Word

An Introduction to Psalm 119

by Christopher J. H. Wright

If you have ever been tempted to disregard Psalm 119 under an assumption that it is some dry and dusty psalm about Old Testament law, you are certainly not alone. However, in this in-depth study of the longest chapter in Scripture, Chris Wright reminds us that it is first and foremost a prayer overflowing from a deeply intimate relationship with God.

Gloria!

The Archbishop's Wife

By Abidemi Sanusi

Bishop Kwashi never expected to be father of over 300 children. But his wife Gloria wasn’t expecting to have her home burnt down, all her belongings eaten by rats, or be savagely beaten and raped by men sent to murder her husband. A girl born in a ditch, she chose the name Gloria when she decided to follow the one born in a stable and dedicated her life to bringing him glory. Little did she know what that would involve!