

Spiritual Growth Resources
Check out these resources – we’ve read and approved these for you to help you get the insight and inspiration that can fuel the whole-life transformation that God so desperately wants to see in you!
(Click on the categories below for details.)
Nouwen, Henri. Making All Things New. A great little book on what happens when God truly transforms people and through them His creation.
Foster, Richard. The Challenge of the Disciplined Life. Dealing with the major temptations of life through discipline is difficult and this book helps to outline plans for when we struggle.
Wright, N.T. Simply Christian. Outlines the major cases for Christianity and how they rise out of our natural desires.
Wright, N.T. Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship Great reflections on the Bible and it’s message about what it means to follow Jesus.
Peterson, Eugene. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. Writing on passages of Scripture that help us make the commitment to the long road of following Jesus.
Yaconelli, Mike. Messy Spirituality. A book on how the spiritual life is not easy, and is often filled with difficult challenges because we are imperfect people.
McManus, Erwin. The Barbarian Way. Recovering the “wildness” of our faith in a time when spirituality and faith are very quiet.
McManus, Erwin. Soul Cravings. Deals with the things that we desire most in life, and how God is the source and provider of them all.
Tozer, A.W. The Pursuit of God. A classic book on what drives us to seek God and what happens when we connect our lives to Him.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. A classic book on what life can look like when we partner together with other people.
Clapp, Rodney. Tortured Wonders: Spirituality for People, Not Angels. A realistic look at the spiritual life as being for real people, not just “super Christians.”
Eldredge, John. Waking the Dead Getting beyond the pain of our past and moving into the life that God has in mind for us.
A’Kempis, Thomas. The Imitation of Christ. A classic book on what it means to live as Jesus would have us live – which is to imitate Him.
Whitney, Donald. Simplify Your Spiritual Life: Spiritual Disciplines for the Overwhelmed. Teaches us how to set up disciplines to help us grow in our faith, even when we are maxed out on time.
Foster, Richard. The Celebration of Discipline. A classic book on spiritual practices that will help us create space for God to work.
Peterson, Eugene. The Message (Bible paraphrase) One of the easiest Bibles to read if you are new to reading Scripture.
Peterson, Eugene. Eat This Book. Gives us insight into what the Bible is and what can happen to us when we make the Bible a part of every piece of our life.
Willard, Dallas. Hearing God. Helps bring to light the fact that God is speaking to us and how we go about hearing Him when He speaks.
Ortberg, John. The Life You’ve Always Wanted. Learn disciplines and habits that will help to overcome the common everyday struggles.
Ortberg, John. The Me I Want to Be. Teaches us that God created us for better and gives concrete ways that we can become the “me” we want to be, which is the best version of ourselves that God has in mind.
Jones, J.K. What the Monks Can Teach Us. Talks about what we can learn from monks and how that can help us grow in our faith.
Baillie, John. A Diary of Private Prayer. A daily reading on prayer helps us focus our thoughts on God.
Job, Rueben P. and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for All God’s People. A great guide containing readings and Scriptures that help us enter into a daily habit of prayer.
Stanley, Charles. The Gift of Forgiveness.
Yancey, Philip. Prayer. Helps us understand what prayer is and it’s impact on our lives.
Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally-Healthy Spirituality. Helps people get a handle on how to develop healthy spirituality that honors the various emotions we experience.
Nouwen, McNeill & Morrison. Compassion. The authors define compassion and leave us with a powerful call to be moved as Jesus was moved.
Claiborne, Shane. The Irresistible Revolution. The story of one man’s life that led to a radical community in Philadelphia.
Stearns, Richard. The Hole in Our Gospel. A call to remember the Gospel calls us to reach out to the poor and broken.
Wright, NT. The Lord and His Prayer. A scholar and pastor walks you about the model prayer that Jesus taught His followers and how it applies today.
Peterson, Eugene. Living the Resurrection. A look at the meal stories from the Gospels and how we can “live” resurrection every day.
Stassen, Glen. Living the Sermon on the Mount. A practical way to live out the teachings of Jesus found primarily in Matthew chapters 5 through 7.
Willard, Dallas. Renovation of the Heart. A look at what God does in us to transform us so that we might have “streams of living water” flowing through us as Jesus promised.
Packer, J.I. Knowing God. A readable work on who God is and what it means to know Him.
Yancey, Philip. The Jesus I Never Knew. Helps us come to understand who Jesus was and what the world He lived in would have thought of Him.
Yancey, Philip. The Bible Jesus Read. Gain an understanding of what the Old Testament is all about and how Jesus Himself.
Eggerichs, Emerson. Love and Respect. A classic book on how men and women have different needs within a marriage and how that affects the health of a marriage relationship.
BOOKS ~ CHRISTIANITY & CULTURE
Miller, Donald. Blue Like Jazz. Thoughts on how the Christian message has been applied to our culture, and how it needs to change in the future.
Willard, Dallas. The Great Omission. A strong book on how people are called to be “disciples” not necessarily “Christians” and how we can recover Jesus’ teaching on what it means to be a disciple.
The Village Church Podcast (http://www.thevillagechurch.net)
Sermons from Matt Chandler at The Village Church, Highland, TX.
The Divine Office Podcast (http://www.divineoffice.org)
Worship and Scripture readings for daily devotional time.
Bible Gateway (http://www.biblegateway.com)
A great way to search the Bible and read different versions, as well as some study aids.
Blue-Letter Bible (http://www.blueletterbible.org)
A great tool for both academic study as well as devotional readings. Contains charts, lists, and other helpful guides.
YouVersion (http://www.youversion.com)
An online Bible reader and journal that can be used in an iPhone application.
LifeJournal (http://www.lifejournal.cc)
An online devotional aid where you can read other people’s thoughts on the Scriptures, as well as those from Dr. Wayne Cordeiro.
NorthPoint Community Church (http://www.northpoint.org/podcasts)
Sermons and resources from Andy Stanley & North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA.
Cross Point Church (http://www.crosspoint.tv)
Sermons from Pete Wilson at Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN.
The SOAP BIBLE READING PLAN is a great way to develop the daily discipline of Bible reading and journaling.
Questions? Please contact Pastor Casey Tygrett @ 708-478-7477, Ext. 238.



Orland Park Campus