Authentic Christian Living
Resources that may help inform and equip how to live an holistic life shaped by the teaching of Jesus. All of these are available to freely borrow from our church library.
You Are What You Love – The Spiritual Power of Habit
by James K.A. Smith
This is a fascinating and insightful book that can change the way you see yourself and everything. It can be worldview-shifting as it explores how our lives are shaped by our deepest desires. It’s brilliantly clear at explaining what we love shapes our life, and also how we can shape our loves. A brilliant book. There’s also a more academic version, called Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview and Cultural Liturgies.
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation
by Parker Palmer
This is a readable, insightful book on working out your true calling. It’s readable, interesting and honest. Should be read several times through life.
Lead Like the Real You: Wisdom for Women on Finding Your Voice, Pursuing God's Calling, and Leading with Courage
by Amy Orr-Ewing
This is a great book on leadership and life, written as a series of letters offering wisdom and advice. Amy Orr-Ewing is a leader, speaker, writer, scholar.
Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God
by Timothy Keller
A really clear and substantial book on how to pray, and the purpose of prayer. This has thoughtful and robust biblical principles, as well as practical advice.
Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth
by Richard Foster
This is a Christian classic, a fascinating exploration of spiritual disciplines and how they can transform and liberate our life. Practical and inspiring, to be read over and over.
On Marriage
by Timothy Keller
This little book is ideal to get a refreshing overview not only to introduce the Christian concept of marriage, but to reset and start a conversation in a marriage. Tightly written, so you read it all.
How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People
by Pete Grieg
“An instant Spiritual Classic” – Christianity Today Everyone prays, but no one finds it easy. We all need a little help. This is a brilliant, easy to read book on prayer. Brilliant.
The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith
by Timothy Keller
This is a very insightful explanation of the nature of grace as the basis for everything we need in life. Using the parable of Jesus, it tight and clearly explains the good news in a manner that will help people no matter how long they have been a Christian.
Surprise the World: The Five Habits of Highly Missional People
by Michael Frost
This tiny book is packed with insight on how live a life that provokes questions. A brilliant and easy to read explanation of how to live our ordinary life in an extraordinary way that prompts curiosity about Jesus.
Knowing God
by J.I. Packer
A Christian classic, with over a million copies sold, this is a thought-provoking and practical look at the great question of Christian life: what does it mean to know God?
Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community
by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
This is a profound Christian classic about the nature of honest, true Christian community. This is an essential read for people in Christian leadership in a congregation, and fascinating and challenging for everyone else. Bonhoeffer was of course, a martyr and one of the most influential people of the 21st century.
The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness: The Path to the True Christian Joy
by Timothy Keller
This is the thinnest book that could change your life. A brilliant, pithy, clear outline of how self-absorption makes us unhappy, and how we can find true humility.
Run with the Horses: The Quest for Life at Its Best
by Eugene Peterson
This is Bono’s favourite book. A marvellous exploration of the search for human identity through the scriptures, following the Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah.
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World
by John Mark Comer
The title kinda says it all. This is an insightful and practical book about how to flourish spiritually, pinpointing how modern life seeks to make us hurry, and makes a strong case for a slower, simpler way of life.
Gospel in Life: Grace Changes Everything
by Timothy Keller
This is an insightful text on understanding how grace can reorient and shape our life. Designed as a Study Guide, and certainly brilliant to read with a group, it also can also be read as an individual reflective book.
How (NOT) to Read The Bible: Making Sense of the Anti-Women, Anti-Science, Pro-Violence, Pro-Slavery and Other Crazy-Sounding Parts of Scripture
by Dan Kimball
This book helps you read and understand the Bible for what it is, not what it is sometimes made to be. A really helpful book to help you navigate the complexities, and make sense of it.
Every Good Endeavour: Connecting Your Work to God’s Plan for the World
by Timothy Keller
This book explores the nature and meaning of work, when we ask: Why am I doing this? Why is it so hard? What can I do about it? Extremely strong insight into how Christian faith informs our approach to work. If you’ve ever wondered about how faith connects with your work, this book is for you.
The Meaning of Singleness: Retrieving an Eschatological Vision for the Contemporary Church
by Danielle Treweek
This book won the 2024 Australian Christian Book of the Year Award. The author uses biblical, historical, cultural, and theological reflections, she show that not only that singleness has served an important role throughout the church's history, but that single Christians present the church with a foretaste of the eschatological reality that awaits all of God's people.