Church library finds
Meghan Salinas, Lifestyle and BuzzFeed Section Editor
Photo courtesy of pixabay.com
If your church is anything like mine, you may have easily stumbled into church a few minutes before service or in between services to get yourself a nice cup of coffee or hot tea. While grazing the variety of creamer cups and hot tea choices you also might find a wonderful array of books and biblical commentaries in a beautifully constructed way on the wooden tinted shelves.
The month of October is National Church Library month. Here is a list of readable material found in various church libraries. Remember that church libraries can be vital and relevant even now. Pick up a book with your delectable coffee and head into service and cozy up with your new reading material after service.
1) A good study bible
Here are some preferred study bibles that provide biblical commentaries, references and background of the time period in which the books were written.
Some include:
-The ESV Gospel Transformation Bible
-The ESV Study Bible
-The HCSB Study Bible
According to Jen Wilkin, author of Women of the Word, it is extremely vital to read scripture in many different translations. It is important to emerge yourself in different translations of scripture because Wilkin says, “Reading a passage in more than one translation can expand your understanding of its meaning.”
If you’re having trouble interpreting translations like ESV (English Standard Version) or KJV (King James Version), try cross-referencing with a simpler version NIV (New International Version) or NASB (New American Standard.)
2) “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis discusses in this book about the importance of understanding and speaking comfortably about our Christian Worldview. Lewis defends the faith that is been torn apart by skeptics and critics and discusses in detail about what a solid Christian life is supposed to look like from an outward point of view.
3) “Radical” by David Platt
On the cover of this book, it says, “Taking back your faith from the American dream.”
Platt challenges readers in this convicting read about how all of us have chosen to manipulate the gospel to fit our preferences and our comfort. In this book, Platt shows audiences through immaculate detail of churches in other countries where persecution is knocking at their door and how, even when their lives are at stake, they “radically” believe in the gospel and risk their lives daily to make the Lord’s name known.
4) “Revitalize” by Andrew M. Davis
The cover of Revitalize states, “Biblical keys to helping your church come alive again.”
In this book, Davis discusses how healthy and vital church membership should be. Church health is not just about numbers increasing but we must not forget that declining membership is a key symptom in any church in crisis. Davis provides hope for pastors and the congregation to revitalize a broken church into a healthy church.
