23 Books for Spiritual Growth
To live a life like Jesus, we have a lot of learning to do. We get so engulfed by our day-to-day lives that we often push our goals aside and get stuck living out each day the same as the last. To learn to live like Jesus, we need to work on our spiritual growth.
Our counselors and staff put together 23 spiritual growth books to help you grow, learn and become closer to God.
Check out the list below!
1. Uninvited
By Lysa TerKeurst
In Uninvited, Lysa shares her own deeply personal experiences of rejection from the perceived judgment of the perfectly toned woman one elliptical over to the incredibly painful childhood abandonment by her father. She leans in to honestly examine the roots of rejection, as well as rejection’s ability to poison relationships from the inside out, including our relationship with God. With biblical depth, gut honest vulnerability, and refreshing wit, Lysa will help you:
- Stop feeling left out by believing that even when you are overlooked by others you are handpicked by God.
- Change your tendency to either fall apart or control the actions of others by embracing God-honoring ways to process your hurt.
- Know exactly what to pray for the next ten days to steady your soul and restore your confidence in the midst of rejection.
- Overcome the two core fears that feed your insecurities by understanding the secret of belonging.
Uninvited reminds us we are destined for a love that can never be diminished, tarnished, shaken, or taken—a love that does not reject or uninvite.
2. Emotionally Healthy Spiritually
By Peter Scazzero
Peter Scazzero learned the hard way: you can’t be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature. Even though he was the pastor of a growing church, he did what most people do–avoid conflict in the name of Christianity; ignore his anger, sadness, and fear; use God to run from God; and live without boundaries.
Eventually God awakened him to a biblical integration of emotional health and the spiritual practice of slowing down and quieting your life for to experience a firsthand relationship with Jesus. It created nothing short of a spiritual revolution in Scazzero, in his church, and now in thousands of other churches.
In this updated edition, Scazzero shares new stories and principles as he outlines his journey and the signs of emotionally unhealthy spirituality. Then he provides seven biblical, reality-tested steps to become emotionally mature:
- Become your authentic self
- Break the power of the past
- Let go of power and control
- Surrender to your limits
- Stop to breathe by practicing rest and Sabbath
- Learn new skills to love well
- Love Christ above all else
3. Changes That Heal
By Dr. Henry Cloud
A down-to-earth plan to help us recover from the wounds of the past and grow more and more into the image of God.
Many of us struggle with anxiety, loneliness, and feelings of inadequacy. We know that God created us in his image, but how can we be loving when we feel burned out? How can we be free when we struggle with addiction? Will we ever enjoy the complete healing God promises?
Combining his professional expertise and personal experience, renowned psychologist Dr. Henry Cloud guides us through four basic ways to become joy-filled, mature followers of Christ:
- Connect more deeply with others
- Separate from others in healthy ways
- Understand the good and the bad in ourselves and others
- Grow into greater emotional and spiritual maturity
With fascinating case studies and helpful techniques we can start using immediately, Changes That Heal reminds us that God promises to complete his good work in us.
4. The Reason for God
By Timothy Keller
Timothy Keller, the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, addresses the frequent doubts that skeptics, and even ardent believers, have about religion. Using literature, philosophy, real-life conversations, and potent reasoning, Keller explains how the belief in a Christian God is, in fact, a sound and rational one. To true believers he offers a solid platform on which to stand their ground against the backlash to religion created by the Age of Skepticism. And to skeptics, atheists, and agnostics, he provides a challenging argument for pursuing the reason for God.
5. Forgiving What You Can’t Forget
By Lysa TerKeurst
New York Times bestselling author Lysa TerKeurst helps readers address how to stop suffering from what others have done to them while exploring what forgiveness is, what it isn’t, and how to deal with difficult relationships.