Books published by InterVarsity Press

Have you experienced an ongoing trial that left you wrung out emotionally? Do you feel alone in your pain?Though suffering often leaves us feeling isolated, God invites us into the community of the Trinity and offers us many companions in Scripture. We experience loneliness alongside the exiled Israelites. We journey with David as he pleads to God for rescue. With Asaph we confess our unbelief. With Job we learn to lament. With Mary and Martha we learn to wait. In God's community, there is sweet fellowship, even in the hardest of circumstances. Journey in these pages with Wendy Alsup through her story of suffering, and more importantly, with the God who walks with us in the wilderness. This warm and contemplative book also includes a helpful appendix for those who companion a suffering loved one.

Eleanor McFarland and John Wilson join Gaal, the Son of the High Emperor, in a battle to thwart the evil plans of Lord Lunacy. Book Two in John White's Archives of Anthropos. Winner of the 1989 C. S. Lewis Gold Medal from Christian Home & School.

Anthropos is in danger. So Wesley, Kurt and Lisa are once again magically transported from their home in Winnipeg to help save this threatened land. The Iron Sceptre, the source of King Kardia's power to rule, is in peril. The children, joined by their cousin Mary, are called on to stop Mirmah and her chief sorcerer, Archimago. But to do so, they must travel beneath the Northern Mountains, around Goldcoffin's Palace and into the very heart of Mirmah's kingdom. What awaits is much more than a mere adventure.

The king of Anthropos has a baffling illness and is threatened by the Dark Lord who has troubled that mysterious land so many times before. Once again Wesley, Kurt and Lisa are drawn to this strange country by the wondrous Gaal.Unexpectedly, an irritating neighbor, Betty, comes along with them. Despite the problems she causes--and despite being thrown into prison, attacked by a seven-headed ogre and lost in unnatural darkness, the group seeks to follow where Gaal leads. Together they battle Lord Lunacy in a final confrontation that holds the future of Anthropos in the balance.Here is the stirring conclusion to John White's mythical adventure series that has been beloved by tens of thousands.

John Rowell sets out a program that will enable affluent churches in the West to give generously across cultures without fear of promoting dependent, hierarchical relationships.This book answers the questions whether Westerners ought to give or not to give in support of global evangelism and encourages maximum generosity as the path most reflective of God's heart on the matter.

We often think stories are for children. But using the Bible as evidence, we see that God communicated His truth to men and women of all cultures, time, and places by way of many small stories forming one large story. While possessing a rich heritage of storytelling, too many evangelicals have forfeited this vital skill. Tom Steffen's aim is to help readers recapture the most natural, universal, and effective means of evangelism-discipleship that exists--storytelling.

Young Earth vs.Old Earth. The debate has gone on for centuries, with most modern Christians disputing the scientific claim of an ancient earth. But is an old earth truly inconsistent with Scripture?Dr. Mark Whorton seeks to give biblically based answers and challenge the modern thinking that to be an evangelical Christian is to believe in a young earth. Using evidence as diverse as the bombardier beetle and St. Augustine, Dr. Whorton, a Christian apologist and genuine rocket scientist, provides a compelling answer to one of the most difficult and heated issues for modern Christians.

Parents of Missionaries

Patrick Nullens and Ronald T. Michener seek to revitalize Christian ethics through an integrative approach to classical ethics. Their matrix of consequential, principle, virtue and value ethics provides an alternative to postmodern situation ethics and brings the framework of biblical wisdom to bear on contemporary ethical questions.

Modern Israel and its relations with its Arab neighbors has been conspicuously in the daily news ever since World War II. Until that time, the concept of Israel and a continuing Jewish people had been hovering in the distant background of Christian thought and doctrine since the post-apostolic era. In this important work, Dr. Diprose demonstrates the uniqueness of Israel and its special place in the divine plan.By carefully reviewing relevant New Testament and post-apostolic writings, the author traces the origin and development of Replacement Theology-the concept that the Church has completely and permanently replaced ethnic Israel in the outworking of God's plan throughout history-challenging its origin and role in the development of Christian thought on the future of ethnic Israel.

Globalization may be the most hotly debated issue surrounding poverty. The benefits and costs of global economic integration are critical and complex.Is a globalized, free-market economy part of the solution to economic injustice or part of the problem?Are the international monetary systems pursuing policies that will reduce poverty or are they serving the interests of the wealthy?What do pro-poor policy reforms look like in the areas of trade and foreign investment?What kinds of immigration restrictions or reforms are consistent with the Christian faith?Should development aid be awarded only to well-governed, democratic countries?Would unrestrained economic growth imply environmental destruction?Economic Justice assembles leading economists to debate these and other issues surrounding globalization's effects on the poor. Writers urge an informed church to help identify the essentials of a Christian perspective on the societal, environmental and economic implications of globalization and to live accordingly.

Financial expert David Cowan reflects on the economic parables of Jesus to understand life in an increasingly globalized economy. Jesus' words shed light on a broad range of fiscal issues from paying bills to wise investment to just socio-economic conditions.

A book for Christians who crave more from their spiritual lives.

Gary Tyra's constructive study of the Sermon on the Mount seeks to revitalize discipleship by exposing and rooting out the modern incidence of Pharisaism (legalism, dogmatism, separatism, judgmentalism, etc.) among evangelical churches today.

Udo W. Middelmann provides an alternative to literature that regards poverty relief as a strictly material problem. By exposing the power of fatalistic religious ideas to suppress people and devastate cultures, Middelmann places biblical ideas at the heart of cultural development.

A clear vision of what the experience of Christ's empowering presence looks likeCitations from the spiritual masters that will serve to inspire them over and over again to make it their intention to live the rest of their lives enjoying Christ's empowering presenceA thoughtful discussion of the means by which this key spiritual dynamic can be experienced on a daily, moment-by moment, basis.

Cat and Dog PrayerHow to pray prayers that God wants to answerHow you've been given a Blank Check by GodThe six reasons why God says WaitThe four reasons why God says NoHow to pray Cause Me Prayers releasing the Holy Spirit completely in your life, andHow you need to be careful about what you pray about-because it can be the very thing that takes you away from God himself!Cat and Dog Theology

Focusing on adultery, rage, addiction, and homosexuality, neuroscientist Matthew Stanford explores what role biological predispositions play in behavior that the Bible defines as sinful.

T. M. Moore provides a new translation and interpretive paraphrase that artfully unveils the ancient mysteries of the often puzzling book of Ecclesiastes. Within these pages are treasures of wisdom applicable to life today.

In a society that believes "anything goes," the Christian worldview faces aggressive opposition. Francis J. Beckwith, William Lane Craig and J. P. Moreland assembled the essays in this book--covering all major aspects of apologetics--to help you make a more coherent defense for the Christian faith.

The gospel of Jesus has not always been good news for Native Americans. But despite the far-reaching effects of colonialism, some Natives have forged culturally authentic ways to follow Jesus. In his final work, Richard Twiss surveys the complicated history of Christian missions among Indigenous peoples and voices a hopeful vision of contextual Native Christian faith.

Suffering is a philosophical problem, but it is much more. It is deeply personal. Why is this happening to me? How can I respond to friends and family in pain and loss, and to people in my care? Richard Rice guides readers through the seven most significant theodicies-approaches that have been used to make sense of suffering in light of God's justice or control. He considers the strengths and weaknesses of each option, while always guiding us toward greater understanding and compassion. Rice goes further by offering guidelines for constructing a personal framework for dealing practically with suffering, one that draws from philosophy, ethics, theology and real-world experience. Intending for each of us to find a response to our suffering that is both intellectually satisfying and personally authentic, Rice provides the resources for meeting this challenge. He weaves together the theoretical side of the theodicies with personal stories of people who have experienced great suffering. While no framework can perfectly account for the problem of pain, we are left with the overarching insight that suffering never has the final word.

As culture has become at once more secular and more religiously pluralistic, a renaissance of interest in the spiritual disciplines has been sparked in evangelical Protestant circles. Mounting levels of stress, burnout and spiritual dryness among those in ministry has only stoked this desire for spiritual nourishment and renewal. John Jefferson Davis helps us recover the practice of meditation on Scripture as he explores the biblical and theological foundations rooted in the arrival of "the age to come" in Jesus Christ. Indeed by virtue of our union with Christ, the Triune God of the Bible draws near to his people so that they may also draw near to him. Meditation on God's revelation has always been central to enjoying communion with the Father through the Son and in the Spirit. Davis gives us fresh and practical guidance on removing the obstacles that block our fellowship with God and listening to Scripture in ways that can enrich our worship, faith, hope and love.

What signals are you sending when you share the gospel? The importance of signs for communicating truth has been recognized throughout the ages. Crystal L. Downing traces this awareness from biblical texts, through figures from church history like John Wycliffe and William Tyndale, to more recent writers Samuel Taylor Coleridge and C. S. Lewis. In the nineteenth century, this legacy of interest in the activity of signs brought about a new field of academic study. In this book, Downing puts the discipline of semiotics within reach for beginners through analysis of the movement?s key theorists, Ferdinand de Saussure, Charles Sanders Peirce, Mikhail Bakhtin and others. She then draws out the implications for effective communication of the gospel of Jesus Christ within our shifting cultural landscape. Her fundamental thesis is that "Failure to understand how signs work--as effects of the cultures we seek to affect--inevitably undermines not just our political and moral agendas but, worse, the gospel of Jesus Christ." Writing with humor, clarity and flare, Downing lucidly explains the sophisticated thinking of leaders in semiotics for nonexperts. Of value to all those interested in communication in any context, this work will be of special interest to students majoring in communications or English or to students in evangelism and preaching courses at the undergraduate and graduate level.