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Dr. Sam Warren

far more consulting began with a deep passion for the local church

The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

One of the most important theologians of the twentieth century illuminates the relationship between ourselves and the teachings of Jesus

What can the call to discipleship, the adherence to the word of Jesus, mean today to the businessman, the soldier, the laborer, or the aristocrat? What did Jesus mean to say to us? What is his will for us today? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a seminal reading of the dichotomy between "cheap grace" and "costly grace." "Cheap grace," Bonhoeffer wrote, "is the grace we bestow on ourselves...grace without discipleship....Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the girl which must be asked for, the door at which a man must know....It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."

The Cost of Discipleship is a compelling statement of the demands of sacrifice and ethical consistency from a man whose life and thought were exemplary articulations of a new type of leadership inspired by the Gospel, and imbued with the spirit of Christian humanism and a creative sense of civic duty.

In his steps by charles sheldon

It was Friday morning and the Rev. Henry Maxwell was trying to finish his Sunday morning sermon. He had been interrupted several times and was growing nervous as the morning wore away, and the sermon grew very slowly toward a satisfactory finish. (...) The minister went up into his study and shut the door. In a few minutes, he heard his wife go out, and then everything was quiet. He settled himself at his desk with a sigh of relief and began to write. His text was from 1 Peter 2:21: "For hereunto were ye called; because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that ye should follow his steps." He had emphasized in the first part of the sermon the Atonement as a personal sacrifice, calling attention to the fact of Jesus' suffering in various ways, in His life as well as in His death. He had then gone on to emphasize the Atonement from the side of example, giving illustrations from the life and teachings of Jesus to show how faith in the Christ helped to save men because of the pattern or character He displayed for their imitation. He was now on the third and last point, the necessity of following Jesus in His sacrifice and example.

The practice of the presence of god

Brother Lawrence was a seventeenth century Christian who had a dramatic spiritual awakening at the age of eighteen. Seeing a tree in winter, his soul suddenly opened to the presence of God. Within six years he had entered a Carmelite monastery in Paris, where he worked chiefly in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning. He practiced a simple and natural method. He merely turned his attention to the Divine Presence available at all times during any activity. He reports that he was as fully present with God while washing dishes in the kitchen as he was when partaking of the sacrament in worship.

The profound peace and joy evident in Lawrence’s life attracted many visitors, who sought to learn the secret of his unique spiritual practice. Originally published shortly after his death, this volume consists of personal conversations and letters, which communicate how one can experience God at all times. Also included in this edition are his Spiritual Maxims, a document that was discovered among his belongings after his death.

MERE CHRISTIANITY

Mere Christianity is a theological book by C. S. Lewis, adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944, while Lewis was at Oxford during the Second World War. Considered a classic of Christian apologetics, the transcripts of the broadcasts originally appeared in print as three separate pamphlets: The Case for Christianity, Christian Behaviour, and Beyond Personality. Lewis was invited to give the talks by James Welch, the BBC Director of Religious Broadcasting, who had read his 1940 book, The Problem of Pain.

LIFE TOGETGHER by Dietrich bonhoeffer

After his martyrdom at the hands of the Gestapo in 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer continued his witness in the hearts of Christians around the world. In his book Life Together we learn of Pastor Bonhoeffer's experience within the Christian community. This story of a unique fellowship in an underground seminary during the Nazi years reads like one of Paul's letters. It gives practical advice on how life together in Christ can be sustained in families and groups. The role of personal prayer, worship in common, everyday work, and Christian service is treated in simple, almost biblical, words. Life Together serves as bread to all who are hungry for the real life of Christian fellowship.

The CONFESSIONS OF ST. AUGUSTINE

"By common consent the work is known as The Confessions of St. Augustine has a special place among the world's great books. Autobiographical in character, it is not an attempt to tell the story of all the years of the writer's life, least of all of the outward events of those years. But no writer ever went deeper into his own character and deeds, passed keener judgments upon himself, or revealed himself more fully and more humbly to others..... His book is not only a most penetrating psychological study and a unique document for understanding the spiritual and ascetical life, but it is also a storehouse of thought for the philosopher and the theologian, and for others as well. "

Because of such things, it is not to be wondered that this unique book should immediately have found many readers and that more than 1500 years after its publication it still attracts countless readers and affects them deeply. It is assuredly a great book, one of the greatest indeed, great in its authorship, great in its diverse but unified subject matter, great in the form into which that subject matter has been cast, great in the end for which it was written, and great in the good effects that it has unfailingly produced....

To become familiar with St. Augustine's Confessions is to make one's own, to some extent at least, an inexhaustible source of intellectual stimulation, of esthetic delight, of moral help, and of spiritual enlightenment."

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

"Every experience God gives us . . . is the perfect preparation for the future only He can see."--Corrie ten Boom

Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker who became a heroine of the Resistance, a survivor of Hitler's concentration camps, and one of the most remarkable evangelists of the twentieth century. In World War II she and her family risked their lives to help Jews and underground workers escape from the Nazis, and for their work they were tested in the infamous Nazi death camps. Only Corrie among her family survived to tell the story of how faith ultimately triumphs over evil.

Here is the riveting account of how Corrie and her family were able to save many of God's chosen people. For 35 years millions have seen that there is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still. Now The Hiding Place, repackaged for a new generation of readers, continues to declare that God's love will overcome, heal, and restore.

The Pilgrim's Progess

The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come; Delivered under the Similitude of a Dream is a Christian allegory written by John Bunyan (1628–1688) and published in February 1678. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of religious English literature, has been translated into more than 200 languages, and has never been out of print. Bunyan began his work while in the Bedfordshire county prison for violations of the Conventicle Act, which prohibited the holding of religious services outside the auspices of the established Church of England. Early Bunyan scholars like John Brown believed The Pilgrim's Progress was begun in Bunyan's second, shorter imprisonment for six months in 1675, but more recent scholars like Roger Sharrock believe that it was begun during Bunyan's initial, more lengthy imprisonment from 1660–72 right after he had written his spiritual autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.

Religious Affections

First delivered in the 1730s, Edwards' theological discussions galvanized residents of the Nascent Colonial Society in which he resided. This book, published in 1746, represents a collection of his lectures and preaching. Together these provide an intimate look at the attitudes to Christian faith which led to the first Great Awakening in Europe and colonial North America.

This treatise contains a thorough examination of the Christian conversion process and the attributes by which the believer successfully aligns himself to God. It would prove influential to preachers for generations to follow; Edward's emphasis on individual piety and a rich, inner understanding of the Bible and the Word of God were a breath of fresh air to a faith formerly couched in old traditions and ceremonial procedure. His theology allowed all to participate ad understand faith in an active, devotional manner.

As one of the vanguards of Christian preachers in the American colonies, Jonathan Edwards would oversee the first Great Awakening in his locality of Massachusetts. The sudden reigniting of belief greatly reinforced the resolve of colonial settlers in North America. Going some distance to unite them on the often harsh and dangerous conditions of the frontier.

Owing to Edward's intense efforts, many converted to Christianity with the distinct impression of Jesus Christ as their Saviour. This is contrasted to belief in ancient ceremonies and public displays of tradition. Edwards held that devotion should be fostered within the human soul and that believers should cleave to numerous affections to attain true devotion to the Lord.

It was this conviction that led to Christianity regaining great influence among the settlers of New England. One may also infer the beginnings of the American Evangelism tradition, which also placed great emphasis upon inner spiritual growth and closeness to God and Jesus Christ. In all, a treatise concerning regligious affections remains a landmar text in the history of Christianity. To a large extent, it acts as a superb embodiment of the revivalist tradition that so strengthened the faith during the 18th century.