Recommended Books
This page contains books and other resources recommended by CVCF staff. CVCF is an affiliate of Christianbook.com and Amazon, and will receive a small percentage of sales through the links on this page.
We will also have a book giveaway table at the Retreat with various books that may help you in your relationship with Christ!
Bibles
| ESV Study Bible, Burgundy Genuine Leather with Thumb Index By Crossway The ESV Study Bible ranks at the top of the list of the most comprehensive study Bibles ever published. It was created by an outstanding team of 95 leading Bible scholars and teachers from 9 countries, nearly 20 denominations, and 50 seminaries, colleges, and universities. The ESV Study Bible features a wide array of study tools equivalent to a 20-volume Bible resource library, making it an invaluable resource for serious readers, students, and teachers of God's Word. |
Other Readings
| Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers By Dane Ortlund / Crossway Christians know what Jesus Christ has done―but who is he? What is his deepest heart for his people, weary and faltering on their journey toward heaven? Jesus said he is “gentle and lowly in heart.” This book reflects on these words, opening up a neglected yet central truth about who he is for sinners and sufferers today. |
| The Explicit Gospel By Matt Chandler with Jared Wilson / Crossway Inspired by the needs of both the over-churched and the unchurched, and bolstered by the common neglect of the explicit gospel within Christianity, popular pastor Matt Chandler writes this best-selling treatise to remind us what is of first and utmost importance - the gospel. |
| The Compelling Community: Where God's Power Makes a Church Attractive By Mark Dever & Jamie Dunlop / Crossway In The Compelling Community, pastors Mark Dever and Jamie Dunlop cast a captivating vision for authentic fellowship in the local church that goes beyond small groups. Full of biblical principles and practical advice, this book will help pastors lead their congregations toward the kind of community that glorifies God, edifies his people, and attracts the lost. |
| What Is the Gospel? By Greg Gilbert / Crossway What is the gospel? It seems like a simple question, yet it has been known to incite some heated responses, even in the church. How are we to formulate a clear, biblical understanding of the gospel? Tradition, reason, and experience all leave us ultimately disappointed. If we want answers, we must turn to the Word of God. |
| Basic Bible Interpretation By Roy Zuck / David C Cook Isn't Bible interpretation just for the experts? No, says Dr. Zuck---it's essential for each Christian's understanding and application of Scripture. Discover the challenges, problems, key terms, and history of interpretation---all in practical, down-to-earth language. Develop the skills you need to get the most out of your Bible study! 372 pages, hardcover from Victor. |
| Exploring Christian Theology: Revelation, Scripture, and the Triune God By Bethany House Two trusted Dallas Theological Seminary professors provide just what the beginning theological student wants. Key evangelical doctrines are introduced; relevant Bible passages highlighted; a brief history offered; distortions and heresies pointed out; and a glossary and reading lists for further study provided. |
| Exploring Christian Theology : Volume 2: Creation, Fall, and Salvation - eBook By Nathan D. Holsteen & Michael J. Svigel / Bethany House |
| Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself By Joe Thorn / Crossway We need good preaching-preaching that challenges us by God's Word and brings the comfort that comes from God's promises. Yet many of us rely solely on others to preach to us and are not benefitting from the kind of preaching that should be most consistent and personal-preaching to ourselves. Note to Self is a practical introduction to this daily discipline. Pastor Joe Thorn delivers fifty brief, devotional chapters that model preaching the gospel to ourselves and its practical implications. Readers will be challenged by the book's direct, personal exhortations to apply the law and the gospel to their own lives. Part of the Re:Lit series. |
| Lead: 12 Gospel Principles for Leadership in the Church By Paul David Tripp / Crossway For every celebrity pastor exiting in the spotlight, there are hundreds of lesser-known ministers fading quietly into the shadows. But why? Best-selling author Tripp suspects a weak leadership community is responsible. Providing biblical guidance, he suggests a dozen principles for gospel-centered leadership involving grace, limits, balance, character, spiritual warfare, servanthood, identity, restoration, longevity, and more. |
| Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will By Kevin DeYoung / Moody Publishers Are you worried that you haven't found God's perfect will for your life? DeYoung's advice is to give up! By surrendering, you'll discover that God's plan has already been revealed. Learn to love him with your whole heart, obey his Word, find hope, and see your choices through. Now includes an 8-session study guide. 128 pages, softcover from Moody. |
| Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, Revised and Expanded - Slightly Imperfect By Francis Chan with Danae Yankoski / David C Cook Do contemporary believers live the radically committed life Jesus calls his followers to live? In this revised and updated edition of his best-selling wake-up call, Chan challenges church members to take responsibility for their apathy, engage in honest self-examination, and totally surrender to God's purpose. Includes a new preface by Chan and a new chapter in which he shares about the last five years since Crazy Love's first release. The God of the universe is crazy about you! His love is the most powerful thing in the world and He wants to give it to you, so you can live for Him. If you have made a commitment to follow Christ, then read Crazy Love to be reminded and challenged in your walk. Sharing from his own life struggles and sacrifices, author Francis Chan issues a call for selfless, Christ-like living. Let the love you have received from God impact your life like never before. |
| Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church By John Onwuchekwa / Crossway Prayer is as necessary to the Christian as breathing is to the human body--but it often doesn't come quite as naturally. In fact, prayer in the church often gets subtly pushed to the side in favor of pragmatic practices that promise tangible results. This book focuses on the necessity of regular prayer as a central practice in the local church--awakening us to the need and blessing of corporate prayer by examining what Jesus taught about prayer, how the first Christians approached prayer, and how to prioritize prayer in our congregations. |
| New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional By Paul David Tripp / Crossway Mornings can be tough. Sometimes, a hearty breakfast and strong cup of coffee just aren't enough. Offering more than a rush of caffeine, best-selling author Paul David Tripp wants to energize you with the most potent encouragement imaginable: the gospel. Forget "behavior modification" or feel-good aphorisms. Tripp knows that what we really need is an encounter with the living God. Then we'll be prepared to trust in God's goodness, rely on his grace, and live for his glory each and every day. |
| Peace Child: An Unforgettable Story of Primitive Jungle Treachery in the 20th Century By Don Richardson / Bethany House In 1962, Don and Carol Richardson risked their lives to share the gospel with the Sawi people of New Guinea. Peace Child tells their unforgettable story of living among these headhunters and cannibals, who valued treachery through fattening victims with friendship before the slaughter. God gave Don and Carol the key to the Sawi hearts via a redemptive analogy from their own mythology. The "peace child" became the secret to unlocking a value system that had existed through generations. This analogy became a stepping-stone by which the gospel came into the Sawi culture and started both a spiritual and a social revolution from within. |
| Disciplines of a Godly Young Man By R. Kent Hughes & W. Carey Hughes / Crossway Point blank, Disicplines of a Godly Young Man is a punchy, no-holds-barred book for young men that lays out the call and command to be disciplined, godly, and sold-out for Jesus. Addressing topics such as purity in one's thought-life, peer pressure, and perseverance as a Christian, this specially adapted work stands to influence a struggling generation. Using the same no-nonsense approach that made R. Kent Hughes' Disciplines of a Godly Man--a life-changing influence on thousands of adults-- this adaptation by Kent, his son Carey, and veteran youth leader Jonathan Carswell outlines the disciplines necessary to help a young man align every facet of his life with the fundamental truths of the Bible. It not only teaches how to live a life of Christian discipline, but also instills the desire to do so into a young heart longing to live a life of integrity, meaning, and fulfillment. This book brings the authority of a trusted name with a new flavor that will engage a younger audience. |