Storylines

Andy Croft and Mike Pilavachi

David C. Cook

softcover, 224 pages, $12.99

978-1-434-76475-1

In Storylines: Your Map to Understanding the Bible, popular international speaker, author and founder of the Soul Survivor youth ministry organization, Pilavachi joins the up-and-coming author Croft to discover Christ in the Old and New Testaments. The introduction sets a lighthearted tone that continues throughout this powerful Bible study.

Pilavachi and Croft show how the themes of Jesus, covenant, presence, kingdom, salvation and worship are threaded throughout Scripture, revealing the need for and the glory of Christ. God's desire to have a personal relationship with His children is evident in the writers' presentation.

Storylines challenges readers to get out of their comfort zone and dig deeply into the richness of the Scriptures. With humorous personal stories and extensive biblical references, the book will help anyone looking to rekindle their love for God's Word.

—Andrealynn Boyd

Everything You've Always Wanted To Know About God: The Jesus Edition

Eric Metaxas

Regal Books

hardcover, 224 pages, $19.99

978-0-830-74615-6

In Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God: The Jesus Edition, Metaxas approaches theology with a thoughtful, pastoral heart while communicating to readers with wit and solid practicality.

He guides readers through a series of conversations on many of the theological tenets the church holds about Christ, posing commonly asked questions about Him and then working through the answers step by step.

While answering the questions within the context of the culture and time of Christ, Metaxas also incorporates examples of what these characteristics of Christ might look like today. The questions range from the validity of His existence and resurrection to what His difficult teachings mean and why His words have such an impact. Metaxas uses scripture from both the Old and New Testaments to show who Christ was and what He means to a fallen world.

While some of his explanations are what anyone would expect to hear about Jesus, others are clever and insightful. In the midst of this readable and entertaining book, Metaxas manages to effectively convey serious, meaningful truths about the character and person of Jesus Christ.

—Bonnie Bruner

Halos & Avatars

Craig Detweiler, ed.

WJK Books (Westminster John Knox Press)

softcover, 256 pages, $19.95

978-0-664-23277-1

Detweiler taps game designers, reviewers and players for a Christian interpretation on video games in Halos & Avatars: Playing Video Games With God. Avoiding the simplistic trap of branding games as evil, the compilation examines the benefits, spiritual and otherwise, that gamers derive from this leisure activity.

Detweiler groups the various authors' commentaries into three sections dealing with video game story, play and role issues. Because of the multiple authors, the viewpoint is not entirely consistent from chapter to chapter, and similar points arise repeatedly. For example, several authors feel that some secular titles such as Bioshock offer a spiritual takeaway superior to that of what they consider to be superficially Christian games like Left Behind: Eternal Forces.

Interspersed among the chapters are sidebars with blatantly honest profiles of teenage gamers—most confessing they would achieve better grades without games. An appendix offers coping hints for game-weary parents. For Christians unsure of what to make of video games, Halos & Avatars offers some intriguing perspectives.

—John D. Leatherman

One in a Million

Priscilla Shirer

B&H Books (B&H Publishing Group)

softcover, 224 pages, $14.99

978-0-805-46476-4

Author and speaker Shirer wants women to move beyond living a complacent Christian life. In One in a Million: Journey to Your Promised Land, she takes a look at the journey of the Israelites out of Egypt into the land of milk and honey, correlating their travels to the lives of many Christians today.

Shirer contends that Christians enjoy deliverance from sin and bondage, but have a tendency to look back and desire the things that have passed away. Out of fear and uncertainty, they miss out on the rest of the journey God has planned for them. She strongly encourages Christians to not allow themselves to become too comfortable in times of peace, nor embittered in times in the wilderness.

One in a Million is a helpful read for those who have found themselves discouraged or stagnant in their Christian walk and are ready to press on for more.

—Heidi Ippolito

The Vertical Self

Mark Sayers

Thomas Nelson

softcover, 244 pages, $14.99

978-0-849-92000-4

Sayers, pastor of Red East Church in Melbourne, Australia, confronts the idols of the 21st century in The Vertical Self: How Biblical Faith Can Help Us Discover Who We Are in an Age of Self Obsession. He focuses on such masks and diversions as sex, fame, image and coolness, and distinguishes between the horizontal life and the vertical life.

The horizontal life is marked by a focus on such values as self, status and image; conversely, the vertical self embodies growth, holiness and community, among other ideals. Sayers has included helpful charts, lists, diagrams and an interactive study guide to flesh out major themes of the false self and true self.

The Vertical Self is no panacea or quick fix, and the author clearly articulates that the path to shalom (peace), balance and holiness is a journey. Though Sayers specializes in youth discipleship, The Vertical Self is appropriate for teenagers as well as adults.

—C. Brian Smith

Forget Me Not

Vicki Hinze

Multnomah Books

softcover, 352 pages, $13.99

978-1-601-42205-7

An intriguing suspense novel, Forget Me Not is filled with drama, hidden agendas and a budding romance.

After his wife and son are murdered, Benjamin Brandt loses his faith and gives up on life. But when an amnesiac woman wearing a necklace resembling one his late wife wore walks into his crisis center, Ben sets out to solve a mystery. The young woman had been left for dead in a wooded area of Florida, so Ben and his crisis-center team work on finding clues to her identity and why someone would want to kill her. Unbeknownst to Ben and the woman, they are pawns in a bigger plot that exposes a terrorist group.

As the mysteries of the young woman's identity unravel, she stands in faith in God, even though she does not know what her future—or past—holds. The twists and turns of Hinze's latest thriller will appeal to readers of inspirational romantic suspense.

—Nicole Anderson

Her Mother's Hope

Francine Rivers

Tyndale House Publishers

hardcover, 520 pages, $24.99

978-1-414-31863-9

Best-selling author Rivers delivers another captivating novel in Her Mother's Hope, her first full-length work since 2003. Main character Marta, born and reared in Switzerland to a controlling father and a placid mother, rejects the poor and miserly life she sees ahead of her. Working her way up through jobs in various cities, she eventually meets her husband-to-be, Niclas. Terminally ambitious, the two move to California, where they raise their four children.

Marta's second child, Hildemara—nicknamed Hildie—has a very passive nature, much like Marta's younger sister who had committed suicide. Marta is harder on Hildie than on her other children. In turn, Hildie works hard at school, at home and on the job. Her siblings seem to always succeed and garner their mother's praise, but Hildie works harder and harder—unaware that her mother admires her grit and determination. Marta's faith is learned from her mother but is not terribly strong. Hildie learns that her faith must be her own, not that of her controlling, disapproving mother.

Her Mother's Hope launches the new series "Marta's Legacy." Working actual historical happenings and place settings into the storyline, Rivers proves once more that she can keep readers transfixed and wanting more.

—Beth Anderson

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