How To Finish The Christian Life

Thrive as a Christian regardless of your age. Dr. George Sweeting's How to Begin the Christian Life revealed a plan for success in starting new lives of purpose in pursuit of Christ. Now he and his son Donald Sweeting present How to Finish the Christian Life, a guide that gives mature believers a new set of disciplines and encouraging truths to help them finish well. Retirement from a career should never be mistaken for an absence of purpose. On the foundation of his own ministry that continues to thrive, Dr. Sweeting and his son deliver an inspiring message that the end of the believer's journey is not a matter of dying but a challenge to live to the fullest to the glory of God. When it comes to the life of a true follower of Christ, there is only one way to finish: strong.

With more than 600,000 copies in print, How to Begin the Christian Life is a modern classic. It has helped tens of thousands begin their Christian lives. Now let it help you or someone you know. Are you unsure if you're a Christian? Do you want to know how to pray, study the Bible, or handle trouble? Are you interested in God's principles for giving financially to the church? This little handbook will give you reliable scriptural guidance in these and other areas of Christian living. Houses need strong foundations. Races are won by strong starts just as much as fast finishes. The beginning of your Christian life is no different. A strong start to your Christian life is not only pleasing to our Lord, but will help equip you for what lies ahead. The future will be exciting, yet challenging. Will you be ready?

Every Christian man is running the race of life against the deadly enemies of the world, the flesh, and the devil. A good distance runner knows the importance of planning his race -- running with a plan, perseverance, and pacing. Running well today will help you run well in the difficult days ahead. Plan to run, train to run...run to win.

Profound reflections on the cross that help you to meditate on and marvel at the sacrificial love of Jesus. This book can be used as a devotional, especially during Lent and Easter. These profound reflections on the cross from David Mathis, author of The Christmas We Didn’t Expect, will help you to meditate on and marvel at Jesus’ life, sacrificial death, and spectacular resurrection-enabling you to treasure anew who Jesus is and what he has done. Many of us are so familiar with the Easter story that it becomes easy to miss subtle details and difficult to really enjoy its meaning. This book will help you to pause and marvel at Jesus, whose now-glorified wounds are a sign of his unfailing love and the decisive victory that he has won: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) This book can be used as a devotional. The chapters on Holy Week make it especially helpful during the Lent season and at Easter.

This book lays out the requirements and difficulties that will come with the pursuit of holiness in our Christian lives. Ryle starts out with the way to achieve holiness and the difficulties that arise with pursuing a holy life, and then going throughout the Bible giving true examples of the cost of holiness and the rewards it brings as the Bible promises us. To often we sing and pray for such a life without being willing to undergo the necessary life changes and adjustments to get there. This book lays out what we can expect in such a journey and what God will ask of each of us to get us to the point He wants us to be.

Propel your life forward with this devotional just for men as you dig into the Bible, strengthen your prayer life, and take practical challenges designed to get you off your spiritual couch and into a more fulfilling life. Move Devotional by pastor, husband, and dad Brian Tome is perfect for any man who is tired of the status quo and wants to live a life of greater significance and relevance. This inspiring, accessible book includes: Practical strategies for the everyday man to make positive changes in your life Guidance on how to deal with real-life challenges, fears, and losses Interactive “Get Moving” sections with questions so you can apply what you just read Scripture, prayer prompts, and authentic stories from Brian With 70 devotions about work, rest, family, purpose, prayer, spiritual growth, and more, Move Devotional is fitting for men in any season of life. Move Devotional is ideal for high school and college graduations, Father's Day, birthdays, and New Year's, and is an excellent gift for men who: Want a stronger relationship with God but don't know where to start. Are in a small group and want to take practical steps together. Want straight talk about real life, not sugar-coated religious cliches. Are facing a time of transition or looking for change in their lives. So stop sitting around, content with spiritual stagnation. Let these teachings push, challenge, and encourage you. It's time to get real and get moving.

We're all going to die. Yet in our medically advanced, technological age, many of us see death as a distant reality--something that happens only at the end of a long life or to other people. In The End of the Christian Life, Todd Billings urges Christians to resist that view. Instead, he calls us to embrace our mortality in our daily life and faith. This is the journey of genuine discipleship, Billings says: following the crucified and resurrected Lord in a world of distraction and false hopes. Drawing on his experience as a professor and father living with incurable cancer, Billings offers a personal yet deeply theological account of the gospel's expansive hope for small, mortal creatures. Artfully weaving rich theology with powerful narrative, Billings writes for church leaders and laypeople alike. Whether we are young or old, reeling from loss or clinging to our own prosperity, this book challenges us to walk a strange but wondrous path: in the midst of joy and lament, to receive mortal limits as a gift, an opportunity to give ourselves over to the Lord of life.

Over 250,000 copies sold Have we become so focused on “major” sins that we’ve grown apathetic about our subtle sins? Renowned author Jerry Bridges takes you into a deep look at the corrosive patterns of behavior that we often accept as normal, in this established and impactful book. Practical, thought-provoking, and relevant at any stage of life, Respectable Sins addresses a dozen clusters of specific “acceptable” sins that we tend to tolerate in ourselves, such as: Jealousy Anger Judgementalism Selfishness Pride Writing from the trenches of his own battles with sin, Bridges offers a message of hope in the transforming grace of God to overcome our “respectable sins.” Now with an added study guide for personal use or group discussion so you can dive deeper into this staple of Jerry Bridges’s classic collection. “Read this book—we need to—and be ready for a gentle surgeon’s sharp knife.” —J. I. Packer, author and speaker

Most people want to finish life well, yet so few take the time necessary to carefully think through what that entails. Some say it means contentment, happiness, and freedom from pain. Many desire to simply maintain their dignity and enjoy their family and loved ones. These are reasonable goals; yet, there is a more profound, uniquely Christian approach to the end of life. John Dunlop, a medical doctor who has practiced for over thirty years and specializes in geriatrics, combines his medical expertise, firsthand experience with patients, and firm commitment to Scripture to propose nine strategies for finishing life well. He shows how with proper physical, emotional, and spiritual preparation, aging and death need not be a fight to the finish but a purposeful resting in the arms of the Savior. Theologically robust and practically relevant, this book will prove to be a sensitive and helpful resource for anyone facing end-of-life issues.

A choice lies before you: Either waste your life or live with risk. Either sit on the sidelines or get in the game. After all, life was no cakewalk for Jesus, and he didn't promise it would be any easier for his followers. We shouldn't be surprised by resistance and persecution. Yet most of us play it safe. We pursue comfort. We spend ourselves to get more stuff. And we prefer to be entertained. We are all tempted by the idea of security, the possibility of a cozy Christianity with no hell at the end. But what kind of life is that really? It's a far cry from adventurous and abundant, from truly rich and really full, and it's certainly not the heights and the depths Jesus calls us to. Discover in these pages a foundation for fearlessness. Hear God's promise to go with you into the unknown. And let Risk Is Right help you see the joys of a faith-filled and seriously rewarding life of Jesus-dependent abandon! Risk Is Right is a significantly expanded version of a chapter previously published in the book Don't Waste Your Life (chapter 5).