Resources That Have Helped My Spiritual Life!
I became a Christian in June 2015, 5 years this year. Wow, that time went by fast! Over the years I’ve attended conferences, watched numerous sermons and read many books that have helped my spiritual life. I’ve compiled a list of resources that have impacted my spiritual life and helped me grow and I’m sharing that list with you! Read below to see some of those resources and I hope they’re helpful to you as well.
Jen Wilkin | “None Like Him - 10 Ways God is Different From Us and Why That’s a Good Thing”
Jen Wikin is a author and Bible teacher. She has multiple Bible studies and loves teaching women how to rightfully study the Word. I love her because she’s not about the fluff! Womanhood studies are great but recently I’ve been more interested in learning about who God is and how to study the Word. Her book “None Like Him” gives 10 attributes of God and how they’re different from ours and its helped me to truly understand God. Her book “Women of the Word” has helped me to rightly study the Word of God taking myself out of it and solely focusing on what God is saying in the scriptures.
Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Pete Scazzero
This book helped me to realize many unhealthy emotional practices I upheld. I was privileged to attend the “Emotionally Healthy Leader” conference held by the author of this book Pete Scazzero years ago and it was amazing! Our emotional health is just as important as our spiritual health but it is often neglected. Our emotional health impacts our spiritual and mental health and as Christians, we have to learn how to navigate our emotions. This book helped me to look at generational traits and characteristics that I have carried with me that have negatively and positively affected my life. It helped me to realize which traits I want to break as well. I recommend this book to every Christian no matter where they are in their walk with the Lord. It’s not only good but necessary to take a look at our emotional health. You can buy the book here.
Tony Evans + She Reads Truth Bible
I absolutely love both of these Bibles! They both have helped me to understand the stories, themes and historical context of the Bible. They both include maps, commentary and the Tony Evans Bible has interactive videos. I recommend both but if you can only buy one, either one is sufficient.
Tony Evans Bible
She Reads Truth Bible
Priscilla Shirer Messages
Priscilla Shirer is the daughter of Tony Evans which speaks to her knowledge and wisdom. Her messages, which can be found on YouTube have helped me to understand large Biblical concepts in simple and relatable ways. She is a great story teller and gets straight to the point which I love in a speaker. I recently completed one of her Bible studies called “Discerning the Voice of God” and it was life changing.
Here’s one of her messages that you can check out.
Jackie Hill Perry Messages
Jackie Hill Perry! She is the truth. Jackie is not only an amazing spoken word artist, she is an amazing Bible teacher. She very eloquently communicates biblical topics that will really make you think deeply. Her book “Gay Girl Good God” is not only informative about her journey as a former lesbian, but she teaches us how we should respond to those who are a part of the LGBTQIA community. I definitely recommend her book and she also has a Bible study called “Jude: Contending for the Faith in Today’s Culture” that I look forward to reading. In this video she speaks about The Fall and how Adam and Eve’s actions in The Garden had repercussions for us that will last until Christ returns.
Francis Chan Sermons
Francis Chan has helped me to understand how we should live as Christians. He communicates passionately and honestly. He has helped me to understand how we should serve and love those around us and how modern and westernized Christianity has watered down the Gospel and God’s commandments. He is a servant and has given up his church and plans to move his wife and children to Asia to spread the Gospel and serve those in that country. His marriage talks are also very informative. Here is an example of Francis and Lisa Chan speaking about marriage.
Matt Chandler Sermons
Matt Chandler is one of my favorites because of his preaching style. He tackles issue straight on and is very open and honest in his sermons. After surviving a terminal cancer diagnosis, he speaks about faith and suffering in a way that I’ve never heard before. In one message he explained how he stopped taking speaking engagements because he wanted to spend more time in his church to dispel the “consumer culture” that we so often see in Christianity today. Here is that impactful message.
Eric Mason Sermons
I thoroughly enjoy Eric Mason! I think it’s because he has a “neighborhood swag” that I’m used to because of where I grew up. He isn’t a stuffy preacher, he’s funny and relatable. I attended his conference for the first time last October and it was amazing to see rooms full of black people deeply engaged in theology and seeking to learn more about God. He recently wrote a book called “Woke Church” which challenges Christians to speak out and confront the racism and injustice going on in America. This is uncharted waters in the Christian community and Eric Mason tackles it head on. Here’s a great sermon by Eric Mason.
This is not a complete list of resources that have helped me. I could write so much more but I wanted to help those who want to grow in their walk with God. Here are a few more resources and pastors that I enjoy:
Podcasts:
Java with Juli
Jude 3 Project
Build a Better Us
How Married Are You?
Thirty Minutes with the Perry’s
Flights and Feelings
The Urban Christian Woman
Pastors
Charlie Dates
Darius Daniels
Rich Wilkerson
Judah Smith
Authors + Speakers
Lysa Terkeurst
Christine Caine
Havilah Cunnington
Andy Stanley
Jennie Allen
If you have some resources you’d like to share, leave a comment below or if you’d heard of anything I’ve mentioned let’s talk about it!