Books

5 Books That Help Us Find Rest in Jesus

Chosen by Sarah J. Hauser, author of “All Who Are Weary: Finding True Rest by Letting Go of the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Carry.”

Illustration by Rick Szuecs / Source images: Envato / CCO

The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness: The Path to True Christian Joy

Timothy Keller

When we connect every experience and interaction with ourselves, constantly overanalyzing what we’ve said or what people think, we can easily grow exhausted. In this brief book, Keller shows us the freedom we can experience when we understand our identity and worth in Christ. When there’s no need to perform or manage our ego, we find, as Keller says, a “blessed rest that only self-forgetfulness brings.”

Soul Care in African American Practice

Barbara L. Peacock

In our busy, frantic lives, practices like prayer, spiritual direction, and soul care can end up on the back burner. Using the examples of ten African American faith leaders, this book invites us to return to these practices to find the rest and soul transformation so many of us crave. As Peacock writes in her conclusion, “God has used servant leaders in the African American faith community to blaze paths of internal spiritual freedom that manifest externally.”

Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Priest, professor, and theologian Nouwen writes incisive, convicting words with humble, pastoral gentleness. In this book, he reflects on three scenes in the life of Jesus to show us how communion with God through solitude enables us to live the Christian life with depth and courage. Out of Solitude helps us quit finding our worth in usefulness or accomplishments.

Analog Christian: Cultivating Contentment, Resilience, and Wisdom in the Digital Age

Jay Y. Kim

Our attention is divided now more than ever. With technology and social media, we’re endlessly distracted, constantly comparing, and inundated by outrage—all of which can leave us feeling anxious, alone, and despairing. If we want to find rest, we need to learn how best to steward our digital devices. In his thoughtful and pastoral book, Kim shows us how to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit amid the digital dangers we face.

After Prayer: New sonnets and other poems

Malcolm Guite

In the past year, I have found myself turning more often to poetry. Poems put language to the cries of my soul and teach truth in ways that prose can’t always match. Guite’s poems bolster my faith when my heart feels especially restless, and they help me pray when I can’t find the words.

Also in this issue

What does it look like to love one’s neighbor across a shared history of slavery? Our cover story explores racial reconciliation through the lens of one specific relationship: family friends grappling with the discovery that one’s ancestor had enslaved the other’s. Also in this issue: honoring Tim Keller, what we get wrong about David and Goliath, Elisabeth Elliot’s unsentimental realism, and Christ-honoring masculinity.

Cover Story

Generations After Slavery, Georgia Neighbors Find Freedom and Repair in Christ

News

Church Shooting Victims to Receive $144.5 Million

The Hard Work of Healing

Is God Pleased by Our Worship?

The Christian Life Is Wishful Thinking

Testimony

I Loved Studying Math. I Needed God to Show Me Why.

In Search of Non-Toxic Male Sexuality

Left Behind at the Ballot Box

How Archaeology Affirmed the Historic Stature of a Biblical King

News

Belarusian Evangelicals Fear Growing Isolation

News

As Methodist Exits Hit 5,800, Some Churches Find Paths Blocked

News

Where Pro-Choice Groups Chose Vandalism

Excerpt

The Lord’s Supper Is a Multiethnic Love Feast

The Legacy of Tim Keller

The Shepherd Boy Who Wasn’t

News

Nondenominational Churches Are Growing and Multiplying in DC

How Should We Then Study the Bible?

50 Atheists Found Christ. This Researcher Found Out Why.

Review

Making Disciples Means Working for Justice

Review

Elisabeth Elliot Was a Flawed Figure God Used in Extraordinary Ways

New & Noteworthy Fiction

Excerpt

What Does It Profit a Christian to Protect an Institution but Lose Their Soul?

View issue

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