Summer Story Time at the Church Library!

Families with kids of all ages are invited to story time this summer. Afterward, feel free to head outside to play on the playground or have lunch under the pavilion. EMAIL Jackie with questions. Hope you’ll join us for story time on these dates:

July 25, and August 14 | 10:30 am in the church library 

July + August 2025 Issue:

by Jackie Hayden

Do you ever wonder?  Are you ever curious?
Do you ever think about how we can be certain the Bible is trustworthy?
Do you wonder why God allows so much suffering in the world?  How can you suffer well?
Does absolute truth really matter?
Is God a genocidal bully?
Is there really only one path to God?
Is Christianity against diversity?

Curious minds need to know! If you have burning questions that need answers, we have the books for you! To go along with Pastor Jay’s summer series, we wanted to highlight the many resources the EFCCL Library has to help you navigate some of the challenging questions in life, whether you are 8 years old or 80. It is ok to wonder—everyone has questions—so pick up one of these books and get your questions answered!

You can browse the entire library collection of over 4000 items here!

BOOKS FOR KIDS AND TEENS:

  • How do we Know the Bible is True? by Lynn Walle

  • What Does the Bible Say About That? by Carolyn Larsen

  • Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen? by Chris Morphew

  • How Do We Know That Christianity is Really True? by Chris Morphew

  • Who am I and Why do I Matter? by Chris Morphew

  • How Can I Feel Closer to God? by Chris Morphew

  • How Can I be Sure What’s Right and Wrong? by Chris Morphew

  • What Happens When We Die? by Chris Morphew

  • 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) about Christianity Rebecca McLaughlin

BOOKS ABOUT TRUTH:

  • Truth Matters: Confident Faith in a Confusing World by Andreas Kostenberger

  • The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception by John MacArthur

  • Finding Truth: 5 Principles for Unmasking Atheism, Secularism and Other God Substitutes by Nancy Pearcey

  • Truth Unchanged, Unchanging by Martyn Lloyd-Jones

  • All Roads Don’t Lead to Heaven by Steven Garofalo

  • Christ Among Other Gods: A Defense of Christ in an Age of Tolerance by Erwin Lutzer

BOOKS THAT ANSWER SPECIFIC QUESTIONS:

  • Is God Anti-Gay? by Sam Allberry

  • Does the Bible Affirm Same-Sex Relationships? by Rebecca McLaughlin

  • Did the Resurrection Really Happen? by Timothy Paul Jones

  • Is Christianity Good for the World? by Sharon James

  • Where is God in a World with So Much Evil? by Collin Hansen

  • Is the Bible Intolerant? Sexist? Oppressive? Homophobic? Outdated? Irrelevant? by Amy Orr-Ewing

  • Why Trust the Bible? by Greg Gilbert

  • Is God Just a Human Invention? And 17 Other Questions… by Sean McDowell

BOOKS TO READ IF YOU’RE SKEPTICAL:

  • The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller

  • Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical by Timothy Keller

  • 77 FAQs About God and the Bible: Your Toughest Questions Answered by Josh & Sean McDowell

  • 7 Reasons Why You Can Trust the Bible by Erwin Lutzer

  • Apologetics for a New Generation by Sean McDowell

  • Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion by Rebecca McLaughlin

BOOKS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT SUFFERING:

  • When God Weeps: Why Our Sufferings Matter to the Almighty by Joni Eareckson Tada

  • When God’s Children Suffer Horatius Bonar

  • The Sovereign and the Suffering: Hurting Hearts in the Hands of a Loving God by David Jeremiah

  • Suffering and the Sovereignty of God by John Piper & Justin Taylor

  • Walking with God through Pain and Suffering by Timothy Keller

  • Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense by Paul David Tripp

  • Surprised by Suffering by R.C. Sproul

  • Suffering is Never for Nothing by Elisabeth Elliot

May + June 2025 Issue:

by Jon Peterson

Are you a fan of book lists? Perhaps you have seen the University of Chicago’s Great Books of the Western World, the Everyman’s Classics, or the PBS “Great American Read”.

Christians have our own lists, like Christianbook’s “Books to Read in a Lifetime”, the annual book awards from The Gospel Coalition, and of course Pastor Jay and Becky’s Top 10s.

I like book lists. But not when there is an urgency attached to them. Take for example the Penguin Random House “22 books to read before you die” (One wonders, why 22?), “30 Books Every Christian Should Read Before Turning 30” (Too late! And I have only read 5 of them!), or “Christian Books Everyone Should Read ASAP” (ASAP!!).

In his excellent little book, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, Alan Jacobs offers relief to those of us who feel the weight of “too many books, too little time” when he writes, “Read what gives you delight—at least most of the time—and do so without shame. And even if you are that rare sort of person who is delighted chiefly by what some people call Great Books, don’t make them your steady intellectual diet, any more than you would eat at the most elegant of restaurants every day. It would be too much. Great books are great in part because of what they ask of their readers: they are not readily encountered, easily assessed.”

In other words, enjoy great books like you enjoy fillet mignon: sparingly, slowly, savoringly.

John Piper (who has his own excellent book list, by the way) says it better: “Beware of reading for quantity to impress anyone. Read for your soul.”

A great place to start would be one of the 4000 titles in our church library. Find one here!

RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE CHURCH LIBRARY:

  • Collin Hansen Where Is God in a World with So Much Evil?

  • Justin S. Holcomb God Made All of Me: A Book to Help Children Protect Their Bodies

  • Bethany McIlrath Abigail and the Career Day Catastrophe: It’s Time to Be a Hero... Right?

  • John Wesley The Works of John Wesley

  • Daniel Morrow That's When I Talk to God

  • Kathryn Butler The Last Keeper (The Dream Keeper Saga Book 5)

  • Sam Allberry God's Go-Togethers: A Celebration of God’s Design for People

  • Jimmy Dodd The Magnificent Names of Jesus: Prayers and Praises to Love Him More

  • David M. Gustafson Evangelical Heritage: From Immigrants to a Church of All People—The Story of the Evangelical Free Church of America

  • Laura Wifler Like Me: A Story About Disability and Discovering God’s Image in Every Person

  • Chris Morphew How Do We Know That Christianity Is Really True?

  • David Powlison God's Grace in Your Suffering

  • Sharon James Is Christianity Good for the World?

  • Timothy Paul Jones Did the Resurrection Really Happen?

  • Kathryn Butler Sonia and the Biggest Block Tower Ever

  • Marty Machowski The Prophecy and the Hope (Redemption Tales #2)