April 2021 New Releases
New Books and Bibles
Below is a list of the new and notable resources releasing from Crossway this month. Titles include Marriage by Paul David Tripp, Glimmers of Grace by Kathryn Butler and the ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal, Gospels Set.
Marriage: 6 Gospel Commitments Every Couple Needs to Make
If you’ve ever spent time in a hospital, you know that it can be a place of struggles and hardships. These hardships aren’t limited to physical problems; often when our bodies are in pain, our spiritual lives can suffer too.
When you say “I do,” you begin the journey of a lifetime— and you have dreams of that journey being perfect. But it won’t take long for expectations of the perfect marriage to fade away in the struggles of everyday life. A long-term, vibrant marriage needs to be grounded in something sturdier than romance—it needs the life-changing power of the gospel.
In this rebranded edition of What Did You Expect?, popular author and pastor Paul David Tripp encourages couples to make six biblical commitments to the Lord and to one another. These commitments, which include a lifestyle of confession and forgiveness, building trust, and appreciating differences, will equip couples to cultivate thriving, joy-filled marriages built on Christ.
“Noël and I listened to most of this book driving in the car! Wise words. Authentic experience. Provocative application. Turned a long trip into a fruitful two-person marriage seminar.”
—John Piper, Founder and Teacher, desiringGod.org; Chancellor, Bethlehem College & Seminary; author, Desiring God
40 Days of Hope
This series of short devotionals from popular author and speaker Paul David Tripp encourages Christians to experience the life-giving message of the gospel every day. Each book contains 40 daily readings curated from the best-selling devotional New Morning Mercies and focused on a particular theme essential to the Christian life. Short enough to read in 5 minutes or less, each meditation will encourage readers to treasure the life-changing truths of God’s word more fully.
Everyone places their hope in something. Through 40 daily meditations from his best-selling devotional New Morning Mercies, popular author and speaker Paul David Tripp explores the role of hope in a Christian’s everyday life. Tripp reminds readers that hope is not a feeling, an object, or a place, but a person—Jesus Christ.
40 Days of Love
This series of short devotionals from popular author and speaker Paul David Tripp encourages Christians to experience the life-giving message of the gospel every day. Each book contains 40 daily readings curated from the best-selling devotional New Morning Mercies and focused on a particular theme essential to the Christian life. Short enough to read in 5 minutes or less, each meditation will encourage readers to treasure the life-changing truths of God’s word more fully.
Everyone places their hope in something. Through 40 daily meditations from his best-selling devotional New Morning Mercies, popular author and speaker Paul David Tripp explores the role of hope in a Christian’s everyday life. Tripp reminds readers that hope is not a feeling, an object, or a place, but a person—Jesus Christ.
Men and Women in the Church: A Short, Biblical, Practical Introduction
There is much at stake in God making humanity male and female. Created for one another yet distinct from each other, a man and a woman are not interchangeable—they are designed to function according to a divine fittedness. But when this design is misunderstood, ignored, or abused, there are dire consequences.
Men and women—in marriage especially, but in the rest of life as well—complement one another. And this biblical truth has enduring, cosmic significance. From start to finish, the biblical storyline—and the design of creation itself—depends upon the distinction between male and female. Men and Women in the Church is about the divinely designed complementarity of men and women as it applies to life in general and especially ministry in the church.
I expect that this book—written clearly and wisely on many topics in a brief space—will now become the first book I recommend on men and women in the church. Even where I might not agree with every conclusion, all of the positions are represented fairly. Help yourself and your church: read this book and get some copies for others.”
—Mark Dever, Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC; President, 9Marks
Glimmers of Grace: A Doctor's Reflections on Faith, Suffering, and the Goodness of God
If you’ve ever spent time in a hospital, you know that it can be a place of struggles and hardships. These hardships aren’t limited to physical problems; often when our bodies are in pain, our spiritual lives can suffer too.
Former trauma surgeon Dr. Kathryn Butler experienced this firsthand as she walked alongside patients, colleagues, and friends through various illnesses and aching loss. In Glimmers of Grace, Butler draws from this experience to guide believers through the deep questions of God’s trustworthiness in the midst of suffering. Blending memoir and devotional reflections, Butler interweaves her own stories of grace with narratives from Scripture to reveal how God’s steadfast love endures even in times of great affliction.
“This book combines the two qualities so often missing from our culture’s approach to suffering and death: brutal honesty and resilient hope. That’s because Butler writes from unique experience in the valley of the shadow of death. And she writes of the God whose rod and staff are our only comfort.”
—Matt McCullough, Pastor, Edgefield Church, Nashville, Tennessee; author, Remember Death: The Surprising Path to Living Hope
Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College
Preparing for college is exciting for young adults—but are they truly prepared for the intellectual challenges they will face in and out of the classroom? College is not just a time filled with new and formative experiences; it can also be an intense season of testing for a young Christian’s faith.
Writing in the form of a letter to his college-age daughter, biblical scholar Michael Kruger reflects on some of the biggest stumbling blocks Christian students often encounter at secular universities. Answering questions such as How can Christianity be the only right religion?; How can we know the Bible is really from God?; and Wouldn’t a loving God save everyone?, Kruger offers biblical, theological, and logical support for the Christian faith and provides students with the tools to navigate these challenging topics. College students wrestling with these issues will be encouraged to find security in God’s unfailing word even in the face of difficult questions.
This is a great book! I can’t imagine a college student—skeptic, doubter, Christian, struggler—who wouldn’t benefit from it. In fact, I’m sure almost anyone would be helped by this warm and intelligent apologetic for the Christian faith. I will recommend this book often, after first giving it to my own children.”
—Kevin DeYoung, Senior Pastor, Christ Covenant Church, Matthews, North Carolina; Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte
[Learn More](https://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Religion-101-Letters-Christian/dp/1433572079/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=surviving+religion&qid=1619110553&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyRTAzSjlYWERNTVI3JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjIxOTI4MVczSkdPV0lFS05TRCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTIzMzE2MkI0S0ZKMUFCRlVKMSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=](https://static.crossway.org/excerpts/media/2ee10da9bfe3053ff6fd664e5fa118d70be1c912/Surviving_Religion_101_excerpt.pdf)
Deacons: How They Serve and Strengthen the Church
Deacons are essential to a church’s health—yet confusion abounds regarding their biblical job description. What’s their God-given role in a local congregation and how do they relate to the church’s overall mission?
In this short book, Matt Smethurst makes the case that deacons are model servants called to meet tangible needs, organize and mobilize acts of service, preserve the unity of the flock, and support the ministry of the elders. Clearing away common misconceptions, Smethurst offers practical guidance for deploying deacons and helping churches to flourish.
“If I could go back and pick one book to prepare for the onslaught of ministerial challenges our church has faced this year, it would be this one. Weary pastors, discouraged deacons, and churches struggling to stay on mission, get this book! It hits all the right notes.”
—Bobby Scott, Copastor, Community of Faith Bible Church, South Gate, California
Trusting God in the Darkness: A Guide to Understanding the Book of Job
But when suffering comes, trusting God’s goodness, his attentiveness to what’s going on in the world, and his justice becomes far more difficult. In times of intense suffering, many of us ask, Why does God allow these things to happen?
In the Bible, Job is known for facing intense personal suffering. Yet, upon closer examination, we find the book of Job is about more than just Job’s calamities; it’s a story about God and his relationship to Christ and his people in their suffering. In this helpful guide, Christopher Ash helps us explore the question, Where is God in the midst of suffering? As we read, meditate, and pray through the book of Job, we will find assurance that God will be with us in Christ through every season and trial.
“If like me you have neglected Job, finding it too long and too confusing, knowing that it contains comfort but unsure about how to find it, help is at hand. Christopher Ash unfolds what is tightly packed, unravels what is knotted, and makes plain what is obscure. Immensely helpful and thoroughly enjoyable.”
—Alistair Begg, Senior Pastor, Parkside Church, Chagrin Falls, Ohio
ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal, Gospels Set
But when suffering comes, trusting God’s goodness, his attentiveness to what’s going on in the world, and his justice becomes far more difficult. In times of intense suffering, many of us ask, Why does God allow these things to happen?
The ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal: Gospels Set pairs the entirety of the individual Gospels with lightly dotted blank pages opposite each page of Bible text, allowing readers to take notes or record insights directly beside the text of Scripture. Each book features hand-lettered, gold-ink illustrations by renowned artist Dana Tanamachi, inviting readers to add their own artwork and reflection to each page of thick, opaque, cream-colored paper. This set is ideal for a small-group Bible study, family devotions, or for taking notes through a sermon series. Each set of journals comes with a beautifully designed slipcase for convenient storage on a bookshelf.
ESV Children's Bible, Keepsake Edition
The ESV Children’s Bible is designed to help children ages 5–10 see Bible stories come to life. Included with the complete ESV Bible text are more than 200 vibrant, full-color illustrations of Bible events and characters. Additional content includes a dictionary, Old and New Testament timelines, child-friendly maps, and help in directing children to key Scriptures on various topics. The ESV Children’s Bible is a colorful Bible that kids will love!