Philip Yancey

In this searing meditation on the bonds of family and the allure of extremist faith, one of today's most celebrated Christian writers recounts his unexpected journey from a strict fundamentalist upbringing to a life of compassion and grace--a revelatory memoir in the tradition of Educated and Hillbilly Elegy. Raised by an impoverished widow who earned room and board as a Bible teacher in 1950s Atlanta, Philip Yancey and his brother, Marshall, found ways to venture out beyond the confines of their eight-foot-wide trailer. But when Yancey was in college, he uncovered a shocking secret about his father's death--a secret that began to illuminate the motivations that drove his mother to extreme, often hostile religious convictions and a belief that her sons had been ordained for a divine cause. Searching for answers, Yancey dives into his family origins, taking us on an evocative journey from the backwoods of the Bible Belt to the bustling streets of Philadelphia; from trailer parks to church sanctuaries; from family oddballs to fire-and-brimstone preachers and childhood awakenings through nature, music, and literature. In time, the weight of religious and family pressure sent both sons on opposite paths--one toward healing from the impact of what he calls a "toxic faith," the other into a self-destructive spiral. Where the Light Fell is a gripping family narrative set against a turbulent time in post-World War II America, shaped by the collision of Southern fundamentalism with the mounting pressures of the civil rights movement and Sixties-era forces of social change. In piecing together his fragmented personal history and his search for redemption, Yancey gives testament to the enduring power of our hunger for truth and the possibility of faith rooted in grace instead of fear. "I truly believe this is the one book I was put on earth to write," says Yancey. "So many of the strands from my childhood--racial hostility, political division, culture wars--have resurfaced in modern form. Looking back points me forward."

A Memoir

Where the Light Fell

OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD! An inspirational classic for more than thirty years, Where Is God When It Hurts? honestly explores pain--whether physical, emotional, or spiritual--and sheds new light on God's presence in our suffering. Includes a discussion guide. "How can a loving God allow this to happen? Either God is all-loving or all-powerful, but he can't be both." You've heard that question, and perhaps even asked it yourself. No matter how you complete it, at its root lies the issue of pain. When a loved one dies, we receive a terminal diagnosis, or natural disasters strike, people often wonder whether God is the cause of suffering and why he doesn't immediately take away the pain or fix the situation. As a result, we become angry at the once-beloved God who betrayed us. In this Gold Medallion Award-winning book, Philip Yancey uses examples from the Bible and from his own experiences to show us how we can learn to accept--without blame, anger, or fear--that which we don't understand. He answers questions such as: Why is there such a thing as pain? Is pain a message from God? How should we respond to suffering? How can we cope with pain? Does faith help? Yancey speaks to everyone for whom life sometimes doesn't make sense. With compassion and clarity, Yancey brings us one step closer to finding an answer when our pain, or the pain of those we love, is real and we are left wondering, where is God when it hurts?

Where Is God When It Hurts?

Explores the concept of prayer, examining what a prayer is, how they work, and if they work.

Does it Make Any Difference?

Prayer

Author Philip Yancey asks the question: How does a relationship with God work? And then he answers it with an investigation that turns up surprising and satisfying answers about life and communication with an invisible God.

What Can We Expect to Find?

Reaching for the Invisible God

Paul W. Brand

The author recounts his fifty-five year career as a doctor and his work with leprosy patients and looks at what pain is and why we need it.

Why We Hurt & what We Can Do about it

The Gift of Pain

Paul Brand

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

The author recounts the story of his own struggle to reclaim and reaffirm his faith, interweaving his own journey with inspiring portraits of notable Christians who have been his spiritual mentors, including Dr. Paul Brand, C. Everett Koop, Leo Tolstoy, Henri Nouwen, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Reprint.

How Thirteen Unlikely Mentors Helped My Faith Survive the Church

Soul Survivor

"Is God listening? and Can He be trusted?" In this book, Yancey tackles the questions caused by a God who doesn't always do what we think he's supposed to do. A best-selling award-winning book.

Three Questions No One Asks Aloud

Disappointment with God

Søren Kierkegaard

C. S. Lewis

G. K. Chesterton

Kahlil Gibran

Blaise Pascal

Wendell Berry

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Frederick Buechner

Meister Eckhart

Kathleen Norris

Madeleine L'Engle

Dorothy Day

Readings for Lent and Easter

Bread and Wine

In this important and compelling new book, a New York Times best-selling author explores what may have contributed to hostility toward Christians, especially Evangelicals, and offers illuminating stories of how faith can be expressed in ways that disarm even the most cynical critics.

What Ever Happened to the Good News?

Vanishing Grace

Journalist and spiritual seeker Philip Yancey has always struggled with the most basic questions of the Christian faith. The question he tackles in WHAT GOOD IS GOD? concerns the practical value of belief in God. His search for the answer to this question took him to some amazing settings around the world: Mumbai, India when the firing started during the terrorist attacks; at the motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated; on the Virginia Tech campus soon after the massacre; an AA convention; and even to a conference for women in prostitution. At each of the 10 places he visited, his preparation for the visit and exactly what he said to the people he met each provided evidence that faith really does work when what we believe is severely tested. WHAT GOOD IS GOD? tells the story of Philips journey--the background, the preparation, the presentations themselves. Here is a story of grace for armchair travelers, spiritual seekers, and those in desperate need of assurance that their faith really matters.

In Search of a Faith That Matters

What Good Is God?

Dr. Paul Brand

Fearfully and Wonderfully: The Marvel of Bearing God's Image

Looks at both the visible and supernatural to search for faith, offering new perspectives on looking beyond what is visible to find meaning and purpose in life.

What on Earth Are We Missing?

Rumors of Another World

"“There is no writer in the evangelical world that I admire and appreciate more.”- Billy GrahamPhilip Yancey’s words—captured in his many bestselling books—have influenced the lives of millions of readers by strengthening their faith, building their hope, sparking their creativity, and challenging their comfort zones. If you’re one of those readers, you know personally how his insights have affected your mind and heart. And if you’re new to Yancey, you’re in for a life-altering experience.These meditations—all drawn from the beloved and bestselling writings of the author—will take you through an entire year of Yancey’s insight and imagination, covering a broad range of topics: • How to rediscover God through the wonders of nature, music, and romantic love• Why grace means you can’t do anything to make God love you more or less• What happens when you cut through preconceptions to encounter the “real” Jesus• How to renew your understanding and practice of prayer• Where you can see God in unexpected people and places• How to cope when life crashes in around youEvery day, experience the best from a beloved author who, with freshness, clarity, and energy, has so brilliantly articulated God’s wonderful but mysterious relationship with you. "

Daily Readings with Philip Yancey

Grace Notes

Examines the question of why God allows suffering, sharing what the author learned in his meetings with those who have experienced loss in major tragedies to illustrate how pain often strengthens the sufferer's faith in God.

The Question That Never Goes Away

What happens when a respected Christian journalist decides to put his preconceptions aside and take a long look at the Jesus described in the Gospels? How does the Jesus of the New Testament compare to the ''new, rediscovered' Jesus -- or even the Jesus we think we know so well? Best-selling author Phillip Yancey says, 'The Jesus I got to know in writing this book is very different from the Jesus I learned about in Sunday school. In some ways he is more comforting; in some ways more terrifying.' Yancey offers a new and different perspective on the life of Christ and his work -- his teaching, his miracles, his death and resurrection -- and ultimately, who he was and why he came. Relating the gospel events to the world we live in today, The Jesus I Never Knew gives a moving and refreshing portrait of the central figure of history. With a willingness to tackle difficult questions, Yancey looks at the radical words of this itinerant Jewish carpenter and asks whether we are taking him seriously enough in our own day and age. From the manger in Bethlehem to the cross in Jerusalem, Yancey presents a complex character who generates questions as well as answers; a disturbing and exhilarating Jesus who wants to radically transform your life and stretch your faith. The Jesus I Never Knew uncovers a Jesus who is brilliant, creative, challenging, fearless, compassionate, unpredictable, and ultimately satisfying. This honest book will help you discover a different Jesus from the flannelgraph Sunday school figure, the sweetly smiling Victorian Savior, and all the cultural clichés that have tamed Jesus and kept him in comfortable religious boxes. According to Yancey, 'No one who meets Jesus ever stays the same. In the end I found the process of writing this book to be a great act of faith-strengthening. Jesus has rocked my own preconceptions and has made me ask hard questions about why those of us who bear his name don't do a better job of following him.'

Philip Yancey

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