Scott Sauls

Jesus is not waiting for you to fix yourself before coming to him. He is already running in your direction. Mercy has come looking for you; all you need to do is receive it. The Bible tells us that God's mercies are new every morning. It's not just poetic language; it's a reflection of who he is. His mercy is personal. It pursues you. In The Mercy King, you'll encounter Jesus as he actually is--gentle, welcoming, and full of mercy--and discover that it's in your weakness, not your strength, that he draws near to heal, forgive, and make you whole. Empathetic, relatable, and deeply moving, The Mercy King will help you: See how Jesus' heart is most tender toward the most wounded parts of you--your pain, doubt, and failures Recognize the ways subtle idols like control, recognition, and success mask your deeper ache--and learn how to let them go Lay down the exhausting demands of performance and take up Christ's invitation to his gentle, freeing yoke Receive the unshakable identity given to you in Christ so you no longer have to prove your worth Discover how God's mercy can awaken what feels dead inside Rekindle your faith, desire, and joy In an age when finding rest for our souls seems impossible, The Mercy King shows you how to see Jesus as he is and how to embrace his new mercies every day.

Find the freedom from regret, hurt, and fear that God wants for you while discovering joy, relief, and hope as you become the beautiful human he created you to be. We all carry regret, hurt, and fear. These are burdens that weigh us down and make us feel trapped. In twenty-five years of pastoral ministry, Scott Sauls has come alongside countless individuals and communities through weary seasons and circumstances. From his own seasons of regret, hurt, and fear--including battles with anxiety and depression--he knows what it's like to be unfinished and on the mend under Jesus' merciful, mighty healing hand. Beautiful People Don't Just Happen reads like a field guide that can help you: Find hope in how God is drawn toward you, not appalled by you, in your sin and sorrow. Practice emotional health with joy, gratitude, and lament. Quiet shaming, wearying thoughts with God's divine counter-voice. Discover how the defining feeling of faith is not strength but dependent weakness. Learn what the Bible calls "the secret of being content" in every circumstance. Dare to embrace the contentment, hope, and fullness God wants for you--offered to all who will receive it.

Would you like to have a creative resource that offers form and freedom for worship planning? Do you have a desire to weave more Scripture into your worship services? Would you like to follow the cycles and seasons of the Christian Year? If you can relate to these questions, Lectionary Journey is a great resource for you Following the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), this resource provides integrated, Scripture-based calls to worship, prayers, and affirmations of faith for each Sunday and for special days in the Christian Year, over the three-year lectionary cycle. This resource is of great benefit even if your church does not follow the RCL in its preaching. Lectionary Journey ensures that we are being called into worship, praying, and affirming our faith through the word. It allows Scripture to be woven throughout our corporate worship services, letting its language, narrative, metaphors, themes, teachings, truths, and paradigms form and shape us, week after week. Worship planners will find this resource to be of benefit as an annual guide for stewarding God's story, a weekly guide for planning corporate worship, a regular source of spiritual formation, and an ecumenical resource that fosters community within the body of Christ.

Would you like to have a creative resource that offers form and freedom for worship planning? Do you have a desire to weave more Scripture into your worship services? Would you like to follow the cycles and seasons of the Christian Year? If you can relate to these questions, Lectionary Journey is a great resource for you Following the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), this resource provides integrated, Scripture-based calls to worship, prayers, and affirmations of faith for each Sunday and for special days in the Christian Year, over the three-year lectionary cycle. This resource is of great benefit even if your church does not follow the RCL in its preaching. Lectionary Journey ensures that we are being called into worship, praying, and affirming our faith through the word. It allows Scripture to be woven throughout our corporate worship services, letting its language, narrative, metaphors, themes, teachings, truths, and paradigms form and shape us, week after week. Worship planners will find this resource to be of benefit as an annual guide for stewarding God's story, a weekly guide for planning corporate worship, a regular source of spiritual formation, and an ecumenical resource that fosters community within the body of Christ.

It's time to talk back. The generation born into evangelical purity culture has grown up, and many have started families of their own. But as time goes on, it's becoming more evident that many still struggle with purity culture's complicated legacy—its idolization of virginity, its mixed messages about modesty and lust, and its promise of a healthy marriage and great sex for those who follow the rules. In Talking Back to Purity Culture, Rachel Joy Welcher reviews the movement carefully, examining its teachings through the lens of Scripture. Compassionate, faithful, and wise, she charts a path forward for Christians in the ongoing debates about sexuality—one that rejects legalism and license alike, steering us back instead to the good news of Jesus. It's time to talk back to purity culture—and this book is ready to jump-start the conversation.

A remarkable vision for how Christians can live with countercultural gentleness in a perpetually angry, attacking, outraged time. Wow! What a great book!" -- Max LucadoIn a defensive and divided era, how can followers of Jesus reveal a better way of living, one that loves others as God loves us? How can Christians be the kind of people who are known, as Proverbs puts it, to "turn away wrath?" Scott Sauls's compelling new book shows Christians how to become people of "a gentle answer" in a politically, relationally, and culturally fractured world by helping readers:grow in affection for Christ, who answers our hostility with gentleness;nurture a renewed, softened heart in light of Christ's gentleness toward us;and catch a vision to forsake us-against-them mentalities, put down our swords, and "infect" a hostile world with gentleness. For those who long for a more civil way of being, A Gentle Answer reveals why answering hostility with gentleness is essential, how we can nurture our hearts to do so, and what a gentle answer looks like, both in the church and in the world." A great, highly practical volume that points us to the tenderness of Jesus: 'a bruised reed he will not break'." -- Tim Keller, Pastor Emeritus, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City"Wow! What a great book…. We will be better humans because of it." -- Max Lucado, bestselling author and pastor of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas"Scott Sauls is the preeminent voice for fractured, polarized times…. Scott’s every word is read under our roof." -- Ann Voskamp, bestselling author of One Thousand Gifts and The Broken Way"This book could not have come at a better time, as we navigate a culture of polarization…. This is a heart changing book!" -- Rebekah Lyons, bestselling author, Rhythms of Renewal and You are Free

Reformed theology informs our view of God’s sovereignty, mercy, and the gospel. The spiritual leaders of the Protestant Reformation influence our faith every day. Learn more about their world-changing thoughts, biblical foundations, and passion for God’s grace in Captivating Grace: 365 Devotions for the Reformed Thinker. Scripture Alone, Faith Alone, Grace Alone, Christ Alone, and To the Glory of God Alone--these are the five Solas and the basis for this beautiful collection of devotions. Inside this yearlong devotional you’ll find:365 devotions drawn from the books, sermons, and commentaries of the most influential figures of reformed thinking, including Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Charles SpurgeonEach entry in this daily devotional includes a Scripture and a short readingA purple ribbon marker and gorgeous interiorsCaptivating Grace is a thoughtful gift for new Christians, seminary and college students, and anyone who wants a richer spiritual life, as well as newly ordained pastors and church leaders who need encouragement. With its classic design, this 365-day devotional is also a wonderful keepsake for a personal library. Here you will find treasured insights from the greatest voices of Reformed theology bound together with God’s unchanging Word.

While our church doctrine teaches that men and women are co-laborers and co-heirs in Christ, does our practice reflect that truth? And what do we lose in our failures? To serve effectively together as brothers and sisters, we must be able to speak about good and hard things. These essays by our sisters and mothers in the church can help us know, grow and do better. Here are redemptive celebrations, gentle corrections, and winsome invitations from the diversity of women God has given as gifts to the church body. Read and listen well so that may we better serve each other and God's kingdom.

"God won't give you more than you can handle." This is one of the most common and least helpful reassurances floating around Christian circles. It is anything but biblical. The truth is that God does allow a lot more than we can handle. But why? Nate Pyle has walked through tragedy in his own life--professional uncertainty, the intense impact of mental illness, and the struggle to build a family because of a lost pregnancy, infertility, and adoption. As a pastor, Nate has cried with countless people experiencing deep and overwhelming pain. They want answers but perhaps even more, they want someone to sit with them as they lament. Cliché Christianity tells us not to ask questions in hard times. Yet transformation awaits us in the dark night of the soul. In More Than You Can Handle, Nate asks with you: "God, where are you in this pain? Why don't you step in and act?" Because when we courageously bring all of who we are to all of who God is--and stop pretending we can "handle" life--we encounter the God of Redemption. The good news isn't that we can handle everything, but rather that God promises to be with us at the very moments we can't handle anything. Skillfully weaving together his own story, the stories of others, and a powerful look at the life of Jesus, Nate delivers a fresh and timely response to the pain we each experience. As Nate reminds us, the only thing more overwhelming than the pain of life is the love of a God who carries that pain with us.

"I love everything that Scott Sauls writes." -- Christine CaineWhat if Christians became the best advertisement for Jesus? Jesus said his followers would be a light to the world and a city on a hill--a warmly inviting, neighbor-loving, grace- and truth-filled destination for all. He envisioned his followers as life-giving neighbors, bosses, employees, and friends, the kind of people who return insults with kindness and persecution with prayers. Rooted in biblical convictions, they would extend love, empathy, and care to one another as well as to those who don't share their beliefs. Over time their movement would become irresistible to every nation, tribe, and tongue. Irresistible Faith is a blueprint for pursuing this vision in our current moment, of redeemed individuals and a renewed community working for a restored world. This is a way of being that gives a tired, cynical world good reason to pause and reconsider Christianity--and to start wishing it was true." I miss the kind of church Scott describes in this book, and I don’t think I am alone." -- Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz and Building a StoryBrand"An important call to resist the urge to lobby and position ourselves, but rather to be driven by gospel-powered love." -- Raechel Myers, founder and CEO of She Reads Truth "An antidote to much that is wrong with our Western, American version of Christianity. " -- Gabe and Rebekah Lyons, authors and founders of Q

To be human is to long for home. Home is our most fundamental human longing. And for many of us homesickness is a nagging place of grief. This book connects that desire and disappointment with the story of the Bible, helping us to see that there is a homemaking God with wide arms of welcome—and a church commissioned with this same work. "Many of us seem to be recovering the sacred, if ordinary, beauty of place," writes author Jen Pollock Michel. "Perhaps we're reading along with Wendell Berry, falling in love with Berry's small-town barber and Jayber Crow's small-town life. . . . Or maybe we're simply reading our Bibles better, discovering that while we might wish to flatten Scripture to serve our didactic purposes, it rises up in flesh and sinew, muscle and bone: God's holy story is written in the lives of people and their places." Including a five-session discussion guide and paired with a companion DVD, Keeping Place offers hope to the wanderer, help to the stranded, and a new vision of what it means to live today with our longings for our eternal home.

EPA 2018 Christian Book Award Finalist - Biography and Memoir "When my doctor told me I was dying, I came alive." What happens when you come face-to-face with your mortality? When your body fails you, what happens to your faith? Russ Ramsey was struck by a bacterial infection that destroyed his mitral valve, sending him into heart failure and requiring urgent open-heart surgery. As he faced the possibility of death, he found himself awakened to new realities. In the critical days and months that followed, Ramsey came to see the world through the eyes of affliction. He grappled with fear, anger, depression, and loss, and yet he experienced grace through the suffering that filled him with a hope and hunger for the life to come. This profoundly eloquent memoir gives voice to the deepest questions of the human condition. In the midst of pain, we can see glimpses of eternity.

2017 ECPA Christian Book Award Finalist (Faith and Culture category)Is real friendship too risky? We live in a world where real friendship is hard to find. Suspicious of others and insecure about ourselves, we retreat into the safety of our small, self-made worlds. Now more than ever, it's easy to avoid people with whom we disagree or whose life experiences don't mirror our own. Safe among like-minded peers and digital "friends," we really don't have to engage with those who can challenge and enhance our limited perspectives. Tragically, even the church can become a place that minimizes diversity and reinforces isolation. Jesus models a much richer vision of friendship. Scott Sauls, pastor and teacher, invites you to see the breadth of Christ's love in this book, BeFriend. Join Scott on this journey through twenty-one meditations to inspire actively pursuing God's love through expanding your circle of friends. Scott has met too many people whose first impulse is to fence off their lives with relational barriers that only end up starving their own souls. Yes, it's true: Real friendship is costly. Love does make us vulnerable. But without risk, our lives will remain impoverished. Join Scott in BeFriend as he summons you toward diverse friendship that can enrich your life and, in the process, reveal a better version of yourself.

Whether the issue of the day on Twitter, Facebook, or cable news is our sexuality, political divides, or the perceived conflict between faith and science, today's media pushes each one of us into a frustrating clash between two opposing sides. Polarizing, us-against-them discussions divide us and distract us from thinking clearly and communicating lovingly with others. Scott Sauls, like many of us, is weary of the bickering and is seeking a way of truth and beauty through the conflicts. Jesus Outside the Lines presents Jesus as this way. Scott shows us how the words and actions of Jesus reveal a response that does not perpetuate the destructive fray. Jesus offers us a way forward--away from harshness, caricatures, and stereotypes. In Jesus Outside the Lines, you will experience a fresh perspective of Jesus, who will not (and should not) fit into the sides.