2023 Holiday Gift Guide for Book Lovers

Mary said yes.
Joseph surrendered.
Herod rejected the true King.

Christmas changes everything—and everyone. Nowhere is this more evident than in the stories of the men and women who experienced the first Christmas. From Zechariah’s encounter with an angel in the temple to the Magi who traveled to a village in the Judean wilderness, Christmas influenced who they were, who they would become, and how they would live out their faith—or leave it behind.

Elisa Morgan explores how God coming to earth as a human child can change us today. We learn to say yes to God, accepting his design for our lives. We learn to rejoice, even when we don't understand his ways. And we learn to hope expectantly, confident that he will fulfill his promises to us.

Elisa Morgan cohosts Discover the Word and God Hears Her and writes for Our Daily Bread. A speaker and author who communicates the truth of God's Word in captivating ways, she served 20 years as the CEO of MOPS International and has written over 25 books. Learn more at ElisaMorgan.com.

Fill your Advent season with peace and joy by praying to Jesus with the assurance that he is always listening.

This beautiful gift book includes prayers and reflections from the beloved devotionals Jesus Listens and Jesus Calling along with stunning illustrations that usher in the peace and beauty of Christmas. Each of the entries includes Scripture verses that immerse you in God’s Word.

Trade the rush of the season for purposeful contemplation by spending a few minutes each day in prayer with the One who loves you perfectly.

Slow down and discover the shape of hope.

The psalms invite us to explore the tensions of our souls—our hiddenness, failures, praise—they ask much of us. This sacred collection of poetry speaks for us, takes us to the essence of being human, moves us through seasons, and makes us more real.

Through the medium of art and words, Heather takes us on an illustrated journey into the psalms. Uncover the artistry, symmetry, and wonder of Scripture. Engage with life’s fragility. Be fortified with hope. Rest in the presence of the Eternal.

Struggling with daily devotions? Simplify your routine with a Quiet Time Companion. More than just a journal, it's your all-in-one tool for prayer lists, Bible reading plans, sermon notes, daily reflections, and spiritual goals. No more missed moments—just meaningful connections with Jesus. Take the next step towards a consistent quiet time.

Over the 4 weeks of Advent, this devotional guide will look at the themes of Jesus' prophetic inauguration, God's plan for redemption, and the Eternal King's arrival into the world as a human through signs and wonders.

Theme 1 | Prophetic Inauguration
Devotionals that deal with prophecies of lineage and expectation

Theme 2 | Eternal Jubilee
Devotionals that deal with the beautiful consequences of God’s plan for redemption and the way it opened up heaven for humanity

Theme 3 | Divine Coronation
Devotionals that deal with the introduction of Jesus into the world as a human through signs and wonders

Each daily reading concludes with Scripture passages for reflection and discussion questions to aid individual or group study.

Don’t just talk about love. Walk in love.

In these 365 daily inspirations, New York Times bestselling author of Love Does and Everybody, Always, Bob Goff, walks us through a calendar year of reflections on how we can step out in love and confidence in every aspect of our lives. Live in Grace, Walk in Love will help you find evidence of Jesus in your life and inspire you to put your faith into action. You don’t have to let your past define who you will become. Instead, take this opportunity to let go of fear, make a mark, and pursue a great adventure with God.

Emerson Eggerichs has transformed marriages around the world with his biblically based approach to understanding the love that she most desires and the respect that he desperately needs. Now, in this long-awaited devotional based on Love & Respect, Eggerichs has created an experience for couples that is effective, flexible, and life changing. The Love & Respect Devotional will be indispensable to anyone wishing to improve their marital relationship.

The timeless wisdom of Oswald Chambers shines in this new Modern Classic edition of the beloved 365-day devotional first published by his widow in 1924. With a thoughtful approach to the language and context of the original, the author’s voice has been carefully preserved and the Bible texts updated to the New International Version. Full of powerful challenge to devote your all for God’s highest glory, these readings open the way to deeper, stronger faith.

Oswald Chambers (1874–1917) is best known for the classic devotional My Utmost for His Highest. Born in Scotland, Chambers had a teaching and preaching ministry that took him as far as the United States and Japan. He died at age 43 while serving as chaplain to Allied troops in Egypt during World War I.

Is your heart’s cry:

To see Jesus and know you are his sibling?

Too see that his word and love are eternally for you?

To know God dwells with you and you with him always?

To be alive in Christ, and move the world to believe in him?

Open Our Eyes Lord reveals a fresh vision of God’s Word, encouraging us to meditate and grow in our grounding for Christian action. Share and study it together as a group.

The premise of this book is 1 John 3:1–2:

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

In Shepherding the Shepherd, retired pastor Lee Eclov offers 52 weekly letters from the perspective of a friend and fellow shepherd to encourage and inspire you. He knows that while shepherds are frequently pictured as calm, their work is hard. Seldom do outsiders see a shepherd fend off sheep who’ve turned on him or care for one bloodied by wolves. Or even share some laughs with other shepherds about the antics and foibles of the sheep in their care.

Pastor Eclov comes alongside as a trusted confidant who understands the joy pastors experience in loving and feeding their flocks. His letters read like a friend-to-friend chat—refreshingly not glib about the realities of pastoring, nor another lecture on what to do.

Momma, you are not alone.

But we know sometimes it feels like you are. You love your family dearly, but you are tired. You have questions in your heart and a weariness in your soul. It’s in the midnight moments of motherhood that you need to know, more than anything, that God is with you, no matter what.

In Tonight We Pray for the Momma, bestselling authors and mother-daughter team Becky Thompson and Susan K. Pitts offer encouragement and hope for the hardest days. As leaders of the over 1.8 million praying moms of the Midnight Mom Devotional community, Thompson and Pitts have gathered their 100 most beloved prayers and paired them with rich devotional stories and biblical wisdom for every stage of motherhood, including the times when a mom feels hopeless and like she’s hanging on by a thread, worries that she’s failing her kids, needs wisdom for raising a fiery daughter or determined son, or is searching for joy.

God is with you in the moments when the light feels dim and you need peace. He will meet you in his love, sustain you in your journey, and bring you hope in the dark.

Rest in God’s Unfailing Truth

Sometimes life can be confusing, and it’s hard to know where to place your trust. But you can be assured that the truth of God’s Word never changes. In this 365-day devotional, beloved evangelist Billy Graham shares hopeful reminders and grounded messages to give you daily guidance for placing your hope in Christ.

Each entry features a Bible verse and a thoughtful message from Dr. Graham that explores biblical truths to meditate on. Whether you’re mature in your faith or a newcomer, you’ll find wisdom and comfort from God’s Word as you navigate living for God each and every day.

You probably know Mary and Joseph and the wise men and the shepherds, but have you heard about the other unlikely characters who played a role in the birth of Jesus, the greatest story of all?

Let’s meet the characters of Christmas and discover how God uses regular, ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things—people just like you.

Daniel Darling is the director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement and the bestselling author of several books, including The Characters of Christmas; The Biggest, Best Light; and The Dignity Revolution. He and his wife, Angela, have four children and reside in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas.

Guy Wolek’s lengthy list of illustration credits include Carson Chooses Forgiveness; In Jesus’ Name I Pray; and the Maximilian P. Mouse, Time Traveler series. A father and grandfather, Wolek lives in Southern California with his wife of over 30 years.

Celebrate Advent and Christmas with this read-aloud children's prayer book by Sarah Young, bestselling author of Jesus Calling, Jesus Always, and Jesus Listens. This board book includes an Advent calendar of 25 prayers alongside a simple retelling of the Christmas story that invites the hope of Jesus and the joy of the Nativity into little hearts.

This beautifully illustrated board book for children ages 0 to 4 includes 25 simple prayers counting down to Jesus' birth. It helps toddlers and preschoolers understand the true meaning of Christmas and the hopeful expectation of Advent. This book is the perfect short daily devotion time for your family this holiday season and provides a simple tool for parents, grandparents, and church teachers to explain Jesus' arrival as a baby and return as King.

Jesus Calling Advent and Christmas Prayers will remind children that Jesus loves them so much that he left heaven to be born as a tiny baby in a stable so he can be with them forever.

Our Daily Bread for Kids: 365 Devotions from Genesis to Revelation provides kids ages 6 to 10 with everything they need for a year of daily devotions:

● Engaging stories from Genesis to Revelation

● Bible text from easy-to-understand versions

● Reading suggestions for exploring more

● Prayer starters

● Daily truths to remember

● Fun facts ranging through history and spanning the globe

Children will grow in their knowledge of Scripture as they learn of God’s desire for us to know him, understand how he made a way through Jesus, and discover how the Holy Spirit guides us in our everyday lives.

Kids will spot Jesus throughout—from his role at creation to Old Testament prophecies and pictures of the coming Savior to the birth of God’s Son. With the help of Anita Schmidt’s diverse illustrations, kids will see the entire Bible as one big story of God’s redemptive plan for the world and learn that God’s plan includes them.

The One Year Pray for the Family Bible invites us to deepen our relationships with God and our families. Daily prayer prompts focus on some of the most pressing issues facing families today. Read through the entire Bible in a year while spending focused time praying for your family and the broader family of God.

Daily Scripture passages from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs are in the accurate, easy-to-understand New Living Translation. There are monthly prayer themes and daily prompts written by Focus on the Family to help guide your prayer time to address issues families are facing today.

Sixty-Six Books. One Story. All About One Name.

Encounter the living Jesus in all of Scripture. From the Passion movement, this Bible lifts Jesus up as the lead story of the Bible and encourages you to faithfully follow him as you participate in his story.

Profound yet accessible study features help you meet Jesus throughout Scripture. See him in every book so that you may know him more intimately, love him more passionately, and walk with him more faithfully.

This edition has been set in the exclusive Zondervan NIV Comfort Print® typeface, increasing readability without sacrificing portability. Expertly designed specifically to be used for the New International Version (NIV) text, Comfort Print offers an easier reading experience that complements the most widely read modern-English Bible translation.

Celebrate the anniversary of The Message with this beautiful, feature-rich Bible. Learn how The Message was translated and shaped by the hand of a working pastor. Explore the timeline of its writing and the reflections of Eugene Peterson on a life of long obedience in the same direction. The perfect gift for fans of The Message Bible or Eugene Peterson.

Never squint to read your Bible. The Bible in contemporary language, now available in single-column text with 15-point type for comfortable reading, includes a satin ribbon, durable and high-quality binding, and two beautiful covers to choose from. The Message is a reading Bible translated from the original Greek and Hebrew Scriptures by scholar, pastor, author, and poet Eugene Peterson. Thoroughly reviewed and approved by 20 biblical scholars, The Message combines the authority of God’s Word with the cadence and energy of conversational English

The New Testament for Everyone is an updated translation of the New Testament by renowned biblical scholar and author N.T. Wright, which builds upon the work done in his The Kingdom New Testament. This newly typeset edition features slight translation revisions from Wright along with new book introductions—providing a fresh and dynamic translation of the New Testament for the next generation. The language used in this translation seeks to convey the meaning of the original Greek while also being accessible to the modern reader, making it a valuable resource for scholars, pastors, and laypeople alike.

Immerse yourself in the New Testament Epistles and Book of Revelation as they are read by some of country music’s biggest stars.

Whether it’s 14-time Grammy winner and 8-time CMA and ACM winner Ricky Skaggs reading Hebrews, New Artist of the Year Lauren Alaina reading James, or two-time Grammy award winner Randy Owen reading Romans, you will find encouragement and faith as you listen to Scripture read by some of your favorite performers.

Faith, hope, and love—the three virtues found in 1 Corinthians 13—are at the heart of the NIV Radiant Virtues Bible, a new evolution of the Beautiful Word Bible collection. Experience the beauty of Scripture through art from the Beautiful Word collection, plus newly created verse art pieces. Explore each virtue and its place in Scripture using all-new journaling prompts, weekly devotional readings and prayers, and coloring pages. Use the calendar pages in the front of the Bible, along with the 52-week guide, to map a year of encouragement and discovery. Along the way, you'll find key verse illustrations at the start of each book of the Bible. Highlighted verses will draw your attention to passages related to the virtues of faith, hope, and love, helping you see these themes throughout God's Word.

In addition, the ample journaling space in this Bible for women offers room to record your own thoughts, reflections, and art. Perforated pages in the back of the Bible feature meaningful verses, allowing you to gift them to someone else or use them for your own daily inspiration. From beginning to end, the NIV Radiant Virtues Bible gives you everything you need to grow the timeless virtues of faith, hope, and love in your daily life.

Take a reflective journey through the Bible.

Do you seek stillness and inspiration in your quiet time? The NIV Journal the Word™ Bible for Women guides you through God’s precious Word with reflections and thought-provoking questions placed beside Scripture. Explore God’s Word for you and express your heart in the wide margins of this journaling Bible with room for responses, notes, and artistic expression.

Expertly designed specifically to be used for the New International Version (NIV) text, Zondervan's exclusive Comfort Print® typeface offers an easier reading experience that complements the most widely read modern-English Bible translation.

Jinger Vuolo, the sixth child in the famous Duggar family of TLC's 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On, recounts how she began to question the unhealthy ideology of her youth and learned to embrace true freedom in Christ. Becoming Free Indeed shares what it was like living under the tenants of Bill Gothard, the biblical truth that changed her perspective, and how she disentangled her faith with her belief in Jesus intact.

Today we are told to be true to ourselves, look within for answers, and follow our hearts. But when we put our own happiness first, we experience record-breaking levels of aimlessness, loneliness, depression, and anxiety. Self-centeredness always fails to deliver on its promises.

In Don't Follow Your Heart, Thaddeus Williams debunks the "ten commandments of self-worship," calling on a new generation of mavericks and renegades, heretics who refuse to march in unison with the self-obsessed herd. With a fascinating blend of theology, philosophy, science, psychology, and pop culture, Williams points us to a life beyond the self-defeating dogmas of self-worship to a more meaningful life centered on Someone infinitely more interesting, satisfying, and awesome than ourselves.

With the voices of Carl Trueman, Joni Eareckson Tada, J.P. Moreland, Josh McDowell, Alisa Childers, and more.

You can raise godly kids in an ungodly world.

As a parent, you want your child to be happy and successful. You might focus on their clothes, curfews, and crushes. But do you know that there is something more important to fight for—your child’s soul? God gave you this child, and he will equip you to raise them. Don’t let fear, shame, or anxiety make you feel inadequate for the task.

With practical, how-to wisdom, Jimmy and Karen Evans join their daughter Julie Evans Albracht to explore what every parent needs to know about:

• Finding your true purpose as a parent
• Setting the right priorities
• Protecting your family from outside pressures
• Allowing God’s Word to determine your agenda
• Facing battlefields with confidence

Your child is a gift, and fighting for their soul is a worthy battle.

After a devastating series of losses, Larry Randolph finally had things under control. Then he felt God speak two simple words: "Therapy dogs." Together, Larry and his beloved yellow lab Gracie brought hope and healing to hundreds of people in need. When Larry's own life takes a shocking turn, it’s up to Gracie to rescue Larry and his family too.

What if love was God's fingerprint on our world and in our lives?

In a material world where pain and suffering exist and where only the fittest survive, how and why did selfless love appear? How did love become one of the most basic necessities of human life? What exactly is love anyway? Is the existence—and necessity—of selfless love evidence that we really were created in the image of a loving God?

King Solomon is known as the wisest and richest man to have ever lived, but who was this man really? Even though we read his words in the Bible, this man who was the son of “the man after God’s own heart” remains a mystery to this day. Even his death is veiled in conspiracy theories. How could a man who was granted his greatest wish by God be so enamored with the pleasures of this world—hungry for sex, power, and more wealth?

In King Solomon’s Empire, Archie and Margaret Roy take an in-depth look into the life of the wise king and the kingdom he led. Through this study, the reader will come to understand the time in which King Solomon ruled, enter into the temple that he built for his God, and follow his path to a life of “striving after wind.” While the mystery still remains unsolved, perhaps the reader will come to learn some lessons from the man and avoid some of the pitfalls in their own life, as there is truly “nothing new under the sun.”

For half a century, J. I. Packer's classic has helped Christians around the world discover the wonder, the glory, and the joy of knowing God.

Stemming from Packer's profound theological knowledge, Knowing God brings together two key facets of the Christian faith—knowing about God and knowing God through a close relationship with Jesus Christ. Written in an engaging and practical tone, this thought-provoking work seeks to renew and enrich our understanding of God.

Knowing God was named by Christianity Today as one of the top 50 books that have shaped evangelicals. With a companion Bible study, devotional journal, and study guide, readers can explore these biblical themes for themselves in this new 50th anniversary edition.

Also available: Knowing God Study Guide, Knowing God Devotional Journal, Knowing God Bible Study.

Cruel cultures have controlled most major world religions for the past 1,500 years with their oppression and persecution of their targeted victims. The oppression and persecution have included evicting the victims from houses of worship, restricting their residences to ghettos, preventing them from learning to read and write, restricting them to lower paying jobs, taking their homes and lands, lynching them, burning them at the stake, killing them in mass murders, shooting them in the back of their heads and pushing their bodies into rivers, gassing millions of them to death, and tons of other horrible atrocities.

We must rid the world of these cruel cultures and make the next 1,500 years a time when we, of all religions, come together to build a new culture where we love and support each other.

With the proper commitment, millions of us—working together along with our children and their children for generations to come—can do it. Just as every journey begins with a single step, you and I can start this 1,500-year journey right now. It will be our combined ideas and efforts that change our future world history so that our children and their children for generations to come will live in a safer and much more loving, compassionate, and just world.

Ken Boutwell is a businessman and writer who lives in Tallahassee, Florida. He is a native of Mississippi.

In The Unfair Advantage, pastor Aaron Burke takes a closer look at the seven unfair seasons Joseph endures in the Book of Genesis and reveals how Joseph's struggles are not unlike the battles readers face today.

Combining biblical truths with Pastor Aaron's insights from his years of walking with people through their biggest challenges, this book offers a message of hope and renewed strength for anyone who has battled seasons of feeling discouraged, rejected, undervalued, tempted, unfairly punished, deprived, or forgotten. The surprising reality revealed by the story of Joseph is that unfair moments and seasons of difficulty—if handled wisely—can actually be used by God for our advantage.

Readers will be comforted and inspired as they encounter in a new way the dramatic story of Joseph's trials and ultimate triumph. Along the way, they'll learn how to transform adversity into advantage, endure even the most challenging moments through courage and hope rooted in faith, and become aware of God's presence, peace, and promise in the midst of hardship.

In The Unfair Advantage, readers who are walking through a season that seems unfair will be reminded of God's ultimate gift of favor. While their situation may seem hopeless now, they can trust that God is forging something beautiful out of the brokenness, putting purpose to their pain, righting every wrong, and building a destiny better than their greatest dreams.

Sarah Jakes Roberts shows you how past disappointments, struggles, and even mistakes can be used today to help you become the woman God intended. Your fears and insecurities may have changed how you viewed God, others, and yourself, but in Woman Evolve, you can break through and use past mistakes to revolutionize your life. Like Eve, you don’t have to live your future defined by your past.

There is a way to know who you really are and live like it, every single day. It’s shockingly practical, down-to-earth, and tangible. While Jesus was on earth, he lived a lifestyle of rhythms that helped him fight the lies of the enemy. Through his habits, we will discover a roadmap to living lighter and living as who we really are.

An ambitious reporter must find the truth about a man who works miracles in this supernatural mystery featuring a female lead.

Jaime Halasz is fighting for a bright future after a tragic past when she's assigned the story of her career: uncover the source of the miracles breaking out all over Atlanta, Georgia.

As the seemingly supernatural events pile up, she's skeptical. But when she witnesses the miraculous events herself, she's thrust into the center of the story that will make or break everything she's been working for.

What will it take to believe in these miracles and the man behind them? And even if Jaime can trust him, what happens to her story—and his future—when some believers turn their backs?

Miracles asks us to consider what it would look like in a world of smartphone videos and 24/7 media if the unbelievable became undeniable.

Sharon Garlough Brown tells the moving story of four strangers as they embark together on a journey of spiritual formation:

Hannah, a pastor who doesn't realize how exhausted she is.

Meg, a widow and recent empty-nester who is haunted by her past.

Mara, a woman who has experienced a lifetime of rejection and is now trying to navigate a difficult marriage.

Charissa, a hard-working graduate student who wants to get things right.

You're invited to join these four women as they reluctantly arrive at a retreat center and find themselves drawn out of their separate stories of isolation and struggle and into a collective journey of spiritual practice, mutual support, and personal revelation.

Along the way, readers will be taken into a new understanding of key spiritual practices and find tangible support for the deeper life with God.

Do you long for an intimate relationship with your Creator, but he seems elusive? Perhaps it is because something utterly essential is missing—the fear of the Lord. Don't let this frighten you. This healthy, holy, and largely forgotten virtue is the uncommon path to a more fulfilled and fruitful life. Fearing God is very different than being afraid of God. It's the key to everything.

The Enemy is constantly seeking to fill your mind with destructive and harmful thoughts—whether of fear, worry, insecurity, anxiety, temptation, envy. ... It’s all too easy for Satan to manipulate his way into a seat at the table intended for only you and Jesus and to try making himself at home in your mind. Bestselling author and pastor Louie Giglio shares practical ways to overcome the Enemy’s lies and instead find peace and security in any challenging circumstance or situation.

The Great Disappearance is a culmination of decades of Dr. Jeremiah studying end times throughout the Bible. In this definitive volume, he will explain the meaning of the word rapture, the difference between the rapture and the second coming, and the joy of expecting our Savior to come at any given moment. We may not know the exact date that the rapture will happen, but we do know it will happen. Are you ready for it?

In this follow-up to his book Mysteries of the Messiah, Rabbi Jason Sobel takes a deeper look at Jesus’ miracles. As witnessed through Scripture, the God who was and is and is to come has been performing miracles from the beginning of time—so you can trust that Jesus wants to do something miraculous in your life today.