Pastor’s Picks – Recommended Resources

These are recommended resources that we have been personally encouraged and challenged by and hope they do the same for you. It’s been said before that great leaders are readers, and we are committed to regularly reading through our Bible and never stop learning. May the Lord bless you as you grow! -Pastor Tim Molter

Book: I Remember… The Birth of Calvary Chapel by Sharon Fischer

Posted on

i-remember-hardbackThis book will take you back in time to the very beginning of Calvary Chapel. As original members of Calvary Chapel, later called Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, Sharon and Hal Fischer have a unique perspective on the amazing growth and history of the Calvary Chapel movement. Hal was part of the original board that hired Pastor Chuck Smith in December of 1965 as associate pastor at the small non-denominational church, and by 1966, Pastor Chuck was leading Calvary Chapel as senior pastor.

Sharon says, “It all began more than fifty years ago, when just a few of us gathered for the first time in a humble trailer court recreation room on Newport Boulevard in Costa Mesa, California. We stood on the threshold—the enormity of what was before us we could not have imagined in our wildest dreams. ‘The Lord was in this place, and we didn’t know it’–– this could have been said of the ten or twelve people who gathered that first Sunday on a spring morning in 1961.”

Without spoiling the story—at least for those who don’t know the history of Calvary Chapel, I’ll say this: it is a must read. This book is more than just a memoir; it is a book of dedication to the God who changes hearts by His unending grace. Getting a first-hand account of someone that was at the beginning of a movement is a delicious treat for anyone interested in the unfolding drama of God’s work through Calvary Chapel and the universal church.

How to get this resource:

Book: Glad News! God Loves You My Muslim Friend by Samy Tanagho

Posted on

GladNewsBookIn the book “Glad News! God Loves You My Muslim Friend” by Samy Tanagho he integrates all of the positive teachings in Islam (concerning the Christian faith and Jesus Christ) to help Muslims believe the Gospel and to see the divinity of Jesus Christ and the salvation He wants Muslims to experience. The book highlights parallel passages in the Qur’an and the Bible about the person of Jesus Christ, such as His unique sinlessness and His unique virgin birth. The supernatural attributes of Jesus actually compel the conclusion that Jesus is more than a prophet!

Throughout the book the Samy presents God’s marvelous, unconditional love for the reader and how God longs for a personal relationship with us based on grace and not on human works or rituals. In light of the keen desire of nearly every Muslim to seek God and to please God, Glad News! is customized for Muslim readers by establishing common ground, using some of their own beliefs as a stepping stone to the Gospel.

This book is also designed to educate and equip Christians in effectively presenting the Biblical teaching to Muslims in a way that they can understand, relevant to their background, culture, and beliefs. This book will answer a Muslim’s most important questions about the Christian faith and penetrates their hearts with the gospel.

How to get this resource: