Most of these resources have been helpful to me in understanding and growing closer to God. I think they are all worthwhile and I recommend them to all. I've provided links to the books and movies on Amazon.
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WARNING: He argues against Calvinism but still subscribes to some of its tenets, such as a metaphysical sinful nature (and a dual nature for Christians), metaphysical regeneration, and to some extent, arbitrary election.
This is the best thing available to understand the moral government view of the atonement (the Biblical view). It also refutes the tenets of Calvinism.
Charles Finney was the most effective evangelist / revivalist in history, in terms of both numbers and the piety and the durability of the converts he made. You can read in his own words a detailed account of how it all happened.
I like this book for the philosophical discussions of the nature of God and the nature of man. It is also useful for understanding presuppositional apologetics to be able to refute the most common false philosophies in our culture today.
This book clearly teaches all of the Biblical doctrines that are necessary to understand the Biblical view of the atonement.
Mike Saia was one of my teachers at my Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Discipleship Training School (DTS) in Lakeview Terrace, California (also known as the Sunland YWAM) back in 1984.
I don't believe in paraphrases; I want to know what God says, not what people say that God says. The NASB is considered a very accurate literal translation.
I also recommend buying a Bible without a commentary (that is, not a "study Bible") so you aren't tempted to rely on a single source for this. I recommend reading a passage many times and thoroughly contemplating it before getting someone else's opinion of what it means. Then check multiple sources, and check them back with scripture to test them.
Using good hermaneutics, he goes through the Bible showing how each covenant God made with man, including the new covenant, was conditional. I got my used copy on Amazon for $7, but months later the price of used copies was $39, due, I gather, to scarcity.
My favorite movie of all time! It tells the story of Saint Francis of Assisi, Italy, who became a true Christian in the midst of a Catholic-controlled culture and left an inspiring example for all to follow.
This movie is an instant cure for the lies of the pantheistic religion of Christian Science. It's about a young soldier who's hit by a mortar shell in World War I. It's pretty dark, but excellent!
Based on a Herman Melville Novel, this movie about a court marshal aboard an 18th century British Navy ship demonstrates, in an allegory, the dilemma God faces in having to uphold the penalty of the law for the good of His government of mankind.
This is Bob Dylan's best movie (o.k., so that's not saying too much—but it really is a good movie). Dylan co-wrote it with Larry Charles. It's got an all-star cast. It's about the war between good and evil, God and man and the devil. The story is about an unnamed country, some time in the future, on the verge of revolution, possibly at the end of the world. And, of course, the music is excellent.
The priest in this movie gives a powerful little sermon on gossip which will stay with me the rest of my life. I recommend the movie for that alone. I also think it's useful for us to think about how we judge people. Excellent acting too!
