Recommended Books
If you are interested to know which books have been influential for our preaching team, take a look at the list of recommendations below. Our pastors do not endorse everything written in these books (there may be multiple points of disagreement). Nonetheless, these books have influenced our theological understanding. If you’d like to discuss any of the books listed, send us an email! We will update these lists periodically.
Brandon Barker
Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God by Timothy Keller
This book offers biblical guidance for prayer, including specific prayers for certain situations (grief, loss, love, and forgiveness). Learn to make your practice of prayer more personal and more powerful.
Union with Christ: The Way to Know and Enjoy God by Rankin Wilbourne
Nothing is more practical for living the Christian life than union with Christ. This book will grow you understanding of why the gospel is such good news and help to answer some foundational questions about our identity, destiny, and purpose in Christ.
The Hole in Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness by Kevin DeYoung
What does it mean to be holy? Why should we care? And how can we change? This is a book about God’s power to help us grow in personal holiness and to enjoy the process of transformation.
Dods Pengra
Cross Talk: Where Life and Scripture Meet by Michael R. Emlet
This book gives you tools to connect the Bible to your everyday life and promote gospel conversations with others.
Good and Angry: Redeeming Anger, Irritation, Complaining, and Bitterness by David Powlison
God gets angry. He sees things that aren’t right, and He wants justice. But God’s anger is good, redemptive, and restorative. This book offers practical help for people who struggle with irritation, complaining, or bitterness.
Learning to Love the Psalms by W. Robert Godfrey
The Psalms are beautiful, but they are also difficult. This book is a guided journey towards greater delight in these sacred verses.
Drew Knowles
Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality by Nancy Pearcey
Addressing issues such as abortion, homosexuality, transgenderism, and the hookup culture, this book boldly yet compassionately shows the manner in which secularism denigrates the body and undermines the basis for human rights.
The Book that Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization by Vishal Mangalwadi
This book shows how the Bible formed and transformed the social, political, and religious institutions that have sustained Western culture for the past millennium.
Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World by Michael Horton
Far from a call to low expectations or passivity, this book invites us to recover the joy of everyday life and practice a sustainable form of discipleship over the long haul.
Sojourn Academy Courses
View our 2019 Course Offerings
The Enneagram
Sat, Feb 23, 9am–3pm
Instructor: Dods Pengra
The Enneagram is a helpful tool for self- and others-awareness. Through this course, you will gain insight into how the Lord has “wired” you and how best to serve and relate to friends, family, spouses, and the members of your Neighborhood Parish.
Tracing the Exodus
Sat, May 18, 9am–1pm
Instructor: Drew Knowles
The exodus of God’s people is a central theme woven throughout the Bible. Echoes and traces of the exodus are everywhere. This course will explore the theme of exodus from Genesis to Revelation as a precursor to our Exodus sermon series.
Christianity 101
Sat, Sept 28, 9am–1pm
Instructor: TBD
This course explores fundamental questions such as: Is the Bible reliable? Who is God? What happened at the cross? And what is the Church? This is a course for everyone, whether exploring the faith or simply looking to grow and learn more.
Parish Bible Studies
We encourage every Neighborhood Parish to organize a Bible Study. In some cases, two or more Parishes may collaborate in facilitating these studies. The Elders request that Neighborhood Parish Bible Studies choose from a list of approved study guides. Click the button below to see the current list.
Discipleship Intensives
Each year, Sojourn hosts a number of 40-week discipleship intensives for covenant members who are looking to take a deep dive into Scripture and grow in their knowledge and observance of the teachings of Jesus. These intensives are not to be in competition with the Neighborhood Parish, but they do call for a high level of commitment. Please approach this opportunity prayerfully, and seek the wisdom of others in your Parish, especially your Parish Leaders.
Intensives begin in February. If you have any questions, please email Drew Knowles. The links below have additional information.