Inspirational Books

• The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen – Doubleday.
  Nouwen’s classic study of the parable of the prodigal son is based on the imagery of Rembrandt’s famous painting. He shares excellent insight on the addictions of the younger son, the self-righteousness of the elder brother, receiving the Father’s blessing and the movement to becoming a compassionate father.
• Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen – Crossroad Publishing
  The goal of this book is that you would come to know that you are the beloved of the Father. Jesus is the model for a life chosen and blessed by the Father and then broken and given away to feed others.
• Abba’s Child by Brennan Manning – Navipress
  Brennan shares his own life-changing encounter with the Father’s love. He identifies the Imposter has the false self who lives without the Father’s love, the Pharisee who strives to earn it and the Beloved as the child who rests listening to the Father’s heartbeat of love.
• The Wisdom of Tenderness by Brennan Manning – Harper
  This is an apologetic for the importance of knowing by experience the tenderness of the Father’s heart towards us. This profound tenderness has a transforming power in our lives and in the way we treat others.

• The Forgotten Father by Tom Smail – Paternoster Press
  This is a foundational apologetic for the importance of the God as Father not to be forgotten in the midst of the Evangelical focus on the Son and the Pentecostal emphasis on the Spirit. He presents a solid biblical picture of Jesus’ relationship with his Father and the one we have through the Spirit of Adoption.
• Word Bible Commentary – Romans by James Dunn – Word Publishing
  Dunn’s theological work in Romans chapters 5 and 8 is the finest I have found in presenting the Father’s love as experience resulting from a powerful in-breaking of the Spirit. These volumes provide a critical commentary rich in contextual understanding and vivid word studies written in contemporary language.
• Jesus and the Spirit by James Dunn – Eerdmans
  This book greatly influenced John Wimber’s understanding of Jesus’ ministering with the anointing of the Spirit. Dunn presents the humanity of Jesus and his deep personal experience of knowing God as Abba as the model for our relationship with the Father.