Sermons
TVC Home Groups are currently meeting in various neighborhoods all around Nashville. For more information please visit the 
TVC Choir: We are currently rehearsing for our upcoming performance. No experience is necessary. 
Sermons Podcast: Listen to TVC Bible studies online by visiting our 
Paid childcare workers are needed for Wednesday mornings, Tuesday evenings & Friday evenings, as well as teaching positions open for our new Saturday night service. 
Restore Ministries Classes: The Village Chapel is hosting four 8-week counseling classes this fall - Women's Journey to Freedom, Men's Journey to Freedom, Women's Boundaries, and Men's Journey to a Life of Courage. To sign up, please visit Books On Spirituality From A Christian Perspective
The Reason for God by Timothy Keller (2008 Dutton/Penguin) Why does God allow suffering in the world? How could a loving God send people to Hell? Why isn’t Christianity more inclusive? How can one religion be “right” and the others “wrong”? Why have so many wars been fought in the name of God? These are just a few of the questions and doubts even ardent believers wrestle with today. As the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, Timothy Keller has compiled a list of the most frequently voiced “doubts” skeptics bring to his church as well as the most important reasons for faith. And in The Reason for God, he addresses each doubt and explains each reason.
Keller uses literature, philosophy, real-life conversations, and reasoning to explain how faith in a Christian God is a soundly rational belief, held by thoughtful people of intellectual integrity with a deep compassion for those who truly want to know the truth.
Streetwise Spirituality by Jim Thomas (2001 Harvest House). Again, I'll let the chapter titles tell you about this book:
What is Spirituality? Longing: Is this all there is? Belonging: Are we all alone in the universe? Trusting: How can I learn to trust God more? Learning: Interpreting and applying the message of the Bible. Praying: How can we pray more effectively? Struggling: How can I win my struggle with temptation? Receiving: How can I receive God’s forgiveness? Worshiping: What does it mean to worship God? Hearing: How can I recognize God’s voice when He speaks to me? Becoming: What does it take to grow spiritually? (Can be purchased through the church)
Christian Spirituality: An Introduction by Alister McGrath (1999 Blackwell Publishers). Here is a clear and informative introduction to the Christian view of spirituality. McGrath investigates the historical traditions concerning spirituality and mysticism, offers an analysis of current trends in spirituality, and shows how Biblical images like the feast, the journey, Exile, struggle, the desert, darkness and light have the potential to lead a person to deeper growth in both the intellectual and experiential aspects of Christian faith.
True Spirituality by Francis Schaeffer (1971 Tyndale House Publishers). Philosopher, theologian, author and apostle to the questioning mind, Francis Schaeffer focuses on the deep sense of separation people experience: separation from God, separation from others, and even separation from our own selves. A classic work that offers hope to anyone longing for a more fully integrated life of faith.
Created in God's Image by Anthony A. Hoekema (1986 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing). Hoekema begins: "Central to the biblical understanding of man is the teaching that men and women were created in the image of God." He goes on to show how that image of God in humankind began, how it was perverted, how it can be renewed, and how it will one day be fully restored. Of our need for connectedness with God he says: "Man is bound to God as a fish is bound to water. When a fish seeks to be free from the water, it loses both its freedom and its life. When we seek to be ‘free’ from God, we become slaves of sin."
The Gospel and the New Spirituality by Charles Strohmer (1996 Thomas Nelson Publishers) This former astrologer offers an insightful contrast between Christian spirituality and newer forms of "cosmopolitan" spirituality. Strohmer admits that Christians often appear "offensive and ineffective" when communicating with today’s spiritual seekers. He describes these new spiritualities as a blend of Eastern religions, paganism, New Ageism, self-help, pop-psychologies, the occult and "a dash of Western optimism." And then He sets out to encourage understanding and effective methods of communicating with those who may be spiritual seekers.
The Next American Spirituality: Finding God in the Twenty-First Century by George Gallup, Jr. and Timothy Jones (2000 Victor Books). How do people experience God in their everyday lives? What will the spiritual landscape of America look like for the next century? What are the significant issues facing historic faiths like Christianity? Based on a nationwide survey, the findings from one of America’s leading pollsters are both unsettling and encouraging.
The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life by Os Guinness (1998 Word Publishing). From one of my favorite Christian thinkers, here’s a practical, nuts and bolts, yet artful and inspiring discussion on life’s deepest meaning and purpose. Guinness says: "Calling is not what it is commonly thought to be. It has to be dug out from under the rubble of ignorance and confusion. And uncomfortably it often flies directly in the face of our human inclinations. But no idea short of God’s call can ground and fulfill the truest human desire for purpose and fulfillment." He also deals with questions like: How do I discover my calling? What does it have to do with identity and personal growth? Is calling only a spiritual idea or does it cover secular life too? How does calling affect work, career, and ideas of success?