The Way of Repentance with Chris Brauns

Solid Joys is a collection of 366 daily devotionals written and read by John Piper. These concise readings draw from Scripture to help believers find joy in Jesus, emphasizing God's promises, future grace, and the supremacy of God in worship. Published by Desiring God, the devotionals are available online and encourage a daily focus on Christ-centered faith and resilience against unbelief.

Jonathan Gibson's 'Be Thou My Vision' is a devotional resource that cultivates daily rhythms of prayer and trust anchored in the classic hymn and biblical reflection. The book provides meditations and practical guidance for leaning on God during trials, suitable for personal and family devotion. Brauns referenced it as helpful during his wife's health crisis, indicating pastoral usefulness in seasons of suffering. The resource emphasizes Scripture, liturgical practices, and short prayers to sustain faith amid trials.

Kevin DeYoung's piece addresses the tendency in modern preaching and evangelism to underemphasize repentance, urging a restoration of the term in gospel proclamation. DeYoung summarizes biblical, pastoral, and cultural reasons for reclaiming repentance and offers concrete suggestions for preaching and discipleship. The article has circulated among pastors as a prompt to integrate repentance more clearly into evangelistic and pastoral language. Brauns referenced it as one of the prompts that pushed him to write his book on repentance.

Michael Ovey's 'The Feast of Repentance' explores repentance as a central, joyous theme of the gospel, particularly drawing from Luke's parables and pastoral imagination. Ovey argues that repentance is not merely sorrow but an occasion for celebration because it reunites sinners with a gracious Father and restores right relationship with God. The book balances theological depth with pastoral application, helping ministers and laypeople appreciate repentance's transformative, communal, and celebratory dimensions. Ovey addresses pastoral challenges in calling people to repent, offering liturgical and biblical resources to foster genuine sorrow for sin and hopeful joy in restoration. The work has been influential in contemporary Reformed circles for reclaiming repentance's centrality in preaching and pastoral care.

Bound Together (coauthored by Chris Brauns) critiques modern expressive individualism and defends the biblical doctrine of corporate solidarity in Adam and union with Christ. The book argues that individualistic assumptions undermine gospel realities like corporate sin, covenantal belonging, and ecclesial formation, and proposes practical ways churches can cultivate mutual accountability and shared discipleship. Drawing on Reformed theology and pastoral experience, it addresses cultural trends that isolate believers and offers theological correction alongside pastoral strategies. While engaging cultural analysis, it emphasizes ordinary means of grace and local church practices as primary arenas for growth in holiness and mutual care.

Thomas Brooks's Puritan writings, including 'Precious Remedies for Satan's Devices,' provide pastoral counsel about spiritual warfare, repentance, and the believer's walk with God. Brooks warns that Satan uses deceptive schemes—like making repentance seem trivial—to keep believers from genuine holiness, and offers grounded remedies rooted in Scripture. His vivid pastoral prose has been used for centuries to exhort Christians to vigilance, deeper repentance, and trust in Christ. The works blend practical application, biblical exposition, and pastoral care, and remain influential in Reformed devotional literature. Brauns cites Brooks to emphasize the seriousness and effort involved in genuine repentance.

Matt Smethurst distills over 40 years of Tim Keller's teachings into a structured exploration of the Christian life. The book examines Keller's insights on topics like prayer, suffering, friendship, vocation, and intimacy with God, situating them within the biblical narrative of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. Drawing from Keller's sermons, books, and interviews, Smethurst presents a practical guide for believers seeking to grow in their faith and apply gospel-centered principles to daily life.