So many of you knew my dad – Pastor Ken Smith – either in Thailand or from his years of ministry in California. You can enjoy his biography, which came out in 2009. Finding Waldo was a labor of love and I hope you are blessed by it. Amazon’s got it in a discounted e-book format; just click on Finding Waldo.
Thanks to Pastor Mike Gill for this generous review of Finding Waldo!
“The book title intrigued me for months before I made the purchase. I was familiar with the literary works of David Smith and, as a pastor, had found his publications to be a gold mine of creative expression. When I realized that he was the son of Darwood Kaye from the “Our Gang” series and the book was on his life, I knew I had to read it. The book is the telling of a conversion story, from Hollywood actor to missionary and preacher, and it was told wonderfully; the best read I have experienced in many years. I read it while on vacation and found myself weaving the story line into all my conversations upon my return. I finally choose to develop the story into a sermon. Only after telling the story to everyone in my congregation could I let the subject rest. Many thanks to David Smith for sharing his father’s journey with us.”
Here’s more good e-book reading at bargain prices! You can also get some titles in print form!
The Gospel According to “Jerry Maguire”
“You had me at ‘hello.’” “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.” “The fall will probably kill you!” “You make me want to be a better man.” It’s been said that cinematic story telling involves putting an appealing character “up a tree,” and then some antagonist throws rocks at him. I don’t know about that, but we can all relate to the dilemma of facing a frightening foe (like a man-eating shark.) What’s the solution? Well, for sure you’re going to need a bigger boat. I confess that movies do have their seamy side, and an R-rating is nothing to take lightly. But all the stories alluded to in these pages share something about the human condition, and how desperately our world needs a Redeemer who immersed Himself in the rough-and-tumble life stories of the people Jesus loved and blessed.
It’s been a while, but I have a brand new book hopping up into the Amazon marketplace. “The Saga of Farmer Jesus” explores the Parable of the Sower, one of my favorites. This book has a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor from my Bangkok days (and some grandpa laments), a dose of Morris Venden and C. S. Lewis, and confessions from my current dream gig as a math professor at Valley College. The book’s available in both print and electronic format, and I hope you’ll find it a blessing.
If you enjoy a Christmas sing-along, this is the perfect stocking stuffer. These 21 cheerful essays explore some of the finest solos and choruses in Handel’s legendary oratario. Experience the exuberance of “For Unto Us a Child Is Born,” the dizzying runs on “His Burthen Is Light,” the somber chills of “Surely He Hath Born Our Griefs,” and of course, the holiday splendor of “Hallelujah Chorus!” Originally presented as a four-year December tradition on Christian radio, I’ve compiled these reflections into a fun and inspiring holiday book. I hope you and your loved ones are comforted and blessed. 3.00
This is a radio-script compilation that served as a companion book to the awesome bestseller, “Live 10 Healthy Years Longer,” by Jan Kuzma and Cecil Murphey. It really is possible to add a whole bonus decade to your life . . . and a HUGE focus group has recently proved it! These are user-friendly lifestyle bonuses that you can easily adapt to your own personal lifestyle.
$ .99
Is it safe to believe your own eyes? Or trust instead in the plain testimony of God’s Word Barefoot and pregnant, Andi Greene sends her husband Tommy off to do battle in a renewed Middle East conflict. When bad news comes from the battle front, she seeks solace from a goodhearted New Age guide named Lucie. The soul of her lost lover makes regular appearances – at $80 a session. But all is not as it seems to be, and Andi finds herself in a desperate struggle with cosmic forces determined to finish what they’ve started. She and her infant son – and a surprise visitor – are the focus of a deadly clash between good and evil. Spirit’s Double is a chilling tale of supernatural deception and the redemptive power of the cross. $3.00
Is it really and truly free? Is it unlimited? Can it save “a wretch like me?” Borrowing from a widespread and sparkling assortment of illustrations from history, politics, and pop culture, this new e-book contains twenty-five dynamic essays on the topic of Christian grace. To a cynical world’s lament that “it can’t be that easy,” the reply is plain: Yes, it really can. The forgiveness that flows from Calvary is eternal and nonnegotiable . . . if we will reach out and grasp it. $3.00
Moving Through the Valley of Doubt
How do we cope when faith threatens to slip away? The most durable of Christian heroes often succumb to the numb specter of doubt. “Are the things I once believed still true?” Pillars like John the Baptist, Mother Teresa, and Billy Graham have confessed that there were times in their walk with God where atheism and an empty universe seemed increasingly probable scenarios. These six chapters paint a picture of durable confidence, of reality checks and practical suggestions for keeping your belief system intact. “We must train the habit of faith,” C. S. Lewis wryly observed in one of his own baffling life periods of trial and distrust. Despite the questions that will challenge us to the very end, God’s Word provides a secure framework of hope and confidence through good times and hard. $ .99
“I go to prepare a place for you,” Jesus promised. And what a place! God tells us we simply can’t imagine it all. “Eye hath not seen . . .,” remember? Still, it’s fun to try. And that’s what this unique book is all about – anticipating a heaven so real, so full of love and joy, that we can’t wait to go! Heaven turns our focus from this troubled world to a place where pain, sickness, and death shatter in obsolescence. To a life without hate, disease, goodbyes, or limitations. To the endless possibilities of fascinating things to do and see. Best of all, it gives us a foretaste of what it will be like to live in the presence of Jesus – forever! $2.00
What does it really take to become a member of God’s family – and then cheerfully and confidently remain there? What are the nuts and bolts of our chosen faith? How do we grow in Jesus? Share his name? Remain confident that our salvation is secure? Your Biggest Decision Ever is filled with a lot of fun stories and illustrations from here and there, including the Green Bay Packers, Charlie Brown and Linus, and my cousin Morris Venden. $1.00
When a struggling sinner comes into God’s family, can he or she know they can stay? Under what circumstances would our heavenly Father undo his promised protection and send us back to the orphanage? Originally aired as a five-week nationwide Christian radio series, The Perfect Adoption explores the powerful and healing metaphor of adoption as a way of understanding our salvation. Filled with sparkling anecdotes from sports, politics, film, and Ralphie’s prayer for a new Red Ryder BB gun, this volume explores the proper role of obedience and the work of the Holy Spirit in sealing our friendship with God. Chapter titles include: “Raised By an AK-47,” “Now President Bartlet’s Really Mad,” “A Big Brother Named Julius,” and “Left Out at Disneyland.” $2.00
Time of Terror, Time of Healing
In the wake of 9/11, people everywhere grappled with hard questions. Where was God on that fateful Tuesday? Why does heaven allow such tragedies and mindless atrocities? Is it all right for God’s people to be angry and to seek vengeance? Does our heavenly Father plan to EVER address evil and defeat it? First broadcast as a series of national radio addresses, Time of Terror, Time of Healing is a dynamic and powerful exploration of these difficult issues. It provides a galactic view of heaven’s war against sin and evil and promises comfort to the hurting individual who wonders if we are alone in this battered world. These pages introduce us to a Savior who weeps when we weep. This book discusses the proper time for anger, shows how God makes things right, and reveals the way Christians can respond appropriately to fear and suffering. Through many poignant illustrations, we grapple together with the “Why” questions and come to the place where nothing in this life matters more than living in His presence. $3.00
Overcoming the Barrier of Anger
What are Christians supposed to do when someone betrays them? When your job is unfairly outsourced – and the company asks you to train your replacement? When your daughter is sexually molested? This volume confronts the brutal realities of life in a broken world, and the almost impossible challenge to “forgive our trespassers.” What kinds of anger are biblical, and how long should we allow even righteous indignation to linger in our soul? These seventeen humor-filled, often poignant chapters take the reader through the detailed steps that can lead them to spiritual freedom and the miracle of a new beginning. Chapters include: “How Long Should You Hold a Hand Grenade?”, “Wound-Up Anger on The West Wing,” “World War III Over a Quart of Strawberries,” and “’Let’s Pretend You Didn’t Sin.’” $2.00
Meet Malachon and Pershia, rulers of Planet Senteria. Through the aid of their all-seeing screen, they watch horrified as an evil force invades the Father’s government and plummets Planet Earth into darkness. With the mutiny of Lucifer and demise of Adam and Eve flashing before them in vivid scenes, they wait anxiously to see what the Three will do. And then, the incomprehensible happens. The Father, Son, and Spirit call it redemption. Unable to grasp it, Malachon and Pershia simply call it love. Through their eyes you’ll experience the fascinating events in this cosmic war, gain fresh insights into the plan of salvation, and grasp more fully Heaven’s love for you. I wanted to tell a sci-fi story that makes the conflict on earth a central theater of the universe, with sinless beings throughout God’s boundless kingdom watching the Calvary story unfold. $2.00
I was at a convention of the Religion Communicators Council where they debuted a Bill Moyers film simply entitled Amazing Grace. It told the poignant story of how this great gospel song was composed by slave-ship captain John Newton and how it has touched lives all around the globe. During my flight home to L.A., I began to think about each phrase just in the first verse. How sweet the sound . . . that saved a wretch like me . . . I once was lost . . . but now am found. There seemed to be a good sermon in each and every line. When I got home I asked God to bless my efforts, and the ten radio sermon in this book are what came forth. I hope you are encouraged by them. $1.00
I’ve spent enough years turning down my own bass amp to understand that there is a “music war” going on within Christianity. Whole churches are splitting up over the issue of contemporary Christian music. What are the principles that believers on both sides of the divide should consider? Are some forms of music inherently “bad”? What about the admitted problem of insipid or repetitive lyrics? Or the tendency of some praise bands to “perform” instead of taking the congregation to the throne of grace? This book came from ten radio sermons we presented on this fascinating topic. $1.00
Lessons From the Texas Book Depository
There was a sudden, sharp, shattering sound.
Those seven words are the chilling turning point in William Manchester’s epic tale, “The Death of a President.” Now, fifty years after the bloody Friday in Dallas, I reflect on some of the spiritual lessons to be learned from a senseless tragedy. Is there divine meaning to be found in the random madness of an assassination? How can God’s children learn to relinquish hate, to forgive others, to live at peace with political adversaries? This Kindle mini-book contains six devotionals that originally aired on the nationwide “Voice of Prophecy” radio program. $1.00
These are classic stories – Daniel in the lions’ den. Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego refusing to bow down to the king’s golden image, and
meeting a mysterious Fourth Man in the fiery furnace. King
Nebuchadnezzar goes completely insane . . . and I mean, stark raving
crazy! This was a really fun radio series from a while ago; I hope you
get a blessing from them. $1.00
An outraged world once observed that Slobodan Milosevic used his own
people like pawns. He spent them like poker chips simply to keep himself in power. All of us at times feel used, expendable, like our identity has been stripped away. In a world ravaged by Internet porn and homes without dads, innocent family members can feel like they’re last week’s leftovers. “Does anybody care about me?” What does God’s Word say is the true source of our worth. Nowhere Man takes current stories and slices of human drama to paint a dramatic new portrait of VALUE . . . as measured by God’s own bar codes. These ten essays describe the lasting worth each one of us can have as redeemed trophies of a heavenly Father. $1.00
David B. Smith Books 