Many young Christians are waking up to the realities of climate change but just don't know how to help. Through stories from the field, theological and scriptural exploration, and practical advice, this field guide from Christian climate activist Kyle Meyaard-Schaap helps us take meaningful action grounded in the joy of caring for creation.
People today encounter a dizzying array of religious options. We might consider mystical faiths like Buddhism and Hinduism, historical religions like Islam and Mormonism, or more nebulous modern expressions of being spiritual but not religious or religious but not spiritual. How do we know what is true? Is one faith just as good as another?Trial lawyer Mark Lanier presents the claims made by the world's great religions, discusses their histories, and cross-examines their witnesses (their scriptures and traditions) to determine whether their claims are worthy of belief. With his keen legal mind and methodical style, he provides a careful comparative study, highlighting key truths he finds in each religion even as he offers critiques. Treating each perspective on its own terms and weighing the worldviews for consistency and livability, Lanier assesses evidence for and against belief systems with criteria for what constitutes sufficient proof.Believers and unbelievers alike will find here perceptive insights into how we can make sense of competing religious claims and what difference it makes for our own lives.
Culture affects how we make disciples. In this insightful roadmap, Charles Davis, former director of TEAM, provides a framework for missional disciple making across diverse cultural contexts. With on-the-ground stories from a lifetime of mission experience, Davis navigates cultural tensions to help Christian workers minister more effectively at home or overseas.
Do you find yourself wondering how to get new volunteers onboard for your ministry? Youth leaders Mark DeVries and Nate Stratman have heard all the reasons why leaders fail to get and keep volunteers. That's why they have developed this 30-day on-ramp to creating a volunteer team, with all of the needed tools included and a money-back guarantee.
John, the longest-surviving of the apostles, recorded in his Gospel a portrait of Jesus built on years of reflection. In this last volume of the Biblical Imagination Series, Michael Card shows how John fills out our picture of Jesus' divine identity, with stories and sayings of Jesus not recorded by the other Gospel writers.
Many pastors, chaplains and pastoral counselors play a vital role as agents of hope to people who are struggling, but most of them feel overwhelmed and unprepared to prevent suicides. Informed by her work as a psychologist, Karen Mason's guide to suicide prevention is an essential resource for proactive pastors.
Attract kids to church, the logic often goes, and you get parents in the pews. All that's left is to get the kids out of the way. Here children's ministers David Csinos and Ivy Beckwith draw on research in human development and spiritual formation to show how children become disciples and churches become centers of lifelong discipleship.
"When two fighters of equal ability and speed are matched . . . there is a greater advantage to the one who knows how to break the rhythm." -Bruce LeeRhythm is a blessing. By rhythm we dance, sing, clap, walk and breathe. Beyond the blessing is the Giver of Rhythm, who sometimes calls us past the patterns and habits we have established for ourselves into new understanding, new risk, new faith, hope and love. In those moments we have to decide where to place our trust: in God or in our precious rhythms. Spoken word poet Amena Brown has made rhythm her life's work. In Breaking Old Rhythms she explores how we discover by rhythm both our God-given limitations and potential, and the ways we limit God's work in our lives. Read this book and be reminded, and encouraged, that while God has rhythm, God is love, and God's love carries us beyond our rhythms into a fuller, more fulfilling life.
In this upbeat book Robbie Castleman shows parents how to guide their toddlers and teenagers to participate more fully in the worship of the church. This significantly revised and updated edition includes a new preface and new appendices with ideas for children's sermons and intergenerational community.
Drawing on her background in environmental engineering and her current pastoral role, Heather Zempel assesses the perils and possibilities inherent in small groups and other environments for Christian community. The book helps leaders begin to see the inherent "mess" of such gatherings as raw material for arriving at something beautiful.
Drawing on the influence of Peter Drucker and other mentors as well as his own years of experience as a pastor, administrator and college president, Gayle Beebe has developed a pyramid of leadership principles that define a leader of influence and integrity. Discover what it takes to be effective in your sphere of influence.
Are you grappling with a difficult verse in the Bible? And are you looking for a short, easy-to-read answer that really makes sense without explaining away the verse?Hard Sayings of the Bible is the handy reference book you need. Here you will find explanations of over five hundred of the most troubling verses to test the minds and hearts of Bible readers. Four seasoned scholars, all with a notable gift for communicating with people in the pew, take you behind the scenes to find succinct solutions to a wide variety of Bible difficulties, ranging from discrepancies about numbers to questions about God's justice.Historical, cultural and linguistic backgrounds shed light on these passages and not only help explain what they meant in biblical times but also show how they are relevant today.Now carefully cross-referenced with over one hundred new verses explained, as well as a dozen new introductory articles on chronology, miracles, archaeology, prophecy and more, Hard Sayings of the Bible offers the combined resources of five previous volumes that have over 250,000 copies in print.If you find yourself tied up in scriptural knots, here's the book that will help you cut through them.
This comprehensive guide to Bible study lays a foundation for why we read the Bible, what attitudes and expectations are most helpful as we enter into serious study, and what practices yield the most fruit. You will find everything you need to cultivate your curiosity, hone your attention and mine the applicabilities of whatever passage you find yourself in.
Is society beyond all hope of redemption as the Christian faith seems more and more irrelevant in our modern world? In Renaissance, Os Guinness declares that the church can once again change the world and become a renewing power in our society if we answer the call to a new Christian renaissance.
Many today have given up on church. But God has not and does not give up on the church. The church is God's idea. And once we truly understand what God has in mind for his people, we can become who he wants us to be.Bishop Claude Alexander shows how the original Christians did not always understand what the church was supposed to be, but God worked in them anyway to become the community that he intended. After the resurrection of Jesus, his followers were transformed from disillusion and doubt to become a people of conviction and new life. The book of Acts describes the unfolding purposes, principles, and practices discovered by the apostles as they gave themselves to Christ's call. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we too can be transformed by Jesus and model to the world what it means to know him--as the church.
Gather it from memory.Let it touch the earth.In Touch the Earth, Drew Jackson continues the project he began in God Speaks Through Wombs, reflecting on the Gospel of Luke through poetry. Touch the Earth picks up in chapter nine and continues through the end of Luke's Gospel. Part protest poetry, part biblical commentary, Jackson presents the gospel story in all its liberative power. Here the gospel is the "fresh words / that speak of / things impossible."From the feeding of the multitude ("The best hosts always provide / take home containers") to the resurrection of Jesus ("the belly of mother Earth / is, indeed, a womb . . . the humus of life is where we become fully human"), this collection helps us hear the hum of deliverance--against all hope--that's been in the gospel all along.
Saints of the past can't seem to say enough about their ecstatic experiences with the words of Scripture. The writer of Psalm 19, for example, can hardly contain himself as he exclaims that God's words and ways have revived his soul, made him wise, brought joy to his heart, given him clarity and correct perspective on his life, and warned him of danger. Why should our experiences of the Bible today fall short of this standard? What are we missing? Spiritual formation experts James Wilhoit and Evan Howard argue that our ancestors in the faith responded to the special nature of Scripture with special habits of reading. In this step-by-step introduction to the practice of lectio divina, you will learn what it means to read your way into a new and life-changing intimacy with God. Their simple, easy-to-follow explanation of this ancient practice provides a perfect foundation for you to begin meeting God in his Word as you: read, meditate, pray and contemplate.Discover a new experience of God's Word--one that leads you to experience more of God himself.
Building on the foundation of our LifeGuide® Bible Study Series, A Deeper Look at the Fruit of the Spirit takes your study to the next level with new tools for growth. As you delve into cultural backgrounds, make connections across books and engage in group exercises, you'll gain a deep vision of Christlike character.
Andrew Purves explores the true and essential nature of Christian ministry, rooting it in Christ's own example. He provides vision and direction for students and practicing ministers to reclaim the connection between Christ, themselves, and their ministries.
Richard Peace teaches you how to engage in easy and comfortable conversation about the good news of Jesus. Explaining the gospel in plain language and offering practical suggestions for sharing your faith with friends, neighbors and colleagues, he provides twelve study and discussion sessions perfect for small groups to work through--and try out--together.
The historical claims of the New Testament--that Jesus performed miracles, fulfilled prophecy, died and rose again, and ascended into heaven--come to us as received tradition, and we receive them in faith, trusting that the New Testament is indeed an inspired collection of writings, that it indeed tells us the truth. Increasingly, the reliability of not just the New Testament but really any document of history is called into question. If everyone writes from a point of view and with an agenda, can we reasonably expect any historical account to be objective--to tell us the truth? In this newly revised edition of Is the New Testament Reliable? Paul Barnett defends the task of the historian and the concept of history. He then addresses questions about the New Testament of importance to people of faith and skeptics alike: How close in time are the New Testament documents to the life of Jesus? Why should we believe the writings of "biased" early Christians? Were any of the writers of the New Testament books eyewitnesses to the events it records? How can we know that what was originally written has not been altered through the centuries?It is no small thing to trust ancient claims, but Barnett shows that we can take confidence in the New Testament, for it tells us the truth.
Exploring biblical, theological and historical perspectives, Robert A. Peterson and Michael D. Williams critique problemmatic aspects of Arminian thought, particularly Arminian views on human nature and God's sovereignty.
Help and hope for men . . .undermined by silent fathersharassed by pornography and sexual temptationafraid of failing those they love mostangered by past relationships with womenHelp and hope for women . . .lost in their relationships with othersbetrayed by fathers, husbands or male leaderswounded by sexual assaultparalyzed by self-hatredAndrew Comiskey sees our weakness as "a threshold for holy power"--the point at which God can meet us for healing and equip us for service. He has seen it happen again and again. During many years of ministry, Comiskey, his wife, Annette, and their fellow "strugglers" have accompanied hundreds of wounded men and women to transformation at the cross of Christ. Telling real-life stories of despair, hope and lasting change, Comiskey lays out the foundations for healing from relational and sexual sin. With chapters focusing on particular areas of vulnerability for men and women, on the battle over homosexuality in church and culture, and on the essential role of the church in ongoing healing, Strength in Weakness makes clear the way to the cross--God's sufficient answer to our deepest needs.
God calls us to forgive those who have hurt us, but that's often easier said than done. Combining insights from his professional research and personal experience, Everett L. Worthington, Jr. shows what it takes (intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and relationally) to move toward and beyond forgiveness and to cross the bridge to reconciliation.
Avoiding the pitfalls of both radical feminism and reactionary conservatism, Sarah Sumner traces a new path through the thicket of issues--biblical, theological, psychological and practical--to establish and affirm common ground in the debate over men and women in the church.
Rick Richardson shares fresh ideas for sharing Christ with postmodern people. Also included is "The Circles of Belonging," a new presentation of the gospel that is true to the way people think and live.
Leading readers through self-diagnosis and step-by-step through the stages of recovery, Russell Willingham reminds us of all the resouces Christians have at their disposal for dealing with sexual addiction.
Robert G. Clouse brings together four scholars to debate various views on the millennium: George Eldon Ladd, Herman A. Hoyt, Loraine Boettner and Anthony A. Hoekema.
Peter Kreeft's Socrates enters the debate on abortion, considering the arguments of psychology, medicine and philosophy.
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