2017 ECPA Christian Book Award Finalist (Christian Living category) Are you getting the spiritual nourishment you need? Optimal health requires optimal nutrition. The same is true spiritually speaking. Without sufficient and regular biblical nutrition, our inner lives begin to suffer the consequences. We become shallow and selfish, more demanding and less gentle, and quick to react impatiently, rashly, and angrily. These are telltale signs of inner malnutrition. In Searching the Scriptures, respected Bible teacher Chuck Swindoll shows us how to dig deep into Scripture and uncover its profound truths for our lives. He outlines the principles of Bible study that will help you understand God’s Word, apply it, and communicate it clearly to those around you. Too many people try to go it alone, without a guide, for this life and the next. Chuck explains how we can fix our own spiritual meals, then invites us to feast on nourishing truths we can discover in God’s Word.
With nearly fifty years combined global church-planting experience, Craig Ott and Gene Wilson are well qualified to write a comprehensive, up-to-date guide for cross-cultural church planting. Combining substantive biblical principles and missiological understanding with practical insights, this book walks readers through the various models and development phases of church planting. Advocating methods that lead to church multiplication, the authors emphasize the role of the missionary church planter. They offer helpful reflection on current trends and provide best practices gathered from research and empirical findings around the globe. The book takes up a number of special issues not addressed in most church planting books, such as use of short-term teams, partnerships, and wise use of resources. Full of case studies and real examples from around the world, this practical text will benefit students, church planters, missionaries, and missional church readers.
Jesus' final words to his disciples ring down through the ages: preach the gospel to every individual and disciple every nation. Preach the gospel? Got it. But what does it mean to disciple the nations? Do I preach or teach? To individuals or groups of people? What exactly did Jesus want me to do? Come explore these questions through Scripture, history, and the ideas and experiences of those who are actively engaged in discipling nations. You'll discover that God's kingdom comes in and through many ministries, vocations, and locations-from university campuses to developing regions, in kitchens and boardrooms, through government, journalism, and the arts. All followers of Christ, not a select group, are needed to bring God's grace and truth to individuals, cultures, and nations, to do the works God prepared in advance for us to do. Jesus' words are for each of us, wherever we are and whatever God has gifted us to do. What does it look like for you, for the body of Christ worldwide, to respond passionately and creatively to the call of God in our day to see every person and every nation transformed?
Jesus' Great Commission is one of the key pillars of the church's evangelistic work and has been the guiding principle for missionaries throughout church history. In 40 Questions about the Great Commission, scholars Daniel Akin, Benjamin Merkle, and George Robinson unpack the meaning, history, theology, and practical applications of Jesus' command to go and make disciples. Ideal for personal or group study, this volume will reignite your passion for evangelism while answering key questions like:
Where do we stand in relation to fulfilling the Great Commission?
How do baptism and teaching relate to the Great Commission?
What is the meaning of "I am with you always, to the end of the age"?
How does the Old Testament relate to the Great Commission?
What is the special contribution of each Gospel's version of the Great Commission?
What is the responsibility of the local church to the Great Commission?
What are some mobilization resources that can help churches and individuals to become Great Commission focused?
Other highlights include an overview of some of the great evangelists and missionaries in church history, and a collection of notable quotations on the Great Commission, ideal for teaching and preaching.
"40 Questions About the Great Commission is an indispensable text for any pastor, professor, or student who cares about the Christian mission. In it, a biblical scholar, missiologist, and seminary president join forces to answer every question you've ever asked—or never asked—about our Lord’s parting commission to his disciples. Substantive, lucid, and compelling." --Bruce Ashford, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
"The church has one job. It is called the Great Commission. Every Christian soldier should know the who, the what, the why, and the where of the marching orders left by our Lord and Commander-in-Chief, and this book does just that in an engaging and encouraging way. Read it and then get on with it!" --James Merritt, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
"This book is a succinct and at the same time wide-ranging exposition of the commission of Jesus given to the disciples and thus to the church to proclaim the gospel far and wide. The authors elucidate the meaning of key passages in Scripture and thus present the geographical scope, the theological content, and important historical parameters of the mission of the church. This book deserves to be read by every Christian believer committed to the glory of God in all the world and to the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ." --Eckhard J. Schnabel, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
The purpose of Christian Discipleship is to help you, as a follower of Jesus Christ, to fulfill this Great Commission in your personal life. Christian Discipleship will guide you through the disciplemaking process, step-by-step, and help you make the most of your time and effort in discipling new believers and others who need this vital training. Whether you are a youth minister, pastor, young person or adult, this manual will get you involved in reaching others for Christ and then training them to make disciples.
Go and do. Jesus commands it, and the world needs it. Mission mobilizer Paul Borthwick shows how proclamation and demonstration of the gospel go hand in hand, bringing together the Great Commission of Matthew 28 and the Great Compassion of Matthew 25, while offering practical, holistic ways for us to live them out in every sphere of our lives.
"Chock full of biblical wisdom - you'll find yourself underlining line after line, page after page. -- Marty Machowski, Author, Long Story Short and The Gospel Story Bible. Your children will either live forever with Jesus or apart from him. Too many growing up in Christian homes will not follow Christ as adults. Do you have a strategy for parenting in today's hostile culture? The Disciple-Making Parent will give you confidence in your journey. In the Disciple-Making Parent you will learn: The North Star to Guide Your Parenting The Process Second-Generation Christians Go Through The Reasons Young People Walk Away from the Faith Nine Powerful Influences Found in Wise Families How Your Example Can Commend the Gospel What Your Children are Watching at Home How to Explain Hypocrisy to Them Why the Heart is the Most Important Part of Them (and How to Stay Connected How Discipline Prepares Them for the Gospel How To Clearly Explain the Gospel to Little Children How to Nourish Them with the Word of God Different Ways to Have Family Devotions (and When to Stop) How to Cast a Vision of the World How to Pray for Your Children (and for Yourself) The Doubts Your Children Will Experience and What You Can Do How to Deal with the Electronics and Media Tsunami And Much More So comprehensive that I could remove all the parenting books I have and place only The Disciple-Making Parent on the shelf! - Jackie Kendall, President, Power to Grow, Author, Lady in Waiting.
God means to fulfill the Great Commission through local churches. How did the apostles and the churches of the New Testament obey the Great Commission? By gathering Christians together in churches. The church is God’s plan for evangelism, discipleship, and the Great Commission. This connection between the Great Commission and the church dramatically impacts how both leaders and members should think about their work of making disciples. We do it together.
Many churches in America today want to be powerful, relevant, and influential in personal and social transformation. But whose kingdom are we building? God's? Or our own? A plethora of programs for outreach, discipleship, and spiritual disciplines are available at any bookstore and on countless websites. Yet what we need most is a renewed understanding of and commitment to the Great Commission. We assume that we already know the nature of this commission and the appropriate methods of carrying it out. But Michael Horton contends that it too often becomes our mission instead of God's. At a time when churches are zealously engaged in writing up mission statements and strategic plans, he argues that we must ask ourselves anew whether we are ambassadors, following the script we've been given, or building our own kingdoms with our own blueprint. Pastors, church leaders, and readers of Horton's Christless Christianity and The Gospel-Driven Life will value this frank and hopeful exploration of the Great Commission as a call to understanding and good practice.
