Hard Sayings: Reconciling the Cost of Discipleship and the American Dream

Hard Sayings: Reconciling the Cost of Discipleship and the American Dream

Author: Joshua West

Publisher: Ambassador International

Published: 2020-05-26

Total Pages: 110

ISBN-13: 1620207354

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"A blockbuster of a message to the church and to preachers . . . " -Don Wilkerson, President, Teen Challenge, Inc. Can American Christianity really reconcile itself to the hard sayings of Jesus and the teaching of Scripture, or have we invented a version suitable for mass consumption that agrees with our Western ideas of fairness, our so-called rights, and the all-important American dream? In order to make God approachable, have we left out the parts of the New Testament we don't like? Is there a cost to being a disciple of Jesus? How do we reconcile the teachings of the Jesus we find in Scripture with the American Jesus we have created? In Hard Sayings: Reconciling the Cost of Discipleship and the American Dream, pastor and international speaker Joshua West considers these questions and more, and he compares the parables, teachings, and person of Jesus Christ found in Scripture against the pop culture Jesus we have invented in the West. Looking at the entertainment-driven, celebrity culture of the American church, West challenges the reader to reconcile what the Bible calls the cost of discipleship with the American dream.


Keeping the Cross Central

Keeping the Cross Central

Author: Don Wilkerson

Publisher: Destiny Image Publishers

Published: 2021-04-01

Total Pages: 101

ISBN-13: 0768459788

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Teen Challenge, also known as Adult and Teen Challenge, was founded as an evangelistic outreach to drug addicts in Brooklyn, New York City. As a holistic Christian ministry with the life- changing message of the gospel, this faith-based rehabilitation program was created with the vision that God can redeem the whole person, starting on day one of the program. This unique approach has produced success rates of over 70% for those who complete the rehabilitation program. However, as Teen Challenge has grown worldwide, with over 1,400+ centers in 129 countries, some centers are now turning to secular methods in order to access government funding. As co-founder of Teen Challenge, Don Wilkerson raises a warning flag on this mission drift: the power of the Cross, which brings about a changed life, must be the priority in treating drug addiction; if the Cross is not central to the mission of any Teen Challenge center, then it is not worthy of using the name Teen Challenge. The ministry must never lose its vision and focus in bringing men and women to Christthrough the gospel and discipleshipand stay faithful to the original mission which the founders stood upon.


The Lost Message of Jesus

The Lost Message of Jesus

Author: Steve Chalke

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 0310248825

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The real Jesus is deeply challenging, something which cannot be said for the stain-glass window figure of Christian imagery. "The Lost Message of Jesus" is written to stir thoughtful debate, to pose fresh questions, perhaps even to shed a little new light and help create a deeper understanding of Jesus and his message.


The Cost of Discipleship

The Cost of Discipleship

Author: Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Publisher:

Published: 2016-07-09

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 9781535181075

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One of the most important theologians of the twentieth century illuminates the relationship between ourselves and the teachings of Jesus.


The Cost of Discipleship

The Cost of Discipleship

Author: Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Publisher: Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 9780334028567

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Before his arrest by the Nazis in 1943, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was head of a seminary of the German Confessing Church. In "The Cost of Discipleship", he focuses on the most treasured part of Christ's teaching, the Sermon on the Mount.


Stop Taking Sides

Stop Taking Sides

Author: Adam Mabry

Publisher: The Good Book Company

Published: 2020-09-01

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 178498549X

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Love and wrath. Sovereignty and responsibility. Victory and suffering. Some of the truths we read in the Bible seem to be in opposition to each other. We naturally tend to gravitate towards a side, but when we lose sight of one truth in order to protect the other, we are in danger of becoming proud, creating division, and diminishing our faith. In this compelling, inspiring, and at times provocative book, Adam Mabry urges us to stop taking sides and refuse to participate in tribalism by mapping out a way to hold in tension truths that we so often divide over. You’ll discover how our joy and our witness rest on us learning to hold to all that the Scriptures teach and growing in virtue as we do. You’ll learn how to wrestle with all that the Scriptures say, to embrace mystery, to listen closely, and to speak with clarity.


Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Author: Christopher Hitchens

Publisher: HarperCollins UK

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 0007213727

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Hitchens brings the character of Jefferson to life as a man of his time and also as a symbolic figure beyond it. Conflicted by power, Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and acted as Minister to France yet yearned for a quieter career in the Virginia legislature. Predicting that slavery would shape the future of America's development, this professed proponent of emancipation continued to own human property. He negotiated the Louisiana Purchase with France, doubling the size of the nation, and authorized the Lewis and Clark expedition, opening up the American frontier. The Barbary War, a lesser-known chapter of his political career, led to the building of the U.S. Navy and the fortification of America's reputation regarding national defense. In the background is the fledgling nation's struggle for independence, formed in the crucible of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, and, in its shadow, the deformation of that struggle in the excesses of the French Revolution.


The Cross and the Lynching Tree

The Cross and the Lynching Tree

Author: James H. Cone

Publisher: Orbis Books

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 160833001X

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A landmark in the conversation about race and religion in America. "They put him to death by hanging him on a tree." Acts 10:39 The cross and the lynching tree are the two most emotionally charged symbols in the history of the African American community. In this powerful new work, theologian James H. Cone explores these symbols and their interconnection in the history and souls of black folk. Both the cross and the lynching tree represent the worst in human beings and at the same time a thirst for life that refuses to let the worst determine our final meaning. While the lynching tree symbolized white power and "black death," the cross symbolizes divine power and "black life" God overcoming the power of sin and death. For African Americans, the image of Jesus, hung on a tree to die, powerfully grounded their faith that God was with them, even in the suffering of the lynching era. In a work that spans social history, theology, and cultural studies, Cone explores the message of the spirituals and the power of the blues; the passion and of Emmet Till and the engaged vision of Martin Luther King, Jr.; he invokes the spirits of Billie Holliday and Langston Hughes, Fannie Lou Hamer and Ida B. Well, and the witness of black artists, writers, preachers, and fighters for justice. And he remembers the victims, especially the 5,000 who perished during the lynching period. Through their witness he contemplates the greatest challenge of any Christian theology to explain how life can be made meaningful in the face of death and injustice.


David Wilkerson

David Wilkerson

Author: Gary Wilkerson

Publisher: HarperChristian + ORM

Published: 2014-09-02

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 0310337445

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How did one man's unshakable faith shape the future of thousands struggling to break free from the grip of addiction, poverty, and sin? Join Gary Wilkerson as he shares a never-before-seen look at the incredible life and legacy of his father, bestselling author and evangelist David Wilkerson. This book tells the story of David Wilkerson, a man who refused to give up on those on the streets even when they had given up on themselves, and who saw in the eyes of drug addicts and gang members what others failed to see--the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. But who was David Wilkerson? When Wilkerson moved to New York from rural Pennsylvania in 1958 to confront the gangs who ran the streets, he was a skinny, 120-pound man. After the initial publicity that brought him face to face with some of the most dangerous young men in the city, he largely flew under the radar of the media, using the Word of God and a bit of tough love to help men and women of the street escape the destructive spiral of drugs and violence. Wilkerson was always the real deal, full of passion and conviction, not interested in what others said was the "right" thing to do. An evangelist both in America and overseas, David authored books that inspired people to be serious about their relationship with Christ. His financial generosity reached around the globe, providing homes for the destitute and feeding programs for the hungry. When he founded the Times Square Church in 1987, his ministry impacted more lives than he ever dreamed possible. Throughout David Wilkerson, you'll be inspired by: The life-changing power of faith What it means to trust God wholeheartedly The importance of following your true, God-given calling David was a man of faith who trusted God would give him what he needed to enter a cruel world; a man of conviction who took the dream God gave him and marched forward without ever looking back. As you come to know David's story, you'll learn to see the world the way he did--through the lens of eternity.


The Unbearable Wholeness of Being

The Unbearable Wholeness of Being

Author: Ilia Delio

Publisher: Orbis Books

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 1626980292

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This title explores the meaning of Christian theology in light of the scientific discoveries of our age. Like Teilhard de Chardin and Thomas Berry, Delio opens out eyes to the omni-active, all-powerful, all-intelligent Love that forms and guides the interrelatedness and interbeing of everything and everyone - ourselves included.