J rgen Moltmann formulates necessary questions about the significance of Jesus the Christ for persons today. He offers a compelling portrait of the earthly Jesus as the divine brother in our distress and suffering and points to the risen Christ as the warrant for the "future in which God will restore everything . . . and gather everything into his kingdom." Urging that acknowledgment of Christ and discipleship are two sides of the same coin, Moltmann contends that the question of Jesus Christ for today is not just an intellectual one. Moltmann takes fresh approaches to a number of crucial topics: Jesus and the kingdom of God, the passion of Christ and the pain of God, Jesus as brother of the tortured, and the resurrection of Christ as hope for the world, the cosmic Christ, Jesus in Jewish- Christian dialogue, the future of God, and others.
for every healthy tree bears good fruit --; Demand #28 : love your enemies--lead them to the truth --; Demand #29 : love your enemies--pray for those who abuse you --; Demand #30 : love your enemies--do good to those who hate you, give to the one who asks --; Demand #31 : love your enemies to show that you are children of God --; Demand #32 : love your neighbor as yourself,
This important reference for any home library is the perfect guide to New Testament culture, language, history, and teachings. Jesus Christ and the World of the New Testament is richly illustrated with hundreds of images, including original artwork, artifacts, maps, and timelines. Uncover the origins of the books of the New Testament and learn how stories of Christs life and teachings were preserved after His death. Explore the relationships between Greek, Roman, and Jewish culture that explain much about how the gospel was shared and recorded. Examine scriptural issues that have been debated by scholars throughout the ages. Nearly 300 topics provide valuable context to understanding New Testament times, from the role of women and families, to portraits of key personalities, to controversial legends that have persisted to our day. This unique resource is sure to enrich New Testament studies as never before!
With its relentless insistence that there is no reality beyond that which we construct, postmodern thought questions the presuppositions of many disciplines, including homiletics. Offering a lively description of the postmodern worldview and its implications for Christian faith, Confessing Jesus Christ by David Lose teaches preachers how to rise to the challenges posed by our postmodern world. Few if any books on preaching offer such a comprehensive investigation of postmodern thought or yield such a wealth of insights for relevant Christian proclamation. Significantly, Lose sees postmodernism not primarily as an obstacle to the church but as an opportunity for it to stand once again on faith alone rather than on attempts to prove the faith. According to Lose, preaching that seeks to be both faithful to the Christian tradition and responsive to our pluralistic, postmodern context is best understood as the public practice of confessing faith in Jesus Christ. He explores the practical implications of a confessional homiletic for preaching and also provides concrete methods for preparing sermons that meaningfully bridge biblical texts and contemporary congregations.
Over six thousand years ago in the regions of the third heaven, a Triune council of the Holies, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, brought about the creation of heaven and earth and all that was created in the six days as we have record of written in the Word of God. In the likeness of the Triune God was man created, being formed from the dust of the ground. God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. God planted a garden eastward in Eden and there he put the man whom he had formed. I have not the pen or vocabulary to describe the pristine beauty that this garden entailed prior to the first footprint impressed upon this sacred garden. Then God said. "it is not good that man should be alone", and He made a help meet for him, so the first parents perfect environment of no sin, no decay; a paradise for eyes to behold. But alas, sin entered and Adam and Eve were put out of the garden and we have the fall of mankind; the fall of no hope. It had become certain that death would reign and only the Triune God had made plans for the redemption of mankind, all knowing that man would sin and fall victim to sin and that redemption plan was already decided beforehand in the regions of the third heaven long before man was created. The redemption plan was provided to come into the world as the Son of God, the hypostatic union, meaning Christ's humanity and divinity in one hypostasis, or individual existence, being born by a miraculous entry into the world. We will never understand how God and man could unite in one person. The deep things and mysteries of God are far beyond our horizon. Although He was in the likeness of men, that refers to the human nature. He was sinless and He appeared as man in looks and dress but was unlike the natural man in that sin was not an integral part in his unfallen human nature. He had to become man in order to die on the cross for you and me. But He did not diminish the Person. The two natures in Christ are not fused together, they remain distinct and different. Let me say He did not give up Deity or the use of His attributes of Deity. Read Isaiah 53:12. He poured out His soul unto death. None of Christ's divine attributes were relinquished. However, He obscured His majestic glory while embodied by the earthly body. Recorded in the four Gospels is what we have of the life of Christ on this earth. There is no complete biography that could ever be written of the life of Christ on the earth because there are so many details not given. The four Gospels give its own emphasis of how they described the works and life of Christ. The false teachings of cults and critics and evolutionary of man becoming gods is not what our Bible says; it is opposite the false teachings. The Bible says God became man, who was Jesus Christ, both man and God.
Who is Jesus Christ? You've never met him in person, and you don't know anyone who has. But there is a way to know who he is. How? Jesus Christ-the divine Person revealed in the Bible-has a unique excellence and a spiritual beauty that speaks directly to our souls and says, "Yes, this is truth." It's like seeing the sun and knowing that it is light, or tasting honey and knowing that it is sweet. The depth and complexity of Jesus shatter our simple mental frameworks. He baffled proud scribes with his wisdom but was understood and loved by children. He calmed a raging storm with a word but would not get himself down from the cross. Look at the Jesus of the Bible. Keep your eyes open, and fill them with the portrait of Jesus in God's Word. Jesus said, "If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority." Ask God for the grace to do his will, and you will see the truth of his Son. John Piper has written this book in the hope that all will see Jesus for who he really is and will come to enjoy him above all else.
Let me ask you a question you probably never pondered: WHY did God create the world in 6 days? Do you think God had NO logic, motive, or purpose behind using that specific number of days? Do you think He just placed a bunch of numbers in a hat and nonchalantly drew one? Or do you think the cosmos required that number of days to be completed, as if God could not have created it in 2, 3, 5, 9, 12, 23 or however many days? Friend, you should know better...God can DO ANYTHING-which brings us back to the original question. The answer to this mystery is contained in the Bible, and its gradual (albeit, secret) uncovering in story after story leads to the stunning title of this book: "Undeniable Biblical Proof Jesus Christ Will Return To Planet Earth Exactly 2,000 Years After The Year Of His Death." But FAR more important than merely discovering that fact, this book will fully elucidate and crush all confusion concerning what a person (soul) MUST DO to obtain eternal life by illuminating the true spiritual meaning behind every detail of the ancient Bible stories. So sit back and hold on, because this book's message is going to be a life-changing ride!
_Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ addresses the challenge of whole-life discipleship and Christian formation for the contemporary church. Authors from around the world bring together insights from their Evangelical and Orthodox traditions to enrich the journey of witness and martyrdom, a faithful daily living of the Christian gospel which speaks with integrity to a world seeking truth. _
