Reflecting on the practice of disciple making in young adult, college, graduate, and local church contexts, Jonathan Dodson has discerned some common pitfalls. For many, discipleship is reduced to a form of religious performance before God. For others, it devolves into spiritual license and a loose adherence to spiritual facts. Both approaches distort biblical motivations for Christian obedience and are in need of reform. By explaining various motivations for discipleship, Dodson charts a biblically faithful, grace-driven alternative. Additionally, he provides a practical model for creating gospel-centered discipleship groups—small, reproducible, missional, gender-specific groups of believers that fight for faith together. This book blends both theology and practice to inspire and equip Christians to effectively fight sin, keep Jesus central, and make gospel-centered discipleship a way of life. Both new and growing Christians will learn to trust the gospel in community as they fight together for holiness as well as how to start gospel-centered community groups in any local church.
Bold and forceful in its condemnation of contemporary religion, Our Father Forsaken is a meticulously researched work that demands the attention of all Jews and Christians who seek the truth. In 120 A.D., Marcion of Sinope, a charismatic preacher, appeared in Rome to reveal the "hidden" teachings of Jesus. The real Jesus, according to Marcion, was a pure spirit sent from the highest God to free mankind from the clutches of the evil God of the Old Testament, a lesser deity among the thousands of celestial beings. The disparity between the God of Moses and the God of Jesus, Marcion maintained, was obvious with rational comparison of Old and New Testaments.The God of the Old Testament demanded "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," while Jesus said: "Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." Although Marcion was drummed out of Rome in disgrace, his movement never died and it crystallized into the religion of Freemasonry. In the 19th Century, Marcionism was embraced by the German rationalists and made its way into contemporary Christianity. Such rationalists argued that the Torah had been composed not by Moses but a host of sources and could not be accepted as authentic. The New Testament, they argued, was equally unreliable. It was composed not by eyewitnesses but editors and that the gospel accounts had been subjected to the process of myth-making. The theology of the rationalists was taught in every leading Catholic and Protestant seminary in the United States. Since the scriptures were "contradictory" and a product of primitive times, students of religion were taught that Christian doctrine should be centered, on the "social gospel"—a gospel stripped of all supernatural elements and all passages deemed offensive to modern sensibilities. The result has been the creation of a religion that is devoid of the ambiguity and precariousness of life, of the awe before the divine majesty, and the judgment before the ineffable holiness.
"My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" How should a Christian interpret this passage? What implications does the cross have for the trinitarian theology? Did the Father kill the Son? Theologian Thomas McCall presents a trinitarian reading of Christ's darkest moment--the moment of his prayer to his heavenly Father from the cross. McCall revisits the biblical texts and surveys the various interpretations of Jesus cry, ranging from early church theologians to the Reformation to contemporary theologians. Along the way, he explains the terms of the scholarly debate and clearly marks out what he believes to be the historically orthodox point of view. By approaching the Son's cry to the Father as an event in the life of the Triune God, Forsaken seeks to recover the true poignancy of the orthodox perspective on the cross.
In Not Forsaken, Giglio guides readers to the breakthrough possibility of a relationship of perfect father to child can be yours when you follow God through Jesus Christ. Regardless of life's circumstances, God can become your perfect Father.
Martin Luther saw the incredible value in having a deep prayer life. He imparted his wisdom and thoughts on prayer in many of his writings, and those-along with thoughts from other orthodox Lutheran fathers-are compiled here in this comprehensive collection on prayer. This is the first complete modern English translation of the Missouri Synod's old German prayer book. The Evangelical Lutheran Prayer Treasure. The included prayers are deeply anchored in God's Word and reflect a warm, vibrant, confident trust in and love for Jesus and His saving work. An appendix of supplemental hymn texts is also included at the end of the book. --Publisher
Modern-day feminism and the decline of solid Bible teaching in churches have left many women confused or unaware of God’s high calling for their lives. Though the world changes, God’s priorities have not. In Titus 2:3-5, the apostle Paul reveals the value God places upon a woman’s character, her relationships, and her home. In God’s Priorities for Today’s Woman, popular Bible teacher Lisa Hughes explains and illustrates each priority that Paul describes, empowering Christian women to grow in their understanding of God and of what He considers important gain assurance they are living the life God desires them to live be equipped to grow in each priority area learn how to minister more effectively to other women God’s Priorities for Today’s Woman will equip women of all ages to grow in godly living. Study questions effective for individual or small group use are included at the end of each chapter.
In this powerful book on the experience of desolation John Colwell focuses on Psalm 22, read in the light of his own struggle with bi-polar disorder and the Christian belief that God the Son suffered in his humanity, to offer existential-theological reflections on the experience of God-forsakenness. 'My concern in writing this book and reading this psalm is to reflect on the felt experience of God-forsakenness, my own and that of Christ in the light of this psalm; to explore the theological and spiritual significance of this felt experience for myself, for Christ, for Christians generally. If this exploration proves to be helpful to me or to others then obviously I am glad, but I am not writing this book to be helpful but rather to be truthful (and perhaps hopeful). This is a personal journey of reflection with a psalm which I invite you, the reader, to share if you will.'
Experience how the power of the cross unleashes meaning and purpose in the midst of your daily life. This meditative and spiritual reflection by Ken Costa considers the cross and the king who died upon it. Christ’s work on the cross established a kingdom that is strange indeed, if a king died on the cross in order to establish it. It is a kingdom where suffering and abandonment are transformed into the power of presence and live, a kingdom where a King exchanges gifts of great value for worthless dross, where a robber becomes righteous, and a criminal becomes the first citizen of heaven. Spend some time as Easter draws near considering the strange, upside-down kingdom, where broken things are made whole. “A king who dies on the cross must be the king of a rather strange kingdom.” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer "Strange Kingdom is a joy. In my 47 years in the Christian publishing business, Ken Costa’s compelling and inspirational reflections are unique on the meaning and purpose of the cross of Christ. A must-read for every Christian and a revelation for the spiritually curious.”—Joey Paul, Senior Editor, HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Nashville, TN “Ken Costa masterfully and meticulously gives us an in-depth look at the cross of Jesus and what it means to us in our everyday lives.” —Robert Morris, Senior Pastor, Gateway Church, Southlake, TX “Ken Costa’s deep love for God and unashamed defense of the cross of Jesus Christ is mirrored in this book. The perspective of a banker, the mind of a scholar, and the heart of a Christian who wants people to love Christ radiates on every page.” —R. T. Kendall, author and former minister of Westminster Chapel, England “. . . a fresh revelation of Christ and the power of the cross.”—Joseph Prince, Senior Pastor, New Creation Church, Singapore “Not since John Stott’s The Cross of Christ have I read a book on the saving work of Jesus that I want to return to again and again as much as this one.” —Miles Toulmin, Vicar, HTBB, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia “This book will encourage your faith and deepen your understanding of what the cross means to people in their day-to-day lives.” —Jentezen Franklin, Senior Pastor, Free Chapel, Gainesville, GA “His honesty opens a window onto the meaning of the cross and the upside-down world it invites us in.” —Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, England
