We want to experience God through the Bible. . . . We really do But our good intentions fall flat when reading the Bible just doesn't seem to make that happen. What should feel dynamic and important and alive often feels confusing and boring and irrelevant. But it doesn't have to. In Help My Bible is Alive , pastor and Bible teacher Nicole Unice brings life back to reading the Bible by helping you personally encounter God through his Word. With Help My Bible is Alive , you'll learn to . . . find the meaning of any portion of Scripture; apply four key questions to every passage; create valuable habits by workshopping key verses; and find practical principles as you read parables, poetry, narratives, ancient letters, and wisdom literature. Take this 30-day challenge and develop habits that will sustain a vibrant spiritual life where the Word of God is alive and active for you.
With America's confidence in the Bible at an all-time low and the strength of her spiritual convictions waning, it is essential for Christians—especially Christian leaders—to be well-grounded in biblical theology. To have a clear and comprehensive understanding of the key doctrines of evangelicalism. In response, professor and award-winning author Bruce Demarest has made plain God's glorious plan of salvation, his provision for the human dilemma through Christ's work on the cross, and the application of saving grace to unbelievers. Demarest's unique approach defines each topic, identifies its most pressing issues, examines the ways in which the doctrine has been understood historically, and interprets the Bible's revelation. The result is a clear and carefully constructed doctrinal statement that you can defend, live out, and communicate to others. This singular, comprehensive treatment of one of Christianity's essential doctrines gives definitive, Bible-based answers about salvation and the cross— and about related theological issues such as grace and regeneration. It's perfect for clarifying your theology and gaining deep understanding of this foundational theme. Part of the Foundations of Evangelical Theology series.
Over 1 Million Copies Sold! Have you ever wondered . . . ? What is Heaven really going to be like? What will we look like? What will we do every day? Won’t Heaven get boring after a while? We all have questions about what Heaven will be like, and after twenty-five years of extensive research, Dr. Randy Alcorn has the answers. In the most comprehensive and definitive book on Heaven to date, Randy invites you to picture Heaven the way Scripture describes it—a bright, vibrant, and physical New Earth, free from sin, suffering, and death, and brimming with Christ’s presence, wondrous natural beauty, and the richness of human culture as God intended it. This is a book about real people with real bodies enjoying close relationships with God and each other, eating, drinking, working, playing, traveling, worshiping, and discovering on a New Earth. Earth as God created it. Earth as he intended it to be. The next time you hear someone say, “We can’t begin to image what Heaven will be like,” you’ll be able to tell them, “I can.” “Other than the Bible itself, this may well be the single most life-changing book you’ll ever read.” —Stu Weber “This is the best book on Heaven I’ve ever read.” —Rick Warren “Randy Alcorn’s thorough mind and careful pen have produced a treasury about Heaven that will inform my own writing for years to come.” —Jerry B. Jenkins “Randy does an awesome job of answering people’s toughest questions about what lies on the other side of death.” —Joni Eareckson Tada About the Author Randy Alcorn is an author and the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries, a nonprofit ministry dedicated to teaching principles of God’s Word and assisting the church in ministering to unreached, unfed, unborn, uneducated, unreconciled, and unsupported people around the world. A New York Times bestselling author of over 50 books, including Heaven, The Treasure Principle, If God Is Good, Happiness, and the award-winning novel Safely Home, his books sold exceed eleven million copies and have been translated into over seventy languages.
This book offers a clear, beautiful exposition of Catholic beliefs about Mary. Not a history or a compendium, it was written by a Carmelite monk who spent decades praying and pondering the mysteries of the faith concerning the Mother of Jesus. Catholic Mariology has matured through centuries of meditation upon both the Bible and the Church's faith in the Incarnation. The Marian dogmas of the Church are guarantors of the full meaning of the statement in the Gospel of John that "the word became flesh and dwelt among us" (1:14). Fr. Wilfrid Stinissen shows that Mariology corrects any attempt to minimize the good news that God became man so that man could become like God. In writing about Mary, he underlines the astonishing truth that God has initiated an intimate communion with mankind. In a world that strives to reduce human dignity, Mary reveals the very high value of man in God's eyes and God's wondrous love and plan for each one of us.
Guthrie presents a layperson's guide to understanding how to read the Bible in context so that its teachings are illuminated and can be fully applied to every facet of daily life.
Too often, our study of the Bible focuses on searching for specific information or some formula that will solve our pressing needs of the moment. But what if we approached the Bible differently, and instead of transforming the text to meet our needs, allowed it to transform us? That's exactly the idea behind Life with God, Richard J. Foster's much-anticipated book on the Bible. Foster, bestselling author of Celebration of Discipline and general editor of The RenovarÉ Spiritual Formation Bible, claims that God has superintended the writing of Scripture so that it serves as the most reliable guide for Christian spiritual formation. According to Foster, the Bible is all about human life "with God." As we read Scripture, we should consider how exactly God is with us in each story and allow ourselves to be spiritually transformed. By opening our whole selves—mind, body, spirit, thoughts, behavior, and will—to the page before us, we begin to grasp all the Bible has to teach about prayer, obedience, compassion, virtue, and grace and apply it to our everyday lives to achieve a deeper relationship with God. With a wealth of examples and simple yet crucial insights, Life with God is an indispensable guide to approaching the Bible through the lens of Christian spiritual formation, revealing that reading the Bible for interior transformation is a far different endeavor than reading the Bible for historical knowledge, literary appreciation, or religious instruction.
Covering more than 700 topics, this resource allows readers to get an inside look at how the people of the Bible lived. With illustrations to make it an entertaining read, "How People Lived in the Bible" covers everything from jewelry to climate, clothing to occupations.
A dramatic tension confronts every Christian believer and interpreter of Scripture: on the one hand, we encounter images of God commanding and engaging in horrendous violence: one the other hand, we encounter the non-violent teachings and example of Jesus, whose loving, self-sacrificial death and resurrection is held up as the supreme revelation of God’s character in the New Testament. How do we reconcile the tension between these seemingly disparate depictions? Are they even capable of reconciliation? Throughout Christian history, many different answers have been proposed, ranging from the long-rejected explanation that these contrasting depictions are of two entirely different ‘gods’ to recent social and cultural theories of metaphor and narrative representation. The Crucifixion of the Warrior God takes up this dramatic tension and the range of proposed answers in an epic constructive investigation. Over two volumes, renowned theologian and biblical scholar Gregory A. Boyd argues that we must take seriously the full range of Scripture as inspired, including its violent depictions of God. At the same time, we must take just as seriously the absolute centrality of the crucified and risen Christ as the supreme revelation of God. Developing a theological interpretation of Scripture that he labels a “cruciform hermeneutic,” Boyd demonstrates how Scripture’s violent images of God are completely reframed and their violence subverted when they are interpreted through the lens of the cross and resurrection. Indeed, when read through this lens, Boyd argues that these violent depictions can be shown to bear witness to the same self-sacrificial character of God that was supremely revealed on the cross.
Dont spend one more day without hope! Sometimes we forget that great heroes of the faith endured tremendous struggles and trials. They were not immune to bad days and depression. But many of those heroes experienced mighty works of God and had their mourning turned to dancing. In Depressed People of the Bible, Jeff Zaremsky takes a unique look at depression as he highlights how God carried familiar biblical characters through seasons of depression. At the same time, he presents modern-day stories of deliverance, allowing readers to glean from Gods faithfulness to His people through history. Chapters include Pause, Ponder, and Proceed questions for readers to consider, along with encouragement and instruction on renewing the mind. Depressed People of the Bible gives readers: Insight into what leads to depression. Understanding of different types of depression. Healthy habits that can combat depressive symptoms. A path to healing and wholeness. God is mindful of your emotions. Dont wait another day . . . its time to get started on your journey out of the darkness and into His marvelous light!
What beliefs are core to the Christian faith? This book is here to help you understand the reason for your hope as a Christian so that you can see it with fresh sight and invite others into the conversation. A lot of Christians take their story—the narratives that give rise to their beliefs—for granted. They pray, go to church, perhaps even read their Bible. But they might be stuck if a stranger asked them to explain what they believe and why they believe it. Author, pastor, and theologian Mike Horton unpacks the essential and basic beliefs that all Christians share in a way that is easy to understand and applicable to our lives today. And in a way that will make you excited to be a Christian! Core Christianity covers topics like: Jesus as both fully God and fully man. The doctrine of the Trinity. The goodness of God despite a broken world. The ways God speaks. The meaning of salvation. What is the Christian calling? Includes discussion questions for individual or group use. This introduction to the basic doctrines of Christianity is perfect for those who are new to the faith, as well as those who have an interest in deepening their understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
