A circle of friends is a spiritual reward. They share with you a harvest that restores the soul. This Bible-based book is a step-by-step guide to that harvest. Here is the way to the spiritual garden, producing spiritual fruit, of self-control, love, joy and peace. Learn the seasons – to cultivate. Now invite your friends into the garden. \o/ \o/ \o/ SPIRITUAL GROWTH IN A CIRCLE OF FELLOWSHIP Doctrines are distributed throughout Scripture. The function of theology is to unify these parts. Several doctrines of the soul are presented here: Inspiration, Transformation, Communion and Fellowship. How are passion and perception harmonized in two or more soles? Does love produce soul growth; does suffering and passion? How are they related? What are the parts and functions of the soul? How is spiritual life cultivated? ☼
This Festschrift for Leslie C. Allen reflects the ferment in studies of Jeremiah. A group of international scholars examine the location of the prophecies in Jeremiah's life and consider the book's social, ethical, theological, political, and devotional implications.
Pilgrim Journey guides newly baptized Christians to discern the mysteries of the gospel. It is a sequel and companion volume to Pilgrim Letters (Fortress, 2020). Like its predecessor volume, Pilgrim Journey is a series of letters written by Interpreter, the teacher, to Pilgrim, the newly baptized Christian. The theological and ecclesial scope of the letters is evangelical-catholic, free church-ecumenical, and ancient-future. Each letter is shaped by the prophetic imagination of the biblical illustrations of William Blake and informed by the narrative spirituality of The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. Pilgrim Journey begins with an introduction into the mystery of redemption hidden through the ages and revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The program of instruction contains the exposition of seven mysteries, each of which displays the central mystery of the gospel: (1) God speaks one true word in Jesus Christ; (2) the two Testaments form the one canon of Christian Scripture; (3) the one true God is made known in the three persons of the Holy Trinity; (4) true knowledge of God is discerned through reading the sacred Scripture literally and spiritually, especially in attention to the formation of faith, hope, and love; (5) a clear understanding of God's mysterious providence is aided by a sense of the scope of God's story from creation, covenant, Christ, and church, to consummation; (6) the marking of Christian time attends to God's unfolding revelation in Scripture as shown in the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost; and (7) the infinite reality of God becomes present in finite forms in seven sacramental signs of preaching, baptizing, blessing, breaking bread, washing feet, forgiving sins, and anointing. There is a final summary and conclusion about the way things deep, hidden, and mysterious shape the daily active living of Christians as disciples of Jesus Christ.
You can only go so far for so long before you find the limits of yourself. For Phileena Heuertz that moment arrived, mercifully, around the same time as a sabbatical to mark her twelfth year of service with Word Made Flesh, a ministry to some of the poorest people in the world. With six months' respite from the daily task of serving those who have nothing, Phileena rediscovered the genius of contemplative spirituality. Activists often see contemplation as a luxury, the sort of thing that must necessarily be laid aside in the quest to see the world set aright. But in Pilgrimage of a Soul we see that contemplation is essential--not only to a life of sustained commitment to the justice and righteousness of God, but to the growth in faith and discipleship that the Holy Spirit beckons each of us to. Tracing seven movements from a kind of sleepfulness to a kind of wakefulness, Heuertz shows us that life is a journey that repeats itself as we are led by Christ deeper and deeper into our true selves and a truer knowledge of God.
The Hebrew/Christian Scriptures include many allusions to pilgrimage customs and practices, yet the information is scattered and requires a considerable amount of reconstruction. It is posited that the pilgrimage paradigm, including the journey motif, has influenced the thought patterns of the writers of both the Old and New Testaments. To follow Jesus' journey to Jerusalem on the three feasts of pilgrimage in Luke-Acts and John, and their relevance to the way he revealed himself and taught his disciples, this work begins with the creation and patriarchal narratives, examining how the pilgrimage paradigm relates to discipleship. Reviewing the history of the people of God including the Exodus, the Exile, and restoration, this book establishes the significance of pilgrimage as a paradigm for Israel that eventually shapes Judaism. Seung Y Lee points us to a neglected fact that the three feasts of pilgrimage have developed their own characters and meanings for the momentous events in the history of Israel, and both Luke-Acts and John reflect the significance of the pilgrimage paradigm for Jesus' self-understanding and his teaching.
This pocket dictionary is an A to Z introduction and resource for curious newcomers and novice students of spirituality. Don Thorsen charts the Christian spiritual pilgrimage through its many traditions, schools of thought, and tested practices. Among the over 300 definitions you'll find terms and ideas, traditions and movements, practices and rituals, and texts and theology.
