A retired nurse who began a ministry with her husband Henry, a biblical teacher, shares from her heart ordinary moments with an extraordinary God. This weekly devotion book is made up of 52 devotions with questions or suggestions for discussion that will work well with small groups.
This book provides a process for discovering and activating spiritual gifts in your congregation. It is not a typical scientific survey designed to discover what kind of personality you have, what you feel like doing, or even what your talents are. Instead, it is a process designed to help a church congregation discover God's gifts and leading in their lives. In going through this process you will be invited to shake off some of the walls and limitations you have placed on yourself and open yourself up to the full call that God has on your life. Discovering and using your Spiritual Gifts is an adventure!
The Old Testament God generally has a rather poor reputation, even in Christian circles. But as the author points out, The Old Testament Scriptures can remain alive and will lead us to a fresh appreciation of all that God has done for us. Targeted to thoughtful readers, this book addresses a cluster of issues often troubling for the person who seeks to understand the Old Testament. Who's Afraid of the Old Testament God? speaks very frankly about some of these "problems," things like sin and the fall, Satan, "moral blemish" passages, strange laws, etc. The chapter titles follow: Don't let your New Testament get in the way of your Old Testament Behold it was very good and then it all turned sour Whatever happened to Satan in the Old Testament Strange people need strange laws Could you invite a Canaanite home to lunch? The worst story in the Old Testament - Judges 19-21 The best story in the Old Testament - the Messiah What kind of prayers would you publish if you were God? This new, fifth edition leaves the text unchanged, but has larger type and wider margins.
Is it morally acceptable for a person who is divorced to remarry while their former spouse is alive? What did Jesus mean by his statements on this topic? Except for Fornication is a brief study, less than 80 pages, of statements in the Gospels relating to divorce and remarriage. Dr. Parunak examines the background and context of the statements of Jesus regarding divorce, and relates them to the Old Testament commands on which Jesus was commenting. This historical depth and detailed linguistic analysis will prove useful to Bible students, whether or not they ultimately agree with the author's conclusions. This is investigation is laid out as a mystery, with each aspect examined carefully in the light of historical and contextual clues. The author examines texts in the original languages and discusses the use of key words in the relevant literature. Pastors and lay readers alike will benefit from this thorough study.
"Prayer changes things." It's a common saying, and too often Christian discussion of prayer deals only with how we can change other things and other people through prayer. But what if prayer is much more than we imagine? What if it is also the means of correcting our relationship to the Creator and at the same time of changing our relationships with one another? Perhaps prayer can ultimately help transform our theology, what we believe about God, into character and action. In Ultimate Allegiance, Dr. Bob Cornwall takes us to the Lord's Prayer, a short and simple prayer that is well-known and often recited. But in each of its major petitions, he finds deep meaning that challenges us to think and to change. In fact, this prayer of Jesus brings us to the ultimate question of just where we should place our ultimate allegiance. This book can be read individually but is designed especially for small group or church studies, especially in conjunction with the related study guide.
Soup Kitchen for the Soul combines testimony with a challenging scriptural foundation and follows it with specific guidance on how you can get out of your church and make a difference in your community. Each chapter builds on a Bible story and the author's personal experience, and ends with thought questions, and then action questions. References include specific ways in which you can take action on what you have been studying in the book. This book is suitable for personal or small group study, or could be used effectively by an entire church to transform their ministry. In the introduction Crosby says: "Upon entering Seminary, I was required to serve in the community and begrudgingly accepted my assignment, choosing to serve in a soup kitchen. While serving in the soup kitchen, God revealed himself to me in a profound and miraculous way. It was in restudying the scriptures with this new heart knowledge of God that allowed me to see a message of a mission for His people that we lack a connection with today. I began asking, 'What if ... What if I'm not the only one who doesn't understand the whole mission God has planned for us? What exactly are we supposed to be doing? Where in the Bible can we find directives on our missions for God? What if I wrote a book about radically new old ways of doing the gospel?'" Soup Kitchen for the Soul is that book.
The way in which we read the Bible grows out of what we believe the Bible to be. Thus it is impossible to discuss methods of interpretation without considering our view of inspiration, the gathering of the canon, and even the reception of the Bible by the community of faith. And so, Edward W. H. Vick starts this comprehensive discussion of hermeneutics—the interpretation of Scripture—by looking at what the Bible is, and what empowers its authority. He brings a lifetime of experience, teaching and writing to the task. In this examination, he takes up such diverse topics as inspiration, canonization, authority, infallibility, inerrancy, verbal inspiration, sola scriptura, tradition, myth, and many related topics. Dr. Vick always relates these elements to the overarching questions: How shall we read Scripture? How shall we understand it? How does it impact the way we live and act? There are many books on how to read the Bible, but there are few that will offer this comprehensive and systematic study. If you apply the principles you find here to your own study, you will find the scriptures opening up in new ways. Dr. Vick will help you move beyond the assumptions that often stand in the way of our personal Bible study and see the remarkable variety and power that is mediated through this book we call the Bible.
Following the outlines of the Participatory Study Method, Dr. Robert Cornwall presents a study guide to the book of Ephesians that is both usable and challenging while not skirting the difficult issues. These eight lessons take you through the letter leading from the history and background to modern application and sharing in corporate study and worship. Whether you are approaching this book as an individual, as a small group, or in a larger classroom setting, this study guide will provide you with direction, exercises, and questions for discussion and further investigation. This study guide will be useful for individual study, as a guide to key topics in Ephesians, or for small groups.
Philippians: A Participatory Study Guide is the sixth volume in the Participatory Study Series. From beginning to end, the student is invited to absorb the text and allow God’s message to change her or his life. At the same time, it maintains the series standard of providing a guide that takes account of current biblical scholarship and helps the student examine the text critically while also listening to and being guided by the Holy Spirit.This guide contains eight lessons suitable for use by an individual student, but best used in a small group. The lessons are clearly written so that a laity-led class or small group can use them to advantage. In addition, there is a guide to using the book that provides insights into Bible study in general, and two appendices, one outlining the process of Bible study and one listing and describing useful resources.Each lesson includes prayers, spiritual exercises, thought questions, and theological reflection. These are designed to help students learn to see the text in a new way and to realize their full potential through the power of the Holy Spirit. This book will not only impact your knowledge of scripture; it will change the way you pray, live, witness, and relate to your community of faith and the world.