Behold the Christ: Proclaiming the Gospel of Matthew, by Leroy A. Huizenga, reveals the significance of St. Matthew’s Jesus: He is Emmanuel, God with us always, who saves his people from their sins by dying for them. In showing how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament, gave us a way to live, and taught us how to follow the narrow way to the kingdom of heaven, St. Matthew modeled the fourfold way of reading Scripture according to letter and spirit. Above all, St. Matthew’s Gospel presents Jesus Christ founding the Catholic Church as a robust, rigorous religion with rich rituals, chiefly the sacrificial Eucharist as sustenance on the narrow way to heaven. Jesus demands much of his Church, but the same Jesus who commands his Church also promises and delivers much—above all, himself. Keyed to the lectionary and featuring a section on the relevance of St. Matthew’s Gospel for our contemporary age, Behold the Christ will make the Gospel and indeed the Faith real to today’s readers.
Drama. Irony. Betrayal. Miracles. A holy war with the whole world at stake. And it’s all packed into the shortest of the four Gospels. Written in an engaging, lively, oral style, Loosing the Lion tells us how, despite being misunderstood and neglected throughout most of history, the Gospel of Mark has recently been experiencing a scholarly revival. Theologians are beginning to see how it is actually an intense, wild, impossible story told at a breakneck pace with twists and turns that shock and surprise those with eyes to see and ears to hear. Readers will be captivated by the Gospel’s literary brilliance, which brings us to the threshold of an encounter with the living Jesus, who reveals his mysteries, and ultimately himself, to those who approach him and dwell in his presence. And when we do encounter him, “The proper response is repentance, joining God’s army to be liberated, and once liberated, advancing the liberation of the whole cosmos, which, ultimately, is the content of the Gospel Jesus calls us to believe in. Liberation is coming. Join the resistance.”
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,
'Mission is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exist because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate.' John Piper's contemporary classic draws on key biblical texts to demonstrate that worship is the ultimate goal of the church and that proper worship fuels missionary outreach. Piper offers a biblical defence of God's supremacy in all things, providing a sound theological foundation for missions. He examines whether Jesus is the only way to salvation and issues a passionate plea for God-centredness in the missionary enterprise, seeking to define the scope of the task and the means for reaching 'all nations'. Let the Nations Be Glad! is a trusted resource for missionaries, pastors, church leaders, youth workers, seminary students, and all who want to connect their labours to God's global purposes. This third edition has been revised and expanded throughout and includes new material on the 'prosperity gospel'.
The publication of the King James version of the Bible, translated between 1603 and 1611, coincided with an extraordinary flowering of English literature and is universally acknowledged as the greatest influence on English-language literature in history. Now, world-class literary writers introduce the book of the King James Bible in a series of beautifully designed, small-format volumes. The introducers' passionate, provocative, and personal engagements with the spirituality and the language of the text make the Bible come alive as a stunning work of literature and remind us of its overwhelming contemporary relevance.
Gospel scholarship has long recognized that Matthean Christology is a rich, multifaceted tapestry weaving multifold Old Testment figures together in the person of Jesus. It is somewhat strange, therefore, that scholarship has found little role for the figure of Isaac in the Gospel of Matthew. Employing Umberto Eco's theory of the Model Reader as a theoretical basis to ground the phenomenon of Matthean intertextuality, this work contends that when read rightly as a coherent narrative in its first-century setting, with proper attention to both biblical texts and extrabiblical traditions about Isaac, the Gospel of Matthew evinces a significant Isaac typology in service of presenting Jesus as new temple and decisive sacrifice.
Only One Addiction Can Set You Free Matt Papa was a "professional Christian" in full-time ministry, ready and determined to change the world. All the while he was depressed, addicted to the approval of others, and enslaved to sin. But then everything changed. He encountered the glory of God. All of us live in the tension between where we are and where we ought to be. We try our best to bully our desires into submission. And we all know, this is exhausting. Are you tired? Stuck? Still fighting the same sin you've been fighting for years? The call in these pages is not to work or to strive, but to lift your eyes. You don't need more willpower. You need a vision of greatness that sweeps you off your feet. You need to see glory. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Look and Live. "Matt has helped me see that love for God grows out of an experience of beholding the love of God. We burn only as we behold. . . . This is a fantastic book and I commend it to you with the most enthusiastic support."--from the Foreword by J.D. Greear "Matt Papa cares about the glory of God, and you can sense that zeal on every page of this dynamic book. He also cares about you and me getting to grips with that glory. . . . Matt guides us through these pages with kindness, seriousness, and love--for God's greater glory and our greater good."--Matt Redman, songwriter and worship leader "Making our lives about one unflinching gaze upon the glory of Christ--what a vision Matt Papa has put before us. I encourage everyone to read this book!"--Tony Merida, pastor, professor, and author "Matt Papa's book is a snakebite kit for suffering sinners. Each sentence of Look and Live extracts Satan's deadly venom and resuscitates the soul with the life-giving power of the glory of God!"--Tony Nolan, snakebite survivor, author, and gospel preacher "To journey through this book is to go on a quest that will awaken our souls to the reality of the One who is 'majestic in holiness' and 'awesome in glorious deeds.'"--Dr. Brent Crowe, author, speaker, and vice president of Student Leadership University "I have been wonderfully blessed by Matt Papa's friendship and ministry. I am grateful his reflections on worship are now shared in Look and Live. It is biblically faithful and keeps the focus of worship where it belongs: on our glorious God."--Daniel L. Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary "Matt Papa faithfully points us to the soul-stirring glory of God. Read this book and allow your heart to once again behold the wondrous mystery."--Matt Boswell, founder of Doxology & Theology, and pastor of ministries and worship at Providence Church, Frisco, Texas "This is Matt's life message--that Jesus Christ alone is worth living for, and that when you gaze upon His majesty and glory you will never be the same. This book is theologically robust and practically helpful, packed with Scripture and insight into the person and work of the risen Son of God. . . . This is a true gift to the church."--Clayton King, president of Crossroads Camps and Clayton King Ministries "If C. S. Lewis and David Crowder wrote a book together about worship, you would have the rich theology of the great Christian apologist with the deep passion of worship from the contemporary artist. That's what Matt Papa has given us in Look and Live--a must-read for every worshiper."--Mike Harland, president of LifeWay Worship
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.
The national directory addresses the dimensions and perspectives in the formation of deacons and the model standards for the formation, ministry, and life of deacons in the United States. It is intended as a guideline for formation, ministry, and life of permanent deacons and a directive to be utilized when preparing or updating a diaconate program in formulating policies for the ministry and life of deacons. This volume also includes Basic Standards for Readiness for the formation of permanent deacons in the United States, from the bishops' Committee on the Diaconate, and the committee document Visit of Consultation Teams to Diocesan Permanent Diaconate Formation Programs.
Explore the Book is not a commentary with verse-by-verse annotations. Neither is it just a series of analyses and outlines. Rather, it is a complete Bible survey course. No one can finish this series of studies and remain unchanged. The reader will receive lifelong benefit and be enriched by these practical and understandable studies. Exposition, commentary, and practical application of the meaning and message of the Bible will be found throughout this giant volume. Bible students without any background in Bible study will find this book of immense help as will those who have spent much time studying the Scriptures, including pastors and teachers. Explore the Book is the result and culmination of a lifetime of dedicated Bible study and exposition on the part of Dr. Baxter. It shows throughout a deep awareness and appreciation of the grand themes of the gospel, as found from the opening book of the Bible through Revelation.
