Offerings, Sacrifices and Worship in the Old Testament is a comprehensive study of the sacrificial offerings and worship prescribed by God in the Old Testament. The author, from an evangelical perspective, analyzes the exacting details of the various Old Testament sacrifices.
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.
Born out of the experiences of hundreds of thousands of women who Raechel and Amanda have walked alongside as they walk with the Lord, She Reads Truth is the message that will help you understand the place of God's Word in your life.
Fifteen years after its original publication comes a thoroughly revised edition of the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Every article from the original edition has been revisited. With some articles being removed, others revised, and many new articles added, the result is a completely new dictionary covering systematic, historical, and philosophical theology as well as theological ethics.
During our chaotic times, discover five forgotten values that can spark internal growth and help us reconcile our Christian faith with the complexities of race, sexuality, and social justice. WINNER OF THE CHRISTIANITY TODAY BOOK AWARD Most believers live in the state of “being a Christian” without ever being deeply formed by Christ. Our pace is too frenetic to be in union with God, and we don’t know how to quiet our hearts and minds to be present. Our emotions are unhealthy and compartmentalized. We feel unable to love well or live differently from the rest of the world—to live as people of the good news. New York pastor Rich Villodas says we must restore balance, focus, and meaning for our souls. The Deeply Formed Life lays out a fresh vision for spiritual breakthrough following five key values: • Contemplative Rhythms Value: slowing down our lives to be with God. • Racial Justice Value: examining a multi-layered approach to pursuing racial justice and reconciliation. • Interior Examination Value: looking beneath the surface of our lives to live free and love well. • Sexual Wholeness Value: exploring how our sexuality connects with our spirituality. • Missional Presence Value: living as the presence of Christ in a broken world. The Deeply Formed Life is a roadmap to live in the richly rooted place we all yearn for: a place of communion with God, a place where we find our purpose. Praise for The Deeply Formed Life “The Deeply Formed Life is a book for our time. Honest, wise, insightful, funny, and—above all—deep. The way Rich and New Life Fellowship hold emotional health and racial justice together is beyond inspiring. This is spiritual formation for the future of the church.”—John Mark Comer, pastor of teaching and vision at Bridgetown Church and author of The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry “I’ve studied the Bible under Pastor Rich’s leadership for close to a decade. The core values he shares in this book serve as guidance, not only for how we should live as Christians in an ever-changing world but also for how we can live a life of purpose—that consistently and enthusiastically points to Jesus.”—Susan Kelechi Watson, actress from the awardwinning television series This Is Us
Jesus Christ is The Way into God's glorious presence. When Jesus laid down his life on the tree at Calvary, he gave us unlimited access to God Almighty. In presenting himself as God's sacrifice for us, he became our "approach offering," opening the way into God's very presence. Much has been written about Christians' lack of purpose or vision for their own lives. "Discovering what God has put you on the planet to do," has become the rage in Christian circles. Perhaps this is symptomatic of our self-absorbed, narcissistic culture and times in which we live. It is when we discover what God put Christ on this planet to do, that we can rise up to fulfill God's will.This book is not about us, it is about HIM. I have written this book to help you become immersed in Christ and his accomplishments at Calvary. As we view the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ and their aftereffects with precise clarity, our Christian walks will take on the power and purpose God intended. Lack of knowledge of what Christ accomplished induces the Christian to be preoccupied with lesser things. May this book help Christians to be absorbed more in Christ and less in themselves. This book lays out and elucidates the Scriptures so that readers can gain a clearer, more detailed understanding of Christ's accomplishments. The first part of the book examines the Hebrew texts, unlocking the paramount theme of Leviticus: approaching God. Readers can see that many of the offerings were actually approach offerings and that these sacrifices looked forward to Christ, God's final approach offering. The second half of the book shows that each Christian has a God-given right to approach the Heavenly Father boldly with fearless mind and how we come before God holy and without blemish. It closes with our "final approach" to heaven to meet our Lord Jesus Christ and rejoice in God's presence for eternity.
Do you ever wonder whether God even cares if we’re happy? This world can be so hard, and we aren’t promised an easy road. But that’s not the whole story. The Bible is filled with verses that prove that ours is a God who not only loves celebrations but also desperately wants his children to experience happiness. Why else would he go to the lengths he did to ensure our eternal happiness in his presence? We know that we will experience unimaginable joy and happiness in heaven, but that doesn’t mean we can’t also experience joy and happiness here on earth. In Happiness, noted theologian Randy Alcorn (bestselling author of Heaven) dispels centuries of misconceptions about happiness, including downright harmful ideas like the prosperity gospel, and provides indisputable proof that God not only wants us to be happy, he commands it. Randy covers questions like: How can I cultivate happiness in my life? What’s the difference between joy and happiness? Can good things become idols that steal our happiness? Is seeking happiness selfish? How can I achieve happiness through gratitude? What does it look like to receive God’s grace? The most definitive study on the subject of happiness to date, this book is a paradigm-shifting wake-up call for the church and Christians everywhere.
What Do the Five Points of Calvinism Really Mean? Many have heard of Reformed theology, but may not be certain what it is. Some references to it have been positive, some negative. It appears to be important, and they'd like to know more about it. But they want a full, understandable explanation, not a simplistic one. What Is Reformed Theology? is an accessible introduction to beliefs that have been immensely influential in the evangelical church. In this insightful book, R. C. Sproul walks readers through the foundations of the Reformed doctrine and explains how the Reformed belief is centered on God, based on God's Word, and committed to faith in Jesus Christ. Sproul explains the five points of Reformed theology and makes plain the reality of God's amazing grace.
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.
Among the many religious acts condemned in the Hebrew Bible, child sacrifice stands out as particularly horrifying. The idea that any group of people would willingly sacrifice their own children to their god(s) is so contrary to modern moral sensibilities that it is difficult to imagine that such a practice could have ever existed. Nonetheless, the existence of biblical condemnation of these rites attests to the fact that some ancient Israelites in fact did sacrifice their children. Indeed, a close reading of the evidence—biblical, archaeological, epigraphic, etc.—indicates that there are at least three different types of Israelite child sacrifice, each with its own history, purpose, and function. In addition to examining the historical reality of Israelite child sacrifice, Dewrell’s study also explores the biblical rhetoric condemning the practice. While nearly every tradition preserved in the Hebrew Bible rejects child sacrifice as abominable to Yahweh, the rhetorical strategies employed by the biblical writers vary to a surprising degree. Thus, even in arguing against the practice of child sacrifice, the biblical writers themselves often disagreed concerning why Yahweh condemned the rites and why they came to exist in the first place.