The church covenant has always been a vital part to the congregational life of a Baptist church. It has been called the formal cause of the church. And it has had a long and significant role within congregational churches of various stripes. However, in recent years, the church covenant has been ignored. The consequences of this have been enormous. This book calls the church back to the idea of a church covenant, revealing its functional significance, biblical grounds, organizing structure, and practical impact in the life of the church.
This book, in light of the fractures within the United Church of Christ (UCC), encourages the members of the UCC to have meaningful discussions about the word "covenant". It is the author's hope that her resource will bring people together around this one word and show that, even with a diversity of views, people have more things in common than not in common. It contains nine thought-provoking sessions that explore the concept of covenant as it relates to the Hebrew Testament; Jesus Christ; God; our UCC heritage; the wider UCC; autonomy; and more.
A Study Guide and a Teacher’s Manual Gospel Principles was written both as a personal study guide and as a teacher’s manual. As you study it, seeking the Spirit of the Lord, you can grow in your understanding and testimony of God the Father, Jesus Christand His Atonement, and the Restoration of the gospel. You can find answers to life’s questions, gain an assurance of your purpose and self-worth, and face personal and family challenges with faith.
The Baptist Way is an introduction to the principles that distinguish Baptists from other Christians. In some cases these ideas were once peculiarly Baptists, though they are now more widely held among other groups. For Stan Norman, healthy Baptist churches intentionally and diligently adhere to their Baptist distinctives.
"The Mystery of Christ is well-written, displays ample knowledge of issues discussed concerning covenant theology by Baptists and paedobaptists, grounds its arguments in scriptural exegesis and theology, recovers old arguments for a new day, presents a cohesive map of the covenants of Scripture, and exalts our Lord Jesus Christ, the last Adam, throughout." -- from cover review by Richard C. Barcellos
"The Baptist Church Covenant: Its History and Meaning" explores the origins, purpose and meaning of church covenants used by Baptist churches. Church covenants were the original Mission Statements and Vision Statements of Baptists, long before Starbucks or Ben & Jerry's ever thought about writing such documents. When Baptists began in the seventeenth century, they organized congregations using covenants. These were documents signed by the founding members of a church, describing their commitment to God and one another. Church covenants became widespread among Baptists in America. Mission Statements are again gaining popularity among churches. Most Baptist churches may not realize they do not have to start from scratch in defining its direction and purpose. They may already have such a statement, which they can build upon, written over a century and a half ago. Most Baptist churches were organized using the popular covenant written by John Newton Brown and published in his Baptist Church Manual in 1853. It can often be found as part of a church's statement of faith, constitution, or bylaws. It is sometimes found pasted in the back of old hymnals or hanging in frames on church walls. Covenants may be a forgotten part of a congregation's heritage. They can be recovered and used to ground a congregation in its past while giving direction for its future. In this book Marshall Davis traces the history of church covenants and their roots in the biblical concept of covenant. Then he explores the most popular church covenant in use today, uncovering its roots in scriptural principles. He examines the covenant phrase by phrase, showing how this historical document addresses the most important issues facing churches today.
In the year 1380, John Wycliffe started the movement to produce an English version of the Bible. Since then, there has been 1,500 English translation developed. Many were great scholarly works that the author spent much of his or her lifetime developing.Man's ability to express the greatness of the Lord within the confines of natural languages will always be limited. The Lord has gifted great scholars throughout the span of Biblical history with the grace to pull out nuances of the scriptures contained in ancient languages. Each generation seems to be able to produce new translations of the Bible that progress our understanding of the Lord and His desire for humanity.Having reviewed nearly 1,000 Biblical volumes, this book takes the topic of divine healing and presents verses from every book of the Bible from multiple translations to advance the reader's faith for their own healing. The result is verses from 430 translations spanning the years 1534 to 2019. Carefully selected versions of each verse bring clarity and insight to the topic of divine healing in a way not possible from teaching messages alone. Bible translations long lost to time have been brought back to life to help build faith in the doctrine of divine healing and long life.
