This study of priestly spirituality at the start of a new millennium considers how priests participate in the dying and rising of the Lord through challenges and joys that are rooted in our changing culture, in the growing diversity of our Catholic world, and in the demands of their own ministry. Designed as a study text, these pages contain reflection questions for both individuals and study groups of bishops, superiors and priests.
Many preachers have taught on stewardship in reference to our money and our time, but both money and time are temporary commodities of this earthly life. Jesus used the parables about stewardship in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke to teach about the Kingdom of God. Parables are used to liken something people could understand to something that they may not have understood in any other teaching. Likewise, when Jesus taught about the sower and the seed, He did not intend for believers to become better farmers or gardeners. Since believers do not use the parable of the sower and the seed to learn about gardening, why is it that they use the parables of the talents and the pounds to teach that stewardship is referring to actual money or time? As Paul was writing to the Church of Corinth, he told them, "Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Corinthians 4:1). There is something of much more value than both money and time that God has placed into the hands of the church to take care of until He returns! This book was written so the believer can discover what God expects in us as His STEWARDS of the Mysteries of God!
A unique look at Christian biblical interpretation and theology from the perspective of Native American tradition. This book focuses on four specific experiences of Jesus as portrayed in the synoptic gospels. It examines each story as a “vision quest,” a universal spiritual phenomenon, but one of particular importance within North American indigenous communities. Jesus’ experience in the wilderness is the first quest. It speaks to a foundational Native American value: the need to enter into the “we” rather than the “I.” The Transfiguration is the second quest, describing the Native theology of transcendent spirituality that impacts reality and shapes mission. Gethsemane is the third quest. It embodies the Native tradition of the holy men or women, who find their freedom through discipline and concerns for justice, compassion, and human dignity. Golgotha is the final quest. It represents the Native sacrament of sacrifice (e.g., the Sun Dance). The chapter on Golgotha is a discussion of kinship, balance, and harmony: all primary to Native tradition and integral to Christian thought.
New York Times bestseller What is Jesus worth to you? It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily... But who do you know who lives like that? Do you? In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple--then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a "successful" suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus. Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment -- a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring.
One of our best known biblical interpreters offers essays and sermons meant to assist preachers in their interpretation and explication of biblical texts. Often neglected in preaching, the Old Testament is a particular focus of attention, but only in the context of the wholeness of Scripture. Questions addressed in this volume include the following: How does one approach and preach the Old Testament at Easter? What are the contemporary issues or dimensions in preaching the Ten Commandments? And how does the preacher hold the Old Testament and the New Testament in proclaiming God's word to the church? In this collection, attention is given to preaching about the ministry and on particular occasions, such as funerals, baccalaureates, ordination, and in Advent and Christmas as well as before Holy Communion.
Practice the three simple phrases that heal relationships, strengthen connection, and change the world. We all believe that saying, “Thank you,” “I’m sorry,” and “Tell me more” will help us become better people, friends, partners, employees, neighbors, and global citizens. And yet, having been brought up on rugged individualism, we often slip into self-centeredness and a corresponding sense of entitlement. We have lost the ability to speak with gentleness toward one another. We have replaced kind words that connect us to one another with ones that divide, isolate, and hurt. Everywhere we turn there is deep conflict. In this simple yet profound book, clinical psychologist Rod Wilson introduces us to the sacredness of these familiar but forgotten sayings. What impact do these sayings have on our relationships? When we say, “Thank you,” we acknowledge the way others impact us. When we say, “I’m sorry,” we acknowledge the way we impact others. When we say, “Tell me more,” we acknowledge the way we impact each other. Try it. Read this book and be encouraged and equipped to deliver kindness in your speech. As you engage with these three phrases more thoughtfully and speak them more frequently, you will enjoy a life full of deeper friendships and joy.
The changing fortunes of Detroit, told through the lens of the city's major sporting events, by the bestselling author of Soccernomics, and a prizewinning cultural critic From Ty Cobb and Hank Greenberg to the Bad Boys, from Joe Louis and Gordie Howe to the Malice at the Palace, City of Champions explores the history of Detroit through the stories of its most gifted athletes and most celebrated teams, linking iconic events in the history of Motown sports to the city's shifting fortunes. In an era when many teams have left rustbelt cities to relocate elsewhere, Detroit has held on to its franchises, and there is currently great hope in the revival of the city focused on its downtown sports complexes—but to whose benefit? Szymanski and Weineck show how the fate of the teams in Detroit's stadiums, gyms, and fields is echoed in the rise and fall of the car industry, political upheavals ushered in by the depression, World War II, the 1967 uprising, and its recent bankruptcy and renewal. Driven by the conviction that sports not only mirror society but also have a special power to create both community and enduring narratives that help define a city's sense of self, City of Champions is a unique history of the most American of cities.
Fifteen sermons that aid both laity and clergy in a better understanding of the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, the most basic of Baptist principles.
KNOWING of nothing that aims to present in one volume, the various mysteries of the New Testament, it has been a happy service to pen these papers, hoping thereby to minister to the profit of some who, while of the household of faith, may have given little or no attention to truths of such vast importance. The teaching set forth is not original with the writer. He is indebted to many, both through oral and written ministry, for most of the instruction he now seeks to impart to others. May it be yours, reader, to test all by the word of the living God, and thus find true profit.
