Veteran pastor, professor, and church planter Horrell suggests that the customs, patterns, and structures of churches may actually be barriers to what God 's purposes for the church really are.
Come along with biblical culturalist Kristi McLelland as she unpacks the life of the early church in the book of Acts and shows us that the kingdom of God is always on the move, always looking outward to bring meaning and joy to a world searching for true fulfillment and hope. Explore the call of Jesus to His disciples then and to us today. See how God's Word can sustain us even in the most difficult of times and embrace the transformative grace we experience as children of God in His kingdom of celebration. Features: Leader helps to guide questions and discussions within small groups 6 weeks of personal study to be completed between the 7 group sessions Access to 7 teaching videos, approximately 50-60 minutes per session, available by redeeming a code printed in the back of the study book Benefits: Gain deeper insight into the biblical world, including fresh perspective on familiar Bible stories. Ignite a passion to be on mission by examining the work of the early church. Find deep purpose and meaning at the table of God. Find joy in the communal aspect of faith. See how God's redemptive purposes are unstoppable in the Book of Acts.
Witness Lee speaks of the church in The Practical Expression of the Church, not only from the viewpoint of God’s eternal purpose, which is the church triumphant and universal, but also from the viewpoint of the believers’ experience and enjoyment of the riches of Christ, which produces a local expression of the church, an expression that displays the oneness of the Body of Christ and brings in God’s commanded blessing (Psalm 133).
Church Planting from the Ground Up is a visionary guide for the critical task of new church multiplication. Share in the wisdom of these field-tested veterans as you gain insight from their stories, practical ideas, and real-world experiences. Book jacket.
Christ is the life and content of the church life, but what is the proper ground of the church life? In this book Witness Lee unfolds biblical principles from both the Old and New Testament concerning the proper ground of the church and the importance of oneness in God’s eyes. Lee continues with some practical points related to the proper way for Christians to meet together.
Our central focus is Christ as everything to us. In order to enjoy Christ and express Him, we need the church life, and to have the church life, we need the proper ground. Without the proper, definite ground, how can we come together to have the Body life? To say that we need a definite ground does not mean that we have to choose between two different, but divisive, grounds. It means that we need to come together, not to one certain place or another according to our respective understandings, but to the proper ground of oneness. When we come back to meet on the ground of oneness, we enjoy the Lord with His blessing (Psa. 133). Moreover, it is only when we learn to live in the spirit and exercise our spirit to contact the Lord that we will ever be truly spiritual. Regardless of how much we talk about spirituality and listen to spiritual messages, if we are not living in the spirit and do not know how to exercise our spirit to contact the Lord, we can never have genuine spirituality. These two things are vital—to be on the proper ground and to be in the spirit.
Jesus never traveled outside of a 100-mile radius from where He was born, yet His name is spoken in every corner of the earth. The Gospel on the Ground is the story of how Jesus' message of hope and reconciliation spread from Jerusalem and how it's still spreading like wildfire today. Taking Jesus' last words here on earth before He ascended into heaven, "... you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8) seriously, Jesus' first century church grew despite intense persecution and difficulty. Come along with biblical culturalist Kristi McLelland as she unpacks the life of the early church in the Book of Acts and shows us that the kingdom of God is always on the move, always looking outward to bring meaning and joy to a world searching for true fulfillment and hope. We'll explore the call of Jesus to His disciples then and to us as His disciples today, the way God's Word can sustain us even in the most difficult of times, and the transformative grace that we experience as children of God in His kingdom of celebration.
When He came to earth, Jesus Christ was rejected in every quarter in which He stepped. The Creator was rejected by His own creation. “He came to His own and His own received Him not,” said John. For this reason, Jesus Christ had “no where to lay His head.” There was one exception, however. A little village just outside of Jerusalem named Bethany. Bethany was the only place on earth where Jesus was completely received. God’s Favorite Place on Earth is a retelling of Jesus’ many visits to Bethany and a relaying of the message it holds for us today. Frank Viola presents a beautifully crafted narrative from the viewpoint of Lazarus, one of the people who lived in Bethany with his two sisters. This incomparable story not only brings the Gospel narratives to life, but it addresses the struggle against doubt, discouragement, fear, guilt, rejection, and spiritual apathy that challenges countless Christians today. In profoundly moving prose, God’s Favorite Place on Earth will captivate your heart with its beauty, charm, and depth. In this book you will discover how to live as a “Bethany” in our world today, being set free to love and follow Jesus like never before.