Bruce Wilkinson's best-selling book, 'The Prayer of Jabez, ' is so popular with Evangelicals it just had to be bad. Wilkinson told us to be gimpers for God; Jones shows us how to be kippers for God. In this parody the conservative Christian author allows humor to reveal the more ridiculous assumptions driving the original book. Each chapter of the original is turned inside out so that we can really see what's being said. Though the parody is rather ruthless in its humor, it is not hopelessly cynical just for the sake of mockery. It points to a more constructive vision, a vision of Christianity's inherent riches of truth, beauty, and goodness that the original Jabez book passively trivializes. Get this parody for the laughs; get it for something greater.
Jabez A Little Book of BIG Blessings. The prayer of Jabez contains Kingdom principles that are keys for every believer to unlock untold blessings and miracles in our own lives and that of our families. Brown takes us through a whistle-stop tour of the prayer and life of Jabez, building from the foundation of a life which was marked by pain and suffering to a life that experienced phenomenal healing, blessing and increase. This book will enable all to take their faith to the next level. By trusting God Jabez moved from being a man of sorrows to a man of success. Learn how to experience the transformational power and grace of God through “Jabez, A Little Book of BIG Blessings.” The book is a gift of God to a generation that God desires to bless extravagantly and abundantly.
An exploration of the ways in which we genuflect to false gods, and what happens when we let them go and open ourselves to the experience of Love and Wisdom. Kerry Walters unmasks the golden calves we have been taught to worship and enlightens us living in presence of Spirit. The false gods are: the Genie god the Patriot god, the By-the-Book god My god the Designer god Whatever god Sunday School god Egghead god The more idols we remove from our interior shrines the more space we open up for the real God and spiritual values that make a difference in our lives. The tools are detachment and discrimination, alert attentiveness, patience, and trust. The benefit of reading this book is spiritual clarity and assurance.
Christ promised his disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came on them, and that they would be his witnesses across the world. When the Spirit did come to them in tongues of fire, thousands believed in Christ and were saved. That same miracle, that same Spirit, is alive in us today.so why are all of us-from the evangelical to the charismatic-so desperate for an intimate encounter with God? Why don't we feel like the new creations we know we are? Pastor and theologian Simon Ponsonby believes that the hunger we feel is a desire for more of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Many Christins have emphasized the experience of the Spirit and neglected the Word, while others have emphasized the Word and neglected the Spirit. Either way, we've become so accustomed to living in the shallow waters of Christianity that we've forgotten the depth of that promised power, and the depth of the love that gave this power to us. In More, Simon invites you to journey with him into the deep waters of God's love. While both biblical and practical, what he says also has the power to inspire in you a new love and a new understanding of everything we've been given in Christ. Are you ready? This journey may not be comfortable or easy, but it will bring you more joy and more of God than you can even imagine.
Most forms of religion are best understood in the con- text of their relationship with the surrounding culture. This may be particularly true in the United States. Certainly immigrant Catholicism became Americanized; mainstream Protestantism accommodated itself to the modern world; and Reform Judaism is at home in American society. In Evangelicalism, Richard Kyle explores paradoxical adjustments and transformations in the relationship between conservative Protestant Evangelicalism and contemporary American culture. Evangelicals have resisted many aspects of the modern world, but Kyle focuses on what he considers their romance with popular culture. Kyle sees this as an Americanized Christianity rather than a Christian America, but the two are so intertwined that it is difficult to discern the difference between them. Instead, in what has become a vicious self-serving cycle, Evangelicals have baptized and sanctified secular culture in order to be considered culturally relevant, thus increasing their numbers and success within abundantly populous and populist-driven American society. In doing so, Evangelicalism has become a middle-class movement, one that dominates America's culture, and unabashedly populist. Many Evangelicals view America as God's chosen nation, thus sanctifying American culture, consumerism, and middle-class values. Kyle believes Evangelicals have served themselves well in consciously and deliberately adjusting their faith to popular culture. Yet he also thinks Evangelicals may have compromised themselves and their future in the process, so heavily borrowing from the popular culture that in many respects the Evangelical subculture has become secularism with a light gilding of Christianity. If so, he asks, can Evangelicalism survive its own popularity and reaffirm its religious origins, or will it assimilate and be absorbed into what was once known as the Great American Melting Pot of religions and cultures? Will the Gospel of the American dream ultimately engulf and destroy the Gospel of Evangelical success in America? This thoughtful and thought-provoking volume will interest anyone concerned with the modern-day success of the Evangelical movement in America and the aspirations and fate of its faithful.
Although 92% of American households own at least one Bible, their use of the Bible varies significantly. Only 59% of Americans read the Bible at least occasionally, and an even smaller percentage go beyond merely reading the Bible and actually study it. It is no wonder that even those who say they read the Scriptures often don't understand them. Veteran Bible professor Richard L. Schultz believes the misinterpretation and misapplication of biblical texts amounts to a crisis of "interpretive malpractice." In Out of Context he seeks to explain how biblical interpretation goes wrong and how to get it right. He introduces readers to the important concepts of context, word meaning, genre, and the differences between the world of the Bible and our own. Readers who delve into the fascinating world of biblical interpretation found in this book will find their Scripture reading enhanced and be enlightened by Schultz's powerful and ultimately positive message.
The meteoric rise in popularity of Bruce Wilkinson's compact book,The Prayer of Jabez,has taken the church, and the country, by storm. Having already sold millions of copies, it may become the best-selling Christian book of the last one hundred years. In this book, pastor and author Gary Gilley takes issue with Wilkinson's message. He believes the message, although well-meaning, is unbiblical and threatens to do incalculable damage to the church.
Popular Evangelicalism in American Culture explores the controversies, complexities, and historical development of the evangelical movement in America and its impact on American culture. Evangelicalism is one of the most dynamic and growing religious movements in America and has been both a major force in shaping American society and likewise a group which has resisted aspects of the modern world. Organised thematically this book demonstrates the impact of American culture on popular evangelicalism by exploring the following topics: politics; economics; salvation; millennialism; the megachurch and electronic churches; and popular culture. This accessible and thought-provoking volume will interest anyone concerned with the modern-day success of the Evangelical movement in America.
A straight forward simple life-changing easy to read common sense look at the complexity of today’s difficulties according to and surrounding God’s Word, the Bible and Christianity. Did God simply hit the start button on creation and walk away like it sometimes feels? He is almost always active with us daily, hourly, minute by minute! Life is beautiful if we allow it to be and we are blessed beyond measure! Your success depends on what you truly believe, what drives your existence. If you work hard enough at what your heart’s desire is about, it will happen; especially if you are working at something in God’s name and in His timing. Remember God’s plans for you existed before you were born. So, what do you spend your time on? Ask God for help in changing the part of you that He dislikes; those things that are negative in nature, learn to love yourself. Beware of distractions, piddling, deviations from your purposes, mostly they are wrong for you to do at that time. However, sometimes “fires” do occur and must be put out. The distractions I am alluding to come from fragmented thoughts that lead you to deviate from your plan; you end up in a room and don’t even remember why you are there. If something pops up that requires your attention write it down on your to do list. Everyone should have such a list but often they also are simply a distraction list that keeps you from what you ought to be doing. People within a congregation, those on the edge or outside of Christianity, and those trying to make some sense out of their career and life experiences in these difficult times while hanging on to Christian principles they believe in need this book. Millions of Christians and non-Christians alike need more information and guidance for clarity in a confusing world that often conflicts with one's normal Christian values. This book helps define how we can keep a firm grasp on what we believe and apply those principles with a new sense of realization in our life and career. It is in that mode that it was developed.
