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 Quick and the Dead explores the political dimension of Anglo-American Protestant writing about the future resurrection of the dead between the seventeenth and mid-nineteenth centuries. Reading histories, epic poetry, funeral sermons, and scientific tracts alongside works of eschatological exegesis, the book challenges the conventional scholarly assumption that Protestantism's rejection of purgatory prepared the way for the individualization and secularization of Western attitudes towards mortality. A deeper engagement with the complex history of resurrection theology reveals the importance of collective solidarity with the dead for Protestant social and political thought. Puritans, Anglicans, Quakers, and radicals looked to resurrection to understand their communities' prospects in the uncertain terrain of colonial America. They also expressed their conviction that political identities and religious duties did not expire with the mortal body but were carried over into the next life. This belief shaped their positions on a wide variety of issues, including the limits of ecclesiastical and civil power, the relationship of humanity to the natural world, and the emerging rhetoric of racial difference. In the early national and antebellum periods, secular and Christian reformers drew on the idea of resurrection to imagine how American republicanism might transform society and politics and ameliorate the human form itself. Early-modern Protestants really believed that they would live again in the flesh. By taking this belief seriously, this book opens up new perspectives on their mutually constitutive visions of earthly and resurrected existence"--
The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." John 14:3 ESV Jesus Christ was very clear: One day He will return-and none of us knows when. Vocal fanatics claim to know the details of the Second Coming, causing many Christians to all but ignore the good news that Jesus is coming again. Yet God's own Word commands us to know the signs of the times, to remain watchful, and to be ready-whenever Christ comes. This book is a straightforward, in-depth exploration of the key biblical texts regarding the Second Coming; most notably, Christ's longest and most important eschatological message, the Olivet Discourse. As you study what the Word of God says about these matters, it will stir in your heart an earnest longing for Christ's return-as well as a certainty about how to live expectantly until He comes again.
A beautiful and meditative collection of poetry rooted in a wonder and deep knowledge of the natural world. New from renowned Michigan-born poet Chris Dombrowski, By Cold Water is a well-crafted and confident collection of poems that journeys into a complex natural world that is both beautiful and threatened. In a measured and contemplative voice, these poems engage in an earthy and eloquent exploration of the landscape—including the lakes, rivers, moonlight, breezes, and birdsong—of Dombrowski’s native Michigan and his current home of Montana. Always maintaining a sense of wonder at the world around him, Dombrowski uses these natural inspirations to produce a stunning range of meditations on modern life. Whether carefully observing the present moment or trying to make meaning out of the past, Dombrowski’s lines showcase the struggle of giving oneself completely over to the experience. In a similar manner, his concise, powerful lines are all-consuming and honed to an exact sharpness, bursting with tactile, aural, and visual images. Though Dombrowski’s work is rooted in nature, it is in no way limited by this focus. When he describes a star-filled sky, a sheet snapping in the breeze, or the season’s first snow, Dombrowski draws readers completely into his world, to see how he has lived, loved, and survived in this particular place. In doing so, he skillfully reveals universal themes of growth and decay, uncertainty and faith, and love and loss, amid a landscape that is always evolving and fundamentally unstable. Dombrowski’s voice is both inviting and sophisticated, its precision reminiscent of the best poets who have drawn inspiration from the natural world. All readers of poetry will be drawn to the rich and beautiful poems in By Cold Water.
The prophet Brigham Young taught the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in a basic, practical way that gave inspiration and hope to the Saints struggling to build a home in the wilderness. Though more than a century has now passed, his words are still fresh and appropriate for us today as we continue the work of building the kingdom of God. President Young declared that as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we possess the “doctrine of life and salvation for all the honest-in-heart” (DBY, 7). He promised that those who receive the gospel in their hearts will have awakened “within them a desire to know and understand the things of God more than they ever did before in their lives” and will begin to “inquire, read and search and when they go to their Father in the name of Jesus he will not leave them without a witness” (DBY, 450). This book reflects the desire of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to deepen the doctrinal understanding of Church members and to awaken within them a greater desire to know the things of God. It will inspire and motivate individuals, priesthood quorums, and Relief Society classes to inquire, read, search, and then go to their Father in Heaven for a witness of the truth of these teachings. Each chapter contains two sections—“Teachings of Brigham Young” and “Suggestions for Study.” The first section consists of extracts from Brigham Young’s sermons to the early Saints. Each statement has been referenced, and the original spelling and punctuation have been preserved; however, the sources cited will not be readily available to most members. These original sources are not necessary to have in order to effectively study or teach from this book. Members need not purchase additional references and commentaries to study or teach these chapters. The text provided in this book, accompanied by the scriptures, is sufficient for instruction. Members should prayerfully read and study President Young’s teachings in order to gain new insights into gospel principles and discover how those principles apply to their everyday lives. By faithfully and prayerfully studying these selections, Latter-day Saints will have a greater understanding of gospel principles and will more fully appreciate the profound and inspired teachings of this great prophet. The second section of each chapter offers a series of questions that will encourage thoughtful contemplation, personal application, and discussion of President Young’s teachings. Members should refer to and carefully reread his words on the principle being discussed. Deep and prayerful study of these teachings will inspire members to greater personal commitment and will help them resolve to follow the teachings of the Savior, Jesus Christ. If individuals and families prayerfully follow the principles in this book, they will be blessed and inspired to greater dedication and spirituality, as were the early Saints who heard these words directly from the lips of the “Lion of the Lord” (HC, 7:434)—the prophet, seer, and revelator, President Brigham Young.
Many Christians think of end times prophecy as a gigantic, intimidating puzzle -- difficult to piece together and impossible to figure out. But every puzzle can be solved if you approach it the right way. Paul Benware compares prophecy to a picture puzzle. Putting the edge pieces together first builds the 'framework' that makes it easier to fit the other pieces in their place. According to Benware, the framework for eschatology is the biblical covenants. He begins his comprehensive survey by explaining the major covenants. Then he discusses several different interpretations of end times prophecy. Benware digs into the details of the Rapture, the Great Tribulation, the judgements and resurrections, and the millennial kingdom. But he also adds a unique, personal element to the study, answering questions as: -Why study bible prophecy? -What difference does it make if I'm premillenial or amillenial? If what the Bible says about the future puzzles you, Understanding End Times Prophecy will help you put together the pieces and see the big picture.
Reflecting on the practice of disciple making in young adult, college, graduate, and local church contexts, Jonathan Dodson has discerned some common pitfalls. For many, discipleship is reduced to a form of religious performance before God. For others, it devolves into spiritual license and a loose adherence to spiritual facts. Both approaches distort biblical motivations for Christian obedience and are in need of reform. By explaining various motivations for discipleship, Dodson charts a biblically faithful, grace-driven alternative. Additionally, he provides a practical model for creating gospel-centered discipleship groups—small, reproducible, missional, gender-specific groups of believers that fight for faith together. This book blends both theology and practice to inspire and equip Christians to effectively fight sin, keep Jesus central, and make gospel-centered discipleship a way of life. Both new and growing Christians will learn to trust the gospel in community as they fight together for holiness as well as how to start gospel-centered community groups in any local church.
After creation itself, the greatest miracle was when God Himself became a Man and walked upon the earth. He did this to show man how to become “a new creation” ascending into the heavenly realm with a spiritual nature. This book, one of Rick Joyner’s favorites, is about this most remarkable time and written from the perspective of both men and angels.
"Besides Jesus, no one has kept me from despair, or taken me deeper into the mysteries of the gospel, than the apostle Paul." —John Piper No one has had a greater impact on the world for eternal good than the apostle Paul—except Jesus himself. For John Piper, this impact is very personal. He does not just admire and trust Paul. He loves him. Piper gives us thirty glimpses into why his heart and mind respond this way. Can a Christian-killer really endure 195 lashes from a heart of love? Can a mystic who thinks he was caught up into heaven be a model of lucid rationality? Can an ethnocentric Jew write the most beautiful call to reconciliation? Can a person who lives with the unceasing anguish of empathy be always rejoicing? Can a man's description of the horrors of human sin be exceeded by his delight in human splendor? Can a man with a backbone of steel be as tender as a nursing mother? If we know this man—if we see what Piper sees—we too will love him. Paul's testimony is a matter of life and death. Piper invites you into his relationship with Paul in the hope that you will know life, forever.
