The Goodness of God


Book Description

For those times when we’re wounded by broken trust, assaulted by disease, or victimized by evil—or when we’re crushed to see such things happen to people we love—Randy Alcorn offers something solid to hold onto: God's love. In this specially focused condensation of Alcorn’s If God Is Good…: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil, we’re continually guided into a deeper glimpse of God’s loving ways and higher purposes—the very things we’re often most blinded to whenever we battle pain and anguish. Alcorn avoids superficial or sentimental responses, and instead presses forward boldly to explore all the troubling doubts and questions that agitate within us when we confront suffering and evil. The issues are far from simple, the answers far from easy—but Alcorn shows how the way of suffering—a path that Jesus himself followed more than anyone else—can ultimately become a journey into wholeness and even logic-defying joy.




The Goodness of God


Book Description

Is God really good? Look at the world around us: History is a long tale of man's inhumanity to man. Spain had its Inquisition, Britain its Atlantic slave trade, Germany its gas chambers, Russia its Siberian labor camps, the United States its Indian reservations. And the world is still swept by fear and lust, green and racial tension. Nature too seems twisted. Babies are born deformed. They inherit diseases and tendencies to insanity. Ours is a world of preying animals, parasites, viruses, and bacteria. The Bible itself raises this question. It records tyranny, cruelty, mutilation--eyes gouged out, hands lopped off--deceit, licentiousness, war. Not only war but God-sent war. Assyria, one of the cruelest nations of history, is called the rod of God's anger. Is God good? The author provides no easy answer. He writes, "Easy answers could not possibly be right....We must look at REALITY--look at it hard--till at last we realize that there is no way out; till we realize that we are children, that we are fools, that we are at heart conceited, stiff-necked rebels, who will get everything wrong, unless we are willing to give up telling God what he should be like and what he should do...." This is a book only for those willing to grapple with reality. -Publisher




Trust in the Goodness of God


Book Description

Each of the twenty-four chapters details thought-provoking, practical spiritual advice as well as personal stories and anecdotes to illustrate the vital spiritual concepts that can ease the challenges and confusions of daily living. Two of the chapters, "A Touch of Dynamite" and "God's Light Will Solve It," are new and haven't been printed previously.




Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God


Book Description

When confronted by horrendous evil, even the most pious believer may question not only life's worth but also God's power and goodness. A distinguished philosopher and a practicing minister, Marilyn McCord Adams has written a highly original work on a fundamental dilemma of Christian thought—how to reconcile faith in God with the evils that afflict human beings. Adams argues that much of the discussion in analytic philosophy of religion over the last forty years has offered too narrow an understanding of the problem. The ground rules accepted for the discussion have usually led philosophers to avert their gaze from the worst—horrendous—evils and their devastating impact on human lives. They have agreed to debate the issue on the basis of religion-neutral values, and have focused on morals, an approach that—Adams claims—is inadequate for formulating and solving the problem of horrendous evils. She emphasizes instead the fruitfulness of other evaluative categories such as purity and defilement, honor and shame, and aesthetics. If redirected, philosophical reflection on evil can, Adams's book demonstrates, provide a valuable approach not only to theories of God and evil but also to pastoral care.




God's Goodness in You and Me


Book Description

This God-inspired book focuses on helping parents present God’s Goodness to their children. It encourages habits that bring God to the forefront of daily living. It shares simple ways parents can teach their children to look for God’s goodness in all that we do. It conveys that we can see His Goodness through each one of our smiles, as well as in the sky during the day and night, and through the fruits of the spirit. It reminds us that we should be able to recognize when His enemy Satan is having an influence in our lives as well, but that God is always with us everywhere we go. It shares with parents a simple way to keep God active in our lives through prayer at the table, bedtime, and church. It also expresses the importance of being grateful for all that God has done for us and for His unconditional love. It reminds us that All things are possible with God and that we are nothing without Him. His goodness can indeed be seen in You and Me all around the world!




Spirit and Sacrament


Book Description

Spirit and Sacrament by pastor and author Andrew Wilson is an impassioned call to join together two traditions that are frequently and unnecessarily kept separate. It is an invitation to pursue the best of both worlds in worship, the Eucharistic and the charismatic, with the grace of God at the center. Wilson envisions church services in which healing testimonies and prayers of confession coexist, the congregation sings When I Survey the Wondrous Cross followed by Happy Day, and creeds move the soul while singing moves the body. He imagines a worship service that could come out of the book of Acts: Young men see visions, old men dream dreams, sons and daughters prophesy, and they all come together to the same Table and go on their way rejoicing. In short, Spirit and Sacrament is an appeal to bring out of the church's storehouse all of its treasures, so that God's people can worship our unrivaled Savior with sacraments and spiritual gifts, raised hands and lowered faces.




Providence


Book Description

New from Best-Selling Author John Piper From Genesis to Revelation, the providence of God directs the entire course of redemptive history. Providence is "God's purposeful sovereignty." Its extent reaches down to the flight of electrons, up to the movements of galaxies, and into the heart of man. Its nature is wise and just and good. And its goal is the Christ-exalting glorification of God through the gladness of a redeemed people in a new world. Drawing on a lifetime of theological reflection, biblical study, and practical ministry, pastor and author John Piper leads us on a stunning tour of the sightings of God's providence—from Genesis to Revelation—to discover the allencompassing reality of God's purposeful sovereignty over all of creation and all of history. Piper invites us to experience the profound effects of knowing the God of all-pervasive providence: the intensifying of true worship, the solidifying of wavering conviction, the strengthening of embattled faith, the toughening of joyful courage, and the advance of God's mission in this world.




Enjoying the Goodness of God


Book Description

God wants us to be able to enjoy life, not just survive it. Enjoying the Goodness of God is not a Christian self-help book, though it will help you. It is not a bible study, though you will learn about the bible. It is not designed to motivate you to try harder, though you will be motivated. It does not contain the steps to achieve personal actualization and success, though when you discover who you are in Christ Jesus and all He has done for you, you will find great success. Enjoying the Goodness of God will point you back to Jesus and allow Jesus to reveal Himself to you once again. The more you see Jesus, the more He will change you, from glory to glory. Not behavior modification, but heart transformation. It results in great success!




Suffering and the Goodness of God


Book Description

Suffering and the Goodness of God presents biblical truths concerning suffering and challenges believers to promote justice and to emulate God's grace as they minister to others. Famine. Sickness. Terrorist Attacks. Natural disasters. Each day horrific scenes of suffering are streamed before us through television, the Internet, and newspapers. Believers are taught that God is good, and they believe this truth. Yet when they are faced with suffering and hardships, the one question believers most often asked is, Why? Suffering and the Goodness of God brings insight to many contemporary concerns of suffering by outlining Old and New Testament truths and tackling difficult questions concerning God's sovereignty, human freedom, and the nature of evil. Suffering and the Goodness of God offers believers biblical truths concerning suffering and then challenges them to promote justice in the harsh, unsure world around them and to emulate God's grace as they minister to those who are suffering. Part of the Theology in Community series.




The Jesus Mood


Book Description

Bad moods. Sad moods. Weak moods. Bleak moods. Poor moods. Bored moods. Dark moods. Stark moods. Mood altering. Mood faltering. "I am not in the mood!" has become the motto of fallen man. Jesus is here to rescue and redeem the word "mood." Mood is about to become a rainbow label of many glorious colors. Light moods. Bright moods. Sure moods. Pure moods. Strong moods. Song moods. The Jesus Mood replaces all man-made moods of failure with His God-made mood of faith. The importance of our mood cannot be overstated. Mood is everything. Your mood is the absolute fuel gauge of your faith's fervency in God. It's the thermometer that reveals your current passion levels for life. When it comes right down to it, your mood is the most practical and basic thing you can offer to God. This book reveals how to renew your each and every mood in Christ. The Jesus Mood unveils the enormity of Jesus' gift to all of us - He sent His perfect mood of faith in the Father to live and operate in us at all times. Your growing certainty of this great truth is the way out of bad moods - forever!