Our Sovereign Refuge


Book Description

Our Sovereign Refuge is a study of the pastoral theology of Theodore Beza, the Protestant reformer who inherited the mantle of leadership in the Reformed church from John Calvin. Countering a common view of Beza as supremely a 'scholastic' theologian who deviated from Calvin's biblical focus, Wright uncovers a new portrait of Theodore Beza. Beza was not a cold and rigid academic theologian obsessed with probing the eternal decrees of God. Rather, by placing Beza in his pastoral context and by noting his concerns in his pastoral and biblical treatises, Wright shows that Beza was fundamentally a committed Christian who was troubled by the vicissitudes of life in the second half of the sixteenth century. Beza believed that the biblical truth of the supreme sovereignty of God alone could support Christians on their earthly pilgrimage to heaven. This pastoral and personal portrait of Beza forms the heart of Wright's argument.




The Archaeology of Refuge and Recourse


Book Description

"As an Indigenous scholar researching the history and archaeology of his own tribe, Tsim D. Schneider provides a unique and timely contribution to the growing field of Indigenous archaeology and offers a new perspective on the primary role and relevance of Indigenous places and homelands in the study of colonial encounters"--




Reformed Preaching


Book Description

Preaching today all too often tragically misses the point. We've all heard sermons that sound more like a lecture, filling the head but not the heart. And we've all heard sermons tailored to produce an emotional experience, filling the heart but not the head. But biblical preaching both informs minds and engages hearts—giving it the power to transform lives. By the Spirit's grace, biblical preaching brings truth home from the heart of the preacher to the heart of the hearer. Joel Beeke—a pastor and professor of preaching with over four decades of experience—explores the fundamental principles of Reformed experiential preaching, examining sermons by preachers from the past and bridging the historical gap by showing pastors what the preaching of God's life-transforming truth looks like today.




Shadow of the Almighty


Book Description

"Shadow of the Almighty" is the bestselling account of the martyrdom of Jim Elliot and four other missionaries at the hands of the Huaorani Indians in Ecuador. "Elizabeth Elliot's account is more than inspirational reading, it belongs to the very heartbeat of evangelic witness"--"Christianity Today."




Expecting with Hope


Book Description

A compassionate, thoughtful reminder of God's promises for joy and peace after loss

"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." -Isaiah 26:3

When 31 percent of pregnancies end in loss, it is no surprise that miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss brings great grief, nor is there a shortage of books addressing how to move through and past that sorrow. What is seldom considered, however, is that 85 percent of those women go on to become pregnant again-yet the complexity of emotions triggered by a pregnancy following loss is rarely addressed. With this book, Teske Drake challenges women to claim joy in the midst of grief when newly expecting, and shows them just how to accomplish that.

Centered on biblical promises like the one above, and focused specifically around promises of "peace," this book is a practical guide written by a mother who’s been there. Drake acknowledges the torrent of anxiety that replaces the natural joy pregnancy can bring. She avoids painful clichés and works instead to unearth deeper truths. Her tone is gentle, caring, and compassionate, drawing women back to a place of peace and joy, both with God and with their current pregnancy.

This ten-chapter book includes accompanying devotions, "Pregnancy Prayers," personal anecdotes from other mothers who've experienced similar loss, and "Pen the Promise" journaling prompts to encourage personal application of the promises Drake reveals. She constantly drives the reader back to Scripture, sharing not only promises given, but promises fulfilled. Women are offered practical information, as well as encouragement and inspiration. With Expecting with Hope, Drake provides a deeply needed space for expectant mothers to rediscover the joy and peace of pregnancy.




Living the Psalms


Book Description

One of Christianity's most beloved pastors walks readers through the book of Psalms, helping them to live its comfort and promises in the face of life's relentless daily grind. We all have those days--when little problems become crises, when doubt begins to overwhelm belief, when exhaustion hits and happiness escapes. And the book of Psalms offers words of strength and comfort for those troublesome times. In this remarkably down-to-earth study of selections from Psalms, one of Christianity's foremost pastors and authors explores such pressing themes as fear of the unknown, discouragement and worry, how to handle difficult people and what to do when God is silent. Combining his trademark illustrations and insights with favorite passages from this beloved Bible book, Charles Swindoll offers up a work that will help readers live the Psalms as never before. Here is practical inspiration and victorious affirmation to get anyone through life's daily grind. Drawn from previous best-selling works, adapted for the 21st-century reader




Blood and Fire, Tsar and Commissar


Book Description

Blood and Fire, Tsar and Commissarexamines the Salvation Army's first attempt to establish itself in Russia during the early decades of the twentieth century. It is a stirring story of faith, determination and endurance of a would-be-law-abiding organization struggling (despite police raids, death by epidemic and other catastrophes) to work in a place where, prior to the revolutions of 1917, it did not officially exist.




Martyrdom from Exegesis in Hippolytus


Book Description

In the third century CE, Emperor Septimius Severus unleashed a shocking and severe persecution against the Christian church. Witnessing the fear and confusion in his congregations, the presbyter Hippolytus crafted his Commentary on Daniel to encourage Christians confronted with the reality of martyrdom and persecution. In a work which comes to us as the earliest orthodox Christian commentary on scripture, Hippolytus interprets the text through allegory, typology, theodicy, paraenesis, and reflection to create a motif of martyrdom. By doing so, Hippolytus guides Christians iin their communities as they stand heroically before the tribunal of Caesar, like the Danielic characters stood before authorities in Babylon. His purpose in the commentary is clearly pastoral, arising from his role as presbyter: to exhort his Christian congregations to prepare to be martyred for Christ amidst Roman persecution.




Friends of Religious Equality


Book Description

During the middle decades of the nineteenth century the English Nonconformist community developed a coherent political philosophy of its own, of which a central tenet was the principle of religious equality (in contrast to the stereotype of Evangelical Dissenters). The Dissenting community fought for the civil rights of Roman Catholics, non-Christians, and even atheists, on an issue of principle that had its flowering in the enthusiastic and undivided support that Nonconformity gave to the campaign for Jewish emancipation. This study examines the political efforts and ideas of English Nonconformists during the period, covering the whole range of national issues raised, from state education to the Crimean War. It offers a case study of a theologically conservative group defending religious pluralism in the civic sphere, showing the that concept of religious equality was a grand vision at the center of the political philosophy of the Dissenters.




The Sunday School Movement


Book Description

Today's Sunday schools are a pale shadow of what they were in the past. Churches have found other ways of serving children and young people and carrying out adult education. From a historical point of view the Sunday schools have immense significance. As late as the 1950s approximately half the children in Great Britain were associated with Sunday schools. In the nineteenth century Sunday schools were part of general educational provision. With National, British, and Ragged schools, Sunday schools represented the Christian philanthropic impulse to provide a basic education to the public at large and at low cost. The role of the churches in educational provision is again a topic of public interest and the time is right to reflect on some of the lessons of the past. A range of experts have been asked to assess different aspects of the history of the Sunday school movement: Clyde Binfield, Faith Bowers, John H. Y. Briggs, Grayson Ditchfield Hugh McLeod, Stephen Orchard, Jack Priestley, Geoff Robson, and Doreen Rosman. They provide a remarkable survey of many aspects of Sunday schools, from their origin to their reinvention, from teaching the catechism to promoting sport.