Preaching a Disturbing Gospel


Book Description

John Wesley was once asked why so many people came to hear him preach. His response was, "When you set yourself on fire, people love to come and see you burn . While the question pushed to understand why the masses were so intrigued with Wesley's pulpit, we might well ask today, what is really happening in our pulpits to capture the interest and the attention of today's listener? If we were to survey local congregations, perhaps we would be surprised to learn how many people would like to see a little more fire burning in the pulpit on a Sunday morning! It presses us to ask what preaching is accomplishing in today's contemporary world. Is preaching waking people up or is it painfully lulling them to sleep? Is preaching inspiring, motivating and reaching people where they are, or has the relevancy of this time-honored tradition within the Christian Church lost esteem and effectiveness? Using these initial questions as a launching pad, the pages that follow seek to put the reality of the contemporary pulpit in conversation with a place in history where homiletical fires burned with notable intensity. Drawing from the richness of The Salvation Army's story, we reach back into the Victorian and Edwardian eras (1819-1930) to encounter the aggressive proclamation of a disturbing gospel....Is there still a place for confrontational preaching in the contemporary pulpit? Does this approach to preaching help to address some of the very real challenges we are facing in engaging today's listener?




I Believe in Preaching


Book Description

Is preaching dead - or at least dying? In a digital age, where congregations have unprecedented access to resources, do we still need sermons? John Stott's I BELIEVE IN PREACHING has been essential reading for ministers, students and lay preachers for over three decades. Its message is as relevant today as ever. 'I do believe in preaching. . . I believe that nothing is better calculated to restore health and vitality to the Church or to lead its members into maturity in Christ than a recovery of true, biblical, contemporary preaching.' John Stott This edition also contains a brand new introduction form the original series editor Michael Green.




Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire


Book Description

The Times Are Urgent God Is on the Move Now Is the Moment to ... ask God to ignite his fire in your soul! Pastor Jim Cymbala believes that Jesus wants to renew his people-to call us back from spiritual dead ends, apathy, and lukewarm religion. Cymbala knows the difference firsthand. Thirty-five years ago his own church, the Brooklyn Tabernacle, was a struggling congregation of twenty. Then they began to pray ... God began to move ... street-hardened lives by the hundreds were changed by the love of Christ ... and today they are more than ten thousand strong. The story of what happened to this broken-down church in one of America's toughest neighborhoods points the way to new spiritual vitality in the church and in your own life. Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire shows what the Holy Spirit can do when believers get serious about prayer and the gospel. As this compelling book reveals, God moves in life-changing ways when we set aside our own agendas, take him at his word, and listen for his voice.




Twelve Ordinary Men


Book Description

You don't have to be perfect to do God's work. Look no further than the twelve disciples, whose many weaknesses are forever preserved throughout the pages of the New Testament. Join bestselling author John MacArthur in Twelve Ordinary Men as he draws principles from Christ's careful, hands-on training of the original disciples for today's modern disciple, you! Jesus chose ordinary men--fishermen, tax collectors, political zealots--and turned their weakness into strength, producing greatness from people who were otherwise unremarkable. The twelve disciples weren't the stained-glass saints we imagine. On the contrary, they were truly human, all too prone to mistakes, misstatements, wrong attitudes, lapses of faith, and bitter failure. Simply put, they were flawed people, just like us. But under Jesus' teaching and touch, they became a force that forever changed the world. MacArthur takes you into the inner circle of the disciples--their selection, their training, their personalities, and their incredible impact. As MacArthur took a closer look at the lives of the twelve disciples, he found himself asking difficult questions along the way, including: Why did Jesus pick each of the twelve disciples? How did Jesus teach them everything he could in just eighteen short months? Can the lessons that Jesus taught the disciples can still influence our faith today? In Twelve Ordinary Men, you'll learn that disciples are living proof that God's strength is made perfect in weakness. As you get to know the men who walked with Jesus, you'll see that if he can accomplish his purposes through them, he can do the same through you.




What's Wrong with Preaching Today?


Book Description




Power Thoughts


Book Description

Joyce Meyer has a knack for coining phrases-her fans call them Joyceisms-and one of her best loved is "Where the mind goes, the man follows." This was the basis for Battlefield of the Mind, and in her latest book, Meyer provides "power thoughts," bringing the reader to a new level of ability to use the mind as a tool to achievement. In Power Thoughts, she outlines a flexible program to turn thoughts into habits, and habits into success. Sections include: The Power of a Positive You 5 Rules for Keeping Your Attitude at the Right Altitude More Power To You bulleted keys to successful thinking in each chapter The Power of Perspective Nobody has more of a "can-do" attitude than Joyce Meyer. Now you can, too.







Uncomfortable


Book Description

Does your church make you uncomfortable? It’s easy to dream about the “perfect” church—a church that sings just the right songs set to just the right music before the pastor preaches just the right sermon to a room filled with just the right mix of people who happen to agree with you on just about everything. Chances are your church doesn’t quite look like that. But what if instead of searching for a church that makes us comfortable, we learned to love our church, even when it’s challenging? What if some of the discomfort that we often experience is actually good for us? This book is a call to embrace the uncomfortable aspects of Christian community, whether that means believing difficult truths, pursuing difficult holiness, or loving difficult people—all for the sake of the gospel, God’s glory, and our joy.




The Naked Gospel


Book Description

The Naked Gospel is a chapter-by-chapter assault on the churchy jargon and double talk of our day. It puts forth a message that is simple but life-changing. With a fresh take on Scripture and unapologetic style, The Naked Gospel will challenge you to re-examine everything you thought you already knew.




Text Messages


Book Description

Facebook. Twitter. Snapchat. We live in a rapidly changing world, a world that seems to be increasingly inhospitable toward preaching. In the face of digital technology, social media, cultural pluralism, and pastoral burnout, how can Christian preachers proclaim the gospel faithfully and effectively? This book answers that question by bringing together a selection of important voices from across North America, Asia, and the Pacific. It argues that Spirit-empowered preaching is characterized by five attributes: it opens the Scriptures, engages the culture, addresses the listener, dissects the preacher, and elevates the Savior. With contributions from authors like William Willimon, Darrell Johnson, Lynne Baab, Robert Smith Jr., and Paul Windsor, this is an excellent resource for ordained ministers, lay preachers, theological students, and anyone wrestling with the challenge of preaching God’s word in a smartphone world.