The Untold Story of Jesus


Book Description

Jesus comes to life in this fascinating modern biography excerpted from The Urantia Book. Many of these historical stories are familiar to readers of the New Testament but dozens are new, including the missing years not found in the Bible. Here you discover Jesus presented as never before, both as divine Son and human hero whose matchless life inspires, comforts, and transforms you. It is beautifully written in modern, page-turning prose and complemented with 106 paintings from 35 renowned artists, including 42 originally commissioned works you will see for the first time. The paintings run the gamut of fine art celebrating the life of Christ, both classic and modern. These artists poured their souls into these portraits of higher spiritual reality. Our deep appreciation and humble gratitude go out to each one of them. These paintings illustrate Jesus' life journey from his humble birth and childhood to adolescence and manhood; from private to public ministry and on to his death, resurrection, and ascension. The artwork celebrates his diverse life as son, father-brother, carpenter, boat designer and builder, tutor, translator, caravan conductor, teacher, healer, minister, and friend. No one knows what Jesus looked like, but these artists painted their soulful interpretations to spark our imagination of these scenes from the Master's life. Our intent is to give you a visual communion with Jesus that complements the enthralling narrative. This impeccably designed book provides relevant and empowering spiritual insights, helping you navigate the challenging yet promising conditions of the 21st century. We live in an exciting era of unprecedented improvements in our material lives brought about by scientific, industrial, and social achievements. Yet despite all this progress, many souls feel lonely and displaced. We need God and have an innate thirst for spiritual answers because of that "still, small voice" that lives within us. Finding God by living the personal religion of Jesus satisfies that thirst. The search for the genuine Jesus continues to intrigue humanity. Since the Bible only records an estimated 50 days of his life, it follows that there is more to his story. You will find it here in this detailed history of the Master's entire life, including the public ministry recorded in the Gospels. It provides a coherent and seamless biography of this magnificent personality who continues to shape spiritual progress in our world. The story of Jesus is one of the most enthralling chapters in human history. The closing passage of the Apostle John's gospel speaks to a life larger than even the world itself. How fitting that the last words of his gospel should be the first words of this book: "But there are also many things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself would not contain the books that would be written." In John's day the Word was made flesh. In these days the Word is made book. The Untold Story of Jesus reveals the living Christ to members of the church that bears his name, as well as to worshipers of all world religions. It is sure to become a favorite volume for all who seek God.




Not Yet Married


Book Description

Life Is Never Mainly About Love and Marriage. So Learn to Live and Date for More. Many of you grew up assuming that marriage would meet all of your needs and unlock God's purposes for you. But God has far more planned for you than your future marriage. Not Yet Married is not about waiting quietly in the corner of the world for God to bring you "the one," but about inspiring you to live and date for more now. If you follow Jesus, the search for a spouse is no longer a pursuit of the perfect person, but a pursuit of more of God. He will likely write a love story for you different than the one you would write for yourself, but that's because he loves you and knows how to write a better story. This book was written to help you find real hope, happiness, and purpose in your not-yet-married life.




The Living Church


Book Description




Life Together


Book Description

After his martyrdom at the hands of the Gestapo in 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer continued his witness in the hearts of Christians around the world. His Letters and Papers from Prison became a prized testimony to Christian faith and courage, read by thousands. Now in Life Together we have Pastor Bonhoeffer's experience of Christian community. This story of a unique fellowship in an underground seminary during the Nazi years reads like one of Paul's letters. It gives practical advice on how life together in Christ can be sustained in families and groups. The role of personal prayer, worship in common, everyday work, and Christian service is treated in simple, almost biblical, words. Life Together is bread for all who are hungry for the real life of Christian fellowship.




The Spiritual Brotherhood


Book Description

During the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, a "spiritual brotherhood" formed among the Puritans, shaped by the reforming activity and training of Cambridge. These pastor-theologians initiated a new emphasis within the established church, stirring up a greater understanding of the Reformation doctrines of grace and preaching for conversion and Christian growth and piety. In this study, Paul Schaefer looks at six thinkers in this group who stand out because each was used as the human vehicle to bring the gospel to the next: William Perkins, Paul Baynes, Richard Sibbes, John Cotton, John Preston, and Thomas Shepard. By examining their teaching on the relation between man's depraved nature and sovereign grace, as well as the distinct but inseparable relation of justification and sanctification, Schaefer demonstrates how the Puritan movement came to focus most intently on the cultivation of Reformed piety within the church. Table of Contents: 1. Knowing the Times: The Spiritual Brotherhood and Its Puritanism in Its Cultural, Intellectual, and Social Contexts 2. William Perkins: The Good Fight of the Heart Redeemed 3. Paul Baynes: Ministering to the Heart Set Free 4. Richard Sibbes: The Union of the Heart with Christ 5. John Preston: The Triumph of Grace on the Inclinations of the Heart 6. An American Epilogue: Looking at Sola Gratia from Differing Angles--Cotton and Shepard and Massachusetts's Antinomian Controversy Appendix: Orthodoxies in Massachusetts?




The Jew is Not My Enemy


Book Description

A liberal Muslim and critically acclaimed author explores the historical, political, and theological basis for centuries of Muslim animosity towards Jews, debunking long-held myths and tracing a history of hate and its impact today. More than nine years after 9/11 and 60 years after the creation of the state of Israel, the world is no closer to solving, let alone understanding, the psychological and political divide between Jews and Muslims. While countless books have been written on the subject of terrorism, political Islam, and jihad, barely a handful address the theological and historical basis of the Jew—Muslim divide. Following the terrorist attacks on Mumbai in November 2008, in which Pakistani jihadis sought out and murdered the members of a local Jewish centre, Tarek Fatah began an in-depth investigation of the historical basis for the crime. In this provocative new book, Fatah uses extensive research to trace how literature from as early as the seventh century has fueled the hatred of Jews by Muslims. Fatah debunks the anti-Jewish writings of the Hadith literature, takes apart the Arab supremacist doctrines that lend fuel to the fire, and reinterprets supposed anti-Jewish passages in the Quran. In doing so he argues that hating Jews is against the essence of the Islamic spirit and suggests what needs to be done to eliminate the agonizing friction between the two communities.




The Muslim Brotherhood and the West


Book Description

A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year In the century since the Muslim Brotherhood first emerged in Egypt, its idea of “the West” has remained a key driver of its behavior. From its founding, the Brotherhood stood opposed to the British Empire and Western cultural influence. Its leaders hoped to create more pristine, authentically Islamic societies. As British power gave way to American, the Brotherhood oscillated between anxiety about the West and the need to engage with it, while American and British officials struggled to understand the group, unsure whether to shun or embrace it. The Muslim Brotherhood and the West offers the first comprehensive history of the relationship between the world’s largest Islamist movement and the powers that have dominated the Middle East for the past hundred years. Drawing on extensive archival research in London and Washington and the Brotherhood’s writings in Arabic and English, Martyn Frampton reveals the history of this charged relationship down to the eve of the Arab Spring. What emerges is an authoritative account of a story that is crucial to understanding one of the world’s most turbulent regions. “Rigorous yet absorbing...Fills a crucial gap in the literature and will be essential reading not just for scholars, but for anyone seeking to understand the ever-problematic relationship between religion and politics in today’s Middle East.” —Financial Times “Breaks new ground by examining the links between the Egyptian Brotherhood’s relations with Britain and...the United States.” —Times Literary Supplement




The Man in the Mirror


Book Description

Are you ready to trade the demands of the never-ending rat race for the timeless rewards of godly manhood? Join the millions of others who have turned to The Man in the Mirror as their go-to guide for over 30 years. In this updated and expanded edition of The Man in the Mirror, bestselling author Patrick Morley helps you overcome common roadblocks in the road to spiritual growth and chart a path toward becoming a better leader wherever you are--at home, in your workplace, and in your community. With its practical advice, thought-provoking questions, and biblical insights, The Man in the Mirror will challenge you to reflect on your life, identify your problem areas, and make the changes necessary to love God, yourself, and others better. Along the way, Morley addresses the questions he's asked the most often, including: How can I fix my broken relationships? How can I establish financial strength? How do I tackle pride, fear, and anger? How do I set priorities and decide what's important? Praise for The Man in the Mirror: "Every once in a while someone comes along and says what I've been trying to put into words for years. This is one of those books. It's Augustine for the twentieth century. Real. Honest. Hard-hitting. Taking on the dragons. Read this book at your own risk. It's a serendipity--one surprise after another." --Lyman Coleman, bestselling author "To 'walk your talk' as a successful businessman is a challenge very few meet. Pat Morley walks his talk. He is a successful businessman, and he brings his wisdom and experience to all of us in a very readable and understandable form in The Man in the Mirror. I encourage you to not only read this book but also practice its principles." --Ron Blue, managing partner, Ron Blue & Co.




The New Muslim Brotherhood in the West


Book Description

In Europe and North America, networks tracing their origins back to the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist movements have rapidly evolved into multifunctional and richly funded organizations competing to become the major representatives of Western Muslim communities and government interlocutors. Some analysts and policy makers see these organizations as positive forces encouraging integration. Others cast them as modern-day Trojan horses, feigning moderation while radicalizing Western Muslims. Lorenzo Vidino brokers a third, more informed view. Drawing on more than a decade of research on political Islam in the West, he keenly analyzes a controversial movement that still remains relatively unknown. Conducting in-depth interviews on four continents and sourcing documents in ten languages, Vidino shares the history, methods, attitudes, and goals of the Western Brothers, as well as their phenomenal growth. He then flips the perspective, examining the response to these groups by Western governments, specifically those of Great Britain, Germany, and the United States. Highly informed and thoughtfully presented, Vidino's research sheds light on a critical juncture in Muslim-Western relations.




The Aquarian Gospel for Awakening


Book Description

In 1908 a book appeared on the shelves of American bookstores that was destined to garner interest throughout the world, so much so that today it has gone through more than seventy editions in America alone. This book was The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ by Levi H. Dowling. Immediately it evoked a response in those who intuited and sought for a deeper meaning of the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Many at that time, as well as today, could not honestly accept the limited interpretation of Jesus and his words that was offered by Churchianity, an acceptance that would have obligated them to reject him as but one of many misperceiving religionists of the past. For them the Aquarian Gospel was truly Light in Darkness, a fount of life-giving knowledge.With penetrating insight, Abbot George Burke illumines the practical value of the Aquarian Gospel for spiritual seekers, and the timelessness of this classic writing.. With a unique perspective of a lifetime of study and practice of both Eastern and Western spirituality, Abbot George mines the treasures of the Aquarian Gospel and presents them in an easily intelligible fashion for those wishing to put these priceless teachings into practice.