"The Poor, the Crippled, the Blind, and the Lame"


Book Description

The New Testament gospels feature numerous social exchanges between Jesus and people with various physical and sensory disabilities. Despite this, traditional biblical scholarship has not seen these people as agents in their own right but existing only to highlight the actions of Jesus as a miracle worker. In this study, Louise A. Gosbell uses disability as a lens through which to explore a number of these passages anew. Using the cultural model of disability as the theoretical basis, she explores the way that the gospel writers, as with other writers of the ancient world, used the language of disability as a means of understanding, organising, and interpreting the experiences of humanity. Her investigation highlights the ways in which the gospel writers reinforce and reflect, as well as subvert, culturally-driven constructions of disability in the ancient world.




When Helping Hurts


Book Description

With more than 450,000 copies in print, When Helping Hurts is a paradigm-forming contemporary classic on the subject of poverty alleviation. Poverty is much more than simply a lack of material resources, and it takes much more than donations and handouts to solve it. When Helping Hurts shows how some alleviation efforts, failing to consider the complexities of poverty, have actually (and unintentionally) done more harm than good. But it looks ahead. It encourages us to see the dignity in everyone, to empower the materially poor, and to know that we are all uniquely needy—and that God in the gospel is reconciling all things to himself. Focusing on both North American and Majority World contexts, When Helping Hurts provides proven strategies for effective poverty alleviation, catalyzing the idea that sustainable change comes not from the outside in, but from the inside out.




Saturate


Book Description

What does living for Jesus look like in the everyday stuff of life? Many Christians have unwittingly embraced the idea that “church” is a once-a-week event rather than a community of Spirit-empowered people; that “ministry” is what pastors do on Sundays rather than the 24/7 calling of all believers; and that “discipleship” is a program rather than the normal state of every follower of Jesus. Drawing on his experience as a pastor and church planter, Jeff Vanderstelt wants us to see that there’s more—much more—to the Christian life than sitting in a pew once a week. God has called his people to something bigger: a view of the Christian life that encompasses the ordinary, the extraordinary, and everything in between. Packed full of biblical teaching, compelling stories, and real-world advice, this book will remind you that Jesus is filling the world with his presence through the everyday lives of everyday people... People just like you.




Sent Together


Book Description

Jesus does not simply call us to be a lovely community together, but he sends us out to our neighborhoods, towns, and cities to declare and demonstrate the gospel. In fact, the gospel beckons men and women to take up the call of leading and starting communities that are sent like Jesus. In Sent Together, Brad Watson helps leaders discover what it means to start communities centered on the gospel and mission. By exploring the gospel motivations that send leaders to start missional communities, Watson gives readers a framework for the purpose and ways of building a community that is deepening its understanding of the gospel, while also sharing it. Sent Together will serve as a field guide for leaders and training guide for those called to start missional communities.




The Poor and Their Possessions


Book Description

Of all the New Testament writings Luke-Acts focuses particular attention on rich and poor, possessions and poverty. The Poor and Their Possessions is a new edition of a Cambridge doctoral dissertation that has long been out of print. The author's exploration of Luke's thinking is of special importance for Christian preachers, so much effort has gone into making it accessible and readable. Who are the poor? Why are they favored? Did Jesus have a program of social reform? Is renunciation of possessions demanded of all Christians? What guidance does Luke give on the use of possessions? Did the early church have a community of possessions? To whom was Luke's material targeted? What was its purpose? These and other questions find their answers in the book. Besides its clear argument, this book is a treasure store of careful study of some difficult but important passages from Luke and Acts.




Jesus Before Christianity


Book Description

The second edition of this classic has been revised and its language made more gender-inclusive.




Boundaries for Your Soul


Book Description

Let Boundaries for Your Soul show you how to turn your shame to joy, your anger to advocacy, and your inner critic into your biggest champion. Do your emotions control you or do you control your emotions? Boundaries for Your Soul, written by bestselling authors and licensed counselors Alison Cook and Kimberly Miller, shows you how to calm the chaos within. This groundbreaking approach will give you the tools you need to: Know what to do when you feel overwhelmed Understand your guilt, anxiety, sadness, and fear Move from doubt and conflict to confidence and peace Find balance and emotional stability Gathering the wisdom from the authors' twenty-five years of combined advanced education, biblical studies, and clinical practice, this book will set you on a journey to become the loving, authentic, joyful person you were created to be. Praise for Boundaries for Your Soul: "Personal growth requires that we create healthy boundaries for our internal world, just as we are to do in our interpersonal relationships. When the various parts of our soul are connected and integrated, the result is that we heal, relate, and function at the highest levels. Alison Cook and Kimberly Miller have written a very helpful, engaging, and practical book on how to accomplish this process." --Dr. John Townsend, New York Times bestselling author of Boundaries and founder of the Townsend Institute "Boundaries for Your Soul spoke to me in echoes of already-known, yet-not-fully-applied truths, as well as with sweet new understandings. For both those familiar with Jesus' inner healing and those new to the process, there is real help here." --Elisa Morgan, author of The Beauty of Broken and The Prayer Coin, cohost of Discover the Word, and president emerita of MOPS International