Truth Plus Love


Book Description

Imagine what our world might look like if Christians became known for remarkable love, as well as life-giving truth. The stakes are high and the need is great for Christians to represent Jesus to a watching world. And today, we have more influence than ever before--for better and for worse. We are among the first generations to have access to a global megaphone through social media. But it's not enough to speak truth louder to a noisy culture. To counter the reputation Christians have earned, our love must be just as loud. Ask evangelist Matt Brown, and he will tell you Christians today are facing a crisis of influence. In our rush to speak truth to today's tensions, cultural issues, and trending controversies, it becomes all too easy to focus on proving our points rather than extending God's grace. Conversely, when we seek only to love yet never proclaim a better way, we short-circuit God's plan. Truth Plus Love invites you to rediscover the biblical framework for engaging culture as ambassadors of Christ. Through biblical insight, cultural analysis, and practical principles, Matt Brown outlines how to champion truth without compromise, how to love unconditionally, and ultimately, how to step into this great adventure of representing God to the world. It's hard, it's messy, and it's the unfinished project of a lifetime, yet here we find our great adventure: representing God to a watching world.




The Unchanging Christ


Book Description




Unchanging Witness


Book Description

The church is going through a time of severe fracture over the issue of homosexuality. This book addresses the arguments from the gay Christian movement and revisionist theologians and exegetes on a single point: Can they withstand the evidence of the primary sources? In Unchanging Witness, Donald Fortson and Rollin Grams articulate the consistent orthodox view on homosexuality by presenting primary sources throughout Christian history and by interpreting the biblical texts in their cultural contexts. The first part of the book examines church history from the patristic period to the present day, and the second part engages biblical texts in light of Ancient Near Eastern, Jewish, Greek, and Roman primary sources. Throughout, the authors survey the conflicting and changing arguments of revisionist readings and contend that, in light of the overwhelming evidence of the relevant texts, the real issue is not one of interpretation but of biblical authority and Christian orthodoxy.




The Immutability of God


Book Description

Charles Haddon Spurgeon's, The Immutability of God, will inspire and challenge you. Listen to Spurgeon: I know nothing which can so comfort the soul, so calm the swelling billows of grief and sorrow-so speak peace to the winds of trial-as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead. It is to that subject that I invite you this morning. We shall present you with one view of it-that is the immutability of the glorious Jehovah. "I am," says my text, "Jehovah," (for so it should be translated) "I am Jehovah, I change not; therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed."




Systematic Theology, Second Edition


Book Description

This new edition of Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem is one of the most important resources for helping you understand Scripture and grow as a Christian. The most widely used resource of the last 25 years in its area, Systematic Theology has been thoroughly revised and expanded for the first time while retaining the features that have made it the standard in its field: clear explanations, an emphasis on each doctrine's scriptural basis, and practical applications to daily life. With nearly 250 pages of new content and revisions, this new edition now includes the following distinctive features: Updated analysis of recent controversies within evangelical theology, including the eternal relationship between the Father and the Son in the Trinity, the role of women in the church, miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, and contemporary worship music. New discussion and critiques of recent theological controversies situated outside of traditional evangelical theology, such as open theism, the "new perspective on Paul," Molinism (or "middle knowledge"), "Free Grace" theology, and the preterist view of Christ's second coming. Completely revised chapter on the clarity of Scripture. Completely revised chapter on creation and evolution, including a longer critique of theistic evolution and an extensive discussion on the age of the earth. New discussion of how biblical inerrancy applies to some specific "problem verses" in the Gospels. Additional material explaining evangelical Protestant differences with Roman Catholicism, Protestant liberalism, and Mormonism. Completely updated bibliographies. All Scripture quotations updated from RSV to ESV. Updated section on contemporary worship music. Numerous other updates and corrections. Part of the brilliance of Systematic Theology has been its simplicity and ease of use. Each chapter follows the same structure: discussion of the doctrine being considered, an explanation of that doctrine's biblical support and possible objections, followed by personal application and key terms to know for personal growth. Chapters also include a Scripture memory passage, references to other literature on the topic, and suggested hymns and worship songs. If you think theology is hard to understand or boring, then this new edition of Systematic Theology will change your mind.




My Heart


Book Description

What if you were told there's a possibility you would not be alive to see this afternoon or wake up tomorrow morning? Do you think you would live differently? My Heart is Julie Manning's story of facing potential heart failure each day and recognizing that each day may be her last, changing normal expectations and self-reliance to the surrendering of her dreams, plans, and deepest desires into the hands of our unchanging God.




Not What You Think


Book Description

Not What You Think blows the dust off dated misperceptions of the Bible and engages the problems of this book head-on--the parts that make modern readers squeamish, skeptical, and uncertain. If you're skeptical about the Bible, you're not alone. The Bible is seen by many contemporary readers as intolerant, outdated, out of step with societal norms at best, and a tool of oppression at worst. In this earnest and illuminating read, millennial thought leaders and aspiring theologians Michael and Lauren McAfee are here to say: fair enough. But they're also here to raise a few questions of their own: What if we cleared the deck on our preconceptions of the Bible and encountered it anew? What if we came with the understanding that our questions are welcome? And what if the Bible presents less of a system to figure out, and more of a story to step into--a story with more surprising plot twists than we might think? Michael and Lauren spent their childhoods in church and Sunday school, they spent part of their twenties finding their way in the world in New York City, and today they're shaping their careers while pursuing doctoral studies in theology and ethics. Along the way, they've had to wrangle very real questions--both their own, and of their friends--about why, where, and how the most controversial book in history fits in our world today. Join Michael and Lauren as they explore the nature of the Bible--an ancient mosaic of story, literature, history, and poetry--and what it means for this generation and its relationship with God. Ultimately, Not What You Think is an invitation to come and see, and be surprised.




How the Nations Rage


Book Description

How can the church move forward in unity amid such political strife and cultural contention? As Christians, we’ve felt pushed to the outskirts of national public life, yet even within our congregations we are divided about how to respond. Some want to strengthen the evangelical voting bloc. Others focus on social justice causes, and still others would abandon the public square altogether. What do we do when brothers and sisters in Christ sit next to each other in the pews but feel divided and angry? Is there a way forward? In How the Nations Rage, political theology scholar and pastor Jonathan Leeman challenges Christians from across the spectrum to hit the restart button by shifting our focus from redeeming the nation to living as a nation already redeemed rejecting the false allure of building heaven on earth while living faithfully as citizens of a heavenly kingdom letting Jesus’ teaching shape our public engagement as we love our neighbors and seek justice When we identify with Christ more than a political party or social grouping, we can return to the church’s unchanging political task: to become the salt and light Jesus calls us to be and offer the hope of his kingdom to the nations.




The Unshakable Kingdom and the Unchanging Person


Book Description

Jesus swept onto the scene declaring that the Kingdom of God had arrived! He proclaimed that we would experience life at its fullest only when we organize our lives around the Kingdom. E. Stanley Jones suggests that life in any other way is a muddled, maddening, and impossible way to live. Throughout the centuries we have lost the Kingdom as a clearly defined and workable system for order and influence in our daily lives. We have reduced the Kingdom by putting it into narrower molds, a refuge now, a present security, a future hope, anything but the Kingdom as Jesus preached it - God's total answer to man's total need now." Dr. Jones shows us how to claim our spiritual heritage and the abundant life promised us by embracing the Kingdom and Person of Jesus. He suggests how our experience with God and His Kingdom should be taught and shared in the life of the individual, in the life of the church and in the nations of the world.




Where the Hell Is God?


Book Description

Combines professional insights along with the author's own experience and insights to speculate on how believers can make sense of their Christian faith when confronted with tragedy and suffering.