It’s difficult to be a pilgrim in a consumer world. A pilgrim is someone who looks more toward the destination than his present place. A consumer sets up shop as he secures more to consume, and invests his time, resources, and energy into guaranteeing there will always be more to consume. In Luke 17:33 Jesus says, “If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.” Finding our pilgrim path is the focus of this book to prepare the reader for the mission...
When you hear the words «in the original text it says» or «in the original text this means,» it's time to be wary. Those words often provide the introduction to misleading information. But how can the hearer discern just what is correct and what is misleading? How can pastors avoid giving their congregations misleading information? "In the Original Text It Says" takes a look at word-study fallacies and how you can avoid them. Author Ben Baxter gives an introduction to word meaning...
Except for Fornication is a brief study, less than 80 pages, of statements in the Gospels relating to divorce and remarriage. Dr. Parunak examines the background and context of the statements of Jesus regarding divorce, and relates them to the Old Testament commands on which Jesus was commenting. This historical depth and detailed linguistic analysis will prove useful to Bible students, whether or not they ultimately agree with the author's conclusions. This is investigation is laid out as...
We are in the midst of a change that is larger than any of us can understand. The church of the 21st century is more like the church of the 1st century than that of the 20th century. Like then, we live in a world that is deeply divided, strongly segregated, with different parts of society not communicating with each other. Some are very passionate about their religion, willing to die or kill for it, for others religion is irrelevant. – Dr. David Moffett-Moore Jesus' Sermon on the Mount...
You've been a lectionary preacher throughout your ministry. You like the discipline of dealing with the scripture of the week rather than just grabbing something that is easy for you to handle. You're willing to preach on the hard stuff. But what about the rest of scripture, those passages that never appear in the weekly readings from the Revised Common Lectionary? Are you and your congregation missing something that could be of great benefit? Dr. David Ackerman, who writes the...
If the future generation of Christians has been fed on milk-soaked Twinkies, Assenting to the Eternal: Kingdom Exchanges Revealed is distinguished as free-range meat with a side of organic carrots and potatoes. It's health-food for the believer's spirit. It's oil for their long-enduring lamps and a blanket of comfort for the cold nights they lie waiting for their Bridegroom. Christ gave everything needed to overcome the world; not by taking us out of the world but by the...
Why should you care about the Jewish roots of Christianity? Jesus was Jewish. Most of the Bible was written by Jews and in Hebrew. Most of the early Christian leaders were Jews. Even Paul, called the Apostle to the Gentiles, would visit the synagogue first and preach there, and he wrote with great passion about his hope for his own people. Many modern Christians have forgotten about their Jewish roots. They may not formally rip pieces out of their Bibles, but much like the early Christian...
How will we think about the twelve? Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi are considered a single book in the Hebrew canon. They are the third section of the prophets, the second major division of the Hebrew Bible. We can hear in the music, the words of Amos, and his contemporary, Hosea, whose child was named Not-My-People, yet he sings about the count of the children of Israel as the sand of the sea. And Micah sings, like his...
Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper, or the Eucharist are some of the names used to signify what is arguably the center of our worship as Christians. "Although the Eucharist may stand at the center of Christian worship, there are a great variety of theologies and practices present within the Christian community. For some it is a mere memorial of Jesus' last supper with his disciples. For others it is the place where one not only encounters Jesus' spiritual presence, but...
A toolbox may be one of the most practical items ever invented by man. It holds many different types of tools that are essential for different functions and yet, here they are, all in one container. But, a pliers cannot drive a nail into a board any more than a hammer can cut a board. Each tool must be used for the task for which it was designed and cared for so that it will last a long time. Greg May first learned about tools from his grandfather and father. He learned how to use each tool...