I knew I could just as easily have been born a Baptist or a Mormon. So I spent the next six months reading and talking to priests and ministers to find out the differences between Catholics and Protestants. How did each of their teachings compare with the teaching of Jesus and the apostles?"This book is a kind of re-tracing of Ray's investigation, looking at the key issues which continue to divide Protestants and Catholics, and assessing them in light of the teaching of Scripture.A challenging and invaluable book for Protestants and Catholics alike.Chapter headings:» Growing up Catholic» Which Catholicism?» Christ and the Mass» The Bible and the Church» The way of salvation» It's just grace» Mary» It is finished» Appendix: The new Catholicism

    The Christian worldview has not only been devalued and dismissed by modern culture, but its believers are openly ridiculed as irrelevant. In Jesus Among Secular Gods, Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale challenge the popular "isms" of the day, skillfully pointing out the fallacies in their claims and presenting compelling evidence for revealed absolute truth as found in Jesus. This book is fresh, insightful, and important, and faces head on today's most urgent challenges to Christian faith. It will help seekers to explore the claims of Christ and will provide Christians with the knowledge to articulate why they believe that Jesus stands tall above all other gods.

    We adore plans and perfectly staged rooms. But what happens when we discover we are living a life we did not design? When our dreams lie in tatters or when we experience loss of any kind? What happens when life feels like one big Pinterest fail? Where is God in the midst of what doesn't make sense? Does he care?Drawing from time-honored design principles such as movement, contrast, and pattern, former interior designer and Bible teacher Tracy Steel offers frustrated and discontented women the assurance that God is their ever-present, caring Designer. With a mix of wit and wisdom, Tracy proves through biblical examples and personal testimony that God remains true to his plans and purposes, accomplishing them in and through us in every season of life. She helps us recognize God's design principles, enabling us to embrace our sometimes messy lives, especially when they're ones we never would have designed for ourselves.

    Driscoll and Breshears team up again to teach thirteen key elements of the Christian faith that should be held by anyone claiming to be a follower of Jesus.

    

    In America, this is 20 percent of the population. Exactly who are the unaffiliated? What caused this seismic shift in our culture? Are our churches poised to reach these people? James Emery White lends his prophetic voice to one of the most important conversations the church needs to be having today. He calls churches to examine their current methods of evangelism, which often result only in transfer growth--Christians moving from one church to another--rather than in reaching the "nones." The pastor of a megachurch that is currently experiencing 70 percent of its growth from the unchurched, White knows how to reach this growing demographic, and here he shares his ministry strategies with concerned pastors and church leaders.

    Focusing especially on Christianity but including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Chinese spiritualities, Armstrong examines the diminished impulse toward religion in our own time, when a significant number of people either want nothing to do with God or question the efficacy of faith. Why has God become unbelievable? Why is it that atheists and theists alike now think and speak about God in a way that veers so profoundly from the thinking of our ancestors?Answering these questions with the same depth of knowledge and profound insight that have marked all her acclaimed books, Armstrong makes clear how the changing face of the world has necessarily changed the importance of religion at both the societal and the individual level. And she makes a powerful, convincing argument for drawing on the insights of the past in order to build a faith that speaks to the needs of our dangerously polarized age. Yet she cautions us that religion was never supposed to provide answers that lie within the competence of human reason; that, she says, is the role of logos. The task of religion is “to help us live creatively, peacefully, and even joyously with realities for which there are no easy explanations.” She emphasizes, too, that religion will not work automatically. It is, she says, a practical discipline: its insights are derived not from abstract speculation but from “dedicated intellectual endeavor” and a “compassionate lifestyle that enables us to break out of the prism of selfhood.”

    Christianity, Cults & Religions will help Christians know what they believe and why! This eBook, which can be read in 30 minutes or less, compares the beliefs of 20 world religions, cults, and new religious groups on the following topics: Who is God? Who is Jesus? What happens after death? How is a person "saved" and what is the spiritual goal? Many religious groups use the same terms but hold completely opposite beliefs. Christianity, Cults & Religions helps you understand the differences between the different beliefs and gives you a firm foundation for your own faith. Christianity, Cults & Religions takes a close look at: Christianity, Jehovah's Witnesses, Scientology, Judaism, Islam (Sunni and Shi'a), Nation of Islam, Unity School of Christianity, Buddhism, New Age, Hinduism, Mormonism (Latter-Day Saints), Wicca, Hare Krishna, Unification Church, Christian Science, Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, Bahá'í World Faith, and Transcendental Meditation™ Researched by some of the top scholars in the field, Christianity, Cults & Religions is an excellent guide for study leaders who want to provide clear summaries of beliefs and practices. This pamphlet provides the most up-to-date comparison chart available and features more groups, including Scientology, Bahá'í, Wicca (associated with witchcraft and neopaganism), and Nation of Islam, that other comparative pamphlets may overlook. Christianity, Cults & Religions provides extensive comparisons of 20 groups, including the five major world religions. In side-by-side comparisons, the pamphlet addresses: The key person or founder of the group The date and place it was founded The key writings such as the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Qur'an (Koran), etc. Who is God? Who is Jesus? Who is the Holy Spirit? What is salvation? What happens after death? Other facts, beliefs, and practices The Christianity, Cults & Religions eBook is an excellent way to teach the key beliefs and practices of biblical Christianity and how it compares to other religions and cults. The pamphlet's concise nature makes it easy to see and understand how the religions and cults differ as well as what they may have in common. The pamphlet is a great resource for Bible study and missions classes. General editor: Paul Carden is a longtime specialist in the field of cults and new religions around the world. Executive Director of the Centers for Apologetics Research (CFAR), and general editor of Christianity, Cults & Religions. Former co-host of the nationwide "Bible Answer Man" radio program. In 1980, Paul joined the Christian Research Institute (CRI) under its founder, Walter Martin. During his time at CRI he was also the ministry's director of international outreach and a senior editor of the Christian Research Journal (1989-1995). The pamphlet also contains information that addresses how to become a Christian and what other groups may teach about Jesus with a verse-by-verse biblical response.

    .From the Grave, a 40-day Lent devotional, reflects on this critical spiritual dynamic. It features A. W. Tozer’s best insights on faith, repentance, suffering, and redemption. Gleaned from transcribed sermons, editorials, and published books, each moving reflection has been carefully selected for the season of Lent. It addresses themes like:Christ’s passion, death, and resurrectionMortification of the fleshSelf-denial and cross-bearingNew life in ChristChristian obedience and resurrection hopeEach day features a brief portion of Scripture for meditation followed by a reflection from Tozer. Together the entries take you on a journey from the garden to the grave to light of day—the “pain-wracked path” to life.

    Leon McBeth's 'The Baptist heritage' is a definitive, fresh interpretation of Baptist history. Based on primary source research, the book combines the best features of chronological and topical history to bring alive the story of Baptists around the world.

    They have won 11 World Series titles and some of the most famousplayers in the history of the game have worn the storied “Birds on the Bat”uniform.While thaton-field success has been well documented, IntentionalWalk is the first book which goes beyond the story of what happens on thefield to take an in-depth look at the men inside the Cardinal uniforms, andexamine how their strong Christian faith is one of the driving forces behindtheir success.Intentional Walk features the stories of AdamWainwright, David Freese, Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran, JasonMotte and other members of the 2012 Cardinals, written as those players and therest of the team tried to repeat the 2011 world championship. The book talksabout how they became Christians and offers their testimony about what it meansfor them to have God play such a prominent role in their lives.Playing forfirst-year manager Mike Matheny, a strong Christian as well, these men talkabout their success and failure, about the challenges that come from playingbaseball at the highest level, and how thankful and blessed they are to havethat God-given ability. In the end, however, what is far more important to themis their life-long relationship they have established with Jesus Christ.

    That's what it means to be steadfast. But in a world where so much can undermine our faith or pull us off track, steadfastness is often a rare and elusive trait. James longs for his readers to be steadfast. His letter meets us in our suffering and sickness, our trials and temptations, our wealth and poverty, our ups and downs. He confronts our sin, our speech, and our pride. He encourages believers to have a more resilient and concrete faith: not just to hear the word, but to do it. He calls us to persevere in truth in a world of lies, to see that God's steadfast love is ultimately the source of our steadfast faith.This 8-week study of James provides:5 days of study each week-observing, interpreting, and applying the textDevotional commentary with space to journal your thoughtsMemory verse each weekSmall group discussion questionsKeynote Teaching Videos from the TGC's 2020 Women's Conference In a fickle and wayward age, we need biblical wisdom if we are to stay the course and be steadfast saints. The book of James provides this wisdom, and Steadfast will help you apply it.

    Yeshua of Nazareth was raised in an observant Jewish family in a culture where the Torah (five books of Moses) was the National Constitution. Yeshua's teachings, which supposedly form the basis for Western Christianity, are now filtered through 2000 years of traditions born in ignorance of the land, language, and culture of the Bible. The issues over which Yeshua wrestled with the Pharisees are simply not understood by modern Christians; nor are his most important instructions followed by those who claim to be his disciples. Former Pharisee, Nehemia Gordon, a Dead Sea Scrolls scholar and Semitic language expert, explores the ancient Hebrew text of the Gospel of Matthew from manuscripts long hidden away in the archives of Jewish scribes. Gordon's research reveals that the more "modern" Greek text of Matthew, from which the Western world's versions were translated, depicts "another Jesus" from the Yeshua portrayed in the ancient Hebrew version of Matthew. Gordon explains the life-and-death conflict Yeshua had with the Pharisees as they schemed to grab the reins of Judaism in the first century, and brings that conflict into perspective for both Jew and Christian alike.

    In Complement, you'll learn how you can too, as they walk you through the keys to building a satisfying and lasting marriage. With funny, real-life stories and key insights from Scripture, the Iveys can help you unite with your spouse, cheer each other on, respond the right way when you fail each other, and serve one another well—even in conflict or tough times! If you want a strong marriage (or simply to be a better better-half!), the Iveys will show you the way in Complement.

    Is it really working? God’s intention all along has been for the believer’s life to work. From divine perspective toward terrestrial turf, God meant for his children to succeed. . .Are our Christian lives successful? Are they achieving and experiencing what Scripture said they would? In a recent sermon my son-in-law preached, Curt told us the only way we were going to impact the world and the next generation is to prove that our faith in Christ is real and that it works. For countless Christians I’m convinced it’s real. My concern is whether or not we have the fruit to suggest it works.”—Beth Moore; Believing God