Name of the Rose meets Basic Instinct in this old-world thriller.

    It introduces the Gospel of Mark as a unified composition, laying bare the narrative thread as well as the basic motifs. It is marked throughout by clarity, freshness, and a lively style.

    We hear about the awesome power of God the Father. We marvel at the miracles of Jesus. Then off we go, never expecting those living waters of the Holy Spirit to flow through us in the here and now. That's exactly what this author did, until one day she was confronted with a stunning possibility: that wonders of biblical proportions can and do still happen, even in the lives of the humblest among us.The challenge? It meant getting to know the Holy Spirit, that enigmatic Third Person of the Trinity she'd heard so little about in traditional teaching. It meant braving controversy, searching the Scriptures, and venturing into new waters in faith.Let's be honest. Even wading toward the depths of the Holy Spirit may seem scary. It may even sound kind of kooky or off-base. You don't want to get in over your head. You fear drowning in error or emotionalism. Still, you may long to deepen your experience with God. You may be asking:What happened to the power Jesus promised to believers?Why has the Holy Spirit become such a taboo subject?Are modern miracles of biblical proportions still happening?How can I access the extraordinary power of God?Does the Holy Spirit have spiritual gifts for me? Which ones?THE HOLY SPIRIT: Amazing Power for Everyday Peopleis a step-by-step guide for how to grow in dynamic relationship with the Holy Spirit. It explores how even the most ordinary believer can experience the miracle-working power of God in everyday life.This scripturally-referenced "how to" book with workbook-style applications is ideal for individual or group Bible study, geared at building a highly accessible, scriptural foundation for the Person and supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit.Tackling tough questions with straight answers, this book tracks an everyday believer's journey into what may be Christianity's best-kept secret. It dives deep into the oftenmarginalized mysteries of the Holy Spirit, mingling scriptural examples with numerous contemporary anecdotes of the amazing power of God in the lives of everyday believers.CHAPTERS IN THIS BOOK:1 Father, Son, and Holy Who?2 Why I Hadn't Heard This in a Thousand Sermons3 Introducing the Holy Spirit4 Sensing the Spirit without Getting Weird5 Getting Our Feet Wet in God's Powerful River6 Going Deeper without Going over the Deep End7 Passing the Spirit's Torch to You8 Opening Your Spiritual Gifts9 The Word of Wisdom10 The Word of Knowledge11 The Gift of Faith12 Gifts of Healing13 Effecting of Miracles14 Distinguishing of Spirits15 Various Kinds of Tongues16 Interpretation of Tongues17 Prophecy18 Prophetic Visions19 Prophetic Dreams20 Hearing Aids for All God's SheepADDITIONAL DETAILS:Genre: Christian Nonfiction, PneumatologyLength: 394 pagesFormats: Kindle eBook and Paperback EditionsAuthor Photo by Jean-Louis DarvilleThis comprehensive Bible Study is Book 1 of 2 on this subject. Please see Book 2 (ASIN: B06XF2JKQP) for the continuation of this study.

    It’s about the view that religion is all about sin…about how to hide side sin or how to stop sinning all together.In the Introduction, the author toys good-naturedly with an agitated caller on his radio program, teasing him in a segment where he offers three free sins. The offer is real. Not that Steve has the power to forgive sins, but he wants to make the point that Jesus has made the offer to cover all of our sins – not just three.Chapter one, titled “Teaching Frogs to Fly,” is even better. The gist of this chapter is that you can’t teach frogs to fly, just like you can’t teach people not to sin. Steve tells a story about a guy who has a frog, and he’s convinced he can teach the frog how to fly. The man keeps throwing the frog up in the air or up against walls – all to the poor frog’s demise. The message is that even though people can be better, they can never not sin—just like a frog can never learn to fly, no matter how much pressure is put on it.Steve continues through the book to show readers that while they can never manage sin, they can relax in knowing that they are completely forgiven—not just of three, but of all.

    Georg Ratzinger lived in the shadow of his younger brother, Joseph. Georg was an accomplished musician, who for over 30 years directed the Regensburger Domspatzchor, the world-famous boys choir of the Regensburg cathedral. Brother Joseph was a brilliant young professor, but mostly known in German academic circles. Now Georg writes about the close friendship that has united these two brothers for more than 80 years. This book is a unique window on an extraordinary family that lived through the difficult period of National Socialism in Germany. Those interested in knowing more about the early life of Benedict XVI will not be disappointed. They will also learn of the admirable character and inspiring example of the parents, and see how the Catholic faith can shape not just a family, but an entire culture--in this case, that of Bavaria.Georg's reminiscences are detailed, intimate, and warm. And while they begin with the earliest years of the Ratzinger family, they continue right up to the present day.This is not simply a book to satisfy curiosity about a "celebrity," though it certainly does that. It's a beautiful portrait of Catholic family life and, in the most literal sense, of enduring fraternal charity. Georg has a talent for telling a story, and the co-author fills in some of the larger historical background. The many photographs, both in black and white and in color, round out a thoroughly enjoyable and inspirational book.

    This is troublesome because religious literacy is about so much more than naming deities or knowing the stories of ancient history. For many of us, religion is a way to examine and understand ourselves.Moreover, religious literacy – the knowledge of basic teachings, symbols, practices, founders, institutions, and values of the world's religious traditions - can shed new light on the world around us and knock down the boundaries between us, making us better neighbors and better citizens. These 24 enlightening lectures offer you the chance to experience the breadth and depth of the world's religions from all angles – historical, theological, and cultural. They take you on a tour of the world and its religious cultures. From India to East Asia to the Middle East to the United States, your journey with Professor Berkson introduces you to the beliefs and practices of other traditions and provides you with new insights into your own.The course approaches each religion from an "imaginative insider's perspective." What does the world look like from the perspective of someone within each tradition? What does this person value and care about? What are the everyday scriptures, rituals, traditions, and holidays like?Along the way, you'll discover certain features that are common to many religions – concepts of divinity, scripture, rituals, and explanations of good and evil - and you'll find new ways to attain greater self-understanding.Disclaimer: Please note that this recording may include references to supplemental texts or print references that are not essential to the program and not supplied with your purchase.©2012 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2012 The Great Courses

    This book helps readers match who they are--their unique spiritual gifts, passions, temperament, talents, and leadership style--with the ministry area for which God designed them. A practical guide, it takes dedicated Christians step by step through the process of reaching their full potential for Christ's kingdom. This new edition of Maximizing Your Effectiveness puts multiple tools, inventories, and worksheets in the hands of readers to empower them to minister according to God's unique design and purpose for their lives.

    Taking a radical departure from traditional views of God, Western or Eastern, author Kevin Griffin neither accepts Christian beliefs in a Supreme Being nor Buddhist non-theism, but rather forges a refreshing, sensible, and accessible Middle Way. Griffin shows how the Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha, can be understood as a Higher Power. Karma, mindfulness, impermanence, and the Eightfold Path itself are revealed as powerful forces that can be accessed through meditation and inquiry.Drawing from his own experiences with substance abuse, rehabilitation, and recovery, Griffin looks at the various ways that meditation and spiritual practices helped deepen his experience of sobriety. His personal story of addiction is not only raw, honest and engrossing, but guides readers to an inquiry of their own spirituality. In doing so, he poses profound questions, including:·         How can I understand God from a Buddhist perspective?·         How can I “turn my will and my life over” as a Buddhist?·         How can this idea of God “remove my shortcomings”?·         How do I learn this God’s “will”?

    D. Greear. He struggled for many years to gain an assurance of salvation and eventually learned he was not alone. “Lack of assurance” is epidemic among evangelical Christians.In Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart, J. D. shows that faulty ways of presenting the gospel are a leading source of the confusion. Our presentations may not be heretical, but they are sometimes misleading. The idea of “asking Jesus into your heart” or “giving your life to Jesus” often gives false assurance to those who are not saved—and keeps those who genuinely are saved from fully embracing that reality.Greear unpacks the doctrine of assurance, showing that salvation is a posture we take to the promise of God in Christ, a posture that begins at a certain point and is maintained for the rest of our lives. He also answers the tough questions about assurance: What exactly is faith? What is repentance? Why are there so many warnings that seem to imply we can lose our salvation?Such issues are handled with respect to the theological rigors they require, but Greear never loses his pastoral sensitivity or a communication technique that makes this message teachable to a wide audience from teens to adults.

    Every Christmas displays of Jesus resting in a manger populate lawns and churchyards, and songs about shepherds and angels fill the air. Yet despite the abundance of these Christian references in popular culture, how many of us have examined the hard edges of this biblical story? In his new book Timothy Keller takes readers on an illuminating journey into the surprising background of the Nativity. By understanding the message of hope and salvation within the Bible’s account of Jesus’s birth, readers will experience the redeeming power of God’s grace in a meaningful and deeper way.

    Galli pays special attention to themes and topics of concern for contemporary evangelicals, who may need Barth’s acute critique as much as early-twentieth-century liberals did—and for surprisingly similar reasons.

    

    With the skill of a seasoned journalist and the passion of an amateur sleuth, he moves from scholarly conclave in California to archaeologcal digs in Israel, tracking down the story of the astounding consensus emerging from a varied group of experts.

    First published in 1992 and now in its seventh printing in English, with translations underway into Spanish, Korean, and Indonesian, Bevans's book is a judicious examination of what the terms "contextual theology" and "to contextualize" mean. In the revised and expanded edition, Bevans adds a "counter-cultural" model to the five presented in the first edition -- the translation, the anthropological, the praxis, the synthetic, and the transcendental model. This means that readers will be introduced to the way in which figures such as Stanley Hauerwas, John Milbank, Lesslie Newbigin, "and (occasionally) Pope John Paul II" need to be taken into account. The author's revisions also incorporate suggestions made by reviewers to enhance the clarity of the original three chapters on the nature of contextual theology and the five models.

    Taking his own spiritual journey as a starting point, Professor Ayoub explores all aspects of Islam; from the Qur'an and Islamic law to the epic poetry of the Sufis; from the spread of Islam worldwide to reform movements in the US and Europe.