One of the most important theologians of the twentieth century illuminates the relationship between ourselves and the teachings of Jesus in this classic text on ethics, humanism, and civic duty.What can the call to discipleship, the adherence to the word of Jesus, mean today to the businessman, the soldier, the laborer, or the aristocrat? What did Jesus mean to say to us? What is his will for us today? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a seminal reading of the dichotomy between "cheap grace" and "costly grace." "Cheap grace," Bonhoeffer wrote, "is the grace we bestow on ourselves...grace without discipleship....Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the girl which must be asked for, the door at which a man must know....It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."The Cost of Discipleship is a compelling statement of the demands of sacrifice and ethical consistency from a man whose life and thought were exemplary articulations of a new type of leadership inspired by the Gospel, and imbued with the spirit of Christian humanism and a creative sense of civic duty.

    Yet how sad it is that many, even among those considering themselves evangelicals, have reduced the gospel message to a few trite statements to be repeated, and view conversion as a mere human decision. In The Gospel Call and True Conversion , Paul Washer challenges such easy believism as he examines the real meaning of things like faith, repentance, and receiving Christ. He also deals extensively with the effects of saving grace that God promises in the new covenant; namely, the creation of new hearts and new people. Table of Contents: PART ONE: The Gospel Call 1. A Call to Repentance 2. A Call to Faith 3. Believe and Confess 4. Receiving Christ 5. Christ at Heart’s Door PART TWO: New Hearts and the Nature of True Conversion 6. The Great Motive and End of Salvation 7. The Author of Salvation 8. Separation and Cleansing 9. A New Heart 10. The Effectual Spirit PART THREE: New People and the Nature of True Conversion 11. The Glory of the New Covenant 12. The Making of New People 13. The Christian’s Sure Knowledge of God 14. The Heart and Way of God’s People 15. The Everlasting Covenant 16. God’s Goodness to His People Series Descriptions Although the Recovering the Gospel Series does not represent an entirely systematic presentation of the gospel, it does address most of the essential elements, especially those that are most neglected in contemporary Christianity. It is the hope of the author that these words might be a guide to help you rediscover the gospel in all its beauty, scandal, and saving power. It is his prayer that such a rediscovery might transform your life, strengthen your proclamation, and bring the greatest glory to God.

    Everyone who is familiar with his work knows the power of his speech about doxological, polemical, political, subversive, evangelical faith: and about the ways such faith is enacted in the praise of ancient Israel and in the church.Readers of this book will find fresh insight into:the Psalms as prayer and praisethe categories of the Psalmsthe social context in which psalms were prayed and sungthe theology of the Psalmsthe dialogical character of the Psalmsjustice and injustice in the Psalmsthe study and use of the Psalms by the churchpraise as an act of basic trust and abandonmentthe impossible wonders of God's activity that overturn conventional ways of thinking and acting

     Witness the disturbing display of events as Jesus stands against His detractors and the unbridled might of the Roman Empire. In this unsparing up-close account, you will experience the greatest injustice in history — the trial and punishment of Jesus of Nazareth — and gain a fresh appreciation for the enormity of the stakes.His innocence convicted Him.But you will also travel with Jesus in the years leading up to His final trial as He reveals eternity’s greatest truths in response to hostile questions from the religious leaders of His day. ·Can you prove that you’re the Messiah?·How can you defend a woman caught in adultery?·What does it take to reach heaven?·How can we know God?·What is truth? Whether you embrace the claims of Christ or your verdict is still out, you’ll gain provocative insight into the driving passion behind the carpenter from Nazareth. As you take a juror’s seat in this monumental case, you’ll realize that as Jesus answers His accusers, He’s not just talking to them, He’s talking to you.

    A fresh, creative look at the underlying meaning of the Gospels that stresses the many dimensions of God's relationship to humanity.

    Do this in remembrance of me.'" --1 Corinthians 11:24The Lord's Supper is more than a church tradition or a complex doctrinal controversy--it has practical importance to our daily lives. When Jesus instituted the Supper, it was meant to strengthen the faith of his followers by reminding them of his promises. God has always made promises to his people through covenants, and along with them given signs and meals to point to and confirm his blessings. Looking at the unity of the covenants throughout the Bible, this book will help Christians recover the practical importance of the Lord's Supper as both a sign and a meal of the new covenant blessings God has bestowed on believers in Christ.

    He points out that the Psalms are poems, intended to be sung, not doctrinal treatises or sermons. Proceeding with his characteristic grace, he guides readers through both the form and the meaning of these beloved passages in the Bible.

    It is through these covenant relationships, which collectively serve as the foundation for God’s promise to bring redemption to his people, that we can understand the advancement of his kingdom. This book walks through six covenants from Genesis to Revelation, helping us grasp the overarching narrative of Scripture and see the salvation God has planned for us since the beginning of time—bolstering our faith in God and giving us hope for the future.

     Mystery Babylon is an in-depth look at the prophecy of Revelation 17 and 18. Richardson dissects the longest prophecy in the New Testament – the final chapters of the Bible – in order to make sense of these deeply elusive and profoundly controversial passages. At once a queen, a prostitute, and a cold-blooded killer, this great harlot waves a golden cup filled with blood. Adorned in purple and scarlet and gold and precious stones, she seduces the kings of the earth with luxury. Most commonly known, perhaps, is that she rides a beast with seven heads and ten horns. Her title is Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of all harlots and of the abominations of the earth. From the early days of Christianity, believers have struggled to understand the mystery of the great harlot. Scholars and students alike have arrived at many different conclusions. In his characteristically easy-to-understand style, Richardson works through the history of Christian interpretation of Mystery Babylon, weighing the strengths and weaknesses of each view, making a powerful case for a solution to this prophecy that will rock the prophecy world. Divided into three parts Mystery Babylon Richardson exposits Scripture in part 1, examines the more common positions in part 2, and invites the reader to a powerful conclusion in part 3. Keep both your Bible and your mind open as you read this book not simply with an intellectual curiosity, but with much prayer and a truly contrite and trusting heart, believing indeed that the Lord will open up his secrets to all “those who fear Him” (Ps. 25:14).

    In The Priority of Christ, Bishop Robert Barron shows that the answer to this debate--and the way to move forward--lies in Jesus. Barron transcends the usual liberal/conservative or Protestant/Catholic divides with a postliberal Catholicism that brings the focus back on Jesus as revealed in the New Testament narratives. Barron's classical Catholic post-liberalism will be of interest to a broad audience including not only the academic community but also preachers and general readers interested in entering the dialogue between Catholicism and postliberalism.

    Vanhoozer argues that theology is not merely a set of cognitive beliefs, but is also something we "do" that involves speech and action alike. He uses a theatrical model to explain the ways in which doctrine shapes Christian understanding and forms disciples. The church, Vanhoozer posits, is the preeminent theater where the gospel is "performed," with doctrine directing this performance. Doctrines are not simply truths to be stored, shelved, and stacked, but indications and directions to be followed, practiced, and enacted. In "performing" doctrine, Christians are shaped into active disciples of Jesus Christ. He goes on to examine the state of the church in today's world and explores how disciples can do or perform doctrine. Written in an accessible and engaging style, Faith Speaking Understanding sets forth a compelling vision of what the church is and what it should be doing, and demonstrates the importance of Christian doctrine for this mission.Disciples who want to follow Christ in all situations need doctrinal direction as they walk onto the social stage in the great theater of the world. The Christian faith is about acknowledging, and participating in, the great thing God is doing in our world: making all things new in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Doctrine ministers understanding: of God, of the drama of redemption, of the church as a company of faithful players, and of individual actors, all of whom have important roles to play. In an age where things fall apart and centers fail to hold, doctrine centers us in Jesus Christ, in whom all things hold together.

    Then he made Eve. And ever since we've been picking up the pieces. Loveology is just that—a theology of love. With an autobiographical thread that turns a book into a story, pastor and speaker John Mark Comer shares about what is right in male/female relationships—what God intended in the Garden. And about what is wrong—the fallout in a post-Eden world. Loveology starts with marriage and works backward. Comer deals with sexuality, romance, singleness, and what it means to be male and female; ending with a raw, uncut, anything goes Q and A dealing with the most asked questions about sexuality and relationships. This is an audiobook for singles, engaged couples, and the newly married—both inside and outside the church—who want to learn what the Scriptures have to say about sexuality and relationships. For those who are tired of Hollywood's propaganda, and the church's silence. And for people who want to ask the why questions and get intelligent, nuanced, grace-and-truth answers, rooted in the Scriptures.

    What can be done to stop this? Cardinal Timothy Dolan explains the need for all Americans to embrace a new culture rooted in what Blessed John Paul II called the Gospel of Life where the sacredness of all human life, and the freedoms that are their birthright, are upheld, respected and protected by law.

    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.

    Don't they? We overlook that Jesus wasJudgmental?preaching hellfire far more than the apostle PaulUncompromising?telling people to hate their familiesChauvinistic?excluding women from leadershipRacist?insulting people from other ethnic groupsAnti-environmental?cursing a fig tree and affirming animal sacrificeAngry?overturning tables and chasing moneychangers in the templeHe demanded moral perfection, told people to cut off body parts, made prophecies that haven't come true, and defied religious and political authorities. While we tend to ignore this troubling behavior, the people around Jesus didn't. Some believed him so dangerous that they found a way to have him killed. The Jesus everybody likes, says Mark Strauss, is not the Jesus found in the Gospels. He's a figure we've created in our own minds. Strauss believes that when we unpack the puzzling paradoxes of the man from Galilee, we find greater insight into his countercultural message and mission than we could ever have imagined.