Winner--a leading writer at the crossroads of culture and spirituality and author of Still and Girl Meets God--joins the ranks of luminaries such as Anne Lamott and Barbara Brown Taylor with this exploration of little known--and, so, little used--biblical metaphors for God, metaphors which can open new doorways for our lives and spiritualities.There are hundreds of metaphors for God, but the church only uses a few familiar images: creator, judge, savior, father. In Wearing God, Lauren Winner gathers a number of lesser-known tropes, reflecting on how they work biblically and culturally, and reveals how they can deepen our spiritual lives.Exploring the notion of God as clothing, Winner reflects on how we are "clothed with Christ" or how "God fits us like a garment." She then analyzes how clothing functions culturally to shape our ideals and identify our community, and ruminates on how this new metaphor can function to create new possibilities for our lives. For each biblical metaphor--God as the vine/vintner who animates life; the lactation consultant; and the comedian, showing us our follies, for example--Winner surveys the historical, literary, and cultural landscapes in order to revive and heal our souls.

    Integrating new findings in neuroscience and attachment with Christian spirituality, Dr. Thompson reveals how it is possible to rewire your mind, altering your brain patterns and literally making you more like the person God intended you to be. Explaining discoveries about the brain in layman's terms, he shows how you can be mentally transformed through spiritual practices, interaction with Scripture, and connections with other people. He also provides practical exercises to help you experience healing in areas where you've been struggling. Insightful and challenging, Anatomy of the Soul illustrates how learning about one of God's most miraculous creations--your brain--can enrich your life, your relationships, and your impact on the world around you.

    We need to begin with the ideas that informed Paul’s worldview and culture. Our goal is simple – to see things the way he saw them rather than the way we see them.· What if the whole idea of ‘original sin’ was never part of Paul’s thinking at all? · What if the idea that we are saved by faith in Christ, as Luther so strongly argued, was based on a mistranslation of Paul’s words, and even more seriously on a misunderstanding of Paul’s thinking? Was Luther – and Calvin who followed him – simply terribly wrong?‘The tragedy,’ writes Steve Chalke, ‘is that over the centuries the Church has time and again failed to communicate, or even to understand, the core of Paul’s message. Although Paul has often been presented as the champion of exclusion, he was the very opposite. He was the great includer; a revolutionary who saw a new inclusive world dawning and gave his life to help bring it in.’ Steve Chalke MBE is a Baptist minister, founder and leader of the Oasis Charitable Trust, and author of more than 50 books.

    The God who is in charge --2. Not who am I? but whose am I? --3. Where to hang your soul --4. A daughter, not a Son --5. Creation, woman for man --6. Jellyfish and pride --7. The right kind of pride --8. The weight of wings --9. Single life, a gift --10. One day at a time --11. Trust for separation --12. Self discipline and order --13. Whose battle? --14. Freedom through discipline --15. God sets no traps --16. A paradoxical principle --17. Masculine and feminine --18. The soul is feminine --19. Is submission stifling? --20. Twenty questions --21. A choice is a limitation --22. Commitment, gratitude, dependence --23. You marry a sinner --24. You marry a man --25. You marry a husband --26. You marry a person --27. Forsaking all others --28. Dynamic, not static --29. A union --30. A mirror --31. A vocation --32. What makes a marriage work --33. Acceptance of divine order --34. Equality is not a Christian ideal --35. Heirs of grace --36. Proportional equality --37. The humility of ceremony --38. Authority --39. Subordination --40. The restraint of power --41. Strength by constraint --42. Masters of ourselves --43. A universe of harmony --44. Be a real woman --45. The courage of the creator --46. The inner sanctum --47. Loyalty --48. Love is action --49. Love means a cross

    But when he realized he was gay, those hopes were called into question. The Bible, he’d been taught, condemned gay relationships. Feeling the tension between his understanding of the Bible and the reality of his same-sex orientation, Vines devoted years of intensive research into what the Bible says about homosexuality. With care and precision, Vines asked questions such as: • Do biblical teachings on the marriage covenant preclude same-sex marriage or not? • How should we apply the teachings of Jesus to the gay debate? • What does the story of Sodom and Gomorrah really say about human relationships? • Can celibacy be a calling when it is mandated, not chosen? • What did Paul have in mind when he warned against same-sex relations? Unique in its affirmation of both an orthodox faith and sexual diversity, God and the Gay Christian is likely to spark heated debate, sincere soul searching, even widespread cultural change. Not only is it a compelling interpretation of key biblical texts about same-sex relations, it is also the story of a young man navigating relationships with his family, his hometown church, and the Christian church at large as he expresses what it means to be a faithful gay Christian.

    They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily...BUT WHO DO YOU KNOW WHO LIVES LIKE THAT? DO YOU?In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple--then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a "successful" suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus.Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment -- a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring.

    We encounter appealing arguments for a Divinity that is a childish projection, for prophets as scheming or deluded imposters, and for scripture as so much fabulous fiction. But there is also compelling evidence that a glorious Divinity presides over the cosmos, that His angels are strangers we have entertained unawares, and that His word and will are made manifest through a sacred canon that is never definitively closed. What we choose to embrace, to be responsive to, is the purest reflection of who we are and what we love. That is why faith, the choice to believe, is in the final analysis, an action that is positively laden with moral significance."As humans, we are, like the poet John Keats, "straining at particles of light in the midst of a great darkness." And yet, the authors describe a version of life's meaning that is reasonable—and radically resonant. It tells of a God whose heart beats in sympathy with ours, who set His heart upon us before the world was formed, who fashioned the earth as a place of human ascent, not exile, and who has the desire and the capacity to bring the entire human family home again.

    The Imperfect Disciple is for the rest of us--people who screw up, people who are weary, people who are wondering if it's safe to say what they're really thinking.For the believer who is tired of quasi-spiritual lifehacks being passed off as true, down-and-dirty discipleship, here is a discipleship book that isn't afraid to be honest about the mess we call real life. With incisive wit, warm humor, and moving stories, Jared Wilson shows readers how the gospel works in them and in their lives when- they can't get their act together- they think God is giving them the silent treatment- they think church would be better without all the people- they're not happy with the person in the mirror- and much moreWilson frees readers from the self-doubt and even the misplaced self-confidence they may feel as they walk with Jesus down the often difficult road of life. The result is a faith that weathers storms, lifts burdens, and goes forth to make more imperfect disciples.

    One is living life apart from God in comfortable corporate America while the other is living for Christ under intense persecution in China. This stunning page-turner will convict the hearts of readers to live in the light of eternity. Royalties from sales of this book will be donated to support the persecuted Church.

    A. County homicide detective and former atheist, Cold-Case Christianity examines the claims of the New Testament using the skills and strategies of a hard-to-convince criminal investigator. Christianity could be defined as a “cold case”: it makes a claim about an event from the distant past for which there is little forensic evidence. In Cold-Case Christianity, J. Warner Wallace uses his nationally recognized skills as a homicide detective to look at the evidence and eyewitnesses behind Christian beliefs. Including gripping stories from his career and the visual techniques he developed in the courtroom, Wallace uses illustration to examine the powerful evidence that validates the claims of Christianity. A unique apologetic that speaks to readers’ intense interest in detective stories, Cold-Case Christianity inspires readers to have confidence in Christ as it prepares them to articulate the case for Christianity.

    The things your child does and says flow from the heart. Luke 6:45 puts it this way: "...out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Written for parents with children of any age, this insightful book provides perspectives and procedures for shepherding your child's heart into the paths of life.

    Dwight Edwards reminds us in his powerful book that the revolution, like the kingdom, is essentially within--that Jesus is still a King whose kingdom is the heart.”--Michael Card, recording artist and author of A Violent GraceWhat Actually Happened When You Came to Christ?Because of what God has done for every believer, you actually possess outlandish treasures you may never have dreamed existed. God has made "New Covenant" promises to each of us. And in fulfillment of those promises, He has placed within every believer four revolutionary provisions: a new purity, a new disposition, a new identity, and a new power.These lavish supernatural resources permanently reside within your soul right now--ready for release every day of your life on earth! Revolution Within shows what these four provisions really are and how to release them, so you can experience all the best God has for you. And when you do, you fulfill your God-given purpose in life. Because God doesn’t want us just to be spiritually whole but to be spiritually provocative. As you tap into this vibrant eternal reality, you’ll experience fresh intimacy with God, new liberty, a deepened sense of community with other believers, and a new capacity for ministry. And through it all you’ll grow in your passion for what God Himself is most passionate about: His glory.

    This power-packed guide helps readers deepen their understanding of historical factors and present realities, equipping them to participate in the ongoing dialogue and to serve as catalysts for righteousness, justice, healing, transformation, and reconciliation.