Boyd tackles the Bible’s biggest dilemma. The Old Testament God of wrath and violence versus the New Testament God of love and peace—it’s a difference that has troubled Christians since the first century. Now, with the sensitivity of a pastor and the intellect of a theologian, Gregory A. Boyd proposes the “cruciform hermeneutic,” a way to read the Old Testament portraits of God through the lens of Jesus’ crucifixion.In Cross Vision, Boyd follows up on his epic and groundbreaking study, The Crucifixion of the Warrior God. He shows how the death and resurrection of Jesus reframes the troubling violence of the Old Testament, how all of Scripture reveals God’s self-sacrificial love, and, most importantly, how we can follow Jesus’ example of peace.

    Notable features include:* commentary based on THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION;* the NIV text printed in the body of the commentary;* sound scholarly methodology that reflects capable research in the original languages;* interpretation that emphasizes the theological unity of each book and of Scripture as a whole;* readable and applicable exposition.

    In relation, Keathley looks at salvation and sovereignty through the lens of Molinism, a doctrine named after Luis Molina (1535-1600) that is based on a strong notion of God’s control and an equally firm affirmation of human freedom.

    This richly illustrated book continues to tell that story—from the creation of the world to Jesus’s victory over death. Designed for children ages 4 to 8, The Story of King Jesus is the gospel told in a single story—a story meant to be read from start to finish in one sitting.The Story of King Jesus will captivate your child’s imagination, nurture their spiritual curiosity, and draw them into the full Bible story as they embark on a lifetime of following Jesus the King.Ben Irwin is coauthor of Fascinating People of the Bible and one of the creators of The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People. He studied theology at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary and spent several years as a writer for World Vision. He and his wife, Amanda, live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with their two children.

    In He Shines in All That's Fair Richard Mouw brings the historic insights of Calvinism to bear on this question and reinterprets them for a broader audience at the turn of the twenty-first century.Mouw examines long-standing Reformed arguments between those who champion the doctrine of common grace and those who emphasize an antithesis between the church and the world. Defenders of common grace account for the goodness in the world by insisting that God's grace goes beyond salvation to more general gifts of beauty, virtue, and excellence to all human beings—including those who do not believe in God. Those who reject the doctrine of common grace, on the other hand, emphasize the fallenness of the world and the need for the church to maintain a dramatic contrast to it. These divergent theological perspectives, while seemingly remote and abstract, lead to questions with very practical implications: What common ground do Christians share with those outside the faith? How should Christian treat their non-Christian neighbors? How should Christians relate to the world around them? Does God disapprove when Christians form close friendships with people who are "of the world"? Ought Christians to identify with the joys and sorrows of those who do not confess Christ as their Savior and Lord?In the course of this book Mouw looks at these topics, connecting the larger theological discussions to pressing issues in contemporary society. He insists that we have much to learn from thinkers who have rejected the idea of common (non-saving) grace, but he also defends the traditional common grace teachings, showing how they provide an important basis for wrestling with key challenges in present-day culture. Ultimately, Mouw argues forcefully for a Calvinism that is capable of standing in awe before the mysteries of God's gracious dealings with all human beings—and indeed the whole creation.Presented as the 2000 Stob Lectures at Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary, these soundly reasoned, elegantly written chapters offer an updated, robust understanding of common grace that will be of great value to anyone interested in the relation of church and culture.

    Now, using this simple method you'll learn the best way to put this important discipline to use for maximum spiritual benefit.

    Its coverage progresses from an introduction through the evolution of switching systems and electromechanical systems to stored-program-controlled digital systems and future broadband systems. Coverage includes: modern digital networks; modern digital switching systems; digital transmission, including synchronous digital hierarchy; broadband networks including ATM; and integrated services digital network (ISDN). The book is intended for use on graduate courses in telecommunications.

    For Christians who are struggling to understand what it means to be pious and how to embrace the classic Christian practices of piety, Thank, Praise, Serve, and Obey shows that acts of piety are not simply rules to keep in order to be a "good" Christian, but how the new life in Christ is lived out in day-to-day life.

    How ironic that is! For the prophets and seers were the wordsmiths of their time. They took pains to speak God's word clearly and effectively to their contemporaries. How should we, as citizens of the twenty-first century, understand the imagery of this ancient biblical literature? Are there any clues in the texts themselves, any principles we can apply as we read these important but puzzling biblical texts? D. Brent Sandy carefully considers the language and imagery of prophecy and apocalyptic, how it is used, how it is fulfilled within Scripture, and how we should read it against the horizon of our future. Clearly and engagingly written, Plowshares and Pruning Hooks is the kind of book that gives its readers a new vantage point from which to view the landscape of prophetic and apocalyptic language and imagery.

    Rohr strips Christian faith down to the essentials, beyond glib answers and a "hand-me-down" experience of God, and points the way to true knowing. In this invigorating exploration, the tension between suffering and faith becomes a powerful means to an authentic, open connection with the divine.

    Yet as Dr. R.C. Sproul argues, everyone is a theologian. Any time we think about a teaching of the Bible and strive to understand it, we are engaging in theology. Therefore, it is important that we put the Bible’s varied teachings together in a systematic fashion, using proper, time-tested methods of interpretation so as to arrive at a theology that is founded on truth.That is precisely what Dr. Sproul does in Everyone’s a Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology. This book is anything but a dry discussion of minute points of doctrine. Dr. Sproul, demonstrating his trademark ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, surveys the basic truths of the Christian faith, reminding us once more of what God is like and of what He has done for His people in this world and the next.

    In this text Gary Parrett and Steve Kang set forth a thoroughly biblical vision for intentional teaching of the Christian faith that attends to both the content and process of educational and formational ministries.

    In The Law of Perfect Freedom, Michael Horton weaves theological truth with practical application to help believers live out the Ten Commandments. Understanding how to live out these commandments brings vitality and victory to our walk with God.

    "1 and 2 Kings," like each volume in the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible, is designed to serve the church--through aid in preaching, teaching, study groups, and so forth--and demonstrate the continuing intellectual and practical viability of theological interpretation of the Bible.

    It is not surprising that, as a Christian, von Balthasar finds the meaning of history in Christ, its Center and Lord. What may surprise--as it will surely stimulate--is the theological mastery with which von Balthasar traces the effects of Christ's lordship upon the daily life of the Christian. In this book we have one of the indispensable sources for understanding Balthasar's Catholic Christocentrism. Here we find elaboration of the striking statement that Jesus Christ is "the Idea made concrete, personal, historical: universale concretum et personale"--which, put otherwise, means that Christ is the universally valid in the here and now. Characteristic of Balthasar, the book inspires as much spiritually as it informs theologically.