You find yourself wanting to point people to Jesus but also feeling a desire to be noticed and praised, to make yourself the center of attention.Stephen Miller is the worship pastor for a large church of young, energetic Christians. He and his band record albums and lead worship for conferences all over the country. He knows the temptation to make himself the show, to pursue fame, to seek the applause of other people. And he has learned to want nothing to do with it.In this book, Miller exhorts his fellow worship leaders to make Jesus the center of all their efforts. He teaches how to do this with Scripture, teaching, prayer, story, and song. In all, Miller’s call for worship leaders is to lead worship, whole-hearted and whole-minded exalting of God, rather than making a spectacle out of it.Worship Leaders, We’re Not Rock Stars will encourage and challenge worship leaders by clarifying their purpose and identity, and by doing so will bless those they lead.

    (John 14:12) No other power on earth can quicken a dead soul except the same power that raised the body of Jesus Christ out of Joseph’s sepulcher. And if we want that power to quicken our friends who are dead in sin, we must look to God and not to man to do it. If we only look to ministers, if we only look to Christ’s disciples to do this work, we shall be disappointed. But if we look to the Spirit of God and expect that power to come from Him and Him alone, then we shall honor the Spirit, and the Spirit will do His work. May God show us this truth. Have we been toiling all night? Let us throw our net on the right side; let us ask God to forgive our sins and anoint us with power from on high. But remember, He is not going to give this power to an impatient man; He is not going to give it to a selfish man. He will never give it to an ambitious man whose aim is selfish, until he is first emptied of himself – emptied of pride and all worldly thoughts. Let it be God’s glory and not our own that we seek, and when we get to that point, the Lord will bless us for good. Then the measure of our blessing will be full. Do you know what heaven’s measure is? Good measure, pressed down, and shaken together and running over (Luke 6:38). About the Author Dwight L. Moody, determined to make a fortune, arrived in Chicago and started selling shoes. But Christ found him and his energies were redirected into full-time ministry. And what a ministry it was. Today, Moody’s name still graces a church, a mission, a college, and more. Moody loved God and men, and the power of a love like that impacts generations.

    It is not appropriate in a brief study such as this to discuss that most interesting topic, the Kingdom of heaven—what it is and what the various periods of its development are—but these Beatitudes teach us much about those who belong to that Kingdom, and upon whom Christ pronounced its highest forms of benediction.

    In this 7-week study, you will explore the “I am” sayings of Jesus found in the Gospel of John. This study will help you find and form an answer to the most essential question in the Christian faith: “Who do you say I am?”

    

    Warren W. Wiersbe.Whether you are a pastor, teacher, or layperson, now you can study the Bible in easy-to-read sections that emphasize personal application as well as biblical meaning. Developed from Dr. Wiersbe’s popular “Be” series of Bible study books, this commentary set carefully unpacks all of God’s Word in two accessible volumes.The Wiersbe Bible Commentaries offers you:Dr. Wiersbe’s trustworthy insights on the entire Old and New TestamentsNew Biblical images, maps, and chartsIntroductions and outlines for each book of the BibleClear, readable text that’s free of academic jargonLet one of the most beloved and respected Bible teachers of our time guide you verse-by-verse through the Scriptures with The Wiersbe Bible Commentaries. It’s the trusted reference you’ll love to read.Volume 1: Old Testament: Genesis through Malachi Volume 2: New Testament: Matthew through Revelation

    The hope is that through using this book you might discover the ancient rhythms that were whispered into you when God breathed you into being.

    He is a God of love!" So shouted Jakob, the evangelist, as the German tanks roared across Yugoslavian soil, and machine guns, motorcycles and Messerschmitts screamed in the hills.Out of the sky came the Stukas. They nosed over, dropped their bombs and veered off into the cold blue. The wagon in front of them was hit. The donkey was dead, and the driver lay mutilated in the brush at the side of the road."This is war," said the gray-clad officer. "The only place you will be safe is in the grave."Weak and divided, the Yugoslavians fought back. Their ill-equipped guerrillas chewed on the German army like vermin on the flanks of a stallion. They cut phone lines, laid mines, dynamited bridges and blew up armored cars. Their stubborn war cry was, "Better grave than slave!" But, for every German they killed a hundred Yugoslavs were shot in retaliation.In the midst of this living hell, Jakob, Jozeca and other believers clung to God and prayed for both friend and foe. The enemies of their beloved homeland could burn their cities and towns, but they could not destroy their souls or quench their indomitable spirits.Marie Chapian went to Yugoslavia and interviewed peasants, gypsies, factory workers, doctors, laborers, and officials of the Communist party. She wanted to know how the Christians' faith was sustained through those terrible years of war, famine and cold. She learned that they had simply clung to God with an almost incredible fait

    As Teilhard de Chardin did in The Divine Milieu, Ilia Delio reveals the sacrament of God at work in the world. She also explores the spiritual evolution within each of us and suggests that it will change the cosmos as well as the church. She shows that we are at a stage in evolution where our choices will determine what happens next. "Love," she writes, "always seeks the best for the beloved but God is a beggar of love who waits at the soul's door without daring to force it open. The question of Christ emerging as the personal center of the universe is not a question of yes or no but a question of how that love will evolve." She makes one thing perfectly clear: it is happening and the evidence is astounding.The Emergent Christ is an antidote to the new atheism that says there is no place in evolution for God, let alone a God of love. It is also a spiritual tonic for Christians interested in understanding their place and purpose in this evolving universe.

    Why is it, asks Bishop Fulton Sheen, that one hears so often the expression "Go to hell!" and almost never the expression "Go to heaven!" Here, at his most penetrating, challenging, and illuminating best is Bishop Sheen with his answer, in a book that breathes new meaning into the truths about heaven and hell, and new life into the concepts of faith, tolerance, love, prayer, suffering, and death.Beginning with "The First Faint Summons to Heaven," Sheen shows how unpopular it is today to be a true Christian, and describes the struggle for living our faith amid the disorders of our times.  Keenly aware of evil in the myriad forms it takes in today's world, Bishop Sheen writes about the constant battle man faces with the "seven pallbearers of character" - pride, avarice, envy, lust, anger, gluttony and sloth - linking them with the corrosive forces that never cease in their attacks on the Church and those who earnestly desire to be serious Christians.In Go to Heaven, a great spiritual teacher and writer, deeply aware of the human and spiritual conflicts being waged in the world, shows us the way to heaven in a most eloquent book, encouraging the reader to choose heaven now, and to understand the "reality of hell."

    But he also brings a message of courage and comfort--a call to return to God with all our hearts and to fulfill God's purposes for us as His beloved children.

    Using Scripture, and Scripture alone, Pastor Jim Osman shows that true spiritual warfare is not a battle over territory, but a battle for the truth. The book is divided into four sections: Establishing Biblical Principles, Exposing Unbiblical Practices, Explaining Biblical Perspectives and Examining a Biblical Passage. A biblical approach to spiritual warfare recognizes the Bible as the sole authority, rejects unbiblical and man-made methods, and rests in Christ and His finished work for victory. Many in the modern spiritual warfare movement teach a methodology of spiritual warfare that is more akin to something you would find in a Harry Potter novel (renouncing curses and using prayer mantras to seize territory) than anything described in Scripture. Many of these practices reflect a theology built on anecdotes, experience, and interviews with demons rather than a sound exegesis of Scripture. Footnoted quotations of authors like Mark Bubeck, Neil T. Anderson, and others are compared against Scripture to show that modern spiritual warfare "experts" have abandoned the authority of Scripture and opted for man-made methods to wage spiritual battle. The chapters include a study of the three enemies that every Christian faces: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Pastor Osman answers from Scripture the questions: Can a Christian be demon-possessed? Is Christ's authority ours? and, What about exorcisms? One chapter includes a helpful discussion of the link between spiritual warfare and a believer's sanctification. The foreword is written by international conference speaker Justin Peters (justinpeters.org). This book is being published as an e-book as a fundraiser to finish the new church building of Kootenai Community Church (www.kootenaichurch.org) of which Jim is one of the pastors. All the proceeds go the building fund for the completion of that project. You can see regular updates at http://www.truthorterritory.com .

    

    Filled with humorous insights and challenging ideas, The God Who Smokes imagines a twenty-first-century church where hope hangs with holiness, passion sits next to purity, and compassion can relate to character.

    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.