With this innovative guide, readers can enrich their study with fascinating insights into the Bible and the world in which it was written.The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook offers the most up-to-date evangelical biblical scholarship in a format that is readable and easy to understand. This book-by-book guide brings the Bible to life with more than 1,100 full-color pages packed with illustrations, maps, and photos, and 112 in-depth articles on a wide range of topics important to students of the Bible. Readers will discover how each part of the Bible fits into and informs every other part, giving them a cohesive understanding of God's Word.No reference collection will be complete without this incredible new handbook to the Bible.

    Table of Contents: Introduction: Who Are the American Puritans? 1. William Bradford 2. John Winthrop 3. John Cotton 4. Thomas Hooker 5. Thomas Shepard 6. Anne Bradstreet 7. John Eliot 8. Samuel Willard 9. Cotton Mather

    Modern critical biblical scholarship often points out how the church's teachings about Jesus have become encrusted with tradition so that it is hard to see what the core documents--the New Testament--really say about him. Now, with the insight of 200 years of modern critical scholarship and assuming an audience that includes both the well-churched and the non-churched, how should the church present the story and identity of the central personality of their faith, Jesus of Nazareth? Many people will be surprised at the story they hear.

    Full-color photographs and illustrations help recreate the world, the mood, the people and the events of the early years of faith.

    It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."To Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, so much of how we have learned to experience and understand the faith has been divorced from the overarching adventure inherent in our God and in our calling. This book is a corrective to the dull, adventureless, risk-free phenomenon that describes so much of contemporary Christianity. It explores the nature of adventure, risk, and courage and the implications for church, discipleship, spirituality, and leadership.

    They also show how the gifts are not just for a select few, but distributed freely by the Holy Spirit among believers. After laying this foundation, the authors reveal how you can activate the gifts in your own life and use them to benefit others. In this hurting world, you can give people more than just a message--you can help usher them into an encounter with God.

    -- Key events and people every Christian should know-- From the time of Jesus to today-- How the Bible came to us-- Time lines, worksheets, websites-- Photos, maps, and illustrations-- 13 Lessons with Leader's Guide-- For churches, schools, small groups, homeschoolers & individuals

    S. LewisThis understanding of God's foreknowledge has united the church for twenty centuries. But advocates of "open theism" are presenting a different vision of God and a different view of the future.The rise of open theism within evangelicalism has raised a host of questions. Was classical theism decisively tainted by Greek philosophy? How should we understand passages that tell us that God repents? Are essentials of biblical Christianity-like the inerrancy of Scripture, the trustworthiness of God, and the Gospel of Christ-at stake in this debate? Where, when, and why should we draw new boundaries-and is open theism beyond them? Beyond the Bounds brings together a respected team of scholars to examine the latest literature, address these questions, and give guidance to the church in this time of controversy.Contributors include:John Piper Wayne Grudem Michael S. Horton Bruce A. Ware Mark R. Talbot A. B. Caneday Stephen J. Wellum Justin Taylor Paul Kjoss Helseth Chad Brand William C. Davis Russell Fuller "We have prepared this book to address the issue of boundaries and, we pray, bring some remedy to the present and impending pain of embracing open theism as a legitimate Christian vision of God. . . . As a pastor, who longs to be biblical and God-centered and Christ-exalting and eternally helpful to my people, I see open theism as theologically ruinous, dishonoring to God, belittling to Christ, and pastorally hurtful. My prayer is that Christian leaders will come to see it this way, and thus love the church by counting open theism beyond the bounds of orthodox Christian teaching." -From the Foreword by John Piper

    Even within the church, homosexuality, divorce, and shallow, sentimental views of love are subverting God’s design for husbands and wives. To help Christian couples counter these trends and recover marriage as God intended it, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin has compiled a rich anthology of love letters from saints of the past. Each letter gives us a glimpse of what marriage should be: joyful companionship, deep passion, and unfailing commitment through the ups and downs of life. At its best, Christian marriage is a foretaste of eternal bliss—and it’s far more satisfying than any of the substitutes this world has to offer.

    The writers offer readers a historical as well as current-day tour of international missions. In the end, the editors make a plea for continued support of missions and what readers can do to support this important cause.

    

    The intricate detail of theprophecies illustrated in the observances of these feasts provide insight intoGod's plan for the ages.

    The awareness of sin used to be our shadow. Christians hated sin, feared it, fled from it--and grieved over it. But the shadow of sin has now dimmed in our consciousness. Even preachers, who once got visibly angry over a congregation's sin, now speak of sin in a mumble.Cornelius Plantinga pulls the ancient doctrine of sin out of mothballs and presents it to contemporary readers in clear language, drawing from a wide range of books, films, and other cultural resources. In smoothly flowing prose Plantinga describes how sin corrupts what is good and how such corruption spreads. He discusses the parasitic quality of sin and the ironies and pretenses generated by this quality. He examines the relation of sin to folly and addiction. He describes two classic "postures" or movements of sin -- attack and flight. And in an epilogue he reminds us that whatever we say about sin also sharpens our eye for the beauty of grace.

    The disciplines of biblical and systematic theology join forces to investigate anew the biblical covenants and the implications of such a study for conclusions in systematic theology.By incorporating the latest available research from the ancient Near East and examining implications of their work for Christology, ecclesiology, eschatology, and hermeneutics--Biblical scholar Peter Gentry and systematic theologian Stephen Wellum present a thoughtful and viable alternative to both covenant theology and dispensationalism.

    There is sharing, suggesting, plenty of storytelling, and lots of preaching to "felt needs." But the authoritative, expositional opening of the Word of God is harder to find all the time. In the Old Testament God decried the fact that His people were perishing for lack of knowledge about Himself. Too often, those who have been called to feed Christ's sheep with the Word of God do little more than "pet" them. This book is a plea for preachers to "preach the Word." It will encourage pastors to strive to maintain their calling. However, it is not intended just for pastors; it will also be useful in guiding congregations to know what to look for in a pastor and in holding their preachers to this Biblical standard.