Dr. Timothy Paul Jones gives easy-to-understand answers to popular questions on the Bible's reliability and accuracy.

    Why is Christ called the “Son of God”? Discover an answer so simple you’ll wonder why you never saw it before, and so beautiful it’ll take your breath away.

    

    You've trained and dreamt of doing large things in famous ways as fast as you can for God's glory. But pastoral work keeps requiring your surrender to small, mostly overlooked things over long periods of time.You stand at a crossroads. Jesus stands with you. You were never meant to know everything, fix everything, and be everywhere at once. That's his job, not yours.So what now? Let the apprenticeship begin.

    It’s enough to frustrate the serious Bible student. What if you found out most of it is simply mistaken? What if you found out that the ancient Jewish writers were using Old Testament imagery of the past, not a crystal ball gaze into our modern future? What if you found out that everything that modern prophecy pundits are looking for--the Antichrist, The Beast, the Tribulation, the Rapture--was not what they told you it was, but something different? The Truth About Bible Prophecy Respected biblical author Brian Godawa draws from Evangelical theological scholarship and deconstructs the popular “Left Behind” interpretation to uncover a far more fascinating and far more Biblical view of End Times Bible prophecy. One that rescues the original ancient Jewish context of prophecies from being hostage to modern prophecy speculators. Don’t worry, what Godawa unveils is controversial, but it’s not new. It’s not his own personal theory. He’s not a cult leader with a bizarre vision from God. What he reveals has a long tradition of godly Bible scholarship behind it. It’s just not what you’ve been taught. And it’s rooted in interpreting the Bible through the Bible, NOT through newspaper exegesis. What Jesus Himself Said About the End of the Age Here are a few of the things you’ll be astounded to read about in this book: You’ll hear Godawa’s own personal journey in changing his understanding of the End Times. You’ll find out how hyperliteralism corrupts Bible Prophecy interpretation. Godawa focuses on Jesus’ own predictions about the End of the Age in Matthew 24. You’ll discover the dirty little secret behind the so-called Rapture. The truth about the Last Days. It’s not what they told you. Just what is the Great Tribulation and when did it happen? What the heck are those cosmic catastrophes in the heavens? The shocking truth about Antichrist and the Abomination of Desolation You’ll be amazed when you see how the coming of Christ on the clouds has been completely misunderstood by well-meaning but misinformed prophecy pundits. This is not newspaper exegesis, but intense Bible study. Guaranteed to inspire your love for God’s Word and His promises to His people.

    And while nothing in Heretic! is completely unique—that is, much of the theology contained herein goes as far back as Christianity itself—Distefano creatively puts his unique perspective and humor onto the pages with care. Refreshing and liberating, this is a must read for any who dare question their inherited doctrines.

    Struggles, discouragement, and John's improper expectations of what God was "supposed" to do for his life caused John to leave his faith and the Lord's body, the church. John went back into every form of sin imaginable: alcoholism, drug abuse, adultery, and pornography - just as a dog returns to its vomit. John's shame and guilt, his failure to provide for his family, and the loss of all hope that God could ever forgive him brings John to a terrifying moment... holding a shotgun to his chin. He starts to pull the trigger. Can God forgive this wretch of a man? Is it possible for John to be restored and to be able to return to Jesus Christ? This raw, gritty, true story grabs the reader from beginning to end. It is a story about the real life of a discouraged Christian, and it is a story of hope, love, and the redemption found through the grace of God!

    In an effort to help those who've been hurt by or turned off by negative religion, Martin Thielen explains that there is an alternative to abandoning religion: good religion. Thielen uses personal stories to illustrate the dangers of religion that is judgmental, anti-intellectual, and legalistic. While addressing the growth of the new atheism movement and the "Nones" (people that have no religious affiliation), this book argues that leaving religion is not practical, not helpful, and not necessary. Thielen provides counterparts to the characteristics of bad religion, explaining that good religion is grace-filled, promotes love and forgiveness, and is inclusive and hope-filled. Perfect for individual, group, or congregational study, a Leader's Guide and a Worship and Outreach Kit are also available to further the discussion and increase community involvement.

    Western culture as a whole, argues Wells, has been transformed by modernity, and the church has simply gone with the flow. The new environment in which we live, with its huge cities, triumphant capitalism, invasive technology, and pervasive amusements, has vanquished and homogenized the entire world. While the modern world has produced astonishing abundance, it has also taken a toll on the human spirit, emptying it of enduring meaning and morality.Seeking respite from the acids of modernity, people today have increasingly turned to religions and therapies centered on the self. And, whether consciously or not, evangelicals have taken the same path, refashioning their faith into a religion of the self. They have been coopted by modernity, have sold their soul for a mess of pottage. According to Wells, they have lost the truth that God stands outside all human experience, that he still summons sinners to repentance and belief regardless of their self-image, and that he calls his church to stand fast in his truth against the blandishments of a godless world.The first of three volumes meant to encourage renewal in evangelical theology (the other two to be written by Cornelius Plantinga Jr. and Mark Noll), No Place for Truth is a contemporary jeremiad, a clarion call to all evangelicals to note well what a pass they have come to in capitulating to modernity, what a risk they are running by abandoning historic orthodoxy. It is provocative reading for scholars, ministers, seminary students, and all theologically concerned individuals.

    Brueggemann focuses on the metaphor and imagery of the courtroom trial in order to regard the theological substance of the Old Testament as a series of claims asserted for Yahweh, the God of Israel. This provides a context that attends to pluralism in every dimension of the interpretive process and suggests links to the plurality of voices of our time.

    That means embracing processes of trial, failure, and adaptation as they form Christian community with new neighbors. And that means a whole new way of being church. Taking one page from the Bible and another from Silicon Valley, priest and scholar Dwight Zscheile brings theological insights together with cutting-edge thinking on organizational innovation to help churches flourish in a time of profound uncertainty and spiritual opportunity. Picking up where his recent bestseller, People of the Way left off, Zscheile answers urgent and practical questions around how churches become agile and adaptive to meet cultural change. For clergy, congregational leaders, judicatory and denominational executives and staff, seminarians, and church members.

    Pastor Mike Slaughter even says that these can stand in the way of the church's mission of social and personal holiness. But most people do not adopt a theology on purpose, mostly they merely breathe in the prevailing cultural air. The theology "de jour" seems to be Calvinist, with its emphasis on "the elect" and "other worldly salvation." In fact, there is so much Calvinism saturating the culture, that some do not even know there is an alternative way of thinking about their faith. They don't know where to go to find a viable option; they don't even know the key words to search Google. So people are left thinking like Calvinists but living with a desire to change the world, offering grace and hope to hurting people in mission and ministry--loving the least, the last, and the lost. In other words, they are living like Wesleyans. This book shows what Calvinist and Wesleyans actually believe about human responsibility, salvation, the universality of God's grace, holy living through service, and the benefits of small group accountability--and how that connects to how people can live. Calvinists and Wesleyans are different, and by knowing the difference, people will not only see the other benefits of Wesleyan theology but will be inspired to learn more. By knowing who they are as faithful people of God, they will be motivated to reach out in mission with renewed vigor. And they won't be obstacles to grace and holiness, but they can be better disciples and advocates for Christ through service in this world.

    WILD AT HEART DVD-BASED STUDY SESSIONSWILD AT HEART DVD-BASED STUDY SESSIONS

    Using the latest scholarly discussion about the nature of Jewish monotheism as his starting point, Richard Bauckham builds a convincing argument that the early Christian view of Jesus' divinity is fully consistent with the Jewish understanding of God.Bauckham first shows that early Judaism had clear ways of distinguishing God absolutely from all other reality. When New Testament Christology is read with this Jewish context in mind, it becomes clear that early Christians did not break with Jewish monotheism; rather, they simply included Jesus within the unique identity of Israel's God. In the final part of the book Bauckham shows that God's own identity, in turn, is also revealed in the life, death, and exaltation of Jesus.Originating as the prestigious 1996 Didsbury Lectures, this volume makes a contribution to biblical studies that will be of interest to Jews and Christians alike.

    The time has come for us to honestly name the ways we are different and similar so that we can serve together in unity, grace and trust.Women in ministry experience unique challenges in their church settings which continue to hinder their vocational, professional, and personal success. Women in ministry need a trusted and comprehensive resource not only to be able to survive but to thrive in their places of call. She provides theoretical, theological, and practical frameworks and strategies for flourishing as a woman in ministry and engages critical reflection on the practice of ministry in light of current feminist theory, biblical interpretation, and experience.Covering everything from biblical arguments for and against women in the church to what not to wear, this book offers background information and tools for negotiating the many and varied issues that woman in ministry face, including leadership, the authority and office of the clergy, and structures and power in the church. A trusted and comprehensive resource for women in ministry, equipping them to thrive in their places of call, and for the men who serve alongside them. "For women in ministry, one 'a-ha' moment after another spills from the pages of this book. Decades after ordination opened for women in mainline churches, the struggle for acceptance and equality goes on. This is an important book which narrates the deep costs of sexism and imagines a new form of women's leadership rooted and grounded in authentic love and genuine hospitality. In telling the truth about persistent sexism in the church, Karoline Lewis, paradoxically, blesses her readers with hope. This hope emerges in naming the challenges for women leaders and then pointing the way forward." - Leanne Van Dyk, President and Professor of Theology, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA