Tough Topics: Biblical Answers to 25 Challenging Questions


Sam Storms - 2013
    Drawing on nearly 40 years of teaching and ministry experience, pastor-scholar Sam Storms answers 25 challenging questions Christians are often too afraid to ask, addressing thorny issues ranging from the eternal destiny of infants to the roles of demons and angels.The robust, thoughtful answers provided in this book offer a helpful alternative to relying on simplistic explanations, and will encourage you in the search for truth and clarity on such tough topics.

The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts


Joe Rigney - 2014
    The laughter of children. College football. Scrambled eggs and crispy bacon. But what happens to these earthly pleasures when Jesus shows up? Do the things of earth grow strangely dim? Or does he shine in all that's fair?In this book, Joe Rigney offers a breath of fresh air to Christians who are burdened by false standards, impossible expectations, and misguided notions of holiness. Steering a middle course between idolatry on the one hand and ingratitude on the other, this much-needed book reminds us that every good gift comes from the Father's hand, that God's blessings should drive us to worship and generosity, and that a passion for God's glory is as wide as the world.

Taking God at His Word: Why the Bible Is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me


Kevin DeYoung - 2014
    Can we trust the Bible completely? Is it sufficient for our complicated lives? Can we really know what it teaches? And isn't it more important to focus on Jesus instead of the Bible?With his characteristic wit and clarity, Kevin DeYoung has written an accessible introduction to the Bible that answers important questions raised by Christians and non-Christians alike. This book will help readers understand what the Bible says about itself and the key characteristics that contribute to its lasting significance. Avoiding technical jargon, this winsome volume will encourage men and women to read and believe the Bible--confident that it truly is God's word.Free Study Guide by Pat Quinn.

Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith


Ann Spangler - 2009
    Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg paint powerful scenes from Jesus’ ministry, immersing you in the prayers, feasts, history, culture, and customs that shaped Jesus and those who followed him.You will hear the parables as they must have sounded to first-century Jews, powerful and surprising. You will join the conversations that were already going on among the rabbis of his day. You will watch with new understanding as the events of his life unfold. And you will emerge with new excitement about the roots of your own Christian faith. Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus will change the way you read Scripture and deepen your understanding of the life of Jesus. It will also help you to adapt the rich prayers and customs you learn about to your own life, in ways that both respect and enrich your Christian faith. By looking at the Jewishness of Jesus, Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg take you on a captivating journey into the heart of Judaism, one that is both balanced and insightful, helping you to better understand and appreciate your own faith.

Exodus Old and New: A Biblical Theology of Redemption


L. Michael Morales - 2020
    Michael Morales examines the key elements of three major redemption movements in Scripture: the exodus out of Egypt, the second exodus foretold by the prophets, and the new exodus accomplished by Jesus Christ. We discover how the blood of a Passover lamb helps us grasp the significance of Jesus' death on the cross, how the Lord's defeat of Pharaoh foreshadowed Jesus' victory over Satan, how Israel's exodus out of Egypt unfolds the meaning of the resurrection, and much more.The second volume in the ESBT series, Exodus Old and New reveals how Old Testament stories of salvation provide insight into the accomplishments of Jesus and the unity of God's purposes across history.Essential Studies in Biblical Theology (ESBT), edited by Benjamin L. Gladd, explore the central or essential themes of the Bible's grand storyline. Taking cues from Genesis 1-3, authors trace the presence of these themes throughout the entire sweep of redemption history. Written for students, church leaders, and laypeople, the ESBT offers an introduction to biblical theology.

Cross Vision: How the Crucifixion of Jesus Makes Sense of Old Testament Violence


Gergory A. Boyd - 2017
    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.

5 Minutes in Church History: An Introduction to the Stories of God's Faithfulness in the History of the Church


Stephen J. Nichols - 2019
    Stories of triumph, stories of defeat, stories of joy, and stories of sorrow. In this book, Dr. Stephen J. Nichols provides snapshots of the church through the centuries. You’ll meet fascinating saints, travel to curious places, examine precious artifacts, and watch as surprising turns of events unfold. This lively and informative journey not only captures the richness of Christian history, but also reveals a record of God’s providence and faithfulness to His people. It’s a story to encourage, challenge, and even entertain. This is our story—our family history.

The Bruised Reed


Richard Sibbes - 1620
    In this famous exposition of Isaiah 42:3, Sibbes unfolds the tender ministry of Jesus Christ, who is 'a physician good at all diseases, especially at the binding up of the broken heart'.

The Israel of God: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow


O. Palmer Robertson - 2000
    A noted Old Testament scholar offers this vivid look at Israel — its land, people, worship, lifestyles, and future — with special attention to questions about the current and future Israeli state.

The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus


Gary R. Habermas - 2004
    It is interesting, engaging, and crucial material. --Norman Geisler This is an accessible, comprehensive, and persuasive resource providing detailed evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. It also demonstrates how to share the material clearly, honestly, and definitively. Included is an interactive CD which tests the reader's knowledge of the material by using an entertaining TV game show format.[The authors] have distinguished themselves as leading experts on the evidence for this all important event. --D. James KennedyWritten by the leading evangelical apologist on the resurrection and an up-and-comerIncludes an interactive CD to cement the information from the bookWritten for lay people but includes extensive footnotes that scholars will find valuableIncludes charts, diagrams, and a detailed outline for quick reference

The Wages of Spin: Critical Writings on Historical and Contemporary Evangelicalism


Carl R. Trueman - 2004
    Too many people sit on the fence and ignore, or are unaware of, the fact that Christianity is an historical religion. As Laurence Peter once said "History repeats itself because nobody listens." The point of having a debate is not to have a debate and then agree to differ (sitting around in a mutually affirming love-fest) - the point of debate, as the Apostle Paul clearly demonstrates time and again in the book of Acts, is to establish which position is best.Carl Trueman's intends to provoke you with this collection of essays into thinking for yourself and to have an opinion on THINGS THAT MATTER! You can listen to the author as he speaks about this book here on "Pilgrim radio."

The Mosaic of Christian Belief: Twenty Centuries of Unity & Diversity


Roger E. Olson - 2002
    Providing this companion volume to his earlier work The Story of Christian Theology, Roger E. Olson thematically traces the contours of Christian belief down through the ages, revealing a pattern of both unity and diversity. He finds a consensus of teaching that is both unitive and able to incorporate a faithful diversity when not forced into the molds of false either-or alternatives. The mosaic that emerges from Olson's work displays a mediating evangelical theology that is nonspeculative and irenic in spirit and tone. Specifically written with the nonspecialist in mind, Olson has masterfully sketched out the contours of Christian faith with simplicity while avoiding oversimplification.

Kingdom of Priests: A History of Old Testament Israel


Eugene H. Merrill - 1987
    Integrates the political, social, economic, and religious factors related to the history of ancient Israel.

The Story of Christianity: Volume 1: The Early Church to the Reformation


Justo L. González - 1978
    It brings alive the people, dramatic events, and ideas that shaped the first fifteen centuries of Europe, such as the Spanish and Portuguese conquest of the New World. Historian Justo Gonzalez shows how various social, political, and economic movements affected Christianity's internal growth.Gonzalez skillfully weaves in relevant details from the lives of prominent figures from the apostles to John Wycliffe, tracing out core theological issues and developments as reflected in the lives and struggles of leading thinkers within the various traditions of the church. "The history of the church, while showing all the characteristics fo human history, is much more than the history of an institution or movement," Gonzalez stresses. "It is a history of the deeds of the spirit in and through the men and women who have gone before in the faith." The Story of Christianity demonstrates at each point what new challenges and opportunities faced the church, and how Christians struggled with the various options open to them, thereby shaping the future direction of the church.The Story of Christianity will serve as a fascinating introduction to the panoramic history of Christianity for students and teachers of church history, for pastors, and for general readers.

Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers


Maxwell Staniforth - 1968
    They are a selection from a group known as the Apostolic Fathers, so-called because several of the authors were most likely disciples of the Apostles themselves. Like much of the New Testament, their writings take the form of letters, and for the most part deal with practical problems of the life of the early Church, as it struggled in the face of persecution to establish itself in the Roman world. They give us a picture of Christianity still drawing on the theology and traditions of its parent religion, Judaism.