Larry Hurtado, widely respected for his previous contributions to the study of the New Testament and Christian origins, offers the best view to date of how the first Christians saw and reverenced Jesus as divine. In assembling this compelling picture, Hurtado draws on a wide body of ancient sources, from Scripture and the writings of such figures as Ignatius of Antioch and Justin to apocryphal texts such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Truth. Hurtado considers such themes as early beliefs about Jesus’ divine status and significance, but he also explores telling devotional practices of the time, including prayer and worship, the use of Jesus’ name in exorcism, baptism and healing, ritual invocation of Jesus as “Lord,” martyrdom, and lesser-known phenomena such as prayer postures and the curious scribal practice known today as the nomina sacra. The revealing portrait that emerges from Hurtado’s comprehensive study yields definitive answers to questions like these: How important was this formative period to later Christian tradition? When did the divinization of Jesus first occur? Was early Christianity influenced by neighboring religions? How did the idea of Jesus’ divinity change old views of God? And why did the powerful dynamics of early beliefs and practices encourage people to make the costly move of becoming a Christian? Boasting an unprecedented breadth and depth of coverage — the book speaks authoritatively on everything from early Christian history to themes in biblical studies to New Testament Christology — Hurtado’s Lord Jesus Christ is at once significant enough that a wide range of scholars will want to read it and accessible enough that general readers interested at all in Christian origins will also profit greatly from it.

    Inside, you’ve got heaven and earth, and all of creation. You’re a world – everything is hidden in you.” –Hildegard of Bingen She was a Benedictine abbess, artist, composer, dietician, naturalist, poet, travelling preacher, mystic, and political consultant. She was a self-doubter with acute certainty in a merciful and mysterious God; a gifted healer who suffered from illness her whole life. Meet the incomparable Hildegard of Bingen. Nourishing, challenging, and idea-bursting, her writings will stir and awaken your soul. This essential reader captures the vibrant spirit and intelligence of Hildegard with selections from her songs, theological texts, liturgical music, and letters. Combined with an introduction to Hildegard’s life and era, a map of Hildegard’s Germany, chronology, and a thorough bibliography/discography, Hildegard of Bingen provides the ideal introduction to the thought of this fascinating medieval mystic.

    

    But this fascinating nonconformist, praised as a hero or criticized as a heretic throughout history, was first and foremost a man searching for God. This new biography by leading Reformation scholar Herman Selderhuis digs deep into the heart and mind of Luther, following him on his spiritual journey and revealing the many facets of his powerful personality, from loving husband and father, to serious monk, to feared opponent, to compelling preacher and writer. Selderhuis uses Luther's own words to help us see him as a man of flesh and blood, full of faith and full of faults, with a deep longing to live for God.

    George Knights gives the history of the Seventh day Adventist church .

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

    Running a program to help the needy, Laura discovered a world of people she never knew: the lonely and unemployed, chronically poor families, and middle-class folks surprised to be struggling in a great recession. And to each, she offered a bag of groceries, a compassionate ear, and a heart of love. Taking a tiny food pantry and watching it grow to feed hundreds, Laura learned about her own hunger for God and began to discern her own spiritual directions, learning how her calling card a bag of groceries could be a gift to others and to herself of abundance and grace."

    He was dead before he hit the ground. One moment he was sitting on his horse. The next moment he was somewhere else--somewhere beyond description. He had moved on. Without travel, transport, angelic assistance, or the passage of time he was with Jesus, where he discovered firsthand that heaven is a real place and God is a real person and that death is not the end but the beginning of true life. In The Day I Died, Vest touches on the transformation from death to heaven and some of the benefits of finding oneself in that place, including:The unforgettable awareness of God’s presence The sense of His immeasurable love The freedom from the constraints of time The ease of communication with the Lord The peace and security that attend His presence The understanding that prayers are instantly heard by God.

    Who were the Apostles really? What happened to them after the end of the Gospel story? You'll be surprised by the wealth of detail Ruffin has dug up for each apostle -- even Judas Iscariot.

    . . . His children. Loved. Set free. Redeemed.I Am Redeemed is an open book of Mike Weaver's life, bringing into the light everything from his battle with self-hatred to the near death of his brother and bandmate, who ultimately had both feet amputated to save his life. Mike shares the lessons learned in the loss of his father and dealing with the spirit of suicide within his band, Big Daddy Weave.At the lowest of lows, with Mike feeling rejected and alone, God broke through to speak truth and life into him. Thankful for God's plan and timing and methods, he is especially grateful for the new identity Jesus had paid for on the cross. In spite of his faults and failures, Mike learned that only God can take the stuff you hate about yourself and use it to reach people.Through the million-selling song "Redeemed" and now the powerful story behind it, as well as inspiration from Scripture, you will be encouraged to embrace God's redeeming grace so you, too, have the opportunity to be beautiful offerings to the Lord.

    Michael Gaitley, MIC gives you a brief and easy-to-understand introduction to the Divine Mercy message and devotion. You’ll read about the history and context of Divine Mercy, the essential elements of the devotion, and how you can live the message. Includes the full prayers of the Divine Mercy Novena and St. Faustina’s Litany to Divine Mercy, as well as two bonus appendices.

    When he and his wife lost their adored little girl, his trust in God turned to bitter anger. As he and his wife struggled to save their marriage and his faith, they discovered that home is more than just rooms and a roof. Home is a place where people are sometimes wounded or betrayed. Home is also where God is strong in the broken places. Woodlief takes readers through his house, room by room, showing that home is: • Where we cry out to God as we seek him in the small things • Where the sacred and the mundane meet • The place that makes us better than we could ever be on our own • More than the place where we eat and sleep…it is where we learn grace Woodlief’s heart-touching stories leavened with humor will appeal to a wide audience, especially those trying to reconcile the idea of a loving God in a broken world.

    For starters, you have to know who’s asking the question. People will ask it for a lot of different reasons. It’s pretty obvious that the question is a religious one. Questions about God naturally get filed in that folder. If you’ve spent a lot of your life in church, you might think you already know the answer. You might know parts of it, but I can guarantee you’ll see a lot that’s new here. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill “Christianity 101” book. Unfortunately, the thing that most often gets in the way of the wonder of the story is religion, and that isn’t what this book offers. And if you’ve never been in a church or heard much about the Bible, don’t worry. You’ve got nothing to unlearn or re-learn. It’s all fresh. That makes you an ideal reader. So what does God want? Best-selling author, Dr. Michael S. Heiser, shows readers that the answer is pretty simple. God wants YOU. That might surprise you. You may doubt it. That’s okay. But it’s the right answer. But it isn’t enough of an answer. You can’t get a sense of how amazing and profound the answer is by just that one sentence. There’s actually a long, remarkable story behind the answer—one that isn’t well known by most people interested in the question.

    The volume includes substantial excerpts from notable women theologians and from black and liberation perspectives, plus a new section from deceased theologians such as Thomas Merton, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Karl Rahner. Each passage is prefaced by detailed introductory comments on the life and thought of each theologian and the significance of his/her work.

    In Transforming Church in Rural America, Pastor Shannon O'Dell shares a powerful vision of relevance, possibility, and excellence for these small churches, or for any ministry that is stuck in a "rural state of mind." The book reveals:how to generate growth through transformed livesways to create active evangelism in your communityno-cost solutions for staffing challenges, enhancing the worship experience, and inspiring volunteersFocusing on vision, attitude, leadership, and innovation, you can learn the practical strategies and biblical guidance that helped to grow a church of 31 into a multi-campus church of several thousand, with a national and global outreach. Discover effective structure and ways to cast God-given vision so others can follow and make an impact. Experience the blueprint for transforming into effective, dynamic, and thriving churches no matter where the location or how small it may be.