LITMIR.BIZ

Iron Sharpens Iron is grounded in the conviction that humans have the capacity to transcend conventional spirituality to a genuine and wholesome faith that is dynamic rather than static, future-oriented rather than past-oriented, and owned rather than passively acquired.
Classroom tested, this discussion guide is an ideal way for thoughtful Christians–in individual and group settings–to interact with timely topics. Like its companion text, Beyond Belief: Science, Faith, and the Value of Unknowing (2012), this guide is written for those who affirm the value of lifelong spiritual growth. Topics covered include the authority of scripture, the uniqueness of Christ, faith and reason, religion and science, biological evolution and morality, cosmological evolution and the nature of God, and the doctrines of salvation, resurrection, and the afterlife.
This guide encourages a high degree of interaction. The discussion questions are engaging and appeal to various levels of intellectual and spiritual awareness. Sessions follow a fourfold pattern: (a) «Getting Started» provides an overview of each session; (b) «Gaining Momentum» provides questions for discussion or further reflection; (c) «Going Deeper» encourages participants to acquire further perspective; and (d) «The Essentials» summarizes key points from each chapter of Beyond Belief.

Подробнее

Face to Face is about personal relationships. Everyone talks as though they want one, but most of us are missing the strategies to live with this intimacy, especially with God. This book is an invitation to explore the «ah-ha» moments of a theologian who believes that theology should be practical and speak to where we live. Drawing from years of study in theology, biblical studies, counseling, and addiction therapy, this book is a creative conversation about what is missing in our most important element in life–our relationships. Its simplicity does not diminish its depth in penetrating some of the most complex questions of our age.

Подробнее

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob brings readers on a surprising journey from the dawn of divine-human communion to the present, showing how this mysterious, ongoing relationship holds the keys to true worship. Laying a new foundation for understanding worship, the book makes a compelling case for distinguishing the church's practices from those of the world. Recognizing the holiness of worship, the author observes that music itself, apart from language, conveys its own theological meaning; that, similar to Scripture, there is an evolving canon of sacred music; and that, to mitigate idolatry, the spirit of worship must be tested to ensure that it addresses the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When this timeless liturgical journey with God is honored with vital commitment, worship will be compelling and transfiguring to all people, at all levels of religious experience.

Подробнее

That we are afraid is no revelation. Only God has the power to calm our fears and to make us courageous. But what happens when God refuses to meet your expectations? What happens when Jesus turns out to be more difficult to deal with, more serious, and more unpredictable than we once thought he was? Will we wait on him to answer us? Will we trust him when he seems to be making no sense?
In our hurry to offer each other hope, have we neglected the true nature of the power and strength of God that makes him capable of helping us?
In this inquisitive and honest work, Casey Hobbs determines to reacquaint us with the greatness of God and to draw us in to the goodness of God that only Jesus offers us.

Подробнее

To read Revelation for meaning today we need to recognize and accept that the Christian community itself has often become the wearer of Babylon's Cap of oppression. This is a reading of Revelation that seeks to hear the voices of postcolonial pain, while never pretending to be a postcolonial analysis.

Подробнее

"For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope." Jeremiah 29:11
How do we know God's plans for us? How do we know God leads and talks to us daily? How do we become more disciplined in our spiritual walk in order to better hear God's voice and guidance in our lives? There are no easy answers to these questions. However, when we are intentional in our times of prayer, Bible study, and reflection, the Holy Spirit opens our hearts to God's love, allowing us to see opportunities for further direction and growth. Discipleship–A Lifelong Spiritual Pilgrimage offers guidance and gives support to those already involved in this pilgrimage plus encouragement to those wanting to do more in developing good discipleship practices.

Подробнее

There are few more loaded words in American life than «family.» Jesus grew up in one and honored his parents in fulfillment of the commandments. But his teachings on family life stand among the most jarring things he ever said. Jesus invites serious followers to «hate» mother and father. He predicts discipleship will bring division rather than peace to family life. He completely recasts the definition of kinship as «whoever does the will of God.» In an era when families face unprecedented challenges sticking together for the long haul, Jesus's words at first glance seem to welcome disintegration of the Christian household rather than offering healing and a clear way forward. This book examines the off-putting words of Jesus in the wider context of radical allegiance and baptismal priority. In a country where family devotion is akin to honoring the national flag, Honeycutt unpacks an old word for a new generation of Christians called to place Jesus first in all things. It's only then that we'll be able to truly help those who share a common roof and lineage.

Подробнее

William Carey, often dubbed «The Father of Modern Missions,» and Adoniram Judson, America's first intercontinental missionary, were pioneers whose missions overlapped in chronology, geography, and purpose. However, rarely are they both featured in the same volume or compared and contrasted. Here we have unique material by some of the world's leading experts on these two giants of missionary history, with perspectives on these men in ways never seen before. Especially relevant to this current age of World Christianity are the perspectives from India and Burma, the lands which received these men for their missionary enterprise.

Подробнее

The condition of stuck is a condition well known by pastoral caregivers and leaders. In When All Else Fails, Wayne Menking argues that the way out of stuckness is not through the acquisition of faddish techniques, but through a deep rethinking of our pastoral vocation and what our pastoral work is to be about. Pastoral care and leadership are not indistinguishable, just as priestly work can never be separated from prophetic work. They are always one and the same. Pastoral care and leadership, then, are not about helping people relieve their anxiety through the offering of palliative comfort, but rather helping people to engage the powers that have hold of their life so as to leave what is old for what is new. In this engagement, the caregiver will always encounter powers against which niceness and unconditional love will not work. Using biblical images and narratives that depict God as a deeply empathic and compassionate God, yet one who is never adaptively sympathetic, Menking asserts that pastoral caregivers and leaders must shed their niceness and adaptivity so as to employ their God-given power if they are to help people effectively leave what is old for what is new.

Подробнее

What is the role of the church in ministering to the sick? This book argues that it is not what is now called the «healing ministry,» with its frequent claims of remarkable cures from physical illness. Little critical attention seems to have been paid to the validity of these claims, which, if genuine, would be producing clearly observable effects on the levels of morbidity and mortality in society. Similarly, the important ethical and moral questions the movement raises have also been very largely ignored. A huge edifice of muddled theology, together with highly questionable practice, has been built upon very shaky foundations. It is the purpose of this book to examine seriously the dubious claims and teaching of the modern healing movement, as well to expose its very real dangers, in order to encourage Christian people, both ordained and lay, to exercise a more critical approach to the healing movement. The book concludes by outlining a framework for a return to a more biblical emphasis on proper pastoral care in the church's ministry to the sick.

Подробнее