LITMIR.BIZ

Prayer is the one essential of the Christian life. In fact, David Moffett-Moore maintains, it is an essential of life itself, as essential to us as spiritual beings as breathing is to us physically. Prayer can be found in any of our activities. It is not something we need to learn, but something we need to remember from childhood. Yet our prayers can mature, and we can be more aware of the presence of God in every place and every moment. The purpose of this book is to help you become more aware.

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As many Christians bemoan the deterioration of «family values» in our society, have we, as Christian parents, abdicated our responsibility by spiritually abandoning our children?Although the church has a part in our children's spiritual education are we not accountable before God for the spiritual development of our children? Statistics reveal that Christian parents are rarely involved in the spiritual lives of their children. Scripture, however, paints a very different picture of what this relationship should look like. As parents, we have the responsibility to «drive» the discipleship process in the home. We must keep our hands on the wheel and take responsibility to guide our children as they journey through life. This includes purposefully sharing the gospel with them, teaching them the ways of the Lord, and modeling for them a Great Commission focused lifestyle. The purpose of this book is to examine the biblical responsibility parents have to be involved in their children's spiritual lives and help equip them to take an active role. – Michael Kennedy Besides laying out a clear study of the biblical foundation for his call to parents, author Michael Kennedy supplies a parent and church questionnaire to give the reader an assessment of their starting place and then proceeds to give practical stepping stones to begin raising their children in the admonition of the Lord.

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What is the good news? If the gospel that Jesus taught is so good, why are Christians so bad? How can Christians relate to people of other faiths or of no faith at all? Bible teacher Henry Neufeld wrestles with these issues in this book. This is not a book of theology. It is his personal testimony of what Jesus means in his life, and how one can be both a serious, committed Christian and a strong proponent of diversity and dialogue. In fact, he finds in the gospel not just permission to be tolerant, but a command to be open, honest, and clear in his convictions, and yet non-judgmental of the views of others. Henry's understanding of Christianity is built around the incarnation. If God can cross the gap between the infinite and the finite to experience life with us, surely we can cross the gap between ourselves and our fellow human beings. «You are never more God-like than when you open your heart's door to another person. The more different they are, the more God-like that action is,» he says in describing how Christians should seek to build relationships.

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"Since the rise of modern biblical scholarship there has not been unanimity as to how to characterize Paul. He has been praised for having delivered Christianity from Judaism. Lately it has been argued that he remained so thoroughly a Jew that he was not a Christian at all. Others think he became a Christian because he had become a totally frustrated Pharisee by his failure to observe the law of Moses. Some consider him to have been a male chauvinist with few redeeming qualities. Others see in him a messianist with masochistic tendencies. Some think he was a conceited authoritarian who had no patience with the views of others. For a time it was popular to see him as a mystic who wished to lose himself by being in Christ. It has been said that, as one concerned with the life of the Spirit, he saw reason as the enemy of faith and required his converts to sacrifice the intellect on the altar of submission to authority. All these are, at least in part, reactions against the prevailing picture of him as the one who laid the foundation for the doctrines of righteousness by faith and the God of grace on which the Protestant Reformation was built." – Dr. Herold Weiss, Introduction to Meditations on the Letters of Paul With this beginning, the reader is invited into a Bible study with Dr. Weiss that will not be just an exegetical exercise but will, more importantly, be a personal journey into the Messiah's gospel that Paul so fervently shared throughout the known world of his time and continues to share in our day. Be forewarned that you may find yourself spending more time than you counted on as you truly meditate on the words and the spirit of Paul's letters.

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The gospel of John, titled simply «According to John» in ancient manuscripts contains some of the simplest language in the New Testament. The Greek of this book is so simple that it is often used in teaching beginning students to read New Testament Greek. Pastors and teachers often recommend the book as a good starting point for new Christians reading the Bible for the first time. But the simple vocabulary and structure belies an extraordinary spiritual depth. While there are lessons to be learned from an initial surface reading, diligent seekers will find incredible depths. Understanding these deeper lessons requires one to see the book as a whole and understand the intricate pattern of connections between the various parts. Verse by verse and even passage by passage study can be misleading. New Testament scholar Herold Weiss spent a considerable amount of time searching for the best way to open up the treasures of this gospel to non-scholars and settled on a series of meditations on various phrases or events related in the book. In each meditation he ties the specific theme to related passages and imagery throughout the gospel. His masterful presentation will open your eyes and mind to new insights into the fourth gospel, early Christianity, and its application to 21st century Christianity.

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Geoffrey Lentz and Henry Neufeld, a pastor and a teacher team up in Learning and Living Scripture to present the Participatory Bible Study Method, an approach to Bible study that is rooted in the conviction that God can and will speak to us in scripture. They bring together their different experiences and perspectives to present this method of study in a practical, usable way. There are three key elements to this study: 1. The integration of prayer and study 2. Serious questioning and research that is nonetheless within reach of the non-scholar 3. Study in community with both witness and accountability through sharing In this guide you will learn to integrate prayer and scripture reading while also being faithful to the historical meaning of the text and its use throughout history by the community of faith. This method is not just about study and learning facts; it's about letting the God who gave scripture live in and through you, as you learn and share.

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We carry our purses everywhere. We don't leave home without them. They are as diverse and unique as we are. A purse can truly reflect who we are. Is it smooth, black leather or bold pink flowers? Does it hang from our arm or is slung over our back or strapped around our waist? What if we were given a purse by Jesus Himself full of whatever we would need for the day and season of life? How much would it cost? Who could afford it? It's free because it is given to us, the Bride, by our Groom, Jesus Christ. Let's see what Jesus has given – It's in the Bag

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What could possibly be wrong with social justice? We like justice. We are social beings. Should not our communities be just ones? Author Elgin Hushbeck, Jr. maintains that social justice is not justice. When we pursue social justice, it is at the expense of true justice and in its pursuit of equality, social justice threatens liberty. It is a case of setting contradictory and incompatible goals. Hushbeck examines our current pursuit of social justice and how it has failed, while looking also at the scriptures we use in that pursuit and how we have misunderstood them. While we should care about our neighbors and find ways to ease the plight of the poor, social justice's emphasis on redistribution is not only often unjust but it actually makes things worse. His prescription? Pursue justice and liberty without any adjectives.

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Why do well-meaning, intelligent people disagree about the Bible? What should I do when people disagree? How can I use disagreement to help me understand the Bible more clearly? If I can't agree with someone on how to read the Bible, does it mean the end of fellowship? How many times have you had a conversation with someone that involved a disagreement over the Bible? And how many times have these conversations led to interruptions of friendships or even extended family disputes? Some of these disputes have split congregations. Even the more mild disagreements can leave us perplexed. Why is it that something so plain to one is so obviously unconvincing to others? This often leads us to search for ways to convince others through honing our interpretive skills, doing elaborate word studies, consulting scholarly commentaries and the like. In the end, however, people don't easily change their minds, and we are left to wonder why. This book differs from most in that rather than looking at how to interpret the Bible properly, we'll examine the sources of disagreement among interpreters. We all have our own ways of trying to understand the Bible and they are close to our hearts. Many of us think our way is superior to most, if not all. But we will not venture into who is right and who is wrong in our interpretations. What concerns us here is why we interpret the way we do and what our attitude should be toward those with whom we disagree.

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Human hunger for God is intense and universal. Even if suppressed or denied, it cries out silently from the depths. Such hunger is not a wish to know about God, but rather a quest to encounter Him. People want to touch, experience, and feel the divine – not just discover facets about God. – Dr. Jon L. Dybdahl Humans have tried since the beginning of their creation to fill the hunger, or empty space, inside of themselves with all that they can find on their own. The desire for money, homes, cars and various material possessions continues to fill our credit cards without filling our longing for «something.» Dr. Jon Dybdahl brings his passion for teaching into this second edition of his successful book, Hunger: Satisfying the Longing of your Soul. Whether you are a seminary professor, a small group leader with 3-12 students or someone who seeks to move closer in your relationship to God, your Savior and Creator, you will find entrees which are biblically grounded to study and that are savory and healthy for your spiritual body.

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