LITMIR.BIZ

Central to the mission of the church with each passing generation is the elucidation of the gospel of Christ, which is the heart of the Christian message. Witness to God's saving word in Scripture comes in response to discussions and debates arising over the course of church history. Our study highlights some of the unity and disunity found within the Reformed tradition, Reformation and modern. Beginning with the subject of the development of doctrine over the course of church history, we take up the foundational issue of biblical hermeneutics (the question of how we are to interpret the Bible). The year 2017 marks the Protestant Church's 500th anniversary (October 31). We consider, secondly, Protestantism's two leading theological principles–the formal (the doctrine of Scripture) and the material (the doctrine of justification by faith alone). In the final section, we critique departures from the teaching of historic federalism found within contemporary Reformed orthodoxy, which strikes at the very heart of what it means to be «Reformed» in theology. Crucial in this long-standing and ongoing dispute is the interpretation of the Mosaic Covenant as in some sense a «republication» of the original Covenant of Works with Adam at creation. Covenant and justification are the focal doctrines under study.

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Many Christian colleges promote worldview formation as part of their purpose and learning objectives. An institution teaches a worldview with intentionality, enculturates it through community life, reinforces it through human interaction, and passes it on through symbols and stories. Accreditation standards often require colleges to demonstrate how their programs support the development of a biblical worldview. This requirement necessitates a search for teaching and assessment approaches that can best serve this essential goal. In this book, the author reports on qualitative research with Bible colleges and offers a pedagogical theory for supporting students' lifelong development of worldview. This theory shows how college teachers can clarify their goals, set relevant objectives, employ effective teaching strategies, and design helpful assessment methods.

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God has been around for a long time–in fact from the very beginning–but what do we actually know about him? Perhaps this is a silly question, because many people will regard the God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as unknowable. Nevertheless, this book explores the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) to unearth just what is revealed about the nature and persona of the Deity. Early chapters discuss the first signs of religious beliefs, and the origins of the major religions. Ten chapters are devoted to what the Scriptures reveal about God's origin, attributes, and activities. These include miracles, making laws, punishing, rewarding, answering prayers, and predicting a future Messiah. A final chapter summarizes and draws conclusions. The sheer number of details gleaned from the biblical texts helps the reader to see God as an entity, with a personality who has attributes, likes, and dislikes. He rejoices, but also laments; he has a presence, he is available, he hears our prayers. Those who were a little unsure about the authenticity of God should have their confidence in him strengthened by the amount of information presented. They can then explore this further for themselves.

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It was God's love for His creation that allowed Moses, Elijah, James, Peter, and John to unfold God's plan for all mankind. These saints were sanctified and chosen to be witnesses to the transfiguration and deity of God's only Son Jesus Christ. These witnesses were recognized and honored by God for their obedience and faithfulness. All of mankind has been richly blessed by these men of God, as they became servants of God in accomplishing many great miracles.
These specific saints were allowed to see Jesus in all His glory as He was transformed from His earthly body to the holy splendor of His heavenly body. This experience was terrifying for the apostles and was seared into their very being. From that day forward God would use the apostles James, Peter, and John in unfolding God's love and plan for all of mankind.
First Kings 19:12 reads, «And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.»
God spoke to Elijah and to the souls of men in a still small voice of love, grace, and mercy.

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The Word of God as it has been received by the church has embedded in it dozens of songs. Each of these songs has a story to tell us about God and God's people. In brief meditations, twelve faculty at Wycliffe College explore Songs of Scripture in this volume to answer the questions «Why do Scriptures tell us to sing? What are we to sing? What does singing make of us?» Each of these meditations will give you a new appreciation for God's gift of songs. By singing the words of Scripture, we tune our hearts to God's song.

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There are multiple names given to Jesus in the Bible. Fifty of them are presented in this book, Names for Jesus. In the ancient world, a name had a meaning; in this book's entries one can discover the meaning of a name for Jesus, which often indicates one of his functions as understood by a biblical author.
Often, both religious and spiritual people look for some reading material that will guide them through the Advent and Christmas seasons. Here is an ecumenical approach; this book is general enough for any Christian.
Each of the entries consists of five parts: 1) the name; 2) a short quotation from Scripture, which contains the name given in the title; 3) a reflection exploring the meaning of the name; 4) a journal/meditation section to help the reader make connections between the reflection and his or her own life; and 5) a short prayer.
Anyone can finish the spiritual journey of Advent and Christmas enriched for having spent time with Names for Jesus.

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California matters, both as a place and as an idea. What famed historian Kevin Starr has called «the California Dream» is a vital part of American self-understanding. Just as America was meant to be a place of renewal, even redemption, for Europe, so too California was intended as a place of renewal for America. Therefore, California–place and idea–provides a fertile ground for scholars to think deeply about what it means to articulate «the promise of American life.» This book follows in the train of George Marsden's classic The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship–believing that people of faith have a contribution to make to scholarship–and of Jay Green's more recent book, Christian Historiography: Five Rival Views–believing that scholars of faith should engage in moral inquiry. In this book, eight authors inquire into the moral questions that emerge from studying California.

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In The Holy Spirit as Communion, Leon Harris examines the pneumatologies of Colin Gunton and Frank Macchia. For both theologians, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is foundational to understanding their doctrine of God, Christology, and ecclesiology. Drawing on the theme of communion, The Holy Spirit as Communion expresses the concept that the Holy Spirit is the person who perfects the divine nature and personhood of the Father and Son. It is the Holy Spirit who perfects the eternal communion within the divine Trinity, which is the source of the divine action that also perfects the communion in creation as an expression of the Father's will through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit as Communion explores the essentiality of the Holy Spirit through a unique approach to Spirit Christology: Gunton is represented by a radicalized version of Chalcedon Christology, and Macchia formulates his account through the overarching metaphor of «Spirit baptism.» Therefore, the doctrine of God, Christology, ecclesiology, and eschatology cannot be construed without a proper account of pneumatology that takes into consideration the eschatological perfecting work of the third person of the Trinity–who perfects creation's koinonia as a gift from the Father through the grace of Jesus Christ.

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God's Scoundrels and Misfits examines the relationships of biblical characters with God and with each other. Some took advantage of the second chances God offered them while others missed the opportunities to change the direction of their lives. Lessons learned from the choices they made and the outcomes they experienced are explored in the context of modern families and individuals. Sibling rivalry, unbridled ambition, women's issues, suffering, and forgiveness are some of the issues that are brought forward into contemporary living. The times may have changed, but the challenges remain the same.

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First Corinthians offers readers a window into the social life and setting of an early Christ-movement congregation. The Apostle Paul's practical guidance to the Corinthians living in a Roman colony overlaps with many contemporary concerns: identity, leadership, sexuality, gender, diversity, worship, theology, and economics. All too often, however, the letter is read in an individualistic and supersessionistic way. Furthermore, parts of the letter are lifted out of their original context and applied in ways foreign to that setting. This book reads the letter through the lens of social identity theory, a leading social scientific method for understanding the New Testament. This reading strategy is supported by a post-supersessionist perspective in which the church is not thought to replace Israel as God's people. The aim of this book is to introduce non-specialists to this fascinating letter in a way that highlights the current research into the social context of Corinth. It offers relevant discussion questions and an identity-critical reading of 1 Corinthians that shows Paul's interest in three key themes: identity, ethics, and ethos.

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