Shaped by the Cross

Shaped by the Cross PDF Author: Ken Gire
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 0830838082
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 129

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Book Description
What must it have been like to draw near to Christ as he drew near to the cross? Reflecting on Michelangelo's majestic Pieta, in which Mary gathers the suffering Jesus into her arms, Ken Gire offers seven meditations on a costly discipleship that invites us to take up our cross and follow our Savior—through death to life everlasting.

Shaped by the Cross

Shaped by the Cross PDF Author: Ken Gire
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 0830838082
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 129

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Book Description
What must it have been like to draw near to Christ as he drew near to the cross? Reflecting on Michelangelo's majestic Pieta, in which Mary gathers the suffering Jesus into her arms, Ken Gire offers seven meditations on a costly discipleship that invites us to take up our cross and follow our Savior—through death to life everlasting.

Cruciform

Cruciform PDF Author: Jimmy Davis
Publisher: Cruciform Press
ISBN: 1936760169
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 72

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Book Description
What is the Cross-Shaped Life? It is the vertical life of loving God with all your head, heart, and hands; and the horizontal life of loving others as Christ has loved you. Employing the symbols of the cruciform cathedral and the Celtic cross, Jimmy Davis uses personal stories, both humorous and heart-breaking, to encourage and equip the reader to gain a cross-shaped perspective on how he or she can be an active participant in God's community-on-mission. This book casts a vision for living as disciples of Jesus who are being shaped by the cross (gospel) into people and churches who share and show the cross (gospel) by living as sons and servants of God. As we embrace the gospel in this way we can live: in relationship to God as seekers who exalt God; in relationship to other disciples as shepherds who encourage one another; in relationship to the resources God has given us as stewards; and in relationship to those who are not disciples as sowers of the gospel of grace, engaging our neighbors, the nations, and the next generation with cross-shaped words and works. Finally, the Cruciform Life involves growing through cross-shaped spiritual disciplines and cross-shaped suffering, which together enable us to embrace and express the Cruciform Life to God, one another, and the world.

The Cross-shaped Life

The Cross-shaped Life PDF Author: Jeff Kennon
Publisher: ACU Press/Leafwood Publishers
ISBN: 9781684262403
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Who are we? This is one of the oldest questions, and the bottom-line answer is that we are created in the image of God. But when we ask what it means to live in the image of God, we cannot forget the cross. After all, God came, took on our likeness, and died on the cross. So what does it mean to live in the image of a God who is willing to die on a cross? Though the cross is a well-known symbol in Western society, we are not prone to think of the cross as the key to our identity. Yet to discover the heart of God, and therefore who we are to be as his image bearers, it is to the cross that we must turn. The journey of The Cross-Shaped Life takes readers into the story of God from creation to salvation, but it culminates in Paul's words found in Philippians 2:5-11. It's in these few verses that readers will discover that though our Western culture tells us that in order to find ourselves we must continue to acquire more prestige, power, and possessions, the truth is that we only discover who we truly are when we live lives of humility, service, and sacrifice on behalf of others.

A Cross-Shaped Gospel

A Cross-Shaped Gospel PDF Author: Bryan Loritts
Publisher: Moody Publishers
ISBN: 0802481019
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
WARNING! This book could make your life messy! Today’s church is continually being confronted with the question, “What is the gospel?” Many churches answer this through strong exposition of biblical truth. Others answer with a focus on community engagement. But doesn’t Christ call us to do both? The covenant of salvation demands a radical re-patterning of relationships. Bryan Lorrits, a pastor in the heart of one of America’s historically racially divided urban centers, seizes the opportunity to engage God, the church, and culture in ways that may challenge your beliefs, practices, and relationships. A Cross-Shaped Gospel clearly articulates the vertical dimension of the Christian faith, as well as looking at the horizontal implications of salvation for growth, service, and community. It provokes readers to think about the implications of living out their faith. What does the gospel mean for issues of: Political engagement? Class distinctions? Race Relations? It is only by reaching upward that we can reach outward in power and with the proper motives, so let A Cross- Shaped Gospel help you in crafting and communicating a biblical philosophy of engaging God and others well!

Cold-Case Christianity

Cold-Case Christianity PDF Author: J. Warner Wallace
Publisher: David C Cook
ISBN: 1434705463
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Written by an L. A. County homicide detective and former atheist, Cold-Case Christianity examines the claims of the New Testament using the skills and strategies of a hard-to-convince criminal investigator. Christianity could be defined as a “cold case”: it makes a claim about an event from the distant past for which there is little forensic evidence. In Cold-Case Christianity, J. Warner Wallace uses his nationally recognized skills as a homicide detective to look at the evidence and eyewitnesses behind Christian beliefs. Including gripping stories from his career and the visual techniques he developed in the courtroom, Wallace uses illustration to examine the powerful evidence that validates the claims of Christianity. A unique apologetic that speaks to readers’ intense interest in detective stories, Cold-Case Christianity inspires readers to have confidence in Christ as it prepares them to articulate the case for Christianity.

Gospel Shaped Worship Leader's Guide

Gospel Shaped Worship Leader's Guide PDF Author: Jared Wilson
Publisher: The Good Book Company
ISBN: 1910307912
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 139

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Book Description
Leader's Guide for the Worship track of Gospel Shaped Church from The Gospel Coalition, exploring how a church should be a worshipping community. Gospel Shaped Church is a curriculum from The Gospel Coalition that will help whole congregations pause and think carefully and prayerfully about the kind of church they are called to be. This seven-week whole-church curriculum explores what it means to be a worshiping community. The Leader's Guide contains everything you need to lead this flexible course. Christians are people who have discovered that the one true object of our worship is the God who has revealed himself in and through Jesus Christ. For most believers, worship is what happens for an hour on Sunday morning as we sing and pray together. But the Bible reveals a much bigger vision for what worship really is and how it should shape our lives. So what exactly is worship? What should we be doing when we meet together for “church” on Sundays? And how does that connect with what we do the rest of the week? As we search the scriptures together we will discover that true worship is more than this-it is to encompass the whole of life. This engaging and flexible resource will challenge us to worship God every day of the week, with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. This flexible resource will train your whole church through teaching, preaching, daily reading and small-group Bible study and discussion-or any combination of those elements. The overall aim is that your church will embark on a journey to discover the kind of people they should be as they are shaped by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Works alongside the Gospel Shaped Worship DVD and the Gospel Shaped Worship Handbook for use by church members.

Engaging Theology

Engaging Theology PDF Author: Ben C. Blackwell
Publisher: Zondervan Academic
ISBN: 0310092779
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
Theology today is faced with increasing amounts of religious and theological pluralism. What is distinctive about Christian theology? Why do these ideas matter? And the biggest question of all: Who cares? Key aspects of orthodox theology are seen as speculative and irrelevant to "authentic" Christianity and to personal spirituality. While not succumbing to the pragmatism of the age, this book shows that key elements of Christian theology ground an integrated worldview and are essential for spiritual formation. Engaging Theology is an introductory theology textbook that grounds a treatment of standard systematic topics in the wider context of life and practice and shows the relevance of each doctrine to the church. The book treats the essential doctrines of Christian orthodoxy by following the pattern of story, doctrinal exposition, theological relevance, and spiritual relevance: Story: Each chapter begins with a brief and engaging account of the historical situation out of which the doctrine arose or where it played an essential role in the development of the church, showing students that orthodox theology matters and introducing them to most of the key theologians in the history of the church. Doctrinal Exposition: The heart of the chapter is exposition of key elements of the doctrine, highlighting core and debated elements while clarifying heterodox perspectives. Integrated with the narrative account this section also models the contextualized nature of theology. Each chapter includes biblical, historical, and contemporary views on the issue and notes key figures in the debates and their influence. Theological Relevance: While theological relevance is clear throughout each chapter, this section highlights relevance to the modern setting and concerns, including interaction with heterodox and non-Christian faiths. It identifies current theological problems besetting the church and shows how a proper understanding and integration of orthodox theology addresses these problems. It also points to other problems the church is facing for interesting discussion starters. Spiritual Relevance: Since orthodox theology has a direct influence on one's own spiritual formation and practice, each chapter concludes with practical encouragements and discussions about how each doctrine can be integrated in one's personal and corporate life. Engaging Theology is ideal for students and everyday people living in a post Christian era to help them seriously engage with the Christian faith.

Living in the Shadow of the Cross

Living in the Shadow of the Cross PDF Author: Paul Kivel
Publisher: New Society Publishers
ISBN: 1550925415
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 221

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Book Description
How our dominant Christian worldview shapes everything from personal behavior to public policy (and what to do about it) Over the centuries, Christianity has accomplished much which is deserving of praise. Its institutions have fed the hungry, sheltered the homeless, and advocated for the poor. Christian faith has sustained people through crisis and inspired many to work for social justice. Yet although the word "Christian" connotes the epitome of goodness, the actual story is much more complex. Over the last two millennia, ruling elites have used Christian institutions and values to control those less privileged throughout the world. The doctrine of Christianity has been interpreted to justify the killing of millions, and its leaders have used their faith to sanction participation in colonialism, slavery, and genocide. In the Western world, Christian influence has inspired legislators to continue to limit women's reproductive rights and has kept lesbians and gays on the margins of society. As our triple crises of war, financial meltdown, and environmental destruction intensify, it is imperative that we dig beneath the surface of Christianity's benign reputation to examine its contribution to our social problems. Living in the Shadow of the Cross reveals the ongoing, everyday impact of Christian power and privilege on our beliefs, behaviors, and public policy, and emphasizes the potential for people to come together to resist domination and build and sustain communities of justice and peace. Paul Kivel is the award-winning author of Uprooting Racism and the director of the Christian Hegemony Project. He is a social justice activist and educator who has focused on the issues of violence prevention, oppression, and social justice for over forty-five years.

Dominion

Dominion PDF Author: Tom Holland
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465093523
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 624

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Book Description
A "marvelous" (Economist) account of how the Christian Revolution forged the Western imagination. Crucifixion, the Romans believed, was the worst fate imaginable, a punishment reserved for slaves. How astonishing it was, then, that people should have come to believe that one particular victim of crucifixion-an obscure provincial by the name of Jesus-was to be worshipped as a god. Dominion explores the implications of this shocking conviction as they have reverberated throughout history. Today, the West remains utterly saturated by Christian assumptions. As Tom Holland demonstrates, our morals and ethics are not universal but are instead the fruits of a very distinctive civilization. Concepts such as secularism, liberalism, science, and homosexuality are deeply rooted in a Christian seedbed. From Babylon to the Beatles, Saint Michael to #MeToo, Dominion tells the story of how Christianity transformed the modern world.

J-Curve

J-Curve PDF Author: Paul E. Miller
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN: 143356159X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
Do we have the wrong map for the Christian life? Life's inconveniences, disappointments, and trials can leave us confused, cynical, and eventually bitter. But the apostle Paul traces out the path of dying and rising with Jesus—what Paul Miller calls the “J-Curve”—as the normal Christian life. The J-Curve maps the ups and downs of daily life onto the story of Jesus. It grounds our journeys not in some abstract idea but in union with Christ and his work of love. Understanding our lives in light of the J-Curve roots our hope, centers our love, and tethers our faith to Christ.