Transformation in Christ

Transformation in Christ PDF Author: David A. Ackerman
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532671148
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
Although Paul used language similar to the religions and cultures of his time, he had a unique understanding of the “mystery” of God. The once-hidden plan of God was revealed and fulfilled in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Saul of Tarsus experienced a fundamental change when he encountered the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. This vision gave him new direction and purpose and profoundly changed his understanding of God’s plan for humanity. Paul often uses the phrase “in Christ” or its variations to describe this plan. Being in Christ results in transformation into Christ’s likeness of holiness and love through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Those in Christ form a new community that crosses ethnic barriers, is bound together in fellowship with the Triune God, and fulfills its purpose of holiness before him. Paul’s answer to the struggles people face is simple: when one is united with Christ by dying to the old self and committing to his supremacy, one will find victory over any force opposed to us in this world. This book explores one of the most profound claims in the New Testament that demands a response of its readers.

Transformation in Christ

Transformation in Christ PDF Author: David A. Ackerman
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532671148
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 223

Get Book Here

Book Description
Although Paul used language similar to the religions and cultures of his time, he had a unique understanding of the “mystery” of God. The once-hidden plan of God was revealed and fulfilled in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Saul of Tarsus experienced a fundamental change when he encountered the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. This vision gave him new direction and purpose and profoundly changed his understanding of God’s plan for humanity. Paul often uses the phrase “in Christ” or its variations to describe this plan. Being in Christ results in transformation into Christ’s likeness of holiness and love through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Those in Christ form a new community that crosses ethnic barriers, is bound together in fellowship with the Triune God, and fulfills its purpose of holiness before him. Paul’s answer to the struggles people face is simple: when one is united with Christ by dying to the old self and committing to his supremacy, one will find victory over any force opposed to us in this world. This book explores one of the most profound claims in the New Testament that demands a response of its readers.

Soul Transformation

Soul Transformation PDF Author: Donald W Ekstrand
Publisher: Xulon Press
ISBN: 1624194427
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 560

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Book Description
The three steps of salvation in a nutshell are these - becoming a Christian; living the Christian life; and going to heaven. Theologians refer to these three steps as Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification. The first and third steps are instantaneous experiences, but the second step (sanctification) is a life long process whereby the Holy Spirit works in the believer's life to bring about practical holiness and transform his character into the likeness of Christ. It is this second step of salvation with which the believer struggles, because it requires putting to death the deeds of the body (saying "no" to our sin nature), and obeying the promptings of the Holy Spirit (saying "yes" to God) - this is the essence of spiritual warfare. Sadly, most churches in the West today pretty much ignore the issue of Sanctification, and just focus on Justification - either out of ignorance about what Scripture teaches, or out of fear that living a holy life is essentially "legalism." But living a life of obedience to Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit has nothing to do with legalism - legalists think they "gain favor with God" by being good, but believers obey Christ out of gratitude because they already "have favor with God!" The "key" to sanctified living is gratitude! The Bible emphatically describes God as being both loving and holy, yet western Christianity primarily focuses on God's love, and says almost nothing at all about His holiness. As such, the central message of most churches is one of love and forgiveness, with scarcely a word being said about holiness and death to sin and self. Satan is thrilled with our one dimensional Christianity, because it essentially leaves believers lukewarm, impotent and ineffectual. This book presents God's blueprint for spiritual development and portrays the "transformational experiences" every believer goes through in life - they include ups and downs, highs and lows, peaks and valleys, joy and suffering, victory and defeat - these experiences are the "norm" for every believer; none of us get a painless, trouble-free road to glory. Incidentally, the material presented in this book reflects the teachings of the most respected Christian theologians since the reformation - individuals the evangelical community has long recognized as being "pillars of the faith." To our lamentable regret, however, these teachings no longer have a prominent place in the vast majority of churches in the West. It is time for believers in America today to reconsider the fullness of God's call upon their lives. Donald W. Ekstrand is a retired pastor, adjunct professor, and author. Dr. Ekstrand holds degrees in finance, business education, theology and divinity, and is a graduate of Arizona State University, Talbot School of Theology, and Western Seminary. He has served as pastor, teacher, ministry consultant, and executive administrator for more than 40 years. Don and his wife, Barbara, have two grown daughters and reside in Phoenix, Arizona

The Spirit-Led Leader

The Spirit-Led Leader PDF Author: Timothy C. Geoffrion
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1566996732
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
In our postmodern, experience-oriented culture, people are longing for greater authenticity, integrity, and depth in their pastors and leaders. Board directors, church members, and staff alike are all eagerly seeking leaders who effectively integrate their spirituality and leadership. Pastors and executives, however, often struggle with knowing how to integrate their spiritual values and practices into their leadership and management roles. Designed for pastors, executives, administrators, managers, coordinators, and all who see themselves as leaders and who want to fulfill their God-given purpose, The Spirit-Led Leader addresses the critical fusion of spiritual life and leadership for those who not only want to see results, but who also desire to care just as deeply about who they are and how they lead as they do about what they produce and accomplish. Geoffrion creates a new vision for spiritual leadership as partly an art, partly a result of careful planning, and always a working of the grace of God

Transforming Worship

Transforming Worship PDF Author: Rory Noland
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 0830841733
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
Spiritual formation is the key to the survival of our faith. According to worship leader Rory Noland, in order to stem the tide of nominal Christianity we need to reclaim our worship services as formative spaces that are substantive and purposeful. Combining discipleship and worship—what Noland calls transforming worship—he offers a vision for worship as spiritual formation.

Transfiguration and Transformation

Transfiguration and Transformation PDF Author: Hywel R. Jones
Publisher: Banner of Truth Trust
ISBN: 9781800400870
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Our Bibles consistently use the noun 'Transfiguration' with regard to Jesus but 'Transformation' with regard to the Christian - and yet it is one and the same verb, transliterated 'metamorphosed, ' that is used in those places in the original text. Why is that so? Is there an important difference between them? And why does the noun 'metamorphosis' which is familiar to us never occur in the New Testament? And yet is there some connection between the Transfiguration of Jesus and the Transformation of the Christian? Hywel R. Jones presents answers to these questions in this book. In the course of doing so he shows how the divine can penetrate the human without destroying it as in the Person of Christ, and how the human can become conformed to the divine without its ceasing to be human as in the case of the Christian. That kind of metamorphosis accords and exalts the Christian gospel over against the humanism of our culture, whether secularised or spiritualised. There is a distinction between God and Man which will never be obliterated but preserved for ever - even in the glorified Christ in whom they are joined. But communion between the God-Man and his believing people will result in each Christian being fully conformed to the perfect humanity of Christ while retaining his or her own individuality. It will not result in a faceless absorption into the divine but face to face communion with the triune God for ever. 'The transfiguration of Christ shows how the divine can penetrate the human without destroying it. The transformation of the believer shows how the human can become conformed to the divine without its ceasing to be human. This is the ultimate metamorphosis that is compatible with Christian truth.' -- HYWEL R. JONES

The Church in Response to Human Need

The Church in Response to Human Need PDF Author: Vinay Samuel
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1592441483
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
An important contribution to the ongoing discussion of the church's relationship to social development, this book contains the revised conference proceedings from the consultation The Church in Response to Human Need,Ó held in Wheaton, Illinois, in June of 1983. In the papers collected here writers from five continents consider whether the Bible indicates any method for ministry among the poor; the place of the poor in God's plan; God's purpose and the movement of human history; the nature of the gospel of the kingdom; and the interrelation of the gospel and human culture. In addition to the individual papers, the book includes the statement Transformation,Ó which was produced by the consultation as a whole.

Renovation of the Heart

Renovation of the Heart PDF Author: Dallas Willard
Publisher: Tyndale House
ISBN: 1615214550
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 381

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Book Description
As Christians, we know that we are new creations in Jesus. So we try to act differently, hoping this will make us more like Him. But changing our outward behavior doesn’t change our hearts. Only by God’s grace can we be transformed internally. Renovation of the Heart lays a biblical foundation for understanding what best-selling author Dallas Willard calls the “transformation of the spirit”—a divine process that “brings every element in our being, working from inside out, into harmony with the will of God.” This fresh approach to spiritual growth explains the biblical reasons why Christians need to undergo change in six aspects of life: thought, feeling, will, body, social context, and soul. Willard also outlines a general pattern of transformation in each area, not as a sterile formula but as a practical process that you can follow without the guilt or perfectionism so many Christians wrestle with. Don’t settle for complacency. Accept the challenge Renovation of the Heart offers to become an intentional apprentice of Jesus Christ, changing daily as you walk with Him.

The Transformation of American Religion

The Transformation of American Religion PDF Author: Alan Wolfe
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226905187
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
In this astounding account, a leading sociologist demonstrates that religion in America has become so tamed and softened that it hardly serves any of its original functions.

Minding the Heart

Minding the Heart PDF Author: Saucy, Robert
Publisher: Kregel Publications
ISBN: 0825479908
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
The heart is the most important biblical term for the person's nature and actions. Indeed, the heart is the control center of life. It is the very place where God works to change us. But how does this growth take place? How are Christians to discover the steadfast spirit of David's psalm? In Minding the Heart, Robert L. Saucy offers insightful instruction on what spiritual transformation is and how to achieve it. He shows how renewing one's mind through meditation, action, and community can begin the process of change, but ultimately the final change—the change that brings abundant life—can only come through a vital relationship with God. "The renewing of the heart is an inescapable human need," writes Saucy, "but the solution lies only within the realm of the divine." Drawing from inspiring Bible passages as well as selected scientific studies, Saucy demonstrates how to make lasting change so Christians can finally achieve the joys of becoming more like Christ.

Whole Life Transformation

Whole Life Transformation PDF Author: Keith Meyer
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 0830867457
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
Pastor and professor Keith Meyer writes in a fresh, prophetic voice about his experience of learning spiritual formation through being mentored by Dallas Willard. Drawing from the riches of church history and the experience of contemporary ministry, Meyer then describes how his own life transformation changed how he approached ministry and church leadership.