The Jesus of Suburbia

The Jesus of Suburbia PDF Author: Mike Erre
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 1418577391
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 219

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Book Description
Like the first-century Pharisees, we've reduced Christianity to a set of propositional beliefs. Truth is, we've gotten away from what it really means to be a Christian. In The Jesus of Suburbia, Mike Erre reveals that we've created a Jesus in our own image. In a fresh, startling manner, Erre helps us understand that the real Jesus is calling us to live, act, and think in ways that overturn the status quo. "Expect no sugar-coated sweetness about 'felt needs' and in-church coffee bars from Erre, pastor of teaching at Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa, Calif. Expect instead compelling discussion of how the Christian church has lost sight of the revolutionary teaching and love of Jesus. 'Much of the message of American Christianity presents Jesus as the purveyor of the American Dream,' he says. American Christians, he claims, have reduced Jesus to a study of risk management; we want him to be 'predictable and safe.' Erre also uses the adjectives 'insecure, threatened, naive, simplistic, mean and shortsighted' to describe many of today's churches. He lambastes our love of theology instead of Jesus, our contentment with 'simply knowing about him instead of knowing him.' While this protest continues in the vein of other recent books that take a hard look at Jesus and the church (Jesus Mean and Wild; Out of Your Comfort Zone), it offers a fresh look at how the American church must begin 'demonstrating the message of Christ,' not merely explaining it. After all, says Erre, 'if you follow Jesus, you follow the most radical man who ever existed.'"--Publishers Weekly

The Jesus of Suburbia

The Jesus of Suburbia PDF Author: Mike Erre
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 1418577391
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 219

Get Book Here

Book Description
Like the first-century Pharisees, we've reduced Christianity to a set of propositional beliefs. Truth is, we've gotten away from what it really means to be a Christian. In The Jesus of Suburbia, Mike Erre reveals that we've created a Jesus in our own image. In a fresh, startling manner, Erre helps us understand that the real Jesus is calling us to live, act, and think in ways that overturn the status quo. "Expect no sugar-coated sweetness about 'felt needs' and in-church coffee bars from Erre, pastor of teaching at Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa, Calif. Expect instead compelling discussion of how the Christian church has lost sight of the revolutionary teaching and love of Jesus. 'Much of the message of American Christianity presents Jesus as the purveyor of the American Dream,' he says. American Christians, he claims, have reduced Jesus to a study of risk management; we want him to be 'predictable and safe.' Erre also uses the adjectives 'insecure, threatened, naive, simplistic, mean and shortsighted' to describe many of today's churches. He lambastes our love of theology instead of Jesus, our contentment with 'simply knowing about him instead of knowing him.' While this protest continues in the vein of other recent books that take a hard look at Jesus and the church (Jesus Mean and Wild; Out of Your Comfort Zone), it offers a fresh look at how the American church must begin 'demonstrating the message of Christ,' not merely explaining it. After all, says Erre, 'if you follow Jesus, you follow the most radical man who ever existed.'"--Publishers Weekly

Suburbianity

Suburbianity PDF Author: Byron Forrest Yawn
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
ISBN: 0736950427
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
Rick Warren famously wrote, “It’s not about you.” But much of the Western church seems to disagree, having settled for a self-centered message of personal fulfillment. With incisiveness and a passionate love for the church, pastor and author Byron Forrest Yawn offers a compelling call away from narcissism and back to the powerful and transforming gospel of Jesus. He shows the difference between... Sunday-morning life coaches selling self-help seminars, and preachers proclaiming God’s redemptive work through Christ promises of prosperity and comfort, and a realistic and helpful perspective on suffering escape from unbelievers and their godless world, and redemptive engagement with people As Byron exposes the false gospel of “suburbianity,” he offers readers a better alternative: to look beyond themselves and embrace God’s call to be His image-bearers and ambassadors, partnering with Him as He restores people and all creation to His original design.

Gentle Dove

Gentle Dove PDF Author: Douglas Cooper Ph. D.
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1452097054
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
WARNING: This book may be hazardous to your religious lethargy! No one reads this book without being changed! No one reads this book without being incredibly challenged and blessed! Why? because the topic of the Holy Spirit carries with it a powerful transforming energy which renews the soul of anyone who approaches it. After the cross, the most important teaching in all of Christendom is the doctrine of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. John said that he baptized with water, but the one who was to come after him would baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit! This sacred fire, the fire of love, is here. Now. A gift. A treasure for you. The purpose of this book is to demonstrate that the filling of the Spirit is not merely an idea to believe in but an enlightening, empowering encounter to be experienced each day. It is the throbbing heart of a vital, dynamic Christianity. Consciousness is rising as Christians move the foundation of their spiritual lives from law to grace, from rules to relationship, from dogma to devotion from belief to experience. This book invites you to be part of this exciting journey, part of the new Pentecost. It is designed to move you from a traditional doctrinal paradigm as the foundation of your religious experience to a new, relational-spiritual paradigm which recognizes that connection in the now, moment by moment intimate connection with the Divine through the in-dwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, is everything. "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which is given unto us." Romans 5:5

Death by Church

Death by Church PDF Author: Mike Erre
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
ISBN: 0736924965
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Examining how materialism and consumerism have made their way into the church, a teaching pastor and author of Jesus of Suburbia reveals how Christians can more effectively demonstrate Christ's presence and how the church can cooperate with Jesus in the world in which they live. Original.

Ordinary Preacher, Extraordinary Gospel

Ordinary Preacher, Extraordinary Gospel PDF Author: Chris Neufeld-Erdman
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1625642180
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 187

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Book Description
What does it mean to preach the gospel today? How do we shape vibrant congregations? How do we preachers not merely survive, but thrive? For nearly a quarter century, Chris Neufeld-Erdman has preached the gospel--sustaining congregational life and emboldening Christian witness in the midst of this turbulence. He's also taught seminarians and mentored working pastors. His theology and practice of preaching is hammered out on the anvil of real life. It's tested. True. Useful. In this book, a veteran pastor meditates on everything from exegesis and sermon preparation to the way preachers might preach after tsunamis, hurricanes, and earthquakes. He reflects on what it means, for example, to host the text in the midst of what feels like a terminal state of war and violence, both abroad and at home, as well as the task of preaching in the midst of the massive anxiety produced by economic uncertainty and political gridlock. Here's a book that will inspire and guide you as a wise, empowered preacher--an ordinary agent of the extraordinary gospel.

The Buddha of Suburbia

The Buddha of Suburbia PDF Author: Hanif Kureishi
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 014013168X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
Winner of the Whitbread Prize for Best First Novel "There was one copy going round our school like contraband. I read it in one sitting ... I'd never read a book about anyone remotely like me before."-- Zadie Smith "My name is Karim Amir, and I am an Englishman born and bred, almost..." The hero of Hanif Kureishi's debut novel is dreamy teenager Karim, desperate to escape suburban South London and experience the forbidden fruits which the 1970s seem to offer. When the unlikely opportunity of a life in the theatre announces itself, Karim starts to win the sort of attention he has been craving - albeit with some rude and raucous results. With the publication of Buddha of Suburbia, Hanif Kureishi landed into the literary landscape as a distinct new voice and a fearless taboo-breaking writer. The novel inspired a ground-breaking BBC series featuring a soundtrack by David Bowie.

Astonished

Astonished PDF Author: Mike Erre
Publisher: David C Cook
ISBN: 1434707520
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
In Astonished, Pastor Mike Erre calls Christians away from simplistic formulas to honest and rugged faith in the mysterious and unpredictable God. God is more about deepening the mystery of faith, not removing it. Jesus should get bigger the longer we walk with him. Life and faith should grow to be more profound and wondrous, not less. In Astonished, you will see how we are far more comfortable with tips, steps and techniques for living, than we are with ruthlessly trusting the mysterious God of the Bible. God asks us to follow him into tension, frustration, and difficulty because he wants our trust, not just our intellectual agreement. He calls us to seek Him even as we live in awe of all that is yet to be known about Him. Astonished is an invitation to question in a culture that wants answers, to wonder in a world with little mystery left, and to believe in what is unseen and find it beautiful.

Cross Purposes

Cross Purposes PDF Author: Kevin Carey
Publisher: Sacristy Press
ISBN: 1908381116
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
A collection of thought-provoking reflections inviting us to contemplate the events of Good Friday in new ways. The reflections are diverse, from Peter’s clumsy fear to the Seven Last Words.

Journey to the Fatherless

Journey to the Fatherless PDF Author: Lawrence E. Bergeron
Publisher: WestBow Press
ISBN: 1449737161
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
"The Journey will challenge you to ... find the kind of life you have always wanted to discover." -Tom Davis, President of Children's Hope Chest and author of Fields of the Fatherless, Scared and Priceless "The global orphan crisis is too serious to ignore, the biblical call is to plain to miss. I'm thrilled to see Journey to the Fatherless!" -Tony Merida, author of Orphanology, and Lead Pastor, Imago Dei Church and Associate Professor of Preaching, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary "The Journey will move a church from thinking to action in responding to the needs of fatherless children." -Jayne Schooler, author of Wounded Hearts, Healing Homes and The Whole Life Adoption Book "The Journey to the Fatherless is life-changing ..." -Paparao Yeluchuri, President, Missions to the Nations, India DOES THE CHURCH CARE FOR THE WORLD'S CHILDREN? The evidence on display tells a troubling story with an ever-increasing number of orphans in the world, kids aging out of foster care, AIDS babies in Africa, and toddlers in Haiti whose hair has turned orange from severe protein deficiencies. What makes this situation especially tragic is that given our wealth, talent, and resources, the Church can be a powerful agent of change-and we have the biblical mandate to do so. Do Christians have a responsibility to intercede for and sacrifice their resources for vulnerable children? What happens to the Church when we do? And when we don't? How do we begin? The Journey to the Fatherless is written by a former agnostic, corporate executive and inventor who was chased down by the Hound of Heaven. God then took him to the "fields of the fatherless" so he could experience what breaks the heart of God. What he discovered in serving the least of these has been captured for the Church to use to prepare others for their journey. The Journey takes the reader beyond Fields of the Fatherless and The Hole in Our Gospel into a deeper understanding of the problem and the biblical call to action.

Jesus Saves

Jesus Saves PDF Author: Darcey Steinke
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
ISBN: 0802193226
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
From one of the most daring and sensuous young writers in America, Jesus Saves, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, is a suburban gothic that explores the sources of evil, confronts the dynamic shifts within theology, and traces the consequences of suburban alienation. Set in the modern launch pads of adolescent ritual, the strip malls and duplexes on the back side of suburbia, it’s the story of two girls: Ginger, a troubled minister’s daughter; and Sandy Patrick, who has been abducted from summer camp and now smiles from missing-child posters all over town. Layering the dreamscapes of Alice in Wonderland with the subculture of River’s Edge, Darcey Steinke’s Jesus Saves is an unforgettable passage through the depths of the literary imagination.