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Author:
Publisher: Forward Movement
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 12
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Book Description
Author:
Publisher: Forward Movement
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 12
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Bo Simeroth
Publisher: Author House
ISBN: 1463486987
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 120
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Book Description
The objective of this book is to help you know Jesus better by a thoughtful and thorough consideration of his death on the cross. Whether you are on a search for who Jesus is, or are desiring to draw nearer to him, or both, this book is aimed at assisting you. Pondering the cross not only turns our hearts more toward Jesus, but it also causes our minds to see the infinite wisdom behind such an event. It is this divine wisdom which offers powerful evidence that the cross was the plan of God from the very beginnings of humanity. The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus have always been, far and above, the central events of the Gospel. Concerning the resurrection Paul says to the Corinthians, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile.” Jesus’ return from the dead and his many appearances to hundreds of disciples was the overwhelming proof that he truly was Messiah, Lord, Savior, and the Son of God. Without discounting the resurrection even a little bit, it was the cross, however, where Jesus fulfilled his calling from the Father. Jesus always had a choice. His prayer in Gethsemane showed his desire to not have to face the cross, as well as his willingness to do the Father’s will. If Jesus had said, “No, I’m not doing it,” then evil would have won and his mission would have failed. He had to be the lamb before he would become the king. (In chapter three this idea is more thoroughly considered.) Thus, the necessity and centrality of the cross to Jesus’ entire mission is a key fact of the Christian message. He was born to be crucified. Additionally, underneath the message of the cross lies a powerful testimony to the event being part of a divine plan that is beyond human wisdom. As C. S. Lewis points out, the perfect gift of His life, His perfect submission, perfect suffering and perfect death “were only possible because He was God.” This is what these readings are focused upon – the divine perfection of the cross. In preparing these devotional readings it was my goal to not only focus on the facts of the cross, but, more so to focus on the “deep magic” of the cross as C.S. Lewis calls it. It dawned on me that the cross of Jesus is a point in human history in which infinity breaks into the finite, in which the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Evil have their “showdown,” in which the realm of Spirit intertwines with the realm of nature in such a way that we all stand in awe. From this perspective the cross becomes the center of all human history. The meaning of the cross becomes so rich and so deep that it can only be from the wisdom of God. As one looks into the depth of meaning that the cross conveys, it is like looking at a finely cut gem stone with its many facets. Every slight change in viewing angle reveals new reflections, added beauty, richer depth, and greater complexity. Meditating on the cross of Jesus is like this. There is a depth of wisdom, a richness of meaning, and a spiritual “logic” that can only be conveyed in paradox. Paradox is always something that seems to defy human logic and natural processes. It challenges our mind to go beyond its boundaries. The event of Jesus’ crucifixion certainly fits that description. In the first reading I discuss further this concept and its implications. This book is a series of devotional readings designed to speak to the heart of the reader as well as the head. I would suggest that you set aside about an hour’s time to read one devotional and spend the rest of that time in prayer and meditation in the context of the thoughts of the reading. I know that you will be blessed in doing so. The book also lends itself to a group study as well, using each chapter reading as your weekly discussion topic. You might also consider, in the early part of the calendar year, reading and meditating upon one devotional a week leading up to Good Friday. This could be a way of bringing your attention into focus upon the cross during the weeks prior to our yearly celebration of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. However, you choose to use this book, I know it will expand your appreciation and inner knowledge of what Paul calls “the unsearchable riches of Christ” and help you “see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things” (Eph 3.8, 9).
Author: Krish Kandiah
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 0830897720
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 324
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Book Description
Many of us have big questions about God that the Christian faith seems to leave unanswered. But what if that tension is exactly where faith comes alive? Paradoxology boldly claims that the paradoxes that seem to undermine belief are actually the heart of our vibrant faith, and it is only by continually wrestling with them that God is most clearly revealed.
Author: James H. Cone
Publisher: Orbis Books
ISBN: 160833001X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 225
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Book Description
A landmark in the conversation about race and religion in America. "They put him to death by hanging him on a tree." Acts 10:39 The cross and the lynching tree are the two most emotionally charged symbols in the history of the African American community. In this powerful new work, theologian James H. Cone explores these symbols and their interconnection in the history and souls of black folk. Both the cross and the lynching tree represent the worst in human beings and at the same time a thirst for life that refuses to let the worst determine our final meaning. While the lynching tree symbolized white power and "black death," the cross symbolizes divine power and "black life" God overcoming the power of sin and death. For African Americans, the image of Jesus, hung on a tree to die, powerfully grounded their faith that God was with them, even in the suffering of the lynching era. In a work that spans social history, theology, and cultural studies, Cone explores the message of the spirituals and the power of the blues; the passion and of Emmet Till and the engaged vision of Martin Luther King, Jr.; he invokes the spirits of Billie Holliday and Langston Hughes, Fannie Lou Hamer and Ida B. Well, and the witness of black artists, writers, preachers, and fighters for justice. And he remembers the victims, especially the 5,000 who perished during the lynching period. Through their witness he contemplates the greatest challenge of any Christian theology to explain how life can be made meaningful in the face of death and injustice.
Author: Douglas E. Meyer
Publisher: CSS Publishing
ISBN: 0788013149
Category : Good Friday
Languages : en
Pages : 18
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Book Description
These services can be used by any number of participants, and include an order of service. Paradoxes Of The Passion examines the circumstances leading up to the crucifixion of an itinerant preacher from Galilee. What Shall I Do, Then, With Jesus Who Is Called Christ? brings us face to face with Pilate's question that has echoed down the centuries. Each of the Tenebrae services in this booklet can be used by any number of participants. An order of service for your bulletin preparations is also included. Paradoxes Of The Passion brings to the worshiping congregation the circumstances leading up to the crucifixion of an itinerant preacher from Galilee who was no less than the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. The seven paradoxes are interspersed with hymns and prayers. What Shall I Do, Then, With Jesus Who Is Called Christ? To Pilate's surprise the crowd sought freedom for the murderer Barabbas rather than for Jesus. Pilate then asked the question that has echoed down the centuries to every man, woman, and child who has ever heard the Gospel: ""What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?"" In this thought-provoking Good Friday Tenebrae service, Douglas Meyer explores how various key characters in the Passion story answered that question. Then he considers how The person in the pew answers that question today. Douglas E. Meyer graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana with an M.Div. degree in 1981. He has served parishes at Shobonier and Tuscola, Illinois, and Naples, Florida, and is currently serving at Salem Lutheran Church in Salem, Illinois.
Author: Laura C. Sweat
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 0567170055
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 223
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Book Description
Scholarship on the Gospel of Mark has long been convinced of the paradoxical description of two of its primary themes, christology and discipleship. This book argues that paradoxical language pervades the entire narrative, and that it serves a theological purpose in describing God's activity. Part One focuses on divine action present in Mark 4:10-12. In the first paradox, Mark portrays God's revelatory acts as consistently accompanied by concealment. The second paradox is shown in the various ways in which divine action confirms, yet counters, scripture. Finally, Mark describes God's actions in ways that indicate both wastefulness and goodness; deeds that are further illuminated by the ongoing, yet defeated, presence of evil. Part Two demonstrates that this paradoxical language is widely attested across Mark's passion narrative, as he continues to depict God's activity with the use of the three paradoxes observed in Mark 4. Through paradoxical narrative, Mark emphasizes God's transcendence and presence, showing that even though Jesus has brought revelation, a complete understanding of God remains tantalizingly out of their grasp until the eschaton (4:22).
Author: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
ISBN: 0664238491
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 112
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Book Description
Forty stirring devotions for Lent and Easter, from Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Author: H. Richard Niebuhr
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061300039
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 324
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Book Description
This 50th-anniversary edition, with a new foreword by the distinguished historian Martin E. Marty, who regards this book as one of the most vital books of our time, as well as an introduction by the author never before included in the book, and a new preface by James Gustafson, the premier Christian ethicist who is considered Niebuhr’s contemporary successor, poses the challenge of being true to Christ in a materialistic age to an entirely new generation of Christian readers.
Author: Douglas E. Meyer
Publisher: CSS Publishing
ISBN: 0788018663
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 20
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Book Description
Author: Robin M. Jensen
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674088808
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 281
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Book Description
The cross stirs intense feelings among Christians as well as non-Christians. Robin Jensen takes readers on an intellectual and spiritual journey through the two-thousand-year evolution of the cross as an idea and an artifact, illuminating the controversies—along with the forms of devotion—this central symbol of Christianity inspires. Jesus’s death on the cross posed a dilemma for Saint Paul and the early Church fathers. Crucifixion was a humiliating form of execution reserved for slaves and criminals. How could their messiah and savior have been subjected to such an ignominious death? Wrestling with this paradox, they reimagined the cross as a triumphant expression of Christ’s sacrificial love and miraculous resurrection. Over time, the symbol’s transformation raised myriad doctrinal questions, particularly about the crucifix—the cross with the figure of Christ—and whether it should emphasize Jesus’s suffering or his glorification. How should Jesus’s body be depicted: alive or dead, naked or dressed? Should it be shown at all? Jensen’s wide-ranging study focuses on the cross in painting and literature, the quest for the “true cross” in Jerusalem, and the symbol’s role in conflicts from the Crusades to wars of colonial conquest. The Cross also reveals how Jews and Muslims viewed the most sacred of all Christian emblems and explains its role in public life in the West today.
