Showing results by narrator "David Heath" in All Categories

The Reformation did not happen instantaneously; it was something God patiently arranged over a number of years. As you listen to this book, you will learn how the Lord used some people to plant the seeds of church reform long before October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther published his 95 theses. Luther's story is well-known; we trust you will find it interesting and instructive to hear about him and about 40 others (John Knox, Peter Martyr Vermigli, Zacharias Ursinus, Willem Teellinck, etc.) who contributed to the Reformation.

For more than 40 years, The Universe Next Door has set the standard for a clear, concise introduction to worldviews. Using his widely influential model of eight basic worldview questions, James Sire examines prominent worldviews that have shaped the Western world: theism, deism, naturalism, Marxism, nihilism, existentialism, Eastern monism, New Age philosophy, postmodernism, and Islam. The sixth edition, updated by Sire's longtime editor Jim Hoover, features a chapter on challenges to a Christian worldview in the 21st century.

To many in the West, Orthodoxy remains shrouded in mystery, an exotic and foreign religion that survived in the East following the Great Schism of 1054 that split the Christian world into two camps - Catholic and Orthodox. However, as the second largest Christian denomination, Orthodox Christianity is anything but foreign to the nearly 300 million worshipers who practice it. For them, Orthodoxy is a living, breathing reality; a way of being Christian ultimately rooted in the person of Jesus and the experience of the early church.

Theology matters! At last it can be understood easily, thanks to this “layman's language” approach to biblical belief. Authored by J. I. Packer, one of the premier theologians of Christianity, this summary of Christian teaching covers nearly 100 major Christian beliefs from a Reformed perspective. Brief, easy-to-understand chapters offer precise descriptions without sacrificing depth. Thoughtfully arranged and refreshingly readable, this is a book that belongs in the audio library of every Christian.

One of the greatest challenges facing Christians today is the powerful influence of secular thinking. From all directions we're fed a constant barrage of persuasive - yet unbiblical - worldviews. This makes it difficult to know where to stand on today's most talked-about issues. The leadership team at Grace Community Church, along with their pastor, John MacArthur, provide much-needed discernment and clarity in the midst of rampant confusion. Using the Bible as the foundation, you'll learn how to develop a Christian perspective on key issues.

Drawing explicitly from the Bible, pastor John Piper argues that God’s choice to elect some and not others is completely compatible with his genuine desire that all people would be saved. With humility and grace, Piper addresses common Arminian pillar texts, showing how they do not contradict God’s absolute sovereignty in salvation. Aiming to encourage passionate worship and energetic mission - not intellectual pride - this short book serves as a helpful introduction to this often debated issue.

Two hundred and fifty years later, Jonathan Edwards, America’s consummate pastor-theologian, continues to capture the attention of Christians around the world. Yet Edwards left us over 1,200 sermons and thousands of pages of other publications, not to mention the literal thousands of books that have been written about Edwards since he died. The Essential Jonathan Edwards serves as a perfect introduction to Edwards’s life and thought. It explores Edwards day-to-day life, and his views on beauty, true Christianity, heaven and hell, and the good life.

King Solomon tells us in the book of Proverbs that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Wisdom, unlike knowledge, is the ability to see things as God sees them. While this book offers practical pieces of advice, it also teaches us that wisdom cannot exist in one’s life without a relationship with God.

In this exposition of 1 Corinthians 13, Jonathan Edwards delves into the crucial Christian discussions of grace, love, and salvation. In doing so, he reveals their natural relations to one another and how living in grace should inevitably lead to living with love. This work does not simply explain the passage, but it also serves as a practical guide of how to live out a life of love.

It should come as no surprise that misunderstandings about the gospel message and the nature of true conversion result in a problem with genuine assurance of salvation. A pseudo-gospel of easy believism has led many into careless presumption, and a poor understanding of salvation has abandoned tender consciences to near spiritual despair.

A worship disorder: This is how Edward T. Welch views addictions. "Will we worship our own desires or will we worship the true God?" With this lens the author discovers far more in Scripture on addictions than passages on drunkenness.

Where can I turn to see God? How can I more clearly recognize God's nearness and initiative in my life? These are vital questions if you desire to know and experience the living God. As spiritual directors, Beth and David Booram have guided many people into deeper awareness of this living, present God at work within their lives. When Faith Becomes Sight will help you grow in confidence that God is attentive to you and involved in your life as you learn to recognize God in and around you, reflect on your experience, and respond faithfully to God's presence and action.

There are never quick fixes or easy answers when it comes to suffering. But even when we can’t immediately see God’s hand - when the struggle is hard and painful - he is working. Weaving together Scripture, personal stories, and the words of the classic hymn “How Firm a Foundation”, David Powlison brings an experienced counselor’s touch to exploring how God enters into our sufferings, helping us see God working in our own particular struggles - and discover how God’s grace goes deeper than we could ever imagine.

For the last 60 years, J. I. Packer has exerted a steady and remarkable influence on evangelical theology and practice. His many books, articles, and lectures have shaped entire generations of Christians, helping elevate their view of God and enliven their love for God. In this new biography, well-known scholar Leland Ryken provides listeners with a compelling overview of Packer's interesting life and influential legacy.

"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is maybe the most important and well-known sermon of his, but also included is A Divine and Supernatural Light describing and illuminating what Edwards describes as a supernatural light imparted by God. His farewell sermon was given in June of 1750 and is a commendation to those who are in the Lord's service, a plea to maintain unity, avoid dissension and false doctrine, and a call to devote themselves to prayer.

Power Through Prayer challenges the listener to completely alter their perspective on prayer. Rather than simply crossing off a task on a chore list, taking time to pray is meant to deepen a relationship with God. E. M. Bounds lays out the most effective ways to use prayer in this manner and to unleash God’s power. Bounds describes the transformative nature of prayer in one's personal life, in ministry, and in the world. This manual offers powerful and practical advice on how to improve one’s prayer life and, in turn, their relationship with God.

Many today believe that the Christian life is rather easy to both obtain and live. But the Puritans saw it as warfare, as wrestling, as "holy violence" to use their term. The Apostle Paul spoke of beating his own body into subjection. And this holy violence is to be brought not only against one's self, but against Satan, the world, and heaven too. And in this confrontation, we must use the weapons God has given us: reading the Word, hearing the Word, prayer, meditation, self-examination, and the due observance of the Lord's Day.

Are we hapless victims of life's whims? Are we driven along by some blind and impersonal force? A thousand times, "No!" says pastor and author Alistair Begg. Instead, Begg says we are the objects of God's providential care. We reside under his guiding and protecting hand. In this richly textured study of Joseph's life, listeners will discover God at work shaping Joseph's circumstances so that he can ultimately redeem and reconcile his family. And they'll see the hand of God in their own lives, lovingly guiding them through their disappointments and struggles to a place of peace.

We live in confusing times. Our society has shifted on its moral axis, and many are asking whether Christianity needs to be reinvented - or even reimagined - in order to save it. In Saving Christianity?, Dr. Michael Youssef explores this train of thought and its pitfalls. He describes how similar discussions in Christianity's recent past explored the very same question. Saving Christianity? will help you discern what is going on within the church while it reviews the essentials of the Christian faith as described in the Bible.

Recognizing Paul’s words to the Galatians as crucial to understanding the truth of God’s saving grace, Martin Luther set out to examine this great work verse by verse, especially for those led astray by the teachings of false gospels. All of Luther’s writings, including this commentary, directly combat the direction of the Catholic church at the time that strove to portray salvation as a thing to be earned and then mediated through religious leaders.