Showing results by narrator "George W. Sarris" in All Categories

How should one proclaim of the gospel of Jesus Christ in a secular age? For many Christians, the traditional approach of apologetics has grown stale. In light of the current secular climate, as described by Charles Taylor and others, rhetorical strategies that previously served the church and apologists well are no longer effective. Justin Bailey seeks to address this dilemma by infusing apologetics with an appeal to the imagination, the aesthetic, and the affective.

Assurance of faith is the conviction that one belongs to Christ through faith and will enjoy everlasting salvation. It is more than believing the gospel - it is believing that these truths apply to you. Having assurance affects life in more ways than forgiveness of sin, alleviation of guilt, and salvation from the punishment of hell - it affects your whole being, firing up your affections for Christ, your unshakable trust in God, your burden for the unsaved and your joy in life and even death.

All of us are in desperate need of strength to endure and hope to carry on. Life is difficult and demanding. It's often filled with pain, heartaches, setbacks, and detours. Disappointments in others sadden us, scandals among those we respect shock us, and disputes in our families, churches, or workplaces demoralize us. When such troubles strike, they can be downright devastating. But they don't have to be! In Clinging to Hope, Chuck Swindoll reassures us that we can endure unexpected calamities.

We live in the midst of a crisis of home. It is evident in the massive uprooting and migration of millions across the globe, in the anxious nationalism awaiting immigrants in their destinations, in the unhoused populations in wealthy cities, in the fractured households of families, and in the worldwide destruction of habitats and international struggles for dominance. It is evident, perhaps more quietly but just as truly, in the aching sense that there is nowhere we truly belong. In this moment, the Christian faith has been disappointingly inept in its response.

We need companions on our spiritual journey. The modern world has taught us to value autonomy and individualism. Our churches often see spirituality as personal and private. But we cannot go long in our Christian pilgrimage before realizing that isolation leads to spiritual barrenness. We soon discover that our souls long for accompaniment, intimacy, and spiritual friendship. As a result, many Christians today are rediscovering the ancient practice of spiritual direction.

As the culture changes all around us, it is no longer possible to pretend that we are a Moral Majority. That may be bad news for America, but it can be good news for the church. What's needed now, in shifting times, is neither a doubling-down on the status quo nor a pullback into isolation. Instead we need a church that speaks to social and political issues with a bigger vision in mind: that of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Men have a way of rubbing off on one another - for better or worse. You will be influenced, and you will influence, especially when you have regular one-on-one interactions with another man. Be intentional and become the man God made you to be, while learning to change other men's lives for the better. Men of Influence teaches you the importance of mentoring, how to find a good mentor, and what you can offer others as a mentor (even if you don't feel qualified).

The Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith. What can we say about the divine nature, and what does it mean to say that God is Father, Son, Holy Spirit, three persons who are one in being? In this book, bestselling author Thomas Joseph White, OP, examines the development of early Christian reflection on the Trinity, arguing that essential contributions of Patristic theology are preserved and expanded in the thought of Thomas Aquinas.

Do you want to defend your faith but aren't sure where to begin? Mark Farnham's accessible guidebook simplifies apologetics and empowers Christians to effectively present the gospel in all its glory and rationality.

Satan's transformation from opaque functionary to chief antagonist is one of the most striking features of the development of Jewish theology in the Second Temple Period and beyond. Once no more than an "accuser" testing members of the human community, Satan, along with his demons, is presented by Jewish apocalyptic texts and the New Testament as a main source of evil in the world. In Satan and the Problem of Evil, noted scholar Archie Wright explores this dynamic in both its historical and theological trajectories.

What happens to us after we die? For the first 500 years after Christ, most Christians believed that God would ultimately redeem all of his creation. Hell was real, but it didn't last forever. Its purpose was to restore, not just to punish. Then beliefs changed. For the past 1,500 years we’ve been told that most of the billions of people who have lived on this earth will remain separated from the love and mercy of God for all eternity.

Confused, angry, and hurt after the death of his father, a young R. C. Sproul began his personal search for ultimate truth with piercing questions to God. In Enjoying God, listeners journey with R. C. Sproul to discover the attributes of God through the questions many of us have asked. In this warm, personal account, Dr. Sproul communicates deep truths in a fresh and easy-to-understand style as he shares his passion to know God and urges the listener to dig deep and seek the God who is alive, who is real, and who loves each one of us.

Are you ready for real and radical transformation? God Is Enough! This message comes through loud and clear in the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. While they failed time and again, God was faithful to convict, restore and bless them. And He is able to deal with our slipping and stumbling as well. Watchman Nee uses the lives of the patriarchs to show that God is able to turn our failure into success and our weakness into strength.

Can you identify your spiritual gifting or understand God's purpose for your life? If you can't confidently answer yes, you're not alone. Yet there is a simple biblical framework to finding your God-given gifts and finding His purposes for your life—and it leads to a relationship with the Trinity you never imagined. Offering clear explanations and biblical depth, veteran ministry leader Andy Reese offers a fresh and practical blueprint to Paul's teachings on spiritual gifts and God's intended spiritual connection to the Trinity.

Much of what passes as Reformed among our churches is not. As a class of churches that profess allegiance to Reformed theology, practice, and piety, we have drifted from our moorings. This book is written to facilitate change, specifically reformation according to God's Word as summarized in the Reformed confessions.

Through short meditative readings and reflection questions, Donald McKim explores Puritan teaching on prayer to inspire and inform your own devotions. You will discover how to bring God into all aspects of your life through prayer.

Experiencing the Trinity, by Pastor Joe Thorn, contains 50 down-to-earth meditations on God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Overflowing with scriptural truth, pastoral wisdom, and personal honesty, this audiobook reflects on common experiences of doubt, fear, and temptation - pointing listener to the grace that God provides and the strength he promises.

Many Christians in the West are fearful of engaging in conversation with Muslims - believing that they will be hostile to Christian beliefs and conversations about the Bible. This short audiobook is designed to help both Christians and whole churches understand more about the variety of Muslims there are living in the West and to reach out to them with the good news of the Gospel.

Grace is amazing. About this all Christians agree. Yet nearly all forms of Christianity put significant limits on grace. In Grace Saves All, David Artman argues that grace saves alone and goes to all. This inclusive approach to Christianity is variously called universal reconciliation, universal salvation, or perhaps most accurately, Christian universalism. He contends that the inclusive/Christian universalist approach is necessary because it offers the only Christian theology that successfully defends the goodness of God.

A Cloud by Day, a Fire by Night captures Tozer's teaching on the will of God taken from sermons he preached just before he left his successful church in Chicago. Tozer was no stranger to facing difficult decisions, and his wisdom and biblical insight will help guide you in decisions of your own. The title comes from the story of God leading his people out of Egypt into the promised land. In the same way, let this book help reveal where he is leading and reassure you that he will be by your side every step of the way.