Showing results by narrator "William Sarris" in All Categories

Do any of us really care about truth when it comes to politics? Should we? In a world of big lies, denialism, and conspiracy theories, democracies are experiencing two interlocked crises: a loss of confidence in democracy itself and the growing sense among many that politics is only about power—not truth. In this book, Michael Patrick Lynch argues that truth not only can—but must—matter in politics. He shows why truth is an essential democratic value—a value we need to sustain our democratic way of life—and how it can be strengthened.

This audiobook teaches listeners why infant baptism is an essential practice for the Church. Ultimately, Reformed churches baptize infants because this practice heralds God’s glorious covenant promises. This visible proclamation of God’s word is a God-given means to cultivate biblical godliness in the Church, in parenting, and in the lives of our children. Ryan M. McGraw takes us beyond the question of whether infant baptism is right and shows us what difference it actually makes.

The Good and the Right is a Christian introduction to the major theories of ethics in the history of philosophy, such as relativism, egoism, utilitarianism, Kantian deontology, social contract theory, natural law theory, virtue theory, and divine command theory. Philosophers J. Caleb Clanton and Kraig Martin offer a lucid survey of each ethical framework, and they carefully reconstruct and critically evaluate the case for and against each view.

The Apostolic Fathers is an important collection of writings revered by early Christians but not included in the final canon of the New Testament. Here a leading expert on these texts offers an authoritative contemporary translation, in the tradition of the magisterial Lightfoot version but thoroughly up-to-date.

People spend approximately one third of their lives at work. Whether paid or volunteer, blue collar or white collar, workers experience tremendous joys and significant challenges in their daily work. It should be no surprise, then, that their spiritual questions, frustrations, and longings are often directly connected to their various careers and callings. But when they are gathered for corporate worship, services rarely acknowledge or mention their working lives.

In the decade following the end of the Cold War, Western democracies stood victorious, brimming with optimism and grand designs. Today, the 1990s look less like a great triumph for liberal democracy and Western modernity than a decade in which post-Cold War excitement and anticipation obscured a slowly gathering global storm.

Prayer meetings are a vital aspect to the life and ministry of the church. But experience shows that taking prayer requests and conducting Bible study often crowd out time for actual prayer. In this book, Ryan McGraw highlights common pitfalls experienced in prayer meetings and offers practical remedies. By giving careful attention to the relationship between participants and the best manner of using our time, our prayer meetings can be better suited to glorify God, advance the gospel, and edify the saints.

Pastors and ministry leaders are some of the hardest-working people in the world—and they have the high rate of burnout to prove it. As a leader, if you aren't operating at peak efficiency and taking care of yourself, it is bound to catch up with you in a big way. So few in ministry feel they have the time to take a sabbatical or tend to their own physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. But healthy rhythms of work and rest are the key to a thriving, long-term ministry.

Ten Questions to Ask Every Time You Read the Bible, proposes ten questions that will help you navigate God’s Word with clarity and confidence. Every question can be answered by looking within the Bible. The questions will direct you to discover the text, context, and real-life application of passages in the Bible.

Doctors Newberg and Monti's team at Thomas Jefferson University's Marcus Institute of Integrative Health are at the forefront of research in brain functioning and applications of the most advanced understanding in real-world strategies to expand options for optimizing our complex neurophysiology. Their findings show that optimal brain health is achievable by successfully weaving together a tapestry of our bio-psycho-social-spiritual dimensions.

Whether you experience nagging worry or debilitating panic, God's Word offers hope and help. In this 31-day devotional, pastor and biblical counselor Paul Tautges delves deeply, but gently, into the heart of fear and unbelief, using daily readings, reflection questions, and practical application to fuel the faith that strengthens inner security and peace. In the 31-Day Devotionals for Life series, biblical counselors and Bible teachers guide you through Scripture passages that speak to specific situations or struggles, helping you to apply God's Word to your life in practical ways.

While we often start with good intentions, it feels like real transformation is elusive at best, and maybe even impossible. We deeply want to live in the freedom that Christ offers, but we are acutely aware of the gap between a transformed life and our reality. Having the Mind of Christ tackles the issues of lasting life change. Pastors Matt Tebbe and Ben Sternke share eight axioms that help reframe the way that we see God, ourselves, and others. By seeing through new lenses, we can open ourselves to the transformational change that God wants for our lives.

How much equality does democracy need to survive? Political thinkers have wrestled with that question for millennia. Aldo Schiavone guides us through historical thickets, from the first democracy to the present day, seeking solutions to the enduring tension between democracy and inequality. Turning from antiquity to the modern world, Schiavone shows how the American and the French revolutions attempted to settle old debates, introducing a new way of thinking about equality.

The way most people think about religion and politics is only loosely linked to empirical reality, argues Ryan P. Burge in 20 Myths about Religion and Politics in America. Instead, our thinking is based on anecdotes, a quick scan of news headlines, or worse, flat-out lies told by voices trying to push a religious or political agenda on a distracted public.

In 1784, Thomas Jefferson was a broken man. Reeling from the loss of his wife and stung from a political scandal during the Revolutionary war, he needed to remake himself. Wandering through Europe, Jefferson saw and learned as much as he could, ultimately bringing his knowledge home to a young America. There, he would rise to power and shape a nation. More than two hundred years later, Derek Baxter, a devotee of American history, stumbles on an obscure travel guide written by Jefferson—Hints for Americans Traveling Through Europe—as he's going through his own personal crisis.

A Human-Shaped God approaches the humanlike accounts of God in the Old Testament as the starting places for theology and uses them to build a picture of the divine. This understanding of God is then brought into conversation with traditional conceptions that depict God as a being who knows everything that happens, is at every place at the same time, is constant and unchanging, and does not ultimately have material form.

When a perfect storm of personal, professional, and natural disaster threw Mike Mantel into a dark night of the soul, he embarked on a journey through his own life and around the world to rediscover God's presence through the diverse body of Christ. In Thirsting for Living Water, Mantel invites listeners to join him on this adventure and open their eyes to their own stories of God's faithfulness.

This is a book for people who are struggling to find their way out of a cave of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts - and for anyone who cares for someone who's been lost in that cave.

Prompted by a friend to describe Jesus as he is - not as he was or will be in the coming days - Dick Eastman found himself stammering. What followed over many months was a desire to get to know the Jesus who had changed his life, but in a much fuller and richer way - now! From then on, on scraps of folded paper in his pockets, Eastman found himself recording adjectives describing the nature and character of Jesus Christ, expanding them later into a personal devotional journal.

The heart is where the human soul and God meet. This is what teachings from Scripture and the mystics reveal: The heart is the temple of God within us, and within the heart, we hold the key to live a truly divine life. But how do we embody the tremendous love available to us, deep in our hearts? In Eternal Heart, Carl McColman, author of The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, invites us to create an optimistic, visionary, and imaginative path to personal happiness and fulfillment.