Showing results by narrator "Tim Stephenson" in All Categories

If I come from a broken family, how can I turn my life around? The solution seems obvious: leave home, marry a Christian, start my own family. Do things different from the way my parents did. So why do so many who try this wind up making all the same mistakes their parents did? Marrying a Christian and following God together are essential—but your parents’ sin still affects you, and it will affect your children after you. This is generational bad news."I…

Put on your armor - it’s time to fight. We are in a spiritual war, William Gurnall reminds us, and “the Christian’s safety lies in resisting. All the armour provided is to defend the Christian fighting, none to secure him flying; stand, and the day is ours; fly or yield, and all is lost". This hard-hitting volume is packed with biblical wisdom for day-to-day Christian living, as helpful today as it was when first published nearly 400 years ago. Although history left us little knowledge of William Gurnall’s life, it preserved this book.

Jim Wilson prayed his first real prayer at a Youth for Christ meeting on the night of October 18, 1947. He was introduced to the father through Jesus Christ, and his life was changed. He describes his prayer life since as sometimes strong, sometimes wavering, “but always to the God who is always faithful". In Answered Prayer: The Faithfulness of God Made Manifest, you will learn what the Bible teaches about prayer, study its examples of answered prayer, and read Jim’s personal stories from seven decades of walking with the Lord.

Like so many saints before him, Samuel Rutherford did his best work while he was imprisoned for the gospel. While in exile from his hometown, he wrote hundreds of letters to his friends and members of his congregation. Christians of all walks have drawn strength from Rutherford's letters, which were printed several years after his death in 1661 and have been called “the most remarkable series of devotional letters that the literature of the Reformed churches can show.” The Loveliness of Christ is a collection of short excerpts from these letters.

What is Covenant? In a biblical sense, it is a legal bond between two or more parties—“legal” meaning that each party makes a statement (confession) and agrees to specific terms, with consequences invoked on each party for failure to keep the terms. Why then is this so important to understand? Because this is how God chose to link the unseen to the seen, the supernatural to the material or created order here on earth. This in no way diminishes the role of the Holy Spirit and his work within the hearts of men. It merely gives outward manifestation to the power of God’s Spirit.

Andrew awakes in a strange garden perched on the side of a mountain. The boy can't remember who or where he is. But he does know that he has a task to do - and it's very important he complete it exactly the way he was instructed, no matter who - or what - tells him otherwise...At the every step of his quest. Andrew is faced with a choice: Will he do what he knows he must, or will he take a shortcut? He will meet new friends, bitter enemies, and some who are a little of both as he discovers his story is at once stranger and more magical than he thought.

"Revolutionary love" sounds like an oxymoron. Revolution is usually a negative, violent, and destructive change, while love is positive, peaceful, and contented. But true love always changes people. And Christ’s love brings the most revolutionary change of all. Festo Kivengere (1919 - 88) experienced both kinds of revolution. He escaped Uganda when the brutal regime of Idi Amin seized power. But he could not escape the pursuit of Jesus, who came into his life with radically transformative grace.

Bitterness often grows out of a small offense. Perhaps a passing word, an accidental shove, or a pair of dirty socks left in the middle of the living room floor. Yet, when bitterness takes root in our hearts, its effects are anything but small.

In this sequel to How to Be Free from Bitterness, Jim Wilson returns to talk about how to deal with (and get rid of) depression, feelings of guilt, and problems with self-esteem. Many Christians feel like they are enslaved these sins, like there is no way out. But this is not true. The truth is that Christ has freed us from the penalty of sin and the power of sin. If you are a Christian, you are already free. Depression, guilt, low self-esteem—whatever your problem is, it can be put to death. “And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32).

Hope is a promise of God. Anxiety is a lie of Satan. When we are anxious, we become immobilized. We cannot make decisions; we cannot get things done; we cannot sleep. What can we do to be free from this constant worry? “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isa. 41:10).

Join J.C. Ryle as he explains the benefits of reading (and rereading) the Bible, and find inspiration for your daily devotions in this classic work.

Step aboard a ship adrift in the heart of an ominous sea, where the waves whisper secrets and the night holds chilling mysteries. In this gripping tale, listeners will accompany the ship's captain as he grapples with his own sanity and faces an otherworldly presence that defies comprehension.

How do you eliminate a half trillion annual expense in the US alone? How do you prevent capital offenses in the first place? God has the solution: we just don't like key parts of it. We shoot ourselves in the foot in order to think of ourselves as dignified and compassionate. Yet the responsibility of public stoning (with the rest of the Biblical model) is more dignified and compassionate than any alternative. Death is the most severe court judgment in the full range of Biblical justice tools, and so it deserves primary investigation.

Running from demons isn’t exactly as Laney expected. After saving her Shadowbringer from his fate in Hell, Laney returns to a hot mess on Earth—and she’s at the center of it. With Adne seeking revenge, the Hunters out for blood, and the original Shadowbringer dangling Cas’ soul over both their heads, Laney soon realizes that she needs to take matters into her own hands. Thank God, there is Gladys, who still remembers how to perform a ritual needed, and Avery and Tyler, who fight their own little battle against wicked Luc.

Helpful tips on treating and writing music for film. Whether you have writer's block or looking for a fresh approach, these 21 tips are for you. Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to Music Bitz, and learn about music.

Everyone needs advice, and everyone gives advice. In a world of dysfunctional families, churches, and societies, professional counseling is in great demand as a solution to our problems. The weak link in this solution is the inability to determine a counselor’s qualifications apart from his professional accreditation. Academics can give you knowledge, but no learning or books can give you wisdom. There are no graduate degrees in love or compassion. You cannot get a PhD in virtue. However, these things are available to everyone freely through Christ.

During his time at Oxford, a friend asked Paget Wilkes one day, “I say, Paget, do you tackle everyone who comes into your rooms about his soul?" “Yes," answered Paget, “if he comes in alone." Wilkes was convinced that even the humblest Christian is responsible for bringing men to Christ. “If we have been forgiven and know it, if we have been made new creatures in Christ Jesus, then we...are commissioned to minister this same salvation unto men and to witness of all these things which Jesus our Savior has revealed to us. Hallelujah!"

Insist that Christ is Lord, and you divide the world. While most societies acknowledge God in some way or another, Christ as Lord is not so universally honored. For Christians, this matter should be settled. Christ is Lord and Savior - but many Christians have little or no idea of the meaning of this simple statement or its implications for our day-to-day lives. Sixty years after its first publication, the message of The Lordship of Jesus Christ is still needed.

Disobedience. It’s normal, right? For hundreds of years, the Church has struggled with how to overcome sin in the Christian life. We know that the cross takes care of our past sins at salvation and assures us life after death. But what do we do with the time in between? In Dead and Alive, Jim Wilson discusses the neglected requirement of obedience and explains God’s provision for it from Scripture. May the thoughts in it lead you into a victorious, obedient life in Christ.

There are many temptations to disunity within Christianity - denominational splits, following particular pastors or authors, theological differences - the list goes on. The primary assumption in this book is the authority and inspiration of the Scriptures. There are promises, prayers, and commands in the New Testament concerning the church’s unity in Christ. The Christian church is made up of individual members of the body of Christ. This book is written to those individuals. The church as a whole cannot obey God. Only the parts can.