Confessions is one of the most moving diaries ever recorded of a man's journey to the fountain of God's grace. Writing as a sinner, not a saint, Augustine shares his innermost thoughts and conversion experiences and wrestles with the spiritual questions that have stirred the hearts of the thoughtful since time began. Starting with his childhood in Numidia, through his youth and early adulthood …
Do the Law and the Gospel belong to two separate dispensations? Has the Gospel replaced the Law? What is the relevance of the Old Testament Law to our lives as Christians? Is there continuity between it and what Christ expects of us in the Gospel? It is no secret that Christians have differed widely on these questions. This book explores five major approaches to this important biblical topic th…
This volume is designed specifically 'for the general educated reader'. Here are great figures of the Reformation: Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Knox, and Cramer. Here are great events: the Diet of Worms, the Institution of the Holy Commonwealth of Geneva, Henry VIII's break with Rome, William the Silent's struggle for Dutch independence. Here are great doctrines that created or grew out of the Prot…
An exploration of what worship looks like from a biblical standpoint and why the topic of worship can be so contentious among Christians. Because worship is inherently theological--because it's a manifestation of humanity's response to God's holiness--it's important to take seriously how we worship and the roles it serves in personal displays of adoration and in community with other believers. …
The heart of the biblical understanding of idolatry, argues Gregory Beale, is that we take on the characteristics of what we worship.Employing Isaiah 6 as his interpretive lens, Beale demonstrates that this understanding of idolatry permeates the whole canon, from Genesis to Revelation. Beale concludes with an application of the biblical notion of idolatry to the challenges of contemporary life.
The most penetrating and, indeed, prophetic book by an outsider taking a critical look at the Church.
Often called the "Father of Church History," Eusebius was the first to trace the rise of Christianity during its principal first three centuries from Christ to Constantine. Our principal resource for earliest Christianity, The Church History presents a panorama of apostles, church fathers, emperors, bishops, heroes, heretics, confessors, and martyrs.
The opening chapters of Genesis - important at any time - have been the focal point of controversy for more than a century. Few topics have been so hotly debated by theologians, philosophers and scientists alike. Henri Blocher argues that our primary task is to discover what these key chapters of the Bible originally meant. Only then will we be able to unravel the knotty issues surrounding huma…
A guide to preaching the parables that shows how to first interpret the parables, then proclaim their significance.
Interest in the historical Jesus continues to occupy much of today's discussion of the Bible. The vexing question is how the Jesus presented in the Gospels relates to the Jesus that actually walked this earth. Studying the Historical Jesus is an introductory guide to how one might go about answering that question by doing historical inquiry into the material found in the Gospels. Darrell Boc…