Surprised by Paradox
The Promise of "And" in an Either-Or World
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Narrated by:
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Jen Pollock Michel
About this listen
In a world filled with ambiguity, many of us long for a belief system that provides straightforward answers to complex questions and clarity in the face of confusion. We want faith to act like an orderly set of truth-claims designed to solve the problems and pain that life throws at us.
With signature candor and depth, Jen Pollock Michel helps listeners imagine a Christian faith open to mystery. While there are certainties in Christian faith, at the heart of the Christian story is also paradox. Jesus invites us to abandon the polarities of either and or in order to embrace the difficult, wondrous dissonance of and.
The incarnation - the paradox of God made human - teaches us to look for God in the and of body and spirit, heaven and earth. In the kingdom, God often hides in plain sight and announces his triumph on the back of a donkey. In the paradox of grace, we receive life eternal by actively participating in death. And lament, with its clear-eyed appraisal of suffering alongside its commitment to finding audience with God, is a paradoxical practice of faith. Each of these themes give us certainty about God, while also leading us into greater curiosity about his nature and activity in the world.
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In Running Scared, Edward T. Welch investigates the roots of fear in the human soul and the ramifications of living in the grips of anxiety, worry, and dread. Welch encourages listeners to discover for themselves that the Bible is full of beautiful words of comfort for fearful people (and that every single person is afraid of something). Within the framework of 30 topical meditations, Welch offers sound biblical theology and moment-by-moment, thoughtful encouragement for life-saving rescue in the midst of the heart and mind battlefield of rampant panic-stricken responses.
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Powerful and Convicting
- By Anna Lewis on 03-17-21
By: Edward T. Welch
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You Were Made for This Moment
- Courage for Today and Hope for Tomorrow
- By: Max Lucado
- Narrated by: Ben Holland
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Are you weary? Worn out by the bills that keep stacking, a virus that keeps raging, or a heart that keeps aching? If so, the book of Esther brings welcome news: Relief will come! To be clear, you didn't ask for this struggle. You want to get past it. You don't know how much longer you can hold up. But what if God is with you in this difficult season? When life seems off the rails, remember this truth: the minute you bow your head to pray is the moment God lifts his hand to help.
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Do you need hope?
- By Tammy Kfoury on 11-10-21
By: Max Lucado
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The Very Good Gospel
- How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right
- By: Lisa Sharon Harper, Walter Brueggemann - foreword
- Narrated by: Lisa Sharon Harper
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Shalom is what God declared. Shalom is what the Kingdom of God looks like. Shalom is when all people have enough. It's when churches, schools, and public policies protect human dignity. Shalom is when the image of God is recognized in every single human. Shalom is our calling as followers of Jesus' gospel. What can we do to bring shalom to our nations, our communities, and our souls? Through a careful exploration of biblical text, particularly the first three chapters of Genesis, Lisa Sharon Harper shows us what "very good" can look like today, even after the Fall.
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The Gospel as Truly Good News
- By Mary Lewis on 06-18-21
By: Lisa Sharon Harper, and others
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Stop Calling Me Beautiful
- Finding Soul-Deep Strength in a Skin-Deep World
- By: Phylicia Masonheimer
- Narrated by: Carla Mercer-Meyer
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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If you're tired of hearing the watered-down Christian teaching and hungry for a deeper spiritual life - one that gives real answers to your hardest questions - Stop Calling Me Beautiful teaches you how. Jesus doesn't offer a powerless salvation. He makes your brokenness part of his whole redemption story - if you allow him to. Don't settle for a feel-good faith. If you want victory over insecurity, fear, shame, and the circumstances you are facing, it's time to embrace Jesus. All of him.
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not what I expected, in a good way!!
- By Kristin on 09-03-20
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Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels
- By: Kenneth E. Bailey
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Beginning with Jesus' birth, Ken Bailey leads you on a kaleidoscopic study of Jesus throughout the four Gospels. Bailey examines the life and ministry of Jesus with attention to the Lord's Prayer, the Beatitudes, Jesus' relationship to women, and especially Jesus' parables. Through it all, Bailey employs his trademark expertise as a master of Middle Eastern culture to lead you into a deeper understanding of the person and significance of Jesus within his own cultural context.
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One of the best resources on Jesus EVER
- By Arthur Sippo on 04-21-20
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Befriend
- Create Belonging in an Age of Judgment, Isolation, and Fear
- By: Scott Sauls
- Narrated by: Dean Gallagher
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Is real friendship too risky? We live in a world where real friendship is hard to find. Suspicious of others and insecure about ourselves, we retreat into the safety of our small, self-made digital worlds. Tragically, even the church can become a place that reinforces this isolation. Jesus models a much richer vision of friendship. Scott Sauls, pastor and teacher, invites you to see the breadth of Christ's love in this audiobook, Befriend.
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Great post election therapy.
- By Manoli on 12-20-16
By: Scott Sauls
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Sermon on the Mount
- A Beginner's Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven
- By: Amy-Jill Levine
- Narrated by: Nan McNamara
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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How is the follower of Jesus to understand the words of the Old Testament? How are those words relevant to the New Covenant he is establishing? What might the words of the Lord’s Prayer have conveyed to his initial followers, and why is that historical information essential to the prayer two millennia later? In Sermon on the Mount, Dr. Amy-Jill Levine takes a detailed and colorful overview of Matthew 5-7, collectively known as Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount.
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Ye Resist Not Evil
- By Jaden Kellogg on 08-19-20
By: Amy-Jill Levine
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Prayer
- How Praying Together Shapes the Church (9Marks: Building Healthy Churches)
- By: John Onwuchekwa
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Prayer is as necessary to the Christian as breathing is to the human body - but it often doesn't come quite as naturally. In fact, prayer in the church often gets subtly pushed to the side in favor of pragmatic practices that promise tangible results. This book focuses on the necessity of regular prayer as a central practice in the local church - awakening us to the need and blessing of corporate prayer by examining what Jesus taught about prayer, how the first Christians approached prayer, and how to prioritize prayer in our congregations.
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Breathing Treatment for the Spiritually Asthmatic
- By David C on 06-28-23
By: John Onwuchekwa
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Worship Changes Everything
- Experiencing God's Presence in Every Moment of Life
- By: Darlene Zschech
- Narrated by: Pamela Klein
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
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It can be easy to have a heart filled with worship on a Sunday morning as the church band is playing your favorite song. But then comes Monday morning's commute and Tuesday afternoon's pile of laundry. How do we maintain a heart of worship in the daily grind? Darlene Zschech has spent her life thinking and teaching about worship. With wisdom and contagious joy, she shares her thoughts on what worship truly is and how it should invade every facet of our being.
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This was an amazing book!
- By Reero on 02-02-24
By: Darlene Zschech
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Defined
- Who God Says You Are
- By: Stephen Kendrick, Alex Kendrick
- Narrated by: David Cochran Heath
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Based upon powerful insights from the scriptural book of Ephesians, and seasoned with personal stories and practical wisdom, Defined challenges you to let the One who knows you best be the One who guides your heart the most. It’s time for all of us to live in the amazing light of His acceptance, abundance, and strength.
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Wow! I am Defined by my Creator!
- By Anonymous User on 04-27-21
By: Stephen Kendrick, and others
What listeners say about Surprised by Paradox
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- K. Danielson
- 03-02-22
Really Good Insights…except for the chapters on Grace
This a (rare) example of a book that is well-read by the author.
As for the contents, she makes some great observations on the various aspects of paradox in Christian faith. I agree that we need to embrace these various aspects of life and faith.
However, I felt the author stumbled when discussing grace. It felt like a more “tortured” logic as she tried to hang on to expectations of good behavior. I don’t think we can have it both ways - grace and good works.
While much of the contemporary church tries to do that, Paul makes it very clear (esp. in Galatians and Romans) that the scandal of God’s grace is not what we might expect. It is simply God’s free gift. Of course, it is hard to accept that we don’t have to “earn” it.
And for generations, we have kept trying to sneak the idea of “earning” God’s grace into Christianity - which just drove Paul nuts every time it happened. (Sigh…)
The other sections of the book are well worth your your time. They are compelling discussions and examples of faith in action. I’m sure I’ll return to them in the future.
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- Lori Morrison
- 04-19-20
excellent
beautiful voice reading profound words but easy to follow. so good! worth every moment listening!
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- Eva Joy Senecal
- 09-11-20
Celebrate the tension
I was going to read this with a group but missed out. I’m so glad I downloaded and listened to it anyway. I don’t like tension. I want clear answers and cut and dry explanations and I avoid talking about the parts of my faith that I can’t do that with. This book took that anxiety and renamed it “wonder” and I was praising God for being so marvelous and mysterious yet revealing Himself to us so intimately in His word and through Jesus Christ. The chapter on Lament is so, so good.
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- D. K. Smith
- 07-08-19
A thought provoking and insightful book
First, the author/narrator does an excellent job of narration. She speaks clearly.
Second, this is a fascinating work full of good insights. The author points us to a relationship with Jesus while reminding us that not all questions we have are answered. I heartily recommend this book.
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- Connie Colbert
- 09-11-21
Amazing, life changing read! Listen twice!
What this book does is give a framework for what many of us cannot accurately put words to.
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- Sherry
- 09-25-19
Inspiring Takeaways on Lament
I don’t know if I would recommend this book unless I knew the person well and issued a caveat for them to sift through in search of the treasures but be forewarned there are sensitive, complex issues in this book that really aren’t addressed properly, and as a result, could be hurtful. All that said, the book is divided into 4 parts and the last part discusses lament and was very insightful. I’m glad I read it for this part alone - I took notes for reference down the road. This part of the book was inspiring to me.
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