Showing titles in Religious Studies

How would you describe the Abundant Life? Some would describe it from a financial perspective. Some would describe it from the perspective of power and influence. Some would describe it from the perspective of health and well-being. Jesus said that He came so that we might have life and have it abundantly. He made it clear that the only sure foundation for the Abundant Life is the good, sound theology of the Word of God, Holy Scripture, and a living faith relationship with Him. And the more we know and live that Word, the deeper that relationship with Him, the more abundant life becomes. As...

People sometimes have difficulty understanding the Trinity. But if that is the case with someone reading this Introduction, then he or she should not feel too bad. It took the scholars and theologians of the early Church about five hundred years after the Incarnation of Jesus to even begin to figure it out. The whole idea of one God is not too difficult to understand. But when the same scholars and theologians start talking about one God in three persons, then the whole matter becomes much more complicated. Is it biblically correct to say or think of three different persons of deity, daily ...

This book will help a Christian layperson or pastor better understand the teachings of Mormonism. It is called a “Crash Course” because it covers a lot of ground. While this overview looks at many things, all the chapters flow together to give you a good insight into LDS teaching and practices. Note: Members of the LDS will probably not like this book or agree with its content. They would consider it "A Crash Course in Converting Mormons to Christianity." Also note this book can be very helpful to members of the LDS who are thinking about leaving the LDS. Official LDS books, manuals, ...

This detailed outline for the end-time prophecies has been divided into thirteen chapters. It should probably be suitable for a diligent student of the Bible who wants to look through the prophecies in an outline format. It will also be good for anyone who wants an easier way to study the prophecies. Each chapter will begin with a focus for the entire chapter. Then a list of usually five questions will follow which are intended to guide the reader through the most important parts of the chapter. The structure of each chapter is in a somewhat loose outline format. That should make it easier ...

When this book was begun in late November 2013, the intent was to write a commentary on chapter five of Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus. But about fifty pages into that endeavor, it became clear that the book was not going in that direction. For one thing, his letter to that church had not even been mentioned in those pages. For another, the focus up to that point had been on Paul's missionary journeys. The reason for those problems was that the original intent had been to put his letter to the church into the context of his journeys. But there was so much to say about the journeys ...

Sometimes people lose sight of the core of their ministry. They feel overwhelmed by the needs that surround them on a daily basis. Wise and beloved pastor Warren Wiersbe invites ministry leaders to listen in on thirty short "armchair chats" to encourage and strengthen them for service. He shares what he wishes he had known about ministering to others when he began his own Christian pilgrimage.

Some people might think that Easter is about family get-togethers and the Easter Bunny. It is not. Therefore, this text, while focusing primarily on the prophecies of the Prophet Isaiah and especially on those that explain why Jesus was crucified, also discusses prophecies written by other Old Testament prophets. In the first three parts of this text, nine passages from the book of Isaiah will be examined leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. Those passages are Isaiah 1:18, Isaiah 64:6-7, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 42:1-7, Isaiah 41:27-29, Isaiah 61:1-3, Isaiah 50:4-9, and Isaiah ...

This book can give you a new beginning in your life. Discover a true and living hope. Find forgiveness in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is the compassionate Savior who loves you. These sermons look at many favorite Bible Readings and you are encouraged to read the Bible passages listed for each sermon beforehand. Spend some time reflecting upon these readings. The Word of God is powerful and effective. The Bible declares that God cares about you and promises to provide for all of your needs. Let these sermons lead you deeper into the Word of God. Read the Bible every day. Study the ...

When most people think about a true love story, they naturally envision a couple jumping into a bed and making mad passionate love to each other. If the scene is from a movie or from a television show, then they would probably see the two going into a bedroom together and then waking up the next day lying next to each other. However, while that in many cases might be an example of true love, it pales in comparison to the true love that God the Father had showed to human beings when He had offered His only begotten Son on the cross of Calvary. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, ...

This book will attempt to discuss and defend perhaps the most difficult and most challenging parts of the scriptures by looking at the Rapture of the Church, at the Great Tribulation, and at the Second Coming of Jesus. Those are items of interest to almost every person alive. But there are also probably just as many viewpoints about those events as there are people. So this book will begin at the beginning by suggesting that the literal approach for interpreting those future events is probably superior to trying to interpret them figuratively or in some other non-literal fashion. The ...

The seven churches to whom the seven letters of Revelation chapters two and three were written are shown in the below diagram. They are from top to bottom Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Smyrna, Philadelphia, Ephesus, and Laodicea. The Apostle John was exiled to the isle of Patmos because of his stand for Christ. So on the Lord's Day, Jesus came to him and told him to write the words that appear in the book of Revelation. Revelation 1:10-11 says, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice…Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest...

In this second part of this study of the Minor Prophets, the writings of Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, and Habakkuk are examined. With Obadiah, one can see the land of Edom and why the Edomites had thought that they were safe from outside attackers. Their land was very mountainous and easy to defend. Nevertheless, in about 583 BC, they did fall to the Babylonians. With Jonah, one can see the viciousness of the Assyrians in the Eighth Century BC. Everyone was afraid of them because of their brutality against their enemies. Nevertheless, at the preaching of Jonah, they had repented, and the ...

In December 1967, my life was in more trouble than I could realistically handle. While in the midst of those struggles, I asked the Lord to forgive me for all the wrong that I had done and to put my life on a path that would lead me out of my difficulties. More than fifty years later, I can now say that He was faithful to do exactly that. He changed me from the inside out. Then He changed the dreadful circumstances of my entire life. Since that night in 1967, I have experienced the joy of knowing the God of the universe and the one and only Creator of everything. Through the years, I have ...

This book is great for personal devotions, Bible Study, or preparing sermons. It features a Harmony of the passion and resurrection of Jesus. It is compiled from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It tells the story of our Lord from the events before Palm Sunday to the Easter resurrection and beyond. It includes Paul’s references to the appearances of Jesus after his resurrection, the ascension into heaven and Mark’s Longer Ending. The four Gospels of the New Testament tell the story of Jesus of Nazareth. They describe real events and actual people. The Gospels are not fiction. Here we are ...

This book has been written to examine the seven statements that Jesus had made while He was on the cross. When someone is about to pass away, their final words are often worth remembering, and that is definitely true of the Lord. In the first five chapters of this text, many of the events that had led to His crucifixion will be discussed. The Old Testament prophecies about His coming, His mission while on earth, and His Incarnation will be considered. A conversation that He had had with Nicodemus will be examined to see why He had had to be crucified as opposed to experiencing some other ...

This third edition of my heaven book explains the reasons for Satan, Adam, Eve, and the rest of human existence as it has been known for the past six thousand-plus years. It presents logical certainties about heaven and what people will do once they are there. In fact, one gets a good understanding of what the saints of God can expect on the other side of the grave just from looking at things like the seven days of Creation. This book does not do an exhaustive study of that. But it does use instances where the Lord had said that He was pleased for determining what heaven will be like. So if...

The first part of this book talks about the very grim subject of what it will be like to die lost. Nothing in this existence is as bad as or any worse than leaving this existence and entering into eternal condemnation. Jesus talked about two places of punishment. The first, called hades, is condemnation of the soul. The souls of people who have already died and were lost are there right now. The souls of people who will die lost will soon go there. Hades is not a nice place. In fact, it is a horrible place to be at even for a little while. But as bad as hades may be, gehenna will be much ...

This book discusses most of the key events in Abraham's life as they have been recorded in the Bible. Part I will begin by discussing his life in Ur of the Chaldees when he was first told by God to go to the land where he would be led. Analysis of that instruction, along with some other Bible passages, will show that God had probably told him twice to go to a new land. It will also be pointed out that those multiple calls were not because of his disobedience. Following that discussion, when and how he probably got saved will be presented. He was not just automatically saved. He had to ...

For more than 2,000 years, the Heart Sutra has been part of the daily life of millions of Buddhists. This concise text, so rich and laden with meaning, concentrates the very heart of Buddhism into a powerful and evocative teaching on the interdependence of all reality. In Essence of the Heart Sutra, the Dalai Lama masterfully unpacks the Heart Sutra so that any listener can benefit from its teachings - teachings meant to help us release ourselves from suffering and live with true compassion.

Widely recognized as one of the most respected and indispensable reference books on Jewish life, culture, tradition, and religion, Jewish Literacy covers every essential aspect of the Jewish people and Judaism. Rabbi Telushkin discusses everything from the Jewish Bible and Talmud to Jewish notions of ethics to antisemitism and the Holocaust; from the history of Jews around the world to Zionism and the politics of a Jewish state; from the significance of religious traditions and holidays to how they are practiced in daily life.