Showing results by narrator "Jim Denison" in All Categories

Grandma was right. You've got to get the weeds by the roots, or they'll just grow back. So too with deep-rooted anger. Moralistic efforts to be patient with your coworkers won't cut it. Regret-riddled resolutions to stop yelling at your kids won't last. You must rip out those angry roots.

Done with dating? Don't know where to start? Wondering if your date is the one to marry? Pastor-scholar Sam Andreades brings single Christians in that vulnerable life moment the practical, theological help to make the dangerous decision confidently. Bringing the Bible's wisdom on relationships to bear on the dating scene, he helps you lay a foundation for a love that lasts.

Like a succession of failed diet regimens, the much-touted techniques that are supposed to bring us closer to God "in our hearts" can instead make us feel anxious, frustrated, and overwhelmed. Phillip Cary explains that discipleship is a gradual, long-term process that comes through the gospel experienced in Christian community, not a to-do list designed to help us live the Christian life "right." He covers ten things we don't have to do to be close to God, skillfully unpacking the riches of traditional Christian spirituality. The expanded edition includes a new afterword.

Over the last 30 years, many influential church leaders and church planters in America have adopted various models for reaching unchurched people. An “attractional” model will seek to attract people to a local church. Younger leaders may advocate a more “missional” approach, in which believers live and work among unchurched people and intentionally seek to serve like Christ. While each of these approaches have merit, something is still missing, something even more fundamental to the mission of the church: discipleship.

In a culture in which science is believed to hold the answers to every question, spiritual realities like the soul are often ignored or ridiculed. We are told that neuroscience holds the key to explaining every aspect of human behavior. Yet Christian philosopher J. P. Moreland argues that scripture, sound philosophical reasoning, and everyday experience all point to the reality of an immaterial soul.

Satan knows something that most of us fail to consider: Human beings are the crown of God's creation. It is this position of honor in all the cosmos that draws Satan's ire. With thoughtful and encouraging insight into our position of value in God's eyes, Charles Kraft explores the overt attacks that destroy our self-image - and the hidden ones, too. In his powerful and fortifying book, he answers these and other questions.

In How to Read the Bible, Cox explores three different lenses commonly used to bring the Bible into focus: literary - as narrative stories of family conflict, stirring heroism, and moral dilemmas; history - as classic texts with academic and theological applications; and activism - as a source of dialogue and engagement to be shared and applied to our lives. By bringing these together, Cox shows the Bible in all its rich diversity and meaning and offers us a contemporary activist version that wrestles with issues of feminism, war, homosexuality, and race.

It used to be that Christians conceived of the world as a battleground. They believed in sin and the devil and hell as constituting one force and in God and righteousness and heaven constituting the other. How different it is today. People think of the world not as a battleground but as a playground. In This World: Playground or Battleground?, Tozer calls us to see the real world of the spiritual realm that lies beyond the physical that so ensnares us. The audio is short and to the point, abrupt but full of vigor, profound, and downright relevant today.

There’s a quiet epidemic in our culture: The fastest-growing type of family unit is grandparents charged with the task of raising their children’s children. Though there are myriad reasons for this—the death of one’s adult child, parental drug addiction, abusive living situations, or incarceration, to name a few—the effects tend to be the same: senior citizens who expected to spend their golden years relaxing or traveling are now seeing their dreams dashed. Those on limited incomes are feeling the strain and are frightened about their futures.

Someone said that while Dr. A. W. Tozer always sought to introduce sinners to their savior, he longed to help saints to see the greatness of God and to experience the life of victory and joy through surrender and faith. This theme - recognizing God for who he is, giving him the worship and honor due him - was particularly dominant in Dr. Tozer's late writings.

Beloved contemporary Christian musician Rich Mullins lived his life with abandon for God, leaving the spotlight to teach music among a Navajo community. An accident cut his life short in 1997, but his songs and ragamuffin spirit continue to teach many. In honor of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Rich's homegoing, this edition of Rich Mullins: An Arrow Pointing to Heaven delivers an intimate look at the experiences that sparked praise hits and the values behind his Christ-like candor.

Fear is the primary reason we fail to share the gospel with our friends, family, and coworkers. We're afraid of looking weird or out of touch. We're afraid we won't have the right answers to their questions. We're afraid that if they reject the gospel, they're really rejecting us. We don't want to make things awkward or strain our relationships. So we say nothing because our discomfort feels bigger than our loved ones' ultimate destination if they remain outside of the body of Christ. We know it's not, but it's just so hard to get over our fear.

Through Daniel’s visions and experiences as an exile in Babylon, the Book of Daniel gives us a clearer understanding of history than any other part of the Bible. Daniel also makes it clear that God is in control of all human events that have unfolded or will occur in later times. At the same time, he shows us how to live for God in ungodly times - like our own. In this new addition to James Montgomery Boice’s popular commentary series, pastors, Bible students, and laypersons will find analysis of Daniel’s illuminating insights into history.

Does God stare down at us in unyielding disapproval? No, says author Robert Henderson. God's gaze toward us is one of kindness and love. "Understanding his heart and expression", he adds, "changes everything." God is ready to pour out his unmerited favor on his children. It is up to us to receive it. Always keying in on Scripture, global apostolic leader Robert Henderson shows how accessible the grace of God really is.

The church has too often lost its way in reading the Old Testament for lack of sound principles of interpretation. When careless habits get us off track, we can lose sight of what the Bible is really saying, derailing our own spiritual growth and even risking discredit to God's word. We need a consistent approach to give us confidence as faithful interpreters. In Wisdom for Faithful Reading, trusted Old Testament scholar John Walton lays out his best practices developed over four decades in the classroom.

In this 40th anniversary edition of the classic book from one of the most influential biblical scholars of our time, Walter Brueggemann, offers a theological and ethical reading of the Hebrew Bible.

Archaeologist Dr. Titus Kennedy has investigated firsthand the discoveries connected to Jesus’ birth, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection. He has visited and excavated where Jesus walked and examined the artifacts connected to Jesus’ life. Here, he presents a comprehensive overview of the research and findings that illuminate the historicity of Christ as presented in the Bible. As you listen, you’ll be able to decide for yourself whether the evidence confirms the existence of Jesus and determine whether the Gospels are worthy of being approached not as legends but as history.

The growth of the nones in American society has been dramatic. In 1972, just five percent of Americans claimed "no religion" on the General Social Survey. In 2018, that number rose to 23.7 percent, making the nones as numerous as both evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics. Every indication is that the nones will be the largest religious group in the United States in the next decade. Burge's accessible book draws from carefully curated datasets, some tracking changes in American religion over a long period of time.

Few believers experience God's altar - a place of pure and wholehearted relationship and worship where our holy God can meet with us and the fire of his presence can fall. But such an altar is necessary in our personal lives, our marriages, our churches, and our nations so that we are strengthened, empowered, and equipped for every good work.

In the 2,000 years that have elapsed since the time of Christ, Christians have been as much divided by their faith as united, as much at odds as in communion. And the contents of Christian confession have developed with astonishing energy. How can believers claim a faith that has been passed down through the ages while recognizing the real historical contingencies that have shaped both their doctrines and their divisions? In this carefully argued essay, David Bentley Hart critiques the concept of "tradition" that has become dominant in Christian thought as fundamentally incoherent.