First Church

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * In the spirit of George Carlin and Christopher Hitchens, the son of a former Catholic nun and a Franciscan brother delivers a deeply irreverent and biblically correct takedown of far-right Christian hatred—a book for believers, atheists, agnostics, and anyone...

The Apostolic Fathers in Modern English Experience the earliest Christian writings, clearly translated for today. This edition presents the complete collection traditionally known as the Apostolic Fathers in fresh, readable modern English, paired with concise, thematic essays at the end of the book that frame the world, worship, and witness of the early church. If you’ve tried public-domain or Victorian renderings and bounced off the archaic phrasing, this volume is built to be faithful, direct, and readable, without dumbing anything down. What’s Included (Complete Texts) 1 & 2 Clement ...

Brian Roy is a ghost-hunter extraordinaire. His latest adventure involves headless Japanese soldiers wreaking havoc in a New Hampshire church. The stats are grisly. Two boys blinded. Another boy shot. Cops killed. The bodies keep piling up, and the ghosts’ thirst for vengeance is as insatiable as their thirst for sake!

The First Church Model: A Growth Strategy for Pastors and Church Leadership on How To See Increase Read on your PC, Mac, smart phone, tablet or Kindle device. Are you a pastor, youth minister or worship leader and you wish your ministry was growing? You have tried all of the church growth strategies only to be disappointed. What if I told you the manual for growth of your church is found in the book of Acts? Would $2.99 be worth finding out if it's possible for your ministry to see increase from the book of Acts?>p> You’re about to discover how to grow your ministry simply by referring ...

We hear the voices of the early Church Fathers even today. Their teachings, their guidance, their insights, and their sacrifice shaped the Catholic Church. They defined the canon of Scripture. They developed our creeds and forms of worship. They defined Christianity's distinctive moral sense. But who were they? What can we learn from their ancient teachings? What can the Fathers teach the twenty-first century—about holiness, culture, faith, and the Gospel.

Carl Weber is the New York Times best-selling author of such fan favorites as So You Call Yourself a Man. The First Lady is the tale of a preacher's wife who learns she's dying and vows to find her husband another woman. There is no shortage of ladies who want her man, but will she be able to find a suitable replacement among the conniving church women?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From TLC’s Sister Wives star Christine Brown Woolley, a groundbreaking and heartfelt memoir about living in a family like no other and finding the strength to leave polygamy—and the only life she’s known—behind. Christine Brown Woolley had always dreamed of...

This two-part book was compiled and edited by Mary Baker Eddy, the church’s founder. Part I (“The First Church of Christ, Scientist”) describes the building of The Mother Church Extension in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1906. Writings by Mary Baker Eddy and newspaper articles from across North America detail this significant architectural achievement and the rapid growth of Christian Science as a movement.

Beginning with the life of Jesus, Robert Louis Wilken narrates the dramatic spread and development of Christianity over the first thousand years of its history. Moving through the formation of early institutions, practices, and beliefs to the transformations of the Roman world after the conversion of Constantine, he sheds new light on the subsequent stories of Christianity in the Latin West, the Byzantine and Slavic East, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

Paul is second only to Jesus as the most important person in the birth of Christianity, and yet he continues to be controversial, even among Christians. How could the letters of Paul be used both to inspire radical grace and to endorse systems of oppression - condoning slavery, subordinating women, condemning homosexual behavior? Borg and Crossan use the best of biblical and historical scholarship to explain the reasons for Paul's mixed reputation and reveal to us what scholars have known for decades: The later letters of Paul were created by the early church to dilute Paul's message.

From the philosophical battleground of Athens to the decadent heart of Corinth, the Apostle Paul faces his most challenging mission yet. After confronting the Stoics and Epicureans on Mars’ Hill, he arrives in Corinth, a city of immense wealth and vice. Working as a humble tentmaker, he preaches in the synagogue until, facing violent rejection, he makes a historic turn to the Gentiles, setting his sights on the pagan world. But as the church in Corinth is born, new threats emerge. The arrival of the eloquent Apollos ignites a dangerous rivalry, splintering the young fellowship into ...

n the smoldering heart of a fallen city, a dark apostle's vengeance sets the stage for the ultimate test of faith. Rome, 64 AD. The Great Fire has ravaged the capital, and a paranoid Emperor Nero needs a scapegoat. At the venomous whisper of Simon Magus—a sorcerer nursing a decades-old grudge against the apostles—Nero finds his victims: the city’s small but steadfast community of Christians. Accused of "hatred of the human race," the followers of the Way are marked for annihilation. As the first generation of leaders—including the apostles Peter and Paul—are dragged to the ...

The Temple is a smoldering ruin. The holy city runs with blood. In the tumultuous aftermath of Jerusalem’s fall in AD 70, the Old Covenant world has vanished in fire and smoke, leaving the fledgling church in a world remade by Roman steel. But the end of the war with Rome is only the beginning of a new, more insidious conflict—a battle for the very soul of the faith. From the ashes of the old world, two distinct churches rise in the heart of the empire: In the catacombs and hidden workshops of Rome, Rufus, son of the man who carried the cross, shepherds a fugitive remnant. They are the ...

The fledgling church faces a threat more insidious than the sword of Rome. In the year 39 AD, the house churches of the Empire are growing, anchored by the eyewitness testimonies of the apostles. But a shadow is brewing in Jerusalem—a new doctrine that threatens to destroy the very heart of the gospel. This teaching, carried by persuasive and zealous men, preaches "Jesus, plus..." It insists that Gentile believers must be circumcised and obey the Law of Moses to be truly saved. This is the doctrine of the Judaizers, a legalistic poison that divides Jew from Gentile, creates two classes of...

They witnessed the fire of Pentecost. Now they must carry its ember into the heart of a pagan empire. In 33 AD, four families from Rome—led by Andronicus the statesman, Caius the scholar, Lucius the craftsman, and Rufus, the son of the man who carried Christ’s cross—travel to Jerusalem seeking truth. They arrive just in time to be swept up in the miraculous events of Pentecost. After hearing Peter's sermon and being born of water, their lives are irrevocably transformed. They return to Rome as new men, tasked with planting a new faith in a hostile land. Rejected by the synagogues and ...

A single question threatens to tear the fledgling church apart: Must a Gentile become a Jew to be saved? From the house churches of Rome to the inner chambers of Jerusalem, the faith of the first believers is put to the test. In this sweeping novel of the early church, the scholar Caius Septimius and the statesman Andronicus journey as delegates from Rome, seeking an answer that will save their mixed congregation from a heresy that demands obedience to the Law. They arrive in Jerusalem to find the apostles locked in a monumental debate. Paul and Barnabas stand firm for the liberty of grace,...

A short biography of the world's first Christian martyr, Saint Stephen. A deacon in the early Catholic church, Stephen was martyred for publicly teaching the Truth revealed by Jesus Christ. His words angered members of the Sanhedrin and he was dragged out beyond the gates of Jerusalem and stoned to death. He was buried by his fellow Christians. Since his death, his name has remained with Christian martyrdom.

Letters to the Seven Churches by Jeff Culver isn’t just another commentary on the book of Revelation—it’s a deep, revealing journey into the cultural and historical world behind the text. With clarity and depth, Jeff Culver takes readers beyond the surface, unpacking how Jesus’s words to each of the seven churches were tailored specifically to the cities' reputations, customs, and even their monuments. This is the book that finally answers, “Why did He say that to them?” by reconnecting modern readers to the first-century world that originally heard the message. Rather than ...

Discover the fascinating story behind the global headline! For the first time in history, an American ascends to the throne of St. Peter. But who is Robert Prevost and what unlikely journey took him from Chicago to the Vatican? Uncover the secrets of a man’s life breaking barriers and shaping the future of the Catholic Church. Have you ever wondered how an American missionary in Peru became the leader of over a billion Catholics? This exclusive e-book delves deep into the life of Robert Prevost, revealing the pivotal moments, impactful decisions and unwavering faith that led him to the ...

“A monumental new volume. . . . Revelatory, even revolutionary. . . . Clark has done a masterful job explaining the inexplicable.” — The Boston Globe One of The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of the Year Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (History) Historian...