Showing titles in Theology

When poet Kathleen Norris was a child, the words judgment, prayer, salvation, sinner, and even Christ all formed what she calls religion's "scary vocabulary" - words that intimidate and alienate people from their faith. As an adult, Norris set out to reclaim her religion, redefining these words using her own experience. In Amazing Grace, she shares her wisdom, challenges our fear of difficult theological ideas, and offers an illuminating perspective on the vocabulary of faith.

From the manger in Bethlehem to the cross in Jerusalem, Philip Yancey presents a complex character who generates questions as well as answers—a disturbing and exhilarating Jesus who wants to radically transform your life and stretch your faith. The Jesus I Never Knew will engage your heart, mind, emotions, and senses, preparing you for a new, life-changing encounter with the real Jesus described in the Gospels.

It's easy to trust God when things are going our way and the world makes sense. But when suffering strikes - especially seemingly senseless suffering - we are filled with doubt and stunned by events spiraling beyond our control. In the midst of suffering, we often question the very foundation of our faith - our belief in the God who says he loves us.

Grace is the church's great distinctive. It's the one thing the world cannot duplicate, and the one thing it craves above all else - for only grace can bring hope and transformation to a jaded world. In What's So Amazing About Grace?, award-winning author Philip Yancey explores grace at street level. If grace is God's love for the undeserving, he asks, then what does it look like in action? And if Christians are its sole dispensers, then how are we doing at lavishing grace on a world that knows far more of cruelty and unforgiveness than it does of mercy?

In this collection of original writing, 16 of the most revered teachers in religion and psychology celebrate their personal experiences with the divine. Their words will inspire and challenge you to improve the quality of your life, and in turn, of the world around you. You'll hear the highly-regarded actors Candace Barrett and Raye Birk read from the works of the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Sue Bender, Jean Shinoda Bolen, Wayne Dyer, Barbara De Angelis, Riane Eisler, Shakti Gawain, Brooke Medicine Eagle, Thich Nhat Hanh, Andrew Harvey, Harold Kushner, David Steindl-Rast, Marsha Sinetar, Huston Smith, and Marianne Williamson.

Pastor Jim Cymbala believes that Jesus wants to renew his people - to call us back from spiritual dead ends, apathy, and lukewarm religion. In this compelling audio presentation, Cymbala tells the story of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, a struggling congretation of 20 - until they began to pray, and God began to move, and street-hardened lives by the hundreds were transformed by Christ's love.

Do you hear it coming? The SoulTsunami, a mind-bending conglomeration of techno-culture and religious pluralism, is here to sweep away the old church. Leonard Sweet says there are only 3 ways for Christians to respond: deny it and drown; fight it and lose; or recognize it and adapt to its opportunities. Sweet explains how you can chart a new course through the uncertain religious waters of the next millennium.

Step back for a moment and join Joni Eareckson Tada's journey into a world you've heard about but never seen: heaven. You just might discover that heaven is a lot closer - and more real - than you've ever imagined. Tada's thoughtful and highly personal work is the story of her own search to understand heaven, and the special meaning it holds for her as a quadriplegic. More than merely a theological concept or a comforting idea, heaven is our real home and ultimate destination, and Tada shows us how to prepare ourselves for it here on earth. Heaven is a remarkable, inspiring, unforgettable glimpse into the future glories that all believers can look forward to.

He or she could be the neighbor who is perfectly happy without God. Or the coworker who scoffs at Christianity. Or the supervisor who uses Jesus’ name only as profanity. Or the family member who can’t understand why religion is so important. Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary is an action plan to help you relate the message of Christ to the people you work around, live with, and call your friends.

If you could travel back to the world of ancient Palestine and hear Jesus teach in his own native tongue, what would you learn? Join Neil Douglas-Klotz, the brilliant translator and best selling author of Prayers of the Cosmos, as he delves into early New Testament scriptures written in Aramaic - the original language of Jesus and his followers. Overlooked for centuries by all but a small minority of the world's Christians, these sacred texts rejuvenate the teachings of Jesus with an original subtlety and richness of meaning found in no other translation. Douglas-Klotz draws us deeply into these passages of the Gospels - including the Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer - and then adds to his passionate scholarship by teaching us a series of body-centered meditations for interpreting and reflecting on these sacred words in much the same way as the early Christians did. What lies hidden within these scriptures may surprise many: a visionary Christ who transcends the narrow and the dogmatic to offer us a grand cosmology based on the earthy wisdom of an ancient desert people.

Who was medieval Italy's Francis of Assisi? Millions knew him as the saint who first received the stigmata of Christ, as a champion of the poor, and as a mystic who possessed a divine rapport with the natural world. But few know that Saint Francis also created an extraordinary system of practices to radiate a joyfulness of spirit inward to the soul and outward to the world. On The Way of Saint Francis, scholar and friar Murray Bodo reveals the life of this celebrated saint and shares specific meditations, prayers, and teachings to cultivate the 5 great keys of Franciscan spirituality: Silence, how to use inner and outer quietude to prepare a sacred dwelling place within; Purification, true forgiveness, the secret to purifying the heart; Openness, how to embrace your deeper suffering and simpler joys in the manner and spirit of Saint Francis; Response, the way of the Poor Christ, a life made rich through prayer, contemplation, and selfless service; Time, how we enter the state of the timeless divine. You will learn how to use each of these miraculous keys to open the door to the cell within - a sacred inner space of stillness and strength available to you at any time and in any situation - and to transform yourself into a true instrument of peace.

Jonathan Edwards is perhaps best known for his "fire and brimstone" approach to preaching which emphasized the sovereignty of God, the depravity of humankind, the reality of hell, and the necessity of a conversion experience. Experience the reasoning of the great Puritan philosopher in his sermons, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," the most famous sermon in American history, and "Pardon for the Greatest of Sinners."

In his subtle and engaging investigation into the life and times of Jesus, Thomas Cahill shows us Jesus from his birth to his execution through the eyes of those who knew him and in the context of his time—a time when the Jews were struggling to maintain their beliefs under overlords who imposed their worldview on their subjects. Here is Jesus the loving friend, itinerate preacher, and quiet revolutionary, whose words and actions inspired his followers to journey throughout the Roman world and speak the truth he instilled.

In the face of rapid medical advances in our world, bioethics is a serious concern for many in our society - Christians and non-Christians alike. Here, Gilbert Meilaender, professor of theological ethics at Valparaiso University in Indiana, contends that it is imperative for Christians to think consciously about bioethical issues as Christians if they are not to risk losing their Christian identity.

Reaching for the Invisible God offers deep, satisfying insights to the questions you are sometimes afraid to ask. Honest and deeply personal, here is straight talk on Christian living for the listener who wants more than pat answers to life's imponderables. Ultimately, Yancey shifts the focus from your questions to the One who offers himself in answer.

"Present day conditions," writes Pink, "call loudly for a new examination and new presentation of God's omnipotence, God's sufficiency, God's sovereignty. From every pulpit in the land it needs to be thundered forth that God still lives, that God still observes, that God still reigns. Faith is now in the crucible, it is being tested by fire, and there is no fixed and sufficient resting place for the heart and mind but in The Throne of God.

A Christian for All Christians looks at the influence and friendships that helped shape the real Clive Staples Lewis - Christian apologist, moral philosopher, literary critic, poet, and fantasy writer - and examines the reasons for his enduring popularity with virtually all types of Christians by analyzing the true meaning of his teaching and faith.

Originally published in the 16th century, this is the classic history of the lives, sufferings, and deaths of the early Christian martyrs. As interesting as fiction, it is written with both passion and tenderness, telling the dramatic story of some of the most thrilling periods in Christian history.

If you have questions about the end of time, or if you have concerns about what will happen to you, this program will help you look at the end of time as a source of comfort rather than chaos.

No one can serve up the Bread of Life like Anne Graham Lotz, who has described herself as simply God's able "waitress." Poignantly, passionately, and with spellbinding insight, she focuses the light of Christ's life on Earth so that its relevance burns true in your life today.