Human activity, both good and bad, cannot be explained merely by DNA and brain chemistry. Though disappearing in our modern world, moral knowledge is accessible. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches how to be a truly good person. With moral authority He describes the good life and gives direction to our will. Transforming Habits presents an accessible and straightforward study of the Sermon on the Mount. Each chapter addresses one o ...
In a world where almost all societies are multi-religious and multi-ethnic, we need to study how social cohesion can be achieved in different contexts. In some geographical areas, as in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, people of different religious belonging have, through the ages, lived side by side, sometimes in harmony and sometimes in dissonance. In other geographical regions, as in Scandinavia, societies have been quite religiou ...
In Lost but Making Excellent Time, Jody Seymour reminds readers that the ways and pace of our fast-track world lead to a place where we discover that we are traveling at breakneck speed but that our spirits are being left behind. Seymour uses prose and poetry to reclaim the ancient cycle of the Christian year as a new way to slow down and discover who we really are. The Christian year becomes a kind of compass to be used so that travele ...
Today's culture war raises questions about pulpit ministry; the answers to which are often assumed but rarely thought through. Drawing on his transatlantic studies of both politics and theology, scholar-pastor Tim Trumper weighs the various homiletical approaches to political engagement. In doing so, he eschews the predominant apolitical and party-political tendencies of the day, preferring a mediating biblical-political approach that upho ...
This book was prepared for lay people, congregational leaders, pastors, church musicians, worship leaders, and worship committees. It provides an answer for those who are asking the question: What does it mean to worship as a Lutheran in the twenty-first century? The goal of the book is twofold: In today's context, with so many different and confusing opinions about worship, this book provides lay people and pastors with a c ...
Though Christendom has come to an end, it appears that old habits die hard. Jesus promised his followers neither safety nor affluence, but rather that those who come after him should expect persecution. Christian discipleship and tribal nationalism, however, despite the legal separation of church and state, continue to be co-opted into the nation-state project of prosperity and security. This co-option has made it difficult for the church to rec ...
Two thousand years ago, Jesus challenged the religious system of his day. It had become infiltrated with traditions and man-made practices that had nothing to do with the word of God or the Lord's intervention for his people. Many of the people with whom Jesus came in contact had doubts and were oppressed by this religious system. Jesus challenged the people of his day by asking 233 questions–more than any other leader in recorded history. ...
In many oral cultures local proverbs are highly regarded for their wisdom and prized for their aesthetic expression. In this study Jay Moon provides an in-depth look at the use of local proverbs among the Builsa culture of Ghana, West Africa. In particular, the author's research shows how local proverbs can facilitate contextualized expressions of Christianity that are both biblically authentic and culturally relevant. The process of initia ...
John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, is one of the world's greatest religious figures. A practical rather than systematic theologian, he wrote and preached for the common man. He is well known as a man of one book (the Bible) but he read like no other during his time. We are left with fourteen volumes of his works and eight each of his letters and journals. His brother became the troubadour of Methodism, writing countless hymns. Jo ...
