When someone claims they have a message from God, how do you decide whether to believe them? This question has been with people of faith at least since Abraham heard someone-God, as it turned out-telling him to leave home and go to a place he would be shown. Other people have left their homes thinking God was guiding them, and have ended up with nothing but trouble. And what about books? When someone claims a book is inspired by God how do y ...
For many, God is a distant, frightening entity. God may be personal, but they would not think of him as having a personality, much less an enjoyable, friendly, relatable personality. Author S. J. Hill has spent years studying, and more importantly experiencing this topic. He has counseled many people, young and old, whose ideas about God left them frightened and hopeless. He has also experience the presence and love of a wonderful heavenly fa ...
What does God's grace mean to you? This question has often brought confusion and controversy to Christians everywhere. The team at World Prayr want you to understand just how amazing God's grace is. They want to dispel any confusion. They would like you to understand that you too can walk in God's grace, but only because it is God's grace that enables you. In fact, it is all God's grace, all the way. This book is div ...
All too frequently studies of the gifts of the Spirit consist largely of answering two questions: «What are the gifts?» and «Which ones do I have?» In many cases studies go on to a third question: «How can I get more?» In response, institutional churches and theologically and intellectually respectable Christians often tend to avoid the work of the Holy Spirit in the church entirely. It's much easier to simply close the doors and windows ...
The pages of the New Testament contain some 340 questions Jesus asked: «Who are my mother and my brothers?» «Now which of them will love him more?» «Why are you so afraid?» "Do you still have no faith? «Do you want to get well?» «Who do people say that I am?» Why did Jesus ask such questions? Surely He didn't lack information. Were they simply rhetorical? Is there more behind the questions of Jesus than meets the ear? After 20+ years of s ...
"Prayer changes things." It's a common saying, and too often Christian discussion of prayer deals only with how we can change other things and other people through prayer. But what if prayer is much more that we imagine? What if it is also the means of correcting our relationship to the Creator and at the same time of changing our relationships with one another? Perhaps prayer can ultimately help transform our theology, what we believe ...
In Healing Marks (Energion Publications, 2012), Dr. Bruce Epperly challenged Christians to take the healings of Jesus seriously as a pattern for how we can become healing communities. Now he turns to the book of Acts as a pattern for the church in the 21st century. He says, «I believe that Acts of the Apostles provides a fluid, open-spirited, and holistic faith for twenty-first century people as well as a vision for congregational transformat ...
Are there any solutions to dying churches? Many historic Protestant churches lost their way when the ground beneath their feet began to shift in the last part of the 20th century. Back then, congregations became confused about why so many Americans had become indifferent toward church-going. They became anxious about their shrinking numbers and aging membership. How would they survive? They could not see the way forward. But now, a few ordin ...
Have you ever seen a passage in the New Testament that was placed in brackets, or a footnote at the bottom of a page referring to “ancient authorities” or “manuscripts”? Most people scratch their heads and just keep reading, but these notes are very important. So is understanding why they’re even there. In this short introduction, Thomas W. Hudgins explains for the average reader the need for, criteria of, and some misconceptions associated ...
