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Jesus Is Better than You Imagined by Jonathan Merritt Pdf
Is the God who created us better than the God we've created? After following Jesus for nearly two decades, Jonathan Merritt decides to confront the emptiness of a faith that has become dry, predictable, and rote. In a moment of desperation, he cries out for God to show up and surprise him, and over the next year, God doesn't disappoint. In Jesus is Better Than You Imagined, Jonathan shares vulnerable, never-before-shared stories of how he learned to encounter Jesus in unexpected ways. Through a 60-hour vow of silence in a desert monastery, he experiences Jesus in silence. When a friend dies of a rare disease, he sees Jesus in tragedy. Through confronting childhood sexual abuse, Jonathan discovers Jesus in honesty. In an anti-Christian-themed bar, he finds Jesus in sacrilege. And when he's almost kidnapped in Haiti by armed bandits, he experiences Jesus in the impossible. Though Merritt finds himself in places he never dreamed of, he doesn't lose his way. Instead, these experiences force him back to the Bible, where he repeatedly offers fresh, sometimes provocative, interpretations of familiar passages. Along the way, he throws back the covers on the sleepy faith of many Christians, urging them to search for the Holy in their midst. Pointed and poignant by turns, Jonathan helps readers open their hearts to a mysterious God and a faith that sustains, guides, and most importantly, surprises. His fearlessly honest story invites us all to discover the messy mercy and crazy grace of a sometimes startling Savior.
Jesus Is Better Than You Imagined by Jonathan Merritt,John Ortberg Pdf
Is the God who created us better than the God we've created? After following Jesus for nearly two decades, Jonathan Merritt decides to confront the emptiness of a faith that has become dry, predictable, and rote. In a moment of desperation, he cries out for God to show up and surprise him, and over the next year, God doesn't disappoint. In JESUS IS BETTER THAN YOU IMAGINED, Jonathan shares vulnerable, never-before-shared stories of how he learned to encounter Jesus in unexpected ways. Through a 60-hour vow of silence in a desert monastery, he experiences Jesus in silence. When a friend dies of a rare disease, he sees Jesus in tragedy. Through confronting childhood sexual abuse, Jonathan discovers Jesus in honesty. In an anti-Christian-themed bar, he finds Jesus in sacrilege. And when he's almost kidnapped in Haiti by armed bandits, he experiences Jesus in the impossible. Though Merritt finds himself in places he never dreamed of, he doesn't lose his way. Instead, these experiences force him back to the Bible, where he repeatedly offers fresh, sometimes provocative, interpretations of familiar passages. Along the way, he throws back the covers on the sleepy faith of many Christians, urging them to search for the Holy in their midst. Pointed and poignant by turns, Jonathan helps readers open their hearts to a mysterious God and a faith that sustains, guides, and most importantly, surprises. His fearlessly honest story invites us all to discover the messy mercy and crazy grace of a sometimes startling Savior.
It's obvious from the bookshelves and the big screen that heaven is on everyone's mind. All of us long to know what life after death will be like. Bestselling author John Burke is no exception. For decades, he has been studying accounts of people who have had near-death experiences (NDEs). While not every detail of individual NDEs correlate with Scripture, Burke shows how the common experiences shared by thousands of survivors clearly point to the God of the Bible and the exhilarating picture of heaven he promises. Imagine Heaven is an inspirational journey through the Bible's picture of heaven, colored in with the real-life stories of heaven's wonders. Burke compares gripping stories of NDEs to what Scripture says about our biggest questions of heaven: Will I be myself? Will I see friends and loved ones? What will it look like? What is God like? What will we do forever? What about children and pets? This book will propel readers into an experience that will forever change their view of the life to come and the way they live life today. It also tackles the tough questions of heavenly reward and hellish NDEs. Anyone interested in NDEs or longing to imagine heaven more clearly will enjoy this fascinating and hope-filled book.
From our earliest days we long for love and acceptance. First from our parents, then from peers, and eventually from romantic interests. We look into their faces, searching for a smile, a look that says, I love you exactly as you are. Don't change. We long for the same gracious acceptance from God. But despite the Christian gospel of unearned grace and unconditional love, too many of us feel as though we're still not quite good enough as we are. We can't believe that God accepts us. And often this is because those who represent God to us on earth--our parents, other Christians--have not looked upon us as we are with expressions of unrelenting love. With compassion and wit, Margot Starbuck asks the question, What if God receives me exactly as I am? She explores the unbounded love of God, showing readers a God whose face is open, kind, and gracious, accepting us as we are and freeing us from shame. Anyone who has ever felt as though they don't quite measure up will cherish this liberating message about God's abundant grace.
Would you believe that 86 percent of LGBT people—from the proud marcher at the Pride Parade to the quiet, closeted teen—spent their childhood in church? More than half of them left those religious commu-nities as adults; three out of four would be happy to come back. For decades now we have found our-selves caught up in a culture war: us versus them. Good news: there is no them. Our culture war has been a civil war: Us versus Us. And there is a path toward meaningful peace. Andrew Marin brings the startling findings of his largest-ever scientific survey of the religious history, practices, and beliefs of the LGBT community. Marin’s findings offer clear direction for both sides of a long cultural battle to meet in the middle, sacrificing neither conviction nor integrity as they rediscover the things they have in common and the hope found in Christ alone. Original, groundbreaking research into the religious lives and beliefs of the LGBT community.
In the earliest days of the Christian church, the gospel spread out from Jerusalem in a burst of incredible stories. A man who could calm a stormy sea with a word, who healed the lame and the blind, who raised the ire of the religious leaders, and who even raised people from the dead. Compare this organic, even entertaining, method of spreading the Good News to how we are often encouraged to evangelize today, with clever arguments and our defenses already up in anticipation of rebuttal. Somewhere along the way, we've lost the plot to the greatest story ever told. Now Matt Mikalatos invites us back into God's story, both to find our place in it and to rediscover the wonder that the apostles saw in their listeners as they told the story of Jesus, the Messiah they knew personally and loved fiercely. As they lose themselves in modern retellings of the events of the book of Acts, readers will find that sharing the story is easier and more rewarding than they ever imagined.
Scripture tells us that the words of Jesus made people uncomfortable, confused, angry, repentant, worshipful, and riotous. Today, we read the words of Christ in a steady, even tone and find ourselves wondering if maybe we're missing something. Could it be that we've lost the emotional power of Jesus's words simply because we're too familiar with them? With incredible insight into the surprising and unsettling aspects of Jesus's parables and life, Matt Mikalatos reimagines familiar stories and parables in a modern-day setting, bringing alive for the contemporary reader all the controversy and conflict inherent in the originals. These emotional, sometimes humorous, and jaw-dropping retellings include the stories of the prodigal son, the good Samaritan, the lost coin, the feeding of the 5,000, the death and resurrection of Jesus, and more, asking provocative questions like What would be the modern equivalent of Jesus letting a "sinful woman" wash his feet? Who would be the hero of "The Good Samaritan"? How would Jesus tell the parable of the lost sheep in a city like Portland?
Winsome Persuasion by Tim Muehlhoff,Richard Langer Pdf
Christianity Today's 2018 Book of the Year Award of Merit - Apologetics/Evangelism How are Christians viewed in the broader culture? We blush at the possibilities. Brainwashed fanatics? Out-of-touch dogmatists? Buffoons? The task of bearing faithful witness to Jesus is complicated by persistent—and not altogether baseless—cultural stereotypes. In our post-Christian society, thoughtful Christians are considering again how to engage the dominant culture as a minority, a counterpublic, amid varying perceptions and misperceptions. In this timely book, Timothy Muehlhoff and Rick Langer ask what our interactions with the dominant cultural ethos should look like. How might we be persuasive and civil at the same time? How should we respond to those who ridicule and caricature us? How can we challenge the beliefs of other communities with love and respect? Muehlhoff and Langer present a model for cultural engagement that integrates communication theory, theology, and Scripture. Penetrating, wise, and relentlessly practical, it includes test cases and examples from history, such as William Wilberforce and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Now more than ever, Christians need what Winsome Persuasion offers: a compelling vision of public engagement that is both shrewd and gracious.
The Truest Thing about You by David Lomas,D. R. Jacobsen Pdf
There are many true things about you—true things you use to build an identity. Parent. Introvert. Victim. Student. Extrovert. Entrepreneur. Single. These truths can identify you, your successes and failures, your expectations and disappointments, your secret dreams and hidden shames. But what if your true identity isn't found in any of these smaller truths, but in the grand truth of who God says you are? In other words, lots of things are true about you—but are they the truest? David Lomas invites you to discover and live out the truth of who God created you to be: you are loved, you are accepted, and you are made in God's image. It's time to move beyond the lesser voices and discover why everything changes when you become who you really are.
Did Jesus really beat death? That’s what Christians for hundreds of years have believed, that Jesus Christ returned to life after death and burial in a stone tomb. To the modern mind, “resurrection” is utterly implausible, but it was also doubtful to many first-century Greeks, Jews, and even some Christians. With such an incredible assertion at the heart of the Christian faith, it’s no wonder that some people struggle to believe. Unlike any other book on the resurrection, Raised? encourages you to doubt in order to believe. Too often Christians look down on doubt, but in Christ, we see a person who welcomes doubt and encourages faith. Jonathan Dodson and Brad Watson don’t shy away from the hard questions or settle for easy answers. They help you to see how the resurrection offers hope for the future and answers for the life and death questions we all face. “I encourage Christians and non-Christians alike to read this book. . . . provocative, illuminating, and succinct.” —Eileen Flynn, former religion reporter for Austin American-Statesman and Journalism and religion lecturer at the University of Texas “Wonderfully demonstrates the plausibility of the resurrection of Jesus and the possibilities for a life of hope.” —Sean McDonough, professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and author of Christ as Creator: Origins of a New Testament Doctrine
Almost anyone you ask would say that they want to do work that matters. Yet many people do not feel like they are actively making a difference in the world. Others may feel a sense of calling but lack either the courage or the supportive community to carry it out. But if God created each of us on purpose, for a purpose, we should be ordering our lives around that purpose. Jonathan D. Golden, founder of Land of a Thousand Hills coffee company, has discovered and is living out his unique calling to promote social, spiritual, and economic justice while providing a living wage to 2,500 farmers in Rwanda. Now he reveals to readers how to identify their calling, dispels the myths and misunderstandings we often have about what constitutes a calling, and challenges them to pursue that calling with a courage that can surmount the many obstacles that may lie in their path. He also shows readers how to cultivate a community of support that will help them fulfill their calling. For anyone who is dissatisfied with the work they are doing, just entering the workforce, or wondering what more is out there, this book reveals how to embrace the meaningful life they were meant to live.
Better Than You Can Imagine by Patrick Quinn,Ken Roach Pdf
Most people want to make a difference, but they feel inadequate. In Better Than You Can Imagine, Patrick Quinn shares four truths: You have a gift that only you can give. Someone has a need that only you can meet. Joy is the journey where the gift and the need collide. The journey will break you … but it will also make you. Through story and biblical insight, Quinn helps readers apply these truths to their lives. Whether it’s time, money, or talent, everyone has something extra to give to others—and God has even more joy to give back.
Grace. We talk asthough we understand the term. The bank gives us a grace period. The seedy politician falls from grace. Musicians speak of a gracenote. We describe an actress as gracious, a dancer as graceful. We use the wordfor hospitals, baby girls, kings, and premeal prayers. We talk as though weknow what grace means. But do wereally understand it? Have we settled for wimpy grace? It politely occupies aphrase in a hymn, fits nicely on a church sign. Never causes trouble or demandsa response. When asked, "Do you believe in grace?" who could say no? Max Lucadoasks a deeper question: Have you been changed by grace? Shaped by grace?Strengthened by grace? Emboldened by grace? Softened by grace? Snatched by thenape of your neck and shaken to your senses by grace? God's gracehas a drenching about it. A wildness about it. A white-water, riptide, turn-you-upside-downness about it. Grace comes after you. It rewires you. Frominsecure to God secure. From regret riddled to better-because-of-it. Fromafraid to die to ready to fly. Grace isthe voice that calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off. Let's makecertain grace gets you. Endorsements for GRACE: "God's grace--His unconditionally loving, unmerited favor--issometimes difficult for people to grasp, even though each one of us is indesperate need of it. But in Max Lucado's new book, GRACE, it is completely embraceable and understandable. ThroughLucado's characteristic narrative style and profound biblical understanding, welearn that God's grace is truly much more than we deserve and greater than weimagine. " --Dr. Charles F. Stanley "Max Lucado has blended his creative writing style withhonesty about how he has experienced God's grace, mercy and forgiveness in hisown times of failure and despair. Youwill find comfort as Max shines the light of the Word of God revealing thatJesus Christ is truly the only hope that brings everlasting peace." --Franklin Graham, President and CEO, Samaritan's Purse, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association "Reading Max Lucado on grace is like hearing Warren Buffetton money or Julia Child on food--it's a subject he spent a lifetime falling inlove with." --John Ortberg, pastor and author, Menlo Park PresbyterianChurch "Few writers are better than Max Lucado, no subject isbetter than God's grace." --Randy Alcorn, author of Heaven and If God is Good "Max gives us encouragement, hope and a needed reminderthat the grace we all possess as followers of Jesus should empower us to movemountains, vs simply settling for pushing wimpy molehills." --Brad Lomenick, President and Executive Director, Catalyst "Max offers up a biblical vision of God's grace that comesdrenched in sweat and with a set of six-pack abs; a life-defining newness andrelationship-refining kindness straight from the heart of God." --Tim Kimmel, author of GraceBased Parenting "Some writers aim for the mind, others for the heartand a small number for the soul. With his latest book, 'Grace, ' Max Lucado hitsthe trifecta, touching on all three." -- Cal Thomas, Syndicated and USA Today Columnist and Fox News Contributor "If you love the writings of Max Lucado, this will probablybecome your favorite." -- Stephen Arterburn, Founder and Chairman of New LifeMinistries, host of "New Life Live " and best selling author "I can think of no more needed message for weary peopleeverywhere, and no better writer than Max Lucado to paint so gloriously thehope that "Christ in you" affords." --Louie Giglio, creator of Passion Conferences and pastor, Passion City Church
"In 2007, Kevin Palau and a few dozen pastors approached Portland's mayor and posed the question: How can we serve you with no strings attached? Officials identified five initial areas of need--hunger, homelessness, healthcare, the environment, and public schools-- and so began a partnership, CityServe, between the city and a band of churches seeking to live out the gospel message. Since then, the CityServe model has spread like wildfire, inspiring communities across the country to take up the cause in their own cities"--Provided by publisher.
What if you could become a powerful force for good in the world without moving overseas, burdening your overwhelmed family, or giving up the comforts of modern life? Chris Marlow, founder of the global advocacy organization Help One Now, once felt paralyzed in the face of global problems. They seemed too numerous, too complicated, too big—and after all, how much can one person really do? But a wake-up call in Zimbabwe and a closer study of Scripture soon showed Chris that maybe Christians are overcomplicating how to do act justly in a broken world. Maybe all God is calling us to do is set up a lemonade stand for a good cause. Doing Good is Simple is your practical guide to world change wherever you are. Through Chris’ own journey of an ordinary person seeking God’s good in the world, this book will: Empower you to make a difference where you are Redefine good according to God’s metrics of small, simple things with great love Bring global concepts down to earth for you to find your place in the area where God is calling you Disband the top myths we tell ourselves when it comes to world change and why we aren’t “enough” Free you from your first world guilt complex that drags you down Provide practical, accessible guidelines for getting started today
