Rejoicing In Lament

Author : J. Todd Billings
Publisher : Brazos Press
Page : 218 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2015-02-10
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781441222909

Get Book

Rejoicing in Lament by J. Todd Billings Pdf

At the age of thirty-nine, Christian theologian Todd Billings was diagnosed with a rare form of incurable cancer. In the wake of that diagnosis, he began grappling with the hard theological questions we face in the midst of crisis: Why me? Why now? Where is God in all of this? This eloquently written book shares Billings's journey, struggle, and reflections on providence, lament, and life in Christ in light of his illness, moving beyond pat answers toward hope in God's promises. Theologically robust yet eminently practical, it engages the open questions, areas of mystery, and times of disorientation in the Christian life. Billings offers concrete examples through autobiography, cultural commentary, and stories from others, showing how our human stories of joy and grief can be incorporated into the larger biblical story of God's saving work in Christ.

Author : J. Todd Billings
Publisher : Brazos Press
Page : 281 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2020-09-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781493427543

Get Book

The End of the Christian Life by J. Todd Billings Pdf

We're all going to die. Yet in our medically advanced, technological age, many of us see death as a distant reality--something that happens only at the end of a long life or to other people. In The End of the Christian Life, Todd Billings urges Christians to resist that view. Instead, he calls us to embrace our mortality in our daily life and faith. This is the journey of genuine discipleship, Billings says: following the crucified and resurrected Lord in a world of distraction and false hopes. Drawing on his experience as a professor and father living with incurable cancer, Billings offers a personal yet deeply theological account of the gospel's expansive hope for small, mortal creatures. Artfully weaving rich theology with powerful narrative, Billings writes for church leaders and laypeople alike. Whether we are young or old, reeling from loss or clinging to our own prosperity, this book challenges us to walk a strange but wondrous path: in the midst of joy and lament, to receive mortal limits as a gift, an opportunity to give ourselves over to the Lord of life.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Page : 254 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2010-01-04
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781467438353

Get Book

The Word of God for the People of God by Anonim Pdf

This book fills a real need for pastors and students. Though there is currently a large body of material on the theological interpretation of Scripture, most of it is highly specific and extremely technical. J. Todd Billings here provides a straightforward entryway for students and pastors to understand why theological interpretation matters and how it can be done. / A solid, constructive theological work, The Word of God for the People of God presents a distinctive Trinitarian, participatory approach toward reading Scripture as the church. Billings's accessible yet substantial argument for a theological hermeneutic is rooted in a historic vision of the practice of scriptural interpretation even as it engages a wide range of contemporary issues and includes several exegetical examples that apply to concrete Christian ministry situations.

Author : J. Todd Billings
Publisher : Baker Academic
Page : 192 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2011-11
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780801039348

Get Book

Union with Christ by J. Todd Billings Pdf

An accomplished theologian recovers the biblical theme of union with Christ, showing how it affects current theological and ministry issues.

Author : Mark Vroegop
Publisher : Crossway
Page : 187 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2020-06-19
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781433567629

Get Book

Weep with Me by Mark Vroegop Pdf

Today, racial wounds from three hundred years of slavery and a history of Jim Crow laws continue to impact the church in America. Martin Luther King Jr. captured this reality when he said: “The most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o’clock on Sunday.” Equipped with the gospel, the evangelical church should be the catalyst for reconciliation, yet it continues to cultivate immense pain and division. Weep with Me by Mark Vroegop is a timely resource that presents lament as a bridge to racial reconciliation in the world today. In the Bible, lament is a prayer that leads to trust, which can be a starting point for the church to “weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15). As Vroegop writes: “Reconciliation in the church starts with tears and ends in trust.”

Author : Scott A. Ellington
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
Page : 214 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2008-09-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781556352638

Get Book

Risking Truth by Scott A. Ellington Pdf

Ours is a world characterized by change. Often the most fundamental changes in our lives result from experiences of profound suffering and loss as we are wrenched from our familiar world and driven into one that is alien. In the midst of such loss, we are compelled to choose between trying to cling to the remnants of a reality that is passing away and trying to make a home in a strange new world. Biblical prayers of lament wait for us at this crossroad of loss and newness. Prayers of lament are marked both by loss and by the inexplicable silence of God. Everything we believe about God's justice and goodness is placed in doubt by his hiddenness. The cry of lament is an act of tremendous risk. To lament is to abandon the sinking ship of religious certainty and strike out in a small dingy, amidst stormy seas, in search of a hidden God. Faced with God's silence, the biblical writers are willing to place at risk their most fundamental beliefs and to lament. The Psalm writers risk the loss of the Exodus story by crying out to a God who has failed to save, demanding that he once more part the chaotic waters and make a way in the desert. Job risks the loss of a moral God by confronting God with his injustice. Jeremiah risks the loss of the covenant by calling out for God to return yet again to a faithless partner and a failed marriage. Matthew and John the Revelator recognize that the coming of Messiah is impelled by the cries of innocent sufferers. Throughout the Bible, lament risks the possible loss of relationship with God and presses for a new, though uncertain, experience of God's presence.

Author : Rachael Newham
Publisher : SPCK
Page : 114 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2021-11-18
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780281085712

Get Book

And Yet by Rachael Newham Pdf

In a life full of highs and lows, choice and challenges, the words 'and yet' can change everything. We are surrounded by darkness and yet there is light. We feel we are lacking and yet God provides. We are broken and bruised and yet there is hope. In the depths of depression and plagued with suicidal thoughts, Rachael Newham never thought she'd find herself writing a book on joy. And yet, if her journey with mental health illness has taught her anything it is that true, deep, lasting joy can only be experienced when we allow ourselves to enter into lament and be honest about our pain before God. With warm understanding, in this lovely Lent book for 2022 Rachael traces how Biblical writers used 'and yet' to bring together joy and lament and invites us to see them not as opposites, but two sides of the same coin. Drawing on her experiences with mental illness, she shows us how we can build a rhythm of both joy and lament into our lives both through the season of Lent and the rest of the church's year. With forty reflections split over six sections And Yet is the perfect daily Lent devotional for 2022, but its undated readings can be used for periods of prayerful reflection throughout the year. This is a beautiful Christian book on lament ideal for anyone looking for to better understand how the tradition of lament and joy work together, and how they can make them a part of their everyday spiritual formation. We may be living in dark circumstances - and yet with a few simple practices we can experience joy in every season.

Author : J. Todd Billings
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 232 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2007-11-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780191526374

Get Book

Calvin, Participation, and the Gift by J. Todd Billings Pdf

Is the God of Calvin a fountain of blessing, or a forceful tyrant? Is Calvin's view of God coercive, leaving no place for the human qua human in redemption? These are perennial questions about Calvin's theology which have been given new life by Gift theologians such as John Milbank, Graham Ward, and Stephen Webb. J. Todd Billings addresses these questions by exploring Calvin's theology of `participation in Christ'. He argues that Calvin's theology of `participation' gives a positive place to the human, such that grace fulfils rather than destroys nature, affirming a differentiated union of God and humanity in creation and redemption. Calvin's trinitarian theology of participation extends to his view of prayer, sacraments, the law, and the ecclesial and civil orders. In light of Calvin's doctrine of participation, Billings reframes the critiques of Calvin in the Gift discussion and opens up new possibilities for contemporary theology, ecumenical theology, and Calvin scholarship as well.

Author : Dustin Crowe
Publisher : Moody Publishers
Page : 131 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2020-10-06
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780802498779

Get Book

The Grumbler's Guide to Giving Thanks by Dustin Crowe Pdf

Trade Grumbling for Gratitude—Experience God like Never Before The apostle Paul instructed the Philippians to be anxious in nothing and thankful in everything. And when he said everything—he meant everything. We can all agree that this is easier said than done. Disappointments and discontent may cause you to slip into dissatisfaction, and grumbling becomes a state of mind—gratitude seems impossible to find. However, what if this is the precise reason you lack the joy of a God-filled life? Instead of a reaction to when things are going well, what if gratitude is actually necessary to knowing the hope of our gracious God? This is exactly what Pastor Dustin Crowe identifies in The Grumbler’s Guide to Giving Thanks. Dustin examines the biblical foundations of thankfulness and traces how it can reshape every-day Christian living. When we express gratitude in all things, we not only praise our Creator, we also get to know Him better. With The Grumbler’s Guide, you’ll learn how to practice thanksgiving in both simple and extraordinary ways, even when you’re tempted to dwell on the negative. You’ll find your outlook on life realigned to see the hand of God in everything, strengthening your trust in Him. And in doing so, you’ll find greater, more joy-filled reasons to continue expressing thanks to our good and generous God.

Author : Douglas Kaine McKelvey
Publisher : Every Moment Holy
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2021-02-12
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1951872053

Get Book

Every Moment Holy, Volume Two by Douglas Kaine McKelvey Pdf

EVERY MOMENT HOLY, Vol. 2: DEATH, GRIEF, & HOPE, is a book of liturgies for seasons of dying and grieving--liturgies such as "A Liturgy for the Scattering of Ashes" or "A Liturgy for the Loss of a Spouse" or "A Liturgy for the Wake of a National Tragedy" or "A Liturgy for the Weighing of Last-Stage Medical Options." These are ways of reminding us that our lives are shot through with sacred purpose and eternal hopes even when, especially when, suffering and pain threaten to overwhelm us. -over 100 liturgies for seasons of dying and grieving -beautiful leather-bound hardcover -over 20 illustrations by Ned Bustard -silk bookmark -gilded edges

Author : Soong-Chan Rah
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
Page : 230 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2015-09-03
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780830897612

Get Book

Prophetic Lament by Soong-Chan Rah Pdf

Missio Alliance Essential Reading List Hearts Minds Bookstore's Best Books RELEVANT's Top 10 Books Englewood Review of Books Best Books When Soong-Chan Rah planted an urban church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, his first full sermon series was a six-week exposition of the book of Lamentations. Preaching on an obscure, depressing Old Testament book was probably not the most seeker-sensitive way to launch a church. But it shaped their community with a radically countercultural perspective. The American church avoids lament. But lament is a missing, essential component of Christian faith. Lament recognizes struggles and suffering, that the world is not as it ought to be. Lament challenges the status quo and cries out for justice against existing injustices. Soong-Chan Rah's prophetic exposition of the book of Lamentations provides a biblical and theological lens for examining the church's relationship with a suffering world. It critiques our success-centered triumphalism and calls us to repent of our hubris. And it opens up new ways to encounter the other. Hear the prophet's lament as the necessary corrective for Christianity's future. A Resonate exposition of the book of Lamentations.

Author : Kathryn Greene-McCreight
Publisher : Brazos Press
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2015-07-14
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781441248695

Get Book

Darkness Is My Only Companion by Kathryn Greene-McCreight Pdf

Where is God in the suffering of a mentally ill person? What happens to the soul when the mind is ill? How are Christians to respond to mental illness? In this brave and compassionate book, theologian and priest Kathryn Greene-McCreight confronts these difficult questions raised by her own mental illness--bipolar disorder. With brutal honesty, she tackles often avoided topics such as suicide, mental hospitals, and electroconvulsive therapy. Greene-McCreight offers the reader everything from poignant and raw glimpses into the mind of a mentally ill person to practical and forthright advice for their friends, family, and clergy. The first edition has been recognized as one of the finest books on the subject. This thoroughly revised edition incorporates updated research and adds anecdotal and pastoral commentary. It also includes a new foreword by the current Archbishop of Canterbury and a new afterword by the author.

Author : Christopher J.H. Wright
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
Page : 180 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2023-11-14
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781514006405

Get Book

The Message of Lamentations by Christopher J.H. Wright Pdf

The destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 BC is the likely setting for the book of Lamentations. This was the most traumatic event in Old Testament history, as Israel faced extreme human suffering, the destruction of the ancient city, national humiliation, and the undermining of all that was thought to be divinely guaranteed, such as the Davidic monarchy, the city of Zion, and the very temple of their God. It is out of such unspeakable pain that Lamentations speaks, through poetry of astonishing beauty and intricacy, although soaked in tears. If we neglect this book of the Bible, says Chris Wright, we miss the challenge and reward of wrestling with the massive theological issues that permeate it. How can suffering be endured alongside faith in an all-loving, good God? If death and destruction stalk the land, can Israel's faith in the covenant God of faithfulness and mercy be sustained? Through this commentary, Wright shows that we must not isolate Lamentations from the rest of the Bible, nor should we read the rest of the Bible without Lamentations. It is a crucial part of the narrative that still has many messages for us to learn from today. Part of the beloved Bible Speaks Today series, The Message of Lamentations offers an insightful, readable exposition of the biblical text and thought-provoking discussion of how its meaning relates to contemporary life. Used by students and teachers around the world, the Bible Speaks Today commentaries are ideal for those studying or preaching the Bible and anyone who wants to delve deeper into the text. This revised edition of a classic volume features lightly updated language and a new interior design.

Author : Billings J. Todd (author)
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 1901
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1467448923

Get Book

Remembrance, Communion, and Hope by Billings J. Todd (author) Pdf

Author : Michael Allen,Scott R. Swain
Publisher : Baker Academic
Page : 428 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2016-04-19
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781493402786

Get Book

Christian Dogmatics by Michael Allen,Scott R. Swain Pdf

This one-volume introduction to systematic theology draws deeply on the catholic and Reformed heritage to present the major doctrines of the Christian faith, displaying the power of theological retrieval for the church's renewal. Leading Reformed theologians, such as Kevin Vanhoozer, John Webster, Michael Horton, and Oliver Crisp, offer the "state of the question" on standard theological topics and engage in both exegetical and historical retrieval for the sake of theological analysis. The book represents the exciting new theological trajectory of Reformed catholicity.