Showing results for "If...." in Discipleship

So much of our belief can be formulaic. We often think that if we do A, B, and C, then God will do X, Y, and Z. We check things off the “Good Christian Checklist,” trusting we’ll be okay, and our trials will be minimal. But when our experiences inevitably deviate from that belief, our trust in God often crumbles. After a series of life-altering trials—including a devastating diagnosis—uncovering faith in the cracks of pain is something Kristen LaValley knows well.

In What If Jesus Was Serious about Justice?, Skye Jethani explores what the Bible really says about God's restorative justice and how he punishes evil and rewards good. Jethani examines the biblical understanding of justice as the restoration of right relationships both among people and between people and God. He considers themes of judgment and mercy in Jesus's ministry and explains Jesus's warnings about God's final judgment of those opposed to his kingdom of justice.

Popular Bible teacher Chuck Swindoll invites you on a journey through Scripture, exploring the hope the Bible offers to those who are dealing with life’s unexpected detours. Life can be humming along as usual, and then in a matter of seconds, everything falls apart. Maybe you have experienced sudden loss. Perhaps there is a heart-breaking betrayal. Maybe you are taking care of a family member with a disability and you never imagined in a million years that you would be doing such a thing.

In a culture that views absolute truth as a fixture of the past, it is necessary to have a deeper explanation of the hope available to us in Jesus. If this explanation is indeed plausible and the Bible is true, then the implications for how we live are nothing short of profound!

Many Christians think about heaven as a distant place we go after we die. But what if it's a very real kingdom available to us right now, here on earth? In What If Jesus Was Serious About Heaven?, Skye Jethani unpacks what Jesus really said about heaven and how it can transform our faith today.

Some people think that salvation is merely about meeting the minimal entrance requirements needed to get into heaven when they die. But that’s not how Jesus talked about it. Rightly understood, salvation is an invitation to know God and to experience his presence, favor, and power starting right here on earth. Best-selling author John Ortberg dispels the myth that eternal life is something we can only hope to experience after we die; recaptures the New Testament definition of salvation, eternal life, and the Good News of the Gospel; and explains what it really means to be a disciple.

Stigmatized by scandal, the church in North America and throughout Europe has been branded as useless and irrelevant. To stem the tide of nominal Christianity, we need to get serious about making disciples who can make other disciples. There is an urgent need today for church services that are substantive and purposeful.

I think of my book as an unabridged Bible tract. Approximately 40 percent of it is Scripture. Unlike the pocket "pray the Romans road" versions, I tried to invest more explanation into those verses which point us to salvation. I give my book out to cult members that knock on my front door, co-workers, and neighbors who are atheists or come from other religions, and others in my life who do not profess Christ as their Savior.