Showing titles in Discipleship

We live in a world of options, where we might do this or that if we feel like it. But for followers of Jesus, certain things are not optional, but necessary. Bishop Claude Alexander unpacks the Gospels' statements of what Jesus said he must do. He must be about his Father's business. He must go through Samaria. He must go to Jerusalem. Life in God is less about what you could do, and more about what you must do. Contrary to the life of the optional, accidental, and haphazard, the believer is called to live with a sense of divine necessity. No maybes about it.

The market is flooded with books, conferences, and workshops on how to be a better leader. In most companies, leaders are noticed and applauded while followers are often viewed as weak and passive. However, Scripture tells us a different story; although leadership is valued and respected, being obedient followers of Christ is at the very heart of faith. In The Call to Follow, Richard Langer and Joanne J. Jung teach listeners that "followership" is essential to both organizational and spiritual flourishing.

Friendship: it's one of the simplest of human relationships in comparison to marriage or family relationships, yet it's one of the least understood and practiced. This is the core of biblical friendship, and what sets it apart from what the world is offering: it all flows from Jesus Christ. Friendship finds its origin, purpose, and power in Jesus. Our human friendships then must be shaped by this life-changing truth. Biblical friendship is deep, honest, pure, transparent, and liberating. Dig into this book, and learn how your friendships can embody this amazing and wonderful reality.

What is the nature, calling, and work of local church leadership? Pastor and seminary professor David Mathis considers the elder qualifications in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 not only as prerequisites but as daily necessities to carry out joyfully. This accessible guide aims to serve current and aspiring pastors and elders, as well as church members who want to know the expectations for their leaders and how to pray for them.

Toward the end of the fourth century, a group of men and women began to withdraw from the halls of privilege and power into the desert to rediscover the essence of Jesus Christ. The stories and examples of these desert fathers and mothers are recorded for us. The desert fathers and mothers found a way to live radically, humanly, and beautifully in a spiritually desolate and confusing time. So can we. Streams in the Wasteland is for all those who thirst for a better way—the radical way of Jesus amid the desert of our age.

Evangelism and missions are parts of the Christian life often accompanied by fears, insecurities, and cultural pressures. In this addition to the Union series, Daniel Hames and Michael Reeves argue that an individual's relationship with God influences their evangelism and missions more than anything else. Scripture clearly shows that a believer's responsibility is to make God known in the world, but this cannot be done without first knowing and enjoying God.

En La santidad de Dios, el Dr. R.C. Sproul explora el carácter santo de Dios y explica por qué esta santidad nos fascina y nos aterroriza. A medida que analiza el impacto de la santidad de Dios en el profeta Isaías, Martín Lutero y los santos a lo largo de la historia, descubrimos que solo hay una manera de estar ante el Santo. Este clásico y célebre libro ha ayudado a miles de cristianos a comprender mejor quién es Dios, quiénes son ellos y qué significa estar revestidos de la justicia de Cristo.

What does it really mean to be a Christian? In a world where everything from sports to politics, social media to podcasts, and movies to television vies for our attention, we need to get back to what is essential. We need to know who we truly are and who we serve. When people finally grasp who they are in Christ and what their participation means to their local church, everything changes. Life begins to make sense. Their purpose becomes clear. Their mission through their local church is confirmed. Their hearts start longing to cooperate with God in the company of fellow believers.

Like a succession of failed diet regimens, the much-touted techniques that are supposed to bring us closer to God "in our hearts" can instead make us feel anxious, frustrated, and overwhelmed. Phillip Cary explains that discipleship is a gradual, long-term process that comes through the gospel experienced in Christian community, not a to-do list designed to help us live the Christian life "right." He covers ten things we don't have to do to be close to God, skillfully unpacking the riches of traditional Christian spirituality. The expanded edition includes a new afterword.

Celebrity—defined as social power without proximity—has led to abuses of power, the cultivation of persona, and a fixation on profits. In light of the fall of famous Christian leaders in recent years, the time has come for the church to reexamine its relationship to celebrity. Award-winning journalist Katelyn Beaty explores the ways fame has reshaped the American church, explains how and why celebrity is woven into the fabric of the evangelical movement, and identifies many ways fame has gone awry in recent years.

Many Christians view the Bible as a book that they know they should read, but it can be hard to know where to start. If they spend time regularly reading it, it can often feel like a chore to be checked off for the day. What many miss is that the Bible is a sweeping story full of narrative, poetry, and letters—something to be marveled at and enjoyed. In The Epic Story of the Bible, Greg Gilbert aims to teach Christians—or those interested in Christianity—what the Bible is and how to study it.

Culture, church, and life have sold us narratives about who we’re supposed to be as women. If we play the part well, we gain love, acceptance, validation, and significance. When we don’t know which role to play from one day to the next, we sink in insecurity. We feel driven to people-please, downplay, settle, and perform. In all this, we accept less than the abundant life Jesus died to give us. Amanda Pittman explains how we can rewrite our damaging self-beliefs with the truth about our God-given identity by establishing clarity, connection, competency, and conviction.

The New York Times bestselling author of Radical challenges Christians to break free from an American gospel that prostitutes Jesus for comfort, power, prosperity, and politics—and fully pursue the true gospel that exalts Jesus above all. Pastor David Platt believes we’ve gotten really good...

À travers toutes ses activités quotidiennes, le pasteur ne doit pas perdre de vue son objectif ultime : la sanctification du peuple de Dieu. C'est là le cœur du projet de Dieu pour les chrétiens. Dans ce livre, John MacArthur rappelle aux pasteurs de ne pas oublier la raison pour laquelle ils passent d'innombrables heures à préparer des sermons, à rendre visite à des personnes malades, à conseiller et à célébrer des mariages, surtout lorsque la ligne d'arrivée semble lointaine et qu'ils sont tentés d'abandonner.

National tensions are at a record high. People on all points in the political spectrum care deeply about their country, although they differ wildly in their opinions about what it looks like to serve that country well. As Christians, we love God and seek to follow him. At the same time, nothing shapes us and tugs at our loyalties quite like the place we live. And of course we are regularly encouraged to pledge our allegiance to our country―or particular understandings of it. Who wins when the priorities of God and our country clash?

When student Tim Journeyman first wrote to family friend Dr. Paul Woodson, he didn't know it would start a fifteen-year mentorship that would shape his life and Christian faith. Within their candid letters are words of real-world wisdom—from a "senior saint" to a "junior saint"—covering various areas of living, from the theological to the everyday. Written as fictional correspondence between two men at different stages of life and faith, the novel Letters Along the Way provides important biblical perspectives.

Fervent passion for Jesus is often one of the first things to fade as we struggle through the daily grind of life, especially after grappling with disappointments and pain. Yet inherent in Jesus's call to return to our first love is his promise to help us never to lose it—to have a heart sustained in joy, delight, and passion for him all of our days. Dana Candler shares her own wrestle with weariness and unbelief, and reveals that a heart fully alive in Jesus is not only possible but is the promise and invitation of God's infinite grace. 

Jesus’ command to “go and make disciples” can feel complicated and overwhelming. Do you wonder where to start, what it looks like, and how to fit this making-disciples thing into your busy schedule? You’re not alone. Alice Matagora invites you to enter Jesus’ plan to save the world wherever you are. No matter who you are, what you do, or where you are in your disciplemaking journey, How to Save the World will help you find joy and confidence as you discover practical ways to share your faith as you join God in saving the world right where you live.

Is het volgen van de livestream van een kerkdienst voor een christen niet voldoende? Is het nog wel de moeite waard je bij een plaatselijke gemeente aan te sluiten? Is het echt zo belangrijk om iedere week samen te komen? Collin Hansen en Jonathan Leeman gaan op deze vragen in. Herontdekking gaat over onderwerpen als de bedoeling van de gemeente, het belang van de preek, het lidmaatschap, de tucht en hoe we leden kunnen liefhebben die zo heel anders zijn dan wij. Jij hebt anderen nodig (en anderen hebben jou nodig) om christen te zijn.

When building a children’s ministry at a church, there is so much to consider: Which curriculum should we use? How many volunteers do we need? How do we keep parents in the loop? And that’s before we run into stalled check-in computers, missing activity sheets, and floors that need to be vacuumed. Writing from personal ministry experience, Jared Kennedy shares a four-fold approach for gospel-centered, missional children’s ministry: hospitality, teaching, discipleship, and mission.