Showing results by narrator "George W. Sarris" in All Categories

The Philippian jailer's question is as pressing for us as it was for the man who originally asked it. God is holy, and we are not. God cannot stand to look upon sin. How then can we, as sinners, be saved? This book delves into Scripture and church history to explore the Protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone, and in so doing, it points to Christ alone as our hope for salvation.

From the earliest oral traditions to ink on parchment and ultimately the printing press, this is the story behind the best-selling book of all time. Original texts were captured and passed down from generation to generation by elders and leaders, many inked by hand in extreme conditions. Christians and Jews canonized the Christian, Catholic, and Hebrew Bibles over a period of thousands of years. Devoted people dedicated their lives throughout time to put this unique book into the hands of people worldwide.

Many Christians are fearful of engaging in conversations about their faith with Jewish people knowing that there are complex issues and suspicions that lie deep beneath the surface. And yet there are many points of contact and much common ground. This short audiobook is designed to help both Christians and whole churches understand more about the variety of Jewish people we might work with, meet, or know and to reach out to them with the good news of the Gospel.

Many Christians in the West are fearful of engaging in conversation with Muslims - believing that they will be hostile to Christian beliefs and conversations about the Bible. This short audiobook is designed to help both Christians and whole churches understand more about the variety of Muslims there are living in the West and to reach out to them with the good news of the Gospel.

So often in America, we define who we are by what we do. We introduce ourselves by our job titles. We ask, "What do you do?" to be polite in small talk. We define others by their occupations. But there are good reasons to connect what you do with your time, whether that is 9-to-5 work or managing a household full of children. God created us to work, not as judgment but in cooperation with a mandate given to humanity long before the fall. Your work isn't who you are, but it is central to why you are here.

We live in a society of broken homes. Having parents in the home doesn't mean that parenting is actually happening. Parenting is a God-given task that ensures young children are protected and nurtured into maturity in the fear and admonition of the Lord. But America and the church face a crisis of parenting: detached or absentee fathers, single mothers, and grandparents raising the next generation.

The problem isn't sex. God designed sex, and sex is good. Sex is a powerful union that brings men and women together. But when sex is distorted by sin, the misuse of our sexuality can alienate us from one another, causing immense harm and pain. Enter pornography - the most prevalent distortion of sexual sin in America. Pornography is not only a problem in terms of personal morality but a social epidemic that is making the possibility of sexually fulfilled marriages harder to achieve.

Now poised to reach a new listenership, Good to Great in God's Eyes shows how Christians can honor God with lives of great faith and excellent work. Believers become great in God's eyes by applying the 10 common characteristics of great Christians.

Blending firsthand accounts of tragedy with opportunity for raw self-examination and reflection, Vleisides delves into the realm of spirituality and belief amid loss and despair. For the "spiritual but not religious", who want to pursue God outside the walls of organized religion, Used to Go to Church is an invitation to rethink faith and open up to a life centered on grace, mercy, and love. 

This is a newly revised edition of one of the standard introductory preaching textbooks on the market today. Beginning with a solid theological basis, veteran preacher and best-selling author Thomas G. Long offers a practical, step-by-step guide to writing a sermon. Long centers his approach around the biblical concept of witness. To be a preacher, Long posits, is to be a witness to God's work in the world - one who sees before speaking, one whose task is to "tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about what is seen".

The Jesus of the Gospels brings together the best elements of a survey of the Gospels and a commentary on the Gospels to help listeners know Jesus and understand the good news. Drawing on decades of experience teaching and writing on the Gospels, Andreas Köstenberger presents a holistic portrait of Jesus by leading listeners through an in-depth study of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 

How did the movement founded by Jesus transform more in the first 75 years after his death than it has in the 2,000 years since? This book tells the story of how the Christian movement, which began as relatively informal, rural, Hebrew- and Aramaic-speaking, and closely anchored to the Jewish synagogue, became primarily urban, Greek-speaking, and gentile by the early second century, spreading through the Greco-Roman world with a mission agenda and church organization distinct from its roots in Jewish Galilee. 

Most men find spiritual growth overcomplicated and the needed discipline beyond their reach. But it doesn't need to be that way. In Called to Act: 5 Uncomplicated Disciplines for Men, author Vince Miller provides a simple understanding of five core spiritual disciplines that will ignite a lifelong journey of spiritual development. Leave the ranks of the hesitant and stuck and join a movement of men.

In his latest book, Reckless Love, author and Pastor Tom Berlin writes that Jesus taught them to love their neighbor first as a way to more deeply love God. In Reckless Love, you will consider your life and learn how loving the people around you will completely renew your faith and give you a new experience of loving God. 

How should one proclaim of the gospel of Jesus Christ in a secular age? For many Christians, the traditional approach of apologetics has grown stale. In light of the current secular climate, as described by Charles Taylor and others, rhetorical strategies that previously served the church and apologists well are no longer effective. Justin Bailey seeks to address this dilemma by infusing apologetics with an appeal to the imagination, the aesthetic, and the affective.

In this narrative of grief, Pastor Mel Lawrenz chronicles how his family struggled to survive the sudden death of their beloved daughter. In raw, vivid episodes, he describes the immediacy of the pain and the uncertainty of what comes next. In the agony of traumatic loss, Lawrenz apprehends the realities of love and life and offers insights on how to navigate our life priorities before or after tragedy hits. You are not alone. You too can find a way forward.

Men have a way of rubbing off on one another - for better or worse. You will be influenced, and you will influence, especially when you have regular one-on-one interactions with another man. Be intentional and become the man God made you to be, while learning to change other men's lives for the better. Men of Influence teaches you the importance of mentoring, how to find a good mentor, and what you can offer others as a mentor (even if you don't feel qualified).

Welcome to the family of God. As a new believer, you are embarking on a new life, with new relationships and values. It's a thrilling journey. But what does it really mean to be born again into new life with Christ? In Newborn, Pastor Jack Hayford outlines the basic elements in a growing life with Jesus. He discusses your relationship to God, how to let the Bible help you, types of baptisms, and spending time with other believers.

Martin Luther (1483-1546) contributed so much to the development of Western civilization that it is not overstatement to declare that he changed the world as he set the Protestant Reformation in motion 500 years ago. In this brief sketch, you will learn about the exciting historical facts and fascinating events surrounding this Reformer's influential life. Luther's story provides an object lesson of faith, grace, and the forgiveness that can be found only in Jesus Christ.

We often use the word faith without thinking much about its meaning. We know that without faith, it is impossible to please God and that faith is the core and foundation of daily Christian living. But what is faith? Author Joel R. Beeke believes we can best understand faith by seeing how it operates by the Spirit in the lives of fallen sinners like us.