This is a book for pacesetters, church leaders who desire to help their churches break free of the things that turn them in on themselves. It is a masterly mix of biblical principle, objective analysis, and personal experience.
Does living the Christian life feel like an impossible task? The pursuit of holiness is hard work, and that’s where we turn from grace to discipline—and often make a big mistake. Grace is every bit as important for growing as a Christian as it is for becoming a Christian. Grace is at the heart of the gospel, and without a clear understanding of the gospel and grace we can easily slip into a performance-based lifestyle that bears little resemblance to what the gospel offers us.
If you’ve ever struggled with what your role is and what role God takes in your growth as a Christian, this book will comfort and challenge you as you learn to rest in Christ while vigorously pursuing a life of holiness.
Why do we expect justice? Why do we crave spirituality? Why are we attracted to beauty? Why are relationships often so painful? And how will the world be made right? These are not simply perennial questions all generations must struggle with, but are the very echoes of a voice we dimly perceive but deeply long to hear.
For two thousand years, Christianity has claimed to solve these mysteries, and N.T. Wright shows that it still can today. Not since C. S. Lewis’s classic summary of the faith, Mere Christianity, has such a wise and thorough scholar taken the time to explain to anyone who wants to know what Christianity really is and how it is practiced. Wright makes the case for Christian faith from the ground up, assuming that the reader has no knowledge of (and perhaps even some aversion to) religion in general and Christianity in particular.
For anyone who wants to travel beyond the controversies that can obscure what the Christian faith really stands for, this simple book is the perfect vehicle for that journey.
Faith on the Edge offers practical advice for the daily struggles of the Christian walk. The book is written by a team of six young adults from a variety of backgrounds who wrestled with the question of what it means to be a Christian in the postmodern world. The book is divided into three sections: Who Christians are in Christ, who they are in relationship to each other and who they are in relation to the world around them. Short chapters deal with issues such as family relationships, racial reconciliation, church life and evangelism. Faith on the Edge is about how Christ radically changes a person from the inside out. It shows that Christianity is the process of reconstruction not renovation
Allen’s insight and challenge goes beyond a short-sighted, formulaic approach of sharing the faith. Moreover, he calls us to consider a broader, more comprehensive view of God’s redemptive plan for the earth that is more faithful to Biblical texts. This is a very accessible book, but very potent in pushing the edges of what we evangelicals all too often settle for…a rather simplistic, manageable approach to faith, Scripture, God, and being kingdom agents in the world today.
This book has the potential of making Kingdom theology accessible and understandable on the average layperson level. In a day where evangelism is chalked up to handing out a tract or inviting someone to a movie, and when conversion is defined as praying a prayer or walking down an aisle, Wakabayashi presents something far more substantive. If the Kingdom of God has come, and if the nature of the Kingdom is for the citizens of the Kingdom to be loyal and obedient to their King, this leaves no room for a lukewarm Christianity that does not exhibit life change or a desire to be obedient.
This is a marvelous book that everyone in the church would benefit from reading! Written by two professors at Redeemer University College in Ontario, Canada, it tells the whole biblical story from Genesis to Revelation as a drama in six acts with an interlude in the middle. In the first three “acts” God establishes his kingdom (creation), there is rebellion in that kingdom (the Fall), and God through Israel initiates redemption. In the interlude (the “intertestamental period”) God’s kingdom story waits for an ending. Then the story is completed with the coming of the King (redemption accomplished), the spread of the news (the church’s mission), and the return of the King (redemption completed). What is marvelous about this book is that it is written so creatively without cliches so the reader sees the biblical story as if for the first time. The authors are convinced that most people read the Bible as a mere jumble of history, poetry, lessons in morality and theology, comforting promises, guiding principles, and commands. They never realize that the Bible is fundamentally coherent and challenges the “idols” of modern culture. This book deserves a place in everyone’s library.
When: Friday, May 9th 7-9 pm All kids in grades 1-5 are invited…
Wednesday, May 21st at 7 pm
Saturday, June 21st—11 am to 6 pm Save the date! This year’s picnic…
Service Opportunities