Church Discipline

Church Discipline
Author: Jonathan Leeman
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 146
Release: 2012-04-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1433532360

More and more church leaders, pastors, and members are looking for guidance on how to practice church discipline in a biblical way. Here is a contemporary and concise how-to guide that provides a theological framework for understanding and implementing disciplinary measures in the local church, along with several examples of real-life situations. Drawing on both Matthew 18 and 1 Corinthians 5, this brief hardback helps leaders face the endless variety of circumstances and sins for which no exact scriptural case study exists, sins which don't show up on any list and need a healthy framework to be corrected appropriately in love. This volume is part of the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series. Look for upcoming, quick-read formats of the following marks of a healthy church: expositional preaching, biblical theology, the gospel, conversion, evangelism, church membership, discipleship and growth, and church leadership.

Justification Reconsidered

Justification Reconsidered
Author: Stephen Westerholm
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 112
Release: 2013-11-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1467439274

Much has been written of late about what the apostle Paul really meant when he spoke of justification by faith, not the works of the law. This short study by Stephen Westerholm carefully examines proposals on the subject by Krister Stendahl, E. P. Sanders, Heikki Raisanen, N. T. Wright, James D. G. Dunn, and Douglas A. Campbell. In doing so, Westerholm notes weaknesses in traditional understandings that have provoked the more recent proposals, but he also points out areas in which the latter fail to do justice to the apostle. Readers of this book will gain not only a better grasp of the ongoing theological debate about justification but also a more nuanced overall understanding of Paul.

Paul and Palestinian Judaism

Paul and Palestinian Judaism
Author: E. P. Sanders
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 671
Release: 2017-10-12
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1506438458

This landmark work, which has shaped a generation of scholarship, compares the apostle Paul with contemporary Judaism, both understood on their own terms. E. P. Sanders proposes a methodology for comparing similar but distinct religious patterns, demolishes a flawed view of rabbinic Judaism still prevalent in much New Testament scholarship, and argues for a distinct understanding of the apostle and of the consequences of his conversion. A new foreword by Mark A. Chancey outlines Sanders‘s achievement, reviews the principal criticisms raised against it, and describes the legacy he leaves future interpreters.

What Is a Healthy Church?

What Is a Healthy Church?
Author: Mark Dever
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2024-09-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1433596636

Key Traits of a Healthy Church to Develop within the Local Body What is an ideal church, and how can you tell? How does it look different from other churches? More importantly, how does it act differently, especially in society? Many of us aren't sure how to answer those questions, even though we probably have some preconceived ideas. This book answers those questions and many more. Author Mark Dever seeks to help believers recognize the key characteristics of a healthy church: expositional preaching, biblical theology, and a right understanding of the gospel. Dever then calls us to develop those characteristics in our own churches. By following the example of New Testament authors and addressing all members of the church, pastors and laity alike, Dever challenges all believers to do their part in maintaining the local church. Part of the 9Marks Building Healthy Churches series, What Is a Healthy Church? offers timeless truths and practical principles to help each of us fulfill our God-given roles in the body of Christ. Offers an Ideal Church Model: Encourages pastors and members to implement healthy church qualities within their local body Written by Mark Dever: Pastor, bestselling author, and president of 9Marks From 9Marks: Other titles in the Building Healthy Churches series include Church Discipline; Deacons; and Church Membership Replaces ISBN 978-1-58134-937-5

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Catechism of the Catholic Church
Author: U.S. Catholic Church
Publisher: Image
Total Pages: 849
Release: 2012-11-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 030795370X

Over 3 million copies sold! Essential reading for Catholics of all walks of life. Here it is - the first new Catechism of the Catholic Church in more than 400 years, a complete summary of what Catholics around the world commonly believe. The Catechism draws on the Bible, the Mass, the Sacraments, Church tradition and teaching, and the lives of saints. It comes with a complete index, footnotes and cross-references for a fuller understanding of every subject. The word catechism means "instruction" - this book will serve as the standard for all future catechisms. Using the tradition of explaining what the Church believes (the Creed), what she celebrates (the Sacraments), what she lives (the Commandments), and what she prays (the Lord's Prayer), the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers challenges for believers and answers for all those interested in learning about the mystery of the Catholic faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a positive, coherent and contemporary map for our spiritual journey toward transformation.

Respectable Sins

Respectable Sins
Author: Jerry Bridges
Publisher: NavPress
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2017-08-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1631468359

Over 250,000 copies sold Have we become so focused on “major” sins that we’ve grown apathetic about our subtle sins? Renowned author Jerry Bridges takes you into a deep look at the corrosive patterns of behavior that we often accept as normal, in this established and impactful book. Practical, thought-provoking, and relevant at any stage of life, Respectable Sins addresses a dozen clusters of specific “acceptable” sins that we tend to tolerate in ourselves, such as: Jealousy Anger Judgementalism Selfishness Pride Writing from the trenches of his own battles with sin, Bridges offers a message of hope in the transforming grace of God to overcome our “respectable sins.” Now with an added study guide for personal use or group discussion so you can dive deeper into this staple of Jerry Bridges’s classic collection. “Read this book—we need to—and be ready for a gentle surgeon’s sharp knife.” —J. I. Packer, author and speaker

Original Blessing

Original Blessing
Author: Danielle Shroyer
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2016-10-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 150642029X

Of the worlds major religions, only Christianity holds to a doctrine of original sin. Ideas are powerful, and they shape who we are and who we become. The fact that many Christians believe there is something in human nature that is, and will always be, contrary to God, is not just a problem but a tragedy. So why do the doctrines assumptions of human nature so infiltrate our pulpits, sermons, and theological bookshelves? How is it so misconstrued in times of grief, pastoral care, and personal shame? How did we fall so far from Gods original blessing in the garden to this pervasive belief in humanitys innate inability to do good? In this book, Danielle Shroyer takes readers through an overview of the historical development of the doctrine, pointing out important missteps and overcalculations, and providing alternative ways to approach often-used Scriptures. Throughout, she brings the primary claims of original sin to their untenable (and unbiblical) conclusions. In Original Blessing, she shows not only how we got this doctrine wrong, but how we can put sin back in its rightful place: in a broader context of redemption and the blessing of humanitys creation in the image of God.

Speaking of Sin

Speaking of Sin
Author: Brown Taylor Barbara
Publisher: Canterbury Press
Total Pages: 84
Release: 2015-05-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1848257996

In Speaking of Sin, Barbara Brown Taylor brings her fresh perspective to words that often cause us discomfort and have widely fallen into neglect: sin, damnation, repentance, penance, and salvation. In recovering this lost language in our worship and individual lives, she shows how we can take part in the divine work of redemption.

The Disciple-Making Pastor

The Disciple-Making Pastor
Author: Bill Hull
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2007-10-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1441201033

Christ commanded the church to make disciples, to produce people who love and obey God, bear fruit, and live with joy. The crisis at the heart of the church is that we often pay lip service to making disciples, but we seldom put much effort behind doing it. For the pastor who is ready to put words into action, The Disciple-Making Pastor offers the inspiration and practical know-how to do so. Bill Hull shows pastors the obstacles they will face, what disciples really look like, the pastor's role in producing them, and the practices that lead to positive change. He also offers a six-step coaching process to help new disciples grow in commitment and obedience and practical ideas to integrate disciple making into the fabric of the church.

Sin

Sin
Author: Gary A. Anderson
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2009-09-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0300154879

What is sin? Is it simply wrongdoing? Why do its effects linger over time? In this sensitive, imaginative, and original work, Gary Anderson shows how changing conceptions of sin and forgiveness lay at the very heart of the biblical tradition. Spanning nearly two thousand years, the book brilliantly demonstrates how sin, once conceived of as a physical burden, becomes, over time, eclipsed by economic metaphors. Transformed from a weight that an individual carried, sin becomes a debt that must be repaid in order to be redeemed in God's eyes. Anderson shows how this ancient Jewish revolution in thought shaped the way the Christian church understood the death and resurrection of Jesus and eventually led to the development of various penitential disciplines, deeds of charity, and even papal indulgences. In so doing it reveals how these changing notions of sin provided a spur for the Protestant Reformation. Broad in scope while still exceptionally attentive to detail, this ambitious and profound book unveils one of the most seismic shifts that occurred in religious belief and practice, deepening our understanding of one of the most fundamental aspects of human experience.