Facing an assignment equivalent to being sent to warn notorious terrorists of God's anger with them, perhaps it was no wonder that Jonah ran away - certainly portrayed in Scripture as no "super saint", he avoided God and His call on his life. Yet God turned the situation around as pagan sailors encountered the living God who made the land and sea and the entire population of a city realized that although they deserved to be wiped off the face of the earth, there was a God of compassion and mercy who forgave them. God's mercy is greater than our failures and through adverse circumstances and pain, a character of Christ-like compassion is chiseled out.
What's truly at the heart of our desires? The Envy of Eve guides readers to understand how desires grow into covetousness and what happens when this sin takes power in our hearts. Covetousness chokes out the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, allowing discontentment to bloom. The key to overcoming is to get to the root of our problem: unbelief-a mistrust of God's sovereignty and goodness. An ideal resource for deeper study or group discussion.
What is the purpose of life? The preacher in Ecclesiastes, just like many today, is in search of life's meaning. But as they look through their limited worldview all they find is "vanity, vanity". Pure emptiness! They are in search for something which will have eternal value. To find it, we need to look beyond ourselves. This is what the preacher discovers; that man is powerless, yet God has a design and purpose for all things. He is the giver of all life. Ecclesiastes gives teaching on doctrines such as man, salvation and future judgment.
When someone respected and well known dies we consider their final words to be important and significant, even a distillation of that person's wisdom throughout their life. The most important last words ever spoken were spoken by Jesus to the disciples who were to be his witnesses, taking the gospel to the whole world. Of course, Jesus' teaching and example investigated here are not strictly his very last words but his meeting in the upper room was the last time he saw his disciples together before he was arrested and put to death. The wonder is that Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen and so carefully prepared his church for what was going to come. Although we are separated by two thousand years from this event, there is a real sense in which we are also in that room, listening to the saviour and able to learn so much from these last words to his disciples.
What is a pastor of a church? What are the requirements and expectations? How can a pastor be faithful to the Bible whilst effectively engaging with the world? These are some of the questions which are answered in this timely book on pastoral ministry. Evangelical practitioners and theologians from around the world contribute to this collection of essays on what it means to be a 'Renewed Pastor' in the 21st century in honour of one of Britain's exemplary pastors- Philip Hacking. All the major aspects of pastoral ministry are dealt with in a biblical, practical down-to-earth way. This is a major resource for all pastors, both present and future. Philip Hacking served in full time Church of England ministry for more than 38 years where he was not ashamed proclaim the gospel. Throughout his lifetime he has stood for Biblical Evangelicalism.
Contributors: Hugh Palmer, Melvin Tinker, Peter Lewis, Tim Chester, Steve Timmis, Peter Adam, Paul Williams, D. A. Carson, J. I. Packer, Frank Retief, David Holloway, John Risbridger, and John Stevens.