The spirituality of Genesis centers on God as Creator and God as a Faithful Partner. “In the beginning, God . . .” The Lord makes all things. He is therefore the God of all power and wisdom. What’s more, he creates everything good. Very good. And when they go bad, he still works his good will. Things are not the way they were supposed to be. Genesis begins the story of a God who is working to make things right. When humans abandon their proper place and rebel against the Lord, he punishes them as any loving father would. But he does not abandon humanity or the rest of his creation. Genesis tells the story of how God works in surprising ways through human choices, good and bad, to reclaim and restore his creation. Genesis tells of a faithful God. And the Lord in turn expects his people to be faithful. That means trusting him, especially when his ways do not make sense. Abraham is willing to sacrifice his own son. Joseph trusts even when he is a slave and a prisoner. As we meditate on these stories of those who trusted, followed, and wrestled with God, let us open ourselves to his Spirit. Let us trust his inscrutable ways. Let us believe God so he might, through his covenant of love, count us as righteous.
“The word of the Lord was rare in those days.” Is it also rare in ours? Has God abandoned us? He sent his Son Jesus to live and die for us. He raised him from the dead and brought him back to his right hand. But after the ascension of Jesus, has God left us on our own to do the best we can to follow the example of Christ? Or does God still speak today? This study is written with the conviction that God still speaks today. He speaks through the Bible, his Word. He speaks through the lives of faithful Christians. He speaks to us, and we speak to him in prayer. He speaks in all the circumstances of life. Listening to God may be a frightening experience, but it is more dangerous to live our lives without hearing him. Are we listening? When we pray, do we bring our to-do list to God and in essence say, “Listen God, I’ve got stuff for you to do”? Or, like Samuel, do we say, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.” When we hear the voice of God, are we willing to obey? Or, like Saul, do we listen and follow only when it suits us? Are we, like David, people after God’s own heart? This is an invitation to hear the voice of God in 1 and 2 Samuel. Read it in prayer. Listen to what others around you are hearing. Hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Come to this book with a humble heart to hear and to do the Word of the Lord.
GOD never abandons his people—even when we fail to trust him. He delivers us from evil. Joshua is the story of the promised land. The Lord promised Abraham the land and now —many years later—he keeps his promise. The book of Joshua makes it clear that the conquest is the work of God. No human plan or might could have allowed Israel the victory. These stories remind us that our strength is in God alone. Judges tells the story of what happens when God’s people are blessed. Often (as Moses warned them), Israel forgets who gave them the land. They go after other gods—the defeated idols of the countries they had conquered. Thus, there is a cycle to the stories in Judges. God’s people follow idols. God sends a nation to punish them. They turn back to the Lord, and God raises up a military deliverer (called a judge) to set Israel free. Soon, they again forget their allegiance is to the Lord alone, and they go back to idols. And the cycle continues. The good news in this discouraging cycle of disobedience is that the Lord does not abandon his people. When we return, he saves. Ruth tells a smaller story. While Joshua and Judges speak of rulers and nations, Ruth tells of an Israelite woman, Naomi, and her Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth, who is faithful to Naomi. She follows her back to Israel. She meets a distant relative who is also loyal to God and to his obligations to his relatives. Out of their faithfulness, Naomi’s fortunes are restored. And out of this small story of the faithfulness of little people comes the great King David. God is the hero of the story of Ruth, even though his name is rarely mentioned. The Lord works through the lives of those the world considers little people to bless the entire world.
In a world bombarded with information, what we long for is knowing how to live well-what the Bible calls wisdom. Meditate on the Wisdom books of the Bible to hear the source of wisdom-the God who made us. In these meditations we will hear the established wisdom passed down from earlier generations. These nuggets of wisdom are found in the book of Proverbs. A proverb is a traditional saying, and as such, proverbs are didactic, optimistic, practical, and conservative. Ecclesiastes contains a different kind of wisdom, built on the wisdom of Proverbs, but which asks what happens when proverbial wisdom fails. Ecclesiastes looks at the mysteries of life. It is reflective, speculative, pessimistic, and creative. It asks the hard questions, like how does life make sense? It explains that often, it doesn't. Plans fail. Fools triumph. We must trust God especially when things don't make sense. That deeper spirituality is put to the test in Job. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." This is a repeated theme in Proverbs. Job experiences a deeper fear of the Lord, one based on trust alone. By meditating on the ordeals of Job, we are brought closer to a God we might not like and do not understand. The only God we have. Meditating on these books will at times be a joy. At other times, meditation will be a challenge. Wisdom does not come easy. But it is a marvelous gift of God.
From the Preface: "Did Churches of Christ really begin as a unity movement? Why didn't I know that?" "You mean we used to be called Disciples of Christ? I thought that was just another denomination." "Churches of Christ today believe and practice the same things we have from the beginning, don't we?" Statements like these by members of Churches of Christ reflect a serious lack of knowledge of our past and an increasing desire by many to know more of their heritage. This desire has led us to believe there is a need for a brief account of the history of Churches of Christ. This book hopes to serve newcomers and even long-time members of the church by giving them insights into our heritage. It also is an introduction to this significant group of churches for those unfamiliar with its place in American Christianity.
A handbook of simple spiritual practices for readers who feel overwhelmed by the busyness of everyday life, helping us all to imagine a better way. You Might Be Too Busy If . . . invites readers into four straightforward spiritual practices that instill calm, peace, and focus. All these were basic practices of Jesus, who habitually lived in ways that opened his heart to God's work. In a busy life, he made time for Sabbath. Today, these same practices can form you into a peaceful and unhurried person, no matter what demands you face.
The Psalms are the hymnbook of Israel and the church, revealing how we experience the shape of grief, thankfulness, repentance, remembrance, and future hope. We need these words to survive in our world. MC: Psalms: Hymns of God's People is an invitation to hear God's voice in personal daily Bible study as well as in communal readings with fellow believers. Join Dr. Holloway and begin to grow in your ability to meditate on the Psalms. Learn to bring your requests to the heart of God and develop your relationship with Jesus. Allow the Spirit to give language to your cries for justice and concerns about the brokenness of our world.
Through meditation on the Gospel of John, we experience the life of Jesus, the Word of God made flesh. Written by one who calls himself "the disciple whom Jesus loved," the Gospel of John paints an intimate portrait of Jesus as one who is intimate with God the Father, who calls disciples to follow him, and who gives signs that point his listeners to God.
Barton Stone, Thomas Campbell, and Alexander Campbell organized a nineteenth-century Christian renewal movement that later coalesced into three distinct church bodies in the United States: Churches of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and Christian Churches and Churches of Christ. What is less known is that from these humble origins, the Stone-Campbell Movement has grown globally, now with churches in more than 199 countries. This book tells the story from the movement's beginnings all the way to its international expansion into Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Complete with a study guide and personal reflection questions, this book is ideal for longtime members, new members, and those unfamiliar with the Stone-Campbell heritage.
Sometimes we need a word of encouragement. We face all kinds of trouble, nagging illnesses, boring, repetitive jobs, not feeling appreciated... or worse trouble: the tumor is malignant, your company is downsizing your job out of existence, your teenage daughter is pregnant. We want encouragement. That's exactly what Hebrews supplies. It reminds us that no matter what trouble comes, Jesus is always there for us. Exactly what we need to hear.
Why another book on Jesus? Surely if there is one Bible character we know, it is Jesus. But maybe the same old thing of “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” in our churches has blinded us to who he really was and really is. Perhaps our own walk with him is not what it should be because we feel too comfortable with him—or at least of our picture of him. "A MONTH WITH JESUS" is an invitation to spend a month with the biblical Jesus, the One who surprised his contemporaries. By looking at him through their eyes, maybe we too can be surprised. Surprised enough to shake us out of our old habits. Surprised enough to understand him as we never have before. Surprised enough to follow. Surprised enough that this familiar story—the greatest story of all—is no longer “the same old thing.”
Provides analysis of oral and written Church of Christ preacher anecdotes. This book presents history, religion, and storytelling in the South, using folklore methodology.
This book tells the story of World Convention, the only ministry that works to unite the entire Stone-Campbell Movement churches (Disciple--Christian--Church of Christ) globally and that gives those churches a seat at the table with other Christians. That story includes meetings of Christians worldwide for fellowship and encouragement toward unity and evangelism, "so that the world will believe.
This book reviews the recent advances and current technologies used to produce microelectronic and optoelectronic devices from compound semiconductors. It provides a complete overview of the technologies necessary to grow bulk single-crystal substrates, grow hetero-or homoepitaxial films, and process advanced devices such as HBT's, QW diode lasers, etc.
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