“A Disciple…will be like his teacher.” (Luke 6:40) What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? The ultimate goal of discipleship is to be like the Teacher—to be like Jesus Himself. Every Christian wants to understand what that means. But even if we understand it, is it possible? Michael Wilkins asserts that it’s not only possible, it’s a life that all Christians are called to—not just a select few. So why do we so seldom experience it? As Wilkins points out, even the first followers of Jesus had a hard time grasping what it meant to be His disciples. Like them, our difficulty often lies in not clearly understanding who Jesus is, not recognizing the resources available to us as God’s children, or not believing who we are to be as Christ’s followers. But like the early disciples, our lives can radically change. If we want to follow Jesus, we can become like Him. “Jesus takes us exactly as He finds us,” writes Wilkins, “and transforms us into His likeness.” So come, learn what it means to walk with Jesus and reflect His image to the real world.
The most comprehensive volume ever produced in defense of the Gospels and Acts The four Gospels and the book of Acts tell stories of Jesus’ life and the birth of Christianity. Are these stories true history or just religious fiction? Christians accept the stories as true and say that the entire Bible is a reliable communication inspired by God. Against this, non-Christians have argued that the Bible is a book of legends, myths, and historical inaccuracies—just another example of human religious endeavor. In this volume, four world-class New Testament scholars address challenges to the reliability of the Gospels and Acts. In order to identify the most important challenges, the authors drew from the literature of skeptics and New Testament critics, plus they included questions that many Christians ask as well. The result is the most comprehensive defense of the Gospels and Acts that has ever been published. The primary purpose of the Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible is to equip readers to defend the reliability of Scripture and the historic evangelical understanding of its teachings. It is designed for use by general readers, though scholars will find it a probing and welcome resource as well. A secondary purpose is to encourage awareness and discussion of Bible difficulties that are not commonly mentioned from the pulpit or even the seminary lectern. This is not a verse-by-verse commentary. The authors were provided an index that identified verses known to be relevant to the topics of apologetics and biblical reliability. They restricted their comments to these verses, plus any others that they recognized as germane to the aims of this project. Typically, each commentary note begins by stating the challenge or challenges regarding the text at hand. We attempt to state the case in all its potency, as a critic would state it. This approach takes seriously the critical viewpoint and helps ensure that the reader feels the full weight of the challenge. The contributors take each challenge seriously and seek to describe viable solutions that support faith and align with a high view of Scripture.
In the aftermath of the waves of discipleship programs that have swept over the church in the last 30 years, clergy, and laypersons alike are more confused than ever about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. What should a disciple of Jesus look and act like today? What is the relationship between discipleship and salvation, between discipleship and sanctification, between discipleship and ministry? How were disciples of Jesus different from other disciples in the ancient world? How did the early church carry out Jesus' agenda in "making disciples of all the nations"? In Following the Master, Michael J. Wilkins addresses these and many other questions that perplex the church today- not by offering another discipleship program or manual but by presenting a comprehensive biblical theology of discipleship. Following the Master compares other forms of master-disciple relationships in existence in the ancient Judaism and Greco-Roman world, traces Jesus' steps as he called and developed disciples, and Mediterranean world as it followed Jesus' command to make disciples. Following the Master lays the groundwork necessary for developing biblical discipleship ministries in the church, on the mission field, and in parachurch ministries. It is essential reading for all pastors, students, and Christian workers.
The NIV Application Commentary helps you communicate and apply biblical text effectively in today's context. To bring the ancient messages of the Bible into today's world, each passage is treated in three sections: Original Meaning. Concise exegesis to help readers understand the original meaning of the biblical text in its historical, literary, and cultural context. Bridging Contexts. A bridge between the world of the Bible and the world of today, built by discerning what is timeless in the timely pages of the Bible. Contemporary Significance. This section identifies comparable situations to those faced in the Bible and explores relevant application of the biblical messages. The author alerts the readers of problems they may encounter when seeking to apply the passage and helps them think through the issues involved. This unique, award-winning commentary is the ideal resource for today's preachers, teachers, and serious students of the Bible, giving them the tools, ideas, and insights they need to communicate God's Word with the same powerful impact it had when it was first written.
With a comprehensive sweep of the relevant literature--including classical and Hellenistic sources, the Septuagint, and the New Testament--the author defines disciple and related terms as they were used in the ancient world. Pertinent Semitic words from the Hebrew Bible, Rabbinic literature, and Qumran documents provide additional background for the term. A special emphasis is Matthew's use of mathetes and the role of Simon Peter as a model disciple. The study first appeared in 1988 in the prestigious Novum Testamentum Supplements under the title The Concept of Disciple in Matthew's Gospel: As Reflected in the Use of the Term Mathetes. In this second edition, the author includes a new chapter outlining advances in the field since the book was first published.
The Navajo rugs and textiles that people admire and buy today are the result of many historical influences, particularly the interaction between Navajo weavers and the traders who guided their production and controlled their sale. John Lorenzo Hubbell and other late-nineteenth-century traders were convinced they knew which patterns and colors would appeal to Anglo-American buyers, and so they heavily encouraged those designs. In Patterns of Exchange, Teresa J. Wilkins traces how the relationships between generations of Navajo weavers and traders affected Navajo weaving. The Navajos valued their relationships with Hubbell and others who operated trading posts on their reservation. As a result, they did not always see themselves as exploited victims of a capitalist system. Rather, because of Navajo cultural traditions of gift-giving and helping others, the artists slowly adapted some of the patterns and colors the traders requested into their own designs. By the 1890s, Hubbell and others commissioned paintings depicting particular weaving styles and encouraged Navajo weavers to copy them, reinforcing public perceptions of traditional Navajo weaving. Even the Navajos came to revere certain designs as “the weaving of the ancestors.” Enhanced by numerous illustrations, including eight color plates, this volume traces the intricate play of cultural and economic pressures and personal relationships between artists and traders that guided Navajo weavers to produce textiles that are today emblems of the Native American Southwest. Winner - Multi-cultural Subject, New Mexico Book Awards
This book provides the first general and unified theory of visual discomfort. The theory is based on the observation that people find certain visual stimuli uncomfortable, and that these same stimule induce seizures in patients with photosensitive epilepsy. The theory is applied to a variety of everyday problems such as eye strain from reading, lighting, television and VDU terminals, and more generally from design. A variety of techniques for preventing and treating visual discomfort are described.
There is an abundant need today for biblically grounded and practically applied theology. In this book, a New Testament scholar and a theologian team up to offer readers a robust introduction to biblical and theological studies. This readable guide outlines a distinctly evangelical approach to studying the Bible and theology, highlighting the proper methods for understanding and synthesizing the teachings of the Bible, leading to deeper knowledge of God, ourselves, and how we are to meaningfully apply his Word to our lives. Part of the Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition series.
This all-in-one commentary bundle on the book of Matthew features volumes from the NIV Application Commentary Series, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary Series, and Story of God Bible Commentary Series. Each volume provides new and unique insights from leading biblical scholars Michael Wilkins, Grant Osborne, and Scot McKnight. The unique features from each volume along with the diverse insights provided by the authors gives you all the tools you need to study and master the book of Matthew.
The NIV Application Commentary helps you communicate and apply biblical text effectively in today’' context. To bring the ancient messages of the Bible into today's world, each passage is treated in three sections: Original Meaning. Concise exegesis to help readers understand the original meaning of the biblical text in its historical, literary, and cultural context. Bridging Contexts. A bridge between the world of the Bible and the world of today, built by discerning what is timeless in the timely pages of the Bible. Contemporary Significance. This section identifies comparable situations to those faced in the Bible and explores relevant application of the biblical messages. The author alerts the readers of problems they may encounter when seeking to apply the passage and helps them think through the issues involved. This unique, award-winning commentary is the ideal resource for today's preachers, teachers, and serious students of the Bible, giving them the tools, ideas, and insights they need to communicate God's Word with the same powerful impact it had when it was first written.
This book provides an overview of the research surrounding the relevance of visual factors for those who struggle with reading. Visual interventions that have been advocated as helping with reading include spectacles that simply correct refractive errors (e.g., long-sightedness), coloured overlays (sheets placed on the page) and coloured lenses, vision therapy, and computer games. This book explains the rationale behind these interventions and discusses the evidence supporting them. Clear advice is given in plain English to those wondering if these interventions will be helpful. Vision, Reading Difficulties, and Visual Stress, 2nd Edition draws together disparate research findings in a range of neurological disorders where vision is compromised by cortical hyperexcitability. Optometrists, orthoptists, ophthalmologists, educational psychologists, teachers, and vision scientists will find this book to be an interesting resource as well as students in these disciplines and parents of children who struggle with reading.
Discussing the generally ignored issue of the classification of natural objects in the philosophy of science, this book focuses on knowledge and social relations, and offers a way to understand classification as a necessary aspect of doing science.
Not only emphasizes natural oral communication--listening and speaking--but develops reading and writing skills. The language is presented in meaningful, natural contexts and offers a wealth of personalized and group activities to promote oral interaction in class.
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