One of the great realities of scripture seems to be that the most common verses hold the greatest mysteries until the Holy Spirit opens our eyes. So it is with John 3:16--the most well known Bible verse among Christians and non-Christians alike. If the Bible has a Big Dipper, this is it. 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.' Then what? Surely there's more to the Christian life than just believing. In This Is How We Know, J.D. Walt invites us on a 44-day devotional journey to explore what he refers to as "the second half of the gospel" as presented in 1 John. Just as the Big Dipper points us to true north, John 3:16 points us to the much less commonly recited 1 John 3:16: "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." The journey of awakening is the Spirit empowered, hard fought movement of John 3:16 to 1 John 3:16. This is how we know."--Publisher.
Dunnam and Walt use the psalms as models for pastoral prayers to help a pilgrimage people encounter the Divine in worship. Praying the Story will show how corporate prayer can catalyze the life of congregations and sharpen the mission of the church. Included are more than fifty pastoral prayers adaptable for worship. Prayer excerpts: "Oh God, who, by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus, destroyed death and fulfilled your promise of life forevermore, grant that we may be raised with Him to newness of life and abide in Him, that peace may be ours. Make real to us the price of peace. Emblazon on our minds the wounds in Jesus' hands and side that we may never forget that He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the whole world." "Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead your people like a flock. You who are enthroned on the cherubim, shine forth. O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains wold quake at your presence. As we remember and celebrate the birth of the baby in Bethlehem, let us not forget that the King is returning.
Awaken: From Dry Bones to the River of Life is an invitation for a long-haul journey. It is an invitation to the people of God to band together and sow for a great awakening. Not a passing revival or a spiritual renewal or a refreshing, but a full-scale awakening. It's time for us to recognize that as essential as our institutions of governing, education, and healing are to our world, they lack, even combined, the capacity to provide for the desperate needs all around us. Only a broad-scale, comprehensive awakening to the mercy, grace, and all-powerful love of God can ever hope to make the difference needed in our world today. Gather a few friends or even your whole church and join this journey of awakening as J. D. Walt walks us along a daily path through ancient prophecies filled with wisdom and challenges for the present age
More than 2000 years ago, God reset the world. Two teenagers, Mary and Joseph, took a journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem and set into motion the first Advent (literally translated as "coming") season in all of history. Advent looks a bit different to us today, often seeming more like the month of budget-busting consumerism before Christmas morning presents than it does a time of patience and reflection. But Advent can be a reset for us too--a graced season to take stock of our lives, to reorient our priorities, to repent and realign our story with the story of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In short, Advent offers us a chance to hit the Reset button and begin again afresh. In Reset: Advent Devotions for the Whole Family, J.D. Walt follows Mary and Joseph on a journey through that first Advent season and into the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. In reading this interpretation of the conversations that may have occurred between them as they walked along the road, families can begin to understand more deeply and intimately what it meant for the Lord to be "coming" then, as well as what it means for him to be "coming" now.
The Psalms are songs, written not for reading but singing. What if we could sing them again, claiming the Psalms as the soundtrack of our lives? In this forty-day devotional guide, J. D. Walt shows us a way.
The greatest and most singular need for people who want to follow Jesus is courage. We need to have courage put into us. And we need it not just every now and then or before a big challenge or in the midst of a hard struggle or loss-we need it every day. The big crises of unjust treatment, unforeseen losses, tragic deaths, life-stealing diseases, betrayals, relationship failures, and all manner of pain and suffering can create seasons of wilderness, as can the more every day pressures that tempt us to spiritual slumber. But this is where the kingdom of God breaks in-places of loss, suffering, hardship, brokenness, and pain. For followers of Jesus, when you are being broken down, it is a sign that the kingdom of God is breaking in. Join J. D. Walt in this Daily Text series that will challenge and encourage you to discover that the joy of the Lord is the revolutionary presence of Jesus Christ himself-in us and catalyzing the perseverance of our faith.
We live in a puzzled world; all at once created by God and decimated by people. Reading the first two chapters of the Bible is like looking at an artistic masterpiece. Read the next nine chapters and it's like someone shattered the masterpiece into a million fragmented puzzle pieces. In his masterful letter to the Church in Ephesus, it is as if Paul is putting together a massive jigsaw puzzle. He shows how spiritual and material fit together, how male and female, slave and free, and even ethnicity and nationality connect and interrelate in this new creation of the kingdom of God. He reveals for us how the disparate pieces, powers, and principalities insert themselves into the affairs of heaven and earth. He gets granular at the level of husbands and wives, employers and employees, and even parents and children and how the gospel must work itself out from cosmic dimensions to everyday practicalities. The puzzle comes together in a marvelous way through this ancient letter to the Church in Ephesus. In the reflective, witty, and honest style he has become known for, J. D. Walt leads readers through this ancient letter as though it were addressed to them; only to discover it is. Get ready to be (un)puzzled.
In this New Room Bands study, you'll dive into the second half of the gospel. While many of us have repented of our sins and experienced the saving grace of God through Jesus Christ, most of us are still asleep to the second half of the gospel. And as you'll soon discover, the rest of the gospel is the best of the gospel."--Publisher.
This 30-day study is an invitation for a long-haul journey. It is an invitation to the people of God to band together and sow for a great awakening. Not a passing revival, or a spiritual renewal, or a refreshing, but a full-scale awakening."--Publisher.
Dunnam and Walt use the psalms as models for pastoral prayers to help a pilgrimage people encounter the Divine in worship. Praying the Story will show how corporate prayer can catalyze the life of congregations and sharpen the mission of the church. Included are more than fifty pastoral prayers adaptable for worship. Prayer excerpts: "Oh God, who, by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus, destroyed death and fulfilled your promise of life forevermore, grant that we may be raised with Him to newness of life and abide in Him, that peace may be ours. Make real to us the price of peace. Emblazon on our minds the wounds in Jesus' hands and side that we may never forget that He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the whole world." "Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead your people like a flock. You who are enthroned on the cherubim, shine forth. O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains wold quake at your presence. As we remember and celebrate the birth of the baby in Bethlehem, let us not forget that the King is returning.
In this concise yet comprehensive guide to using and praying the psalms in worship services, John Witvliet first offers summary of key biblical-theological themes related to the practice of worship, and he continues with reflections on every step in the process of preparing to use the psalms in worship, drawing on insights from writings in the history, theology, and pastoral practice of worship, liturgy, and preaching. Including patristic testimonies as "prelude" and both Reformation-era and modern testimonies as two "interludes," the volume also offers a comprehensive list of currently available liturgical and musical resources. Witvliet offers a first -- a book designed to speak at once to both "traditional " and "contemporary " worship practices. The Biblical Psalms in Christian Worship will appeal to a wide range of readers, including college and seminary students, scholars and teachers, church educators, worship leaders, musicians, and librarians.
Profiles over sixty United States authors representing different eras, cultures, and genres who have made their mark in history, including Benjamin Franklin, Emily Dickinson, and W.E.B. DuBois.
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