Download or read book Embracing Prodigals written by John Sanders and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2020-07-31 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you wonder why some people you know hold theological and political views that blow your mind but they find quite reasonable? Today, Christians are at odds over how to understand the Bible, atonement, and salvation of non-Christians. They are also polarized over issues such as same-gender marriage, income inequality, and health care. Two social science models, Nurturant and Authoritative, explain this divide. Values are at the heart of our disagreements. Nurturants prize empathy and cooperation while Authoritatives cherish obedience to law and order. Each group has distinct core values and these lead them to embrace different theological, moral, and political views. This book explains the divide and makes the case that Jesus embodied the Nurturant way of life. He modeled empathy, grace, forgiveness, and care for those beyond his own tribe. The Nurturant and Authoritative approaches have competed for thousands of years but contemporary research shows that the Nurturant way of life produces better mental and spiritual health as well as superior communities in which to live.
Download or read book Embraced written by Steve Sherwood and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2010-02-01 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a post-modern world leery of abstracted theology, might the answers to the deep question of why Jesus died on the cross be found, not in theology textbooks, but in the stories of the Bible? What if the playing out of one Hebrew word, hesed, tells us who we are, who God is, and what Jesus' life and death were all about? Embraced: Prodigals at the Cross tells the story of hesed, God's steadfast love, as it weaves its way from our creation for relationship, through our rejection of that relationship, to God's centuries-long pursuit of reconciliation. The story ends in embrace, the embrace of a good father who runs to his prodigal son, and a loving God who takes on human flesh to reach out to us on the cross. This book is God's story. This book is our story.
Download or read book To Unite the Scattered Children of God written by Stephen Finlan and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2022-11-07 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To Unite the Scattered Children of God is an accessible exploration of hope for the spiritual uniting of humankind, in worship and in other ways, from Isaiah on down to present times. Several prophets shared this hope: “Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day, and shall be my people” (Zech 2:11). To an even greater degree, Jesus set in motion a universalizing power. Jesus and Paul inspired hope for the uniting of Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles into “one fold,” in the “unity of the faith.” The book also builds upon the work of Teilhard de Chardin regarding the convergence of the human race under the spiritual influence of Christ, the omega point of evolution. Insights from pneumatology, process theology, personalism, interfaith discussions, and world peace advocacy add to the discussion.
Download or read book Generation Ex Christian written by Drew Dyck and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2010-10-01 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Young people aren’t walking away from the church—they’re sprinting. According to a recent study by Ranier Research, 70 percent of youth leave church by the time they are 22 years old. Barna Group estimates that 80 percent of those reared in the church will be “disengaged” by the time they are 29 years old. Unlike earlier generations of church dropouts, these “leavers” are unlikely to seek out alternative forms of Christian community such as home churches and small groups. When they leave church, many leave the faith as well. Drawing on recent research and in-depth interviews with young leavers, Generation Ex-Christian will shine a light on this crisis and propose effective responses that go beyond slick services or edgy outreach. But it won’t be easy. Christianity is regarded with suspicion by the younger generation. Those who leave the faith are often downright cynical. To make matters worse, parents generally react poorly when their children go astray. Many sink into a defensive crouch or go on the attack, delivering homespun fire-and-brimstone sermons that further distance their grown children. Others give up completely or take up the spiritual-sounding “all we can do is pray” mantra without truly exploring creative ways to engage their children on matters of faith. Some turn to their churches for help, only to find that they frequently lack adequate resources to guide them. This is where Generation Ex-Christian will lend a hand. It will equip and inspire parents, church leaders, and everyday Christians to reawaken the prodigal's desire for God and set him or her back on the road to a dynamic faith. The heart of the book will be the raw profiles of real-world, young ex-Christians. No two leavers are identical, but upon close observation some categories emerge. The book will identify seven different kinds of leavers (the postmodern skeptic, the drifter, the neopagan, etc.) and offer practical advice for how to connect with each type. Shrewd tips will also intersperse the chapters alerting readers to opportunities for engagement, and to hidden landmines they must sidestep to effectively reach leavers.
Download or read book Engaging Today s Prodigal SAMPLER written by Carol Barnier and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2012-07-01 with total page 29 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Enjoy these SAMPLE pages from Engaging Today's Prodigal- Many families today experience the profound guilt and shame filled pain of seeing a child walk away from their faith and values. Churches and parents feel powerless to change the relationship and engage the prodigal in positive ways. Carol Barnier has the insight to help. She left the faith of her pastor father, became an active atheist, debated Christians, and explored a variety of worldviews before she found the truth in a relationship with Jesus. But far more than her personal story, Engaging Today's Prodigal equips readers with a better understanding of a prodigal's motivation, useful responses that won't prevent reconciliation, clear boundaries to protect themselves and other children, actions to take when you know you have contributed to the problem, and the value of realistic expectations. With effective wit and humor, Carol provides material relevant for churches, parents and even the prodigals themselves. Can your family or church interact with a prodigal in ways that build a relationship bridge that can provide a way back home when they are ready? Let Engaging Today's Prodigal equip you with clear, specific actions that can overcome the shame, hurt, and loss to bring real hope for the future.
Download or read book Praying for Your Prodigal written by Kyle Idleman and published by David C Cook. This book was released on 2014-08-01 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A book for parents and family members of those who are far from God, Praying for Your Prodigal draws on insights from AHA to help readers pray—and hope—for their prodigal. In this hope-filled, honest book Kyle Idleman offers stories about prodigals specifically for parents and grandparents of prodigals, as well as a series of prayers for readers to work through as they offer their prodigals to God.
Download or read book Peace and Justice Shall Embrace written by A. Companion and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2001 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a penetrating critique of our criminal justice and penal systems from the unique, firsthand experiences of its priest-prisoner author. His conclusion is that they are “sick, broken, rudderless systems that neither correct nor rehabilitate offenders, nor help or heal victims.” A compelling case is made—from practical, biblical and humane arguments—for moving from retributive-punishment models of seeking justice to restorative-rehabilitative ones. Restorative justice actively involves victims, offenders and the community in a joint process of working toward healing, restitution, rehabilitation and reconciliation. Incarceration becomes only one option, rather than the foregone conclusion. Specific proposals are made for reforming the justice, prison and parole systems. Examples of working models are presented. Evaluation tools and discussion guides are provided. Christians will find rich meditative material and spiritual challenges, as the author plumbs the scriptures and Catholic social justice teachings for personal moral answers and principled civic policies. One chapter offers examples of what individuals, parishes and dioceses can and are doing to promote restorative justice. A cross-reference is included to the November 2000 document on criminal justice by the U.S. Catholic bishops. Topics covered include: the relationship of poverty, race, mental illness and drug addiction to incarceration; capital punishment; the consequences of three-strikes and minimum-mandatory sentencing; the effects of politics on policy; inadequate legal representation for the poor.
Download or read book God After Deconstruction written by Thomas Jay Oord and published by SacraSage Press. This book was released on 2024-04-04 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Deconstruction is hard! Bad views of God and harmful experiences lead many of us to deconstruct. But we’re right to run from the nonsense we’ve been taught and from those who hurt us. God After Deconstruction will not be welcomed by traditionalists. It’s not a book for people who want the status quo or who think conventional theology works. It isn’t for people who just want to tweak a bit what they’ve been taught. Thomas Jay Oord and Tripp Fuller offer an open and relational vision of God. This vision makes sense; it fits our experience; it’s livable. The open and relational view aligns with our deep intuitions about love and freedom. God After Deconstruction is for those deconstructing and those wanting help after deconstruction. It’s for people in the fire and those with scars. God After Deconstruction is an adventure for lovers in tumultuous times! Buy this book. Six-Word Endorsements for God After Deconstruction “When everything goes, only God remains.” -- Simon Cross, chair of the Progressive Christianity Network (Britain) "Helpful companion on your deconstruction journey.” -- EDJ, author of Deconstructing Religious Sexual Trauma: A Memoir “A faith beyond deconstruction is possible.” -- Kathy Escobar, author of Faith Shift and Practicing “A relational way to think about purpose.” -- Jonathan J. Foster, author of indigo: the color of grief "This is a really great book." -- Keith Giles, author of the 7-part "Jesus Un" book series“ A God-centric approach to deconstruction.” -- David Hayward, aka NakedPastor “A compassionate primer on our deconstruction.” -- Angela Herrington, author of Deconstructing Your Faith Without Losing Yourself “A thoughtful third way - highly recommended.” -- Olivia Jackson, author of (Un)Certain “Life-giving for doubters, deconstructors, wonderers.” -- Mark Karris, author of The Diabolical Trinity “Powerful, essential, required reading for everyone.” -- Grace Ji-Sun Kim, Madang Podcast and author of Invisible “Adventure guide to life after deconstruction.” -- Brian D. McLaren, author of Do I Stay Christian? "I've always believed in this God!" -- Mason Mennenga, A People's Theology podcast "A deconstruction journey worth taking!" -- Sherri Pallas, author of We Have Ruined God "An exvangelical deconstruction guide to God." -- Jim Palmer, author of Inner Anarchy “A haven for the hard questions.” -- Elizabeth Petters, the Deconstructing Mamas podcast “Faces the hard questions without blinking.” -- Janet Kellogg Ray, The God of Monkey Science “The God you need right now!” -- Gary Alan Taylor, the Sophia Society “Everyone deconstructing should read this book.” -- Tim Whitaker, creator of The New Evangelicals “The God of Love always triumphs!” -- John Williamson, The Deconstructionists Podcast
Download or read book When You Love a Prodigal written by Judy Douglass and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2019-09-17 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Loving a prodigal is a long and desperate journey, filled with fear, worry, anger, self- recrimination. You wait for the phone call--will it be from jail or the hospital? You plead with your loved one. You search for help. You feel the shame. You cry out to God, "How long, Lord?" Author Judy Douglass knows these lovers of prodigals well. She is one herself and has created a large and growing community with others. When You Love a Prodigal is a collection of 90 essays--90 days of perspective on what God offers to you as you love your prodigal. At the end of each brief essay, response questions will help you process how God intends to use the wilderness journey to mold your spiritual life. You can work through it day by day, or you can read it straight through. Judy has traveled this road with her own prodigal--reading, learning, praying, and seeking God. Over and over he continued to give her wisdom, he sustained her, he covered her with grace, and he filled her with hope. May you, too, be strengthened and filled with hope as together you discover how God will take you through your own valley.
Download or read book Prodigals written by Greg Ross Taylor and published by ACU Press. This book was released on 2023-05-02 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most famous story of Jesus retold Prodigals digs deeply into each line from Jesus’s famous parable about the prodigal son, inviting all readers―those down on their luck or high on their horse―to identify as prodigals. A prodigal is anyone who accepts they have a sinful human nature and turns toward the love of home, the place where we find a deeper relationship with God. Rather than divide the world into prodigals and nonprodigals, Taylor invites readers to find themselves in the teaching of Jesus as either younger or elder siblings. The life-changing power of the book comes when readers begin to identify with the characters in the story and join in the prayers and calls for transformation that conclude the chapters. -Proceeds from the book benefit 1256movement.org. -The author has lived and traveled internationally and relates the greatest parable Jesus ever told to his experiences across the United States and countries such as Israel, Uganda, the Netherlands, and Honduras. -The author has set up an email account to receive prodigal stories from readers for possible inclusion in future editions of Prodigals: [email protected].
Download or read book Prodigal People written by Woodrow Michael Kroll and published by Kregel Publications. This book was released on 1995 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prodigal People applies the most well-known of Jesus' stories--the parable of the prodigal son--to the failures, hurts, and unfulfilled relationships of modern men and women.
Download or read book The Rowman Littlefield Handbook of Philosophy and Religion written by Mark A. Lamport and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2022-04-07 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Handbook of Philosophy and Religion is a one-volume examination of the most salient concepts that sit at the intersection of religion and philosophy. This book grounds readers in the mysteries that have evoked wonder and consternation for millennia, such as the nature of divinity in relation to humanity, the legitimacy of religious experience and how we frame language to speak about it, the possibility of miraculous occurrences, and theories regarding life after death.
Download or read book Praying Prodigals Home written by Quin Sherrer and published by Gospel Light Publications. This book was released on 2000-10-04 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The enemy has used the temptations of this world to lure so many of our young people away from the values and teaching of their Christian upbringing. Best-selling authors Quin Sherrer and Ruthanne Garlock have both endured the pain of waiting for the return of prodigal children. Yet even as they gave each situation into the hands of the Lord, they did not wait passively, succumbing to fear and despair. Instead they battled for their children in prayer, waiting expectantly for Almighty God to intervene. And He did! Now they tell the parents of prodigals how to pray their prodigals home, and how the experience can draw parents into the arms of their heavenly Father and strengthen their bonds of love.
Download or read book Pluriform Love written by Thomas Jay Oord and published by SacraSage Press. This book was released on 2022-02-25 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A masterpiece from the preeminent theologian of love!" A strong case can be made that love is the core of Christian faith. And yet Christians often fail to give love center stage in biblical studies and theology. And most fail to explain what they mean by love. Why is this? Thomas Jay Oord explores this question and offers ground-breaking answers. Oord addresses leading Christian thinkers today and of yesteryear. He explains biblical forms of love, such as agape, philia, hesed, and ahavah. We should understand love’s meaning as uniform, he says, but its expressions are pluriform. Widely regarded as the world's foremost theologian of love, Thomas Jay Oord tackles our biggest puzzles about the nature and meaning of love, divine and creaturely. His proposals are novel. They align with love described in scripture and expressed in everyday experience. Oord also provides radical and yet persuasive answers to questions about evil, hell, the Big Bang, divine violence, divine abandonment, and more. Pluriform Love changes the landscape of Christian love studies. ... What they're saying... “Thomas Jay Oord is the first to systematically clarify a variety of types of love and show that all are characteristic of God. This is an original contribution to theology. Though a complex task, Oord writes in an accessible and attractive way.” John B. Cobb, Jr., Cobb Institute, Author of Salvation: Jesus’s Mission and Ours “Christian theology in the years to come will need a facelift—a true restoration of the biblical witness to the centrality of God’s love. If we wish to help make the faith truly relatable to our world today, Oord’s clear, compassionate, and compelling voice is one we will be thankful for.” Peter Enns, Eastern University and Co-host of The Bible for Normal People “Thomas Jay Oord adds to his proposals on open and relational theology, developing a theology of love which is both uniform in meaning and pluriform according to situation and recipients. The volume is indispensable for those researching the nature of love.” Paul Fiddes, University of Oxford “The glowing multiform forcefield of love embraces every sentence of Pluriform Love. Free of sentimentality and pretense, refusing to pit eros and agape against each other, it unfolds a full-scale theology. This amorous vision will attract a wide readership.” Catherine Keller, Drew University, Author of Facing Apocalypse "Thomas Oord is a global leader exploring the primacy of love within Christian thought and practice. In this book, he presents a theology of love in a loving way. When he grapples with the Scriptures, he shows an attitude of fairness. His writing style combines scholarly depth with accessible simplicity. In the end, Oord makes a radical claim: much of traditional Christian theology cannot take love as seriously as it must. Love must revolutionize Christian theology, and Oord explains how.” Brian D. McLaren, Author of Do I Stay Christian? “This is a rigorous, provocative, creative, and very readable account of the meaning of love, especially divine love. It’s a very important contribution to theological thought on this central topic.” Keith Ward, University of Oxford ...
Download or read book Bringing Home the Prodigals written by Rob Parsons and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2008-02-04 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written for anyone who cries for a prodigal to return, whether daughter, son, sister, brother, spouse, or friend.
Download or read book Prodigals and Those Who Love Them written by Ruth Bell Graham and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2008-05-01 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ruth Bell Graham knew about prodigals--two of her five children were spiritual wanderers. This is not a "how to" book that dispenses easy advice on ways to win back a prodigal. Instead, it is a collection of readings one woman turned to for comfort when her children wandered from God. It shows how Graham's faith persevered and grew regardless of the outcome of her prodigals' stories. Part One introduces readers to five prodigals who "returned to the father." Part Two offers comfort and encouragement through Scripture, poems, hymns, prayers, and more. Readers will be touched by the honest feelings of pain, frustration, and uncertainty Graham expresses so eloquently. And they will share in the lessons she learned about God's sovereignty and ultimate peace. Now beautifully repackaged, Prodigals and Those Who Love Them brings peace and hope to all parents of "wayward" children.
Download or read book Reaching Your Prodigal written by Phil Waldrep and published by Worthy Books. This book was released on 2016-02-23 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When someone you care about makes poor choices in their lifestyles, relationships, or moral decision making, there is a way to love them back to the wholesome life that will bless them beyond imagination.