Download or read book Return to Faith written by Otis Farmer and published by . This book was released on 2020-04-06 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Calvin Baxter was living his dream. Annie was the perfect wife, and Taylor was his beautiful infant daughter. He loved his job as the pastor of a thriving community church in Archdale, a typical small North Carolina town where no secrets were ever kept. It didn't matter because Cal and Annie had no secrets to keep. Until on a warm Spring afternoon when Annie and Taylor died in a tragic accident. It was Cal's fault. How could a loving God allow such a tragedy to happen? Relentless anger festered into deep resentment. Self-loathing eventually drove Cal to the edge of suicide, but he never could muster the courage to end it all. Cal declared a ruthless, secret war that raged for ten grueling years. The terrible battles gradually destroyed his faith. It was too late when his congregation discovered their pastor harbored a dark secret that would force Tabernacle Baptist Church to close its doors forever. On the Sunday Cal preached his final sermon, he announced he was stepping away from the ministry. He had no idea what to do with the rest of his life, or where to do it. All that mattered, it had to be far away from Archdale. Cal drove out of town in a very special vehicle named for Annie. He had to make one final stop, to visit Gabby, his mother-in-law, who had long since forgiven Cal for Annie's and Taylor's deaths. Even though Gabby knew it was a waste of time, she encouraged Cal to forgive himself. When they hugged good-bye both Cal and Gabby were certain they would never see each other again. Cal had no destination in mind as he turned south on Highway 109, toward a sparsely settled section of the state. Ahead were clear skies, fresh air and winding country roads. There were no more sermons to prepare. No more prayer requests he doubted would even be heard, let alone answered. He had left behind God, religion and all false pretense of belief. Confident he had begun a brand new chapter in his life, Cal was about to discover he had actually entered a challenging odyssey that would rock him to his very core. He may have lost his faith, but Evil wasn't about to cut him any slack. Cal only thought he had lost it all, until he actually lost it all. As his unexpected journey unfolds, Cal is forced to accept that the man he used to be no longer exists. He is still inside the same body, but is a man he must learn to accept and become. As Cal struggles with his new identity, he may have stepped on the path that returns him to the Faith he abandoned in Archdale.
Download or read book Back to Faith written by Fred R. Lybrand and published by . This book was released on 2009-08-01 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Maintaining veneration for Calvin, this work resolves inherent contradictions to the Gospel found in the Reformed tradition. Lybrand reiterates "faith alone in Christ alone," and works accompanying salvation are "normal but not necessary" while cogently requiring the reader to reexamine theological traditions. My prayer for the mindful Reformer: Read and wrestle with these words. Be willing to abandon all, for the clarity of the Gospel cannot be undervalued." Jay Quine, ThM, PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary President, College of Biblical Studies "Fred Lybrand's analysis of the common saying, 'Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone, ' exposes the logical and biblical fallacies inherit in Calvin's famous statement. With careful exegesis he dissects James' discussion of faith and works with fresh insight into this controversial passage. When I read his doctoral dissertation I immediately encouraged him to publish this so that many others could benefit. The book is well written and finally puts Calvin's clich to rest-where it belongs." Jody Dillow, ThM, ThD, Dallas Theological Seminary Adjunct Professor of Biblical & Theological Studies at Rocky Mountain Bible College & Seminary Fred Lybrand is the Founding Executive Director of the Free Grace Alliance, and currently serves as the Senior Pastor of Northeast Evangelical Free Bible Church in San Antonio, Texas. He is the author of five other works, including Preaching on Your Feet (Broadman and Holman).
Download or read book Against Religion written by A. N. Wilson and published by Vintage. This book was released on 1991 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author argues that religion has inspired many of man's worst evils: war, prejudice, bigotry, cruelty, race hatred and fear. Without it, man would be free to be God. In this polemic, A.N.Wilson singles out the Pope and the Ayatollah for particular attack.
Download or read book God is Back written by John Micklethwait and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the street and in the corridors of power, religion is surging worldwide. From Russia to Turkey to India, nations that swore off faith in the last century--or even tried to stamp it out--are now run by avowedly religious leaders. This book examines this new world, from exorcisms in São Paulo to religious skirmishing in Nigeria, to televangelism in California and house churches in China. Since the Enlightenment, intellectuals have assumed that modernization would kill religion--and that religious America is an oddity. As these authors argue, religion and modernity can thrive together, and America is becoming the norm. The failure of communism and the rise of globalism helped spark the global revival, but, above all, 21st century religion is being fueled by a very American emphasis on competition and a customer-driven approach to salvation, and its destabilizing effects can already be seen far from Iraq or the World Trade Center.--From publisher description.
Download or read book Returning Home to Your Catholic Faith written by Sally Mews and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Returning Home to Your Catholic Faith" addresses with honesty and compassion the fears, hurts, and guilt that many inactive Catholics feel when they first consider returning to the Church. A brief, to-the-point presentation of issues always stress God's mercy; most people who leave and later return do so as part of the process of maturing. Practical tips on how to reconnect with the Church are included. The section on what the Church is like today is a reassuring overview of the opportunities available in a parish. View sample pages. "Paperback"
Download or read book Return written by Brandon Vogt and published by . This book was released on 2015-11-12 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive guide to help you determine why your child left the Church and how to bring them back.
Download or read book Catholic Faith Foundations written by David Werning and published by Our Sunday Visitor. This book was released on 2018-02-09 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Too often Catholics feel like they don’t know (or remember) enough about their faith to share it with others. Finding answers to basic questions about what Catholics believe—and why—can seem like a daunting task. Catholic Faith Foundations: Back to the Basics offers a concise, easy-to-follow review of the basic teachings of the Catholic Church. Author David Werning guides readers through the fundamentals of the Catholic Faith, inviting readers to enrich their understanding of the Church’s doctrinal and spiritual riches. Whether you’re new to the Church or a lifelong Catholic, Catholic Faith Foundations not only equips you with knowledge of the Church’s teachings, it invites you to fall in love with the Faith all over again. ABOUT THE AUTHOR David Werning has an S.T.B. in sacred theology from the Catholic University of America. He has been writing about the Church and the Catholic Faith since 1992.
Download or read book Revelation written by and published by Canongate Books. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.
Download or read book Religion Returns to the Public Square written by Hugh Heclo and published by Woodrow Wilson Center Press. This book was released on 2003-02-28 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite talk of a "naked public square," religion has never really lost its place in American public life. As the twenty-first century opened, it was re-emerging in unexpected and paradoxical ways. Religious institutions were considered for expanded roles in welfare and education, at the same time that the limits of religious pluralism—as, for example, in the relation of Islam to American values—became a question of urgent public concern. Religion Returns to the Public Square;Faith and Policy in America explores how and why religion has to be mixed up with American politics. Uncovering philosophical, historical, legal, and social roots of this relationship, these essays go beyond hot-button issues to reflect on the current interactions and future possibilities of religion and politics in America.
Download or read book Faith from the Back Side written by Dr. J. Ellsworth Kalas and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2011-10-01 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his popular series of books "From the Back Side," J. Ellsworth Kalas looks at Christian topics through a new lens, takes unique starting points on those subjects, and uses creative re-telling from different points of view. In Faith from the Back Side, Kalas explores something that is central in a Christian life but often difficult to understand. "We exercise faith every day, in hundreds of secular moments, then struggle to find it in its purest form when we need God’s help the most. The back side, indeed! Sometimes it’s the only side of faith we can seem to approach. Yet faith is nearer than our hands or feet, and more real than the air we breathe. It’s time we learned more about it." (J. Ellsworth Kalas, adapted from the foreword) A discussion guide is included for small-group use.
Download or read book Go written by Preston Sprinkle and published by NavPress. This book was released on 2016-09-15 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Disciple-making is a passion of many, as it should be. It is, after all, our great commission. But much of contemporary discipleship is informed by instinct, and as such it is vulnerable to the whims and trends of the broader culture, which can take us further away from our biblical model and mandate. Drawing on a 2015 Barna Group study of the state of discipleship in the United States commissioned by The Navigators, bestselling author Preston Sprinkle provides a holistic, biblical response for discipleship, providing accessible tools for all those who are engaged in making Christ-followers in the 21st century. Sprinkle points pastors, church leaders, and frankly, all Christ-followers, to a discipleship that is responsive to this most current research and accountable to the model of Jesus and his earliest followers, who counted making disciples as their most important work. In an extremely practical fashion, Go helps us to discern, from the Scriptures and from exemplary disciple-making ministries, what discipleship is and is not, what it has become and what it can still be.
Download or read book Fractured Faith written by Lina AbuJamra and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2021-09-07 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After your faith has fractured, let what takes its place be the real thing . . . at last. Somewhere along the way, the Christianity you knew began to crumble. You began to suspect your faith was misplaced. Disillusionment set in. Churches hurt you. Their people failed you. Christian institutions were exposed as fake. And in it all, God was silent. Is He gone? Or is God really there, waiting for you to find Him instead of the counterfeits? If you’re walking this difficult spiritual path, Lina AbuJamra understands you. After experiencing the near deconstruction of her own faith, Lina had to rebuild something more solid when the faith she once knew let her down. With her diagnostic style that comes from her training as an ER doc, Lina helps you grapple with questions like: Where is God in my pain? Is this how Christians are supposed to act? Why did my story end up this way? Is this the normal Christian life? Why is it so hard for Christians to love? Let Fractured Faith help you find your way back to God. You just might discover that the real God has been waiting for you all along.
Download or read book Radical written by David Platt and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2012-02-28 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WHAT IS JESUS WORTH TO YOU? It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily... BUT WHO DO YOU KNOW WHO LIVES LIKE THAT? DO YOU? In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple--then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a successful" suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus. Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment -- a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring. (From the 2010 edition)"
Download or read book When God Talks Back written by T.M. Luhrmann and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2012-11-13 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Notable Book A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2012 A bold approach to understanding the American evangelical experience from an anthropological and psychological perspective by one of the country's most prominent anthropologists. Through a series of intimate, illuminating interviews with various members of the Vineyard, an evangelical church with hundreds of congregations across the country, Tanya Luhrmann leaps into the heart of evangelical faith. Combined with scientific research that studies the effect that intensely practiced prayer can have on the mind, When God Talks Back examines how normal, sensible people—from college students to accountants to housewives, all functioning perfectly well within our society—can attest to having the signs and wonders of the supernatural become as quotidian and as ordinary as laundry. Astute, sensitive, and extraordinarily measured in its approach to the interface between science and religion, Luhrmann's book is sure to generate as much conversation as it will praise.
Download or read book Taking Back Islam written by Michael Wolfe and published by Rodale. This book was released on 2004-08-16 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A panel of thirty-five experts, writers, and religious leaders--including Muhammad Ali and Karen Armstrong--take a close-up look at the future of Islam, the historical realities that have shaped it, the paradoxes and schisms within it, the conflict between fundamentalism and progressives, and its beliefs and practices, in an informative panel discussion. Reprint. 10,000 first printing.
Download or read book The Return to Religion written by Henry C. Link and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2011-01-29 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Henry C. Link (1889 - 1952) was a famous psycologist who was alienated from Christian belief for many years, but gradually went back again during his practice as a psycologist. This book reveals the story behind, and it quickly became a best-seller when it was first published in 1936. Its timeless relevance is truly evidenced by its many reprints up to our time.
Download or read book Faith s Return to Salvation written by Amy Johnson and published by Tate Publishing. This book was released on 2010-09 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Haunted by her past, Faith has built walls around her heart, but they begin to crack as her best friend, Michael, gently pushes closer. Although unsure what has caused her heartache, he sees that she is hiding a painful truth. In the small-town bed and breakfast she runs, Faith works hard to provide for her five-year-old daughter, Grace. Through the help of a new friend, Mary, Faith is able to spend more time alone with Michael. But she continues to conceal her secret shame. As Faith struggles to reveal to Michael why she cannot be with him, she questions the God Michael serves. Is he the harsh, uncaring God she believes him to be, or is the belief of her friends well founded? Michael hopes that he can show her that trusting God is the only way that she can heal the hurt that she will not share with anyone else. When a tornado devastates their town of Salvation, Faith is forced to reevaluate her view of God. As Michael entrusts Faith to God, Faith takes her own path of discovery. Experience the tumultuous journey of Faith in Amy Johnson's touching novel, Faith's Return to Salvation.
