Download or read book Salvation by Laughter written by Dudley Zuver and published by . This book was released on 1933 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Laughter and the Grace of God written by Brian Edgar and published by Lutterworth Press. This book was released on 2020-08-27 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh, and this is true of our relationship with God. Thomas Aquinas spoke of the sin of having too little laughter as well as the danger of having too much, while Martin Luther said, 'If you're not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don't want to go there.' Having a sense of humour is essential for maturity in faith and holiness, but sadly, the role that laughter plays in life and spirituality have often been neglected. Laughter and the Grace of God restores laughter to its central place in Christian spirituality and theology by examining its role in Scripture and highlighting its presence in unexpected places, including the story of Abraham and the formation of the covenant, and the tragedy of Job. Laughter can be found in the incarnation, the resurrection, and even the crucifixion - Jesus is himself the great laugh-maker - and it is nothing less than a participation in the life and love of God.
Download or read book The Laughter of God written by Walter C. Lanyon and published by . This book was released on 2016-02-12 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "And then one day I heard the Laughter of God in the midst of me and within the world, and all was suddenly changed. Old patterns and ideas were shattered and passed away-a new loveliness of life was exposed to view ... "How does one hear the Laughter of God? Walter Lanyon has a powerful message to share with the world, a message based firmly on the teachings of the Master, Christ Jesus, and the joy and promise it brings is evident throughout the book. In his unique style of speaking directly to the reader, the author reveals what is needed in order to hear this Laughter: "One thing alone is necessary, and that one all-important point is your willingness to take your attention away from the limited human concept of yourself." The realization that God is not some mysterious power but is the very presence of Life within us and our universe brings instant freedom from the discords of human belief."One moment's recognition that you are the Son of the living God, and you have attuned your ear for the Laughter of God." When we awaken to this truth, we can no longer be limited, any more than the chick can be limited to its shell once it has outgrown it. There comes a New Day; the prisons of thought are opened, and we are set free."And one day you will laugh the Laughter of God, too."
Download or read book Sarah s Laughter written by Vinoth Ramachandra and published by Langham Publishing. This book was released on 2020-05-31 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sarah’s Laughter provides a reflection on suffering that is deeply personal and both theologically and philosophically astute. Vinoth Ramachandra draws on his distinctive positioning as a Sri Lankan Christian theologian – one who has lived and ministered in contexts shaped by the destruction of natural disasters and the violence of human evil – to confront the intellectual, moral, and political challenges posed to faith in the increasingly broken world of the twenty-first century. Yet far from being an abstract discussion of theodicy, this book is intimate and vulnerable, embracing the biblical practice of lament and inviting an authentic response to grief – one that makes space for serious doubt and profound questioning. Sharing his own ongoing journey with suffering and a questing faith, Ramachandra reminds us that lament and joy, faith and protest, clarity and ambiguity, belong together in faithful Christian discipleship. It is not in bypassing the darkness of the world, but in embracing it – in imitation of the incarnate God – that we may glimpse the new creation.
Download or read book Jesus Laughed written by Robert Darden and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2011-12-01 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Agony and hilarity,” said Norman MacLean, “are both necessary for salvation.” We Christians seem to know a lot about the agony part, but what about hilarity? Why do we have to remind ourselves so often that the Bible is full of funny and ridiculous stories and situations? Why do so few of the pictures we’ve drawn of Jesus show him laughing? Because we’ve forgotten the redemptive power of humor, that’s why. In Jesus Laughed, Robert Darden–senior editor of The Wittenburg Door, the world’s oldest, largest, and pretty much only religious satire magazine–draws on his years of experience deflating religious pomposity and making the faithful laugh to show why humor is so central to the faith, and how to make it a big part of your daily walk with God. Click here to listen to Terri Gross's interview with Robert Darden on NPR's Fresh Air about the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project. Darden runs the project at Baylor University where he is a journalism professor. The purpose of the project is to identify, acquire, preserve, record, and catalogue the most at-risk music from the black gospel music tradition, primarily between 1945 and 1970. Robert Darden is Associate Professor of Journalism at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He served for 12 years as Gospel Music Editor for Billboard magazine, and since 1988 has been Senior Editor of The Wittenburg Door, the world’s oldest, largest, and “pretty much only” religious satire magazine. He is the author of more than 25 books, including the definitive People Get Ready! A New History of Black Gospel Music, which has been featured on National Public Radio, and Reluctant Prophets and Clueless Disciples, also published by Abingdon Press.
Download or read book Laughing Gods Weeping Virgins written by Ingvild Sælid Gilhus and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Laughing Gods, Weeping Virgins analyses how laughter has been used as a symbol in myths, rituals and festivals of Western religions, and has thus been inscribed in religious discourse. The Mesopotamian Anu, the Israelite Jahweh, the Greek Dionysos, the Gnostic Christ and the late modern Jesus were all laughing gods. Through their laughter, gods prove both their superiority and their proximity to humans. In this comprehensive study, Professor Gilhus examines the relationship between corporeal human laughter and spiritual divine laughter from c`ussical antiquity, to the Christian West and the modern era. She combines the study of the history of religion with social-scientific approaches, to provide an original and pertinent exploration of a universal human phenomenon, and its significance for the development of religions.
Download or read book Beyond Blue written by Therese Borchard and published by Center Street. This book was released on 2010-01-06 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Therese Borchard may be one of the frankest, funniest people on the planet. That, combined with her keen writing abilities has made her Beliefnet blog, Beyond Blue, one of the most trafficked blogs on the site. BEYOND BLUE, the book, is part memoir/part self-help. It describes Borchard's experience of living with manic depression as well as providing cutting-edge research and information on dealing with mood disorders. By exposing her vulnerability, she endears herself immediately to the reader and then reduces even the most depressed to laughter as she provides a companion on the journey to recovery and the knowledge that the reader is not alone. Comprised of four sections and twenty-one chapters, BEYOND BLUE covers a wide range of topics from codependency to addiction, poor body image to postpartum depression, from alternative medicine to psychopharmacology, managing anxiety to applying lessons from therapy. Because of her laser wit and Erma Bombeck sense of humor, every chapter is entertaining as well as serious.
Download or read book Bacon Sandwiches Salvation written by Adrian Plass and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2008-10-29 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Confronting his inner zealot with his weakness for the bacon sandwich, writer Adrian Plass comes through with a "humorous antidote" for the Pharisee in us all.
Download or read book The Laughing Ghosts Salvation of the Slaved Spirits written by Dr. Nidhi Sahore and published by Blue Rose Publishers. This book was released on 2021-07-07 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Laughing Ghosts is a realization of the self for Meenu poised to find her own truth of ghosts believed to be meandering around and looking up to her to reveal their side of the story. A stray incidence of violence in the vicinity of grown up Meenu, a mother of two children pushes her to reflect upon her joyous childhood which she shared with her neighborhood friends and cousins only to realize that even in those nascent years of her life women around her were suffering however she did find an answer and carried a learning which was kept reserved to her. Each time in her quest as a little girl to find an anchor in a woman from her surroundings to help her identify the very purpose of her existence led to their sad and untimely demise. Not ready to be a slave to the belief of the society attaching a meager and humble purpose to the existence of women i.e. to only live for others, she tries to find her own answers to the questions which no one cared to ask. Eventually she gathered the strength to face the reality with the help of goals of self preservation and salvation by looking around and seeking solace from the stories of challenges faced by women very close to her like her grandmother, mother and aunts. That made her harbor the value that it is important to step back and consciously quit to gather the strength to withstand the eventualities of life. The ghosts of the guilt haunt only the slaved souls but cannot withstand an indomitable spirit that is determined to find its own truth; rather they stand by it to be a part of the laughter of triumph and salvation. Therefore in the situations of self doubt and enigma the inevitable reflections from the past help to purposefully connect with the present to find your own answers. This lesson was true then and shall continue to be the truth.
Download or read book Under Running Laughter written by Dean Jones and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dean Jones was two men. He was the boyishly handsome star of the Walt Disney box-office hits - the hero of television shows and Saturday matinees, with a winsome smile every mother could trust. And he was the reckless, hard-living predator who prowled from one Hollywood romance to another - always stalked by deep regrets and a strange death wish that arose when on his motorcycle or behind the wheel of his sports car. Enter Lory Patrick. Loving, attractive, independent, different.
Download or read book Surprised by Laughter written by Terry Lindvall and published by Thomas Nelson Inc. This book was released on 2012-01-17 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Surprised by Laughter looks at the career and writings of C. S. Lewis and discovers a man whose life and beliefs were sustained by joy and humor. All of his life, C. S. Lewis possessed a spirit of individuality. An atheist from childhood, he became a Christian as an adult and eventually knew international acclaim as a respected theologian. He was known worldwide for his works of fiction, especially the Chronicles of Narnia; and for his books on life and faith, including Mere Christianity, A Grief Observed, and Surprised by Joy. But perhaps the most visible difference in his life was his abiding sense of humor. It was through this humor that he often reached his readers and listeners, allowing him to effectively touch so many lives. Terry Lindvall takes an in-depth look at Lewis's joyful approach toward living, dividing his study of C. S. Lewis's wit into the four origins of laughter in Uncle Screwtape's eleventh letter to a junior devil in Lewis's The Screwtape Letters: joy, fun, the joke proper, and flippancy. Lindvall writes, "One bright and compelling feature we can see, sparking in his sunlight and dancing in his moonlight, is laughter. Yet it is not too large to see at once because it inhabited all Lewis was and did." Surprised by Laughter reveals a Lewis who enjoyed the gift of laughter, and who willingly shared that gift with others in order to spread his faith.
Download or read book Laughing at the Days to Come written by Tessa Thompson and published by Reformation Heritage Books. This book was released on 2019-11-15 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Laughing at the Days to Come , Tessa Thompson shares a poignant story of physical suffering and her journey to not only understand God's hand at work in it, but to face the future with laughter. This book is gospel centered and hope-filled. Page after page, the author directs our focus to Christ and his work for us. We all face suffering in this fallen world, but we are not without hope. In Laughing at the Days to Come, readers are equipped to face their own stories of suffering with joy because of our present and future hope in Christ. Tessa Thompson was fifteen years old when she was diagnosed with a rare neurological disease that took away her hearing and would eventually cause chronic pain and other health complications. Faced with a future of uncertainty, she encountered Proverbs: 31:25: "Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come." The godly woman of Proverbs 31 had something Tessa lacked- a vision for life that allowed her to laugh at the future. Tessa recognized she needed this laughter in order to endure lifelong suffering in a way that honored God. In this warmly personal account, Tessa insightfully considers what she calls the Christian's "peculiar perspective on suffering" and shows you how the hope of God's Word will enable you to laugh at the days to come even in the midst of tears and suffering. Table of Contents: PART 1 – Laughter: Its Definition Chapter 1 – Her Trial: He Gives and Takes Away Chapter 2 – Her Vision: A Woman Who Laughs Chapter 3 – Her Reality: Living in a Vale of Tears Chapter 4 – Her Dilemma: A Peculiar Perspective on Suffering PART 2 – Laughter: Its Doctrine Chapter 5 – Her Necessity: A Sober-Minded Suffering Chapter 6 – Her Comfort: God’s Fatherly Sovereignty Chapter 7 – Her Guide: Christ’s Perfect Example Chapter 8 – Her Guarantee: The Spirit’s Enduring Preservation PART 3 – Laughter: Its Doing Chapter 9 – Her Prayers: The Humble Expectation of a Daughter Chapter 10 – Her Practice: The Selfless Love of a Sister Chapter 11 – Her Prospect: The Heavenly Aim of a Pilgrim
Download or read book Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart written by J. D. Greear and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2013-02-01 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “If there were a Guinness Book of World Records entry for ‘amount of times having prayed the sinner’s prayer,’ I’m pretty sure I’d be a top contender,” says pastor and author J. D. Greear. He struggled for many years to gain an assurance of salvation and eventually learned he was not alone. “Lack of assurance” is epidemic among evangelical Christians. In Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart, J. D. shows that faulty ways of present- ing the gospel are a leading source of the confusion. Our presentations may not be heretical, but they are sometimes misleading. The idea of “asking Jesus into your heart” or “giving your life to Jesus” often gives false assurance to those who are not saved—and keeps those who genuinely are saved from fully embracing that reality. Greear unpacks the doctrine of assurance, showing that salvation is a posture we take to the promise of God in Christ, a posture that begins at a certain point and is maintained for the rest of our lives. He also answers the tough questions about assurance: What exactly is faith? What is repentance? Why are there so many warnings that seem to imply we can lose our salvation? Such issues are handled with respect to the theological rigors they require, but Greear never loses his pastoral sensitivity or a communication technique that makes this message teachable to a wide audience from teens to adults.
Download or read book The Humor of Christ written by Elton Trueblood and published by Harper San Francisco. This book was released on 1964 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Humor of Christ inspires Christians to redraw their pictures of Christ and to add a persistent biblical detail, the note of humor. Throughout the Gospels, Christ employed humor for the sake of truth and many of his teachings, when seen in this light, become brilliantly clear for the first time. Irony, satire, paradox, even laughter itself help clarify Christ's famous parables, His brief sayings, and important events in His life.
Download or read book It s Okay to Laugh with Jesus written by Wayne Bartelt and published by Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.. This book was released on 2019-08-28 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It's Okay to Laugh with Jesus is about a God who loves to laugh because he's proud of his perfect world and loves the people he put in it. He laughs at the folly of humankind that rejects him and rewards faithfulness rather than success. He laughs at a mother as she cuddles her newborn, a baby's giggle, a father tucking a blanket under his son's chin and praying him to sleep. God laughs at the folly of humankind that rejects his love and at the devil knowing his doom is sealed. Those who laugh with Jesus enter a world of smiles and surprises. Starting the adventure costs nothing; living it costs everything. It's easy to become a Christian and difficult to live like one. Once the adventure begins, the awareness shifts from ownership to service, from selfishness to sacrifice, from world-thinking to heaven thinking. Goals change, values deepen, and variables that make no earthly sense develop eternal significance. Where did we ever get the idea that sorrow, sadness and skepticism represent the Christian religion? Not from God. He laughs with a world of people who live and die laughing all the way to heaven. When we laugh with God, the sorrows of life blend with joy; anxiety is calmed with forgiveness; and heartache balances against happiness. In a book of fun and surprises, It's Okay to Laugh with Jesus reveals how, and what, sharpens the faith that brings us closer to our God than we ever thought possible. And when we laugh with him, he knows we're getting it. What a delightful way to spend an hour, a day, a lifetime laughing with Jesus.
Download or read book Laugh Again written by Charles R. Swindoll and published by . This book was released on 1998-09 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Swindoll challenges the notion that Christians must go through life in some joyless regime of pat answers and stereotypical behavior. Drawing from the book of Philippians--where joy is referred to over 20 times--Swindoll invites Christians to live life from the perspective of true joy. By knowing our true source of joy, happiness is no longer dependent on outside circumstances.
Download or read book A Different Kind of Laughter written by Andy Cook and published by Kregel Publications. This book was released on 2002-08 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discovering joy from the most difficult moments of Jesus' life, this study points readers to a solid life replete with a different kind of laughter—the kind that survives life's deepest trials.
