Download or read book The Christian s Charge Never to Offend God in Worship written by John Forbes and published by Puritan Publications. This book was released on 2018-03-19 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mr. Forbes will show you that the house of God should be ordered by God’s rules. In this it should be seen as wholly appropriate that God’s "people" are to be ordered by God’s rules. Such worship should show reverence, piety, love, desire, and joy in God, and it should be structured and ordered according to God’s holy principles. Worship for the Christian should be an expression of God’s heart back to God filtered through his congregation. We ought to reflect back to God how wonderful and most blessed He is in pure and undefiled worship. Mr. Forbes demonstrates from 1 Timothy 6:13-16 that it is impossible to worship God by human invention. It is equally impossible to worship God by human ingenuity. And, it is impossible to worship God in an atmosphere that has not been structured and ordered by God and His word. The Regulative Principle expresses clearly that God alone determines the manner sinners are to approach him in worship. Such a doctrine, such a concept, should not be placed by the way side because we and our contemporary culture are more fascinated and captivated by being entertained rather than by God’s truth. This work is not a scan or facsimile, has been carefully transcribed by hand being made easy to read in modern English, and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.

Download or read book Finding Organic Church written by Frank Viola and published by David C Cook. This book was released on 2009-09-15 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the bestselling author of Reimagining Church comes an essential guide that provides practical, effective tools for finding vibrant Christian communities. Driven by a passion for the body of Christ, Frank Viola has written some of today's most authoritative and celebrated works on the growing home, organic, and missional church movements. Now Viola shares practical keys to a healthy and successful church plant. Viola contends that many congregations today are struggling to survive, not because of bad planning, but poor planting. He presents an essential guide for starting and nourishing organic churches in any culture. Drawing from both Scripture and a wealth of experience, Viola offers real-world tools, insights, and practical suggestions so churches won't just grow, but thrive.

Download or read book A Christian s True Spiritual Worship to Jesus Christ written by Stephen Charnock and published by Puritan Publications. This book was released on 2018-04-30 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From John 4:24, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth,” Charnock explains the nature of God as it relates to true, spiritual worship. He shows how God is a Spirit, and what it means that we are to worship God in spirit and truth. His main doctrine from the text is that worship due to God ought to be spiritual, and spiritually performed by his people in truth and righteousness. Worship is nothing else but a rendering to God the honor that is due to him. Charnock shows that the nature of God and the prescription of his will alone (only found in the Scriptures) informs us what kind of worship is to be presented to him. The pillars on which the worship of God stands cannot be discerned without divine revelation. Worship depends on the scriptural directions God prescribes as the sovereign Lawgiver. True worship, then, must be conformed to the rule and pattern of God's will and pleasure, revealed in his holy word. It must have truth for its substance, and spirit for its manner, otherwise, it is not worship with which the Father will be pleased. Charnock warns that lukewarm and indifferent services to God in worship stink in the nostrils of God. To give God only an external form of worship without its life, is taking his name in vain. We mock him when we do not mind what we are speaking to him, or what he is speaking to us in worship. Annexed to this work is, "A Short and Full Vindication of that Sweet and Comfortable Ordinance of Singing of Psalms," by Jonathan Clapham (1611-1676). This is a powerful biblical treatment of psalmody in a short tract. This work is not a scan or facsimile, has been carefully transcribed by hand being made easy to read in modern English, and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.

Download or read book The Dangerous Act of Worship written by Mark Labberton and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2012-10-31 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this prophetic call to the contemporary church, pastor Mark Labberton redefines Christian worship in the language of justice. He calls us away from individualized worship and into worshiping communities that give expression to righteousness, justice and compassion.

Download or read book How to Serve God in Private and Public Worship written by John Jackson and published by Puritan Publications. This book was released on 2018-03-28 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this exhorting work, Jackson plows up the fallow ground of both your private and public service (your worship) to God, to present it in a more acceptable manner through the work of Christ. He outlines and exhorts you and your family in these duties as they are prescribed and regulated by the word of God. He will guide you through proper prayer, reading, worship, meditation, family instruction, the preparation of the Lord's Day, the reception of the sacrament, of hearing the word with profit, of Christian fellowship, and a host of other spiritual duties. Jackson will cause you to consider your degree of proficiency in these things, and direct you to the right course of action according to God's directives. His thoroughness is seen in the context of practical exhortations for sinners to comply to God’s requirements. He cites over 700 footnotes, all of which are Scriptural proofs of his encouraging words. This is a work that should sit alongside your bible to refer to daily. His goal is to raise your awareness in presenting your duties before God in the blood of Christ, and to do that which God requires and regulates in both private and corporate worship to the best of your ability as a Christian. This work is not a scan or facsimile, has been carefully transcribed by hand being made easy to read in modern English, and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.

Download or read book True Worship and the Consequences of Idolatry written by John Knox and published by Puritan Publications. This book was released on 2018-04-13 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you know the difference between true and false worship? Can false worship be true worship? Is God honored by false worship even when you are sincere in giving it? Knox defines idolatry as, “all worshipping, honoring, or service invented by the brain of man in the religion of God, without his own express commandment.” Are you an idolater? As much as this might be a hard question to consider, it is an appropriate question in light of God’s directives in Scripture to regard him as holy in corporate worship. In considering the sin of idolatry, whether directly worshipping sticks, stones and idols, or being part of a deviant worship service in a 21st century church, such thoughts on worship are exceedingly relevant for us today. Without coming to God as God requires, we do not worship God as he has instructed us in scripture. Knox’s treatise on True and False Worship demonstrates the inescapable consequence to consider whether you are worshipping God in the vanity of your own mind, being directed by the dictates of another aberrant mind, or, whether you are engaging in true worship as God requires. Considering this is not a vain thing, for as God says to Moses, “For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life,” (Deut. 32:47). Professing Christians must consider that it is God alone who determines the manner in which sinners approach him. On this, and this alone, they are to tender up to God his due. This work is not a scan or facsimile, has been carefully transcribed by hand being made easy to read in modern English, and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.

Download or read book The Glory of Evangelical Worship written by John Owen and published by Puritan Publications. This book was released on 2018-05-17 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is an important consolidation of John Owen’s most choice sections on glorifying Jesus Christ in Evangelical worship found in his writings. It is the only volume of its kind outside of his extensively written corpus. Worship is the life of the Christian, and must be understood according to the principles God has prescribed for us in his word. Is there any topic that cries out with more significance in our contemporary culture than understanding the foundations of biblical worship? This book begins with Owen’s exegesis of Ephesians 2:18, “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” There are five main sections to this work covering: true spiritual worship before the giving of the Law, the nature of Evangelical worship, the beauty of Evangelical worship, the importance of exercising true faith during Evangelical worship, and that Evangelical worship is solely prescribed by God’s divine appointment. The work is introduced by a chapter written by Dr. McMahon on Owen’s view of exclusive psalmody; a summary complied throughout all his writings. Also annexed to this volume is the rare puritan work by Edward Hutchins called, “Scripture Proof for Singing Hymns and Spiritual Songs.” Hutchins was a minister at the end of the 17th century, who gave an astounding demonstration of Scriptural prowess outlining and explaining the prophetic nature of the Psalms, and the New Testament ordinance of exclusive psalm singing. This work has never been published before since Hutchins’ day, and is one of the most impressive and concise works of this kind ever written with such biblical skill and insight; a Scriptural tour de force not to be missed. This work is not a scan or facsimile, has been carefully transcribed by hand being made easy to read in modern English, and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.

Download or read book Vain Imaginations in the Worship of God written by Jonathan Edwards and published by Puritan Publications. This book was released on 2018-04-05 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most important issues facing today’s contemporary church is the subject of public worship. What does God require from sinners who draw near to him in this ordinance? Surveying the landscape of American Colonial preachers on this topic is exceedingly illuminating. In theological kinship to their Puritan counterparts, New World preachers were vehement in their desire to explain the particulars of prescribed worship according to God’s word. Their solid biblical conviction and passion gives the contemporary church a scriptural remedy for understanding God’s requirements. This anthology is compiled of six enlarged sermons and one lecture, all of which have never been published since the days the original preachers ministered in their respective congregations. They are: The Sinfulness of Worshipping God with Men’s Institutions by Samuel Willard (1640-1707) taken from Matthew 15:9, “But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”. The Vanity of Human Institutions in the Worship of God by Jonathan Dickinson (1688-1747) taken from Gal. 4:9, “…how turn you again to the weak and beggerly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?” The Great Sin of Formality in God’s Worship by Joshua Moodey (1633-1697) taken from Hosea 11:12, “Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit.” The Duty of Worshipping God in His House by Nathan Stone (1737-1804) taken from Psalm 5:7, “But as for me, I will come into thy house, in the multitude of thy mercy; and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.” And then two unpublished sermons and one lecture from Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758): The Profanation of God’s Holy Worship taken from Ezekiel 23:36-39, “…they have committed adultery…then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it.” Provoking the Lord to Jealousy in the Worship of God taken from 1 Cor. 10:22, “Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” And an Appendix: The Holiness of God taken from Isaiah 6:3, “And one cried unto another and said holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” This work is not a scan or facsimile, has been carefully transcribed by hand being made easy to read in modern English, and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.

Download or read book The Simplicity of Holy Worship written by John Wilson and published by Puritan Publications. This book was released on 2018-03-29 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wilson uses John 4:24 to explain in detail how Christ instituted worship in a simple manner, in spirit and truth. He will show, with all the power and effect of a biblical sledgehammer, that anything outside of what Christ has instituted should be considered idolatry, and should be cast out of the church. Wilson covers what worship is, what it means to worship God in both spirit and truth, and how this is the Christian’s duty to do so. He gives various cautions against false worship, or worshiping God as an idolater, the application of worshipping in spirit and truth, as well as obstacles that often hinder Christians when they should be worshipping God in such a holy and simple manner. In opposition to such God-centered worship, he says that carnal men with carnal minds cannot, and do not, worship God as God prescribes. God would have us to stand in a close union to him in worship, and with one another, so he would also have us to stand at the utmost distance from idolaters. It is not for us to set down ways of worship, but to observe the way that God, in his word, has already set down on our behalf. Wilson pushes the professing Christian to comply with what God has set down and instructed in his word. Worship is not about taste or preference. It is about bowing to Christ and kissing the Son, rendering to him the worship that should be answerable to his being and glory, lest he becomes angry and we perish in the way. This work is not a scan or facsimile, has been carefully transcribed by hand being made easy to read in modern English, and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.

Download or read book A Stranger in the House of God written by John Koessler and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2009-08-30 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Growing up the son of agnostics, John Koessler saw a Catholic church on one end of the street and a Baptist on the other. In the no-man’s land between the two, this curious outside wondered about the God they worshipped—and began a lifelong search to comprehend the grace and mystery of God. A Stranger in the House of God addresses fundamental questions and struggles faced by spiritual seekers and mature believers. Like a contemporary Pilgrim’s Progress, it traces the author’s journey and explores his experiences with both charismatic and evangelical Christianity. It also describes his transformation from religious outsider to ordained pastor. John Koessler provides a poignant and often humorous window into the interior of the soul as he describes his journey from doubt and struggle with the church to personal faith

Download or read book Jesus Outside the Lines written by Scott Sauls and published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. This book was released on 2015-03-01 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether the issue of the day on Twitter, Facebook, or cable news is our sexuality, political divides, or the perceived conflict between faith and science, today’s media pushes each one of us into a frustrating clash between two opposing sides. Polarizing, us-against-them discussions divide us and distract us from thinking clearly and communicating lovingly with others. Scott Sauls, like many of us, is weary of the bickering and is seeking a way of truth and beauty through the conflicts. Jesus Outside the Lines presents Jesus as this way. Scott shows us how the words and actions of Jesus reveal a response that does not perpetuate the destructive fray. Jesus offers us a way forward—away from harshness, caricatures, and stereotypes. In Jesus Outside the Lines, you will experience a fresh perspective of Jesus, who will not (and should not) fit into the sides.

Download or read book I Love Jesus But I Want to Die written by Sarah J. Robinson and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2021-05-11 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

Download or read book The Peaceful Wife written by April Cassidy and published by Kregel Publications. This book was released on 2016-01-27 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This book walks each of us through the reality checks we need in order to have the marriage we want!” —Shaunti Feldhahn, social researcher and best-selling author of For Women Only In today’s workplace, women are often rewarded for having type A personalities: driven, demanding, ambitious, and strong. Yet when it comes to their marriages, those same traits can backfire. After all, no one goes into marriage hoping for a promotion. What is a wife to do? April Cassidy knows this struggle firsthand. She thought she was a great Christian wife and begged God to make her passive husband into a more loving, involved, godly leader. Instead, God opened her eyes to changes that she needed to make, such as laying down her desire for control and offering genuine, unconditional respect—not just love—to her husband. Cassidy’s conclusions may be as startling to readers as they were to her, but The Peaceful Wife shares how she and many others have learned to reorient their lives to biblical commands—resulting in healthier, happier marriages. In the end, you’ll find The Peaceful Wife a powerful path to God’s design for women to live in full submission to Christ as Lord.

Download or read book For All God s Worth written by N. T. Wright and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2014-09-05 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This insightful book by N. T. Wright explores both the meaning and the results of Christian worship. Part 1, "The God Who Is Worthy of Praise," focuses on what worshiping God actually means. Wright celebrates the greatness and beauty of God as the ground and reason for worship and shows how reflection on who God is leads us to true, heartfelt worship (from "worth-ship"), as we seek to give God all he's worth. Part 2, "Reflecting God's Image in the World," addresses a range of issues that flow from the activity of worship. Since worship can never remain isolated from the task of the church, Wright here explores how true worship leads to the mission of the church in various specific ways. Based firmly on sensitive and creative readings of the biblical text, this book is an inspiring call for renewal in the worship and witness of today's church.

Download or read book Hating God written by Bernard Schweizer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-11-04 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While atheists such as Richard Dawkins have now become public figures, there is another and perhaps darker strain of religious rebellion that has remained out of sight--people who hate God. In this revealing book, Bernard Schweizer looks at men and women who do not question God's existence, but deny that He is merciful, competent, or good. Sifting through a wide range of literary and historical works, Schweizer finds that people hate God for a variety of reasons. Some are motivated by social injustice, human suffering, or natural catastrophes that God does not prevent. Some blame God for their personal tragedies. Schweizer concludes that, despite their blasphemous thoughts, these people tend to be creative and moral individuals, and include such literary lights as Friedrich Nietzsche, Mark Twain, Zora Neale Hurston, Rebecca West, Elie Wiesel, and Philip Pullman. Schweizer shows that literature is a fertile ground for God haters. Many authors, who dare not voice their negative attitude to God openly, turn to fiction to give vent to it. Indeed, Schweizer provides many new and startling readings of literary masterpieces, highlighting the undercurrent of hatred for God. Moreover, by probing the deeper mainsprings that cause sensible, rational, and moral beings to turn against God, Schweizer offers answers to some of the most vexing questions that beset human relationships with the divine.

Download or read book Irresistible written by Andy Stanley and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2018-09-18 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fresh look at the earliest Christian movement reveals what made the new faith so compelling...and what we need to change today to make it so again. Once upon a time there was a version of the Christian faith that was practically irresistible. After all, what could be more so than the gospel that Jesus ushered in? Why, then, isn't it the same with Christianity today? Author and pastor Andy Stanley is deeply concerned with the present-day church and its future. He believes that many of the solutions to our issues can be found by investigating our roots. In Irresistible, Andy chronicles what made the early Jesus Movement so compelling, resilient, and irresistible by answering these questions: What did first-century Christians know that we don't—about God's Word, about their lives, about love? What did they do that we're not doing? What makes Christianity so resistible in today's culture? What needs to change in order to repeat the growth our faith had at its beginning? Many people who leave or disparage the faith cite reasons that have less to do with Jesus than with the conduct of his followers. It's time to hit pause and consider the faith modeled by our first-century brothers and sisters who had no official Bible, no status, and little chance of survival. It's time to embrace the version of faith that initiated—against all human odds—a chain of events resulting in the most significant and extensive cultural transformation the world has ever seen. This is a version of Christianity we must remember and re-embrace if we want to be salt and light in an increasingly savorless and dark world.

Download or read book The Joy of the Gospel written by Pope Francis and published by Image. This book was released on 2014-10-07 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The perfect gift! A specially priced, beautifully designed hardcover edition of The Joy of the Gospel with a foreword by Robert Barron and an afterword by James Martin, SJ. “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus… In this Exhortation I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy, while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.” – Pope Francis This special edition of Pope Francis's popular message of hope explores themes that are important for believers in the 21st century. Examining the many obstacles to faith and what can be done to overcome those hurdles, he emphasizes the importance of service to God and all his creation. Advocating for “the homeless, the addicted, refugees, indigenous peoples, the elderly who are increasingly isolated and abandoned,” the Holy Father shows us how to respond to poverty and current economic challenges that affect us locally and globally. Ultimately, Pope Francis demonstrates how to develop a more personal relationship with Jesus Christ, “to recognize the traces of God’s Spirit in events great and small.” Profound in its insight, yet warm and accessible in its tone, The Joy of the Gospel is a call to action to live a life motivated by divine love and, in turn, to experience heaven on earth. Includes a foreword by Robert Barron, author of Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith and James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage