Download or read book The Sacrament of Evangelism written by Jerry Root and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2011-04-01 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A recent statistic suggests that 15% of the churches in America are growing but only 2.2% are growing evangelistically. Much of the church in America has lost its evangelistic zeal and forgotten how to re-ignite it; this book is an attempt to light the fuse of the powder keg so that the church, long-distracted by so many things, might return to its primary mission in the world. We do not take Christ to anyone; He is already there. We go to make explicit what we see Him doing implicitly. It is not a question of whether God is at work in His world . . . Our hope is to see more of God’s people at work with Him! Learn about why we share our faith, Christ's role in our evangelism, the deep longings in all our hearts, and how to effectively live a sacramentally evangelistic lifestyle. We are offering a way of looking at life and the world that is open to God’s presence everywhere. This approach is called sacramental. And where better to experience God’s presence than in His workplace? This is the Sacrament of Evangelism.
Download or read book Worship Evangelism written by Sally Morgenthaler and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 1999 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This practical manual details a culturally relevant, biblical alternative to both evanglistic and seeker sensitive worship models. It is a ground-breaking work for worship musicians and pastors. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.
Download or read book Evangelical Is Not Enough written by Thomas Howard and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2011-03-18 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this deeply moving narrative, Thomas Howard describes his pilgrimage from Evangelicalism (which he loves and reveres as the religion of his youth) to liturgical Christianity. He soon afterward became a Roman Catholic. He describes Evangelicalism with great sympathy and then examines more formal, liturgical worship with the freshness of someone discovering for the first time what his soul had always hungered for. This is a book of apologetics without polemics. Non-Catholics will gain an appreciation of the formal and liturgical side of Catholicism. Catholics will see with fresh eyes the beauty of their tradition. Worship, prayer, the Blessed Virgin, the Mass, and the liturgical year are taken one after the other, and what may have seemed routine and repetitive suddenly comes to life under the enchanting wand of Howard's beautiful prose. Howard unfolds for us just what occurs in the vision and imagination of a Christian who, nurtured in the earnestness of Protestant Evangelicalism, finds himself yearning for "whatever-it-is" that has been there in the Church for 2000 years. It traces Howard's soul-searching and shows why he believes the practices of the liturgical Church are an invaluable aid for any Christian's spiritual life. Reminiscent of the style and scope of Newman, Lewis and Knox, this book is destined to be a classic. "The question, What is the Church? becomes, finally, intractable; and one finds oneself unable to offer any very telling reasons why the phrase 'one, holy, catholic, and apostolic', is to be understood in any other than the way in which it was understood for 1500 years." -- Thomas Howard
Download or read book Forming Intentional Disciples written by Sherry A. Weddell and published by Our Sunday Visitor. This book was released on 2015-11-30 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can we transmit a living, personal Catholic faith to future generations? By coming to know Jesus Christ, and following him as his disciples. These are times of immense challenge and immense opportunity for the Catholic Church. Consider these statistics for the United States. Only 30 percent of Americans who were raised Catholic are still practicing. Fully 10 percent of all adults in America are ex-Catholics. The number of marriages celebrated in the Church decreased dramatically, by nearly 60 percent, between 1972 and 2010. Only 60 percent of Catholics believe in a personal God. If the Church is to reverse these trends, the evangelizers must first be evangelized-in other words, Catholics-in-the-pew must make a conscious choice to know and follow Jesus before they can draw others to him. This work of discipleship lies at the heart of Forming Intentional Disciples, a book designed to help Church leaders, parish staff and all Catholics transform parish life from within. Drawing upon her fifteen years of experience with the Catherine of Siena Institute, Sherry Weddell leads readers through steps that will help Catholics enter more deeply into a relationship with God and the river of apostolic creativity, charisms, and vocation that flow from that relationship for the sake of the Church and the world. Learn about the five thresholds of postmodern conversion, how to open a conversation about faith and belief, how to ask thought-provoking questions and establish an atmosphere of trust, when to tell the Great Story of Jesus, how to help someone respond to God's call to intentional discipleship, and much more. And be prepared for conversion because when life at the parish level changes, the life of the whole Church will change.
Download or read book Bringing the Gospel Home written by Randy Newman and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2011-04-07 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sharing the gospel with a family member can be an exciting experience—and often a long, painful, and confrontational one. Randy Newman recognizes it can be more difficult and frustrating to witness to a family member than to nearly anyone else. In Bringing the Gospel Home, he delivers practical, holistic strategies to help average Christians engage family members and others on topics of faith. A messianic Jew who has led several family members to Christ, Newman urges Christians to look to the Bible before they evangelize. He writes, "a richer understanding of biblical truth, I have found, can provide a firmer foundation for bold witness and clear communication." After a brief introduction on the nature of family, he delves into discussions of grace, truth, love, humility, and time. He also addresses issues related to eternity and end-of-life conversations. Bringing the Gospel Home will help any Christian as he seeks to guide loved ones into God's family.
Download or read book Table Matters written by Felicia Howell LaBoy and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2017-11-09 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In many churches, the work of evangelism and social justice is relegated to clergy, staff, or special committees. Rarely do most members of the laity believe they should or even want to engage in the tasks of evangelism and social justice. In this volume, LaBoy contends that participation in baptism and Eucharist mandates for all Christians—and those who are Wesleyan in their orientation, in particular—that evangelism and social justice are not optional but in fact integral to their worship and witness. She argues that this understanding and practice of the integration of sacraments, evangelism, and social justice are what can help churches deal with contemporary issues of decline and church disenfranchisement by both congregants and those beyond church walls. LaBoy further argues that making the sacraments central to the worship life of congregations is what made early Methodists great evangelists and advocates for social justice.
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
Download or read book Preaching the Gospel written by Ronald J. Sider and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2021-06-22 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of Ron Sider’s sermons and speeches delivered in his lifetime of global ministry capture the essence of his theology, ethics, and mission. It moves from stirring personal occasions (his sermon at his dad’s funeral) to challenging calls for racial and economic justice (his influential, prophetic speech in apartheid South Africa in 1979). These sermons reflect his passion for both evangelism and social action, both personal holiness and just politics, both faithful congregations and just, peaceful societies. These short, gripping sermons convey the essence of what he has written elsewhere in dozens of books. This collection offers a highly readable, powerful summary of Sider’s central ideas.
Download or read book Recovering the Evangelical Sacrament written by Anthony R. Cross and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 421 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The subject of baptism continues to be of considerable interest--though it frequently appears within broader studies of sacraments, liturgy, worship, and ecumenical studies, and within confessional bounds: credobaptist or paedobaptist--yet it is rarely discussed by Evangelicals. This book, however, is neither an apologetic for credobaptism nor paedobaptism; rather Cross believes that, as practiced today, both forms are a departure from New Testament baptism, which, he maintains, was an integral part of becoming a Christian and part of the proclaimed gospel. He argues that the "one baptism" of Ephesians 4:5 is conversion-baptism and that the baptism referred to in the various New Testament strata refers to this "one baptism" (of Spirit and water). The study sets out the case for this interpretation and contends that in key passages "baptism" is an example of synecdoche. The case is then made for a sacramental interpretation of baptism from a thoroughgoing Evangelical perspective. Cross concludes with reflections on the necessity of baptismal reform and the relevance of a return to conversion-baptism for the contemporary church in a post-Christian, post-Christendom, mission setting.
Download or read book The Master Plan of Evangelism Second Edition Abridged written by Robert Coleman and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2006-04 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Few books have had as great an impact on the cause of world evangelization in our generation as Robert Coleman's "The Master Plan of Evangelism.""--Billy Graham It all started when Jesus called a few men to follow him and share God's message with their neighbors. We are called to do the same. But evangelism can be difficult--even intimidating. With all the evangelism resources available, where should you turn to find advice on how to share the Good News with others? Robert E. Coleman says the answers aren't found in TV evangelism, easy-evangelism guidebooks, or the latest marketing techniques. Rather, he looks to the Bible, to the ultimate example found in Jesus Christ. For more than forty years this classic, biblical look at evangelism has challenged and instructed over three million readers. Now repackaged for a new generation, "The Master Plan of Evangelism" is as fresh and relevant as ever. Join the movement and discover how you can minister to the people God brings into your life.
Download or read book Simply Christian written by N. T. Wright and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2010-02-09 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why is justice fair? Why are so many people pursuing spirituality? Why do we crave relationship? And why is beauty so beautiful? N. T. Wright argues that each of these questions takes us into the mystery of who God is and what he wants from us. For two thousand years Christianity has claimed to answer these mysteries, and this renowned biblical scholar and Anglican bishop shows that it still does today. Like C. S. Lewis did in his classic Mere Christianity, Wright makes the case for Christian faith from the ground up, assuming that the reader is starting from ground zero with no predisposition to and perhaps even some negativity toward religion in general and Christianity in particular. His goal is to describe Christianity in as simple and accessible, yet hopefully attractive and exciting, a way as possible, both to say to outsides ÔYou might want to look at this further,Ö and to say to insiders ÔYou may not have quite understood this bit clearly yet.Ö
Download or read book Fulfilled in Christ The Sacraments A Guide to Symbols and Types in the Bible and Tradition written by Fr. Devin Roza and published by Emmaus Road Publishing. This book was released on 2015-07-01 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Early Church read the Scriptures with the conviction that (in the words of St. Augustine), “The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.” Drawing inspiration from how both the Apostles and Christ himself read the Old Covenant as referring to the New (cf. Luke 24:27, 1 Peter 3:20–21, 1 Corinthians 10:1–5), the Church found the Old Testament to be rich with figures, or “types,” that foreshadowed both the mysteries of the life of Christ and the mysteries, or sacraments, of the New Covenant. And yet, in modern times the study of types (or “typology”) has been largely abandoned by scholars due to the dangers of subjectivity and exaggeration. How can typology be studied in a way that is objective and that avoids the excesses present in the past? Fr. Devin Roza seeks to offer a solution to these difficulties by asking the question, “According to the Scriptures and the living Tradition of the Church, what are the types and symbols of the sacraments and what do they mean?” As authorized representatives of the living Tradition, the Liturgy (including the readings from the Church Fathers) and the Catechism, together with the Scriptures, offer both the scholar and pastor the opportunity to study typology as the Catholic Church herself understands and prays it today, in those texts the Church considers her own. Fulfilled in Christ thus offers a comprehensive and readable summary of references to types and symbols of the sacraments in the Scriptures and the living Tradition of the Church, as represented by the Liturgy and the Catechism. The result is a highly objective, scholarly, and at the same time pastoral study of how the Church understands and lives the types and symbols of the sacraments today.
Download or read book The Gospel Freedom and the Sacraments written by Barry Charles Newman and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2016-01-07 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To be baptized, particularly as an adult, indicating a radical change from the self-directed life to the life to be lived under the lordship of Jesus Christ, must be one of the most dramatic experiences available to us. To take part in the Lord's Supper--remembering his death for us--must be one of the most moving services in which we could ever participate. But are these ceremonies obligatory for the believer? Did Jesus explicitly or implicitly make them mandatory? Does it not seem somewhat strange that the gospel, by which we are freed from the Law of Moses, demands that we abide by two new ceremonial laws? However greatly they differed from one another, did the reformers go far enough in examining the Scriptures to see what they did indeed say about such ceremonies? Have we written back into our understanding of Scripture that so much underlies our present beliefs and practices? Does an examination of what the early fathers thought help or hinder us in our search for the truth?
Download or read book A Wesleyan Theology of the Eucharist written by Jason E. Vickers and published by United Methodist General Board of Higher Education. This book was released on 2016-10-26 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recover the Eucharist for church and ministry.
Download or read book Sacrament Wholeness and Evangelism written by Stephen Cottrell and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Creative Preaching on the Sacraments written by Craig A. Satterlee and published by Upper Room Books. This book was released on 2003-10-01 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Creative preaching can help you move the sacraments to the center of your congregation's spirituality by making scripture, personal experience, and the sacraments intersect in such a way that a wealth of meanings surfaces. Satterlee and Ruth seek to expand the range of meanings and associations people bring to the sacraments. They examine in-depth how theology, scripture, context, and timing relate to effective sacramental preaching. Six sample sermons are included: "In Whom Do You Place Your Trust?" (baptismal sermon by Stephen Castleberry) "The Water of Life" (baptismal sermon by Heichler) "The Kiss of Peace" (exchange of peace sermon by Craig A. Satterlee) "The Ultimate Business Luncheon" (Communion sermon by Lester Ruth) "Crumbs Under the Table" (Communion sermon by Cathy Felber) "A Short, Multisensory Baptismal Sermon" (adapted from Ambrose) Recommended for pastors as a practical guide for preparing sermons that will make the great truths of God visible and tangible in the sacraments. Designed especially for clergy, chaplains, and catechists.
Download or read book The Sacraments in Protestant Practice and Faith written by James F. White and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2010-12-01 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The sacraments were a major factor in the Reformation of the sixteenth century. Ever since, they have been an important part of Protestant church life. Major changes have occurred in our time as most traditions have revised their sacramental rites and experienced many changes in sacramental practices. This book traces the most significant practices in the past five centuries, explains how they often led to controversies, and examines the faith that was expressed and experienced in the sacraments. James F. White attempts to depict the whole sweep of Protestant sacramental life, so that an overall picture is possible. And he outlines the possibilities for future developments.
