Pastoral theologian Stephen Seamands issues a stirring call to rediscover the centrality of Christ in preaching. Deftly blending doctrine and praxis, he revitalizes preaching by focusing on five key dimensions of Jesus' work: incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension and return. Preachers will find here significant resources for worship and mission.

Helping Christian parents raise their children with grace and the gospel, this book addresses topics such as the law, God's forgiveness and love, and true heart obedience--a great resource for raising grace-filled kids.

Cliffe Knechtle offers clear, reasoned and compassionate responses to the tough questions skeptics ask.

Twentieth-century United Methodist women will meet some of their female predecessors in this fascinating account of early Methodism. For decades, the role of women in early Methodism has been overshadowed by that of their male counterparts. She Offered Them Christ is a piece of United Methodist family history that serves as a link between today's women in The United Methodist Church and their predecessors in the early history of The Methodist Church. Women preachers in John Wesley's day had his support, encouragement, and formal approval to travel and preach. Wesley valued the full involvement of women in the life of early Methodism. Unfortunately, Wesley's support for women was not shared by other male leaders of the movement; and shortly after Wesley's death, women preachers were censured. Paul W. Chilcote has collected in one volume the stories of Methodism's early women preachers - including excerpts from their diaries and journals - and introduces a segment of women's (and United Methodist) history that will enlighten today's church as it fosters an understanding of John Wesley's appreciation of and support for women in early Methodism. Today's United Methodists will find She Offered Them Christ to be a rich legacy of John Wesley's power and vision for the role of women in The Methodist Church. Wesley's message reached across the decades to provide today's United Methodists - especially women - with affirmation, encouragement, and support.

“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.

In the twenty years since its publication, Celebration of Discipline has helped over a million seekers discover a richer spiritual life infused with joy, peace, and a deeper understanding of God. For this special twentieth anniversary edition, Richard J. Foster has added an introduction, in which he shares the story of how this beloved and enduring spiritual guidebook came to be. Hailed by many as the best modern book on Christian spirituality, Celebration of Discipline explores the "classic Disciplines," or central spiritual practices, of the Christian faith. Along the way, Foster shows that it is only by and through these practices that the true path to spiritual growth can be found. Dividing the Disciplines into three movements of the Spirit, Foster shows how each of these areas contribute to a balanced spiritual life. The inward Disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, and study, offer avenues of personal examination and change. The outward Disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission, and service, help prepare us to make the world a better place. The corporate Disciplines of confession, worship, guidance, and celebration, bring us nearer to one another and to God. Foster provides a wealth of examples demonstrating how these Disciplines can become part of our daily activities-and how they can help us shed our superficial habits and "bring the abundance of God into our lives." He offers crucial new insights on simplicity, demonstrating how the biblical view of simplicity, properly understood and applied, brings joy and balance to our inward and outward lives and "sets us free to enjoy the provision of God as a gift that can be shared with others." The discussion of celebration, often the most neglected of the Disciplines, shows its critical importance, for it stands at the heart of the way to Christ. Celebration of Discipline will help motivate Christians everywhere to embark on a journey of prayer and spiritual growth.

New York Times bestseller 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.

Everyone, Christians included, knows what it’s like to feel isolated and alone. We’ve all wondered if anyone really understands us or truly cares about our lives. The good news is that we aren’t alone, and the gospel tells us why: Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth to be forever united with his people—to be one of us. In fact, he has so united himself with us that the Bible says we are literally “in” him. Far from being alone and lost, the Incarnation changes everything for the Christian. Writing with everyday readers in mind, Elyse Fitzpatrick fleshes out the practical implications of our union with Christ and gives us confidence that we are not alone in this approachable and applicable devotional book.

Who is Jesus Christ? You've never met him in person, and you don't know anyone who has. But there is a way to know who he is. How? Jesus Christ-the divine Person revealed in the Bible-has a unique excellence and a spiritual beauty that speaks directly to our souls and says, "Yes, this is truth." It's like seeing the sun and knowing that it is light, or tasting honey and knowing that it is sweet. The depth and complexity of Jesus shatter our simple mental frameworks. He baffled proud scribes with his wisdom but was understood and loved by children. He calmed a raging storm with a word but would not get himself down from the cross. Look at the Jesus of the Bible. Keep your eyes open, and fill them with the portrait of Jesus in God's Word. Jesus said, "If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority." Ask God for the grace to do his will, and you will see the truth of his Son. John Piper has written this book in the hope that all will see Jesus for who he really is and will come to enjoy him above all else.

More than ten million readers have enjoyed Robert Boyd Munger's spiritually challenging meditation on Christian discipleship. Now revised and expanded, My Heart--Christ's Home leads you to examine for yourself all the aspects of your life--considering what Christ most desires for you.