Showing results by narrator "William Sarris" in All Categories

While we often start with good intentions, it feels like real transformation is elusive at best, and maybe even impossible. We deeply want to live in the freedom that Christ offers, but we are acutely aware of the gap between a transformed life and our reality. Having the Mind of Christ tackles the issues of lasting life change. Pastors Matt Tebbe and Ben Sternke share eight axioms that help reframe the way that we see God, ourselves, and others. By seeing through new lenses, we can open ourselves to the transformational change that God wants for our lives.

Much of the contemporary discussion of the Jesus tradition has focused on aspects of oral performance, storytelling, and social memory, on the premise that the practice of communal reading of written texts was a phenomenon documented no earlier than the second century CE. Brian J. Wright overturns that premise by examining evidence that demonstrates communal reading events in the first century.

Pastor and author James Emery White leads his church and his life with a singular mission: to turn spiritual explorers into fully devoted followers of Christ. The obvious first step in this process is for someone to cross the line of faith - to say, "I believe." That was the heart behind his book Christianity for People Who Aren't Christians. But what comes after "I believe" is equally important, and it's the way someone truly becomes a fully devoted follower of Christ.

This is a book for people who are struggling to find their way out of a cave of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts - and for anyone who cares for someone who's been lost in that cave.

Why do we vividly recall a traumatic childhood event but forget where we left our keys five minutes ago? How can a scent take us back fifty years while a colleague's name eludes us? In this compact introduction, two leading psychological researchers describe memory—how it works and why it sometimes doesn't; how it can be tricked, trained, or improved; and what changes with time. In a manner as engaging as it is informative, Fergus Craik and Larry Jacoby explain the strengths and weaknesses of memory.

The way most people think about religion and politics is only loosely linked to empirical reality, argues Ryan P. Burge in 20 Myths about Religion and Politics in America. Instead, our thinking is based on anecdotes, a quick scan of news headlines, or worse, flat-out lies told by voices trying to push a religious or political agenda on a distracted public.

A Human-Shaped God approaches the humanlike accounts of God in the Old Testament as the starting places for theology and uses them to build a picture of the divine. This understanding of God is then brought into conversation with traditional conceptions that depict God as a being who knows everything that happens, is at every place at the same time, is constant and unchanging, and does not ultimately have material form.

Respected pastor and best-selling author Chip Ingram unpacks Philippians 4 to help us choose peace in any circumstance in life, including relational conflict, anxious moments in our personal lives, or difficult circumstances that are beyond our control.

We live in a world where the idea of being glorified is either viewed through the lens of something that will eventually come, but has little importance now, or has an overfocused importance where believers only focus on their entry into heaven. Both are wrongfooted. Pastor and Theologian Jason Alligood communicates the hope of glory that transcends the fears and frustrations of a secular age that not only points to the hope for the future glorification, but that this hope is one that can be enjoyed and appreciated today.

Pastors and ministry leaders are some of the hardest-working people in the world—and they have the high rate of burnout to prove it. As a leader, if you aren't operating at peak efficiency and taking care of yourself, it is bound to catch up with you in a big way. So few in ministry feel they have the time to take a sabbatical or tend to their own physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. But healthy rhythms of work and rest are the key to a thriving, long-term ministry.

With plenty of good humor and practical advice, Jack Eason invites you to discover the benefits of doing life together with other brothers and sisters in Christ.

Ten Questions to Ask Every Time You Read the Bible, proposes ten questions that will help you navigate God’s Word with clarity and confidence. Every question can be answered by looking within the Bible. The questions will direct you to discover the text, context, and real-life application of passages in the Bible.

How much equality does democracy need to survive? Political thinkers have wrestled with that question for millennia. Aldo Schiavone guides us through historical thickets, from the first democracy to the present day, seeking solutions to the enduring tension between democracy and inequality. Turning from antiquity to the modern world, Schiavone shows how the American and the French revolutions attempted to settle old debates, introducing a new way of thinking about equality.

Charles Wheelan has spent decades mastering effective communication skills in his work as a writer, college professor, journalist, speechwriter, political candidate, and public speaker. In Write for Your Life, he shares his best tips.

In 1784, Thomas Jefferson was a broken man. Reeling from the loss of his wife and stung from a political scandal during the Revolutionary war, he needed to remake himself. Wandering through Europe, Jefferson saw and learned as much as he could, ultimately bringing his knowledge home to a young America. There, he would rise to power and shape a nation. More than two hundred years later, Derek Baxter, a devotee of American history, stumbles on an obscure travel guide written by Jefferson—Hints for Americans Traveling Through Europe—as he's going through his own personal crisis.

Here's a book that should accompany every copy of God's Word! It's small but packed with helpful information on the Christian faith, promising insight for believers and seekers of any age or background.

When a perfect storm of personal, professional, and natural disaster threw Mike Mantel into a dark night of the soul, he embarked on a journey through his own life and around the world to rediscover God's presence through the diverse body of Christ. In Thirsting for Living Water, Mantel invites listeners to join him on this adventure and open their eyes to their own stories of God's faithfulness.

In 40 Questions About the Great Commission, scholars Daniel Akin, Benjamin Merkle, and George Robinson unpack the meaning, history, theology, and practical applications of Jesus' command to go and make disciples. Ideal for personal or group study, this volume will reignite your passion for evangelism while answering key questions like: Where do we stand in relation to fulfilling the Great Commission?; how do baptism and teaching relate to the Great Commission?; and more.

The outlook for the future of colleges and universities is uncertain. Financial stresses, changing student populations, and rapidly developing technologies all pose significant challenges to the nation's colleges and universities. In Academia Next, futurist and higher-education expert Bryan Alexander addresses these evolving trends to better understand higher education's next generation.

Life is messy. We can get discouraged by setbacks, overwhelmed by busyness, and shaken by worry. Hope is the power that gets us out of bed in the morning and gives us the courage to face adversity. Looking for God in Messy Places by Jake Owensby is a book about hope. How to find it. How to practice it. How to grow in it. Hope begins when we recognize that God is in this mess with us.