Life's Ultimate Questions

Every human being who has ever lived or will ever live has asked, is asking or will ask four basic questions: Who am I? Why am I here? What is wrong with the world? and How can what is wrong be made right? While we may not say them, it is in the soul of every person to wrestle with these questions.

Allow me to answer these questions first from the perspective of our culture and then from the perspective of the Bible.

ANSWERS FROM OUR CULTURE

Who am I? You are an accident. You are a mistake. You are a glorified ape. You are the result of random evolutionary process. That's it. No rhyme. No reason. No purpose. This is the pathetic reality when evolution runs its full course. If the idea is carried to its logical conclusion, human beings have no value. You are ultimately nothing.

Why am I here? You are here to consume and enjoy. That's the only thing that matters. When the famous philanthropist John D. Rockefeller was asked, How much money is enough? he was as honest as any man has ever been. He responded, Just a little bit more. Consume and enjoy--that's why you're here.

What is wrong with the world? People are either insufficiently educated or insufficiently governed. That's what's wrong with the world. People either don't know enough, or they're not being watched enough.

How can what is wrong be made right? The solution is more education and more government. Teach people more stuff and give them more information. How do we combat AIDS? Through AIDS awareness. How do we combat racism? Anti-hate classes. What about the man who beats his wife? Anger-management classes. Just give people more information and everything will be fine.

The answers provided by our culture leave us wanting and empty. Let's now take a look at how God's Word, the Bible, answers these same questions.

ANSWERS FROM THE BIBLE

Who am I? You cannot figure out who you are until you first discover who Jesus Christ is. Jesus is the image of the invisible God.... by him all things were created...all things were created through him and for him (Colossians 1:15-16). He is the exact representation of God. He is the picture of God in human flesh. He is God on this earth. He is God with us, God among us.

The Bible says that I am created by God--in his image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). Not the result of random processes. The Bible says that whether I am tall and beautiful or small and not so handsome, whether my body functions perfectly or is severely deformed, I am the crowning glory of the creation of God, and as a result I have inherent dignity, worth, and value.

Why am I here? All things were created through him and for him.... that in everything he might be preeminent (Colossians 1:16b-18). The ultimate purpose of all things is to bring glory and honor to Jesus Christ. That's why I exist. That is why you exist. And because of this, contrary to the view of our culture, the reason for my existence goes far beyond consumption and enjoyment.

What is wrong with the world? I am. You are. Despite the fact that we are the crowning glory of the creation of God, created to live and bring glory and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ, we are instead hostile and disobedient toward the One by whom and for whom we were created. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way (Isaiah 53:6). The Bible calls this disobedience towards God sin, and it says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). In short, sin is what's wrong with the world.

How can what is wrong be made right? What is wrong can only be made right by the substitutionary, atoning death of Christ. He [Jesus] has now reconciled you in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and beyond reproach before him (Colossians 1:22). There is no other means by which we can be made right with God. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

The Bible says, For our sake [God] made him [Jesus} to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). There was nothing else that could have been done that would have allowed God to be righteous and also the one who makes us right. In the mercy of God the Father he punished his Son in our place in order to satisfy his righteous wrath against sin. Our only hope is to believe in Jesus who was crucified for us and rose again (1 Corinthians 1:23, 15:3-4). The sinless Lamb of God gave his life to pay a debt that he did not owe on behalf of sinners who could never pay him back!

The Ultimate Answer

If these two sets of answers--from our culture and from the Bible--are placed side by side, something very interesting happens. With the answers from our culture, you are left worthless, empty, and hopeless. You're on your own to pursue satisfaction...and you'll never find it. But the Bible says you are precious. You have purpose. You were purchased.

The only way what is wrong in your life can be made right is for you to believe what the Bible says. Believe that Jesus took the punishment for your sins by dying on the cross as a substitute for you and that he rose from the dead three days later, showing that God had accepted his death on the cross as the payment for the sin-debt that you owed to God. If you believe this to be true, repent of (completely turn from) your sinful patterns of life, and pl

If You Only Read One Page...

The Bible tells the story of God's steadfast love for his stubborn people. In some ways it's a sad story, because human beings have made the world such a sad place. But ultimately, it is a happy story. The Christian story is about the good news that God so loved the world he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Some people have heard of John 3:16, but fewer people know the rest of the story. It goes something like this . . .

Creation: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The first man and woman enjoyed a perfect relationship with God. Everything in the universe was good.

Curse: But everything fell apart. Adam and Eve rebelled. Because of Adam's sin, we are all sinners, doing and thinking what is bad for us and displeasing to God.

Christ: So God sent his Son, Jesus Christ--full of grace and truth, power and perfection, humility and holiness--to make a way for sinners to be reconciled to God.

Cross: Jesus died for our sins on the cross, bearing the punishment we deserved. He rose again on the third day in demonstration of his power over sin and death.

re-Creation: Just as God raised Jesus to new life, so God is making all things new. In the end, God's people will live forever, free from pain and full of joy in God's presence.

Commitment: This good news is for those who turn from their sin and trust in Jesus. None of us deserve God's mercy, but we can get right with God through Jesus Christ.

Creation:

A glorious God creates a good world.

Genesis 1:1, 31a--In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth . . . And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

- There is only one God. He is good and glorious, loving and holy.

- God made us in his image, to worship him, be in relationship with him, and reflect his character.

- God made the world perfect, a paradise where we could enjoy God and his gifts.

Curse:

Human beings rebel against God.

Romans 5:12--Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned . . .

- Adam, the first man, disobeyed God's command. He wanted to choose good and evil for himself. He disregarded God's authority and rejected his love. As a result, Adam and Eve were expelled from paradise.

- The world is cursed because of Adam's sin. Things aren't the way they are supposed to be. The world is now full of suffering, pain, and evil.

- We sin every day in thought, word, and deed by disobeying God's commands. We worship our jobs, our money, and our comfort more than God. We love people and things more than we love the God who made us.

Christ:

God comes to us in human flesh.

Mark 2:5-7--And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, My son, your sins are forgiven. Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?

- Jesus is fully human. He had a real body, desires, and emotions.

- Jesus is fully God. He was more than a prophet and moral teacher. He demonstrated his divine status and authority by forgiving sins and exercising power over nature, the devil, disease, and death.

- Jesus is the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah. He is the Son of God and one with God the Father. Jesus is worthy of our worship, trust, and affection.

Cross:

Jesus dies for our sins and is raised to life again.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4--For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures . . .

- Jesus died on the cross to take upon himself the wrath of God so that we might be reconciled to God. God forgives us, not because of our good works, but because of the sacrifice of his Son on the cross.

- Jesus was a kind of second Adam, fulfilling what the first Adam did not. He obeyed God in place of our disobedience and died the death we deserved as our substitute.

- By his death and resurrection, Jesus demonstrated his Lordship over all things. In coming back to life, Jesus showed that even death itself had been conquered.

re-Creation:

God is making a new people and a new place.

Revelation 21:5--And he who was seated on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new.

- God makes us new creations in Christ so that we die to our sinful ways and can learn to love God and our neighbor.

- Through Jesus, God has already begun to exercise his reign right here on earth. Those who follow Jesus are to be agents of change, hope, and renewal.

- At the end of history, God will finish this work of recreation. Those who have not received Christ will be eternally punished for their sins. Those who belong to Christ will live forever in a new paradise where we will be free from suffering and enjoy God forever.

Commitment:

Those who trust in Jesus Christ will be forgiven and made new.

Acts 2:37-38--Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

- God's forgiveness is entirely an act of grace. We ca

Do you want to share your faith more easily and naturally? Willie Robertson of Duck Dynasty says that if you can tell someone about your spouse, kids, friends, school, pets, and hobbies, you know how to talk about the most important thing in your life, your Lord!

Could you share the gospel with another person? Would you know where to start? Do you even know what the gospel is? It's the Good News of Jesus, and a gospeler is simply someone who shares it with others.

Willie Robertson writes about his story of faith, which came about in large part because a stranger went out of his way--as well as his comfort zone--to have a spiritual conversation with Willie's father, Phil. And from that story, he tells readers how they, too, can talk about Jesus with their family, friends, neighbors, and even people they meet along the way. Gospeler will help readers:

• Celebrate the gospel genealogy that led to their faith and be inspired to grow their spiritual family tree.
• Understand that sharing the gospel is not preaching but having a conversation.
• Keep sharing the gospel with someone, knowing that Jesus never gives up on us.
• Focus on what's truly important (Jesus) instead of what's not (religion).

Being a gospeler is not complicated. And the more you share Jesus, the easier it gets. Maybe you believe other people are better at sharing their faith and it is not your gift. Maybe you think you don't know the Bible well enough. Or you might say you haven't figured it all out yourself, so you aren't equipped to help anyone else. Whatever may be holding you back will be covered in this book, giving you the inspiration, guidance, and encouragement you need.

When the gospel is heard, accepted, and responded to, it's not just a cool story, it is a game-changer. And it can spread across the world--starting with one conversation you have with another. In addition to this book, an accompanying 64-page booklet is available to share with others.

PERHAPS CHRISTMAS IS DIFFICULT FOR YOU--

God understands. He's been here. If he was willing to be born in a barnyard, then expect him to be at work anywhere. No place is too common. No person is too hardened. No distance is too far. There is no limit to his love.

THE MIRACLE OF BETHLEHEM

Out of chaos, Christ came. In spite of, and out of, the pandemonium, Christ came.

On a cold night in Bethlehem, Joseph built a fire and heated water. Mary cleared a spot on the straw and set about the task of bringing God into the world. With cows as her witnesses and Joseph as her midwife, she did just that. It wasn't long before the hand of the star hanger clutched Mary's finger. The feet of the sky walker lay in Joseph's palm.

In that moment Mary knew it was all worth it. The ache in her back, the ache in her heart--they faded away. The questions of how, and the wonderings of when--they didn't linger. The surprise pregnancy, the sudden census, the long road from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Unpleasant and difficult, yet they resulted in the world's greatest miracle. Was the first Christmas different from what Mary had planned? Yes, but it turned out greater than she could have dreamed. God used the struggles to accomplish his will.

Don't you need that reminder? Despite the chaos of the first Christmas, everything happened according to God's plan. In your world of short nights, hard work, and high stress, remember that God holds everything together for his glory and for the good of those who love him.

LOVE IS BORN, HOPE IS HERE

When Christ was born, so was our hope.

Because Christ came, God is always near us. He is always for us and always in us. Jesus entered our world not like a human but as a human, and he endured everything that we do and more--God became human down to his very toes.

Jesus understands what you feel and has faced what you face. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all--all but the sin.

Because of Bethlehem's miracle, you can answer these fundamental questions: Does God care if I'm sad? Look at the tear-streaked face of Jesus as he stands near Lazarus's tomb (John 11:28-44). Does God know if I'm ignored or rejected? Find the answer in the compassionate eyes of Christ as he stands to defend the adulterous woman (John 8:1-11).

Jesus knows the burden of a broken heart. He could have come to us as a shining light or a voice in the clouds, but he came as a person. If you ever wonder whether God truly understands you, remember that he sent his only Son, Jesus, to bear your burdens and save you from your sins.

HOPE IN THE SAVIOR

The Christmas promise is this: We have a Savior and his name is Jesus.

Each one of us entered the world with a sin nature. Even under the right circumstances you will do the wrong thing. You won't want to, but you will. The Bible says that sin came into the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned (Romans 5:12).

But the good news--the reason for hope this Christmas and every day of your life--is that Jesus entered the world to save you from your sins. Those who trust in Jesus have been saved from the guilt of sin, are being saved from the problems of sin, and, upon the return of Christ, will be saved from the punishment for sin.

God . . . loved us and sent His unique Son on a special mission to become an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:10). Jesus took on our sin. By his death on the cross, he endured what we should have endured and paid the price to save us.

When we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)

Christ . . . died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. (1 Peter 3:18)

You aren't good enough to save yourself from sin. You aren't strong enough to save yourself from death. You need a Savior, and because of Bethlehem, you have one.

NEVER TOO LATE

It's never too late to come to the Savior for help.

Just like the innkeeper had the chance to open the door for Mary and Joseph, many still miss the opportunity to come to Jesus for help. They let the birth of Jesus pass them by and ignore his offer of salvation. But missing a message from God is a mistake you don't want to make.

You are never too old, too messed up, or too worn out to come to Christ for help. Your stack of sins is never too high, and your list of failures is never too long.

When Christ was born, so was our hope. By sending his Son Jesus, God did away with every barrier, fence, sin, debt, and grave. Anything that might keep us from him was demolished. All you have to do is open the door and invite him in.

If you'd like to receive Jesus as your Savior, here are some next steps:

REPENT and ask God to forgive you. All humans were born with a sin nature. Trusting that Jesus came to save you from sin should cause genuine humility and remorse for the things you've done wrong.

BELIEVE that God showed his love for you by sending his only Son Jesus to take away your sins.

PRAY: Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I believe that you died in my place and rose from the grave to pay the penalty for my sin. Come into my life as my Savior and cause me to love you and others in a way that pleases you. Thank you for saving me so that I can receive peace and eternal salvation in the new heavens and new earth.

ATTEND a Bible-teaching church where you can worship God and meet other Christians.

SHARE your faith. You've just received the wonderful gift of salvation--tell someone!

After World War 2, there was a major revival movement where healing ministry played a huge part with renewed belief and emphasis in divine healing among many Christians. This book shows how the apostolic age has not ended and details the author's journey to the discovery that miracles are alive and well even today.

After World War 2, there was a major revival movement where healing ministry played a huge part with renewed belief and emphasis in divine healing among many Christians. This book shows how the apostolic age has not ended and details the author's journey to the discovery that miracles are alive and well even today.

• Love-Powered Evangelism: Rather than employ fear-based approaches or pressure tactics, emphasize the infinite love of God and his desire for reconciliation
• A Holistic Approach: Understand that evangelism is a way of life, a living testimony to what Jesus has done for us, not a one-time event and learn how to integrate evangelism and discipleship.
• A Church Implementation Kit: Equipped with practical downloadable assets, this book empowers churches to apply its principles and embark on a transformative evangelism movement.

Most people have an idea of what they believe it will take to be accepted by God. After all, who likes the idea of leaving this life without being on good terms with him? Thankfully, it's possible to be certain that you've made peace with God, but the way must be chosen during this life. Here are the steps drawn from God's book, the Bible:

STEP 1
UNDERSTAND GOD'S PURPOSES--PEACE AND ETERNAL LIFE

God loves you and wants you to experience peace and eternal, fulfilling life.

The Bible says:

We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10

Why don't most people have this peace and the fulfilling (abundant) life that God intended for us to have?

STEP 2
ADMIT THE PROBLEM--OUR SIN AND SEPARATION

God did not create us like robots to automatically love and mechanically obey him. God gave us a will and the freedom to choose. The first man and woman chose to disobey God and go their own willful way. And we still make that choice today. This results in separation from God.

The Bible says:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

For the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23

People have tried many ways to bridge this gap between themselves and God.

The Bible says:

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Proverbs 14:12

Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God. Isaiah 59:2

No bridge reaches God . . . except one.

STEP 3
DISCOVER GOD'S BRIDGE--THE CROSS

Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the grave. Though he was God's sinless Son, he became a human, took our place, and paid the penalty for our sin, bridging the gap between God and us.

The Bible says:

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5

Christ . . . suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. 1 Peter 3:18

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. . . . The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 5:8; 6:23

Christ died for our sins, . . . he was buried, . . . he was raised on the third day. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

God has provided the only way to forgiveness of sin and eternal life. But each person must make a choice.

STEP 4
EMBRACE THE TRUTH--RECEIVE CHRIST

We must trust Jesus Christ as our Savior and receive him by personal choice.

Jesus says:

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

The Bible says:

To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. John 3:36

WHAT IS YOUR DECISION?

Will you receive Jesus Christ right now and trust in him alone for forgiveness and eternal life? The Bible says that's the only way to find peace with God!

- Admit your need--that you are a sinner in need of God's forgiveness.

- Be willing to turn from trusting in anything else for eternal life and trust only in Christ.

- Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross, came back to life from the grave, and is your only way to heaven.

- Receive Jesus's offer to forgive your sins and come into your life as your Savior.

You may want to tell him in words like these:

Dear Jesus, thank you for making it possible for me to find peace with God! I believe that when you died you were paying the penalty for my sins. I now receive you into my life as my Savior, so I can have forgiveness and never-ending life from God! Thank you for the gift of eternal life!

Have you entrusted your life to him?

Hardback Collector's Library Limited Edition, 2020. Amazon best-seller. 1 million sold. 80k+ baptized into Christ.

Muscle and a Shovel is a raw and gritty true story about a pair of young newly-weds who move to the city to chase the American dream. In the process they're befriended by a man who turns their belief about God, their church, and their faith upside down Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics, the Community Churches - none are spared when Truth is at stake and their new friend Randall isn't about to candy coat God's Word for the sake of political correctness or religious tolerance.

This story will grip you from opening to close and will stimulate your spirit on levels you didn't think possible. Get ready to fight or flee because Muscle and a Shovel is one of those rare books that will raise your heart-rate and your blood-pressure. You won't want to wait to share it with your friends or you'll want to dowse it in gasoline and set on fire There'll be no middle ground.

Many Christian reviewers have said, This book will turn our current religious world upside-down

Have you wanted to share who Jesus is but feel like you don't have what it takes and don't know what to say? Through the parables of Jesus, humorous personal anecdotes, inspiring stories, and practical tips, That's Good News will motivate and equip you to share your faith. God isn't asking you to be perfect-He's just asking you to show up.

A timely narrative of how the Christian faith has presented in a culturally monolithic manner and the effects it has on generations. And a call for Christians to respond with truth and love rooted in the Gospel.

The Whitewashing of Christianity is informative, insightful and inspirational, telling a history that's often hidden, ignored, revised or unknown. Confrontational, but not combative, it details how the American church has helped create and maintain the false narrative that Christianity is a white man's religion and how it has presented almost every person in Scripture and most of Africa's theologians and martyrs as white men and women. You will be given countless references that chronicle what whitewashing is, how it has been maintained, the negative effects it has caused and more importantly, how we can stop it. The Whitewashing of Christianity:

• Takes you on a historical, sociological, judicial and religious journey of how Christianity has been whitewashed - Addresses the negative effects of whitewashing and how many view Christianity as a religion of oppression
• Presents a full narrative of redemptive history, which finds it roots in Africa
• Highlights African theologians, philosophers, teachers and martyrs
• Addresses claims from those that oppose Christianity with sources, Scripture and historical facts
• Equips people on how to engage inaccurate claims of Christian history and slavery
• Addresses the concerns of those that think Christianity is not an indigenous faith of people of African descent
• Equips churches and organizations with ways to combat whitewashing and move in unity

The Whitewashing of Christianity leaves us with hope that what's been done historically can be changed. It is compelling, not combative and written from a place of love and desire to fight for presenting Christianity in a diverse way and not a culturally monolithic one. Gay challenges popular views that are historically unfounded and issues a challenge that needs to take place within the Christian church. While challenging and eye-opening, you'll be made aware of a hidden past of the accomplishments and contributions of Africa, confronted with a hurtful present of whitewashing effects and inspired by a hopeful future to move forward.

God's love is greater than even now you conceive.

The Bible says not simply that God loves but also that God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). Love, for the God of the Bible, is not one activity among others. Love defines who he is most deeply. A love so great and so free that it could not be contained within the uproarious joy of Father, Son, and Spirit but spilled out to create and embrace finite and fallen humans into it. Divine love is inherently spreading, engulfing, embracing, overflowing. He wants you to know a love that is yours even when you feel undeserving or numb. The love of God is not something to see once and believe and then move beyond to other truths or strategies for growing in Christ. The love of God is what we feed on our whole lives long, wading ever more deeply into this endless ocean. And that feeding, that wading, is itself what fosters growth.

Perhaps no passage takes us into the endless love of God for messy sinners as deeply as the end of Ephesians 3. In one of the most spiritually nuclear passages in all the Bible Paul prays to the Father that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Eph. 3:16-19). Here, Paul prays that the Ephesians would be given supernatural power--not power to perform miracles or walk on water or convert their neighbors, but power, such power, the kind that only God himself can give, power to know how much Jesus loves them. Not just to have the love of Christ. To know the love of Christ.

The love of Christ is as expansive as God himself. We can underestimate it. We always do. We can never overestimate it. Who are we--weak, faltering, mixed-motives we--to be filled up with the very fullness of God himself? How can the clay be filled with the fullness of the potter, the plant with the fullness of the gardener, the house with the architect? What breathtaking condescension, what astounding dignifying of us. Yet this is not something God relents to do, wishing he could be doing something else. Filling up his fallen people with his own fullness is what he delights to do. And how does he do this? What is the means by which he fills us with his own fullness? The text tells us: to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Knowing Christ's love is the means, and being filled with divine fullness is the purpose. We are infused with divine plenitude, fullness, buoyancy, joy, as we experience the love of Christ. We don't go out and attain divine fullness. We receive it. This is the surprise of the Christian life.

This love is the power that burst the created order into existence, and most supremely you, the pinnacle of creation. He created you in order to love you. He knit you together with his hands so that he could pull you into his heart. One day we will stand before him, quietly, unhurriedly, overwhelmed with relief and standing under the felt flood of divine affection in a way we never can here in this life.

Whether you have ignored it, neglected it, squandered it, misunderstood it, or hardened yourself to it--the Lord Jesus Christ approaches you today not with arms crossed but with arms open, the very position in which he hung on the cross, and he says to you: None of that matters right now. Don't give it another thought. All that matters now is you and me. You know you are a mess. You are a sinner. Your entire existence has been built around you. Step in out of that storm. Let your heart crack open to Joy. I was punished so that you don't have to be. I was arrested so you could go free. I was indicted so you could be exonerated. I was executed so you could be acquitted. And all of that is just the beginning of my love. That proved my love, but it's not an endpoint; it's only the doorway into my love. Humble yourself enough to receive it. Plunge your parched soul into the sea of my love. There you will find the rest and relief and embrace and friendship your heart longs for.

Together, we are going to have one of the most interesting and informative studies that we have ever had. I want you to enter into this series on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, with your Bible open and with an open mind, as the Holy Spirit Himself becomes our teacher. It is He who holds the key to a successful, fruitful and victorious Christian life and through His gifts, we glorify God's Son, Jesus Christ. There are two extremes which we face today as we come to the subject of spiritual gifts. First of all, there is abuse.

Some have brought a reproach upon the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit because of their misappropriation of the supernatural power of the Spirit. I think most of us could cite examples of fanaticism arising around this doctrine; and because this doctrine has suffered much abuse, there is the second extreme: the average child of God has neglected it and does not know the teaching of the word of God in the matter of spiritual gifts. Lest he be deemed a fanatic or thought to run to the same excesses to which many have gone, the average Christian shies away from the teaching of the word of God in his quest for spiritual gifts.

Nothing is as powerful as the written word of God. If I say one thing and the Bible teaches another, the Bible is right. If your church or pastor teaches one thing and the Bible says another, the Bible is right. Sometimes I think it's the hardest thing in the world for folk to turn away from their preconceived ideas and come back again to the word of God. It will be a wonderful day when all professing Christians, regardless of denomination, get back to the Word of God, back again to thus saith the Lord. We have so much 'churchology, ' so much theory, so much creed. There is too much of man's doctrine and too little of thus saith the Lord.

The Being With course is an introduction to Christianity with a difference. Rather than being a Bible study or a series of arguments to try to convince you that God exists, it starts with the conviction that you already have a wealth of understanding of truth, beauty and goodness that will help you, in the company of others, to recognise God's presence in your life and your everyday experiences.

At its heart is the idea that God's greatest desire is to be with us in Jesus. That's the reason the world was created; that's why you were created. Over a period of ten weeks, you will discover dimensions of this presence and what it means to live abundantly with God, with one another and with creation.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
NATIONAL BESTSELLER

An intimate window into the world of American evangelicalism. Fellow exvangelicals will find McCammon's story both startlingly familiar and immensely clarifying, while those looking in from the outside can find no better introduction to the subculture that has shaped the hopes and fears of millions of Americans. --Kristin Kobes Du Mez, New York Times bestselling author of Jesus and John Wayne

The first definitive book that names the growing social movement of people leaving the church: the exvangelicals.

Growing up in a deeply evangelical family in the Midwest in the '80s and '90s, Sarah McCammon was strictly taught to fear God, obey him, and not question the faith. Persistently worried that her gay grandfather would go to hell unless she could reach him, or that her Muslim friend would need to be converted, and that she, too, would go to hell if she did not believe fervently enough, McCammon was a rule-follower and--most of the time--a true believer. But through it all, she was increasingly plagued by fears and deep questions as the belief system she'd been carefully taught clashed with her expanding understanding of the outside world.

After spending her early adult life striving to make sense of an unraveling worldview, by her 30s, she found herself face-to-face with it once again as she covered the Trump campaign for NPR, where she witnessed first-hand the power and influence that evangelical Christian beliefs held on the political right.

Sarah also came to discover that she was not alone: she is among a rising generation of the children of evangelicalism who are growing up and fleeing the fold, who are thinking for themselves and deconstructing what feel like the alternative facts of their childhood.

Rigorously reported and deeply personal, The Exvangelicals is the story of the people who make up this generational tipping point, including Sarah herself. Part memoir, part investigative journalism, this is the first definitive book that names and describes the post-evangelical movement: identifying its origins, telling the stories of its members, and examining its vast cultural, social, and political impact.