Beware Of God

Violent rabbis, lovelorn wives, a busy Grim Reaper, shame-filled simians, and one seriously angry deity populate this humorous and disquieting collection. Shalom Auslander's stories in Beware of God have the mysterious punch of a dream. They are wide ranging and inventive: A young Jewish man's inexplicable transformation into a very large, blond, tattooed goy ends with a Talmudic argument over whether or not his father can beat his unclean son with a copy of the Talmud. A pious man having a near-death experience discovers that God is actually a chicken, and he's forced to reconsider his life -- and his diet. At God's insistence, Leo Schwartzman searches Home Depot for supplies for an ark. And a young boy mistakes Holocaust Remembrance Day as emergency preparedness training for the future. Auslander draws upon his upbringing in an Orthodox Jewish community in New York State to craft stories that are filled with shame, sex, God, and death, but also manage to be wickedly funny and poignant.

A New York Times Notable Book 2012 The rural town of Stockton, New York, is famous for nothing: no one was born there, no one died there, nothing of any historical import at all has ever happened there, which is why Solomon Kugel, like other urbanites fleeing their pasts and histories, decided to move his wife and young son there. To begin again. To start anew. But it isn’t quite working out that way for Kugel… His ailing mother stubbornly holds on to life, and won’t stop reminiscing about the Nazi concentration camps she never actually suffered through. To complicate matters further, some lunatic is burning down farmhouses just like the one Kugel bought, and when, one night, he discovers history—a living, breathing, thought-to-be-dead specimen of history—hiding upstairs in his attic, bad quickly becomes worse. Hope: A Tragedy is a hilarious and haunting examination of the burdens and abuse of history, propelled with unstoppable rhythm and filled with existential musings and mordant wit. It is a comic and compelling story of the hopeless longing to be free of those pasts that haunt our every present.

“Urgent, timely, and inspiring biblical wisdom for Christian leaders who want to start strong, thrive fully, and finish well!” –W. Scott Brown, Christian Leadership Alliance “Too often technique and numeric growth are on the minds of young pastors. Learn from a veteran and seek faithfulness!” –Matt Schmucker, co-founder, 9Marks “A powerful and preventive message for every pastor who desires to hear ‘well done’ at the finish line.” –Cliff Clifton, North American Mission Board, director of Send DC As leaders, it’s our greatest desire: a life that honors God, strengthens our family, and draws those we lead to Jesus Christ. But behind our well-intentioned efforts and carefully prepared sermons, we also carry fear of failure, disappointments, hurts, and hidden sins. These can become slow leaks resulting not only in public failure, but more importantly, in devastation to those we love and lead. But here’s the good news: You don’t have to live in fear. The God who called you stands ready to empower you to confidently plug the slow leaks in your life, to vigorously flourish, and to finish well. In Beware the Slow Leaks, Pastor Steve King draws on over forty years of ministry to equip Christian leaders to build healthy, gospel-centered habits now so they don’t have to bail their ship later. With biblical wisdom, personal stories, and spiritual care, King inspires ministers to practice what they preach—providing eight pro-active strategies to help Christian leaders fully thrive and confidently finish. Now is the time to fortify your hull against the slow leaks. Join Pastor King as he points you to the God who has called you to sail the waters with Him, not just bail your boat.

Walk through the gospel records of the “bold confrontations” of Jesus and discover how to use your newfound knowledge of the person of Jesus to defend the biblical truth of the Christian faith. Do you have any idea who Jesus really is? “What you think of Jesus Christ will thoroughly color how you think about everything else,” writes John MacArthur. This is a critical truth in the life of every believer. Your view of Jesus affects the way you view God, the world, and every one of your decisions. These days, Jesus is often portrayed as a pacifist, a philanthropist, or a docile teacher. He strikes a plastic--and sometimes pathetic--pose in the minds of many. Some prefer the meek and mild Jesus who heals the sick, calms fears, and speaks of peace and goodwill. These things do represent a portion of the Messiah. But tragically, too many have never been exposed to the rest of him. They have never seen a full 360-degree view of the Savior. His boldness in the face of confrontation and why that matters. Until now. Abridged from his classic bestseller, The Jesus You Can’t Ignore, Jesus Unleashed takes a revealing walk through the gospel records. Like an investigative journalist on a mission, author and teacher John MacArthur shows you a remarkable and compelling picture of Jesus unleashed.

And so we arrive at the purpose of this book: to awaken a generally torpid and negligent modern evangelical church out of its doctrinal stupor. In particular, it is designed to reassert the clear gospel-"the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes" (Rom 1:16)-and contrast it against several of its present day corruptions. As one insightful pastor comments upon Philippians 3:2, "Any attempt to please God by one's own efforts and draw attention away from Christ's accomplished redemption is the worst kind of wickedness." This book seeks to counter such wickedness. As in Paul's era, modern day believers must be warned against "dogs" and "evildoers" who still seek to distort the gospel by adding human achievement to God's work in salvation.

Beware of Pastors...Pastors Beware is a book written with stunning simplicity and power, which teaches a haunting and amazing truth about the unpredictability and the wonder of the Church of Christ in these times. A book that is as compelling, as it is thought-provoking, Kolawole Oyeyemi weaves a powerful revelation of Truth in the face of unimaginable happenings. With the grace of a master Teacher, he explores the weaknesses of the body of Christ, and the strength it takes to conquer our greatest obstacles; revealing how building on the strongest foundation, which Christ has already laid, can yield the most unexpected rewards… and how the most winding journey, as a believer can begin with a purposeful step towards that very foundation Without a doubt, false prophets thrive on the ignorance and/or the laziness of the believer. The tragedy is that they are multiplying; but the truth is that God has a containment plan! As much as believers are endangered by these false ministers, Ministers are also endangered by forces within the body out to destroy ministries. This Holy Ghost inspired book is by turns, profound, poignant, moving, and warmly life changing, as it examines the place and the importance of relationships in the fulfillment of the believer’s destiny, especially the relationship with spiritual leaders. It also examines how and what the Ministers of God who want to stand and remain standing must do in order to ensure the fulfillment of their ministries by God’s standards. With unerring insight and conviction, Kolawole Oyeyemi explains that when believers are armed with the requisite knowledge, they will not be cheap preys in the hand of false ministers; so also when true Ministers of God are well equipped, they will be able to avoid these traps.

At a time when the call to imitate Jesus comes loaded with moralistic overtones, Jason Hood offers a refreshing look at imitation on the Bible's terms. Drawing our attention to the practice that Paul taught "everywhere in every church," Hood's study yields insights into Scripture, the church fathers and Christian culture.

Pastors want to reach the lost with the good news of Jesus. However, we've too often assumed this requires loud music, flashy lights, and skinny jeans. In this gentle manifesto, Jared Wilson—a pastor who knows what it's like to serve in a large attractional church—challenges pastors to reconsider their priorities when it comes to how they "do church" and reach people in their communities. Writing with the grace and kindness of a trusted friend, Wilson encourages pastors to reexamine the Bible's teaching, not simply return to a traditional model for tradition's sake. He then sets forth an alternative to both the attractional and the traditional models: an explicitly biblical approach that is gospel focused, grace based, and fruit oriented.

As Sidney Greidanus points out here, Ecclesiastes is especially relevant for our culture the Teacher confronts enticements like materialism, secularism, hedonism, human autonomy, and self-sufficiency. But how can preachers convey these important teachings to their congregations in a helpful way? / Sidney Greidanus here does preachers a great service by providing the foundations for one or more series of expository sermons on Ecclesiastes. He breaks the book down in several ways, including: the boundaries of each preaching text, the text s theme and goal, various ways to move to Christ in the New Testament, detailed exposition of the fifteen literary units, and application for today