A Church Drawing Near

By first defining the core tasks (or mission) of the Church in biblical and theological terms, Paul Avis then goes on to ask how these tasks can best be carried out in the conditions of modernity and post-modernity.

In Drawing Near, John Bevere invites readers to explore a life of intimacy with God. Emphasizing the need for obedience, he urges us to practice-just as we would practice anything we hope to improve-our communication with the Holy Spirit. Understanding that prayer is a dialogue, not a monologue, Bevere encourages us to listen at the Father's feet. Study questions in each chapter offer opportunity for reflection, and a "How to draw near to God" section offers practical steps toward developing true intimacy with Him.

A daily devotional guide that uniquely takes an expository, rather than a thematic or topical, approach to Scripture. Each reading provides insight, as well as suggestions for prayer and further study.

The book begins by defining the core tasks (or mission) of the Church in biblical and theological terms, and then asks how these tasks can best be carried out in the conditions of modernity and post-modernity.Paul Avis describes and evaluates contemporary expressions of spirituality, drawing on many empirical studies; the functions of the Church's 'occasional offices' or rites of passage; the ways in which the Church and its ministers can engage constructively with the community and with civil society; the pastoral method in mission and its practical, policy consequences. Throughout the book Avis urges the imperative for the Church and its ministers to break out from the privatization of Christian values into full participation in contemporary social issues and public life.This book is an authoritative and interdisciplinary study of theology and practice: a much-needed applied theology of mission and ministry for today.

Does it ever seem like God is not listening? Sometimes we're tempted to wonder if God can hear us. After months or even years of praying over a particular person or situation, we look for evidence that God is getting our message or even paying attention, and we can't find much. Why is that? Why do the heavens sometimes seem as hard and reflective as brass? Doesn't God love us and care for us? Isn't he all-powerful? What's going on? In Brass Heavens author, pastor, and biblical counselor Paul Tautges grounds prayer in the character of our Triune God whose very nature is to share generously his good gifts with his children. Upon that foundation, Tautges then explores six reasons why at times God appears to go silent. As we examine these causes of unanswered prayer, we discover the biblical means by which we may open God's ears to our voice once again. God has a good and holy purpose for periods of silence. He wants to test our faith that we might see for ourselves just how weak and dependent we are on him for all good things. His goal is nothing less than to heighten our spiritual sensitivities in order to draw us into more intimate fellowship with him and more faithful obedience to him.

Pastor John Piper shows how to sever the clinging roots of sin that ensnare us, including anxiety, pride, shame, impatience, covetousness, bitterness, despondency, and lust in Battling Unbelief. When faith flickers, stoke the fire. No one sins out of duty. We sin because it offers some promise of happiness. That promise enslaves us, until we believe that God is more desirable than life itself (Psalm 63:3). Only the power of God’s superior promises in the gospel can emancipate our hearts from servitude to the shallow promises and fleeting pleasures of sin. Delighting in the bounty of God’s glorious gospel promises will free us for a less sin-encumbered life, to the glory of Christ. Rooted in solid biblical reflection, this book aims to help guide you through the battles to the joys of victory by the power of the gospel and its superior pleasure.

What a marvelous difference it makes in our lives when we draw close to the Holy Spirit! Regardless of what our past has been, in every trial or difficulty that may afflict us now, whatever we may face in the future, when we draw near to the Holy Spirit, our lives change for the good. Closeness with the Holy Spirit is the blossoming in us of the graces of our Baptism and especially of our Confirmation. It is then that the Holy Spirit irrevocably seals us with Himself so that we belong completely to Him. Even more, He gives Himself completely to us, to belong to us, to be ours to possess and enjoy. The Holy Spirit who is the Father's and Son's infinitely sweet and mutual Love is now ours, our Beloved and intimate Friend, our Consoler, Healer, and Guide! If we are weighed down with problems and worries, if we long for more love and joy and peace, the Holy Spirit invites us to come close, to let Him do for us what we cannot do ourselves. As the saints experienced in their own weakness, the Holy Spirit is our fierce Protector who loves us tenderly and who fights powerfully for us. We draw near to the Holy Spirit by speaking to Him throughout the day, using the most tender of names, as the Church herself does in her beautiful hymns and prayers to the Holy Spirit. Let us entrust to Him everything that concerns us, asking Him to possess us completely, and to anoint our every breath and every second of our lives. The saints bear witness to how powerfully and tenderly the Holy Spirit dwells within us. May we discover for ourselves the wonders the Holy Spirit accomplishes in those who draw close to Him!