Becoming Christlike

Making the connection between living a holy life and following Christs example of love, H. Ray Dunning provides spiritual guidance for Christians who want to grow in grace. His treatment of the joy and comfort that results from holy living is both helpful and encouraging. Inviting readers to return to the biblical meanings and descriptions of the holy life, Dunning challenges believers to cultivate a holy walk with Godand he provides guidance for that effort. His exploration and explanation of key spiritual disciplines in the life of the Christian will benefit pastors and lay persons for years to come. From the time I first sat under his teaching, H. Ray Dunning has been the pivotal theological influence on my understanding of the Holy God. My preaching, theology, and pastoral practice reflect the shaping that took place under his influence. Read reverently, think deeply, and live gratefully. Dan Boone President, Trevecca Nazarene University

‘God wants people to become like Christ,’ said international preacher, writer and teacher John Stott in a public address at the end of his long life. Peter Lewis is similarly passionate about the Bible’s message – that God has a plan which centres on Jesus and includes each one of us. In this accessible and helpful book, he focuses on the: source of Christlikeness model of Christlikenesshelps to Christlikeness contradictions of Christlikeness an dtriumph of Christlikeness Here, the reader who wants to become like Christ will find radical – sometimes challenging – teaching, practical wisdom and warm reassurance.

In the last sermon he ever preached, John Stott echoed the Apostle Paul when he said that God’s greatest desire and plan for us is to become like his Son, Jesus Christ. BUT HOW? Stott prayed daily that God would bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit in his own life; a prayer clearly answered and evident in his Christlikeness. Chris Wright, a close friend of John Stott, reflects on all nine qualities that the Apostle Paul includes in the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians. He shows how they are rooted in the character of God, first revealed in the Old Testament, and modelled and taught by Jesus. With applications to encourage biblical growth with depth, and questions at the end of each chapter, this is an ideal resource for preachers, study groups and personal reflection. Many people rightly stress the importance of the gifts, power and ministries of the Holy Spirit, but easily neglect Paul’s command to live and walk by the Spirit and cultivate the fruit that only he can bear in our lives. Paying close attention to the beautiful and robust qualities that Paul includes in the fruit, and seeking daily to cultivate them with God’s help, is surely one way we can become more and more like Jesus.

The Bible teaches that the goal of the Christian life is to become like Jesus—for our own personal growth and for the sake of others. Every believer needs to ask three big questions: What do I believe? What should I do? And who am I becoming? In Think, Act, Be Like Jesus, bestselling author and pastor Randy Frazee helps readers grasp the vision of the Christian life and get started on the journey of discipleship. After unfolding the revolutionary dream of Jesus and showing how our lives fit into the big picture of what God is doing in the world, Frazee walks readers through thirty short chapters exploring the ten core beliefs, ten core practices, and ten core virtues that help disciples to think, act, and be more like Jesus Christ. This compelling new book can be used in conjunction with the 30-week all-church Believe campaign or read separately as an individual study. Either way, readers will deepen their understanding of what it means to not just know the Story of God, but to live it.

Richard J. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth is hailed by many as the best modern book on Christian spirituality with millions of copies sold since its original publication in 1978. In Celebration of Discipline, Foster explores the "classic Disciplines," or central spiritual practices, of the Christian faith to show how each of these areas contribute to a balanced spiritual life. Foster, the bestselling author of several books (Prayer and Streams of Living Water) and intrachurch movement founder of Renovaré, helps motivate Christians everywhere to embark on a journey of prayer and spiritual growth.

Becoming Christian argues that romance narratives of Jews and Muslims converting to Christianity register theological formations of race in post-Reformation England. The medieval motif of infidel conversion came under scrutiny as Protestant theology radically reconfigured how individuals acquire religious identities. Whereas Catholicism had asserted that Christian identity begins with baptism, numerous theologians in the Church of England denied the necessity of baptism and instead treated Christian identity as a racial characteristic passed from parents to their children. The church thereby developed a theology that both transformed a nation into a Christian race and created skepticism about the possibility of conversion. Race became a matter of salvation and damnation. Britton intervenes in critical debates about the intersections of race and religion, as well as in discussions of the social implications of romance. Examining English translations of Calvin, treatises on the sacraments, catechisms, and sermons alongside works by Edmund Spenser, John Harrington, William Shakespeare, John Fletcher, and Phillip Massinger, Becoming Christian demonstrates how a theology of race altered a nation’s imagination and literary landscape.

With clarity, wisdom, and wit, Brian Taylor offers a fresh look at contemplative prayer as the pathway to genuine healing and spiritual transformation. Taylor gives practical, how-to advice for those with a serious interest in contemplative prayer, and also explores its roots in the faith and traditions of the church. This book is itself the fruit of years of contemplative practice, and whether you are new to this form of prayer or an experienced practitioner, Taylor’s insight, encouragement, and guidance will enhance and strengthen your efforts to draw nearer to the heart of God in prayer, and in doing so, become more fully conformed to the image of Christ.