Compassion And The Mission Of God

Why does God care for the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalized? This book traces God’s compassion as it is revealed in the Old and New Testaments, exploring the expression and impact of compassion in the early church through its actions and teachings as part of its witness. Focusing on the church’s responsibility to be compassionate, Dr Rupen Das underlines the theological and missiological questions central to any discussion on the compassion of God. Culminating with how compassion is lived out by God’s people, the book looks at concepts of transformation and the demonstration of the kingdom of God in the real world. This book provides an excellent biblical and theological foundation for anyone involved or interested in ministries of social justice, relief, development and compassion.

Why does God care for the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalized? This book traces God’s compassion as it is revealed in the Old and New Testaments, exploring the expression and impact of compassion in the early church through its actions and teachings as part of its witness. Focusing on the church’s responsibility to be compassionate, Dr Rupen Das underlines the theological and missiological questions central to any discussion on the compassion of God. Culminating with how compassion is lived out by God’s people, the book looks at concepts of transformation and the demonstration of the kingdom of God in the real world. This book provides an excellent biblical and theological foundation for anyone involved or interested in ministries of social justice, relief, development and compassion.

Compassionate missions constitutes a growing focus among evangelical denominations and agencies. Because of this, there exists a growing need to be guided by sound principles and best practices. This edited volume sets forth both the biblical foundations and preferred methods for churches wanting to engage in compassion as part of their missionary efforts. The aim throughout is that compassionate missions would be guided by indigenous principles that help establish autonomous local churches, capable of being salt and light in their communities. The contributors to this volume have over 200 years of missions experience. Through their first-hand knowledge of the challenges and pitfalls faced by missionaries engaging in compassion, these authors set forth foundational principles and practical guidelines related to some of the most pressing issues confronting missionaries today. These include HIV/AIDS, UPGs, human trafficking, orphans and vulnerable children, gender issues, and many more. Pastors, missionaries, missions boards, and educators will find this a valuable resource as the church in the twenty-first century continues to engage in the Great Commission.

The book of Jonah is arguably just as jarring for us as it was for the ancients. Ninevah's repentance, Jonah's estrangement from God and the book's bracing moral conclusion all pose unsettling questions for today's readers. For biblical theologians, Jonah also raises tough questions regarding mission and religious conversion. Here, Daniel Timmer embarks on a new reading of Jonah in order to secure its ongoing relevance for biblical theology. After an examination of the book?s historical backgrounds (in both Israel and Assyria), Timmer discusses the biblical text in detail, paying special attention to redemptive history and its Christocentric orientation. Timmer then explores the relationship between Israel and the nations—including the question of mission—and the nature of religious conversion and spirituality in the Old Testament. This New Studies in Biblical Theology volume concludes with an injunction for scholars and lay readers to approach Jonah as a book written to facilitate spiritual change in the reader. Addressing key issues in biblical theology, the works comprising New Studies in Biblical Theology are creative attempts to help Christians better understand their Bibles. The NSBT series is edited by D. A. Carson, aiming to simultaneously instruct and to edify, to interact with current scholarship and to point the way ahead.

In this provocative essay on that least understood virtue, compassion, the authors challenge themselves and us with these questions: Where do we place compassion in our lives? Is it enough to live a life in which we hurt one another as little as possible? Is our guiding ideal a life of maximum pleasure and minimum pain? Compassion answers no. After years of study and discussion among themselves, with other religious, and with men and women at the very center of national politics, the authors look at compassion with a vigorous new perspective. They place compassion at the heart of a Christian life in a world governed far too long by principles of power and destructive control. Compassion, no longer merely an eraser of human mistakes, is a force of prayer and action -- the expression of God's love for us and our love for God and one another. Compassion is a book that says no to a compassion of guilt and failure and yes to a compassionate love that pervades our spirit and moves us to action. Henri Nouwen, Donald McNeill, and Douglas Morrison have written a moving document on what it means to be a Christian in a difficult time.

Go and do. Jesus commands it, and the world needs it. Mission mobilizer Paul Borthwick shows how proclamation and demonstration of the gospel go hand in hand, bringing together the Great Commission of Matthew 28 and the Great Compassion of Matthew 25, while offering practical, holistic ways for us to live them out in every sphere of our lives.

Jesus lived and breathed compassion. He was and is compassion itself. A Call to Compassion is your personal invitation to discover the joy of committing your life to a cause higher than your own personal desires and learn to be a reflection of God’s steadfast love. Be inspired by the stories of these eleven great women: Catherine Booth, cofounder of the Salvation ArmyNancy Ward, hero and “last beloved lady” of the Cherokee NationFlorence Nightingale, reformer and pioneer of health care and a well-trained nursing professionGladys Aylward, missionary to the sick, orphans, and poor in ChinaMother Teresa, devoted servant to the poor in Calcutta, India, and the worldAmy Carmichael, missionary in India, serving girls offered as temple prostitutes by their parentsCatherine Drexel, nun who gave away millions of dollars to help Native Americans and African AmericansPhoebe Palmer, mother of the Holiness MovementHannah More, well-known writer who worked for the abolition of slaveryElizabeth Fry, prison reformer in England and EuropeHeidi Baker, passionate missionary “compelled by love” to the poor in Mozambique, Africa, and the world God wants to express His heart through you in new and creative ways. Be a pioneer of compassion in your world today!

Go and do. Jesus commands it, and the world needs it. Word and deed go together. One without the other is not enough. We follow Jesus into all the world, and we follow his example in all we do. Mission mobilizer Paul Borthwick shows how proclamation and demonstration of the gospel go hand in hand. God gives us the Great Commission, Matthew 28's call to go wherever Jesus sends us, making disciples and proclaiming good news to all nations. And we become people of his Great Compassion, Matthew 25's vision for treating others as we would treat Jesus himself, caring for the needy and living justly. Borthwick offers practical ways for us to live out the Great Commission and Great Compassion in every sphere of our lives. Holistic discipleship means learning and looking, praying and giving, welcoming the stranger, simplifying our lives and standing with and for others on God's behalf. Small steps can make a big difference in the mission of God. Will you answer the call?