Cultivating An Evangelistic Character

This project explores the relationship between worship, discipleship, and evangelism within the missional church movement. Engaging contributions from liturgical theology, Christian ethics, and post-Christendom evangelism, the book proposes a missional approach to worship that, when integrated with a praxis-oriented discipleship, cultivates Jesus’ character among God’s people. Along the way, the project attends to the Holy Spirit’s transformative presence, the liturgical rhythms of remembering and anticipating, and the practices of hospitality and compassion. In the end, Cultivating an Evangelistic Character contends that the Spirit works through the integration of worship and discipleship to form God’s people. In other words, God’s people become evangelistic, or as Newbigin said, “the hermeneutic of the gospel.”

A Lost Book from J. Oswald Sanders Now Re-Released with a Beautiful New Cover "Many true lovers of the Lord are beset with a sense of inadequacy and failure in living the Christian life as it ought to be lived. … they yearn to know Christ better and serve Him more worthily. It is to such that this little volume is addressed." -J. Oswald Sanders, from the introduction J. Oswald Sanders (best known for his book Spiritual Leadership, which has sold over a million copies) touched hundreds of thousands of lives in his lifetime and continues to inspire Christians today. His books Spiritual Leadership, Spiritual Maturity, and The Incomparable Christ are beloved and well-read to this day. But there are two of his books that readers haven’t had access to in over 30 years. Cultivation of Christian Character is one of them. It’s a profound and challenging book for anyone who earnestly wants to know God more. Sanders teaches you about spiritual struggle, the healing power of Scripture, and how to fight spiritual warfare victoriously. But most of all he shows you how to give up your self-focus and take up a Christ-focus. Any Christian who wants to grow will surely be benefited by this book.

Be Renewed Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. All of us desire to exhibit these qualities in our lives. But what does it mean to “live by the Spirit”? The fruit of the Spirit is the result of the inner workings of God, but it is also a product of our response and understanding. It comes from obedience as well as dependence. In this studyguide, Stuart Briscoe invites you to study more deeply how believing and behaving affects one another. Using passages from both the Old and New Testament, Briscoe offers us a deeper understanding of the nine fruits of the Spirit in Galatians, giving us encouragement and insight into what it means to live as Christ did.

Christlikeness in believers assists the proclamation of the gospel in demonstrating the reality of God's grace.

What's a Branch Supposed to Do? Becoming a Christian is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of a journey that starts at the foot of the cross and ends at the foot of the throne of God. We are involved in an ongoing experience as we grow in our relationship with Christ. As believers, our goal is to become more and more like him. Jesus taught that he is the vine and we are the branches. We receive our spiritual lifeblood from him, as the Holy Spirit works in our lives. However, our relationship is not designed to be a passive one. Branches are expected to bear fruit. This is a legitimate expectation. God is the gardener, and his job is to prune the branches in order that we become more fruitful. This process may be somewhat uncomfortable and even spiritually painful at times, but the finished product is worth the investment. Cultivating Christian Character is all about this journey. The focus is on what grows on our branches - the various facets of the fruit of the Spirit, coupled with integrity and obedience. It is about modeling our lives after the examples set before us in the word of God. And it is about allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, making the necessary changes to help us reach the goal of becoming more like Christ. I invite you to come along for the journey - it will be worth the trip.

From the author of the acclaimed Simply Christian and Surprised by Hope comes a book that addresses the question that has plagued humans for centuries—what is our purpose? As Christians, what are we to do with that ambiguous time between baptism and the funeral? It's easy to become preoccupied with who gets into heaven; the real challenge is how we are going to live in the here and now. Wright dispels the common misconception that Christian living is nothing more than a checklist of dos and don'ts. Nor is it a prescription to "follow your heart" wherever it may lead. Instead, After You Believe reveals the Bible's call for a revolution—a transformation of character that takes us beyond our earthly pursuit of money, sex, and power into a virtuous state of living that allows us to reflect God and live more worshipful, fulfilling lives. We are all spiritual seekers, intuitively knowing there is more to life than we suspect. This is a book for anyone who is hoping there is something more while we're here on Earth. There is. We are being called to join the revolution, and Wright insightfully encourages readers to find new purpose and clarity by taking us on an eye-opening journey through key biblical passages that promise to radically alter the work of the church and the direction of our lives.