Last Minute Bridegroom

Substitute groom? When bride-to-be Natasha Merrill was left virtually at the altar, devil-may-care Chase Taggart offered her a surprising way out. She could face the embarrassment of canceling her society wedding or she could marry him! In the heat of the moment it had all seemed so simple—a temporary marriage of convenience to keep the gossips at bay and Natasha's pride intact. But the day after the wedding, holed up in impossible romantic hotel in Paris with her new husband, Tasha discovered that even pretend marriages are for from simple….

Dimitrios Pandakis has vowed that, unlike his older brother, he will never be trapped into marriage. And this millionaire businessman has been so true to his word that—despite his reputation as a heartbreaker—he has yet to take a woman to bed! But now his new secretary is sorely testing his resolve. Alexandra Hamilton, for all her plain-Jane appearance, has somehow worked her way under his skin. And Dimitrios knows only one thing will satisfy him—marriage!

Parables of Jesus examines Jewish customs during biblical times to reveal lessons on life, living, and walking with the Lord. You’ll encounter the figures that Jesus used in his stories: the unjust judge who neither feared God or man, the self-righteous Pharisee and the humble publican in the temple, the fickle children in the marketplace, the unforgiving servant, and others exhibiting traits as compassion, jealousy, and greed. Pastor Paul Saunders makes the point that Jesus was appalled with the hypocritical nature of Jewish religious leadership. They made a great show of righteousness, but their behavior was corrupt—and Jesus was not afraid to call it out. The parables are brilliant, relevant, pithy, and personally challenging. Jesus uses everyday activities, with which we are all familiar, to illustrate a deeper truth. Although numerous scholars have written about the parables of Jesus, this book takes a fresh approach, looking at them in context and exploring the relevance they have today.

Johannes de Silentio, the pseudonymous author of Fear and Trembling, concludes that faith is “absurd” (irrational), and therefore lies beyond the scope of reason. But if we ascribe authorship ultimately to Kierkegaard, as is common practice, we must conclude that he himself is an irrationalist. Given the myriad of competing voices throughout Kierkegaard’s writings, this seems highly questionable at best.If, however, we take the pseudonymous author strictly at his authorial word, it changes the shape and dynamic of the text inviting us to read it, instead, as a “thought experiment.” In this way, the text demonstrates both the absurdity and sin of reason in its bid to fully grasp the mystery of faith on its own rational terms.

An uplifting study of Jesus, his times and his teaching

Narrative criticism is a relatively recent development that applies literary methods to the study of Scripture. James Resseguie suggests that this approach to reading the Bible treats the text as a self-contained unit and avoids complications raised by other critical methods of interpretation. Resseguie begins with an introductory chapter that surveys the methods of narrative criticism and how they can be used to discover important nuances of meaning through what he describes as a "close reading" of the text. He then devotes chapters to the principal rhetorical devices: setting, point of view, character, rhetoric, plot, and reader. Readers will find here an accessible introduction to the subject of narrative criticism and a richly rewarding approach to reading the Bible.

It is time for a revolution in how the church nurtures new leaders. As Jim Downing of the Navigators points out, Jesus trained his disciples by imparting: * Knowledge, through teaching * Character, by modeling and example * Skills, through guided experience While knowledge can be learned anywhere, character and skills are best developed as part of a community that lives, worships, and serves together (e.g., a church). We have developed Growing Church Leaders as a way for those who are mature to train the next generation of leaders in their churches to Think Biblically, Live Wisely, and Serve Faithfully. This course is designed to help senior leaders guide a small group of faithful men and women in: * Memorizing Bible verses * Reading classic Christian books * Leading devotions, typically from Psalms or Proverbs * Studying entire chapters of the Bible, verse by verse * Exploring how Scripture applies to their lives * Responding with repentance, action, and worship Our prayer is that every growing church will invest in establishing future leaders on a solid foundation of biblical truth, Christian character, and spiritual discipline -- i.e., practical holiness. For that reason, this material is available in book form and as a free download at http://2transform.us/grow/ under a Creative Commons "share alike" license. You are free to adapt the material to the needs of your church or denomination, as long as you allow others to do the same. May God use His Word to build His Body for His Kingdom!