Limping But Blessed

For Jurgen Moltmann, theological anthropology must be liberating. It should take a stand against dehumanizing images and concepts of human life and point out ways to "true humanity." In his view, a theologian can develop such a liberating anthropology only if he speaks explicitly from the perspective of God's kingdom as conceived in the Bible and the Christian tradition and if he speaks to and in his context, as one who experiences contemporary sufferings and hopes. But how? This book analyzes the development of Moltmann's theology in the light of this quest for a liberating view on human life. It examines the anthropological concerns in the different stages of his theological enterprise: his post-war Trummertheologie, the "loose theological threads" of the 1950s, his theology of hope and promise in the 1960s, his theology of the cross, human rights and play in the 1970s and his ecological and "charismatic" theology of the 1980s and 1990s. Moltmann's theological thinking has taken place consciously at the intersection of personal experiences, historical challenges, biblical testimony and the fundamentals of the Christian tradition. Analyzing his quest for a liberating anthropology in a chronological way, this study therefore gives an impression of the frictions and fault lines of Christian anthropology in the context of the societal changes during the second half of the twentieth century. A concluding chapter discusses some of the problems accentuated in the course of this analysis and evaluates some valuable leads for a Christian anthropology today. TON VAN PROOIJEN submitted this study as his doctoral dissertation at the Free University of Amsterdam. His current research interests include anthropology and politics, particularly the concept of humankind in Christian Democratic political thought.

After the unexpected, accidental death of his three-year-old son, Jason Jones went on a long, painful journey to make sense of how God could have let this happen to his son and best friend, Jacob, and to their family. And he struggled intensely with his faith after everything he thought about God disintegrated on June 12, 2011. In Limping But Blessed, Jones explores struggling with faith and belief, dealing with his depression and grief, and searching for hope in a hopeless situation. The book includes tales of his darkest days, correspondence he had with Christian theologians, and what heÕs done to preserve his sonÕs legacy. At some point in each of our lives, something goes terribly wrong, and our faith is shaken to the core. This book is the story of one manÕs journey through the darkest time of life searching for answers and a grueling attempt to find a sliver of hope to keep holding on.Ê

Are you experiencing a "valley" of life, a disappointment, or shattered dreams? In "Limping But Blessed," you will discover that God can meet you where you are right now, take you by the hand, and lead you to a new outlook on life, a new hope, and unlock a new you at the fullest of blessedness. Zig Ziglar says, "How you see your future is much more important than what happened in your past." The concepts in this book will help you add a little swag to your limping knowing beyond a shadow of doubt that God's got you!

With clarity and wit, preacher and writer Sondra Willobee explores the joyful process of crafting effective sermons. Gathering the strategies of good writers, Willobee shows how to capture and keep listeners' attention, how to generate suspense through structure, and how to increase impact with vivid language. In addition, Willobee offers examples, exercises, and reflections that help turn each chapter into a preaching workshop. The result is a book that will rekindle the creativity of experienced preachers and help new preachers develop their own compelling voices.

It's hard to say that God is good when God isn't always what we expect good to be. A good father wouldn't make it so difficult to get to know him, would he? And if God is all-powerful, wouldn't he ensure that we never suffered? Either our understanding of God is incorrect, or our definition of good is inadequate. In a world that is messy and a church that is imperfect, it's easy to let our faith be lost. But that doesn't mean we have to lose God. It means we must consider the fact that perhaps our idealized expectations are just plain wrong. With transparency about his own struggles with cynicism and doubt, pastor Luke Norsworthy helps frustrated Christians and skeptics trade their confinement of God in an anemic definition of good for confidence in the God who is present in everything, including our suffering.

Given a life spent in scholarship and controversy, it is easy to forget how much energy Martin Luther devoted to helping the common person understand and take comfort from God’s word. This commitment extended to even the most challenging of biblical texts, and nowhere is this more apparent than Luther’s work on the lament Psalms. Difficult to understand, and perhaps even more difficult to implement in life and devotion, the lament Psalms played a key role in Luther’s thought. More importantly, the lament Psalms were for Luther an essential part of the Christian’s understanding of the life of faith. In this volume, Dennis Ngien helps contemporary readers engage Luther’s commentary on the lament Psalms. What Luther intended for the education and encouragement of everyday Christians, Ngien unpacks and illuminates for life in the twenty-first century. Introduced and commended by Robert Kolb, the volume will be appreciated by teacher and student alike.

The stories of Scripture are for everyone. No exceptions. Emmy Kegler has a complicated relationship with the Bible. As a queer woman who grew up in both conservative Evangelical and progressive Protestant churches, she knows too well how Scripture can be used to wound and exclude. And yet, the stories of Scripture continue to captivate and inspire her--both as a person of faith and as a pastor to a congregation. So she set out to fall in love with the Bible, wrestling with the stories inside, where she met a God who continues to seek us out--appearing again and again as a voice, a presence, and a promise. Whenever we are pushed to the edges, our voices silenced, or our stories dismissed, God goes out after us--seeking us until we are found again. And God is seeking out those whose voices we too quickly silence and dismiss, too. Because God's story is a story of welcome and acceptance for everyone--no exceptions. Kegler shows us that even when we feel like lost and dusty coins--rusted from others' indifference, misspent and misused--God picks up a broom and sweeps every corner of creation to find us.

“Tony has always been fascinated by the effect believing has on our lives. After years of reading books and going to conferences he has found the effect was temporary. His personal belief is that we have a believing switch somewhere within us and if we can get it turned on; everything works, but when it is turned off nothing works. This is his journey to find that switch and turn it on”.