Living The Heart Of Christianity

World-renowned Jesus scholar Marcus J. Borg shows how we can live passionately as Christians in today's world by practicing the vital elements of Christian faith. For the millions of people who have turned away from many traditional beliefs about God, Jesus, and the Bible, but still long for a relevant, nourishing faith, Borg shows why the Christian life can remain a transforming relationship with God. Emphasizing the critical role of daily practice in living the Christian life, he explores how prayer, worship, Sabbath, pilgrimage, and more can be experienced as authentically life-giving practices. Borg reclaims terms and ideas once thought to be the sole province of evangelicals and fundamentalists: he shows that terms such as "born again" have real meaning for all Christians; that the "Kingdom of God" is not a bulwark against secularism but is a means of transforming society into a world that values justice and love; and that the Christian life is essentially about opening one's heart to God and to others.

Marcus Borg's The Heart of Christianity struck a chord for countless Christians across this country. Church groups and small groups have been reading this influential book, hoping to put into practice Borg's helpful suggestions for how we can be passionate believers today. For the millions of people who have turned away from many traditional beliefs about God, Jesus, and the Bible, but still long for a relevant, nourishing faith, The Heart of Christianity presents a new outlook on Christianity that is both refreshing and compelling. This companion to The Heart of Christianity is an invaluable resource that provides the tools to talk about Borg's new vision for a life of Christian faith and how it can change our spiritual lives and Christian communities today. For groups as well as individuals hoping to go deeper in The Heart of Christianity, this guide includes personal reflection questions, discussion topics, exercises, and selections from the bestselling book. Organized into twelve chapters, or sessions, Living the Heart of Christianity includes both an individual or participant's guide as well as a guide for group leaders, allowing the reader to engage with the issues that lie at the heart of Christianity today.

We need to recover a truth that has been all but lost in modern-day Christianity. It has been buried for too long, and it is too valuable to be forgotten. This life-changing truth is that the heart is the key to everything in the Christian life. The heart is the wellspring of all our actions, emotions, motives, and character. Everything we are, everything we say, and everything we do flows directly from the heart. In The Heart-The Key to Everything in the Christian Life, believers will discover how the heart is central to spiritual growth and how it will help us better reflect the image of Christ in a fallen world. The heart is the key to our service and obedience to the Father. The heart is the key to the purity and depth of our worship, praise, and love of God. It is time the Christian church once again teaches a proper understanding of the heart so that we can fully embrace and manifest the life of Christ within us.

The pioneering scholar and author of Food and Faith and Living the Sabbath asserts that Christianity has slid off its rightful foundation, arguing that the faith only makes sense and can only be expressed in a healthy way if it seen as based on love, with a mission of training others in the way of love. It’s often said that God is love, yet his message of compassion and caring for others is often overshadowed by the battles dividing us politically, culturally, and religiously. Why does Christianity matter if it isn’t about love? asks Duke University professor of Theology and Ecology Norman Wirzba. The Way of Love invites readers to experience Christianity that is centered on love. Extensive theological training cannot replace the way of love that transforms and connects each of us to God and the faith, Wirzba contends. Interweaving illuminating testimonials, historical references, and Scripture, he reveals how love allows us to move into the fullness of life; when we do not love we lose our faith. “To fail to love,” he reminds us, “is to lose God.”

In all your boyhood dreams of growing up, did you dream of being a "nice guy"? Eldredge believes that every man longs for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue. That is how he bears the image of God; that is what God made him to be.

For many people who have turned away from traditional beliefs about God, Jesus, and the Bible, but still long for a relevant, nourishing faith, the author shows why the Christian life can remain a transforming relationship with God. Emphasizing the critical role of daily practice in living the Christian life, he explores prayer, worship, Sabbath, pilgrimage and more.

As Christians, we know that we are new creations in Jesus. So we try to act differently, hoping this will make us more like Him. But changing our outward behavior doesn’t change our hearts. Only by God’s grace can we be transformed internally. Renovation of the Heart lays a biblical foundation for understanding what best-selling author Dallas Willard calls the “transformation of the spirit”—a divine process that “brings every element in our being, working from inside out, into harmony with the will of God.” This fresh approach to spiritual growth explains the biblical reasons why Christians need to undergo change in six aspects of life: thought, feeling, will, body, social context, and soul. Willard also outlines a general pattern of transformation in each area, not as a sterile formula but as a practical process that you can follow without the guilt or perfectionism so many Christians wrestle with. Don’t settle for complacency. Accept the challenge Renovation of the Heart offers to become an intentional apprentice of Jesus Christ, changing daily as you walk with Him.

In a time of compromise and disillusionment, God is calling his people to a movement of beautiful resistance. We live in a time when our culture is becoming increasingly shallow, coarse, and empty. Radical shifts in the areas of sexuality, ethics, technology, secular ideologies, and religion have caused the once-familiar landscape of a generation ago to be virtually unrecognizable. Yet rather than shine as a beacon of light, the church often is silent or accommodating. This isn’t a new phenomenon. During World War II, pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was deeply troubled by the compromise in the German church. Their capitulation to the Nazi party brought shame and dishonor to the gospel. In response, he helped create an underground movement of churches that trained disciples and ultimately sought to renew the church and culture of the day. In our compromised church, we need new underground movements of discipleship and resistance. Widely respected New York pastor Jon Tyson unveils a revived vision for faithful discipleship—one that dares to renew culture, restore credibility, and replace compromise with conviction. For all who have felt this conflict in the soul between who we are and who God calls us to be, Beautiful Resistance is a bold invitation to reclaim what’s been lost—regardless of the cost. Praise for Beautiful Resistance “Beautiful Resistance is one of the most compelling and defiant books I’ve read in a long time. I love Jon’s radical, no-messing vision of the church as a prophetic community. This is a wake-up call for us all from the heart of a man who lives his message, loves his city, and serves his Lord with a passion and intelligence destined to become less rare.”—Pete Greig, founder of the 24-7 Prayer movement