Surprised By Jesus Again

A bold, historical, robust approach to reading Scripture and encountering Jesus anew No one expects to be surprised. Yet biblical interpretation can do exactly that. Christians expect to see Jesus as they read the Bible, but when and how Jesus actually speaks through Scripture can still surprise us! Drawing on the early church’s theological giants—Origen, Augustine, Gregory the Great, and more from the historical cloud of witnesses—author Jason Byassee models how we can recover ancient Christians’ multiple ways of reading the Bible to our benefit. As Byassee says, God himself is Jewish, Catholic, and Pentecostal—so much larger than our own little corner on the truth—and this book offers readers a refreshingly enhanced vision of the Bible and of Jesus himself.

Bible storybook that teaches young children about Jesus' return and why it's so surprising.

Tim Stafford takes us behind two-dimensional images of Jesus by unearthing the specific historical and cultural situation of Jesus' day. He claims that what Jesus said and did was profoundly influenced by these factors. In fact, he says that Jesus meant to change things far more profoundly in his day and ours than we can ever imagine.

Raised in Queens, New York by formerly Orthodox Jewish parents, Arnold Bernstein went on his own personal quest for the God he instinctively felt was there. He was ready to accept God in whatever form He chose to reveal Himself-and that form turned out to be Christ. But Bernstein soon perceived discrepancies in the various forms of Protestant belief that surrounded him, and so his quest continued-this time for the true Church. With his Jewish heritage as a foundation, he studied and evaluated, and eventually came to the conclusion that the faith of his forefathers was fully honored and brought to completion only in the Orthodox Christian Church. Surprised by Christ combines an engrossing memoir of one man's life in historic times and situations-from the Six-Day War to the Civil Rights Movement to the Jesus Movement in Berkeley-with a deeply felt examination of the distinctives of Orthodox theology that make the Orthodox Church the true home not only for Christian Jews, but for all who seek to who seek to know God as fully.

Christians know that God loves them, but can easily feel that he is perpetually disappointed and frustrated, maybe even close to giving up on them. As a result, they focus a lot—and rightly so—on what Jesus has done to appease God’s wrath for sin. But how does Jesus Christ actually feel about his people amid all their sins and failures? This book draws us to Matthew 11, where Jesus describes himself as “gentle and lowly in heart,” longing for his people to find rest in him. The gospel flows from God’s deepest heart for his people, a heart of tender love for the sinful and suffering. These chapters take readers into the depths of Christ’s very heart for sinners, diving deep into Bible passages that speak of who Christ is and encouraging readers with the affections of Christ for his people. His longing heart for sinners comforts and sustains readers in their up-and-down lives.

In this challenging collection of his best recent sermons and speeches, Tom Wright provides a series of case studies that show how the Bible can be applied to pressing contemporary issues, including: • How it is possible to love the Bible and affirm evolution • Why belief in heaven means we should be at the forefront of the environmental movement • Where Christians today have lost focus, and why it is important for them to engage in politics Helpful, practical, and wise, Surprised by Scripture demonstrates how to affirm the Bible in today's world—as well as mapping out new ways of applying its principles and engaging effectively with the world around us.

In Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, top-selling author and Anglican bishop, N.T. Wright tackles the biblical question of what happens after we die and shows how most Christians get it wrong. We do not “go to” heaven; we are resurrected and heaven comes down to earth--a difference that makes all of the difference to how we live on earth. Following N.T. Wright’s resonant exploration of a life of faith in Simply Christian, the award-winning author whom Newsweek calls “the world’s leading New Testament scholar” takes on one of life’s most controversial topics, a matter of life, death, spirituality, and survival for everyone living in the world today.

Jesus Is GodSurprised! This revelatory book focuses on the undeniable and yet surprising truth that Jesus is God. It parallels the names, characteristics, and attributes of God the Father, to that of His Son, Jesus Christ. You will be convinced from the scriptures, inspirationally mined from the Word of God and spoken directly by God the Father to His people from Genesis to Revelation and by the Lord Jesus in the New Testament, that Jesus is more than the Son of God. All scriptural conversations attest that this stranger from Galilee is indeed God, Elohim, I Am, Yahweh, Jehovah, Adonai, El Shaddai, Shammah, in fact all the attributes of His Father. Your spiritual understanding and consciousness of the deity of Jesus Christ will transcend to another dimension. Like Zacchaeus in Luke 19 who wanted to see who Jesus is, this book is a very simple way in which the Lord is asking you to dine with Him. After the sumptuous divine meal of this book, you are going to be fully convinced that Jesus is God. Information is simply head knowledge, but revelation from this book is internal. Enjoy!