The Spirit Of Fatherhood

Christians in various western traditions are re-discovering spiritual direction. Yet many have little experience of the living tradition of spiritual fatherhood. The book sets out to learn how Orthodox Christians understand and value their spiritual fathers. Both the people and the spiritual fathers who speak through these pages are part of an ancient tradition in a Church only recently emerged from decades of Communist harassment. While their experience of spiritual fatherhood is uniquely their own, it can be of help to all Christians who seek God by searching out a spiritual father, a bearer of the spirit who knows, and can help others to know, the living God.

The Word of God addresses the need of a spiritual father. Apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians 4:15, "For through ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel." I believe that one of the greatest need in our generation today is the need of a spiritual father. Especially, a spiritual father who is chosen by the will of God in the life of a spiritual son or daughter. As a spiritual father, it is an honor to raise up spiritual sons and daughters, to father them and to see them live a life of God-purpose, blessings, and maximized potential Also, to be catapulted to greater dimensions in the Lord and much more.

Parents who claim the gospel as their own have an enormous effect on their marriage, their integrity, and their love for their children. Keeping the gospel at the forefront of every aspect of marriage helps parents fear God, sensitizes them to sin, motivates them to enter their children's world, and causes them to preach the beauty of the gospel to their children through their marriage. Book jacket.

Bruce Ware provides an approachable examination of the doctrine of the Trinity. He discusses the relationship and roles of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and the practical implications of the Trinity for our lives.

What does God actually want for us? What is his dream for you, or for me? Is it that we would become just a little nicer? More "moral"? A little more religious? Could it be that there's something else he's after? Many books engage the life of the Trinity at an academic level, focusing simply on fine points of theological distinction. In All Flame, Andrew Arndt drills down, with mystical power and missional energy, to the dream of the God revealed in three Persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--showing how the Triune God is not far but near, already in touch with your life, already present to you, already at work in and through your circumstances to make you the kind of person he desires you to be: ALL FLAME.

Origen’s On First Principles is a foundational work in the development of Christian thought and doctrine: it is the first attempt in history at a systematic Christian theology. For over a decade it has been out of print with only expensive used copies available; now it is available at an affordable price and in a more accessible format. On First Principles is the most important surviving text written by third-century Church father, Origen. Origen wrote in a time when fundamental doctrines had not yet been fully articulated by the Church, and contributed to the very formation of Christianity. Readers see Origen grappling with the mysteries of salvation and brainstorming how they can be understood. This edition presents G. W. Butterworth’s trusted translation in a new, more readable format, retains the introduction by Henri de Lubac, and includes a new foreword by John C. Cavadini. As St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Doctor of the Church, wrote: “Origen is the stone on which all of us were sharpened.”

Is there anything in the New Testament about the need for priests in the Church? Many Protestants would argue no. And if you point out that there is a priesthood in the Old Testament, they are likely to say it was a feature of the Old Covenant that was undone by Christ. How should a Catholic respond? In Jesus and the Old Testament Roots of the Priesthood, biblical scholar John Bergsma convinces readers that Jesus did, in fact, intend for a ministerial priesthood to be a key feature of the New Covenant. Bergsma shows how the priesthood is a major thread holding together the biblical story line—beginning with Adam’s loss of the gift of priesthood in the Fall and the long process of restoring his descendants to a priestly status over the centuries, culminating with Christ. With chapter summaries and discussion questions included, Jesus and the Old Testament Roots of the Priesthood can readily be adapted into a four-part study for personal or small group use.