The Things Of Earth

God’s world is full of good things. Ice-cold lemonade. The laughter of children. College football. Scrambled eggs and crispy bacon. A late night with old friends around a blazing campfire. God certainly knows how to give good gifts to his children. But where is the line when it comes to enjoying all the pleasurable things our world affords? In The Things of Earth, professor Joe Rigney offers perplexed Christians a breath of fresh air by lifting the burden of false standards and impossible expectations related to the Christian life—freeing readers to gratefully embrace every good thing we receive from the hand of God. Helping us avoid our tendency to forget the Giver on the one hand and neglect his gifts on the other, this much-needed book reminds us that God’s blessings should drive us to worship and that a passion for God’s glory can be as wide as the world itself.

At the heart of the Christian life lay the tension of the single-minded pursuit of the glory of God and the deep enjoyment of the things that God has made. How can Christians enjoy the good things of earth? Whether it’s a delicious meal or a game night with friends, listening to jazz or watching baseball, earthly joys often seem to compete with a deep love for God. Scripture supports both the enjoyment of the Creator and the enjoyment of the creation, revealing that this tension in the Christian life is also found in the Bible. In this accessible book, Joe Rigney displays how Christians can delight in God and enjoy his good gifts.

New York Times bestselling author John Eldredge offers readers a breathtaking look into God’s promise for a new heaven and a new earth. This revolutionary book about our future is based on the simple idea that, according to the Bible, heaven is not our eternal home--the New Earth is. As Jesus says in the gospel of Matthew, the next chapter of our story begins with "the renewal of all things," by which he means the earth we love in all its beauty, our own selves, and the things that make for a rich life: music, art, food, laughter and all that we hold dear. Everything shall be renewed "when the world is made new." More than anything else, how you envision your future shapes your current experience. If you knew that God was going to restore your life and everything you love any day; if you believed a great and glorious goodness was coming to you--not in a vague heaven but right here on this earth--you would have a hope to see you through anything, an anchor for your soul, "an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God" (Hebrews 6:19). Most Christians (most people for that matter) fail to look forward to their future because their view of heaven is vague, religious, and frankly boring. Hope begins when we understand that for the believer nothing is lost. Heaven is not a life in the clouds; it is not endless harp-strumming or worship-singing. Rather, the life we long for, the paradise Adam and Eve knew, is precisely the life that is coming to us. And that life is coming soon.

Shakespeare’s plays are filled with religious references and spiritual concerns. His characters—like Hamlet in this book’s title—speak the language of belief. Theology can enable the modern reader to see more clearly the ways in which Shakespeare draws on the Bible, doctrine, and the religious controversies of the long English Reformation. But as Oxford don Paul Fiddes shows in his intertextual approach, the theological thought of our own time can in turn be shaped by the reading of Shakespeare’s texts and the viewing of his plays. In More Things in Heaven and Earth, Fiddes argues that Hamlet’s famous phrase not only underscores the blurred boundaries between the warring Protestantism and Catholicism of Shakespeare’s time; it is also an appeal for basic spirituality, free from any particular doctrinal scheme. This spirituality is characterized by the belief in prioritizing loving relations over institutions and social organization. And while it also implies a constant awareness of mortality, it seeks a transcendence in which love outlasts even death. In such a spiritual vision, forgiveness is essential, human justice is always imperfect, communal values overcome political supremacy, and one is on a quest to find the story of one’s own life. It is in this context that Fiddes considers not only the texts behind Shakespeare’s plays but also what can be the impact of his plays on the writing of doctrinal texts by theologians today. Fiddes ultimately shows how this more expansive conception of Shakespeare is grounded in the trinitarian relations of God in which all the texts of the world are held and shaped.

The impact of The Late Great Planet Earth cannot be overstated. The New York Times called it the "no. 1 non-fiction bestseller of the decade." For Christians and non-Christians of the 1970s, Hal Lindsey's blockbuster served as a wake-up call on events soon to come and events already unfolding -- all leading up to the greatest event of all: the return of Jesus Christ. The years since have confirmed Lindsey's insights into what biblical prophecy says about the times we live in. Whether you're a church-going believer or someone who wouldn't darken the door of a Christian institution, the Bible has much to tell you about the imminent future of this planet. In the midst of an out-of-control generation, it reveals a grand design that's unfolding exactly according to plan. The rebirth of Israel. The threat of war in the Middle East. An increase in natural catastrophes. The revival of Satanism and witchcraft. These and other signs, foreseen by prophets from Moses to Jesus, portend the coming of an antichrist . . . of a war which will bring humanity to the brink of destruction . . . and of incredible deliverance for a desperate, dying planet.

The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

Addressing the world in which Christians live, bestselling author Richard Leonard asks who we are before God and how we can be more confident in our faith in a loving God.

Uncover the secrets behind our planet's most magnificent marvels, epic extremes, and astonishing animals in this fact-packed series sequel Did you know that dogs can shake off a pound of water in less than a second? That some sand dunes whistle and sing? That the U.S. dollar bill is full of hidden symbols related to the number 13? Our world is filled with strange, bizarre, and weird happenings. But what do they mean? WHY are they important? And what secrets are behind them? These secrets and MORE are revealed through cool stories, action-packed photos, fantastic infographics, and exciting Q&As with in-the-field experts. Discover the secrets of sharkskin, the mysteries behind incredible island animals, the power behind lightning, how a rare gemstone changes color, and more bizarre stuff that presents a fresh way of looking at our amazing planet.