What Made Jesus Mad

While Christians love to focus on a gentle, tender Jesus, Harlow offers an unforgettable reintroduction to the true character of Jesus and invites us to get to know the savior who was gracious but also blunt, sometimes sarcastic, and wildly passionate about bringing people to the heart of God. We often don’t know what to do with the Bible’s stories of Jesus' righteous rage. Yet the truth is, while the Son of God was loving and tender, his words could be equally sharp and biting. The same man who said, “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44) also said, “You snakes, how will you escape being condemned to hell?” (Matthew 23:33). With compelling storytelling and enlightening examinations of Scripture, Tim Harlow journeys through the gospels and looks at what, and who, ignited Jesus’ anger. He guides us through instances of Jesus’ anger in response to the barriers people put up: in the temple, where money changers literally denied access to the Father, especially for the non-Jews and the poor; during his teaching, when little children were denied access; on the Sabbath, when religious leaders put rules above relationship and suffering above healing; and many more. What if, Harlow asks, by coming to understand God’s holy anger, we come to know a savior we never knew before? How can we respond like Jesus when good intentions, prejudices and judgments, traditions and rules, and selfish and joyless people conspire to keep others from God’s presence?

ECPA BESTSELLER • FINALIST FOR THE CHRISTIAN BOOK AWARD® • Build your Bible IQ and Christian worldview in just fifteen minutes a day! Over the course of a year, Core 52 will help you master the 52 most important passages in the Bible. “You will gain the tools you need for living the life God has called you to.”—Kyle Idleman, pastor and author of Not a Fan “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”—1 Timothy 4:8 Most of us want to know the Bible better, but few reach our goal, often because we’re too busy or we don’t know where to start. Core 52 removes both barriers, offering a common-sense solution that fits into our busy lives. Respected Bible professor and teaching pastor Mark E. Moore developed this proven process from thirty-five years of helping people grow deeper in God’s Word. Each week features a brief essay, memory verse, Bible story, trajectory verses, and practical ways to put what you’ve learned into practice. An optional “Overachiever Challenge” offers the chance to memorize the top 100 Bible verses by year’s end. This simple approach allows you to become familiar with the big ideas of the Bible in less time and with less effort than other reading plans. In one year, you can master the core of the Bible—focusing on topics from God’s will to worry, happiness to holiness, and leadership to love. These fifty-two core passages are lenses through which you can read the rest of the Bible with clarity and confidence.

The bestselling author of Quest 52 and Core 52 Student Edition presents a fifteen-minute-a-day plan that helps teens to know and become more like Jesus over the course of a year. Who is Jesus . . . really? Is he the world’s nicest guy? A social-justice champion? Is he super accepting or overly judgmental? If you’re ready for real answers rather than popular opinion, you’re in the right place. Quest 52 Student Edition is your way to experience the life and heart of Jesus like never before. Daily readings include a mix of biblical passages from the life of Jesus, fresh insights into his purpose and character, opportunities to engage with others, and practical ways to put what you’ve learned into practice. In just fifteen minutes a day, over the course of a year, you’ll come face to face with Jesus in 52 unforgettable encounters. Let respected Bible professor and teaching pastor Mark Moore be your guide. He developed this process to help students like you make sense of Christianity. Gain clarity on topics such as: • Does Jesus care about your pain? • Can Jesus forgive you for, well, you know? • Does God play favorites? • What does Jesus say about social justice? • Does your past determine your future? This quest will enhance your understanding of Jesus in ways that will forever change how you make choices, engage with others, interpret today’s big issues, and even view yourself!

A reader’s delight, A Scandalous Freedom sometimes shocks with challenges to prevailing wisdom, but it follows up with compelling validations of our need to celebrate real, unstinted freedom in Christ. Christians do not trust freedom. As author Steve Brown explains in this brave new book, they prefer the security of rules and self-imposed boundaries, which they tend to inflict on other Christians. Brown asserts that real freedom means the freedom to be wrong as well as right. Christianity often calls us to live beyond the boundaries, bolstered by the assurance that we cannot fall beyond God’s love. Freedom is dangerous, but the alternative is worse—boxing ourselves up where we cannot celebrate our unique gifts and express our joy in Christ. Each of the book’s eleven chapters explores a common pharisaic, freedom-stifling tendency, then opens the door to the fresh air of a remedial liberty.

There was a time when Christians pioneered the future--from business to church, mathematics to justice reform. Along the way, that redemptive, adaptive movement began to gild in gold the victories of the past, leaving us change averse and frozen in time.But ready or not, the invitation is for kingdom leaders to reclaim their calling to innovate.Weaving together stories with surprising twists, studies with striking conclusions, and spellbinding cultural analysis, Doug Paul unlocks the five phases of kingdom innovation.Practical, hope-filled, and endlessly readable, Ready or Not reveals that whenever God's people have leaned into innovation, the world has shifted on its axis.

The parent with the wayward child. The couple whose marriage is in jeopardy. The man who is out of work. The woman stuck in crushing debt. The patient with a bad diagnosis. The student who can't get a fair shake. People hanging by a thread, losing faith and short on strength. What do they all need to hear? Don't give up. Our lives are minefields of challenges that take their toll on our courage, our conviction, and even our faith. But God whispers to the weary, Don't give up. Drawing from inspiring biblical stories and first-person testimonies of perseverance, bestselling author and pastor Kyle Idleman encourages readers to cast their concerns on God, trust in his love and timing, pray for patience and strength, and seek out support in the family of God.

Based on Kurt Bennett's popular-ish blog God Running, Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven-year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus' every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus' words than he was following Jesus' words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett's own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others. Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including: -Specific examples of how Jesus communicated God's love to others. -How Jesus demonstrated all five of Gary Chapman's love languages (and how you can too). -The story of how Billy Graham extended Christ's extraordinary love and grace toward a man who misrepresented Jesus to millions. -How to respond to critics the way Jesus did. -How to love unlovable people the way Jesus did. -How to survive a life of loving like Jesus (or how not to become a Christian doormat). -How Jesus didn't love everyone the same (and why you shouldn't either). -How Jesus guarded his heart by taking care of himself--he even napped--and why you should do the same.-How Jesus loved his betrayer Judas, even to the very end. With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God's definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too. A life of loving like Jesus.

A forty-day journey to intimately understand the prayers of Jesus and help you apply them practically to your prayer life in order to grow in your relationship with God. As you examine the times Jesus prayed in Scripture, you will learn how to avoid the hindrances to prayer and how to pray so you get answers.Through this forty-day journey, you also will discover: • How prayer opens us to the power of the Holy Spirit • Why people don’t pray • The importance of the Word in prayer • The first and most important step in prayer • The power of praying as a child does • What Christ prayed for • How to pray when God does not meet your expectations