In The Unbelievable Gospel pastor Jonathan Dodson diagnoses the evangelistic paralysis of the modern church, pinpointing the reasons people don’t share their faith today and offering a desperately needed solution. Showing readers how to utilize the rich gospel metaphors found in Scripture and how to communicate a gospel worth believing—one that speaks to the heart-felt needs of diverse individuals—Dodson connects the gospel to the real issues people face each day by speaking to both the head and the heart. Filled with stories that reveal the long road of relational evangelism and guidance on how to listen to others well, The Unbelievable Gospel is a much-needed resource that will benefit both individuals and churches. Included are study questions for training and group discussion.

A fun-filled book of idioms from around the world that will spark the imagination of readers everywhere and encourage them to delight in language. You've probably heard the expression "when pigs fly," but have you heard the Spanish phrase "when frogs grow hair" or the Yoruba saying "when chicken have teeth"? A rib-tickling collection of idioms from around the world. But the question is: will you believe them...? “I loved so much of this book! It's a funny book about idioms for young children and celebrates diversity in a fun way”—Youth Services Book Review, 5 STARS “With a world map, exploration of complex and playful language and inclusive illustrations, there is lots to enjoy in this book. There is certainly a lot that will have little ones giggling!”—Father Reading Every Day “Such a fun book! It will spark the imagination of readers and encourage them to play with language themselves!”—Youth Libraries Group “A very weird and silly book. If you’ve never heard of idioms you should read this book. After you read it you will have fun making up more silly sentences”—Xavier, Age 5, Kids' Book Buzz, 5 STARS

Conversations matter. Yet, recently, good conversations about faith have been increasingly squeezed out of the public sphere. Seeking to reopen the debate, Justin Brierley began to invite atheists and sceptics on to Premier Christian Radio to air arguments for and against the Christian faith. But how has ten years of discussion with atheists affected the presenter’s faith? Reflecting on conversations with Richard Dawkins, Derren Brown and many more, Justin explains why he still finds Christianity the most compelling explanation for life, the universe and everything. And why, regardless of belief or background, we should all welcome the conversation. ‘Beautifully written, brilliantly argued, Justin’s book will thrill Christians and challenge atheists.’ R. T. Kendall, author and pastor ‘Justin has that happy knack of being able to get people of diametrically opposed opinions debating the big issues.’ John Lennox, Professor of Mathematics, University of Oxford

A true account of a young boy's survival, before and after the death of his mother, at the tender age of seven years.

Five hundred years after Martin Luther and his Ninety-Five Theses ushered in the Reformation, bestselling author and controversial bishop and teacher John Shelby Spong delivers twelve forward-thinking theses to spark a new reformation to reinvigorate Christianity and ensure its future. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, Christianity was in crisis—a state of conflict that gave birth to the Reformation in 1517. Enduring for more than 200 years, Luther’s movement was then followed by a "revolutionary time of human knowledge." Yet these advances in our thinking had little impact on Christians’ adherence to doctrine—which has led the faith to a critical point once again. Bible scholar and Episcopal bishop John Shelby Spong contends that there is mounting pressure among Christians for a radically new kind of Christianity—a faith deeply connected to the human experience instead of outdated dogma. To keep Christianity vital, he urges modern Christians to update their faith in light of these advances in our knowledge, and to challenge the rigid and problematic Church teachings that emerged with the Reformation. There is a disconnect, he argues, between the language of traditional worship and the language of the twenty-first century. Bridging this divide requires us to rethink and reformulate our basic understanding of God. With its revolutionary resistance to the authority of the Church in the sixteenth century, Spong sees in Luther’s movement a model for today’s discontented Christians. In fact, the questions they raise resonate with those contemplated by our ancestors. Does the idea of God still have meaning? Can we still follow historic creeds with integrity? Are not such claims as an infallible Pope or an inerrant Bible ridiculous in today’s world? In Unbelievable, Spong outlines twelve "theses" to help today’s believers more deeply contemplate and reshape their faith. As an educator, clergyman, and writer who has devoted his life to his faith, Spong has enlightened Christians and challenged them to explore their beliefs in new and meaningful ways. In this, his final book, he continues that rigorous tradition, once again offering a revisionist approach that strengthens Christianity and secures its relevance for generations to come.

From the Psalms to the Prophets, from job to Ecclesiastes, much of the Bible is written in poetry. The poems of the Bible include some of its best known and most beloved passages: "The Lord is my shepherd," "Let justice roll down like waters," "By the rivers of Babylon," "Remember your Creator," "Arise, shine, for thy light is come!" These poems live in the hearts of those who are familiar with the Bible and offer rich rewards to anyone who is approaching the world's greatest book for the first time. In The Great Poems of the Bible, Harvard scholar James Kugel presents original translations of the most beautiful and important poems of the Scripture. Taken together, these poems represent the very essence of the Hebrew Bible. Reading them one after another is like taking a guided tour through Scripture, meeting firsthand some of its most important teachings and opening the way to an understanding of the Bible as a whole. Each poem is accompanied by an eloquent and accessible explanation of the poem's language, and a reflection on its meaning. These learned, compact essays introduce readers to the broader spiritual world of ancient Israel. What did people in biblical times believe about God? Where is a person's soul located and what does it do? Is there an afterlife? How does one come to "know" God? Why wasn't Eve meant to be Adam's "helpmate" (Kugel shows how this was just a translator's slip-up), and what does the Bible have to say about the role of women? Kugel's sparkling translations of the poems, together with the fascinating insights that accompany them, distill the very best that the Bible and modern scholarship have to offer. Kugel brings new life to some of history's greatest poems, and offers a new look at a Bible we thought we already knew. Here, in one volume, is a "Bible's bible" that belongs in every home.

'As we move on to examine several areas of baffling phenomena, the very ubiquity of much of this data invites reflection. Even a fairly cursory look into these 'unbelievable¿ realms, leads us to suspect that we are perhaps further than we hoped from a complete understanding of the Universe and all its wonders......we start to find that the implications involve psychic research, folklore, theology, psychology and ontology as much or more than physics and zoology. We begin to see that we are dealing with ancient racial archetypes; the good fairy, the bad fairy, the trickster and the bogeyman.There¿s also the heavenly messenger, the satanic messenger, various monsters ¿ and the things that go Bump in the night.¿