How do you get new Christians who do not know one another to work at building and growing relationships in a new Church? This is essential in a new Church because the teaching and training of the core group of believers becomes the nucleus of the Body of Christ. This is the obstacle Pastor Baker faced in planting a church in Newark, NJ. Although the people came from the same urban neighborhood, it did not appear these new believers had much in common. So Pastor Baker decided to write a monthly Bible-based letter on living for Christ and how to be the Church and do its work. He planned to write From the Pastor's Pen for a year or so to teach biblical truth and to develop bridges to build lasting Christian relationships. But this short-term project grew as new believers added addresses to the mailing list. Soon twenty families were fifty and then over one hundred. Believers made copies and passed them out at work. These monthly letters became the teaching materials for small-group Bible studies, and were used by missionaries in the Dutch West Indies. So from November of 1984 until June of 2014, a monthly letter was written. Pastor Baker's short-term project became a long-term ministry. With the help of brothers and sisters in the Newark Church, the letters in this book were selected so you can live Christ and be Christ's Body. May you grow in Christ and effectively be and do the work of the Church.

Thomas offers practical, biblical instruction on a wide range of issues involving individual and corporate participation and responsibility in the life of a local church. (Christian)

A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

A beautiful commemorative edition of Dr. Martin Luther King's essay "Letter from Birmingham Jail," part of Dr. King's archives published exclusively by HarperCollins. With an afterword by Reginald Dwayne Betts On April 16, 1923, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., responded to an open letter written and published by eight white clergyman admonishing the civil rights demonstrations happening in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. King drafted his seminal response on scraps of paper smuggled into jail. King criticizes his detractors for caring more about order than justice, defends nonviolent protests, and argues for the moral responsibility to obey just laws while disobeying unjust ones. "Letter from Birmingham Jail" proclaims a message - confronting any injustice is an acceptable and righteous reason for civil disobedience. This beautifully designed edition presents Dr. King's speech in its entirety, paying tribute to this extraordinary leader and his immeasurable contribution, and inspiring a new generation of activists dedicated to carrying on the fight for justice and equality.

In Letters of Encouragement, Dr. Warner Doles has provided not merely an explanation of selected scriptures, but a guide to the believer's everyday life of faith. He has interspersed his writing with scriptural quotes, words from the original languages, and his own down to earth comments in his own earthy prose. He writes as a scholar who can discern and analyze God's message of the Bible, and as a gentle shepherd who explains his analysis to the lay Christian in an understandable way. I recommend letters as a book that the serious believer will want to read more than once. Jere Geurin Morehead City, NC In my opinion it is a great light expositional commentary. The Greek explanations have been used in such a way that any one can understand the text and feel the power of the original language. I expected just a short encouraging book and got both the encouragement of the scripture and Dr. Doles commentary on the text. I recommend it to all pastors, teachers and laypersons. Rev. Robert Wise Creekside Community Church Bessemer City, NC

Edifying The Body of Christ is not only the title of this Christian book on the Holy Spirit, but it is also one of the gifts of Christ through men in Ephesians 4:10-13. Ephesians 4:10-13 tells us that as Jesus ascended to heaven, He gave various gifts to humanity for the perfecting and equipping of the body of Christ. Author and ordained minister Brenda Johnson passionately follows this mandate. In Edifying The Body of Christ, the Holy Spirit guides her. It unveils scripture to help believers fight the devil, obey the practical application of scripture, and help them understand God’s purpose for their lives. This book studies the Bible and the biblical truths that lie within it. Written in a style that can be easily read and understood, she covers the power of Christ in a believer's life and the fruit of the Spirit with scripture references. It is illumination and enlightenment for anyone who desires to learn more about Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and biblical truth. The scripture references are taken from the King James version of the Holy Bible unless otherwise indicated. Edifying The Body of Christ is born out of the abundance of God’s grace and a desire to build up the Body of Christ. All glory be to God.

The Life-giving, Dispensing ChristThis book will help us see and realize that according to the divine revelation in the Scriptures, God in Christ is the life-giving, dispensing Spirit for the believers to experience and enjoy daily (I Corinthians 15:45). God's heart's desire, divine intention and goal through regeneration is to dispense Himself in Christ into His called, chosen, redeemed, regenerated, transformed, conformed and glorified tripartite believers. To accomplish this goal He made a plan or arrangement according to His divine intention that Christ, His Son would go through incarnation, human living (with its suffering), crucifixion, resurrection and ascension (as a Man). Christ, through the Cross, has accomplished full and complete salvation for those who believe into Him and received His life and nature (John 1:12). Through repentance and regeneration, we can receive the uncreated eternal life and nature of God! Once we have received the uncreated life and nature of God, Christ as the life-giving, dispensing Spirit enters into our human spirit and regeneration us with a new heart and a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:26). We can have a new heart to love Him supremely and a new human spirit to possess Him and contact Him all the time! (I Thessalonians 5:23) Now with our new heart and new spirit, God in Christ can daily dispense Himself, distribute Himself, and impart Himself into the believers as life!As the believers allow Christ to make His home in their hearts day by day, they will grow to become the living members of the organic Body of Christ! (Ephesians Chapter 3) As we grow from believers to members, we can become the fullness of Christ and eventually become the fullness of God as the overcomers to bring in the Millennial Kingdom age!This is God's eternal purpose, heart's desire and divine intention in creating man!Moreover, this book will provide a cogitative, in-depth study regarding the revelation of God's economy and His divine dispensing.Furthermore, this book strongly emphasizes the present situation and spiritual condition among today's Christians according to the Scriptures. We look to the Lord to enlighten us that we would realize the urgency to be produced the overcomers to bring the Lord back and to usher in the Millennial Kingdom age!