Nazareth has been cruel to my mother, more cruel than any village ever was. All the village says that my blood father is not the man who married my mother. They have shamed her on the matter all my life. Every woman asks which man of the village is my blood father. Every man scowls and says he was not the one my mother seduced. My mother will not tell who is my blood father. My mother will not speak on the matter. My mother bears her shame in silence. Some righteous man, a prophet, said a word over me when I was a babe in arms. He told how I will redeem Israel when I grow to be a man. Now I have grown to be a man, but I do not know how to redeem Israel. The scriptures do not explain the matter. My people say that the man who redeems Israel must take up the sword and throw off our enemy, Rome, which we call the Great Satan. My family says I must take up the sword. Only I am no man of the sword. I wish with all my heart to redeem Israel, but HaShem, the God of our fathers, must tell me how. Lately, there came a new prophet to Israel, who immerses for repentance at the river Jordan. I went to ask the prophet how I should redeem Israel. He said I am to smite the four Powers. I asked what are the four Powers. He could not say, but he said HaShem will reveal the matter to me. I wish HaShem will reveal the matter, only I am not a prophet. Not yet. But I will be. Here is what I know. Every hour of every day, I feel the Presence of HaShem. I do not know why I should feel the Presence always. My mother does not. My village does not. Even the prophet of HaShem does not. I think the Presence will teach me the way to redeem Israel. But I am afraid to redeem Israel. To redeem Israel is to leave my mother to the scorn of the village. The rage of the village. My mother begs and cries on me to make a justice for her. To make a justice on the village. I do not know how to make a justice on the village. I do not know how to redeem Israel. But HaShem will show me the way. I will learn how to be a prophet of HaShem. I will learn how to redeem Israel. I will learn how to make a justice for my mother. I will smite the first Power. Or I will die in the trying.

What should a church do? Look at your church’s calendar and you will learn something of its mission. But how do you know it’s the mission Jesus gave? In The Life of the Church, Joe Thorn explains the mission of the church and the three rhythms for fulfilling it. The result is a simple, memorable model for church life and ministry, grounded in Scripture and aligned with historic practices. Useful for training in membership class, discipleship groups, and elder boards—and even for devotional reading—The Life of the Church is at once theological, practical, and experiential. Readers will not simply be informed, but led to a deeper conviction about their role in the body of Christ. Pastors will be equipped to refocus their ministries, and Christians to fulfill their purpose: be and make disciples. If you wonder what it means to be saved into a body of believers, why the various parts of a worship service matter, and how to engage in the world as a citizen of heaven, then The Life of the Church is for you. It answers this critical question: “Why does the church exist, and how does it shape my life?”

We need good preaching—preaching that challenges us by God's Word and brings the comfort that comes from God's promises. Yet many of us rely solely on others to preach to us and are not benefitting from the kind of preaching that should be most consistent and personal—preaching to ourselves. Note to Self is a practical introduction to this daily discipline. Pastor Joe Thorn delivers fifty brief, devotional chapters that model preaching the gospel to ourselves and its practical implications. Readers will be challenged by the book's direct, personal exhortations to apply the law and the gospel to their own lives. Part of the Re:Lit series.

What does the church believe? Every church has a driving confession, but what is the confession of a true and biblical church? The Heart of the Church answers with the gospel. It explains the story of the gospel, its basic doctrines, and God’s work in salvation. Fresh yet consistent with classic expressions, it helps churches reclaim their essential identity and return from distracting pursuits. Useful for training in membership classes, discipleship groups, and elder boards—and even for devotional reading—The Heart of the Church is at once theological, practical, and experiential. Readers will not simply be informed, but led to believe in, rejoice in, and be transformed by the truth of God for His gathered people. Without the gospel, the church does not exist. This book is Thorn’s full and detailed exploration of the message that is indispensable to the church’s life and identity. For any church lacking power, any Christian feeling dry, or any person seeking truth, The Heart of the Church brings relief, direction, and light, leading to worship.

Inventive and heart-racing, this fierce feminist teen fantasy from debut author Bree Barton explores a dark kingdom in which only women can possess magic—and every woman is suspected of having it. Fans of Leigh Bardugo and Laini Taylor won’t want to miss this gorgeously written, bold novel, the first in the Heart of Thorns trilogy. In the ancient river kingdom, where touch is a battlefield and bodies the instruments of war, Mia Rose has pledged her life to hunting Gwyrach: women who can manipulate flesh, bones, breath, and blood. The same women who killed her mother without a single scratch. But when Mia's father announces an alliance with the royal family, she is forced to trade in her knives and trousers for a sumptuous silk gown. Determined to forge her own path forward, Mia plots a daring escape, but could never predict the greatest betrayal of all: her own body. Mia possesses the very magic she has sworn to destroy. Now, as she untangles the secrets of her past, Mia must learn to trust her heart…even if it kills her.

What does it take for lasting change to take root in your life? If you've ever tried, failed, and wondered what you could do differently, you need to read How People Change. In the book, biblical counseling experts Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp explain the biblical pattern for change in a clear, practical way you can apply to the challenges of daily life. But change involves much more than just a biblical formula: you will see how God is at work to make you the person you were created to be. That powerful, loving, redemptive relationship is at the heart of all positive change you experience. A changed heart is the bright promise of the gospel, but many of us wonder if we'll ever see lasting change take root in our lives. When the Bible talks about the gift of a new heart, it doesn't mean a heart that is immediately perfected, but a heart that is capable of being changed. Jesus's work on the cross targets our hearts, our core desires and motivations, and when our hearts change, our behavior changes. How People Change targets the root of a person: the heart. When our core desires and motivations change, only then will behavior follow. Using a biblical model of Heat, Thorns, Cross, and Fruit, Paul David Tripp and Timothy S. Lane reveal how lasting change is possible. You don't need to be stuck anymore. In Christ, you are a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come. Includes a foreword by David Powlison.

"Originally published in Great Britain by Portobello Books."