The history of the church is filled with stories. Stories of triumph, stories of defeat, stories of joy, and stories of sorrow. These stories are a legacy of God's faithfulness to His people. In this book, Dr. Stephen J. Nichols provides postcards from the church through the centuries. These snapshots capture the richness of Christian history with glimpses of fascinating saints, curious places, precious artifacts, and surprising turns of events. In exploring them, Dr. Nichols takes the reader on a lively and informative journey through the record of God's providence to encourage, challenge, and enjoy. This is our story--our family history. "THE CENTURIES OF CHURCH HISTORY GIVE US A LITANY OF GOD'S DELIVERANCES. GOD HAS DONE IT BEFORE, MANY TIMES AND IN MANY WAYS, AND HE CAN DO IT AGAIN. HE WILL DO IT AGAIN. AND IN THAT, WE FIND COURAGE FOR TODAY AND FOR TOMORROW."

We admire these men for their greatness, but the truth is Augustine grappled with sexual passions. Martin Luther struggled to control his tongue. John Calvin fought the battle of faith with worldly weapons. Yet each man will always be remembered for the messages he declared-messages that still resound today. John Piper explores each of these men's lives, integrating Augustine's delight in God with Luther's emphasis on the Word and Calvin's exposition of Scripture. Through their strengths and struggles we can learn how to live better today. When we consider their lives, we behold the glory and majesty of God and find power to overcome our weaknesses. If ever you are complacent about sin, if ever you lose the joy of Jesus Christ, if ever you are dulled by the world's influence, let the lives of these men help you recapture the wonder of God. Part of the The Swans Are Not Silent series.

My own private opinion is that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and him crucified, unless you preach what now-a-days is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in his dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering, love of Jehovah: nor do I think we can preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the peculiar redemption which Christ made for his elect and chosen people; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation after having believed. Such a gospel I abhor. The gospel of the Bible is not such a gospel. We preach Christ crucified in a different fashion, and to all gainsayers we reply. "We have not so learned Christ." (Charles Spurgeon)

Extract from Augustine's Retractions (Book II, Chapter 42): At that time also there came into my hands a certain book of Pelagius', in which he defends, with all the argumentative skill he could muster, the nature of man, in opposition to the grace of God whereby the unrighteous is justified and we become Christians. The treatise which contains my reply to him, and in which I defend grace, not indeed as in opposition to nature, but as that which liberates and controls nature, I have entitled On Nature and Grace. In this work sundry short passages, which were quoted by Pelagius as the words of the Roman bishop and martyr, Xystus, were vindicated by myself as if they really were the words of this Sixtus. For this I thought them at the time; but I afterwards discovered, that Sextus the heathen philosopher, and not Xystus the Christian bishop, was their author. This treatise of mine begins with the words: 'The book which you sent me.'"

A concise account of the whole biblical narrative and what it means—as well as the beliefs and lifestyle it inspires—for those observing Christianity from the outside, especially those who think there are good reasons not to believe. A Doubter's Guide to the Bible charts a biblical roadmap from the story of creation to the fulfillment of creation, answering many of the most frequently asked questions along the way: How can we read the creation account in Genesis in light of modern science? How should Old Testament law be understood when it appears inconsistent and irrelevant? Isn't the story of Jesus' birth a little far-fetched? What is the Gospel? Why are there four accounts of the same thing, and what are they really saying? John Dickson provides a readable and inviting Bible primer for anyone interested in informing themselves about the most widely read book in the history of humanity. By presenting the whole of the Bible as an account of God's promise to restore humanity to Himself, and humans to one another and to creation, Dickson allows believers and skeptics alike to gain insight into why the Bible has been a compelling, life-changing, and magnetic force throughout the ages—and why it still matters.