For All It's Worth

Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.  15   I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.  16   Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?  17   Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.  18   Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?  19   Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?  20   No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.  21   You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.  22   Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy?...

Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God by Brian Zahnd Students in high school and college have for years been given Jonathan Edwards’ sermon entitled Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God to read.  With much frustration and repulsion toward the view of God as an angry judge and tyrant, Brian Zahnd in his new book, Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God seeks to bring a new view of God to his readers.  Desiring to set for a living concept of God that is rooted in Jesus, Brian wants to get to the heart of the good news for all people. Early on in the first chapter of the book, Brian recounts how both Edwards’ work and the fundamentalist tracks of J.T. Chick, he asks the question, “does this portrait of God look like Jesus…?”  Brian does evidence the violent actions and depictions of God in the OT, but he submits that this picture of God should be subordinate to the ‘revelation of God seen in Jesus’ (14).  God’s spirit and attitude toward men and women created ...

Eats with Sinners: Loving Like Jesus by Arron Chambers Realizing that Jesus ate with sinners, emulating and acting out his lifestyle among the sinners of our society is another thing altogether.  Yet, as Pastor Arron Chambers notes, "We must believe people can change" In his new book, Eats with Sinners, Arron outlines the ministry of Jesus as a paradigm for the way Christians should share the the good news with others. Thinking outside the box is Arron's way, and in many times he challenges the status quo of the church with a focus on people coming into the kingdom.  This is a real insightful book with many challenging stories and ideas. After stating many reasons why both church buildings and clothing can be a obstruction for people coming into the church and hearing the gospel, Arron shares a story that captures the heart of Jesus.  He writes, "One of the most bonding things you can do for your own children is to care about their friends.  Through these dinn...