Who were the men called by Jesus? Among the twelve disciples were two sets of brothers – Peter and Andrew, James and John – and a man named Matthew. If we were selecting individuals to follow Jesus, these men would have never been on our list. But Jesus saw something in them we could never see. Peter, Andrew, James, and John made their livelihood fishing in the Sea of Galilee. Matthew collected taxes for the hated Roman empire. Each was an average man just going about his daily business. But Jesus turned their lives upside down by calling to them, saying, “Follow me.” Just as his call changed their lives, it can change your life, too. Billy Joseph Stines, who served almost forty years at six churches scattered around North and South Carolina, explores why you should listen to the call of Jesus. He also urges readers to stop dismissing those parts of the Bible that do not fit their idea of who God is. Instead of seeking peace through compromise, the goal must be to discover the truth – Jesus Christ.

In the gospel of Saint Matthew, Jesus is “Emmanuel,” God-with-us, or, as Jesus himself puts it, he is “I-Desire,” “Coming-I-Will-Heal,” and “I-Am-with-You-Always.” The brief commentaries collected here, initially presented by Cistercian abbot Mark A. Scott in a series of chapter talks to his monastic community, will welcome the reader into an intimate encounter with the love of Jesus, as the evangelist Matthew presents him in chapters four through nine of his gospel. These reflections also weave insights from the Rule of Benedict along with reflections on monastic life offering to all ecclesial communities and individual Christians rich nourishment for their loving Jesus in return.

Crowds of people follow Jesus Christ for different reasons! Many follow Him because they want Him to solve their problems. They stop following Him once their problems are solved or not solved. Only a few follow Him out of genuine love and total surrender to His lordship and salvation. Following Jesus Christ is written to groom disciples who will deny themselves, take up their cross daily and follow Jesus Christ all the way, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, develop personal relationship with the Lord, and enjoy the ministry of the Holy Spirit, thereby living victoriously every day.

LEARNING TO FOLLOW JESUS will help you develop seven essential attributes of a disciple of Jesus Christ. You will learn how to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus by reading the Scripture passages, answering the questions, applying the attributes to your life, and sharing your journey with a spiritual coach.

Jesus answered and said…, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). A lot of people do not have the assurance they will go to heaven when they die. Jesus made it clear in John 3:3-5 that to enter heaven each of us must be born again. If you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus, author Isaac William King will show you how you can be born again, just as Jesus said. And for those who already believe in Christ, Just Be Born Again details how you can know Him intimately.

"At a time when concerns for misconduct, abuse scandals, and liability have brought pastoral ministers under greater scrutiny than ever before and have threatened to undermine their morale, Just Ministry offers a positive perspective on the vocation of pastoral ministry and wise ethical guidance to foster integrity in ministry. This is a helpful training and evaluative resource for those involved in pastoral ministry as ordained clergy, religious, or lay ministers. Key concepts are illustrated through case studies and practical strategies for acquiring and developing virtues, as well as preventative education for pastoral ministry in avoiding misconduct." --

Two questions are braided together in Luke’s Gospel. Who is Jesus, and what does it mean to be his student and apprentice? The church has spent much of its intellectual energies on the first question, but not so much on the second. We are precise in our Christology and vague in our Discipleology (my new word!). Of the four biographies that open the New Testament, Luke is perhaps the best equipped to answer the question of what it means to follow Jesus along with others, and what we can expect in the process. Luke’s Gospel is dense with story after story about Jesus’s stumbling, goofy, persistent disciples. And his second volume—Acts—continues the tale. There is a deep continuity, as Luke teaches, between Jesus’s original disciples and the ones who later declared their allegiance to him after his resurrection. We walk in the footsteps of pioneers in this new way of living with a Jesus who is always near but just beyond sight. The aim of this book is to plunder the fruits of New Testament scholarship, especially the tools of rhetorical and narrative criticism, to highlight what an incredible adventure came with the call to follow me.

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12, NLT Following Jesus: An Approach to Christian Spirituality provides a basis for understanding how the Lordship of Christ is the essential criterion for determining how Christianity functions as a relational experience with God. With that relational experience, for the believer in Christ, being the product of supernatural experience with the Holy Spirit. The book functions as an organizing tool to be used for a conscientious inquiry into how a Christian worldview operates in four relational categories of experience. With these relational categories act as a basis for understanding how our choices affect our lives, and our futures, both now and in life, and eternally, and how it is that God loves us and will give our lives the meaning and purpose that we all long for.

Research on "following Jesus" has mostly been done in terms of what Jesus' followers ought to do. In this unprecedented study, Kim presents "following Jesus" in John's Gospel through the perspective of what Jesus does for his followers. "Following Jesus" is a journey towards the place where Jesus leads his followers, that is, to a relationship with the Father. It is ultimately participating in the Son's communion with the Father. Jesus, who was in the bosom of the Father, descended from him and ascends to him, taking his followers with him, so that they may be with him where he is with the Father in glory and love. Kim develops this thesis by examining the term akolouthein ("to follow") and correlated motifs in John's Gospel.

Winning Souls Starts With Loving People Christian evangelism has too often focused on "winning souls" to the exclusion of meeting real, everyday needs. Yet Jesus' earthly ministry followed a different pattern: He reached for people on the margins. He touched people no one else would touch. He spoke hope to people consumed by despair. And as the Lord extended Himself in compassion to meet the needs of the sick, the lost, and the hopeless, people turned their hearts to Him. Love Like Jesus will help you follow Jesus' pattern for changing lives. You will learn the importance of placing your confidence in Him alone, of staying faithful through seasons of unfruitfulness, of facing your fears with courage, and much more. Most of all, you will catch a vision of God's unfathomable love for every person, and get the tools you need to share it with people in need of a Savior.