Paradoxes have become characteristic of the world we live in - poverty and privilege, empire and oppression, migration and enclaveseeking, war and peace, justice and injustice, reconciliation and revenge. During the 2016 Societas Homiletica annual conference held in South Africa, these paradoxes served as a rediscovery of the calling of preachers to deliver the promise that lies within life's contradictions. A divine promise brought forth by the grace of God and the gospel of Christ - embodied in and through us by the Spirit of Christ. This promise may take many forms and calls for discernment and often interrupts the status quos in surprising, shocking ways. It is a promise that interrupts, in order to comfort.

Explorers, evolutionists, eugenicists, sexologists, and high school biology teachers--all have contributed to the prominence of the biological sciences in American life. In this book, Philip Pauly weaves their stories together into a fascinating history of biology in America over the last two hundred years. Beginning with the return of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1806, botanists and zoologists identified science with national culture, linking their work to continental imperialism and the creation of an industrial republic. Pauly examines this nineteenth-century movement in local scientific communities with national reach: the partnership of Asa Gray and Louis Agassiz at Harvard University, the excitement of work at the Smithsonian Institution and the Geological Survey, and disputes at the Agriculture Department over the continent's future. He then describes the establishment of biology as an academic discipline in the late nineteenth century, and the retreat of life scientists from the problems of American nature. The early twentieth century, however, witnessed a new burst of public-oriented activity among biologists. Here Pauly chronicles such topics as the introduction of biology into high school curricula, the efforts of eugenicists to alter the "breeding" of Americans, and the influence of sexual biology on Americans' most private lives. Throughout much of American history, Pauly argues, life scientists linked their study of nature with a desire to culture--to use intelligence and craft to improve American plants, animals, and humans. They often disagreed and frequently overreached, but they sought to build a nation whose people would be prosperous, humane, secular, and liberal. Life scientists were significant participants in efforts to realize what Progressive Era oracle Herbert Croly called "the promise of American life." Pauly tells their story in its entirety and explains why now, in a society that is rapidly returning to a complex ethnic mix similar to the one that existed for a hundred years prior to the Cold War, it is important to reconnect with the progressive creators of American secular culture.

A collection of the promises of Scripture, under their proper heads: in two parts. Representing I. The blessings promised, II. The Duties to which promises are made.

In our daily lives, we run into multiple emotions. We may run into troubles, yet we can find peace. We may face hardships, yet we can find prosperity. We may find suffering, yet we can find comfort. We may get angry, yet we can find calmness. We may get desperate, yet we can find hope. We may hate others, yet we can find love. We may judge others, yet we can find forgiveness. We may hurt others, yet we can be a help. We may stumble others, yet we can be an inspiration. We may curse, yet we can bless. We may gossip, yet we can pray. It is simply a choice between living as the world and living through Jesus. Jesus is always present as He promised. God is always near as He assured us. We run into sorrow because we forget God's true promises. We are sad in our life because we forget Christ's guidance. If we look at God's words and contemplate about how much He cares for us and how much He loves us, We will be able to handle any situation at any time, by any means, through Christ our Lord.

Topical guide of encouragement and inspiration for Daily living has LuxLeather Cover, ribbon marker, two-color inside 160 gilt-edged pages

Whether you’re feeling on top of the world or need a pick-me-up, God’s Promises for You provides the perfect combination of insightful Scripture and heartwarming passages to draw you closer to God. New York Times bestselling author Max Lucado will teach you the ten areas in your life where God has made a promise to you. God’s Promises for You can be read as a devotional or utilized as a resource in various seasons of life. This inspirational book is grouped into the promises God has made: Promises to Give Insight Promises About God Promises About Christian Living Promises of Guidance Promises About Personal Relationships Promises of Wisdom Promises About Jesus Promises When You Have Special Needs Promises of Assurance Promises About the Christian Life God does the strangest things. He stretches smiles where there hung only frowns. He places twinkles where there were only tears. With a leathersoft cover God’s Promises for You is a perfect gift for men and women going through a difficult season, a loved one needing encouragement, or a friend looking for ways to deepen their relationship with Him.

The Scripture readings for Year C of the Common Lectionary (Revised) pair the Gospel of Luke, rich in its unique stories surrounding Jesus’ birth, Jesus’ care for the marginalized, and parables at once beloved and profound, with Old Testament and epistolary testimony to life-imparting faith in God’s promises. Bruce Taylor’s homiletical proclamation through the first half of Year C expounds the gospel’s summons to live today in hopeful reliance upon all that God has pledged to those who trust the Bible’s testimony to God’s faithfulness. Like his previous collections of sermons for the Sundays and feast days of the Christian year, the penultimate volume in this veteran preacher’s second journey through the lectionary is theologically rich, sacramentally oriented, and ecumenically sensitive, celebrating the church’s unity and community as witness to Christ’s living presence in the world. The sermons, including representative story sermons, speak as powerfully to clergy as to laity, to seminarians as to parishioners, evoking ardent commitment and lives characterized by gratitude, grace, hospitality, humility, and love. This book will be a welcome addition on the bookshelf or, better, on the desk and nightstand.