You were born for this. God hardwired you—yes, you—for this. I'm talking about sharing Jesus with others. What if I told you evangelism is less about delivering a polished presentation and more about having a real conversation? What if I told you that God has created you to bring glory to himself by sharing Jesus with others, and that you don’t need years of training to obey what he already made you to do? God created you for his glory to advance his gospel with the gifts, talents, and opportunities he gave you. You live at this time in history for a purpose bigger than yourself. In these pages you will read how to connect the gospel story with your story, and how to talk about that story in normal conversations with people you know. No gimmicks. Nothing clever. No need to freak out. Just you, Jesus, and others—in conversations that matter.

"Everyone knows what it feels like to be lost. But for many people, being lost is a way of life. Sharing Christ Together teaches students how to give lost people directions. Six sessions give kids the tools they need to talk about Jesus with their friends, family, and the world: • The Father’s Heart: How do I make evangelism a passionate extension of my relationship with God? • Christ in Flesh and Blood: When it comes to evangelism, what does it mean to be the body of Christ? • Sowing Seeds: How did Jesus actually spread the good news? • Who Is My Neighbor? How and why is it important to share Jesus with people who are from different cultures? • Teaming Up: Why did Jesus say to go out in pairs? What does that have to do with how I talk to people about Jesus? • Up a Tree: What do I do when I encounter people who make me uncomfortable? Sharing Christ Together will fill your student’s hearts with Jesus and allow them to share the love they’ve experienced with those who need a savior. "

Discover a Natural Way to Share the Love of Christ. Think about an incredibly joyful event in your life. Perhaps you got a job you desperately wanted or you were really proud of something you made. Do you remember how you couldn’t wait to talk about it? You were willing and eager to have a conversation about it with anyone who would listen! Why doesn’t our excitement for Jesus overflow from our lives in a similar and natural way? In this book, Thom Rainer explores what makes so many Christians hesitant to talk about the greatest news the world has ever heard. There are real obstacles, challenges, and fears, but God is bigger and stronger than these hurdles. His compassion extends to all who wander, and He wants to show them His love through the lives of His people. With this helpful guide, you will Discover why it is so difficult to share the greatest news in the world Identify common objections that are difficult to answer and learn how to respond to them gracefully Learn about the three biggest barriers to talking to your friends and neighbors about the gospel and how to bypass those obstacles See how God loves to work through our lives to draw others to Himself

Paked with practical insight and encouragement that helps unlock the abundant Christian life and share overflowing resources. People Sharing Jesus shares inspiring stories and reality-based techniques on how to apply this strategy to everyday life.

How can Christians live with a surprising God? How can we know and trust God without taming God or reducing God to an idol? Is knowing God the same thing as being open to God? Is God's freedom to act independently of our knowing him actually how we know him most genuinely and deeply? In Unexpected Jesus, Craig Hovey explores in depth the idea that the Christian gospel is a surprising encounter that calls for people to risk living with a God who shows up in unexpected ways. The Gospels often portray Jesus Christ as elusive and difficult to grasp. Hovey helps the reader to "un-expect" Jesus--to preserve Jesus's reality as a surprise rooted in the resurrection. As living and free, the joyous presence of Christ in the world is also unfathomable and uncontainable. Jesus's being free and surprising--unexpected--strengthens Christians' trust in God and helps them to live in God's world.

Making Jesus Attractive is an in-depth look at the history and theology of this parachurch organization dedicated to ministry with young people. Beginning with the theological background of founder Jim Rayburn and moving through the decades of the ministry, this book examines not only the articulated theological statements of the organization but the lived theology as well. This book provides a thorough overview of the theological underpinnings of the Young Life organization and challenges their model of an attractive Christianity, providing insights that could be utilized by all youth ministry workers.

Christian Character Formation investigates worship and formation in view of Christian anthropology, particularly union with Christ. Traditions which value justification by faith wrestle to some degree with how to describe and encourage ethical formation when salvation and righteousness are presented as gracious and complete. The dialectic of law and gospel has suggested to some that forgiveness and the advocacy of ethical norms contend with each other. By viewing justification and formation in light of Christ's righteousness which is both imputed and imparted, it is more readily seen that forgiveness and ethics complement each other. In justification, God converts a person, by which he grants new character. Traditional Lutheran anthropology says that this regeneration grants a new nature in mystical union with Jesus Christ. By exploring the Finnish Luther School led by Tuomo Mannermaa, Gifford A. Grobien explains how union with Christ imparts righteousness and the corresponding new character to the believer. Furthermore, as means of grace, the Word and sacraments are the means of establishing union with Christ and nurturing new character. Considering Oswald Bayer's "suffering" the word of Christ, Louis-Marie Chauvet's "symbolic order" and Bernd Wannenwetsch's understanding of worship as Christianity's unique "form of life," Grobien argues that worship practices are the foundational and determinative context in which grace is offered and in which the distinctively Christian ethos supports virtues consistent with Christian character. This understanding is also coordinated with Stanley Hauerwas's narrative ethics and Luther's teaching of virtue and good works in view of the Ten Commandments.

In a culture increasingly secular in its pursuits and indifferent to the voice of the church, how may we ignite the fire for ministry that will bring the gospel to the world? How can weary pastors be sustained amidst a climate of doubt and resistance? For more than half a century, three remarkable brothers have offered a vision that has inspired thousands in churches and seminaries. Today, their message remains fresh and relevant as we enter a new millennium. And for one reason: The Brothers Torrance share a passion for Christ--the Christ of the Scriptures, the Christ of the historic Nicene faith. These essays distill the essence of their thought, and shine with the clarity of their shared vision. A Passion for Christ is a light of encouragement for ministers and lay people elsewhere.

The publication of these essays in one volume--essays published separately and in diverse contexts over a period of thirty years--is something of an event. Professor Hooker is one the foremost New Testament scholars currently writing, and Paul is one of her major interests. This collection includes some of her best writing on Pauline ideas and their contemporary significance. The essays focus in particular on Paul's understanding of human redemption. The author shows that in contrast to Adam, who was created in the image of God, but who lost God's glory, Christ is the true image of God and the embodiment of his glory. Christ has achieved "what the Law could not do" (Rom 8:3), and though the Law expressed the purpose of God and reflected his glory, its power was incomplete. Several essays, in exploring this relationship between old and new, center on the significance for Pauline theology of the notion of "interchange in Christ," and Professor Hooker puts forward the view that Paul's idea of participation in Christ (conveyed in such phrases as "in Christ" and "with Christ") is the key to understanding his Christology.

Introduces the reader to the views of the most outstanding theologians in the history of Christianity. The book's three sections deal with Patristic Theology, Medieval and Reformation Theology, and Modern Theology.