Rory Noland addresses the challenges of Christian worship head-on, offering practical suggestions gleaned from Scripture on understanding and experiencing vibrant worship. The first half of Worship on Earth as It Is in Heaven explores what it means to grow as a private worshiper. The practices of the psalmist David provide insight to help people worship God on their own. Second, Noland discusses corporate worship by exploring the glorious gatherings in heaven, as described in the book of Revelation. He presents immediately applicable ideas for becoming a better corporate worshiper. This book includes: • Slice-of-church-life scenarios. Every chapter begins with a brief scenario that presents a worship-related issue or a conflict corresponding to the chapter topic. • Group discussion questions. Based on the opening scenario, these questions help readers think about and discuss worship-related topics from different perspectives. • Issue-by-issue practical guidance from a biblical perspective. • “Ponder and Apply” application questions. Each chapter ends with a series of discussion questions and action steps to help readers identify key insights and make personal applications.

Collects nine previously published essays that consider the entire region and so provide a more comparative view of the range of religious experience than studies that focus on a particular country. They also range widely across religion, covering not only the dominant Catholicism, but also popular Indian and African religious forms and new elements such as Protestantism and Mormonism. The collection is suitable for a course. It is not indexed. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

Today’s leading Bible scholar, Anglican bishop, and acclaimed author N. T. Wright returns with a collection of pastoral excerpts, carefully curated from his widely celebrated books, that will inspire those wanting to cultivate a life “on earth as it is in heaven.” Modern pastors and their flocks have long considered N. T. Wright a role model for being a thoughtful Christian in today’s world. His bestselling books, including Simply Christian, Surprised by Hope, Simply Jesus, and After You Believe, have guided Christians in their belief and practice of the faith. Now, Christians can rely on his wisdom to guide them through each day of their lives with this thoughtful book of daily meditations, featuring short selections from his classic works. With reflections on themes such as faith, mission, character, and God’s work in the world, these daily meditations will invigorate and uplift Christians in their search to live their faith authentically and biblically in today’s world.

Discusses the foundational beliefs of the Mormon Church by focusing on early Mormon conceptions of death.

A dark, gripping coming-of-age tale that explores violence, friendship, family, and what it means to be a man Summer, Palermo, early 1980s. The air hangs hot and heavy. The Mafia-ruled city is a powder keg ready to ignite. In a boxing gym, a fatherless nine-year-old boy climbs into the ring to face his first opponent. So begins On Earth as It Is in Heaven, a sweeping multigenerational saga that reaches back to the collapse of the Italian front in North Africa and forward to young Davidù's quest to become Italy's national boxing champion, a feat that has eluded the other men of his family. But Davide Enia, whose layered, lyrical, nonchronological novel caused a sensation when it was published in Italy in 2012, has crafted an epic that soars in miniature as well. The brutal struggles for dominance among Davidù's all male circle of friends; his strict but devoted grandmother, whose literacy is a badge of honor; his charismatic and manipulative great-uncle, who will become his trainer—the vicious scenes and sometimes unsympathetic characters Enia sketches land hard and true. On Earth as It Is in Heaven is both firmly grounded in what Leonardo Sciascia liked to call "Sicilitude" - the language and mentality of that eternally perplexing island - and devastatingly universal. A meditation on physical violence, love and sex, friendship and betrayal, boxing and ambition, Enia's novel is also a coming-of-age tale that speaks - sometimes crudely, but always honestly - about the joys and terrors of becoming a man.

The future hope of heaven is pulled into the here-and-now in this illuminating description of the kingdom of God. Popular teacher and author R. Alan Streett exposes half-truths about the kingdom that many believers have unwittingly accepted. He contrasts these with the testimony of Scripture: Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God on the earth—it has already begun. As ambassadors of the kingdom, we are to fulfill our responsibilities and enjoy its benefits here and now. Salvation does not culminate with the soul escaping the body and living forever in heaven. Our bodies will eventually be transformed, and we will live with God on a restored earth. The church is like an embassy of heaven in a foreign country. In their life together, believers demonstrate kingdom realities to the world. Readers will find hope and direction in this fresh presentation of the historic teaching on the kingdom.

Just as babies slowly learn to communicate in more and more complex ways, so the new believer should move from simply crying out to God to a developed prayer life. The basic elements of prayer found in the Lord's Prayer are a helpful guide to Christians hoping to enrich their prayers. In On Earth as It Is in Heaven, beloved teacher and writer Warren W. Wiersbe explains and applies the elements of the Lord's Prayer to everyday prayer so readers get excited about maturing in their personal prayer ministries. Any reader wanting to experience a more satisfying and effective prayer life will cherish this thoughtful book.