Outline : Sometimes, hard things happen. Sometimes, they happen to children. This simple picture book imagines that the hard thing in a child's life is a scribble following him everywhere. The child can't get rid of the scribble, no matter how hard he tries. His story offers reassurance to all readers, young and old, that God will take their own hard things and turn them into something beauti…
Outline : What spesial pairs are part of God's good plan? Join siblings Lila and Ethan at the beach as they discover that God not only made the sand and sea to go together, but He made men and women to go together too. In fact, they’re the pinnacle of His good creation! In this colorful picture book—a follow-up to the book God’s Signpost—author Sam Allberry offers a thoughtful look a…
Outline : The reality of God’s ultimate punishment is central to the gospel. Only by facing sin’s devastation can believers grasp the beauty of their salvation and help unbelievers confront their need for forgiveness. Offering a comprehensive analysis of final judgment, biblical scholar Thomas Schreiner examines themes of sin, death, and redemption in the New Testament and other passages of…
Outline : Reason is subordinate to Scripture but never at odds with it. Natural Law is everywhere. It impacts every aspect of daily life, from moral choices, such as obeying road signs, to maintaining fidelity to one's spouse. In Faithful Reason, Andrew T. Walker argues that developing a Christian ethic is not only a matter of appealing to biblical authority but also of understanding how God h…
Outline : Follow Elton the Old English Sheepdog as he rests in green pastures, walks through a dark valley, and enjoys the love of the Shepherd. Along the way, children will connect with the beloved words of Psalm 23 and know that they too are cared for and protected by their good God.
Outline : Herman Bavinck taught that the "Trinity is wholly unlike anything else, but everything in the world is like the Trinity." In this book, Vern Poythress uses a theological exploration of beauty to show how everything in the world reflects our Trinitarian God - from oak trees to image-bearers. Because our world is a Trinitarian world, to understand it properly requires using multiple per…
Outline : Revised, adapted, and condensed for a broader audience, this companion edition to Scott Christensen’s lauded What about Evil? shows how sin, evil, corruption, and death fit into redemptive history. Exploring the storyline of Scripture and addressing practical concerns, Christensen shows that God’s ultimate end in creation is to maximize his glory before his image-bearers by defeat…
Outline : God's faithfulness never ends! From Bible days to modern day, kids have always needed to know that God is standing by their side. In this 52-week devotional, more than twenty children's ministry leaders share thoughts and encouragement and offer readers: - Stories of God's faithfulness from the Bible - Stories of His faithfulness today - Prayer prompts - Reflection questions Eac…
Outline : Too often scholars impose on the past modern terms and theories. This is particularly evident concerning discussions of divine sovereignty and human responsibility, where libertarian and compatibilist notions of freedom obscure older understandings of concurrence. Providence, Freedom, and the Will is one historian’s attempt to help us interpret early modern documents in context with…
Outline: The biblical story begins and ends with God as king. Human beings rebel, however, rather than fulfill their royal calling to rule creation on behalf of their Sovereign - and the world became enslaved to the rule of a serpentine lord. In this volume of IVP Academic's Essential Studies in Biblical Theology, Stephen Dempster traces the themes of kingship and kingdom throughout Scripture, …
Outline : What does it mean to be created in God's image? How has the fall affected this image? Who are the people of God? From Adam and Israel to the Church addresses these core questions about spiritual identity, From Adam and Israel to the Church examines the nature of the people of God from Genesis to Revelation through the lens of being created and formed in God's image. Benjamin Gladd arg…
Outline : How can sinful humans approach a holy God? In the book of Hebrews, Jesus Christ is celebrated as the great high priest who represents his people before the Father. Jesus' roles as priest and mediator are central to his identity and bring to completion themes woven throughout Scripture. In this fifth ESBT volume, T. Desmond Alexander considers the often-neglected themes of priesthood a…
Outline : In Proclaiming the Parables, noted preacher and scholar Thomas G. Long moves away from past treatment of the parables primarily as literary devices and moves toward an emphasis on their theological impact as pointers to the kingdom of God. While the parables are indeed significant poetic literary creations that have enchanted readers over the centuries, their main power, he claims, li…
Outline: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might." (Ephesians 6: 10). Life can often feel like a daily cycle of struggle. Once you're convinced everything is under control, life forces you down - sometimes with trials which seem too difficult or painful to endure. How do you stay afloat during hardships - both big and small? Does your faith make a difference in those mo…
Outline : Is Christianity worth believing in? In this comprehensive text, Douglas Groothuis makes a clear and rigorous case for Christian theism. After laying a foundation with the biblical basis for apologetics and a defense of objective truth, he presents key arguments for the reality of God, a case for the credibility of Jesus, evidence for the resurrection, and more. The second edition of t…
Outline : Everyone is a theologian―even your little one. Each board book in the For the Bible Tells Me So series offers kids ages 0–4 an introduction to key facets of the gospel and a glimpse at the joy found when children embrace Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Outline : Everyone’s a theologian―even your little one. Each board book in the For the Bible Tells Me So series offers kids ages 0–4 an introduction to key facets of the gospel and a glimpse at the joy found when children embrace Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Outline : From Genesis to Revelation, the providence of God directs the entire course of redemptive history. Providence is “God’s purposeful sovereignty.” Its extent reaches down to the flight of electrons, up to the movements of galaxies, and into the heart of man. Its nature is wise and just and good. And its goal is the Christ-exalting glorification of God through the gladness of a red…
Outline : "Jervis's startling proposals require and repay careful attention by all serious students of Paul's letters." This major contribution to an ongoing debate about Paul's theology suggests that Paul thought not in terms of two ages but in terms of life in this age or life in Christ.
Outline: Recognizing that faithful theological study is an integrative task, uniquely combines biblical and systematic theology in dialogue with historical theology and with application to church and life. The series addresses classic doctrines of systematic theology and other relevant topics, pairing careful scholarship with the practical understanding that theology finds its focus within the …
Outline : Editor Brandon Smith and a stellar cast of theologians demonstrate that trinitarian theology derives directly from Scripture and should produce both right doctrine and right living. The Trinity in the Canon is an appeal for the church to incorporate the Trinity into our preaching, our liturgies and worship, and our interactions with those outside the church. Pastors, scholars, profess…
Outline : Everything about the gospel message leads to the cross, and proceeds from the cross. In fact, within the narrative of Scripture, the crucifixion of Jesus is literally the crux of the story―the axis upon which the biblical story turns. But it would be a mistake to think we could sum up the significance of the crucifixion in a tidy sentence or two. That kind of thinking only insulates…
Outline: Christa McKirland makes an exegetical and theological case that human beings were created to need the presence of God in order to flourish.
Outline : An Exploration of the Relevance of Religious Experience. Harold Netland offers an introduction to the complex topic of religious experience and its viability as support for Christian belief.
Outline : Leading apologist and scholar Paul Copan examines challenging Old Testament texts, placing them in their larger historical and theological context to help readers reconcile the seemingly disconnected natures of God portrayed in the Old and New Testaments.
Outline : Everyone is a theologian―even your little one. Each board book in the For the Bible Tells Me So series offers kids ages 0–4 an introduction to key facets of the gospel and a glimpse at the joy found when children embrace Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Outline : God promises that one day he will redeem his image bearers and renew the earth. In this addition to the Short Studies in Systematic Theology series, Graham A. Cole examines the concept of divine glory as well as God’s plan for redeeming individual believers, the church, and the universe. Through careful study of Scripture, he shows Christians how their future identity as glorified …
Outline : When we read Scripture, we enter the divine classroom for sanctifying instruction. In Taught by God, Brandon D. Smith contends that Scripture is not simply a collection of historical facts or moral rules; it is an encounter with the living God. Engaging with figures such as Origen, Justin, Hugh of St. Victor, Aquinas, and Luther, Smith illustrates how a premodern way of reading Script…
Outline: Reconciling the existence of God and evil has been a long-standing conundrum in Christian theology, yet a philosophical approach - rather than a theological one - dominates the discussion. Turning to the Bible's grand storyline, Scott Christensen examines how sin, evil, corruption, and death fit into the broad outlines of redemptive history. He argues that God's ultimate end in creatio…
Outline : Increasing numbers of conservative evangelicals are denying basic tenets of classical Christian teaching about God, with departures occurring even among those of the Calvinistic persuasion. James D. Dolezal's All That Is in God provides an exposition of the historic Christian position while engaging with these contemporary deviations. His convincing critique of the newer position he s…
Outline: Let the Nations Be Glad! is an eloquent plea for the church to catch a God-centered vision for engaging in world evangelization. In this sequel to The Supremacy of God in Preaching John Piper draws on key biblical texts to show that worship is the ultimate goal of the church, and that proper worship fuels missions. The author addresses the role of prayer, universalism and annihilationi…
Outline : J. Oswald Sanders communicates in a new, fresh way the age-old message of how to enjoy intimate fellowship with God. Everything in our life and service flows from our relationship with God. Sanders says if this is not right, and we are not in vital fellowship with Him, every- thing else will be out of gear. But when our communication with Him is close and real, it is gloriously possib…
Outline: Most Christians would agree that the Bible provides a basis for mission. But Christopher Wright boldly maintains that there is a missional basis for the Bible! The entire Bible is generated by and all about God's mission. In order to understand the Bible, we need a missional hermeneutic, an interpretive perspective in tune with this great missional theme. We need to see how the familia…
Outline : This book initiates a dialogue where one does not exist, and continues a dialogue where one has been tentatively initiated, regarding the concept of God in the neoclassical philosophy of Charles Hartshorne and that found in analytic philosophers who adhere to classical theism. Two distinctive features of the book are a careful examination of Hartshorne's use of position martices in th…
Outline: The Christian Church is faced with new responsibilities and challenges in our postmodern culture. This ecumenical series, sponsored by the Christian Theological Research Fellowship, reaps the wisdom of Christian tradition and Scripture to propose fresh insights for today's church. Grounded in sound scholarship, it will appeal to thoughtful pastors, educated laypeople, theological stude…
Outline: This magisterial and much-needed study by John Kilner thoroughly explains what the Bible teaches about humanity being in the image of God. Arguing against the common idea that sin damages the image of God in human beings, Kilner probes how our creation in God's image gives us dignity, and he points to humanity's renewal according to God's image in Christ as our destiny.
Outline : Recent years have seen renewed interest in divine action, but much of the literature tends to focus on the science-theology discussion. Resulting from the multiyear work of the Scripture and Doctrine Seminar, part of the Kirby Laing Centre's Scripture Collective, this book explores the many different ways in which divine action is foregrounded and portrayed in one major biblical text,…
Outline: No one name can capture all the depth and richness of God's character or attributes, and the Scriptures are filled with descriptive titles for the Lord. Any study of the names of God in Scripture will be enhanced by these classic sermons selected by Dr. Warren Wiersbe from the pulpit ministries of preachers such as C. H. Spurgeon, G. Campbell Morgan, Alexander Maclaren, George Whitfiel…
Outline: The temple has always been a source of rich scholarship and theological reflection, but what does it mean for the church's ongoing mission in the world? In this volume, G. K. Beale and Mitchell Kim examine temple theology throughout Scripture, exploring how this theme relates to Christian life and witness today. From Eden to the new Jerusalem, they argue, we are God's temple on the ear…
Outline: Each book in the Big Theology for Little Hearts series introduces a big idea from the Bible with concise definitions and engaging illustrations to help young minds gain a foundational understanding of God's word. With each volume written a complement all the others, this series is designed to help children develop a cohesive framework of theology that includes God, creation, humanity, …
Outline : "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." MATTHEW 11:28 Christians know what Jesus Christ has done-but who is he? What is his deepest heart for his people, weary and faltering on their journey toward heaven? Jesus said he is "gentle and lowly in heart." This book reflects on these words, opening up a neglected yet central truth about who he is for sin…
Outline : Peer pressure, codependency, shame, low self-esteem-these are just some of the words used to identify how people are controlled by others' opinions. Why is it so important to be liked? Why is it so important to be liked? Why is rejection so traumatic? Edward T. Welch's insightful, biblical answers to these questions show that freedom from others' opinions and genuine, loving relations…
Outline : HUMANS ARE HARDWIRED FOR AWE. Our hearts are always captured by something-that's how God made us. But sin threatens to distract us from the glory of our Creator. All too often, we stand in awe of everything but God. Uncovering the lies we believe about all the earthly things that promise us peace, life, and contentment, Paul Tripp redirects our gaze to God's awe-inducing glory-showin…
Outline : "Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of bodyand spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God." 2 CORINTHIANS 7:1 We all have experienced fear at some point. And if we are honest, we don't usually think of fear as a good thing. So why does the Bible call us to fear the Lord? In this book, Michael Reeves explains that the fear of God is not a gloomy fear marke…
Outline : "Faith is breathing in the oxygen of God's grace, giving life to my once-dead heart." PAUL DAVID TRIPP As breath is to the body, so faith is to the Christian life. Through 40 daily meditations from his best-selling devotional New Morning Mercies, popular author and speaker Paul David Tripp explores how deep-seated trust in God and his word radically alters not only the way we think, …
Outline : Personal Change Often, in our busy world, our lives feel like one long "to-do" list. It's easy to get so busy that we don't even notice how exhausted and anxious we are. Do you find yourself saying yes to activities you don't have time for? Have you ever said, "If I don't do it, who will?" An overloaded schedule and an inability to rest are signs of approaching "burnout." Instead of …
Over the last 25 years, there has been much talk of the presumed "decline" in religious participation in America. In addition, from the 1960s on, surveys that mark the "influence" of religion in American life have shown a mixed response. Many suggest that religion is losing influence in the culture as a whole; others indicate that while organized religion may be experiencing challenges, spiritu…
This book argues from Scripture that godly fear is the opposite of being afraid of God or his punishment as if he were a tyrant. Instead, it is the intensity of the saints' love for, delight in, and enjoyment of all that God is.
THIS ENCYCLOPEDIA IS non-traditional in every way. Typically, an encyclopedia contains brief descriptive statements that define institutions, movements, and individuals. A large number of the entries may be biographical sketches. The articles are organized alphabetically and only accidentally do related subjects happen to follow one another. While meant to cover a comprehensive list of topics, …