Living in Love and Faith

Living in Love and Faith
Author: The Church of England
Publisher: Church House Publishing
Total Pages: 399
Release: 2020-11-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0715111671

Issues of gender and sexuality are intrinsic to people’s experience: their sense of identity, their lives and the loving relationships that shape and sustain them. The life and mission of the Church of England – and of the worldwide Anglican Communion – are affected by the deep, and sometimes painful, disagreements about these matters, divisions brought into sharper focus because of society’s changing perspectives and practices, especially in relation to LGTBI+ people. Living in Love and Faith sets out to inspire people to think more deeply both about what it means to be human, and to live in love and faith with one another. It tackles the tough questions and the divisions among Christians about what it means to be holy in a society in which understandings and practices of gender, sexuality and marriage continue to change. Commissioned and led by the Bishops of the Church of England, the Living in Love and Faith project has involved many people across the Church and beyond, bringing together a great diversity and depth of expertise, conviction and experience to explore these matters by studying what the Bible, theology, history and the social and biological sciences have to say. After a Foreword from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the book opens with an invitation from the Bishops of the Church of England to embark on a learning journey in five parts: Part One sets current questions about human identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage in the context of God’s gift of life. Part Two takes a careful and dispassionate look at what is happening in the world with regard to identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage. Part Three explores current Christian thinking and discussions about human identity, sexuality, and marriage. In the light of the good news of Jesus Christ, how do Christians understand and respond to the trends observed in Part Two? Part Four considers what it means for us as individuals and as a church to be Christ-like when it comes to matters of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage. Part Five invites the reader into a conversation between some of the people who have been involved in writing this book who, having engaged with and written Parts One to Four, nevertheless come to different conclusions. Amid the biblical, theological, historical and scientific exploration, each part includes Encounters with real, contemporary disciples of Christ whose stories raise questions which ask us to discern where God is active in human lives. The book ends with an appeal from the Bishops to join them in a period of discernment and decision-making following the publication of Living in Love and Faith. The Living in Love and Faith book is accompanied by a range of free digital resources including films, podcasts and an online library, together with Living in Love and Faith: The Course, a 5-session course which is designed to help local groups engage with the resources, also published by Church House Publishing.

Purposeful Sexuality

Purposeful Sexuality
Author: Ed Shaw
Publisher: Inter-Varsity Press
Total Pages: 53
Release: 2021-01-21
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1789743117

If God means for us to save sex for marriage, why doesn't he just zap us with sexuality on our wedding night? Why do most of us experience sexual feelings throughout our adult lives, not just in the safe confines of marriage? Is limiting marriage to the union of a man and a woman anything but outdated prejudice? What is our sexuality actually for? Today's culture overwhelmingly tells us that sex is essential for human flourishing. Far too often the church perpetuates the same message - as long as you are married. But far from being liberating, this idolising of sex leaves us even more sexually broken than before. With refreshing honesty and clarity, Ed Shaw calls on the church to rediscover its confidence in the Bible's teaching about our ability to experience or express sexual feelings. He points us to how God's word reveals that sexuality's ultimate purpose is to help us better know God and the full power of his passionate love. He shows us how this is surprisingly good news for all our joys and struggles with sexuality.

Living in the Balance of Grace and Faith

Living in the Balance of Grace and Faith
Author: Andrew Wommack
Publisher: Destiny Image Publishers
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2011-06-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1680313967

Popular Bible teacher and host of the Gospel Truth broadcast, Andrew Wommack takes on one of the biggest controversies of the church, the freedom of God's grace verses the faith of the believer. Wommack reveals that God's power is not released from only grace or only faith. God's blessings come through a balance of both grace and...

Future Grace, Revised Edition

Future Grace, Revised Edition
Author: John Piper
Publisher: Multnomah
Total Pages: 450
Release: 2012-09-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1601424353

Explore this stunning quality of God’s grace: It never ends! In this revision of a foundational work, John Piper reveals how grace is not only God’s undeserved gift to us in the past, but also God’s power to make good happen for us today, tomorrow, and forever. True life for the follower of Jesus really is a moment-by-moment trust that God is dependable and fulfills his promises. This is living by faith in future grace, which provides God's mercy, provision, and wisdom—everything we need—to accomplish his good plans for us. In Future Grace, chapter by chapter—one for each day of the month—Piper reveals how cherishing the promises of God helps break the power of persistent sin issues like anxiety, despondency, greed, lust, bitterness, impatience, pride, misplaced shame, and more. Ultimate joy, peace, and hope in life and death are found in a confident, continual awareness of the reality of future grace.

Living by Faith

Living by Faith
Author: Oswald Bayer
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 106
Release: 2003-08-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780802839879

"Living by faith" is much more than a general Christian precept; it is the fundamental posture of believers in a world rife with suffering and injustice. In this penetrating reflection on the meaning of "justification," Oswald Bayer shows how this key religious term provides a comprehensive horizon for discussing every aspect of Christian theology, from creation to the end times. Inspired by and interacting with Martin Luther, the great Christian thinker who grappled most intensely with the concept of justification, Bayer explores anew the full range of traditional dogmatics (sin, redemption, eschatology, and others), placing otherwise complex theological terms squarely within their proper milieu -- everyday life. In the course of his discussion, Bayer touches on such deep questions as the hidden nature of God, the hope for universal justice, the problem of evil, and -- one of the book's most engaging motifs -- Job's daring lawsuit with God.

Living in Love and Faith

Living in Love and Faith
Author: Martin Davie
Publisher:
Total Pages: 44
Release: 2021-02-28
Genre:
ISBN: 9781906327699

Living in Love and Faith (LLF) is a set of resources produced by the bishops of the Church of England to help Christians discern God's will on the issues of 'identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage.' This booklet helps Evangelical clergy and laity approaching the LLF resources for the first time by addressing the two key questions about them. What do the LLF resources contain? What are we to make of them theologically? Everyone in the Church of England is being encouraged to engage with the LLF resources during the coming year. This booklet is an ideal place to begin that engagement.

True Love Dates

True Love Dates
Author: Debra K. Fileta
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2013-10-08
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 0310336805

It is possible to find true love through dating. In True Love Dates, Debra Fileta encourages singles not to "kiss dating goodbye" but instead to experience a season of dating as a way to find real love. Through powerful, real-life stories and Fileta's personal journey, this book offers profound insights from the expertise of a professional counselor. Christians are looking for answers to finding true love. They are disillusioned with the church that has provided little practical application in the area of love and relationships. They're bombarded by Christian books that shun dating, idolize courting, fixate on spirituality, and in the end, offer little real relationship help. True Love Dates provides honest help for dating by providing a guide into vital relationship essentials. Debra is a professional Christian counselor who reaches millions with her popular blog, Truelovedates.com, and her book offers sound advice grounded in Christian spirituality. She delivers insight, direction, and counsel when it comes to entering the world of dating and learning to do it right the first time around. Drawing on the stories and struggles of hundreds of young men and women who have pursued the search for true love, Fileta helps readers bypass unnecessary pain while focusing on the things that really matter in the world of dating.

Issues in Human Sexuality

Issues in Human Sexuality
Author: Church of England. House of Bishops
Publisher: Church House Publishing
Total Pages: 69
Release: 1991
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 071513745X

The original 1991 Statement by the House of Bishops on many aspects of sexual behaviour, including homosexuality. Commended by the General Synod for wide discussion within the Church.

Love Means Love

Love Means Love
Author: DAVID RUNCORN
Publisher: SPCK
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2020-06-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0281084424

Does the Bible really condemn same-sex relationships? Many Christians wrestle with this question. Here, in his compassionate, cogent book, David Runcorn outlines how someone can support same-sex relationships on the basis of the Bible, not in spite of it. The Church, in every time and place, finds itself working out the shock and surprise of God’s unfolding ways – often scandalized by where holiness, goodness and the life of God are to be found. Runcorn’s insightful and moving reflections show how speaking in gospel friendship will help to dispel the anxiety and division that have tended to mark the Church’s response to homosexuality. Covering sexual abstinence and celibacy, sexuality and the sacred, he leads us to one powerful conclusion: love means love. ‘Brim-full of gentle and clear wisdom. Highly recommended!’ PAUL BAYES, Bishop of Liverpool ‘Joyful, truthful, scandalously inclusive . . . This book will literally save lives. It opens the door of grace and beckons you in.’ NICK BUNDOCK, Rector of St James and Emmanuel, Didsbury ‘Liberates us to read our beloved Bible with faithfulness, both to the text and to the fruit of Christ we often see in LGBT+ lives. For a good number of us, it will be met with a cry of “at last!”’. JODY STOWELL, Vicar of St Michael’s Harrow and Chair of London Clergy