Rejoicing in Lament

Rejoicing in Lament
Author: J. Todd Billings
Publisher: Brazos Press
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2015-02-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1441222901

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At the age of thirty-nine, Christian theologian Todd Billings was diagnosed with a rare form of incurable cancer. In the wake of that diagnosis, he began grappling with the hard theological questions we face in the midst of crisis: Why me? Why now? Where is God in all of this? This eloquently written book shares Billings's journey, struggle, and reflections on providence, lament, and life in Christ in light of his illness, moving beyond pat answers toward hope in God's promises. Theologically robust yet eminently practical, it engages the open questions, areas of mystery, and times of disorientation in the Christian life. Billings offers concrete examples through autobiography, cultural commentary, and stories from others, showing how our human stories of joy and grief can be incorporated into the larger biblical story of God's saving work in Christ.

The End of the Christian Life

The End of the Christian Life
Author: J. Todd Billings
Publisher: Brazos Press
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2020-09-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1493427547

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We're all going to die. Yet in our medically advanced, technological age, many of us see death as a distant reality--something that happens only at the end of a long life or to other people. In The End of the Christian Life, Todd Billings urges Christians to resist that view. Instead, he calls us to embrace our mortality in our daily life and faith. This is the journey of genuine discipleship, Billings says: following the crucified and resurrected Lord in a world of distraction and false hopes. Drawing on his experience as a professor and father living with incurable cancer, Billings offers a personal yet deeply theological account of the gospel's expansive hope for small, mortal creatures. Artfully weaving rich theology with powerful narrative, Billings writes for church leaders and laypeople alike. Whether we are young or old, reeling from loss or clinging to our own prosperity, this book challenges us to walk a strange but wondrous path: in the midst of joy and lament, to receive mortal limits as a gift, an opportunity to give ourselves over to the Lord of life.

The Word of God for the People of God

The Word of God for the People of God
Author: J. Todd Billings
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2010
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0802862357

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This book fills a real need for pastors and students. Though there is currently a large body of material on the theological interpretation of Scripture, most of it is highly specific and extremely technical. J. Todd Billings here provides a straightforward entryway for students and pastors to understand why theological interpretation matters and how it can be done. / A solid, constructive theological work, The Word of God for the People of God presents a distinctive Trinitarian, participatory approach toward reading Scripture as the church. Billings's accessible yet substantial argument for a theological hermeneutic is rooted in a historic vision of the practice of scriptural interpretation even as it engages a wide range of contemporary issues and includes several exegetical examples that apply to concrete Christian ministry situations.

Union with Christ

Union with Christ
Author: J. Todd Billings
Publisher: Baker Academic
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2011-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0801039347

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An accomplished theologian recovers the biblical theme of union with Christ, showing how it affects current theological and ministry issues.

And Yet

And Yet
Author: Rachael Newham
Publisher: SPCK
Total Pages: 114
Release: 2021-11-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0281085714

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In a life full of highs and lows, choice and challenges, the words 'and yet' can change everything. We are surrounded by darkness and yet there is light. We feel we are lacking and yet God provides. We are broken and bruised and yet there is hope. In the depths of depression and plagued with suicidal thoughts, Rachael Newham never thought she'd find herself writing a book on joy. And yet, if her journey with mental health illness has taught her anything it is that true, deep, lasting joy can only be experienced when we allow ourselves to enter into lament and be honest about our pain before God. With warm understanding, in this lovely Lent book for 2022 Rachael traces how Biblical writers used 'and yet' to bring together joy and lament and invites us to see them not as opposites, but two sides of the same coin. Drawing on her experiences with mental illness, she shows us how we can build a rhythm of both joy and lament into our lives both through the season of Lent and the rest of the church's year. With forty reflections split over six sections And Yet is the perfect daily Lent devotional for 2022, but its undated readings can be used for periods of prayerful reflection throughout the year. This is a beautiful Christian book on lament ideal for anyone looking for to better understand how the tradition of lament and joy work together, and how they can make them a part of their everyday spiritual formation. We may be living in dark circumstances - and yet with a few simple practices we can experience joy in every season.

Calvin, Participation, and the Gift

Calvin, Participation, and the Gift
Author: J. Todd Billings
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2007-11-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0191526371

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Is the God of Calvin a fountain of blessing, or a forceful tyrant? Is Calvin's view of God coercive, leaving no place for the human qua human in redemption? These are perennial questions about Calvin's theology which have been given new life by Gift theologians such as John Milbank, Graham Ward, and Stephen Webb. J. Todd Billings addresses these questions by exploring Calvin's theology of `participation in Christ'. He argues that Calvin's theology of `participation' gives a positive place to the human, such that grace fulfils rather than destroys nature, affirming a differentiated union of God and humanity in creation and redemption. Calvin's trinitarian theology of participation extends to his view of prayer, sacraments, the law, and the ecclesial and civil orders. In light of Calvin's doctrine of participation, Billings reframes the critiques of Calvin in the Gift discussion and opens up new possibilities for contemporary theology, ecumenical theology, and Calvin scholarship as well.

Prophetic Lament

Prophetic Lament
Author: Soong-Chan Rah
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2015-09-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830897615

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The American church avoids lament. But lament is a missing, essential component of Christian faith. Soong-Chan Rah's prophetic exposition of the book of Lamentations provides a biblical and theological lens for examining the church's relationship with a suffering world. Hear the prophet's lament as the necessary corrective for Christianity's future.

Calvin's Theology and Its Reception

Calvin's Theology and Its Reception
Author: J. Todd Billings
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2012-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0664234232

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A unique resource for the study of John Calvin's theology, its reception, and insights for today.

The Message of Lamentations

The Message of Lamentations
Author: Christopher J.H. Wright
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 182
Release: 2023-11-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1514006405

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It is out of the unspeakable pain of the destruction of Jerusalem that Lamentations speaks, through poetry of astonishing beauty and intricacy. In this BST volume, Christopher Wright argues that the book of Lamentations offers deep challenge and deep rewards that come with wrestling with the massive theological issues that permeate it.

Lament for a Son

Lament for a Son
Author: Nicholas Wolterstorff
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 116
Release: 1987
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 9780802802941

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A loving father explores with honesty and intensity all facets of his grief at the death of his 25-year-old son.