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The church has been given a mandate by the Lord: "make disciples of all nations... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:19- 20a). A critical part of disciple making is presenting the gospel message to the unsaved and exhorting believers by the Word of God. It is critical that this is done by exposing the Word of God in a clear, accurate, and practical way. In Romans, Paul tells us how this is accomplished by asking a series of rhetorical questions, "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?" (Rom. 10:14). God has chosen preaching as the way to make known his Word (Titus 1:2-3). With the completion of the New Testament canon, God's Word is best delivered to people through expository preaching. The goal of this dissertation is to provide preachers (especially lay-preachers) with a resource that lays out a methodology for preparing and delivering expository sermons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this project is to analyze the genre of testimony in Scripture in an attempt to illustrate the need for authentic God-Talk among Christians and to re-institute the "testimony service" as a form of corporate worship in the small Black Church. Personal testimonies realistically depict our everyday life and are at the very core of who we are as Christians. In sharing our testimony of what God has done for us in a corporate worship service, we create the space for authentic God-Talk to take place among Christians. The basic hypothesis is that since the advent of the Mega Church, the Small Black Churches have followed the trend and exchanged the mid-week testimony and bible study service to the "pastor's bible study." In losing the testimony service, members lost the vehicle to share their stories and experiences of the Holy Spirit and of how they have overcome in difficult situations. The author conducted this study in four parts: 1) a survey to determine the congregation's knowledge and attitudes toward personal testimonies, 2) Seven weeks of workshops to educate members on: the testimony, narrative theology and hospitality to determine if the training changed their attitudes towards the testimony service, 3) One week for members to share personal testimonies and listen as an act of love and; 4) a survey following-up on the eight week period to determine how knowledge and attitudes may have changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revival has historically influenced the American church as we know it today; yet over time it have been misconstrued and even more difficult to identify. The time is now to reintroduce the biblical and theological framework needed for revival to sweep across the America once again. But I must ask the question, "Does the body of Christ desire to be renewed in their relationship with Jesus and share the Truth that transforms lives?" To answer this issue/question, I have developed a thesis-project called Time to Revive: Wake Up to the Truth that Transforms Lives. This thesis-project contains four essential components - desire, design, disciple and divine - that serve as a model for any city interested in pursuing revival in our nation. With the conditions of revival (humility, prayer and fasting, seeking His face, and repentance) implemented in our own lives, God has promised He will faithfully respond (2 Chronicles 7:14). However, God's response will vary in every location. When analyzing the effectiveness of a revival, in a location such as Sedona, Arizona, the most significant outcome is that the kingdom of God will be furthered by believers being revived, the lost are hearing the Good News of Jesus (evangelism) and being saved, and disciples are making disciples. These results occur not because of man's effort. No, as long as the Word of God is communicated, it won't return to Him empty, and God can bring forth the fruit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pastoral authority is a topic that finds a variety of perspectives and expression within the church. The dynamic of authority that lies between the pastor and congregation relationship is that which will need to be discussed and negotiated, and will likely evolve over time. The most significant time period for the establishment of the relationship between pastor and people along the lines of authority is during the first two years of a pastor's new charge. As church and pastor get to know each other over these two years, the pastor will need to discover the limits of his authority and establish the most effective means of influencing the church towards a common goal. This study explores the pastor's beliefs, experiences, and issues in a unique and non-repeatable time in the church. The post-succession settling-in phase of a new charge affords a unique window into the authority dynamic between a pastor and a church as they begin their new leader/led relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research indicates people who call themselves Christians and who listen to dozens of sermons each year are morally hard to distinguish from people who claim no faith in God and have no practice of listening to sermons preached from God's Word. It is God's intention to see His followers transformed into the image of His Son. One of the methods he has chosen to use to realize this spiritual life-change is the preaching of His Word. But preachers have to make sure they are committed to life-changing sermons and not merely an informational exchange. Sermons are meant to bring transformation not simply inform people of what a Biblical text is saying. This thesis-project will help Christian communicators understand how their preaching can align with God's vision to see people conformed to the image of His Son. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gospel is not merely about the salvation of the sinner. While the Bible is concerned about the condition ofthe lost, the major thrust of much ofthe Scriptures and particularly Paul's Epistles-is the holiness of God's people. Once saved, the people of God are to enjoy Him forever, and they do this by progressing in sanctification. But because of persistent sin and distraction by the world,Christians can often feel impotent in their fight against sin. This study will demonstrate that the quest for sanctification is most empowered by the understanding of theology. The more Christians grow in an understanding of God's word, the more capable they will be in their fight against sin. Further, this study will show that the Apostle Paul likewise saw this connection, and thus his epistles (particularly Eph) have imperatives that flow out of indicatives. This study will demonstrate these truths by looking in particular at Eph 4:17-24. An understanding of this passage will cause Christians to see how clear doctrinal preaching can reach the heart of God's people and produce true and Biblical change. In other words, this paper will demonstrate that to grow in grace of our Lord, a person should grow in the knowledge of His Word. My hypothesis is that if Christians know more about their God and Savior they will adorn the gospel with lives that are radically changed and lived for the Savior and no longer for themselves. This project tests that hypothesis by taking one group of Christians, measuring their sanctification, then exposing them to prolonged doctrinal and practical teaching from Eph 3-4, then measuring their sanctification again. By demonstrating that the theological content of Eph 1-3 has intentional practical consequences in Eph 4-6, this test also shows the connection between theology and sanctification in preaching, and thus in believer's lives. The result is motivation that believers should put off sin and put on Jesus Christ each day for the glory of God (Ephesians 4: 17-24.) This process is the progressive process that every true believer in Christ and His plan will strive to work out in their daily lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1817 Reverend Daniel Sabin Butrick was commissioned as a minister of the Word of God to the heathen, in the service of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). The next twenty-five years were marked with personal failure and relational conflict as he sought to realize his mission to the Cherokee Nation. Miraculously, his response to the Cherokee removal crisis and Trail of Tears established a legacy. His decision to champion Christian salvation over political advocacy resulted in the creation of an invaluable resource on Indian culture. His relationship with Cherokee antiquarians and playwright John Howard Payne, produced the "Indian Antiquities" manuscript-arguably the hallmark of his career. The Payne-Butrick collaboration preserved the oral traditions of informants such as Thomas Nu:tsa:wi. Similar to ethnologist James Mooney and anthropologist Ruth Landes, Butrick searched for authentic Indian stories. The historian William G. McLoughlin argued that he found fractured myths that "accommodate aboriginal beliefs to Christianity"; inversely, the folklorist Barbara R. Duncan appreciated such folkways as "living stories." Butrick promoted the lost ten tribes of Israel as an agenda-his definition of Cherokee history. He accessed a long-standing tradition of speculation on Indian-Hebraic origins by Thomas Thorowgood, John Eliot, John Dury, Dr. Elias Boudinot, and James Adair. He was obsessed with the motifs archetypal themes of hope and restoration that originated in deuterocanonica lliterature (Apocrypha) and matured in renderings of the Jewish tradition by charlatans Eldad Ben Mahli ha-Dani and David Reuveni; associations with King Prester John; cosmographers Sebastian MUnster and Abraham Ortelius; and theologians John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, and Rabbi Menasseh ben Israel. Butrick responded to the ethnocentric, privileged and racist attitudes of white Americans by advocating that Indians were God's chosen people. This was in reaction to Samuel A. Worcester and Elizur Butler's protest of Georgia's laws, President Andrew Jackson's defiance of the decision in Worcester v. State of Georgia (1832), the signing of the New Echota Treaty (1835), and the expulsion of Cherokee to Indian Territory (Oklahoma). "Indian Antiquities" was the consequence of Butrick's Cherokee-centered worldview and an act of restitution that gave him hope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a thesis titled "The AΠΟΣTAΣIA of II Thessalonians 2:3," by Daniel K. Davey. It explores on the problem and issues incorporated in the Thessalonian epistles doctrine which needs a proper definition of AΠΟΣTAΣIA. It aims to present a meaningful interpretation of the work on the word of God to provides researcher the truth and correct contextual and theological path and present concise information.

God is a purposeful God. Everything He does has a reason. Everything He allows can be explained by His character and plan for history. Grace Evangelical Church holds God's Word as sufficient to explain all that is needed to understand about God's purpose and plan for the church, specifically Grace Evangelical Church. This project determines the purpose of Grace Evangelical Church concerning core values, vision and strategy. It looks at the history of the Church, the biblical perspective for pursuing a purposeful Church, how transformation has and will affect the congregation and the role of the leadership in the transformation process. The solution to determine the vision and direction established a process to develop a refined list of core values, which then defined the vision and strategy. Finally, the product, a purposeful Grace Evangelical Church is stated. The results of this process will propel the church into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the thesis on the qualifications for the Lord's supper within the framework of Baptist history. This study was designed to distinguish the historic Baptist practice regarding close, open, and closed communion positions and to arouse the student to a more thorough study of the Word of God.

This thesis, ‘There are Many Rooms in God's House,’ is a pastoral perspective using drama to enable individuals to journey beyond counseling and tell their story in the context of the Biblical tradition. The power of drama to communicate values, truths, and beliefs has a long history in the secular milieu. Although the biblical tradition is not a dramatic tradition, its narrative is flexible enough to become a dramatic presentation. This study traces the role of drama in the Roma of and its use as a viable tool for individuals to experience healing and reconciliation as they tell their story in the context of sacred scripture. Research has revealed that while many individuals may seek pastoral counseling, such intervention may not always lead them to a place of acceptance in the community of faith. These individuals may take solace in hearing the Word of God and allow that Word to draw them into the compassionate presence of a loving God. Empirical data from pastoral counseling experience, biblical and theological insights, use of active contemplation methods, social and theological issues take on new meaning when one experiences exclusion from ‘the rooms’ of the Christian community. The power of a dramatic play can be used to build a bridge between the individual and the Christian community. The reflections of the participants are revealed in the power of this medium, which brings healing and reconciliation to individuals and communities. This work recognizes drama as a credible tool to communicate truth, to address issues that are often ignored, and to engage a community in a dynamic way. Drama has power where words fail. It causes something to happen within both the community and the dramatist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the thesis "A STUDY OF GENESIS 8:20-9:17: POST-FLOOD CONDITIONS AND THE NOAHIC COVENANT COMPARED TO THEIR PRE-FLOOD COUNTERPARTS," by Bob Graf. It examines Genesis 8:20-9:17 and focuses on how God deals with the post-Flood conditions of earth and humanity as expressed in His three speeches recorded in the passage. It aims to describe the salvanic plan of God in the passage and show how it relates to the wider biblical context.

This dissertation describes and evaluates an act of ministry designed to teach an inductive Bible study method to inmates at a medium-security prison. The act of ministry consisted of twelve, two-hour classes, and a concluding prison worship service designed and led by the student inmates. The first nine classes utilized a particular inductive Bible study method called English Bible, or E.B. At the end of the ninth class, the students studied/analyzed the book of Galatians using the inductive method they had been taught. In the first and ninth classes, they took a pretest and post-test (respectively) based on the book of Galatians. The questions for both tests were exactly the same. A comparison of the pretest and post-test answers helped the minister determine whether the nine weeks of instruction in the E.B. method better enabled the students to understand the Bible (in this case the book of Galatians) by their own self-study. The minister used the final three classes to mentor/coach the students in their preparation for the worship service in which they team-taught the book of Galatians to other inmates, chaplains, and volunteers. The purpose of the act of ministry was to enable inmates, by their own self-study, to better understand the Bible. The inmates had two stated goals: to acquire skills in the E.B. method of Bible study and to use those skills in teaching others. Both these goals were met. The inmates demonstrated learned skills in their work on the book of Galatians and successfully used those skills in their chapel presentation. The minister also had two stated goals: to gain knowledge about ministry in a prison setting and develop closer bonds of friendship w th a small group of inmates. accomplished. These goals were also clearly accomplished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the thesis "WOMEN OF THE BIBLE TELL THE STORY OF SALVATION FROM BEHIND THE SCENES," by Elizabeth Inrig. It states that God also prepares women behind the scenes to witness redemptive events and carry out their part in His grand story. It confirms that dramatic monologue is useful in preaching and teaching God's Word.

The Church of Jesus Christ has been given the Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). The strategy that has proven to be the most biblical and effective in accomplishing the Great Commission is that of establishing or planting churches that are reaching people with the gospel in cities, towns, and villages. However, it takes called and gifted men to plant these churches and the reality is that ‘the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few’ (Matthew 9:37). The purpose of this study is to discover how the Northern Illinois Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America can develop a growing pool of qualified church planters in order to increase the rate of successful church planting in that presbytery. Is there a way for this presbytery, as well as the Church at large, to increase the number of men qualified for church planting so that it might more effectively fulfill its Great Commission and respond to the growing needs and opportunities that exist in America, a nation that is in serious spiritual decline? It the finding of this paper that a Church Planting Apprenticeship Program built around the biblical model of mentoring that Jesus demonstrated with His own disciples has significant potential for developing this growing pool of qualified church planters. It might also make possible, by God's grace, the ignition of a church planters multiplication movement that will allow the Church to reach the increasingly large numbers of unchurched and unbelieving people among all the different people groups of America. In addition, it would provide a built-in training and support system for church planters and would allow the local church to become more directly and personally involved the enterprise of world mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the thesis "Three Persons in One Man: John Wallis on the Trinity," by Jason M. Rampelt. In Christian theology, it involved in the task of description, in which it is God who is the object of investigation, the Scriptures which are the phenomena. John Wallis, a Westminster Divine and founding member of the Royal Society of London, engaged on comparing modern science and theology approach in his exposition and defense of the Trinity.

In an attempt to elucidate the relationship between faith and human creativity, I offer a re-definition of culture as a communication of worldviews in performance, employing metaphors from theatre and insights from the Word of God, challenging previously established concepts of culture/s and human being. The result compels us toward a heightened awareness of living and communicating alongside people with varied cultural inheritances. The first part examines several theories and understandings of culture, beginning from an anthropological and then from a theological standpoint. After an analysis of some theories which seek to combine anthropological and theological insights, an attempt to reformulate a definition of culture is undertaken using theatre as a foundational metaphor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a thesis that explains why the church needs revitalization. Revitalization is considered to be the biblically delineated and identified principles given to church leaders to enable an institution to move from its disabled and diseased status to vitality and health. It describes several key principles of church revitalization and provides a biblical paradigm for revitalization. It is concluded that the word of God and history support the need of revitalization of the church.

The article presents a thesis that investigates the use of nautical terms in the New Testament. The thesis was conducted to discover, identify and classify nautical terms in the books to develop a philosophy of nautical terms and to explain why nautical terms are included in such writings. The investigation discovered that the nautical terms are important in theological applications such in parables to illustrate practical truths of God's word.

The Bible is the Word of God. The truth of Scripture is authoritative and applicable to every culture of every age. As with any means of communication, hermeneutical methodologies are employed in order for understanding to occur. Proper hermeneutical methodologies applied to Scripture results m understanding and applying God's intended message, improper hermeneutical methodologies applied to Scripture results in missing or distorting God's intended message. Furthermore, improper hermeneutical methodologies can replace Scripture as the final authority for belief and practice with counterfeit sources of authority. Those who believe that Scripture is the authoritative Word of God must demonstrate their belief by delineating and practicing proper hermeneutical methodologies in order that the authority of God' s Word is acknowledged and its message understood and obeyed by Christians of every age. Hermeneutical challenges come from the plurality of contemporary coexisting interpretive theories that neglect or minimize the absolute authority of Scripture. Chapter two affirms the grammatical-historical method of interpretation following a critical analysis of key developments in hermeneutics and epistemology which have led to the relativizing, dehistoricizing, or discounting of the true and abiding message of Scripture. Scripture understood as God's absolute truth denies any interpretive methodologies that advance unbridled relativism, total subjectivism, or existential ideology. Affirming the grammatical-historical method of interpreting Scripture leads to a second hermeneutical challenge of delineating proposals for distinguishing between the supra-cultural and cultural elements in Scripture. What hermeneutical methodology guides the interpreter, who believes in the normative authority of the Bible, in deciding when to carry over into contemporary culture the exact custom or command found in Scripture and when to carry over the principle that Is expressed the biblical statement? Chapter three affirms the Bible, as an independent authority, is to have first priority in discerning between the cultural and the supra-cultural elements in Scripture following a critical examination of various hermeneutical proposals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the thesis entitled "Partakers of The Word of God: A Textual And Sub-Textual Reading of 'Against The Heathen' and 'On The Incarnation' by Saint Athanasius The Great," by Robert C. Skidmore. Significance of idolatry; Apostasy; Apotheosis.