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'So, what do you really want to do?'Most people spend more time thinking about how to get what they want rather than determining exactly what they should want during their life journey. Modern dictionaries define vocation as a regular occupation or profession, but its roots are found in Scripture as positively responding to a call from God that leads to a comprehensive Christian life. This book traces the history of vocation from its scriptural roots to our present postmodern-age usage, then guides the reader through charismata, the Greek word for gifts. It explores individual giftedness, responsibilities within community, and vocational choices. A hexagonal charismata portfolio model is presented with practical applications for establishing habits and balancing life aspects for Christians of all ages. This book will help you rediscover the biblical meaning of vocation, regardless of where you are along the journey of faith.

Toward the end of his life, the Lord Jesus told the disciples the church would do the work that he had done and greater works in these last days. Building on the finished work of Christ, by the power and gifting of the indwelling Holy Spirit, believers do these works as prophets, priests, and kings in what the church has called the'gifts of the Holy Spirit.'Through study of the Old Testament saints who filled these offices, Christ (to whom they point), and important New Testament texts, Sylvia builds the paradigm for local church leaders to use to identify and deploy their church members in spiritually-gifted ministry. This paradigm is anchored in the Scriptures and can be used in congregations across the theological spectrum. This book lays out a path for taking seriously the Lord's assertion that in these last days, by the power of the Spirit and for the glory of God, the church will do great things.

This book offers a generative and hospitable theological methodology rooted in the distinctives of pentecostal spirituality, enlivened by a Spirited imagination and opened toward critical, constructive, and conciliatory dialogue with the wider Christian tradition. This inter- and cross-disciplinary work is careful yet generous, drawing together of knowledge and wisdom from different domains-historical, philosophical, and theological-in ways recognizably pentecostal and effectively missional.The book begins with a description of the essence of pentecostal spirituality that holds true across the various pentecostalisms. Drawing largely on an innovative engagement with the insights of Rudolph Otto and an exploration of the dialectic between religious experience and theological development, this book contends for an identifiable but mysterious “something” that makes pentecostalism truly pentecostal-that is, something more than one might sum up in any set of peculiar practices, beliefs, or behaviors.The book also provides an overview of the intellectual history of English-speaking pentecostalism, specifying and assessing the movement's major philosophical underpinnings and socio-cultural motivations. Finally, funded by an explicitly pentecostal metaphysics, the book sets forth a significant and boldly original pneumatological theological methodology, shaped by discerning conversation with the works of Amos Yong, L. William Oliverio, Jr., Wolfgang Vondey, and Simo Frestadius, among others.

'How can I determine which spiritual gifts I have?'Wrong question! Paul writes about the spiritual gifts in his letters as capacities of communities rather than individuals, and he never makes a definitive, definable list. The gifts are fluid and dynamic, refusing to be pinned down.'How can we start to describe how the Spirit works through us?'is a much more useful question. This book helps you answer that question, and then applies principles about spiritual gifts to urban ministry. Cities present particular challenges to the teams who live and minister in them. Certain spiritual gifts are crucial to teams trying to love their neighbors, and their neighborhoods, as themselves.

Grace for Service is a thoroughly researched, biblically grounded, personally transformational study of the Holy Spirit's enabling grace for ministry designed to equip leaders who guide the church in its stewardship of God's gifts and to enrich the understanding of Christians who want to go deeper in this important subject. This book serves up an exceptionally broad buffet of historical, biblical, and theological information to help the reader engage the many questions associated with'spiritual gifts.'In the process it offers a fresh perspective that transcends typical find-and-use-your-gift teaching and moves beyond the long-standing battles over miraculous gifts. It calls the follower of Jesus to view all dimensions of life through the lens of the Spirit's gracious equipping and enabling work. Grace for Service is a must-have resource for anyone who teaches about the Spirit's gifts in church and school settings and an essential read for believers who are passionate about the topic but dissatisfied with what they currently know.

Paul's teaching about divine benefactions in Rom 12:6–8 extends the theme of worship that he establishes in Rom 12:1–2. Together, these passages address a uniquely gentile dilemma that many in his audience faced as new Christ-followers, which was the challenge of finding acceptable replacements for former cultic activities that were woven through all of life's stages, from birth to death. One of the chief shortcomings of the scholars that have written about Rom 12:6–8 is a failure to address what Paul's gentile audience might have brought to his teaching and how his alignment of gifts with ritual (Rom 12:1–2) mirrored their polytheistic background. By analyzing examples from ancient texts and artifacts, Teresa Lee McCaskill shows that all seven of the terms Paul uses in Rom 12:6–8 would have had recognizable cultic antecedents for first-century worshipers in Rome. McCaskill presents a theoretical model that discusses how Paul's gentile audience might have viewed the charismata and considered them as examples of sanctioned practices to replace former rituals. She also weighs the effectiveness of these particular gifts for furthering Paul's missional objectives.

Explore what the Bible really says about the Holy Spirit and what it means to see the power of the Holy Spirit at work in your life.Whether intentionally or not, many Christians today seek health, wealth, and happiness by summoning the Holy Spirit like a genie to grant their wishes. When things don't go the way they think they should, disappointment and disillusionment abound. But it doesn't have to be this way.In Knowing the Spirit, author, pastor, and speaker Costi Hinn shows you why a relationship with the Holy Spirit is the most important next step on your journey as a Christian. Using clear and sound interpretation of Scripture, Costi clarifies who the Holy Spirit is--and who he isn't--and answers some of the most important and most frequently asked questions about him, such as:What does the Holy Spirit do?Does the Holy Spirit speak today?What is the baptism of the Holy Spirit?What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit?What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?What does it mean to walk by the Spirit?What is praying in the Spirit?And more! This book is only the beginning of your journey of knowing and loving the Holy Spirit. With the solid and biblical foundation presented in these pages, the Holy Spirit is someone you will confidently walk with every day for the rest of your life.

In three carefully researched volumes, this ground-breaking study examines the gift of tongues through two thousand years of church history. Starting in the present and working back in time, these volumes consider (1) the modern redefinition of'tongues'as a private prayer language; (2) the church's perennial understanding of'tongues'as ordinary human languages; and (3) the Corinthian'tongues,'which, in light of Jewish liturgical tradition, turn out to have been a Semitic liturgical language requiring bilingual interpreters. This second volume tracks the perception and practice of tongues back through the first eighteen hundred years of church history, demonstrating that'tongue-speaking'was always active but puzzlingly different from today's glossolalia. From Pope Benedict XIV's detailed treatise in the 1700s, it works back through long-forgotten scholastic and patristic debates to the earliest Christian writers such as Irenaeus. No other resource on the subject approaches the depth and scope of the present volume.

There's only one power big enough to help us survive perilous times.After reading this book, you will have the confidence to walk in the victory Christ died for and begin living exceedingly and abundantly beyond anything you ever could have hoped for or imagined.There is a power so great it can help you not only survive but thrive in this crazy world, a power that can give you joy and peace, result in miracles, and make you victorious no matter what. It's a power that comes from the third member of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. It's the power that took the teachings of a young carpenter from Galilee and turned upside down the most ruthless empire of its era, overcoming the paganism that went with it.It's a power that seemed dormant for almost two millennia but has been restored to the church as was told in the Bible. And it's available today to help you understand the future, have faith to believe for miracles, and know unspeakable peace and happiness no matter your circumstances.Spirit-Led Living in an Upside-Down World takes you on a journey to help you understand how you can experience this power and know the Holy Spirit intimately. After covering the work of the Holy Spirit for more than four decades as a journalist, Stephen E. Strang helps readers understand that power is there for the asking—even if others misuse or ignore it. It's there to give you victory over the forces of evil, help you stand strong when the culture wants you to compromise, and give you the tools to prosper in body, soul, and spirit.When he was a young newspaper reporter, Strang experienced this power in a way “exceedingly abundantly above” all he could have asked or thought (Eph. 3:20), and you will too.This power will open your spiritual eyes to help you hear from God, deepen your prayer life, and explain the groanings that cannot be uttered. Sharing stories from his own experience and from dozens of modern heroes of the faith, Strang will uplift you and inspire you toconnect with God in new, fresh ways;be a powerful influence on your family, friends, and community;deepen your faith so you can move mountains;learn to be led by the Spirit to uncover your heart's deepest desires; andovercome challenges and fulfill your dreams and purpose in life.Spirit-Led Living in an Upside-Down World is not only one of the most important books you'll ever read but also one of the most profound. It will reveal the most stunning secrets and truths behind this power—the power of God that is at work regardless of how upside down the world seems to get.

You are only one story away from seeing the miraculous unfold in your life. After reading this book, you will understand how to slow down and savor the moments that you have seen the Holy Spirit working and moving in miraculous ways, and you will live expectantly to see even greater things come to pass.More than a hundred years ago, healing minister Maria Woodworth-Etter chronicled the work of the Holy Spirit through her ministry in a book she titled A Diary of Signs and Wonders. That book ushered in a healing revival before anyone had ever heard of such a thing, and it has become a reference standard among many modern Christians. In On the Road With the Holy Spirit, author Ken Fish takes a page from Woodworth-Etter and chronicles how he has seen the Holy Spirit move in modern times through his own ministry.In addition to sharing the miraculous signs and wonders he has witnessed, Fish creates a theological lens through which to view the events recorded. This not only empowers readers to understand why miraculous signs take place but also will help them experience the miraculous in their own lives. Focusing on the importance of God's presence, prophecy, power, purity, and prayer in seeing the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, this book will inspire readers to live the life of the miraculous and help usher in an unprecedented move of God in our day.

This volume of the Collected Essays of Peter Damian Fehlner on Ecclesiology and the Franciscan Charism contains some of the most practical of all of Fehlner's writings. This volume is divided into three parts. In the first, we are treated to Fehlner's first reflections on ecclesiology in the wake of Vatican II and his own earlier research into Bonaventure's ecclesiology and Duns Scotus's teachings on grace and personhood. To Fehlner, these studies, along with his Tractatus de gratia and teaching notes on the mission of the Holy Spirit, all from the 1960s, contain the rationes seminales of the entirety of his later thought. In part two, we find writings mainly from the following two decades on the Conventual Franciscan charism, the ecclesiola, the church in microcosm. Here we can readily discern the radical effects of Fehlner's encounter with Maximilian Kolbe and this volume's close affinity with volume six of this series, on St. Maximilian Kolbe. In part three of this volume, comprising essays from the final fifteen years of his life, Fehlner brings his lifetime of prayerful contemplation and research directly to bear upon practical spirituality. In these essays, Fehlner's spiritual testament, our author presents his Catholic and Franciscan charismatic vision of Christian life.

Is there a new reformation happening in the church? It depends on who you ask. The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a popular and fast-growing new movement of Christians who emphasize signs and wonders, and teach that God is giving new revelation through new apostles and prophets. But is this biblical Christianity? In Counterfeit Kingdom, apologists and NAR experts Holly Pivec and Douglas Geivett show how the NAR's key tenets distort the gospel, twist the Scriptures, are influenced by New Age practices, and lead faithful Christians to shipwreck their faith. They also offer practical suggestions for readers who are already influenced by the NAR, curious about it, or concerned about loved ones who have been swept up in the movement. What used to be on the fringes of the church is now mainstream, and many are being influenced by it unaware. This book is a wake-up call.

In three carefully researched volumes, this ground-breaking study examines the gift of tongues through 2,000 years of church history. Starting in the present and working back in time, these volumes consider (1) the modern redefinition of'tongues'as a private prayer language; (2) the church's perennial understanding of'tongues'as ordinary human languages; and (3) the Corinthian'tongues,'which, in light of Jewish liturgical tradition, turn out to have been a foreign liturgical language (Hebrew or Aramaic) requiring bilingual interpreters. In the first volume, the authors establish that modern glossolalia, far from being a supernatural gift enjoyed by certain believers since the time of Pentecost and undergoing a resurgence in modern times, has no precedent in church life prior to the nineteenth century. They discuss why German theologians, responding to the Irvingite revival, coined the term'glossolalia'in the 1830s; why Pentecostals between 1906-8 quietly began redefining'tongues'to mean a heavenly language unintelligible to human beings but pleasing to God, instead of foreign languages useful for evangelism; why Protestant cessationists believed miraculous tongues had ceased; and why interpolated idioms like'unknown tongues'in Protestant Bibles were aimed originally at Rome's use of Latin.

Have you found fulfillment in life?When you look at a plate, cup, or fork, you realize each has been designed and created for a different purpose. What if you could look into the mind and heart of God and see just how you have been designed and created? If you truly knew you were a'plate, cup, or fork,'you would be freed from trying to be someone you are not, and free to live your life with greater faithfulness, fruitfulness, and fulfillment...making God famous!God created you to be fruitful by discovering your God-given design and the role he created for you. What You Do Best equips you to identify and express your unique contribution to this world as an integral part of your relationships, life, and ministry. The biblical principles in these pages can free you to pursue your life's calling with enthusiasm and confidence as you gain a better understanding of who God made you to be. Bruce Bugbee provides proven tools and a conversational approach that will guide you with confidence and competence toward a greater fulfillment of God's will for your life.What You Do Best provides reflection questions for each chapter that help you journal or discuss what you are learning with others, as well as Scripture passages for further study. You'll learn about the importance and use of spiritual gifts and how to identify the gifts God has given to you. You'll discover your unique relational style and uncover your life passion. What You Do Best helps you to closely examine yourself, assess your relationship with God, and reflect on what you need in order to thrive as the person you were created to be. You'll emerge from the process with a greater understanding of God, his purposes, your calling, and your role in this world. Each copy of the book includes access to three online self-assessments that help you to identify your unique spiritual gifts, relational style, and life passion.

Discover your gifts! All of us have gifts that can be used for the common good. The Discover Your Gifts Workbook has sessions on twelve different kinds of gifts, from artistic and technical gifts to entrepreneurial and civic gifts. Every session defines and describes what each gift looks like and gives examples of how the gift can be used in four distinct vocations of life: church, family, work, and society. By using this workbook alongside the Discover Your Gifts book and the EveryGift online inventory, you can grow in your understanding and use of your gifts. And you will be better equipped to recognize the gifts of others and unleash them for use in all areas of life.

You have gifts! And you are a gift to the world around you. Because every human is fearfully and wonderfully made, each one of us has something to offer to the world. But we have not always identified or developed our gifts well, nor deployed them effectively.Don Everts explores the gifts God has given every person and what new research reveals about the difference those gifts can make for us, our churches, and our communities. Churches have unfortunately focused mostly on spiritual gifts and vocations within the church. But we don't always recognize the wide range of abilities, skills, and aptitudes that all of us have, whether civic, artistic, or entrepreneurial. We each have God-given gifts and are called by God to use them in our vocations in the world. Discover how our gifts are a blessing to others and pave the way for reconnecting with our surrounding communities.

Livestream is for anyone who desires to be used more powerfully in the ministry of the Holy Spirit. You won't find trite formulas here but an invitation to a lifelong journey of learning how to listen to the Spirit's voice, discern where he is moving, and exercise your faith in the adventure of livestreaming with him. A wonderful teaching tool for walking a miraculous lifestyle with the Holy Spirit. It will encourage readers to live in expectation and readiness to follow the Spirit's leading for an exciting adventure with him!

World and church have changed so much since the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). With each change, religious congregations have had to review and update both their charism and mission, with ever new emphases in spirituality and mission. The 122 letters of the post-Vatican II superiors general of the Spiritans give some idea of the paths traced by missiology during the period. They offer a chronicle of missiological thinking through the turbulent time of crisis in the 1960s and early 1970s, and the gradual reclaiming of the Spiritans'essential charism of the evangelization of the poor, but in a very changed world and a very changed church.

God has both called and gifted the body of Christ to build up one another. Pastor Timothy Clothier believes that all spiritual gifts have been given for that very purpose and that all the gifts outlined in the Scriptures are for today. “To ignore certain gifts, even because someone else has abused them, is to truncate what God intends to develop,” he says. In'To Each is Given: Spiritual Gifts in the Life of the Church,'Clothier offers a new line of argumentation for the “continuationist” position on spiritual gifts. In doing so he seeks to define signs and wonders and spiritual gifts, carefully considering how they relate to one another, and whether each is for the church today.

What if today is the perfect time to notice God's grace in one another?Women are so often weighed down by comparison, anxiety, and fear that the idea that grace could look amazing on them feels unbelievable. But all around us are flashes of grace, shining examples of God's love.Amy Seiffert says it's the everyday moments that Jesus shines through: making time for a friend even when your to-do list is pages long; apologizing to your neighbor when you don't want to admit you are wrong; opening the Bible when your soul feels hollow and empty.Making the choice to accept God's limitless love no matter what and reflecting it back to the world around you—friend, that's when His grace looks amazing on you.A perfect gift to affirm and encourage any woman, Grace Looks Amazing on You is a timeless Christian message packed with personal story and reflection, Scripture, and deep biblical truth. This 100-day devotional will help you change your perspective so you can confidently radiate the grace of Christ.

What are spiritual gifts?Storms has spent several decades teaching on the topic of the spiritual gifts and equipping believers in the faithful practice of God's gifts. Yet there remains a great deal of confusion about the nature of the gifts and how they best function in the body of Christ.In this comprehensive guide to the spiritual gifts, Storms addresses the many bizarre and misleading interpretations while confronting the tendency to downplay the urgency of spiritual gifts for Christian living and ministry. He explains how spiritual gifts--both the more miraculous and the everyday--are given to build up the body of Christ.God has graciously provided these'manifestations of the Spirit'so that believers might encourage, edify, strengthen, instruct, and console one another, all with a view to an ever-increasing, incremental transformation into the image of Jesus Christ. Throughout this guide, Sam Storms unpacks the glorious truth that there is a supernatural and divine energy or power that fills and indwells the body and soul of every Christian believer.Understanding Spiritual Gifts is useful as a reference to address common questions about the gifts, but it also serves as a training manual for using and exercising the gifts in ministry. It is perfect for any individual or group who wants to grow in their understanding of spiritual gifts for today.

In his classic Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, Jack Deere looked at the reason why many Christians (including himself at the time) struggle to believe in miraculous gifts, and he provided a groundbreaking biblical defense of the Holy Spirit's speaking and healing activities today.In Why I Am Still Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, the former Dallas Seminary professor revisits his earlier subject matter with fresh insight and even stronger conviction: the Scriptures teach that God is healing and speaking today just as he did 2,000 years ago.Having almost entirely rewritten Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, this new edition comes at a time when the theological landscape has dramatically changed, and most evangelicals do believe in all the gifts of the Spirit. But many of us are still unsure how to understand those gifts, and there is much confusion today on what it means to be filled with the Spirit.This book is for those familiar with Deere's work and for newcomers alike. In it, he:Explains the nature of spiritual gifts, defining each of them.Offers sound advice on discovering and using spiritual gifts in church.Tells documented stories of modern miracles and encounters with demonic powers.Examines the New Testament use of the phrase'filled with the Spirit'to show why and how God still fills his servants with the Holy Spirit.Introduces the newest literature defending and explaining the gifts of the Spirit.With the care of a scholar and the passion of personal experience, this new edition builds upon the legacy of Surprised by the Power of the Spirit and the profound impact it's had among Christians of many traditions.

'Overflow'finds a clear biblical example of a resource church (local churches which exist to influence their region by growing and planting on a regular basis) described in Acts at Antioch, and provides suggestions of lessons we can learn from that church today. This book considers the Antioch church as an example of a church of overflow - a model of a resource church. Birthed out of The Belfrey's call in York to overflow with the presence and power of God into their locality and region with all the resources God gives, Matthew Porter shares stories of what they have been learning and how this may help the church to reach out in mission and see many come to Christ.'Overflow'describes characteristics, structures and strategies that any community of Christ-followers desiring to reach out beyond themselves can adopt. Questions are included at the end of each chapter, with some for individual application and some to help start activating gifts in others. Discover the God of overflow, who invites us to give away what he gives and be encouraged to make steps to become a church of overflow, spilling out with the good news of Christ. This book is for anyone who wants to see their church have an overflowing impact on their surroundings and who wants to play a part, however big or small, in seeing churches renewed and society transformed.

What is the gift of prophecy? Does it continue today, or did it pass away with the apostles? What does it mean to speak in the Spirit? Few subjects are more contentious and more misunderstood in the church today. This book examines these questions by carefully studying Scripture and the works of the most prominent scholars. The conclusions have profound implications for Christian belief and behavior.

In much of the scholarship on Paul, activities such as speaking in tongues, prophecy, and miracle healings are either ignored or treated as singular occurrences. Typically, these practices are categorized in such a way that shields Paul and his followers from the influence of so-called paganism. In Signs, Wonders, and Gifts, Jennifer Eyl masterfully argues that Paul did, in fact, engage in range of divinatory and wonder-working practices that were widely recognized and accepted across the ancient Mediterranean. Eyl redescribes, reclassifies, and recontextualizes Paul's repertoire vis-á-vis such widespread, similar practices. Situating these activities within the larger framework of reciprocity that dominated human-divine relationships in antiquity, she demonstrates that divine powers and divine communication were bestowed as benefactions toward Paul and his gentile followers in proportion to their faithfulness and loyalty.

This book explores biblical values that critique the ecclesiology of the New Apostolic Reformation Church (NARC) and compares the ecclesiology to other missional movements in the North American context. A biblical exegesis of Ephesians 4:11-13 as well as C. Peter Wagner's conceptualization of an apostle and apostolic ministry allow the author to demonstrate the gap between the biblical perspective and Wagner's concept of an apostle. The biblical role of an apostle is to make the church missional by emphasizing the concept of sending, whereas Wagner sees the apostle as a church leader. Based upon interviews and participant observation in three NARCs, SuYeon Yoon describes the leadership and ecclesiology based on their own self-descriptions. This book then demonstrates the gap between the biblical and conceptual ideals and the reality of ecclesial practice. The author argues that the NARC serves as a charismatic manifestation of a similar cultural response to establish a relational structure for church communities that can appropriately reflect upon and identify with the contemporary context. This implies that each movement needs to be biblically sound, faithful to its conceptualization, and relevant to the context in order to cultivate its own way of being the church.

Einen Blick durch den „Schleier“ wagen! Solange er sich erinnern kann, hat Blake K. Healy bereits Engel und Dämonen gesehen. Er sieht sie so klar, wie er natürliche Dinge sieht. Er sieht zum Beispiel Engel in Anbetungsgottesdiensten tanzen und Ermutigungsworte in die Ohren von Menschen flüstern, doch genauso sieht er auch Dämonen, die sich an Leute heften und so Abhängigkeiten, Lügen und Bitterkeit in deren Herzen und Gedanken aufrechterhalten. In diesem Buch erzählt er einige dieser Begegnungen und wie er in dieser Gabe reifte und dabei die Angst und Verwirrung über die Dinge, welche er sah, überwand. Und ebenso, und wie er lernte, die Gabe des Sehens zu Gottes Verherrlichung zu nutzen und andere darin zu lehren. Es enthält außerdem eine kurze Anleitung dafür, wie man selbst beginnen und in dieser Gabe wachsen kann. Im Anhang legt der Autor die biblischen Grundlagen zu all diesen Themen und kommentiert sie. Der Autor selbst sagt dazu:'Dies ist die Geschichte darüber, wie ich lernte, die Gabe zu nutzen, mit der ich geboren wurde, und wie ich entdeckte, dass wirklich alles, was ich sah, auf die absolute und vollkommene Liebe hinwies, die Gott für seine Kinder hat.'

Every person has been designed by God for one-of-a-kind Masterpiece Mission, what most people refer to as personal calling or personal purpose. Everyone needs to be able to name what God has put them on the earth to do. Most people never do. That is a tragedy of epic proportions.We need a simple way to discover that calling, and Find Your Place is that way. GPS technology is widely known as a way to know where you are on the earth, as well as a way to guide you to get where you want to go. The Find Your Place book will help followers of Jesus locate three signals that will help people discern their personal calling: their Gifts, their Passions, and their Story, and help them take meaningful next steps to engage that calling.Furthermore, the American Church has a Co-Dependency Disorder. Church members have become dependent upon church leaders, and church leaders need their members to remain that way. This co-dependence is doing more than throttling the vitality of the church...it is strangling it. In order for the people of God to truly thrive and be salt and light in the world, church leaders must move from simply'gathering and teaching'their members to'empowering and releasing them.'This book, the accompanying online assessment, and the disciple-making tools that both will be integrated into, will all be a part of a turn-key solution for church leaders to accomplish that goal.

Em O ESPÍRITO NA IGREJA, Craig Keener analisa de forma incisiva as várias interpretações evangélicas conservadoras sobre o papel do Espírito Santo na igreja. É seu desejo que os cristãos lutem por consenso ou ao menos por unidade na obra de Deus, ainda que divirjam em questões secundárias. Fazendo uso de uma abordagem narrativa, com um grande número de histórias, Keener entra em diálogo construtivo com pentecostais, moderados e cessacionistas, sempre tentando aprender com cada perspectiva. O autor busca construir pontes sobre o abismo existente entre cessacionistas e pentecostais/carismáticos, instando todos os cristãos a buscar a capacitação do Espírito Santo. Sua abordagem pacificadora em meio a essa controvérsia tem sido endossada por carismáticos e não carismáticos. Esta obra com certeza proporcionará um excelente diálogo sobre um tema que causou divisões desnecessárias dentro da igreja. Será também mais um recurso valioso para a disciplina de Pneumatologia, tanto na faculdade quanto no seminário. Também será útil a leitores leigos interessados em uma abordagem equilibrada sobre os dons espirituais.

For as long as he can remember, Blake K. Healy has seen angels and demons. He sees them as clearly as he would see you if you were standing right in front of him. He sees angels dancing in worship services and whispering words of encouragement in people's ears. He also sees demons latching on to people and perpetuating addiction and bitterness in their hearts.The Veil chronicles how Blake matured in this gifting, while overcoming the fear and confusion of what he saw, how he learned to use his gift of seeing for God's glory, and how to teach others to do the same. This new and updated version of The Veil also includes a brief guide on how to begin growing in the gift of seeing in the spirit yourself, as well as an appendix of scriptural references to the spirit realm and angels, along with Blake's commentary on these passages.

What are the spiritual gifts? Do all Christians have them? Have the miraculous gifts ceased? The topic of spiritual gifts is often a point of contention among Christians. In Spiritual Gifts: What They Are and Why They Matter, Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner, a leading New Testament scholar, answers these questions. Schreiner shares his personal experience related to spiritual gifts, but more importantly, he unpacks what the Bible has to say about them. In doing so, he brings a spirit of humility and charity, reminding us that though spiritual gifts are important, we can have unity in Christ even where we disagree.

What is the relationship between the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the action of grace? John Meinert's The Love of God Poured Out enters into the major positions and debates within Thomism to forge a new synthesis on this topic within the greater body of scholarship existing today. Meinert reads Aquinas's thought on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and grace in an integral and analogous way. Not only does The Love of God Poured Out aid scholars in understanding Aquinas's thought on these two issues, it also once more clarifies the truth that the Holy Spirit and his gifts are neither a devout appendix to moral theology nor a pious nod to tradition. They are the heart and height of the moral life, a life lived subditus Deo.

How can Christians pursue and implement the miraculous gifts of the Spirit without falling into fanatical excess and splitting the church in the process?The Bible teaches us that we are to be filled with God's Spirit and that God's presence and grace is manifested among his people as they serve, love, and minister to one another. Yet some of the gifts that God offers to his people aren't commonly seen in many churches today. Gifts of prophecy, healing, tongues, and other supernatural gifts of God seem to be absent, and many Christians are unsure how to cultivate an atmosphere where God's Spirit can work while remaining committed to the foundational truth of God's Word.In Practicing the Power, pastor and author Sam Storms offers practical steps to understanding and exercising spiritual gifts in a way that remains grounded in the word and centered in the gospel, including:Combining sound theology with inspiring personal examples.Covering all kinds of practical and theological questions about using gifts.Practical ways to express the compassion of Jesus to others by partnering with Him in spiritual gifts.With examples drawn from his 40 years of ministry as a pastor and teacher, Practicing the Power offers help to pastors, elders, and church members to understand what changes are needed to see God move in supernatural power and to guard against excess and abuse of the spiritual gifts.If you long to see God's Spirit move in your church and life, and aren't sure why that isn't happening or where to begin, this book is for you.

Si es principiante o tiene años en lo profético, este libro es para usted. Empezará con los principios básicos del ministerio profético, hará descubrimientos y conforme lea un capítulo tras otro de Aumente Su Regalo Profético se sentirá motivado. Es hora de que todos aprovechen su llamada profética y logre una unción más profunda que nunca. Al finalizar este libro, el escuchar las experiencias personales de un joven profeta le harán sentirse más activado. Bill comenzó como un simple ministro y ahora tiene un poderoso ministerio profético. Bill ha profetizado a muchos y ha visto a cientos sanar y ser liberados a través del ministerio profético personal. Ha llegado el momento de que aumente su don profético hoy.

Understanding Spiritual Gifts Leader's Guide is also available. This 6-week experiential study (7 weeks, including the introductory session) helps individuals and small groups explore spiritual gifts using selected passages from the Bible.

Pope Francis'words to those seeking to give a firm profession of faith—which has always been the particular effect Catholic tradition has ascribed to confirmation—ring true for all of us. In Anointed, Jayme Stuart Wolfe has compiled the Holy Father's words about wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord as special gifts for those continuing the commitment of their baptism into confirmation and beyond, as well as appropriate Scripture readings and prayers.

Our God speaks! God is always challenging us to expand our spiritual growth. The prophetic must never become boring and routine, but it should always be exciting and new. The value of prophetic activations is that they will break limitations and give readers the ability to operate in different techniques in their spiritual walk. Prophetic Activation offers practical teaching from best-selling author John Eckhardt on how to activate the prophetic by guiding readers through steps such as:Reading a scripture and then releasing a prophetic Word to someoneReceiving just one word from God and then releasing a full prophecyPraying in the Spirit (tongues) and then releasing an interpretation

Following the Second Vatican Council, when each Religious Institute was encouraged to research its charism, some Institutes experienced a tension between their charism and their mission, or even difficulty identifying what their charism was. This book is a study of the theological understanding of charism and of mission in relation to Religious Life within the Catholic Church. While this topic has featured in much Roman Catholic theological literature since Vatican II, there appears to be a dearth of in-depth studies. This book addresses this apparent lacuna.It draws particularly on the work of two major theologians, Jean-Marie Roger Tillard OP and Sandra Marie Schneiders IHM, who have reflected at length on charism and mission in the period leading up to Vatican II and on the implementation of its documents with respect to Religious Life. The very significant contributions of Tillard and Schneiders on the topic provide Religious, as well as others who want to know and understand Religious Life, with an interesting and motivating insight into charism and mission in Religious Life. Within the Roman Catholic Church, a “Year of Consecrated Life” has just drawn to a close, and this book forms a background and a response to Pope Francis'Apostolic Letter to “all Consecrated People on the occasion of the Year of Consecrated Life” (November 2014), which invited Religious to reflect on these aspects that are essential to the life they have chosen to live.

'Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying of hands by the council of elders'(1Tim. 4:14). Members of the church today can comprehend Paul's sentiment to Timothy. While not all ordained, all baptized Christians have experienced the laying on of hands in baptism. They have been touched by that mysterious mix of charism, initiated into the Body of Christ through the Holy Spirit, as well as launched into life with Christ through the institution of the Church with all its concreteness, ambiguity, sinfulness and goodness. Through the lens of Christian theology, along with the sociology of Max Weber in his study of charism and institution in modern society, Judith A. Merkle analyzes the interaction and tautness between the concept of powerful grace through baptism and the institution in the life of the modern church. Weber asserts that freedom and creativity in modern society only become manifest within social relations. Since these highly valued modern experiences do not exist outside the institutional framework, they exist in tension with the constrictive and creative aspects of the institution. Judith A. Merkle offers the reader perspective on this contemporary experience in the church.

Urges Christians to replace knowledge of spiritual gifts with the actual practice of them. Includes appendix, subject index, and Scripture index.

In response to Pastor John MacArthur's call for a “collective war,” against charismatics, Dr. Michael Brown has called for unity in Jesus based on a return to the truth of the Scriptures in the fullness of the Spirit. As a charismatic biblical scholar and theologian, Dr. Brown responds to Pastor MacArthur's charges, making a biblical case for the continuation of the New Testament gifts of the Spirit and demonstrating the unique contribution to missions, theology, and worship made by the charismatic Church worldwide. He calls for an appreciation of the unique strengths and weaknesses of both cessationists and charismatics, inviting readers to experience God afresh, and he demonstrates how charismatic leaders have been addressing abuses within their own movement for decades. Dr. Brown speaks on behalf of millions who are not adequately trained to express in writing their own encounters with the supernatural power of God. - David Ravenhill I thank God for this biblically-robust, pastorally-sensitive, historicallyinformed, and graciously-articulated account of the work of the Holy Spirit in the church of Jesus Christ. - Sam Storms Dr. Michael Brown's Authentic Fire puts the brakes on John MacArthur's crusade against charismatics with irrefutable logic, extraordinary insight, Christ-like graciousness, and an undisputable handling of Scripture. - Frank Viola Michael Brown writes with clarity and courtesy as he confronts one of the most explosive issues among all those who uphold the Bible as the plumb line of truth. - David Shibley

Something is stirring inside of you, but it has been silenced, gravely undermined, and misunderstood. You must believe that God has not forgotten you. He has not sidelined you. You are not crazy. Prophet, arise! Come out of your cave and be encouraged to speak forth the word of the Lord. God is calling you to be His Trumpet and to sound the alarm. The body of Christ desperately needs prophets to awaken and go forth. Whether you have never spoken a prophetic word or you actively engage your gift, best-selling author John Eckhardt provides an unparalleled, inspiring teaching for you. He boldly reveals the characteristics of a prophet that may lie dormant in your life so God can launch you into your calling. You will learn:Unique characteristics of a prophetThe details of a prophet's callWhat moves a prophet's heart and stirs the anointingThe rewards a prophet brings to those who receive themHow to find healing and deliverance for the prophet who has been hurtAnd much more!

The term «charism» is drawn originally from Pauline literature and refers to a gift given by the Spirit for the upbuilding of the body of Christ. Since the mid-twentieth century, Christians from a broad spectrum of theological positions have applied this term, in varying ways, to groups within the Church. However, no book thus far has provided a rigorous and sustained critical investigation of this idea of ecclesial charisms. In Division, Diversity, and Unity, James E. Pedlar provides such an investigation, drawing on biblical and systematic theology as well as literature on church renewal and ecumenism. Against those who justify denominational separation in order to preserve particular gifts of the Spirit, Pedlar insists that the theology of charisms supports visible, organic unity as the ecumenical ideal. Division, Diversity, and Unity argues that the theology of ecclesial charisms can account for legitimately diverse specialized vocational movements in the Church but cannot account for a legitimate diversity of separated churches. Pedlar tests and develops his constructive proposal against the fascinating and conflicted histories of two evangelistic movements: the Paulist Fathers and The Salvation Army. While the proposed theology of ecclesial charisms stakes out a legitimate and important place in the Church for specialized movements, it excludes any attempt to justify the permanent separation of an ecclesial body on the basis of an appeal to an ecclesial charism.

Provides information on the person of the Holy Spirit, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, gifts of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit in the future, and the Holy Spirit in the local church.

Gods Super-Apostles provides a concise entry-level overview of the key teachings and practices of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement. This is a key resource in grasping the significance of this global, confusing, and controversial movement.

This critique provides a framework for understanding and interpreting the widespread but little-known New Apostolic Reformation movement. As the authors state in the preface: We write this book with two major goals in mind. First, to give people an idea of the sheer size and reach of the NAR movement. And second, to systematize its key teachings and practices and evaluate them on the basis of Scripture and careful reasoning. In our judgment, the NAR perspective crosses these boundaries [that is, certain broad parameters, revealed in Scripture and practiced in the historical orthodox church], and it does so in part because of flawed theology rooted in a flawed understanding of Scripture.'We wish to warn readers about a possible confusion: Some critics have linked the NAR movement with mainstream Pentecostalism and charismatics. We do not do this. In fact, it is our contention that the NAR movement deviates from classical Pentecostal and charismatic teachings. This movement has emerged out of independent charismatic churches and, thus, has gained a foothold in many of those churches in varying degrees. But we do not argue for cessationism, the view that the miraculous gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 are no longer active in the church. Whether the miraculous gifts are ongoing has no bearing on the arguments of our book.'

In the earliest days of the church, followers of Jesus embraced five core spiritual gifts—apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers—and the world was set on fire as a result. Over the past two thousand years, however, some of these gifts have been neglected or set aside, and we've forgotten what we're capable of.Now, in Primal Fire, Neil Cole shares the surprising truth about the five gifts of Jesus—what they mean, how they reflect Christ, and the remarkable power and synergy that comes when we all work together to ignite the church's full potential and passion.Whether you're a church leader who wants to equip your members to grow spiritually, or someone who wants to better understand your own contribution to the body of Christ, it's time to reignite the Primal Fire and become the gifts that Christ intended for us to be.

In his new book, Mark Stibbe reminds us that we have a loving, generous Father who delights to give his children gifts, especially the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Mark describes each of the spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament and provides tools for the reader to identify which gifts they have. He also urges the contemporary church not to dial down on the spiritual gifts but to create a culture where all the gifts are eagerly welcomed and responsibly stewarded. This book is a vital rallying cry for a return to genuine, charismatic Christianity at a time when so many Christians and indeed churches have lost their passion for the presence of God and for the supernatural evidences of God's presence in worship and mission.

How the Holy Spirit works in the world through the gifts of the Spirit God never intended to accomplish the work of the church through human effort but through believers endowed with special spiritual qualifications whom the Spirit could direct and through whom He could work. The gifts of the Spirit are not intended only for some believers—they are for every believer. In The Gifts of the Spirit Dr. Verna M. Linzey includes a historical review of the work of the Holy Spirit and provides a clear understanding of how the Holy Spirit works in the lives of believers. Expounding on pertinent scriptures and sharing her experiences as a daughter of the Azusa Street Revival, Dr. Linzey provides both practical application and theological analysis of each of these gifts, including:Words of wisdom and knowledgeFaithHealings and miraclesProphecyDiscerning of spiritsTongues and their interpretationWhether you are a new believer or one who has been in the faith for years, this book will help you to walk out God's purpose in your life.