This is a survey of the Old Testament. The goal is to give the reader key terms, verses, themes or purposes of each of the books along with a brief description of the content

Churches face the continual challenge of remaining culturally relevant while not compromising biblical principles. What will the 21st century church look like? We must examine the current condition of the church, our changing culture, and possible church structures. We have moved from the agrarian age through the industrial age to the information age, and each era has affected how we have accomplished our mission. The church has changed a great deal over the centuries. It has become very complex and business like. Today it is a massive organization with denominations, commissions, committees,...

This book lists many do's and don'ts of ministry

1. Essentials The term substance abuse indicates the use of drugs for a reason other than its intended pur-pose. The aim of this misuse is to achieve some form of mind-altering effect in the user. When this occurs, it often involves the use of the substance in exaggerated quantities. This incorporates both the use of illegally produced substances, and the abuse of legal drugs. 2. The Youth and Substance Abuse When studying substance abuse among young people we see that up to 79% of school-age children have experimented with various substances. By their senior year, 93% of all teen-agers will...

There are always "some" with a bad report. In fact, there are usually "more" than "some" because we live in a negatively oriented world. If you don't believe it, observe what happens when you share an innovative idea. The common response is for others to immediately point out why your plan won't work. This negative mind-set is tremendously evident on the evening television news where practically every report concerns crime, political wrangling, or societal crisis. Whatever the form of your "bad report," whoever the source, and regardless of its message, the book you now hold in your hands is...

How a church and/or a denomination is organized has profound implications. It can mean the difference between a divided eldership that eventually splits and an eldership that receives concrete assistance to work through differences. It can mean the difference between a church straying into biblical liberalism and a church holding tightly to the gospel. It can mean the difference between church members feeling that they have a place for appeal against their leaders, and the feeling that they lack any ability to influence those elders. Thus, because of the impact it has we should think...

Many passages of Scripture seem to suggest that the accumulation of wealth is evil while being poor is virtuous. It would appear that the Bible condemns the accumulation of wealth. The Biblical perspective of money should present wealth in a different perspective. The Bible distinguishes between possession of wealth and love of wealth. Only the love of money is condemned. A person's attitude towards money and generosity with one's wealth are fundamentally conditions of the heart that have not changed since the ancient world. Regardless of our level of wealth, we are still expected to depend...