Bøker av Stan Lemke

Paul writes, For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18, NASU). The word of the cross is the unveiled story of the Gospel, our salvation. It speaks of Gods purpose in the cross, the power of the cross, even the plan and mystery of the cross. The cross is seen as either Foolishness or Power foolishness by those who are perishing, those who have ignored God their entire life and yet think that they will, one day, live in His heaven. Whereas, to those who are being saved, the cross is the very power of God! The Word of the Cross is a study of the Gospel, the good news of reconciliation with God. We begin by seeking to understand the question Why the cross? We observe as God builds a bridge of trust by demonstrating his own faithfulness through the generations, giving us signs and tokens of remembrance of his grace. We will see that the cost of our sin debt is beyond our reach, that only God could provide a means to cover it. We will look upon the paschal lambJesus Christas the only solution to that debt. We will come face-to-face with the cross and observe as our sin debt is paid. Finally, we will look beyond the cross to understand what this means for us, even now. The word of the cross is life, life eternal.

The Parables are instructive stories that Jesus told while teaching His disciples and the crowds who came to hear Him. Memory can be fickle. Facts and details fade despite our efforts to keep them fresh, but when they are wrapped in an exciting story we can recall them with clarity. Consequently, Jesus taught using stories parables so that our memories would be invigorated and we would remember these lessons for years, if not for a lifetime.In A Matter of the Heart we will study eighteen parables Jesus taught. These are some of the most important, if not the most important lessons He wants us to understand and remember. We will study the parable of the Prodigal Son wherein we will come to know the meaning of sin, of repentance, forgiveness, and the grace of a loving father. In the parable of the Good Samaritan we will see that Gods desire for mercy trumps obligation and duty, and we will see through this man a model of Jesus, our Good Samaritan. We will study the Kingdom of Heaven parables for a picture of the kingdom that Jesus established, and come to understand what it means to be a citizen thereof. We will explore the parable of the Wedding Feast which reveals an awesome future event wrapped around a marriage that God the Father arranged for Jesus, His son. We will look at the wise and the foolish, the just and the unjust. We will get a glimpse of heaven itself through the lens of Jesus teachings. We will study His instruction about prayer, the dangers of ingratitude and a cold heart, the true measure of success, and the meaning of stewardship. Jesus taught using parables each and every one a blessing, each A Matter of the Heart.