Text of famous inspirational lecture and biography of Russell Conwell, a Baptist minister and Temple University Founder .
An outline of the Government of God as held by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as outlined by John Taylor, third President of the Church. Summary by Wayne Cooke.
He who attempts to expound the Epistle to the Romans, when his sacred task is over, is little disposed to speak about his Commentary; he is occupied rather with an ever deeper reverence and wonder over the Text which he has been permitted to handle, a Text so full of a marvellous man, above all so full of God. It remains only to express the hope that these pages may serve in some degree to convey to their readers a new Tolle, Lege for the divine Text itself; if only by suggesting to them sometimes the words of St Augustine, "To Paul I appeal from all interpreters of his writings." (From the Preface)
Martin Luther strove to give a verse by verse exegesis of the Epistle to the Galatians in the work. The original work, written in Latin in around 1516, was much longer. This translation by Theodore Graebner strove to produce a copy of the work in a format and with wording much more applicable to the general English-speaking American public.
Before one can correctly understand the work of the Holy Spirit, he must first of all know the Spirit Himself. A frequent source of error and fanaticism about the work of the Holy Spirit is the attempt to study and understand His work without first of all coming to know Him as a Person.
It is of the highest importance from the standpoint of worship that we decide whether the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, worthy to receive our adoration, our faith, our love, and our entire surrender to Himself, or whether it is simply an influence emanating from God or a power or an illumination that God imparts to us. If the Holy Spirit is a person, and a Divine Person, and we do not know Him as such, then we are robbing a Divine Being of the worship and the faith and the love and the surrender to Himself which are His due.
It is also of the highest importance from the practical standpoint that we decide whether the Holy Spirit is merely some mysterious and wonderful power that we in our weakness and ignorance are somehow to get hold of and use, or whether the Holy Spirit is a real Person, infinitely holy, infinitely wise, infinitely mighty and infinitely tender who is to get hold of and use us. If we think of the Holy Spirit as so many do as merely a power or influence, our constant thought will be, “How can I get more of the Holy Spirit,” but if we think of Him in the Biblical way as a Divine Person, our thought will rather be, “How can the Holy Spirit have more of me?” (R. A. Torrey)
This great work covers the history of the Christian dispensation, from the fall of Jerusalem, through the Dark Ages and Reformation, to the yet-future final triumph of Jesus over Satan.
"And God tempted Abraham and said unto him: take Isaac, thine only son, whom thou lovest and go to the land Moriah and sacrifice him there on a mountain which I shall show thee. Genesis 22:1"Soren Kierkegaard wondered how Abraham made the movement of faith that made him the father of faith mentioned in the New Testament (Hebrews 11:17-19). Fear and Trembling is the product of his wonder. Work out your salvation in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). One-third of "Fear and Trembling" was translated in 1923 by Lee Hollander in the University of Texas Bulliten. This book has already been read in parts in the Short Nonfiction Collection but I think some might be interested in listening to it as a complete reading.
While Isaac Newton is most known today for his research in physics, during his own life he was also well-known for his religious scholarship. Engaging in intensive research on Christian history, theology, and the Bible, Newton cared deeply about understanding his faith. Among Newton's writings are those on prophecies described in the Bible. Here, he analyzes the last book of the New Testament - Revelation AKA the Apocalypse of St. John - in order to gain an understanding of the world's end times. He seems especially interested in tracking how post-Jesus Roman history compares with the events described in Revelation. Observations Upon the Apocalypse of St. John was posthumously published in 1733, as part of Newton's larger work on Bible prophecy.
The spiritual classic The Greatest Thing In the World is a trenchant and tender analysis of Christian love as set forth in the thirteenth chapter of I Corinthians. The other addresses speak to other aspects of Christian life and thought.
Originally published in 1685, Madame Guyon’s A Short and Easy Method of Prayer is considered a classic of Christian mysticism, influencing great writers and speakers such as John Wesley and Charles Spurgeon. In it, Madame Guyon carefully and briefly sets out her ‘unmethodical method’ by which any and all can commune with God at any time and under any circumstances.
After a long struggle against liberal tendencies in the Church of England and an unsuccessful attempt to establish the position of Anglicanism as a branch of historical Christianity whose doctrines could be proven to be identical with those of the primitive Church, John Henry Newman came to the painful realization that he could no longer remain a member of the Anglican Church. Increasingly drawn to Catholicism, he was nevertheless repulsed by the idea that the Roman Church, while preserving many ancient doctrines, had contaminated the faith by mixing into it its own invented traditions. Or could it be that these "new" doctrines were truly already present from the beginning, having only become more explicit and better understood with the passage of the centuries? "So, I determined to write an essay on Doctrinal Development; and then, if, at the end of it, my convictions in favour of the Roman Church were not weaker, to make up my mind to seek admission into her fold" (Newman, Apologia Pro Vita Sua).
Perhaps most well-known for his fairytales and fantasy stories such as The Golden Key and Phantastes, or for his poetry, George MacDonald was a great spiritual master of the nineteenth century. He spent several years as a minister in his native Scotland; however he was forced to resign his position due to ill health. He had a profound influence on such later writers as G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis – the latter of whom considered MacDonald to be his spiritual father, and edited an anthology of his works.
In The Hope of the Gospel, with his ever sagely style, MacDonald explores the essential heart of the gospel that is so often overlooked, both in his day and ours. Dissatisfied with cheap and hasty interpretations of Scripture, MacDonald invites us beneath the surface in a heartfelt meditation on all that Christ came to accomplish.
We were having a great many accessions to our church. While many of these came by letter form other churches, many of them were new converts and had had practically no systematic instruction in the fundamental truths of the Christina faith, so we announced a series of sermons on The Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith. There was immediately a large increase in the attendance at the services where these addresses were given, and this increase has kept up until on the last Lord's Day we had much the largest attendance we have ever had, excepting Easter Sunday. Many have testified to the blessing received form these sermons, and there has been a great demand that the sermons be printed for general circulation. It is hoped that this volume will be useful to other pastors in suggesting lines of teaching in their regular pastoral work, and also that it may be used widely by pastors and others for circulation among Christians. We live in a day in which many of our church members are all at sea as to what they believe on the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. These sermons have already helped many through their delivery. It is hoped they will reach and help far more in the printed form. (R. A. Torrey)
"The present Volume aims to embody, in a concise and somewhat original manner and style, a general view of the Science of Theology, as gathered from revelation, history, prophecy, reason and analogy. If the Work proves an introductory key to some of the first principles of the divine science of which it treats; if it serves to open the eyes of any of his fellowmen, on the facts of the past, the present, and the future; if it leads to investigation and inquiry, and calls public attention to the greater and more particular truths which have been, or are about to be, revealed as a standard by which to unite the people of all nations and of all religions upon the rock, the sure foundation of divine, eternal, uncreated, infinite and exhaustless Truth, it will have accomplished the end aimed at by THE AUTHOR."
The title gives an accurate description of the book! It is full of old and forgotten words and phrases, Amusing at times, but addressing the problems mentioned in the chapter titles in detail. The troubles of his times are the same as today's, and Rev. Talmage does a marvelous job going through each one individually.Summary by fiddlesticks
Noted author and historian, Charlotte Mary Yonge, presents Bible stories written for children in simple language. There are thee 52 stories for the year starting at the beginning of the Bible through the end, with three readings for each chapter.
Stories of the Wars of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, to the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus is a historical narrative spanning Jewish history from 586 B.C.E to 70 A.D. There is no history more fraught with interest, or conveying more important lessons than that of God’s chosen nation. There are no annals which display instances of more heroic courage, faith, and self-devotion and of darker apostasy and crime,—than those of the descendants of Abraham.
This chapter by chapter commentary on the first book of the Bible is full of spiritual insights. C H Mackintosh wrote in the late 19th century on a wide range of Biblical topics. He was well known as a speaker in Brethren circles, and his written work continues to inspire Bible students all over the world.
An accounting of the need, purpose and events surrounding the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ though the Prophet Joseph Smith.