A World According to God Practices for Putting Faith at the Center of Your Life

by Stortz, Martha Ellen

• ISBN13: 9780787959814
• ISBN10: 0787959812
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-04-05
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

Many Christians struggle to make the connection between our faith and the rest of our lives, particularly moral issues large and small. We inhabit a world, says Martha Ellen Stortz, that is split into two parts: one presided over by advice columnists and the media, the other a world according to God. But that world according to God is not always easy to discern. What does it mean, indeed, to live with God as our touchstone? How does that affect the way we behave, our identity, and the way we see the world?Martha Ellen Stortz explores essential Christian practices of discipleship such as baptism, prayer, communion, forgiveness, and fidelity to help readers understand more deeply what it means to live in "a world according to God." The book makes the connections between Christian practices and the moral life in a way that will help believers retrieve both a sense of the sacred and a commitment to the world, and that will strengthen us so that we can live according to their most profound beliefs. Filled with lively anecdotes and fresh interpretations-informed by solid theological understanding-the book offers new insights into what it means to put faith at the center of life.

Author Biography

Martha Ellen Stortz is professor of historical theology and ethics at Pacific Lutheran Seminary, a branch of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. She is a layperson in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is widely respected for her speaking and teaching in the church. She is the author of PastorPower: Power and Leadership in Ministry.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Imagining a World According to God	p. 1
Discipleship: Meeting Peter Again for the First Time	p. 19
Baptism: Joining the Journey	p. 33
The Lord's Supper: Sustaining the Body of Christ	p. 53
Prayer: Conversations Along the Way	p. 71
Forgiveness: Healing and Being Healed	p. 93
Remembering: Loving with a Resurrection Affection	p. 113
Fidelity: Promising Ourselves Body, Mind, Soul, and Spirit	p. 131
Practicing Resurrection	p. 153
Notes	p. 165
Recommended Reading	p. 169
The Author	p. 171
Index	p. 173
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