A Life of Conversion

A Life of Conversion PDF

Author: Derek Rotty

Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor

Published: 2019-09-13

Total Pages: 107

ISBN-13: 1681923343

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“As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he rose and followed him.” — Matthew 9:9 Conversion. The word is often associated with a one-time event, such as the call of Saint Matthew. But even for Matthew, that call was only the beginning, the moment when he started following Jesus. For Matthew, as for all the saints, his conversion lasted a lifetime. Real conversion — repentance and turning toward God — is a process that happens daily. It is our continual "yes" to the Lord and the grace he offers us. In A Life of Conversion, Derek Rotty walks through eight Gospel passages that reveal essential lessons about conversion. Through these stories from Scripture, you will encounter Christ again and again, and, with him as your model, you’ll be drawn into a deeper relationship with the master of conversion. Each chapter includes reflection questions that are perfect for both individual and group study. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Derek Rotty is a husband and father. For more than a decade, he has ministered in Catholic parishes, helping children, teens, and adults find deeper encounters and relationships with Jesus. He currently serves as Director of Evangelization and Discipleship at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Jackson, Tennessee. He has written for The Catechetical Review, Crisis Magazine, Catholic Exchange, and the West Tennessee Catholic. To learn more, visit www.derekrotty.com.

Finding God

Finding God PDF

Author: John M. Mulder

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2012-08-13

Total Pages: 419

ISBN-13: 0802865755

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The search for God is a staple of human history. Finding God records sixty first-person accounts of Christians who found God in different ways and the impact this discovery made on their lives and on the world in which they lived. Ranging from the first century to the present, Finding God is a fascinating digest of conversion stories from a wide variety of people -- from the apostle Paul to the rock musician Bono. These narratives together demonstrate the remarkable diversity of spiritual journeys and the dramatic changes that can result from encounters with God. Both instructive and inspirational, Finding God will expand horizons and deepen the faith of those who seek insight into the age-old spiritual quest to find God.

My Faith So Far

My Faith So Far PDF

Author: Patton Dodd

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2007-06-15

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 0787997889

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In this frank, funny, and often challenging memoir about life in and out of the church, twenty-something Patton Dodd reveals his quest for an authentic experience of God. On his journey he attempts to pinpoint and justify his belief in God, first with the fervent absolutes that characterize a new believer’s faith but then with a growing awareness of the cultural complexities that define his faith and encompass his understanding of Christianity. When a spiritual awakening in his last year of high school wrenches Dodd out of his rebellious party days, he embarks on a quest for God. He exchanges pot smoking for worship dancing, gives up MTV for Christian pop, and enrolls at a Christian university. Soon, however, he finds himself ill at ease with the other Christians around him and with the cloying superficiality of the Christian subculture. Dodd tells his story in contradictory terms—conversion and confusion, acceptance and rejection, spiritual highs and psychological lows. With painstaking honesty, he tries to negotiate a relationship with his faith apart from the cultural trappings that often clothe it. Dodd’s moving story paints a nuanced and multilayered portrait of an earnest quest for God: the hunger for genuine faith, the bleak encounters with doubt, and the consuming questions that challenge the intellect and the soul. This is a story that will resonate with the emerging generation of young adults attempting to break new ground within their own faith tradition.

The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert

The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert PDF

Author: Rosaria Champagne Butterfield

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13: 9781884527821

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"Rosaria, by the standards of many, was living a very good life. She had a tenured position at a large university in a field for which she cared deeply. She owned two homes with her partner, in which they provided hospitality to students and activists that were looking to make a difference in the world. In the community, Rosaria was involved in volunteer work. At the university, she was a respected advisor of students and her department's curriculum. And then, in her late 30s, Rosaria encountered something that turned her world upside down -- the idea that Christianity, a religion that she had regarded as problematic and sometimes downright damaging, might be right about who God was. That idea seemed to fly in the face of the people and causes that she most loved. What follows is a story of what she describes as a train wreck at the hand of the supernatural. These are her secret thoughts about those events, written as only a reflective English professor could."--Back cover.

Transforming Your Life: The Process of Conversion

Transforming Your Life: The Process of Conversion PDF

Author: United Church of God

Publisher: United Church of God

Published: 2014-02-03

Total Pages: 127

ISBN-13: 0557949548

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The Bible reveals that conversion is a process that begins with God's calling, followed by repentance, baptism and the receiving of the Holy Spirit—finally climaxing with the return of Jesus Christ, when the dead in Christ are resurrected to immortality and given eternal life. That is the ultimate transformation, being changed from a mortal to an immortal being! Inside this Bible study aid: - Praying for a Right Spirit and New Attitude - We Must Change Our Way of Thinking - What Is Sin? - What's Wrong With Our Human Nature? - What's So Bad About Sin? - Must We Obey God's Commandments? - Why Be Baptized? - The Holy Spirit: God's Transforming Power - Why Can't Theologians Explain the Trinity Doctrine? - Is the Holy Spirit a Person? - A High Priest Eager to Help Us - Growing to Spiritual Maturity - Why Bible Study Is Necessary for Spiritual Growth - How to Stir Up God's Spirit - The Prayer God Will Hear - Repentance Must Be With Faith - Does God Set Conditions on His Gift of Eternal Life?

Loved as I Am

Loved as I Am PDF

Author: Sr. Miriam James Heidland SOLT

Publisher: Ave Maria Press

Published: 2014-11-03

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 1594715475

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When Sr. Miriam James Heidland’s life as a successful college athlete proved unfulfilling, she went searching for something deeper and ended up falling in love with Jesus. By charting her own journey toward wholeness, Heidland invites young Catholics to pursue their own relationship with Jesus. Although originally full of athletic ambition and goals for a career in sports news, Heidland was transformed in a very slow but deep way during her undergraduate years, moving from party girl to bride of Christ. In Loved as I Am: An Invitation to Conversion, Healing, and Freedom through Jesus, Heidland helps readers learn from her experience of seeking love in the wrong places and instead finding it in Christ. She shares her struggles—learning she was adopted, battling alcoholism, and healing from childhood sexual abuse—as signs of hope that anyone who desires to know Christ can find him and be loved intimately by him in return. By bringing readers into Heidland’s healing process, Loved as I Am provides a gentle and subtle template for finding peace and freedom in Jesus.

The Gospel Call and True Conversion

The Gospel Call and True Conversion PDF

Author: Paul Washer

Publisher: Reformation Heritage Books

Published: 2013-06-21

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 1601782373

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The apostle Paul gave the gospel the first place in his preaching, endeavored with all his might to proclaim it clearly, and even went so far as to pronounce a curse upon all those who would pervert its truth. Yet how sad it is that many, even among those considering themselves evangelicals, have reduced the gospel message to a few trite statements to be repeated, and view conversion as a mere human decision. In The Gospel Call and True Conversion , Paul Washer challenges such easy believism as he examines the real meaning of things like faith, repentance, and receiving Christ. He also deals extensively with the effects of saving grace that God promises in the new covenant; namely, the creation of new hearts and new people. Table of Contents: PART ONE: The Gospel Call 1. A Call to Repentance 2. A Call to Faith 3. Believe and Confess 4. Receiving Christ 5. Christ at Heart’s Door PART TWO: New Hearts and the Nature of True Conversion 6. The Great Motive and End of Salvation 7. The Author of Salvation 8. Separation and Cleansing 9. A New Heart 10. The Effectual Spirit PART THREE: New People and the Nature of True Conversion 11. The Glory of the New Covenant 12. The Making of New People 13. The Christian’s Sure Knowledge of God 14. The Heart and Way of God’s People 15. The Everlasting Covenant 16. God’s Goodness to His People Series Descriptions Although the Recovering the Gospel Series does not represent an entirely systematic presentation of the gospel, it does address most of the essential elements, especially those that are most neglected in contemporary Christianity. It is the hope of the author that these words might be a guide to help you rediscover the gospel in all its beauty, scandal, and saving power. It is his prayer that such a rediscovery might transform your life, strengthen your proclamation, and bring the greatest glory to God.

Turning to God

Turning to God PDF

Author: David F. Wells

Publisher: Baker Books

Published: 2012-04-12

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780801097003

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Does a person have to "convert" to be a Christian? Or can one merely "follow" Jesus by studying Scripture? Does the Bible ever say that conversion is necessary? Or is it a development of the church? Turning to God explores these fundamental questions about regeneration and conversion, distinguishing Christianity from every other faith as one in which conversion is unique, supernatural, and necessary for salvation. In it you will find a clear, thoughtful, balanced discussion of the Christian conversion experience, including its history, controversy, and scriptural basis. Anyone who has marveled at the mystery of how and why we turn to God, along with those skeptical of religious conversion, will find themselves challenged and encouraged by this thorough treatment of one of the fundamentals of the Christian faith.