How Discipleship Yields Restoration
Transformation by the Spirit
The Acts of the Apostles is basically an account of how the Holy Spirit, the powerful and personal presence of God, transforms the earliest followers of Jesus into the restored people of God, the beginnings of God’s new creation. “You will receive power,” Jesus tells his disciples at the story’s beginning, “when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Luke (the author of Acts) then describes how the Spirit guides and empowers the first Christians to carry out their mandate of gathering a new people of God composed not only of Israelites but also of people from the earth’s many nations.
A Look at Notable 2020 Publications
Continuing the tradition of reflecting on some of the year s noteworthy publications. David S. Dockery Image: Nick Fewings/Unsplash
Each year, my friend David Dockery releases an end-of-year list of noteworthy books. I am happy to share them with you.
I trust that the forthcoming holiday period will provide moments for rest and renewal for many from what has been an exhausting 2020. Perhaps these days will even provide an opportunity for some of us to catch up on some of the important publications that have been released since last year’s holiday period, which now seems like a long time ago. While the list of quality books published in recent months is lengthy, here are a few noteworthy suggestions, beginning with books