Bøger af Frederick Osborn

Lessons from the History of Revivals For the 21st Century Church Charles Finney, the father of modern revivals, called revival a "renewed conviction of sin and repentance, followed by an intense desire to live in obedience to God." In order for revival to take place on a personal level, it requires the absolute surrender of one's will to God in prayer and deep humility. The question is often asked, "Who is responsible for revival: God or man?" To satisfactorily answer that question, the author of "Reviving a Nation" reviews the ancient biblical record of revivals led by Judah's good kings along with the more recent history of America's Great Awakenings. Comparing and contrasting the successes and failures of previous revivals helps the reader to draw his or her own conclusions about what constitutes a true revival. What are America's needs at this moment for revival? How can revival be sparked first in the individual Christian, then in the home, family, community and finally in the nation as a whole? Drawing from his many years of experience on mission fields around the world, the author points the way for all those who are looking for revival personally, for the church, and for the nation in the 21st century. "It's true that (many) are praying for a worldwide revival. But it would be more timely, and more scriptural, for prayer to be made to the Lord of the harvest, that He would raise up and thrust forth laborers who would fearlessly and faithfully preach those truths which are calculated to bring about a revival." - A. W. Pink

The Balanced Christian Life is an excerpt from the author's book "The Holy Spirit in You." It introduces the reader to the broader topic of the purpose and function of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.

THE SPIRIT OF RELIGION "I'm not religious. I just love the Lord." It is a popular bumper sticker proudly displayed for all to see. But there was a time when being called "religious" was a compliment and not an insult. Can a person be religious and still love the Lord with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength? When and how did it happen that "religion" became an uncomplimentary word? Is it true that all religious people are hurtful, sanctimonious legalists that cannot tolerate anyone who is not like them? Should we gather up our whips made of cords and drive all of these intolerant ones out of our churches like money changers in the Temple? There are those who say religious people are plagued by "religious spirits" - demons that turn otherwise nice people into evil vision killers and "party poopers" in the church. Christians with these evil religious spirits are said to be motivated by fear and suspicion of anything that is new, strange, and unfamiliar. Are they right who say that religious people are plagued by demons and must be delivered? Are religious Christians, merely traditional obstructionists - legalists that love to throw Bible passages at free spirits in the church in order to quench the Spirit and rein them in? Should the religious abandon their stance and join parade of the non-religious believers who claim the moral high ground as the truly loving, tolerant, totally free spirits who claim that truly following Jesus means worshiping God however they please free of any restrictions? Is it true what they say, that Jesus was not a religious person and therefore we should shun any and all trappings of religion? Is there such a thing as a pure and undefiled Christian religion? And if so, what does it look like? Can we truly love the Lord and still be religious? All these questions and more are answered as the author of The Spirit of Religion takes the reader through the Scriptures in search of the answers.

The ancient book of Daniel contains several of the best known stories of the Old Testament. From childhood, Christians are taught about Daniel's great statue, his three friends in the fiery furnace, Daniel reading the handwriting on the wall at Belshazzar's final feast, and Daniel in the lions' den. At the same time, Daniel also contains some of the most mysterious prophecies of the Bible. Daniel's prophecies of the four beasts, the ram and goat, the Seventy Weeks, the kings of north and south that precede the Antichrist are often the subjects of wonder and debate for Christians. Sidestepping the theological debates between conservative Bible scholars and the higher critics of biblical texts, the author presents plain and simple descriptions of the chapters in Daniel to illuminate their common-sense meaning for the layperson. Daniel: Kingdoms in Conflict gives the reader the kingdom of heaven's perspective of the rise and fall of the past, present, and future great kingdoms on earth described in Daniel's visions.

"The Legacy of Women in the Bible" examines several of the popular Bible stories that are always told from the perspective of the men involved, but instead looks at them from the woman's perspective. This study also examines some of the complex statements made about the roles of women in the church in Paul's letters. Rev. Osborn offers fresh insights into these verses, and makes them simple to understand in the modern context.

The Holy Spirit In You: Nourishing the Life of Holiness and Power in You. Frederick Osborn is the author of twenty-five books and study guides on a variety of biblical topics. In his latest book, he examines the Fruit and Gifts of the Spirit in the life of the believer. Recognizing that how the believer understands the work of the Holy Spirit in their life concerning both the fruit and gifts, will greatly affect their Christian walk, the author clearly defines the fruit of the Spirit and how those fruits are produced in those who abide in the Vine. He also identifies and defines what the spiritual gifts are and how they are to be used for ministry. Neither dogmatically Pentecostal nor Charismatic in its approach, The Holy Spirit in You is however, straight-forward in its advocacy of the exchanged life theology that speaks of the twofold substitution resulting from the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the perfect sacrifice. The first exchange is the charging of the believer's sin to Christ which results in God's forgiveness, and second is the crediting of Christ's righteousness to the believer which results in his justification and sanctification. The fruit, gifts, and ministries of the Holy Spirit are the evidences that the exchange has taken place and the believer is truly living his or her life in complete submission to the word of God.

Beginning with Luke's inspired account numerous books have been written that attempt to describe the life of Jesus of Nazareth in an orderly fashion. However, one of the great challenges for the modern commentator is the fact that the Gospel writers were not historians by contemporary standards. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were first and foremost, missionaries; and the stories they told had one primary purpose: to convince their readers that what they testified about Jesus Christ was faithful and true. Frederick Osborn has spent the last twelve years on the mission fields of South Asia preaching and teaching the Gospel in cross-cultural settings. Relying upon the texts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, his goal is to make convincing arguments to communicate the idea that through His life, death, and resurrection Jesus of Nazareth is indeed Lord and Christ for all who believe.This study on the life of Christ is topical not chronological. It does not completely ignore the Gospels' sequence of events, but the topics overlap at times and at times the chronology is not precise. The topics will at least touch on every major event, and will only go into details when those details are necessary to give greater depth and understanding to the particular topic of that lesson. This volume is a wide-ranging study of the words and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. In the end it will be thorough and complete.

Being a Disciple is only part of what we have been called to; we have also been called to "go and make disciples." This is the Great Commission: being salt and light to the world as we make disciples. The intended result of being salt and light to the world is to go and make disciples. Disciples making disciples is an integral part of the kingdom. As disciples teach, they are being taught by the Master. Disciple-to-Disciple book and study guide is actually the third in an informal series of teachings on the Kingdom. The first in the series is This Gospel of the Kingdom. The book and study guide describe the foundational teachings of Jesus Christ concerning the kingdom of God. The second book and study guide in the series is called Kingdom Discipleship. Kingdom Discipleship defines the six terms of discipleship that Jesus said all who would be His disciple must meet in order to be His disciple. Only disciples make disciples and in this part of the series on the Kingdom of God we will set aside some time to learn how Jesus, the Master Teacher taught His disciples. Disciple-to-Disciple is an in-depth study guide on how Jesus taught His disciples. It can be used with or without the book to help us understand how Jesus taught His disciples, so that we can be more effective in how we teach others to be like Christ. If we teach others to become faithful disciples of Jesus Christ then we will do more than teach them to be mere imitations of their Master but will teach them to be like Jesus in every way. When disciples make disciples all will be transformed by the Master. And so the process of making disciples who are like Jesus in character and conduct will continue with each new generation of believers.

Exploring the New Testament is a result of Frederick Osborn's many years of hands on experience of teaching the Bible on the mission fields of South Asia. This book is part of a Bible survey that has been taught to pastors, evangelists, and lay leaders who have little or no study materials in their indigenous language. Each lesson is introduced with a picture that is used as a visual aid to help the student understand and remember the basic concepts of the books of the New Testament. This survey is divided into 20 lessons (the Introduction plus 19 Lessons covering all 27 books of the New Testament) that can be used in a classroom, any small group setting, or for personal Bible study. When preparing these lessons the author took great pains to avoid any denominational leanings and stayed away from the use of any anecdotes to fill in the lessons. At the same time, this study avoids the language of seminary theologians and academics who often write in a scholarly language that only other scholars can understand. This book is written in such a way that the layperson can understand. It is an ideal tool for the pastor or ministry leader to use to teach Sunday school lessons, or for a Bible college introduction to the New Testament. "It is my hope that everyone who reads and studies Exploring the New Testament will join with us in prayer that this book may be used according to the command of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ to 'make disciples' for him. I highly recommend it" - Bob Binkley, President of Bibles for All Ministries, USA