Two books about hope

Have you — or someone you know — lost hope? Read one or both of these books.    Or print either book for someone else.

Renewed Hope begins with three stories of people who lost hope. It was written as a short and easy-to-read book with only 24 pages. Read on the website Download and print (PDF format) Download in TXT format Print in LARGE PRINT format Download in ZIP format for copyright-free republication Book summary by chapter

Finding Hope...in a hopeless world has the same theme as Renewed Hope, but it covers the topic in much greater detail. It has 52 pages. Read on the website Download and print (PDF format) Download in TXT format Print in LARGE PRINT format Download in ZIP format for copyright-free republication Book summary by chapter

Lost Hope

1. Chapter 1: Lost Hope
      
2. Chapter 2: How Was Hope Lost?
      
3. Chapter 3: Why is Sin Fun?
      
4. Chapter 4: The Real Jesus
      
5. Chapter 5: Is Hope Possible?
      
6. Chapter 6: Finding Hope
      

           

Finding Hope

1. Chapter 1: Introducing Hope
       "This book addresses the ultimate subject of hope, but it will be very different from most books of this type that you would expect to read. First, we are not asking that you believe what we are telling you. We will simply give you the information and then let you decide what you want to do with it...We will be talking about Jesus more than any other person. You will find, however, that the Bible describes him as a very different individual than the Christmas-card Jesus sleeping in a cattle feeding trough...The second way in which this book will be strikingly different is it its contrast to many books which try to "market" Jesus...We want to carefully explain the high cost of commitment to Jesus without coercing you into making a decision to follow him. In fact, we could not be more clear about anything than our desire to avoid any attempt to manipulate you."
   
   
2. Chapter 2: Creation's Design Specification
       "The design specification for any project provides the precise requirements for that proposed design, giving in-depth detail about each step to be taken toward its completion. It provides the engineers and builders with all of the information necessary in order to achieve the intended outcome...Probably the most comprehensive design specification in the Bible was written by the Apostle Paul in approximately 60-62 AD...He said: 'Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be his through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without fault before him.' (Ephesians 1:4)"
   
   
3. Chapter 3: The Argument for Holiness
       "Is holiness desirable? Is holiness a standard which is good only for God, or does it actually have benefits for the human inhabitants of God's created world?...Before we look specifically at God's attribute of holiness, let's look back in history at the chaos in the region of Sub-Saharan Africa and draw from it a suggestion as to why our own human holiness is inadequate to control our world."
   
   
4. Chapter 4: Identifying the Creator (Part 1)
      "To this point we have simply identified the Creator as "God." That is, after all, how the account of creation begins in the first book of the Bible: 'In the beginning...God created the universe.' (Genesis 1:1)...We are left with an inescapable conclusion from both the Old and New Testaments, including the statements of Jesus himself. There is a sense of unity in which God can be described as "one." At the same time, as a person entirely unique from God the Father, Jesus can be described as being eternal and existing continuously with God and as fully equal to God."
   
   
5. Chapter 5: Identifying the Creator (Part 2)
       "We can now identify the Creator. He is the one who was eternally with God and who later came to earth as the man named Jesus...The New Testament shows Jesus as being equal with God because he is also eternal just as he is outside of everything which is created. Thus, we learn that God can be described as "one" at the same time that Jesus can be described as being a person entirely unique from God the Father who is also eternal and is fully equal to God."
   
   
6. Chapter 6: Manuscript Evidence
       "Did you notice in previous chapters that many of our arguments came from Greek verb tenses, precise Greek words defining creation, the meaning of Greek words such as "visible likeness," and more? Why is there so much concern with this detailed accuracy in the original Greek text?...Today we know that the Greek text of the New Testament almost exactly reproduces that which was written by the original authors. This is important because Christianity is not merely a philosophy. It is a precise faith...It would be impossible to have any certainty in the Christian faith if the text on which it was based was not completely accurate."
   
   
7. Chapter 7: The Creator Became a Man
       "In this chapter we want to look at that period of time in which Jesus lived on earth...During his teaching ministry, he gathered a group of faithful followers who eventually came to believe that he was the promised deliverer of Israel (see Acts 1:6). But above all else, Jesus came to this earth to be the Redeemer. It is Jesus' role as Redeemer which gives us the possibility of hope. Again, all that will be said under the following two headings has been the faith of traditional Christianity for 2,000 years."
   
   
8. Chapter 8: Finding Hope (Part 1)
       "We can now demonstrate what true hope would be. If you knew with absolute certainty that you were "holy and without fault before God," would that not be the basis of immense hope?...None of us have the ability to be holy, nor do we even naturally desire to be holy. God has given each of us his permission to follow him or to be disobedient to him. However, within that area of personal choice, God has also made himself available to all who want his assistance in any part of the process."
   
   
9. Chapter 9: Finding Hope (Part 2)
       "This chapter will explain how to come into union with Jesus...The generally understood steps leading to salvation among most within the 2,000 year-old Christian tradition are: 1) Recognition of personal sin...2) Repentance from sin...3) Trust in Jesus' holiness as all that is needed to be "holy and without fault before God."
   
   
10. Chapter 10: Living With Hope
        "There are at least four major component parts in the hope which results from our union with Jesus...The first of these four parts is the hope of eternal life that each individual may have as a result of being set free (redeemed)...A second important part of freedom in Jesus' (redemption) is that God will exercise perfect justice...A third vital part of freedom in Jesus (redemption) is that society will someday be set free so that there will be complete peace between all nations and ethnic groups. Finally, our fourth hope is that all of creation will be set free and there will once again be a perfect universe."