In his introductory essay to this selection from the writing and preaching of C.H. Spurgeon, Helmut Thielicke - himself among the best preachers of the twentieth century - expresses his surprise and delight at his discovery of the great Victorian preacher. He draws out those qualities which made Spurgeon one of the most influential ministers of his day, and explains what it was that attracted him to the self-educated Baptist preacher. They share a recognition of the urgency of their message: 'We stand in need of the simple way in which Spurgeon dares to say that what really and ultimately counts is to save sinners.' Warmth, immediacy and directness are Spurgeon's hallmarks; qualities which Thielicke's own remarkable sermons share but which he felt much preaching of his day lacked. It is still a convincing testament to Spurgeon's continuing vitality and relevance that Thielicke, one of the greatest modern preachers, should say, 'Sell all that you have ...and buy Spurgeon.'

Between Heaven and Earth grew out one of Thielicke's visits to the United States in 1963, during which he travelled across the country preaching and lecturing. The conversations recorded here are the fruit of his more informal discussions with small groups of clergy, students and lay people. "You have disturbed our peace and upset our doubts," said one pastor. "You have freed the fettered and bound the wandering spirits," said another. The questions that American Christians asked of Thielicke are direct and wide-ranging, concerned not only with the fundamental problems of faith but with its bearing on issues of social and political morality. Thielicke's answers, though equally direct, are neither simplistic nor dogmatic. His approach is refreshingly open and his conclusions emerge from a reasoned consideration of the evidence and alternative possibilities. Above all, Thielicke's answers reveal the warmth and deep concern for humanity's spiritual welfare that is at the root of his teaching and writing.

The Waiting Father is a collection of sermons by Helmut Thielicke, the great German preacher and theologian, which offer deep insights into the spiritual message of Jesus's fifteen major parables. They were originally preached in Michaelskirche, Hamburg, in the mid-1950s. Thielicke approaches the parables in novel ways. In treating the prodigal son, for instance, he concentrates more on the loving father than the rebellious son, emphasising the centrality of forgiveness. Similarly, when discussing the pharisee and the publican he shows that the publican is guilty of spiritual pride and arrogance, drawing attention to the dangers for the faithful. Both among expositions of the parables and among books for preachers, The Waiting Father stands in a class of its own. Great scholars are usually poor preachers, and great scholars are rarely good preachers, but Thielicke manages to combine distinguished scholarship with fine preaching.

"The question of where we come from and where we are going is one of the elementary challenges of life. Perhaps it is the question of life. Only when we get an answer to it do we learn who we are." So begins How the World Began, a book that asks the most fundamental of all questions: who are we? And what did God intend us to be? Despite - perhaps even because of - the immense technological advances of our time, and the frightful consequences for the human race of the misuse of that power, humanity is brought face-to-face time and again with the essential problem that has haunted us since the beginning of time: the mystery of good and evil. Helmut Thielicke's work in these sermons on the first eleven chapters of Genesis is thought-provoking and exceptionally powerful.

In this series of sermons, first delivered over radio and television in Germany during the 1960s, Helmut Thielicke wrote about the true meaning of Christian festivals such as Good Friday, Easter and Pentecost. He saw deeply into the mystery, despair, and confusion of life in his time and spoke a truly prophetic word to Christians that still resonates today. As Thielicke meditates on Christmas, the reader will understand anew how light shines in the darkness of this world. As he preaches about Christ's suffering on the cross, humanity's suffering is given meaning; and, in talking of death, he gives us encouragement to live in hope. Christ and the Meaning of Life explores subjects as far apart from each other - and as close together - as rehabilitation and retribution, beauty and terror, and love and brutality. Here Thielicke faces the fearsome questions that plague humanity and brings the Christian Gospel to bear on each of them with a clarity and persuasiveness that echoes in these troubled times.

Christians have always turned to the Sermon on the Mount for inspiration. In Life Can Begin Again, Helmut Thielicke, himself one of the great preachers of the twentieth century, comes to grips with what is often seen as a collection of lovely but impossible ideals. Thielicke makes it clear that the Sermon on the Mount can never be understood if, even for a moment, we forget the person of the Preacher of the Sermon. For without the person and work of Jesus Christ the marvellous words of the Beatitudes and the injunctions that follow them are the most radical and devastating distillation of God's claims that can be conceived - they leave us in utter hopeless dismay. Only through Christ can these words of the law become the glorious Gospel that promises a new life. Once again, as in his other best-selling works How the World Began and The Prayer that Spans the World, Thielicke brings profoundly biblical religion alive for modern readers.

A potentially difficult text for today's Christians, The Ethics of Sex gives a fascinating insight into the mindset of how a Christian thinker considered gender and sexuality when the definitions of both were becoming more and more fluid. Caught between the points of the harsh restrictions of the Third Reich, and the revolutionary approach popularised in the 1960s, Thielicke offers a modern reader the opportunity to understand more of this pivotal period in history. In The Ethics of Sex, Thielicke confronts hot-button issues, many of which are still controversial today, like abortion, homosexuality and artificial insemination. Here he forges a path for the Christian philosopher that is consistent with Christian values of compassion and understanding. While a complex text, The Ethics of Sex rewards both the scholar and the historian.

'The Lord's Prayer can be spoken at the cradle or the grave. It can rise from the altars of great cathedrals and from the dark hovels of those who "eat their bread with tears". It can be prayed at weddings and on the gallows. All seven colours of our life are contained in it, and so there is never a time when we are left alone.' In these sermons delivered in the shattered city of Stuttgart during the last days of the war, Helmut Thielicke examined the Lord's Prayer phrase by phrase, drawing from it both immediate comfort and inspiration for the future. As he expounded upon the inner meaning of the familiar phrases, he enabled his despairing congregation to share in this promise of hope - to see the world in a new way, through prayer. Today, for those who are prepared to listen, his words still carry the same power.

Helmut Thielicke's lectures, first spoken in defiance of the Nazi regime, are recorded here. He covers a wide range of topics, including, ethics, politics, the state, war, atomic power, economics, sex and art. Revolutionary in their time, they offer an example of how Christian faith can provide a strong ground to stand on when living in the constant danger of death. Delivered during World War II when one after another of Thielicke's meeting places were bombed, the lectures were aimed at people who were not conventional churchgoers and were not accustomed to the language and premises of the church. They were people who had to be met on their own ground, and then introduced to the Christian faith. Thielicke had a unique gift for finding the "point of contact" and addressing the Gospel to this point. Relevant even to this day, his words remind us what it means to be a Christian.

This is a new release of the original 1942 edition.

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Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!