Bøger af Cornelis Van Dam

What does it mean to be a Christian? In a time when many have an identity crisis, it is good for Christians to pose this question. Using the Bible, the Word of the Creator who placed us on earth and who made us a new creation in Christ, Dr. Cornelis Van Dam unpacks the glory, challenges, and privilege of being a Christian, that is, of having the office of prophet, priest, and king, with all its implications for today. But the discussions go beyond that. In a series of essays in his book In Holy Service, Dr. Van Dam addresses many aspects of our service to God, such as the tasks and opportunities which the Lord gives to women, single and married, as well as the calling of mothers, husbands, and wives. He also delves into the offices that function in the church: the identity and tasks of ministers, elders, and deacons. Issues dealt with include the calling of the church in relation to the civil government, the matter of women in ecclesiastical office, and the service of women in the church. Finally Dr. Van Dam also compares the pagan context in which the early Christian church found itself to the reality of a rising neo-paganism today and how Christians should respond. This book will help Christians function as God intended in holy service to him in all of life.

The office of deacon is God's gift to His church, but today it is often undervalued, misunderstood, and perceived to be of little importance. In The Deacon , the author considers the Old Testament background for this calling, the deacon in New Testament times and in church history, and the current function of the office. You will rediscover the high and privileged calling of deacons and come to a better understanding of what God requires of them. Table of Contents: Part 1--The Old Testament Background 1. The Poor in Israel 2. Providing for the Poor Part 2--New Testament Times 3. Christ's Teaching on the Poor and Needy 4. Ministering to the Poor in Acts 6 5. The Office of Deacon 6. Female Deacon? Part 3--The Office of Deacon in the History of the Church 7. The Testimony of the Early Church and the Heritage of the Reformation 8. Women and the Diaconate Part 4--The Current Functioning of the Office 9. The Official Position of the Deacon Today 10. Enabling and Prioritizing 11. The Diaconal Ministry within the Congregation 12. The Diaconal Ministry outside the Congregation 13. The Blessing of the Poor

In Worship Matters, Dr. Cornelis Van Dam explores the foundations of worship including the whom, why, where, when and how of worship. He also touches on different perspectives of worship. Special attention is given to the role of the Day of Rest as well. Van Dam then goes on to discuss the centrality of preaching for worship and addresses timely questions like: Who reads scripture in a worship service? and Should we keep the Ten Commandments in our Sunday liturgy? The third section of the book addresses the glory of worship commenting on the nature of a second worship service, the glory of the gospel of Christ crucified, the glory of the resurrection and of the ascension. Van Dam also dedicates a chapter to Worshipping with Angels. Worship includes song and music and Van Dam addresses some of the relevant issues surrounding these topics, too. The topic of worship is also facing some new challenges and this book discusses the importance of rich mature worship, explains why Reformed worship liturgy is rich, why what we are doing in worship should affect how we dress for worship, and how covenantal baptism is central to our communal worship. Van Dam also reminds readers that a truly attractive church is centered on the message of the gospel, and is a living and caring congregation. This book concludes with a look at worship in heaven and on earth.

This is the first exhaustive study of the Urim and Thummim since 1824, and in this book Van Dam sets out to rectify that lack of attention. He investigates all of the biblical data concerning this enigmatic oracular means of high-priestly revelation and its connection, in the historical books of the Old Testament, with the common phrase "to enquire of Yahweh/God."After surveying the history of interpretation and the treatment of the terms in the various versions and translations, Van Dam examines the implications of similar oracular devices and priestly dress within the larger cultural context of the ancient Near East. He places the Urim and Thummim within the context of divine revelation and human inquiry and the corollary probibition of divination in ancient Israel. He concludes that the breastpiece functioned as a pouch to hold the Urim and Thummim, which therefore clearly were tangible objects. Van Dam traces the use of this oracular instrument through the early monarchy under David-from the time of Joshua through the early monarchy under David-and its apparent disappearance by the time of the "classical" prophets, where a shift to primarily verbal oracles occurs.Concurrent with his study of the history of the oracle, Van Dam interacts with current discussion on the nature and process of God's revelation to humankind.