Corporate Portraits: Fifty Pictures of the Church

CORPORATE PORTRAITSCORPORATE PORTRAITS (fifty pictures of the Church) is the second book in a trilogy including GLIMPSES OF GRACE (how one becomes a Christian plus a hundred characteristics of a Christian), and IN A MIRROR DIMLY (questions about the future).The Bible is a picture book. (After all, it originated in the Near East!) Think of the dramatic word pictures in Psalms, Job, and the historical and prophetic books. Then there is the treasure trove of the unforgettable parables of Jesus, the adventures recorded in Acts and the Epistles, and the climactic panorama of the Book of Revelation. In the latter, we find the incomparable throne room scene of chapters 4 and 5 and the vivid descriptions of the New Jerusalem in chapters 21 and 22!

Based squarely on the Scriptures, CORPORATE PORTRAITS is a picture book, too. The main part of it, VIEW, consists of pictures of the Church from a variety of perspectives. PREVIEW and GOSPEL VIEW are self-explanatory.

The pattern of my earlier book, GLIMPSES OF GRACE, is that of a "painting", mostly based on an allegory. That book consists of a hundred "brushstrokes", each conveying an aspect of the character of a Christian. CORPORATE PORTRAITS follows on from that. I am using the adjective "corporate" in our title generally in the sense of all true people of God.

FOCUS: My object in writing CORPORATE PORTRAITS is to inform and challenge both the non-Christian and the Christian, and to encourage the Christian. Please read thoughtfully, looking up the texts given, and reflecting on them.

The Bible clearly states that the Holy Spirit was the Primary Author of the whole of Scripture (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). He used the personalities, the histories, and the circumstances of the human writers in a creative way so that what they wrote, they wrote, but what HE wanted written was written.

This book will encourage and inspire you.