Books
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Daily Armor Truth And Prayers
$18.00Add to cartDaily Armor encourages people to go deeper, higher and further with God than ever before. Beyond God’s love for us, it also discusses, throughout, the idea of whether or not WE love God, by our choices and our lives. Daily Armor urges believers to engage in the battle of spiritual warfare, being fearless of the devil because of our authority in Christ! This book dares believers to do consistent, honest self-analysis and check their thoughts, words, and actions in light of the Bible (from Genesis to Revelation).
Daily Armor covers topics and answers questions that most devotionals won’t address. It is frank, transparent and passionate. It is meant to challenge people to move beyond “Jesus Loves Me” and to analyze themselves and ask: “Do I Love Jesus?” For as Jesus said, if we love Him, we will obey Him.
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Majority World Theologies
$17.99Add to cartAs Christianity’s center of gravity has shifted to the Majority World in the 21st century, many younger churches in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are now coming of age. With this maturing comes the ability to theologize for themselves, not simply to mimic what they have been taught from the West. As theology is an attempt to articulate through human language and culture and contexts the timeless truths of the eternal and transcendent God, Majority World churches have much to offer the West and the world, as they contribute to a greater understanding of the Lord.
Here is a collection of chapters exhibiting local theologizing from around the world, not just from the “big three” non-Western continents but also including the Middle East and indigenous North America. Just like Jesus (a first-century Aramaic-speaking Jew from Roman-occupied Israel) exhibited, the local is applicable to the global. And with Christ’s call to his disciples to take his message to “the ends of the earth,” this volume exemplifies the concrete reality of that today, not just as the message having been received but also as having been incorporated, synthesized, and rebirthed in new and exciting ways.
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Meeting God At The Mall Cycle C
$15.95Add to cartAmericans are mired in idolatry. This is perhaps at no time more evident than during the Christmas season.
What idols do we worship? We often point out the consumerism that eclipses the meaning of the holiday, but as Mary Austin points out, there are others that might escape our notice. Perfectionism, that belief that if we can host the perfect holiday party or keep a perfect house, for example;thesefalse gods, we often believe will offer us wholeness. Busy-ness, too, can give us a false sense of worth.
These sermons use the words and actions of Paul to call out these false gods, to reveal our idolatry and its cause: our longing for the true source of peace. Once we have determined the cause of our love/hate relationship with the Christmas season, we can begin to pursue the counter-cultural cure.
Meeting God at the Mallting God at the Mall shows us there is no obstacle too great to prevent us from finding our way back to the peace we can find only in our loving Savior.
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Straight From The Heart
$30.95Add to cartStraight from the Heart: A Child’s Journey to Love and Be Loved is a beautifully written story about a child’s heartrending journey to love and be loved by the significant adults in his life. Straight from the Heart is a compilation of true-to-life scenarios that speak very candidly to the myriad of challenges faced by today’s youth in their quest to be loved and understood by others. Dr. Kennedy takes you on a riveting journey through the eyes and heart of the main character, Jamaal, with emphasis on his complex relationship with his mother, teachers, peers and estranged father. Drawing on her extensive clinical experience and expertise in working with vulnerable children, youth and families, Dr. Kennedy poignantly directs the reader’s attention to the underlying source of the main characters’ anger, fears and frustrations with emphasis on the importance of effective communications, perspective taking, problem-solving and decision making in managing and resolving conflicts across relationships. Straight from the Heart is a must-read for today’s children, youth and adolescents; and more so for the adults that are deeply invested in bringing about positive change in the lives of our youth and their families through the applied principles of compassion, understanding, unconditional positive regard and forgiveness.
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Astonished By God
$17.99Add to cartThis book is a revised, improved version of Doctrine Matters.
For more than thirty years, John Piper pastored in the rough and tumble realities of downtown Minneapolis, preaching his people through the ups and down of life one Sunday at a time. When it came to capturing a generation of joy in one final sermon series, he turned to ten trademark truths to leave ringing in his peoples’ ears.
These ten are world-shaking truths-each astonishing in its own way. First they turned Piper’s own world upside down. Then his church’s. And they will continue to turn the whole world upside down as the gospel of Christ advances in distance and depth. These surprising doctrines, as Piper writes, are “wildly untamable, explosively uncontainable, and electrically future-creating.”
Join a veteran author, pastor, and Christian statesman as he captures the ten astonishing, compassionate, life-giving, joy-awakening, hope-sustaining truths that have held everything together for him.
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Setting Goals That Count (Revised)
$12.99Add to cartJordan Publishing Title
Since its first publication in 1985, Setting Goals That Count has helped thousands of people to make their God-given dreams a reality. Are you ready to start pursuing yours?
Setting Goals That Count shows how to sketch a meaningful picture of your future, based on what the Bible says about your unique calling. You’ll read about other Christians who have found goals that transformed their lives. Then you will begin to identify practical ways to become the person God created you to be.
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Raising Adam : Why Jesus Descended Into Hell
$17.95Add to cartOil Lamp Books Title
What does it mean to affirm that Jesus “descended into hell?” What actually happened to Jesus between Good Friday and Easter? Was this “descent” part of his suffering or part of his triumph? And why does it matter today?With a theologian’s research, a pastor’s heart and a poet’s sensibility, Gerrit Dawson explores the answers given through the centuries to these questions. By using a narrative approach, Dawson achieves a unique synthesis of previously competing views. He shows that the ancient idea of the harrowing of hell, the Reformed view of “hell on the cross” and the 20th century recognition of the darkness of Holy Saturday can all work together. Far from being a discardable doctrine, the descent offers a unique window on the person and work of Christ, one we urgently need to open for the worship and mission of the Church today.
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Margins Of Islam
$16.99Add to cartWhat do you do when “Islam” does not adequately describe the Muslims you know? Margins of Islam brings together a stellar collection of experienced missionary scholar-practitioners who explain their own approaches to a diversity of Muslims across the world. Each chapter grapples with a context that is significantly different from the way Islam is traditionally presented in mission texts. These crucial differences may be theological, socio-political, ethnic, or a specific variation of Islam in a context but they all shape the way we do mission. This book will help you discover Islam as a lived experience in various settings and equip you to engage Muslims in any context, including your own.
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Wealth And Piety
$16.99Add to cartYour supporters consider you saintly and self-sacrificing. Your Middle Eastern friends might beg to differ. So might God. In this book, Dr. Shaw tackles the elephant in the room. Wealth and Piety explores biblical and Arab cultural expectations for getting, using, talking about, and giving money.
This book contains hundreds of verbatim observations about local and foreign wealth by thirty-five Middle Easterners from nine countries, representing all major religious groups. These comments are a mirror in which workers can see their own status and moral reputation as people of the region see them.
Combining biblical commentary, cultural analysis and practical advice for expats, Wealth and Piety is designed for both new and experienced workers, as well as mission leaders, administrators, supporters and donors. Although focused on the Middle East, much of the wisdom of this book is valuable for workers anywhere in the Muslim world or in societies characterized by patronage or an honor/shame orientation.
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Thankful
$8.99Add to cartThe gardener’s thankful for every green sprout.
The fireman, for putting the fire out.
The artist is thankful for color and light.
The clown for her costume silly and bright.
Thankful, written by beloved children’s author Eileen Spinelli and illustrated by Archie Preston, combines charming rhymes and whimsical illustrations to convey the importance of being thankful for everyday blessings. Like the gardener thankful for every green sprout, and the firefighter, for putting the fire out, children are encouraged to be thankful for the many blessings they find in their lives. Spinelli exhibits her endearing gift for storytelling with this engaging poem, reminding children how blessed and special they are. Meant to be read aloud, this heartwarming board book will be a treasured keepsake for parents and children alike.
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Ornament Keeper : A Novella
$12.99Add to cartAward-winning author Eva Marie Everson wraps up a Christmas story of hope, love, and forgiveness just in time for the holidays.
The Ornament Keeper, a contemporary Christmas novella, features Felicia and Jackson Morgan who are spending their first Christmas apart after twenty years of marriage. But a lifetime of gifted ornaments helps Felicia piece together the story of their marriage and the one mistake of unforgiveness she made before they said , “I do.” Can these memory-filled ornaments reunite this family before Christmas? Only time will tell. -
God On The Move
$14.95Add to cartRoyal Business Consulting
God on the Move by Rhonda Kitabjian reveals how to embrace the move of God in this season. In each chapter, readers will discover God’s instructions to His people over the course of history. This revelation will enable people to take action now, giving them hope for the future in accordance with their destiny. -
Dont Step In The Entremanure
$15.99Add to cartProfiting from the successes and failures of others is the best way to avoid pitfalls as you build your own lucrative enterprise. Bill Matthews’ Don’t Step in the Entremanure: Tiptoe Your Way to Entrepreneurial Success distills time-tested wisdom that will help you guide your business toward enduring prosperity. Matthews poses thirty-two questions that will help you determine the general health of your company and also offers a wide range of advice based on real-world examples of outstanding management. Each Chapter focuses on a specific theme, including:
*Ensuring you have the capital to sustain your business
*Hiring the right people at the outset
*Making tough personnel decisions
*Holding yourself, and others, accountable
*The importance of having a written plan and written job descriptions
*Why it is crucially important to set up an outside boardClear and concise, full of examples, and with convenient checklists for handy reference at the end of each chapter, Don’t Step in the Entremanure is a must-read book and a treasurable resource for all enterprising entrepreneurs.
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Desolate Heights : Reclaiming Life From Addiction, Isolation, And Emotional
$17.99Add to cartIt’s ironic that in some cases you can reach your lowest low from the highest place around. It’s time to free yourself from the chains of addictions and idols and to transplant fear with faith. It’s time to use even your worst experiences for good and to navigate toward the version of yourself God intended all along.
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Minutes Matter : Making Every Beat Count
$13.99Add to cartJames asks a pointed question in his brief book in the Bible when he simply says, What is your life? He then answers his own question by stating, “”””It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”””” Psalm 90 reminds us that the days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years. Thats somewhere between 36,792,000 and 42,048,000 minutes, both very large numbers. The question for us then becomes, what are we doing with our minutes? Are we making them matter in ways that count? Are we spending them in ways that will lay up treasure in heaven, or here on earth where moth and rust will destroy?
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Mapping Church Missions
$20.99Add to cartForeword By Paul Borthwick
Introduction: Charting Our Course
1. Good News And Good Deeds
2. Neighbors Near And Far
3. Crisis Response And Sustainable Development
4. Time And Money
5. Benefits And Drawbacks Of Short-Term Teams
6. Serving The Undiscipled And Discipling The Servant
7. Minimizing And Embracing Risk
Conclusion: Mobilizing Our Congregations
Acknowledgments
Appendix 1: Beyond Minute For Missions: Connecting Churches With Mission Partners
Appendix 2: Scenarios For Further Reflection
NotesAdditional Info
The terrain of church missions is often bewildering.Should we prioritize evangelism or works of service? Local ministries or overseas missions? What’s more important: giving our money or giving our time? Crisis relief or building sustainable, long-term ministries? And what about the often debated pros and cons of short-term missions trips?
In Mapping Church Missions, Sharon Hoover brings her years of experience in local church missions to bear on these and other thorny questions. Instead of taking a hardline stance on one end of the spectrum or the other, she approaches each question with nuance, adding helpful data, presenting new perspectives, and always pressing gently past surface questions to the heart of the matter.
Whether we’re fully aware of it or not, our churches come up against these questions whenever we consider how best to use our resources for the mission of God. Written by an experienced guide, this book maps the terrain of church missions in careful detail, helping us plot our church’s unique course as we seek to serve Christ’s kingdom.
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Sound Of Distant Thunder
$29.99Add to cartKatie Stuckey and Jonas Weaver are both romantics. Seventeen-year-old Katie is starry-eyed, in love with the idea of being in love, and does not want to wait to marry Jonas until she is eighteen, despite her parents’ insistence. So much can happen in a year. Twenty-year-old Jonas is taken in by the romance of soldiering, especially in defense of anti-slavery, even though he knows war is at odds with the teachings of the church. When his married brother’s name comes up in the draft list, he volunteers to take his brother’s place. But can the commitment Katie and Jonas have made to each other survive the separation?
From the talented pen of Jan Drexler comes this brand new Amish series set against the backdrop of the Civil War. She puts her characters to the test as they struggle to reconcile their convictions and desires while the national conflict threatens to undermine and engulf their community.
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My Year With The Saints For Kids
$14.99Add to cartA kids’ first devotional, designed to be read daily for one year. Includes readings from saints with special messages for kids, addressing topics of special concern to them (eg. self-image, how to pray, obedience, Jesus, joy). Includes prayers in accessible language, and occasional prompts to try spiritual practices.
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Awaiting The Already (Large Type)
$14.99Add to cartEach Gospel, in its own way, leads us on the Advent journey of preparation for Christ’s coming. Awaiting the Already, originally released in 2015, takes a tour through the four Gospel narratives that announce Christ’s birth or make way for his ministry. Readers will discover what parts of the Christmas story come from which Gospel, recognizing an invitation from each Gospel writer to prepare for a fresh experience of Christ in the past and the future. This thematic Bible study is designed to be used by individuals and small groups during Advent. In addition to the main content, each chapter offers questions for reflection and discussion, a brief prayer, and a focus for the week. The weekly focus emerges from the chapter content and encourages the readers to engage a spiritual practice or do something specific that will help them grow in faith. The thematic seasonal Bible study series is designed for transformation and for applying the study of the Bible to everyday, practical life experience. It is intended to nurture and encourage faith development and spiritual growth during the season of Advent.
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Luthers Outlaw God Volume 1
$39.00Add to cartIn this first of three volumes addressing Luther’s outlaw God, Steven D. Paulson considers the two “monsters” of theology, as Luther calls them: evil and predestination. He explores how these produce fear of God but can also become the great and only comforts of conscience when a preacher arrives.
Luther’s new distinction between God as he is preached and God without any preacher absolutely frightened all of the schools of theology that preceded it, and for that matter all that followed Luther, as well. That fear coalesced in various opponents like Eck and Latomus, but in a special way in Desiderius Erasmus.
For Paulson, bad theology begins with bad preaching, and since the church is what preaching does, bad preaching hides the church under such a dark blanket that it can hardly be detected. He argues that the primary distinction of naked/clothed or unpreached/preached radiates out in all directions for Luther’s theology, and shows what difference this makes for current preaching. Specifically, Paulson takes up the central question of all theology (and life): What is God’s relation to the law, and the law’s relation to God? Luther’s answers are surprising and will change the way you preach.
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Walking On Eggshells
$15.99Add to cartFrom one of the stars of A&E’s hit reality show Dog the Bounty Hunter comes an empowering memoir that can inspire others to break the cycle of abuse and forge happiness out of extreme adversity.
The ninth child of bounty hunter Duane Chapman, twenty-five-year-old Lyssa Chapman has overcome an upbringing that can only be called tragic. In her piercing memoir, she shares the details of her harrowing childhood and her journey to faith, and offers compassionate guidance, advice, and hope to those who might feel overwhelmed in their own circumstances.
As a child, Baby Lyssa’s parents divorced and left her neglected. Things only got worse from there. Walking on Eggshells reveals Lyssa’s nightmare passage from mental and physical abuse to removal from school and confinement at home, flight from protective services, and teen pregnancy. Despite it all, and against incredible odds, Lyssa found her faith. She also found her way out of the spiral of bad decisions to build a healthy relationship with her parents and forge a rewarding, positive life with God.
An astonishing true story of one young woman’s trek from poverty and abuse to fulfillment and stardom, Walking on Eggshells is heartrending, powerful, and inspiring.
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Reading Marks Christology Under Caesar
$25.99Add to cartAcknowledgments
Introduction
Abbreviations
1. Reconstructing Mark’s Historical Setting
2. Mark’s Christological Titles
3. The Powerful Jesus Of Mark 1-8
4. The Suffering Jesus Of Mark 8:22-10:52
5. A Roman Reading Of Mark’s So-Called Secrecy Motif
6. Jesus And The Temple
7. Jesus In Mark’s Passion Narrative
Conclusion
Appendix: Yahweh Christology In Mark’s Gospel
Bibliography
Author Index
Subject Index
Scripture IndexAdditional Info
The Gospel of Mark has been intensively studied from multiple angles using many methods. But often there remains a discontent, a sense that something is wanting, that the full picture of Mark’s Gospel lacks some background circuitry that-if properly supplied-would light up the whole. Adam Winn finds a clue in the cataclysmic destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70. For Jews and Christians it was an apocalyptic moment. The earth shook, the sun went dark in the cosmic canopy, and Rome danced on the ruins of the holy temple. The gods of Rome seemed to have conquered the God of the Jews. And Roman Christians’ allegiance to a messiah crucified by Rome renewed sharp questions.Could it be that Mark wrote his Gospel in response to Roman imperial propaganda surrounding this event? However else they might function, are Mark’s themes and christological titles coded subversions of empire? Have we missed clues to understanding Mark’s messianic secret? Could a messiah crucified by Rome really be God’s Son appointed to rule the world?Adam Winn takes us on the adventure of rediscovering how Mark might have been read by Christians in Rome in the aftermath of the fall of Jerusalem. He introduces us to the Roman imperial propaganda of the Flavian emperors and excavates the Markan text for themes that address the Roman imperial setting.Here is an intriguing look into a first-century response to the question Christ or Caesar? Entering a first-century house church in Rome, we hear this Gospel again as if for the first time. -
Here In Spirit
$16.99Add to cart1. The Greatest Gift
2. Culture With The Spirit
3. More Than A Force
4. Renewing All Things
5. The Spirit Of Silence
6. More Than Conviviality
7. The Great Companion
8. Discerning Promptings
9. Praying In The Spirit
10. Mission With The Wind
11. Experiencing The Power
12. The Shape Of Suffering
13. Bearing Fruit
14. The Future Of The Spirit
Acknowledgments
Further Reading List
Notes
Scripture IndexAdditional Info
Living right here in the Spirit is the source of the most meaningful, creative, satisfying life possible. If we relate to the Spirit primarily regarding the presence or absence of his miraculous gifts in our lives and in the world, we distort and limit our understanding of the third person of the Trinity. He should be known for much more. Who is the Spirit? Is he a person or a spiritual force? How are we meant to relate to him? Can we pray to the Spirit? What does being filled with the Spirit look like?These are some of the questions this book will explore. Instead of relating narrowly to the Holy Spirit, this book will broaden your engagement with him by touring often unexplored aspects of his vast character and mission. -
Union With Christ
$19.99Add to cartWinner of the 2017 Christian Book Award for New Author
Named one of the top books of 2016 by John Piper’s Desiring God ministryTo experience why the gospel is good news and answer life’s most foundational questions about identity, destiny, and purpose, we must understand what it means to be united to Christ.
If you are a Christian, the Bible says that Christ has united his life to yours, that you are now in Christ and Christ is in you. This almost unfathomable truth is the central theme of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Yet few Christians today experience or enjoy this reality. Union with Christ reveals the transformational power of this ancient doctrine while addressing the basic questions of the human heart:
Who Am I?
Why Am I Here?
Where Am I Headed?
How Will I Get There?
Nothing is more practical for living the Christian life than union with Christ. The recovery of this reality provides the anchor and engine for your life with God–for your destiny is not only to see Christ, but to actually become like him. -
Smith Wigglesworth On Gods Power
$16.99Add to cartAn encounter with Smith Wigglesworth was an unforgettable experience. This seems to be the universal reaction of all who knew him or heard him speak. Wigglesworth was a simple man, a former plumber, who was used in an extraordinary way by our extraordinary God. During his forty years of ministry, thousands of people came to salvation, received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and were miraculously healed. These miracles included the restoration of hearing and sight, the creative formation of missing limbs, the disappearance of cancerous growths, the recovery of mental wholeness by the violently insane, and the raising of several people from the dead. The miracle-working power of his ministry is captured in this classic collection of Wigglesworth’s sermons and Bible studies. Despite the passing years, they still retain the spontaneous supernatural anointing that would cause Wigglesworth to loudly proclaim his favorite phrase: “Only believe!”
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Church Creation And The Common Good
$14.95Add to cart* A youth and adult study * Engages participants in how we should now live into this time of climate change crisis It is hard to be hopeful in the face of climate crisis. The problem is on a scale difficult for us to understand. Actions needed to address the crisis require a radical change in way of life. Does the Church have anything unique to offer? Is there something in our life of community, worship, and prayer that suggests a different way through this time? Church, Creation, and the Common Good is a program resource offering a hopeful answer to these challenges. Through scripture, tradition, and Christian practice, it guides church communities into deeper understanding of their role as the Church in the world and how they might be communities for the common good in this time. This curricular resource is sure to foster rich conversations and provide a path toward love of all creation and our particular places as we face the climate crisis together.
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Bright Evening Star
$18.00Add to cartFor over fifty years, L’Engle has been delighting and inspiring readers with her warm, eloquent prose, and inspirational poetry. She continues this tradition with Bright Evening Star, a personal reflection of the mystery and majesty of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Bright Evening Star provides a glimpse into the life stories of this prolific author and her encounters with God. With a foreword by John Tesh, L’Engle invites us on a spiritual adventure that leads to hope, joy, and a closer relationship with Jesus. “Christmas,” says Madeleine L’Engle, “should be a time of awed silence.” If you’re looking for a unique and Christ-centered Christmas meditation, Bright Evening Star will be a rich and delightful discovery — year round!
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Jesus Calling For Christmas
$19.99Add to cartAre your holidays too hectic? Take a few minutes to savor the season with this beautiful Christmas edition of Jesus Calling(R)devotions, a perfect gift that includes 50 short selections along with festive and breathtaking imagery.
Jesus Calling(R) for Christmas is a compilation of 50 seasonally appropriate devotions from Sarah Young’s bestselling brand. In addition to the heartwarming devotions, enjoy the Christmas story from the Bible, Old Testament prophecies about the birth of Jesus, and exquisite images.
Whether a self-purchase to enhance your observation of Advent and the birth of the Christ child or a natural gift for friends and loved ones, Jesus Calling(R) for Christmas will prove an annual treasure for celebrating the season.
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Religion And American Culture
$33.99Add to cartWhile Americans still profess to be one of the most religious people in the industrialized world, many aspects of American culture have long been secular and materialistic. That is just one of the many paradoxes, contradictions, and surprises in the relationship between Christianity and American culture. In this book George Marsden, a leading historian of American Christianity and award-winning author, tells the story of that relationship in a concise and thought-provoking way.
Surveying the history of religion and American culture from the days of the earliest European settlers right up through the elections of 2016, Marsden offers the kind of historically and religiously informed scholarship that has made him one of the nation’s most respected and decorated historians. Students in the classroom and history readers of all ages will benefit from engaging with the story Marsden tells.
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Learning Theology : Tracking The Spirit Of Christian Faith
$33.00Add to cartPreface
Introduction: What Is A TheologianIn.1 Macrina As Lay Theologian
In.2 Thomas Aquinas As Classical (Professional) Theologian
In.3 John Wesley As Pastoral And Practical Theologian
In.4 You And I As Those Who Love God And Want To Know And Serve God
Part I The Sources Of Theology
Chapter 1 Scripture: The Word And Breath Of God1.1 Behind Of The Text
1.2 The World Of The Text
1.3 In Front Of The Text
1.4 The Spirit Of The Text
Chapter 2 Tradition: The Living Body Of Christ And The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit
2.1 Church And Tradition: Charisma And Institution
2.2 The Spirit/s Of Protestantism
2.3 The Church Catholic As The Fellowship Of The Spirit
2.4 The Spirit Of Tradition In Its Contextuality
Chapter 3 Reason: Renewing The Mind In The Spirit
3.1 Rationality As Traditioned
3.2 Scientific Revolution, The Enlightenment, And Universal Reason
3.3 Postmodern (Ir)Rationalities(!)
3.4 The Reasoning Spirit
Chapter 4 Experience: Life In, By, And Through The Spirit
4.1 Socialization
4.2 Intersectionality
4.3 Encountering The Living God, Experiencing Redemption
4.4 The Fullness Of The Spirit And The Life Of The Mind
Part II The Practices Of Theology
Chapter 5 Theology As Spiritual Practice: What Difference Does It Make In Personal Lives?
5.1 Knowing And Loving God
5.2 Loving And Serving Our Neighbors
5.3 Discerning The Spirit
5.4 Eschatological Rationality
Chapter 6 Theology As Ecclesial Practice: By, For, And Through The Church
6.1 The Church As One: Dogmatic Identity And Ecclesial Unity
6.2 The Church As Holy: The Social Distinctiveness Of The Ecclesia
6.3 The Church As Catholic: Global Cultures And Ecclesial Witness
6.4 The Church As Apostolic: The Many Tongues Of The Spirit’s Mission
Chapter 7 Starting Out: Researching, Writing, And Studying Theology
7.1 The Initial Contexts Of (Undergraduate) Theologizing
7.2 The Theological Research Paper Or Project
7.3 Theological Integration And The Christian University
7.4 Theologizing As A Spiritual Discipline
Chapter 8 Theology By The Spirit, Trinitarian Theologians
8.1 Starting In The Spirit
8.2 Theologizing After Easter And After Pentecost
8.3 Pentecostal Perspective, Trinitarian Theologian
8.4 The Spirit Has The First, Initiating, Word
Appendix Becoming A Professional Theologian: Getting There From Here
Discerning The Call To Graduate/Doctoral Theological Education
Additional Info
Theology-the attempt to come to a deeper, more faithful understanding of ones encounter with God-is something to which all Christians are called. In Learning Theology, Amos Yong invites the reader to lay claim to that calling and to see it as yet another opportunity to love God.Written for those taking their first course in the subject, this book introduces the foundational sources and tasks of theology. It asks what difference theology makes in our lives, how it can influence the way we write and study, and how we understand other forms of learning as part of the Spirit’s leadership. Yong encourages the reader to see all of life through the lens of faith, and Learning Theology offers tools to more thoughtfully and faithfully perform that task.
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Christianity And World Religions Leader Guide (Revised)
$14.99Add to cartPastor and best-selling author Adam Hamilton returns to one of his most popular topics, Christianity and world religions. This new, fully updated book and Bible study explores four major world religions-Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism-and compares the beliefs of each with those of Christianity.
He deals openly and honestly with questions people ask about other religions, such as: Why are there so many different religions?
How should Christians view other religions?
How is God at work in other religions?
What is the fate of those who earnestly pursue God through other religions?
In examining these major world religions and the beliefs of their followers, Hamilton urges us as Christians to build bridges with others so that we might grow in our faith, seek peace in our world, love our neighbors, and find positive ways to share the gospel. The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the six-week study including session plans, activities, and discussion questions, as well as multiple format options. -
Christianity And World Religions (Revised)
$17.99Add to cartPastor and best-selling author Adam Hamilton returns to one of his most popular topics, Christianity and world religions. This new, fully updated book explores four major world religions-Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism-and compares the beliefs of each with those of Christianity.
He deals openly and honestly with questions people ask about other religions, such as: Why are there so many different religions?
How should Christians view other religions?
How is God at work in other religions?
What is the fate of those who earnestly pursue God through other religions?
In examining these major world religions and the beliefs of their followers, Hamilton urges us as Christians to build bridges with others so that we might grow in our faith, seek peace in our world, love our neighbors, and find positive ways to share the gospel. Additional components for a six-week study include a new Leader Guide to help facilitate each weekly session and a DVD featuring Hamilton in new 10-15 minute segments, each including an interview with followers from that tradition. -
Your Companion After Sexual Assault
$5.99Add to cartThe Out of the Depths series addresses common pastoral crises in a faithful, encouraging, and factual manner that provides support to parishioners in crisis beyond the initial pastoral conversation. These inexpensive booklets can be given out to parishioners when they bring their recent diagnosis, crisis, or trauma to the pastor as a way to continue to provide care throughout the difficult season. Each booklet begins with a thoughtful consideration of the topic at hand, which is followed up by 30 brief devotions. These devotions are designed to be manageable in an overwhelming time, encouraging, and honest. This Sexual Assault edition features devotions from Emily Flemming, United Methodist clergywoman. The Out of the Depths booklets are essential care resources to be given out by pastors, Stephen Ministers, and congregational care teams.
Key Features:
Written by metal health professionals and pastors to help the reader process their trauma both psychologically and theologically.
Includes accessible material describing the dynamics of the crisis situation and typical reactions, which provides the reader with a sense of grounding and direction through increased knowledge.
The thirty short devotions creates a sense of companionship and hope in a difficult and lonely time.
Knowing they are sharing a resource written by mental health professionals and pastors with personal experience provides pastors a trustworthy source of information.
Easy for pastors/churches to keep in stock and distribute as needed, serves as a tangible reminder of the faith community’s care. -
Life That Is Good
$27.99Add to cartSomewhere out there is the “good life,” and we’re all scrambling to get it. Glenn Pemberton maintains in this book that we find the so-called good life not in good things but in living well–and the biblical book of Proverbs teaches us how to live that life.
Though based on solid biblical scholarship, A Life That Is Good is not a textbook, commentary, or comprehensive study. It is instead a readable, practical guide to the wisdom found in the ancient book of Proverbs–wisdom on everyday living, speech, relationships, justice, money, and much more. Pastors and church groups in particular will love and benefit from this relevant guide regarding the message of Proverbs for today’s world.
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Acts Of Interpretation
$41.99Add to cartThis book features essays by biblical scholars and theologians offering broad reflections on key interpretive issues, rich readings of challenging biblical texts, and interaction with the Christian exegetical tradition from Melito of Sardis to Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
The contributors to this volume are leading figures in the theological interpretation of Scripture. Mindful of the Bible’s role in relation to God’s purposes, people, and world, these essays together offer “acts of interpretation” that aim to advance the faithful and fruitful correlation of Scripture, theology, and culture.
Contributors:
Craig G. Bartholomew
Hans Boersma
S. A. Cummins
Peter Enns
Stephen E. Fowl
Joel B. Green
Edith M. Humphrey
Charles Raith II
Christopher R. Seitz
Robert W. Wall
Jens Zimmermann -
Thirsty For More
$17.00Add to cartWhen it comes to our connection with God, we dread “dry seasons,” when we feel far from our life-sustaining Creator and redeemer. We want to dwell in lush valleys, not wander in trackless deserts. And yet, during the first three centuries of the church, many men and women purposefully moved into deserts to seek God. They understood something that we have missed: a desert is not a place of vast nothingness, but a place where we can truly experience God’s provision, restoration, and intimacy.
Through Scripture and personal stories of her own times of waiting and struggle, Allison Allen offers a fresh perspective for women who dare to believe that God is doing something of eternal value in their dry seasons. She shows how God can use these times in our lives to reveal himself to us, to give us rest, to get our attention, to show us our strength, to experience his blessings, and more. Any woman who has been feeling spiritually sapped will welcome this refreshing message of hope.
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Talk Of The Town
$19.00Add to cartNew York Times bestselling author Lisa Wingate captures the heart and faith of small-town America in Talk of the Town.
Daily, Texas, has never really been known for much until Amber Anderson becomes a finalist on a television singing show. The producers want to stage a surprise concert for one of the final episodes–only everyone in town seems to know the secret. And paparazzi are arriving. And word from Hollywood is that Amber has disappeared with a bad-boy actor. Can anything go right in this tumbleweed town?
Widow Imagene Doll loves her town, but without her beloved husband, life seems lonely–and a bit dull. At least until that fancy-dressed television producer pulls into town, looking terrified and glamorous all at once. Soon life’s not the least bit boring as the town finds itself at the center of a media maelstrom . . . with a young girl’s future on the line.
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Coffee Shop Devos
$20.00Add to cartThere’s something special about spending time at a coffee shop with a friend–engaging in a meaningful conversation, then leaving refueled and ready to tackle the rest of the day. What if your quiet times with God energized you the same way?
Coffee Shop Devos offers a warm atmosphere that will inspire you to discover your God-given purpose and live to your greatest potential. Choose your devo flavor in the Menu of Contents based on your current need. Then lean into deeper intimacy with Christ through reflection and prayer. Along the way, you’ll pick up tips and recipes for making your own coffee-shop beverage–regular or decaf–to enjoy while you read. And don’t forget to share your journey with your friends! #CoffeeShopDevos
Each of the 180 challenging and motivational devotions will leave you feeling refreshed and reinvigorated–almost as though you’ve shared a steaming pot of brew at a coffee shop with your Creator.
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1st Love
$17.00Add to cartIn the summer of 1952, eighteen-year-old Maggie Esh is in need of some hope. Sweet-spirited and uncommonly pretty despite struggling with a debilitating illness, she is accustomed to being treated kindly by the young men of her Old Order Amish church district. Yet no one but Jimmy Beiler ever asks her out, and she always declines, certain he only pities her.
To make matters worse, Dat has recently remarried, less than a year after Maggie’s mother died. And while her stepmother is kind, she’s much younger than Mamm, and she simply doesn’t understand Maggie or her illness the way Mamm did.
Strong in her faith, Maggie has been taught to accept her lot in life as God’s will. But with declining health, an unsettled family situation, and few future prospects, any sense of hope seems elusive.
When tent revival meetings come to the area, Maggie attends out of curiosity, but the words of the evangelist begin to stir something deep inside her. Dare she hope for a brighter future?
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End Of Preaching
$16.99Add to cartThe End of Preaching is equal parts instruction and inspiration, offering practical help for every preacher and seminarian, and providing a new way of thinking about the purpose and craft of preaching. Tom Troeger explores the end–or purpose–of preaching as prayer. He gently reveals layer after layer of meaning for the preacher and the practice of preaching, giving deep insight into the preacher’s approach, the task of preaching itself, and the impact of preaching on the hearers. This is a book to be studied and savored, a wonderful gift for one’s self or any preacher friend. Thomas Troeger delivered the 2016 Beecher Lectures, the nation’s most prestigious and influential series of lectures on the topic of preaching. The series was established at Yale University in 1871.
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Hebrews-Jude Participant Book (Large Type)
$14.99Add to cartStudy the entire books of Hebrews; James; First and Second Peter; First, Second, and Third John; and Jude, including the uniqueness of God’s final revelation for the salvation of the people, essential instruction in the faith, strengthening faith in the midst of the difficulties of life, faith and works, fellowship with God and with other believers, encouragement to be ruled by love, and the spiritual health of the church. Some of the major ideas explored are: developing a personal relationship with Christ; running the race of life; your Christian experience; your influence in the life of your church; Jesus as a historical person; the second coming of Christ; and Christian hospitality. More than 3.5 million copies of the series have been sold. This revision of the Abingdon classic Genesis to Revelation Series is a comprehensive, verse-by-verse, book-by-book study of the Bible based on the NIV. These studies help readers strengthen their understanding and appreciation of the Bible by enabling them to engage the Scripture on three levels: What does the Bible say? Questions to consider while reading the passage for each session. What does the passage mean? Unpacks key verses in the selected passage. How does the Scripture relate to my life? Provides three major ideas that have meaning for our lives today. The meaning of the selected passages are made clear by considering such aspects as ancient customs, locations of places, and the meanings of words. The simple format makes the study easy to use. Updates will include: New cover designs. New interior designs. Leader Guide per matching Participant Book (rather than multiple volumes in one book). Updated to 2011 revision of the New International Version Translation (NIV). Updated references to New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible. Include biblical chapters on the contents page beside session lesson titles for at-a-glance overview of biblical structure. The simple format makes the study easy to use. Each volume is 13 sessions and has a separate leader guide.
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Joshua-Ruth Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartStudy the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, beginning with Joshua’s story, then moving through Judges, and ending with the story of Ruth. Some of the major ideas explored are: sanctity and wonders, mercy in the face of judgment, judging the motive rather than the act, rest as an active state, God’s positive and negative promises, putting our deeds in perspective, vengeance destroys the avenger, the visitor in our midst, and God’s providence. Leader Guide includes: A verse-by-verse, in-depth look at the Scriptures. Background material, including word studies and history of the biblical setting. Answers to questions asked in the Participant Book. Application of the Scripture to daily life situations. Discussion suggestions. A variety of study options. Practical tips for leaders to use. More than 3.5 million copies of the series have been sold. This revision of the Abingdon classic Genesis to Revelation Series is a comprehensive, verse-by-verse, book-by-book study of the Bible based on the NIV. These studies help readers strengthen their understanding and appreciation of the Bible by enabling them to engage the Scripture on three levels: What does the Bible say? Questions to consider while reading the passage for each session. What does the passage mean? Unpacks key verses in the selected passage. How does the Scripture relate to my life? Provides three major ideas that have meaning for our lives today. The meaning of the selected passages are made clear by considering such aspects as ancient customs, locations of places, and the meanings of words. The simple format makes the study easy to use. Updates will include: New cover designs. New interior designs. Leader Guide per matching Participant Book (rather than multiple volumes in one book). Updated to 2011 revision of the New International Version Translation (NIV). Updated references to New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible. Include biblical chapters on the contents page beside session lesson titles for at-a-glance overview of biblical structure. Include larger divisions within the contents page to reflect macro-structure of each biblical book. Ex: Genesis 1-11; Genesis 12-50; Exodus 1-15; Exodus 16-40; Isaiah 1-39; Isaiah 40-66. The simple format makes the study easy to use. Each volume is 13 sessions.
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Joshua-Ruth Participant Book (Large Type)
$14.99Add to cartStudy the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, beginning with Joshua’s story, then moving through Judges, and ending with the story of Ruth. Some of the major ideas explored are: sanctity and wonders, mercy in the face of judgment, judging the motive rather than the act, rest as an active state, God’s positive and negative promises, putting our deeds in perspective, vengeance destroys the avenger, the visitor in our midst, and God’s providence. More than 3.5 million copies of the series have been sold. This revision of the Abingdon classic Genesis to Revelation Series is a comprehensive, verse-by-verse, book-by-book study of the Bible based on the NIV. These studies help readers strengthen their understanding and appreciation of the Bible by enabling them to engage the Scripture on three levels: What does the Bible say? Questions to consider while reading the passage for each session. What does the passage mean? Unpacks key verses in the selected passage. How does the Scripture relate to my life? Provides three major ideas that have meaning for our lives today. The meaning of the selected passages are made clear by considering such aspects as ancient customs, locations of places, and the meanings of words. The simple format makes the study easy to use. Updates will include: New cover designs. New interior designs. Leader Guide per matching Participant Book (rather than multiple volumes in one book). Updated to 2011 revision of the New International Version Translation (NIV). Updated references to New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible. Include biblical chapters on the contents page beside session lesson titles for at-a-glance overview of biblical structure. The simple format makes the study easy to use. Each volume is 13 sessions and has a separate leader guide.
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4 Pages Of The Sermon (Revised)
$37.99Add to cartDoing justice to the complexity of the preaching task and the questions that underlie it, author Paul Scott Wilson organizes both the preparation and the content of the sermon around its “four pages.” Each “page” addresses a different theological and creative component of what happens in any sermon. Page One presents the trouble or conflict that takes place in or that underscores the biblical text itself. Page Two looks at similar conflict–sin or brokenness–in our own time. Page Three returns to the Bible to identify where God is at work in or behind the text–in other words, to discover the good news. Page Four points to God at work in our world, particularly in relation to the situations described in Page Two. This approach is about preaching the gospel in nearly any sermonic form. Wilson teaches the ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘how’ of sermon construction, all rooted in a theology of the Word. This completely revised edition guides readers through the sermon process step by step, with the aim of composing sermons that challenge and provide hope, by focusing on God more closely than on humans. It has been largely rewritten to include an assessment of where preaching is today in light of propositional preaching, the New Homiletic, African American preaching, the effect of the internet, and use of technology. A chapter on exegesis has been added, plus new focus on the importance of preaching to a felt need, the need for proclamation in addition to teaching, and developing tools to ensure sermon excellence. New sermon examples have been added along with a section that responds to critics and looks to the future.
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Promise Of The Future Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartThe story of Jesus doesn’t begin in a manger in Bethlehem. Instead, it first begins hundreds of years before, when God’s prophets begin to preach about the coming of the Messiah who would redeem all of humanity. In this study, we will unpack that message of hope and anticipation as it’s found in the prophets of Isaiah and Micah and the redeeming story of Ruth A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18 4-session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the Bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the Bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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Promise Of The Future Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartThe story of Jesus doesn’t begin in a manger in Bethlehem. Instead, it first begins hundreds of years before, when God’s prophets begin to preach about the coming of the Messiah who would redeem all of humanity. In this study, we will unpack that message of hope and anticipation as it’s found in the prophets of Isaiah and Micah and the redeeming story of Ruth A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18 4-session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the Bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the Bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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Exile And Return Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartThis study turns its focus to the prophetic proclamations offered to the people of Israel while they were in exile in foreign lands. These four lessons based on passages found in Hosea, Esther, Ezra and more will explore what it means to be in exile, and how our lives are changed when we follow a God that reminds us that we are not alone and not forgotten and who promises to restore us. A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18 4-session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the Bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the Bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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Exile And Return Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartThis study turns its focus to the prophetic proclamations offered to the people of Israel while they were in exile in foreign lands. These four lessons based on passages found in Hosea, Esther, Ezra and more will explore what it means to be in exile, and how our lives are changed when we follow a God that reminds us that we are not alone and not forgotten and who promises to restore us. A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18 4-session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the Bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the Bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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In Times Gone By
$17.00Add to cartAfter getting left at the altar, Kenzie Gifford flees to San Francisco to start her life over, determined never to love again. She’s made new friends and has a good job in the office of her cousin’s chocolate factory. The only thorn in her side is Dr. Micah Fisher, who insists on pursuing her despite her constant rejection.
Then the Great 1906 Earthquake strikes the city, and everything changes. The devastation all around her makes Kenzie reevaluate her outlook on life–and possibly even her feelings for Micah. But then her world is rocked again when her ex-fiance appears, full of apologies and determined to win her back. But Arthur already broke her heart once. Does she dare trust him again? The sudden arrival of a hidden danger will expose the motivations of all involved, but it could cost Kenzie her life–as well as her heart.
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Making Sense Of Your Life
$10.95Add to cartAn Outskirts Press Title
Does life ever scare you? Are you ever afraid of what the future might bring? What’s just right around the corner? Nothing stays the same, everything must change. We really have so little control of our lives. Does life ever leave you confused? Does it seem that things just don’t make sense and that there is nothing that you can really be sure of? Life often seems very puzzling. How do you cope with heartbreak and sorrow, pain and disappointment? We constantly wrestle with loneliness, depression, and anger as we look for answers and a purpose for our existence. I realize that in a world of sin we will always have tough times throughout our lives. But there is a truth that can lead us to help explain the big picture of life. When we understand and accept this truth everything can take on a different perspective. In this book we look at our purpose for being alive and celebrate peace and contentment. We no longer need to feel lost or confused about our lives or fear failure or rejection. Find your peace and purpose today.
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Hmmm Whos Speaking
$22.95Add to cartHmmm! Who’s Speaking? is an inspiring collection of first-hand reports, so to speak, that the author gathered by visiting a variety of churches from a wide array of religious denominations and backgrounds. Then he shared them first with his minister and then others so that each may learn something from other members of the body of Christ.
Some of his visits were to mosques, temples, synagogues, and even cults. The author hopes his reports of visits to denominational and nondenominational churches will encourage some readers who do not attend a church, or maybe feel uncomfortable where they do go, to check out another church. He feels God has a specific church in mind for you so that you will become involved in spreading the Good News about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And some of his stories in this book are about other happenings where God got his message over to the author through experiences as a Boy Scout chaplain, a Billy Graham Emergency Response chaplain, and as a chaplain for the Tulsa Juvenile Detention Center. Then there are stories about ways and things God used to get his attention either physically or with words or music or even animals like foxes, donkeys, frogs, birds, and even insects. The author’s hope is that you, too, may recognize something similar that’s happened in your life, and maybe you’ll think, Hmmm! Was that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit speaking?
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Calling : Understanding Your Purpose Place And Position
$16.99Add to cartJen Tringale speaks to the heart of every believer who desires to see God’s plan for their life become a reality and wants the tools to achieve it. Calling: Understanding Your Purpose, Place & Position details the forces that are working to help or hinder you as you try to follow the path of your destiny. She goes beyond the concept of destiny to show how it can be recognized in day-to-day life, and how living for a purpose greater than yourself can unlock blessings beyond measure.
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Popular In Heaven Famous In Hell
$16.99Add to cart*Balanced teaching on heaven and hell, good and evil, and the effect our lives have on both realms
*Insights to help readers access God’s purpose and plan so they can live truly meaningful lives
Would you risk your reputation to find out what is pleasing to God?
The greatest thing that can ever be said about a person is that he or she pleased God. But while pleasing God makes you popular in heaven, it may not make you popular on earth. Do you have the temptation to be well received here on earth? Do you make spiritual decisions based upon what people will think of you?
Going a step further, have you considered whether you have any reputation in hell? Are you living the kind of life that causes a threat to Satan’s interests? That’s how you become famous in hell.
It’s time to stop valuing your reputation with people more than your reputation with God. Start living your life with eternity in mind. Respected theologian and author R. T. Kendall has written this book to help you discover the keys to living a life that truly pleases God, making you not only popular in heaven, but also famous in hell.
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Biblical Authority After Babel
$21.99Add to cartHow the Five Solas Can Renew Biblical Interpretation
In recent years, notable scholars have argued that the Protestant Reformation unleashed interpretive anarchy on the church. Is it time to consider the Reformation to be a 500-year experiment gone wrong?
World-renowned evangelical theologian Kevin Vanhoozer thinks not. While he sees recent critiques as legitimate, he argues that retrieving the Reformation’s core principles offers an answer to critics of Protestant biblical interpretation. Vanhoozer explores how a proper reappropriation of the five solas–sola gratia (grace alone), sola fide (faith alone), sola scriptura (Scripture alone), solus Christus (in Christ alone), and sola Deo gloria (for the glory of God alone) –offers the tools to constrain biblical interpretation and establish interpretive authority. He offers a positive assessment of the Reformation, showing how a retrieval of “mere Protestant Christianity” has the potential to reform contemporary Christian belief and practice.
This provocative response and statement from a top theologian is accessibly written for pastors and church leaders.
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Get Weird : Discover The Surprising Secret To Making A Difference
$19.99Add to cartSadly, most of us grow up believing it’s more important to fit in than to stand out. But there’s something different about you… and it matters.
What if your weirdness was the key to changing everything? What if the outrageous, imaginative, crazy ideas that live inside your wildest dreams are actually there on purpose, divinely pre-installed to help others?
Knowing what makes you weird is the best thing you can offer your art, your business, your friends, your family, and yourself. It’s the essence of creativity, the stuff of movements, and the hope for humanity.
Armed with the wit of a native New Yorker, whimsical anecdotes, and cultural insights, CJ Casciotta pens a manifesto for the oddball in all of us, one that will help you discover the surprising secret to making a difference.
It’s time to quit painting by numbers, conforming to patterns, and checking off boxes. It’s time to GET WEIRD.
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Gathering Of Sisters
$14.99Add to cartOnce a week Weaver bundles her children into the buggy, hitches up her horse, and drives six miles to the farm where she grew up. There she gathers with her four sisters and their children for a day with their mother. Here she writes about her horse-and-buggy Mennonite family and the weekly women’s gatherings that keep them connected.
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Your Companion After Addiction
$5.99Add to cartThe Out of the Depths series addresses common pastoral crises in a faithful, encouraging, and factual manner that provides support to parishioners in crisis beyond the initial pastoral conversation. These inexpensive booklets can be given out to parishioners when they bring their recent diagnosis, crisis, or trauma to the pastor as a way to continue to provide care throughout the difficult season. Each booklet begins with a thoughtful consideration of the topic at hand, which is followed up by 30 brief devotions. These devotions are designed to be manageable in an overwhelming time, encouraging, and honest. This Addiction edition, co-authored by Jim Hightower and Peter Ferguson, is appropriate for both individuals experiencing addiction and their family and friends. The Out of the Depths booklets are essential care resources to be given out by pastors, Stephen Ministers, and congregational care teams.
Key Features:
Written by metal health professionals and pastors to help the reader process their trauma both psychologically and theologically.
Includes accessible material describing the dynamics of the crisis situation and typical reactions, which provides the reader with a sense of grounding and direction through increased knowledge.
The thirty short devotions creates a sense of companionship and hope in a difficult and lonely time.
Knowing they are sharing a resource written by mental health professionals and pastors with personal experience provides pastors a trustworthy source of information.
Easy for pastors/churches to keep in stock and distribute as needed, serves as a tangible reminder of the faith community’s care. -
When Lightning Strikes Twice
$19.99Add to cartWhen the doctor said those two crushing words-bipolar disorder-the only thing rolling around in Melody Leclair’s head was confusion. This could not be happening… not again. With no documented family history of mental illness, the Leclairs now faced the unexpected diagnosis of bipolar disorder in not one, but two of their three children.
“When Lightning Strikes Twice” is an unparalleled memoir with first-person accounts, family perspectives, and collective insights from an extraordinary community of friends and clinicians. Follow this family’s heart-wrenching yet hope-filled journey of finding their new normal. With three teenagers in high school, the Leclairs’ world now included hospitalizations, medication, self-care, and prayer on top of the typical challenges of raising teenagers.
Read this heartfelt and authentic family experience of mental illness, punctuated with honesty and humour. You will undoubtedly be captivated, informed, and inspired.
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Healing The Soul Of A Woman (Large Type)
$38.00Add to cartInternationally renowned Bible teacher Joyce Meyer draws on her own history of abuse to show women how Christ’s redeeming love heals emotional wounds and brings joy to life.
Can a woman who has been deeply hurt by life’s circumstances be healed, heart and soul? If she has been wounded by a man she loved and trusted, can she love and trust again? As a woman who endured years of abuse, abandonment, and betrayal by those closest to her, Joyce Meyer can answer with a resounding “yes!”
Meyer’s positivity comes from living her own journey, and from seeing so many women who don’t believe they can fully overcome their pain–or even know where to begin–find the guidance they need in the life-changing wisdom of the Bible.
Meyer’s million-copy bestseller Beauty for Ashes told a part of her personal story, which now, with the passage of more time, she feels she can share more fully. Each chapter guides you through whatever obstacles may be holding you back to find your true destiny as God’s beloved. God can heal all pain, and He wants to do this in you. Let HEALING THE SOUL OF A WOMAN be the first step toward the wonderful, joyful future God intends for you.
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True Inclusion : Creating Communities Of Radical Embrace
$14.99Add to cartDiscover how to move your church beyond mere welcome to radical embrace.
So your church website says you’re welcoming, a rainbow flag flies out front, worship uses gender-inclusive language, and you make sure you greet the stranger next to you on Sunday mornings. But is all of that really enough? And what if those welcoming gestures actually keep visitors from returning and exclude dozens of other groups or people in your community?
In True Inclusion, public theologian and pastor Brandan Robertson shares how to move your church from mere welcome to radical embrace. Pointing to a clear biblical imperative for radical inclusivity in the sanctuary and in the public square, Robertson presents a paradigm-shifting vision of community, “where nothing is simple, nothing is easy, but everything is beautiful.” Learn practical, step-by-step approaches to becoming deeply, robustly, and richly inclusive of all people regardless of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, political affiliation, and socioeconomic status.
Written for people and communities at every stage of the journey, True Inclusion will challenge and inspire you to embody a gospel of radical embrace for all.
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Advent For Everyone Luke
$18.00Add to cartAdvent for Everyone: Luke provides readers with an inspirational guide through the Advent season, from the first Sunday in Advent through the Saturday after the Fourth Sunday in Advent. Popular biblical scholar and author N. T. Wright provides his own Scripture translation and brief reflection, exploring the Gospel themes of faith, repentance, justice, and celebration.
Wright’s engaging reflections take you on a journey of spiritual enlightenment, guiding you toward the wonder and joy of Christmas. This book is suitable for both individual and group study and reflection.
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Islam : Religion Of Peace? The Violation Of Natural Rights And Western Cove
$27.95Add to cartEight hundred years ago, St. Francis of Assisi embarked on a mission to the port city of Damietta, Egypt, to try and convert Sultan al-Kamil to Christianity. While this did not come to fruition, both the sultan and the saint were able to have a peaceful dialogue and establish a mutual respect that is absent from the present-day polemics of Islam.
While many today hold that those who seek to create a universal caliphate through acts of terror in the name of Islam falsely represent their religion, they ignore the original Islamic texts that inspire these perpetrators. The Islamization of our society, however, does not just come from avowed terrorists but from various Islamic scholars and activists seeking to impose sharia law. As a result of the West disavowing its Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian roots, government officials have catered to such injustices since they consider the petrodollar more valuable than the victims of violence. Consequently, they have capitulated our rights of free speech and religion to the point of classifying anyone who questions Islamists’ intentions as an Islamophobe. Islam: Religion of Peace? places Islam in its historical and sociopolitical contexts in order to better understand what has bred the Islamic threat facing today’s society, as well as how many of our political and church leaders have failed to address the problem, thereby creating more instability between both Muslims and non-Muslims. Author Mario Alexis Portella also proposes solutions whereby both peoples may enter into a meaningful discourse and establish harmony.
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100 Days Of Grace And Gratitude
$18.99Add to cartGod has made many promises to you and He intends to keep every single one of them. In today’s fast-paced world and demanding and confusing situations, it’s easy to forget God’s goodness and grace. In 100 Days of Gratitude and Grace, we’ve thoughtfully collected and exquisitely designed God’s best promises in a journal setting that provides a place for prayer, reflection and creative expression as you bask in his grace that will leave you gratefully reminded just how love you are.
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Messy People Participant Workbook (Student/Study Guide)
$17.99Add to cartEvery life gets messy at times. Sometimes these messes are literal, like a house that would be easier to condemn than to clean. But sometimes they are intangible messes such as illness, conflict, depression, abuse, bankruptcy, divorce, and job loss. And these messes can be painful, hurting our hearts and our homes. But as we see in the Bible, God loves to use messy people! In this six-week study, we will dig into the lives of biblical heroes who were messy people just like us but who were used by God in powerful ways. Together we will examine the stories of five wonderful but messy people and one messy parable character: Rahab, the Prodigal Son, Josiah, Mary, David, and Daniel. From their stories, we will learn how God can use broken people, restore damaged hearts and relationships, give us power to handle our critics, and help us deal with the hard moments of life. Along the way we’ll discover that we don’t have to just endure messy lives but can actually learn to thrive with God’s guidance and help. In the hands of God, our messes can become His masterpieces! The participant workbook, to be used along with the study’s DVD, includes five days of lessons for each week, combining study of Scripture with personal reflection, application, and prayer. Other components for the Bible study, available separately, include a Leader Guide, DVD with six 10-15 minute sessions, and boxed Leader Kit (an all-inclusive box containing one copy of each of the Bible study’s components).
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Revelation Participant Book (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartStudy the entire Book of Revelation starting with John’s theology that teaches that Jesus, the exalted Christ, is the center of faith. Some of the major ideas explored are: personal religious experience; living voice of God in the church today; advocating for what is right; distinguishing between good and evil; God’s grace seeks to redeem; and covenant with God. More than 3.5 million copies of the series have been sold. This revision of the Abingdon classic Genesis to Revelation Series is a comprehensive, verse-by-verse, book-by-book study of the Bible based on the NIV. These studies help readers strengthen their understanding and appreciation of the Bible by enabling them to engage the Scripture on three levels: What does the Bible say? Questions to consider while reading the passage for each session. What does the passage mean? Unpacks key verses in the selected passage. How does the Scripture relate to my life? Provides three major ideas that have meaning for our lives today. The meaning of the selected passages are made clear by considering such aspects as ancient customs, locations of places, and the meanings of words. The simple format makes the study easy to use. Updates will include: New cover designs. New interior designs. Leader Guide per matching Participant Book (rather than multiple volumes in one book). Updated to 2011 revision of the New International Version Translation (NIV). Updated references to New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible. Include biblical chapters on the contents page beside session lesson titles for at-a-glance overview of biblical structure. The simple format makes the study easy to use. Each volume is 13 sessions and has a separate leader guide.
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All Things New
$19.99Add to cartNew York Times bestselling author John Eldredge offers readers a breathtaking look into God’s promise for a new heaven and a new earth.
This revolutionary book about our future is based on the simple idea that, according to the Bible, heaven is not our eternal home–the New Earth is. As Jesus says in the gospel of Matthew, the next chapter of our story begins with “the renewal of all things,” by which he means the earth we love in all its beauty, our own selves, and the things that make for a rich life: music, art, food, laughter and all that we hold dear. Everything shall be renewed “when the world is made new.”
More than anything else, how you envision your future shapes your current experience. If you knew that God was going to restore your life and everything you love any day; if you believed a great and glorious goodness was coming to you–not in a vague heaven but right here on this earth–you would have a hope to see you through anything, an anchor for your soul, “an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God” (Hebrews 6:19).
Most Christians (most people for that matter) fail to look forward to their future because their view of heaven is vague, religious, and frankly boring. Hope begins when we understand that for the believer nothing is lost. Heaven is not a life in the clouds; it is not endless harp-strumming or worship-singing. Rather, the life we long for, the paradise Adam and Eve knew, is precisely the life that is coming to us. And that life is coming soon.
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Angels : What The Bible Really Says About God’s Heavenly Host
$24.99Add to cartWhat does the Bible really tell us about the heavenly host?
Everyone knows that angels have wings, usually carry harps, and that each of us has our own personal guardian angel, right? We all have some preconceptions about angels from movies, television shows, and other media, but you might be surprised to know that a lot of those notions aren’t based on anything from the Bible. If you read Luke 1:26-38 and imagine the angel Gabriel standing before Mary with neatly folded white wings, you’re not getting that picture from anything the Bible itself says.
What the Bible really says about angels is overlooked or filtered through popular myths. This book was written to help change that. It’s a book about the loyal members of God’s heavenly host, and while most people associate them with the word “angel,” that’s just one of many terms the Bible uses for supernatural beings.
In The Unseen Realm Michael Heiser opened the eyes of thousands to seeing the Bible through the supernatural worldview of the ancient world it was written in. In his latest book, Angels, Dr. Heiser reveals what the Bible really says about God’s supernatural servants. Heiser focuses on loyal, holy heavenly beings because the Bible has a lot more to say about them than most people suspect. Most people presume all there is to know about angels is what has been passed on in Christian tradition, but in reality, that tradition is quite incomplete and often inaccurate.
Angels is not guided by traditions, stories, speculations, or myths about angels. Heiser’s study is grounded in the terms the Bible itself uses to describe members of God’s heavenly host; he examines the terms in their biblical context while drawing on insights from the wider context of the ancient Near Eastern world. The Bible’s view on heavenly beings begins with Old Testament terms but then moves into literature from the Second Temple period–Jewish writings from around the fifth century BC to the first century AD. This literature from the time between the Old Testament and the New Testament influenced the New Testament writers in significant ways. With that important background established, the book focuses on what the New Testament tells us about God’s holy ones. Finally, the book reflects on common misconceptions about angels and addresses why the topic is still important and relevant for Christians today.
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When God Winks
$17.99Add to cartSQuire Rushnell teaches you how to use the power of “godwinks”–divine coincidences–to seize certainty in uncertain times, and enrich your career and relationships.
Whether you call it synchronicity or coincidence, it is not an accident that you just picked up When GOD Winks. In fact, you may have suspected all along that there is more to coincidence than meets the eye. These seemingly random events are actually signposts that can help you successfully navigate your career, relationships, and interests. By recognizing the “godwinks” our Creator has placed in our paths, we can understand–and embrace–the journey God has laid out for us.
Read the incredible “godwinks” experienced by everyday people and celebrities including Barbra Streisand, Charles Schulz, Oprah Winfrey, Kevin Costner, Mark Twain, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.
After reading When GOD Winks, you’ll learn to recognize coincidences in your life for what they truly are: an act of God’s enduring love.
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Finding Favour In The Sight Of God
$28.99Add to cartSeries Preface
Author’s Preface
List Of Abbreviations
1. The Problem Of Wisdom Literature In Old Testament Theology
2. The Message Of Proverbs 1-9
3. The Hermeneutics Of Proverbs
4. The Theology Of Proverbs
5. Theological Issues In Job 1-3
6. Divine Retribution, Suffering And God’s Justice (Job 4-26)
7. Where Is Wisdom To Be Found? (Job 27-42)
8. Key Questions Concerning The Book Of Ecclesiastes
9. The Message Of Qohelet
10. The Theology Of Ecclesiastes
11. Jesus And Wisdom
Bibliography
Index Of Names
Index Of Scripture ReferencesAdditional Info
There has been an explosion of interest in wisdom literature, and many studies are now available. There is every opportunity for people to “get wisdom, get insight” (Prov. 4:5). However, in today’s world it seems the practical sensibilities that come from wisdom are found in very few places. Wisdom literature is needed now more than ever. By walking in the way of wisdom, we will “find favour and good success in the sight of God and man” (Prov. 3:4).In this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume, Richard Belcher begins with a survey of the problem of wisdom literature in Old Testament theology. Subsequent chapters focus on the message and theology of the books of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes. These point forward to the need for Christ and the gospel. Belcher concludes by exploring the relationship of Christ to wisdom in terms of his person, work, and teaching ministry.
Addressing key issues in biblical theology, the works comprising New Studies in Biblical Theology are creative attempts to help Christians better understand their Bibles. The NSBT series is edited by D. A. Carson, aiming to simultaneously instruct and to edify, to interact with current scholarship and to point the way ahead.
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Can A Scientist Believe In Miracles
$25.99Add to cartPreface
1. A Spiritual Journey
2. Are There Realities Science Cannot Explain?
3. What Is Faith?
4. Do Scientists Have Faith?
5. Does Reason Support Christian Belief?
6. What Is Scientism?
7. Is There Really Spiritual Knowledge?
8. Creation And Cosmology
9. Do Miracles Happen?
10. The Bible And Science
11. Of All The World’s Religions, Why Christianity?
12. Why Does God Seem Hidden?
13. Is There Good And Evil?
14. Personal Consequences: So What?
Acknowledgments
Notes
Author Index
Subject Index
Scripture IndexAdditional Info
Plasma physicist Ian Hutchinson has been asked hundreds of questions about faith and science:What is faith and what is science? Are they compatible? Are there realities science cannot explain? Are miracles ruled out by science? Is God’s existence a scientific question? Is the Bible consistent with the modern scientific understanding of the universe? How did the universe begin? How could a good God permit so much suffering in the world? Are there scientific reasons to believe in God? In this comprehensive volume, Hutchinson answers a full range of inquiries with sound scientific insights and measured Christian perspective. Without minimizing challenging questions, he explores how science and Christianity are mutually supportive and intellectually consistent.Both God and science truthfully address our curiosity and destiny. Find answers to your deepest questions. -
Rock That Is Higher
$18.00Add to cartWe are all strangers in a strange land, longing for home, but not quite knowing what or where home is. We glimpse it sometimes in our dreams, or as we turn a corner, and suddenly there is a strange, sweet familiarity that vanishes almost as soon as it comes… -Madeleine L’Engle, from The Rock That Is Higher
Story captures our hearts and feeds our imaginations. It reminds us who we are and where we came from. Story gives meaning and direction to our lives as we learn to see it as an affirmation of God’s love and truth-an acknowledgment of our longing for a rock in the midst of life’s wilderness.
Drawing upon her own experiences, well-known tales in literature, and selected narratives from Scripture, Madeleine L’Engle gently leads the way into the glorious world of story in The Rock That Is Higher. Here she acknowledges universal human longings and considers how literature, Scripture, personal stories, and life experiences all point us toward our true home.
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Cross And The Switchblade
$17.99Add to cart“Go to New York City and help those boys.”When David Wilkerson heard those words in his heart late one night, he was dumbfounded. The boys in question were members of a violent gang and on trial for murder. He himself was a young country preacher settled comfortably in a little mountain church in Pennsylvania. What could God possibly expect him to accomplish?
But those words took root in his heart, and he knew he had to go. Risking everything–his career, his marriage, even his life–he found himself walking the streets of New York City and sharing the gospel with the most violent gangs and drug users, sometimes at knife point.
With over 15 million copies sold, this is the powerful, riveting true story of how God can use the most unlikely of people to do the impossible–and save those we think are beyond saving.
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Kristies Crazy Christmas
$9.95Add to cartHey, friend, get in! Strap in. Take a spin. Feel the wind, as you go way up and way down. To ride or not to ridethat is the question! Cause you dont ride with just anyone. Well, heres some info that should put your mind completely at ease.
Youll love this emotionally charged ride if you do mental gymnastics (like to pretend, imagine, daydream, or do anything else that works your brain); if you get high on racing horses, cats, or critters in general; if you go bonkers over special activities, like family vacations; or if you adore surprises!
So buy your tickets and come along. You cant go wrong!
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Mere Humanity : G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, And J.R.R. Tolkien On The Huma
$13.99Add to cart“Is Man a Myth?” asks the title of one of Mr. Tumnus’s books. It was apparently an open question in Narnia during the Long Winter, and it has become so again for us. In Mere Humanity, Donald T. Williams plumbs the writings of three beloved Twentieth-Century authors to find answers that still resonate in the Twenty-First. Chesterton, Lewis, and Tolkien explain in their expositions and incarnate in their fiction a robust biblical doctrine of man that gives us a firm place to stand against the various forms of reductionism that dominate our thinking about human nature today.
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Opening The Doors 2nd Edition Enhanced
$29.95Add to cartWaterside Press
Ideal for outsiders, volunteers and others helping out with prisoners, Opening the Doors contains wise advice based on years of experience. It places imprisonment in a Christian context and captures the essence of why some people end up in prison. -
Jericho Unmasked : An Entrapped Lesbian’s Journey To Freedom
$12.99Add to cartGod’s word never returns void.
Before she was six years old, Cari Gintz found salvation in Christ, but childhood abuse, trauma sustained through legalistic religion, and an ongoing struggle with her sexual identity took a steep toll on her relationship with God. A wall of brokenness surrounded her life, encasing her within a fortress where depravity and darkness reigned.
But even as Cari struggled through decades of pain and searching, a scarlet cord tethered her to God, leading to one miraculous moment that would collapse the walled fortress that kept her from realizing His full purpose for her life.
Tracing her journey through darkness and back into the light of God’s never-ceasing love, Cari’s memoir showcases the redemptive power of the God who never lets his children go. Sensitively told, this story offers encouragement to those with family members or friends struggling with issues of sexual identity, by underscoring the power of divine possibility, the necessity of showing love to the broken, and the importance of relational, believing prayer.
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Dare To Begin Again
$16.99Add to cartIs your life where you want it to be?
We all have struggles and challenges in life. Whether they are of our own making or not, things don’t always work out. Sometimes, we just give up on our dreams and goals.
But it doesn’t have to be that way! God is a God of new beginnings, and throughout the entire Bible, we read about people who were stuck, disappointed, and faced impossible situations–people God freed.Rosalinda Torres Rivera challenges us to Dare to Begin Again. Using stories from her own life, other people, and biblical times, Rosalinda offers inspirational, down-to-earth advice on beginning again. Each chapter tackles a different issue where you may be “stuck”–such as an inability to forgive, trust, or hope–and examples of people who overcame similar challenges. Practical tasks at the end of each chapter walk you through a DARE challenge (Decide, Allow, Rise, Enjoy) to help you move closer to a fresh start.
Rosalinda is the daughter of Victor Torres, an ex-gang member from Brooklyn, New York, and his wife, Carmen, founders of the New Life For Youth ministry. She has seen more than twenty thousand people get out of tough situations and turn their lives around.
“They’re people whose tales of transformation prove God is still at work,” she says. “He’s written and re-written their life’s chapters–and He’s willing to do the same for you.”
It takes a commitment, but with the help of God, inspiring, true stories, and practical applications, you can Dare to Begin Again. -
Revelation Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartStudy the entire Book of Revelation starting with John’s theology that teaches that Jesus, the exalted Christ, is the center of faith. Some of the major ideas explored are: personal religious experience; living voice of God in the church today; advocating for what is right; distinguishing between good and evil; God’s grace seeks to redeem; and covenant with God. Leader Guide includes: A verse-by-verse, in-depth look at the Scriptures. Background material, including word studies and history of the biblical setting. Answers to questions asked in the Participant Book. Application of the Scripture to daily life situations. Discussion suggestions. A variety of study options. Practical tips for leaders to use. More than 3.5 million copies of the series have been sold. This revision of the Abingdon classic Genesis to Revelation Series is a comprehensive, verse-by-verse, book-by-book study of the Bible based on the NIV. These studies help readers strengthen their understanding and appreciation of the Bible by enabling them to engage the Scripture on three levels: What does the Bible say? Questions to consider while reading the passage for each session. What does the passage mean? Unpacks key verses in the selected passage. How does the Scripture relate to my life? Provides three major ideas that have meaning for our lives today. The meaning of the selected passages are made clear by considering such aspects as ancient customs, locations of places, and the meanings of words. The simple format makes the study easy to use. Updates will include: New cover designs. New interior designs. Leader Guide per matching Participant Book (rather than multiple volumes in one book). Updated to 2011 revision of the New International Version Translation (NIV). Updated references to New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible. Include biblical chapters on the contents page beside session lesson titles for at-a-glance overview of biblical structure. Include larger divisions within the contents page to reflect macro-structure of each biblical book. Ex: Genesis 1-11; Genesis 12-50; Exodus 1-15; Exodus 16-40; Isaiah 1-39; Isaiah 40-66. The simple format makes the study easy to use. Each volume is 13 sessions.
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Hebrews-Jude Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartStudy the entire books of Hebrews; James; First and Second Peter; First, Second, and Third John; and Jude, including the uniqueness of God’s final revelation for the salvation of the people, essential instruction in the faith, strengthening faith in the midst of the difficulties of life, faith and works, fellowship with God and with other believers, encouragement to be ruled by love, and the spiritual health of the church. Some of the major ideas explored are: developing a personal relationship with Christ; running the race of life; your Christian experience; your influence in the life of your church; Jesus as a historical person; the second coming of Christ; and Christian hospitality. Leader Guide includes: A verse-by-verse, in-depth look at the Scriptures. Background material, including word studies and history of the biblical setting. Answers to questions asked in the Participant Book. Application of the Scripture to daily life situations. Discussion suggestions. A variety of study options. Practical tips for leaders to use. More than 3.5 million copies of the series have been sold. This revision of the Abingdon classic Genesis to Revelation Series is a comprehensive, verse-by-verse, book-by-book study of the Bible based on the NIV. These studies help readers strengthen their understanding and appreciation of the Bible by enabling them to engage the Scripture on three levels: What does the Bible say? Questions to consider while reading the passage for each session. What does the passage mean? Unpacks key verses in the selected passage. How does the Scripture relate to my life? Provides three major ideas that have meaning for our lives today. The meaning of the selected passages are made clear by considering such aspects as ancient customs, locations of places, and the meanings of words. The simple format makes the study easy to use. Updates will include: New cover designs. New interior designs. Leader Guide per matching Participant Book (rather than multiple volumes in one book). Updated to 2011 revision of the New International Version Translation (NIV). Updated references to New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible. Include biblical chapters on the contents page beside session lesson titles for at-a-glance overview of biblical structure. Include larger divisions within the contents page to reflect macro-structure of each biblical book. Ex: Genesis 1-11; Genesis 12-50; Exodus 1-1
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Joshua-Ruth Participant Book (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartStudy the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, beginning with Joshua’s story, then moving through Judges, and ending with the story of Ruth. Some of the major ideas explored are: sanctity and wonders, mercy in the face of judgment, judging the motive rather than the act, rest as an active state, God’s positive and negative promises, putting our deeds in perspective, vengeance destroys the avenger, the visitor in our midst, and God’s providence. More than 3.5 million copies of the series have been sold. This revision of the Abingdon classic Genesis to Revelation Series is a comprehensive, verse-by-verse, book-by-book study of the Bible based on the NIV. These studies help readers strengthen their understanding and appreciation of the Bible by enabling them to engage the Scripture on three levels: What does the Bible say? Questions to consider while reading the passage for each session. What does the passage mean? Unpacks key verses in the selected passage. How does the Scripture relate to my life? Provides three major ideas that have meaning for our lives today. The meaning of the selected passages are made clear by considering such aspects as ancient customs, locations of places, and the meanings of words. The simple format makes the study easy to use. Updates will include: New cover designs. New interior designs. Leader Guide per matching Participant Book (rather than multiple volumes in one book). Updated to 2011 revision of the New International Version Translation (NIV). Updated references to New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible. Include biblical chapters on the contents page beside session lesson titles for at-a-glance overview of biblical structure. The simple format makes the study easy to use. Each volume is 13 sessions and has a separate leader guide.
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Return Of Jesus Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartThe second coming of Jesus has been a topic of fascination for both scholars and lay people for centuries. The accounts of Jesus’ return found throughout the Bible, especially in Revelation, are put forth with a cinematic quality that is both enrapturing and unnerving. In this study, we’ll explore apocalyptic literature throughout the Bible along with what it does and doesn’t tell us about Jesus’ return, and the key takeaways that these scriptures have for our faith. A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18 4-session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the Bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the Bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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Battle For Bonhoeffer
$25.99Add to cartThe figure of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) has become a clay puppet in modern American politics. Secular, radical, liberal, and evangelical interpreters variously shape and mold the martyr’s legacy to suit their own pet agendas.
Stephen Haynes offers an incisive and clarifying perspective. A recognized Bonhoeffer expert, Haynes examines “populist” readings of Bonhoeffer, including the acclaimed biography by Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. In his analysis Haynes treats, among other things, the November 2016 election of Donald Trump and the “Bonhoeffer moment” announced by evangelicals in response to the US Supreme Court’s 2015 decision to legalize same-sex marriage.
The Battle for Bonhoeffer includes an open letter from Haynes pointedly addressing Christians who still support Trump. Bonhoeffer’s legacy matters. Haynes redeems the life and the man.
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Eschatology
$26.99Add to cartThis short textbook, the latest volume in the Guides to Theology series, surveys key themes and aspects of Christian hope by tracing eschatological ideas as they have developed from Scripture throughout the history of theology.
John McDowell and Scott Kirkland present a series of lenses on understanding eschatological statements, or the content of Christian hope. They have structured their book thematically into five chapters–four exploring apocalyptic, existential, political, and christological themes, followed by an extensive annotated bibliography. Within each chapter, McDowell and Kirkland take a history-of-ideas approach, locating the various perspectives in their historical contexts. Concise and accessible, this book is ideal for introductory undergraduate courses in eschatology.
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Amish Homecoming : Four Stories
$16.99Add to cartNo Place Like Home by Amy Clipston
Eva Dienner hasn’t been home to see her parents for nearly six years, since the tension between her and her mother left them estranged. After Eva’s husband was killed in a fire, she stayed on with her in-laws, the Riehls-but now it’s finally time to introduce her son, Simeon Jr., to his maternal grandparents.Upon her return, Eva finds that the man her parents always intended for her is living in their daadihaus and running the dairy farm for them. She wonders if Ian Miller is using her parents to one day inherit their land, but she’s in for a surprise when she learns that he’s working for them for free. During her visit, Eva repairs her relationship with her parents and learns to finally let go of the past and look forward to a future with Ian.When Love Returns by Beth Wiseman
Fearful of her stern parents and embarrassed by her unplanned pregnancy, Sarah Zook fled from home without goodbyes six years ago. But when unfortunate circumstances force her to return to her Amish roots, Sarah must humbly ask her parents for help. Abram King spent years recovering from Sarah’s sudden departure. Upon her return, Abram can think of nothing but the pain she caused him-until he meets Sarah’s daughter and realizes that he never really stopped loving Sarah. Sarah and Abram must find a way to face the truth of their past so they can rekindle their first love.The Courage to Love by Shelley Shepard Gray
After going against her better judgment, Irene Keim fell for a wayward Englisch man, sending her life into a downward spiral. But upon his death, she knows it’s time for a fresh start and new adventures. Irene quits her job and embarks on a month-long bus trip out west and is presented with the opportunity to rent a room from one of the older couples she befriended along the way. Mary Ruth and Henry Wengerd are more than happy for the company and the help around the house. But when Mary Ruth and Henry’s son Marcus comes around, he isn’t pleased with the woman they’ve taken in and is determined to push her out. Misunderstandings abound, but both Irene and Marcus learn that people aren’t always what they seem.What Love Built by Kathleen Fuller
Carolyn Yoder left her home in Birch Creek ten years ago. Presented with the opportunity to pursue a lifelong dream, she moves back to start a new life and a new business. Independent and headstrong, Carolyn is determined to forge ahead with the opening of her bakery, but she’s in -
Lets Talk : 50 Daily Devotions
$10.99Add to cartLet’s Talk How can I change the world? The message of salvation (Good News) is powerful (Romans 1:16). It is powerful to transform your life. That’s because I came to change your life. First, I change your inner world . . . your desires, attitudes, motives and love. You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. Then second, I can change your surrounding world . . . your family . . . your work . . . your hobbies . . . your entertainment . . . even your language and habits. This second world involves your church, home, school and place of employment. Then, third, I want to change the world out there. Let’s evangelize lost people in your neighborhood . . . a new church plant . . . the mission field. You can change the world either marginally or largely. Let Me use you to change the world.
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I Am Jesus
$14.99Add to cartI Am Jesus How can I change the world? The message of salvation (Good News) is powerful (Romans 1:16). It is powerful to transform your life. That’s because I came to change your life. First, I change your inner world . . . your desires, attitudes, motives and love. You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. Then second, I can change your surrounding world . . . your family . . . your work . . . your hobbies . . . your entertainment . . . even your language and habits. This second world involves your church, home, school and place of employment. Then, third, I want to change the world out there. Let’s evangelize lost people in your neighborhood . . . a new church plant . . . the mission field. You can change the world either marginally or largely. Let Me use you to change the world.
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Dont Die In The Pew
$14.99Add to cart2thrive Incorporated LLC Title
Has the modern Church forsaken the Holy Word of God for a “feel good” doctrine that fills seats but puts souls in peril? Today, many of Christianity’s most uncomfortable topics are either ignored or misinterpreted. Don’t Die in the Pew offer’s a head-on, Scripture-based examination of many of the most controversial and confusing subjects within the modern Church. The author implores the Christian reader not to rely solely on man to interpret the Bible but to read and study for oneself to find the Truth. She demonstrates how Scripture can be misconstrued if not read and understood in context and in harmony with all related Scriptures.
Don’t Die in the Pew encourages the Christian reader to thoughtfully examine the surety of his or her salvation. The author takes the reader on a journey to find the rarely studied history of Israel and the early Church. She connects the dots of the Old and New Testament, and she uses Scripture to debunk the now popular “once saved, always saved” doctrine that is pervasive in many churches today.
Don’t Die in the Pew will surprise you and likely challenge long-held beliefs around thought-provoking questions such as:
-What is the relevance of the Old Testament in today’s world?
-Why is what’s happening in Israel important to Christian’s and to the “end times”?
-Is it possible to lose your salvation…is “Once Saved, Always Saved” a Biblical truth?
-What is God’s special relationship with Israel, a people He actually divorced? Jer 3:8We are all going to die a physical death, and most of us believe that we’re going to spend eternity somewhere. So, what makes this book a must read? Quite simply, it could save your life, your eternal one. The author has a God-given message for the Church. This book urges the Church, both leaders and goers, to WAKE UP and discover that the Truth can only be found in Scripture. It implores Christians not to ignore God’s written Word and warns that if you do, you may just die in the pew.
Join the writer on a fascinating journey through Scripture as she seeks the absolute Truth.
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Connections Year C Volume 1
$55.00Add to cartDesigned to empower preachers as they lead their congregations to connect their lives to Scripture, Connections features a broad set of interpretive tools that provide commentary and worship aids on the Revised Common Lectionary.
For each worship day within the three-year lectionary cycle, the commentaries in Connections link the individual lection reading with Scripture as a whole as well as to the larger world. In addition, Connections places each Psalm reading in conversation with the other lections for the day to highlight the themes of the liturgical season. Finally, sidebars offer additional connections to Scripture for each Sunday or worship day.
This nine-volume series is a practical, constructive, and valuable resource for preachers who seek to help congregations connect more closely with Scripture.
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GodWink Stories A Devotional
$17.99Add to cartBuilding on the themes in his wildly popular book GodWinks, SQuire Rushnell shows how ordinary peoples’ lives have been profoundly changed by extraordinary moments that are more than coincidence.
There is something more to coincidences than meets the eye. Like winks from a loving parent or grandparent, coincidences or “godwinks” are messages from God that you are not alone and everything will be okay. The true stories in this book reaffirm that godwinks happen to everyone. We just need to learn how to see them, allow them to unfold, and accept them as direct, person-to-person communications from God to each of us.
As you’ll see, those so-called coincidences that you’ve been dismissing so easily really do mean something. And you need to pay attention. They are like unopened gifts that have been placed upon your doorstep.You will be amazed to read how every joy, every hurt, and every worry that you experience has already been written about in the Bible. Godwink Stories simply draws upon the parallel between the stories of real people and God’s wisdom in the scriptures.
Godwink Stories can be read in various ways. You can read the book cover to cover. Or follow along each week for a year. It’s also perfect for a quick pick-me-up that fits your daily need. Whether you’re looking for reassurance or joyful inspiration, there’s a godwink story just for you.
Filled with letters from readers covering such topics as encouragement, health, and love, you too can find God’s presence in your daily life, and be inspired to look for the divine connections that unite us all.
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They Speak With Other Tongues
$17.99Add to cartMore than fifty years ago, a reporter for Guideposts magazine set out to gather information about a strange new occurrence happening all over the country. John Sherrill, a skeptic when it came to speaking in tongues and the baptism with the Holy Spirit, was determined to retain his objectivity while digging out the facts. What he found would change his life. With more than 2.5 million copies sold, this classic work is the story of one man’s journey from skepticism to a life-changing relationship with God. Filled with historical and biblical accounts of speaking in tongues, this is also the deeply personal and moving story of how you, too, can walk in the power of the Spirit day by day. Now includes a new epilogue and update on how to lean on the Holy Spirit for unity in an increasingly divisive world.
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Journey With Me
$21.99Add to cartCatherine Campbell invites you to journey with her this year as she shares 365 Bible meditations that have touched her heart and changed her life. Using an eclectic mix of readings, character cameos and anecdotes, Catherine takes us across new terrain every day. As with life, some paths will be smooth and scenic, while others are steep and stony. The journey may be unpredictable, but the map is trustworthy and the Guide always present. As surely as winter blossoms into spring, and autumn eventually carpets summer lawns, God’s word will excite, challenge, heal and guide us in the year ahead. So, let’s walk together!
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Invitation To Retreat
$25.99Add to cart“Come away and rest awhile.”
Jesus invites us to be with him, offering our full and undivided attention to him. When we choose retreat we make a generous investment in our friendship with Christ. Truth is, we are not always generous with ourselves where God is concerned. Many of us have done well to incorporate regular times of solitude and silence into the rhythm of our ordinary lives which means we’ve gotten pretty good at giving God twenty minutes here and a half an hour there. And there’s no question we are better for it! But we need more. Indeed, we long for more.
In these pages Transforming Center founder and seasoned spiritual director, Ruth Haley Barton, gently and eloquently leads us into an exploration of retreat as a key practice that opens us to God. Based on her own practice and her experience leading hundreds of retreats for others, she will guide you in a very personal exploration of seven specific invitations contained within the general invitation to retreat. You will discover how to say yes to God’s winsome invitation to greater freedom and surrender. There has never been a time when the invitation to retreat is so radical and so relevant, so needed and so welcome. It is not a luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual life.
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Minority Experience : Navigating Emotional And Organizational Realities
$20.99Add to cartPreface
Introduction: What Is A Minority?Part 1: Understanding The Minority Experience
1. Self-Doubt: Understanding Pain
2. Pain, Power, And The Past: Three Distinctives Of The Minority Experience
3. Domestication: Understanding Power
4. Weariness: Understanding The PastPart 2: Redeeming The Minority Experience
5. Challenges In Organizational Development: How To Diversify Your Organization
6. Seeing Pain With Eyes Of Compassion
7. Stewarding Power With Hands Of Advocacy
8. Reframing The Past With A Heart Of Wisdom
9. The Challenge And The OpportunityAcknowledgments
Study Guide
Notes
Author Index
Subject Index
Scripture IndexAdditional Info
It’s hard to be in the minority.If you’re the only person from your ethnic or cultural background in your organization or team, you probably know the challenges of being misunderstood or marginalized. You might find yourself inadvertently overlooked or actively silenced. Even when a work environment is not blatantly racist or hostile, people of color often struggle to thrive-and may end up leaving the organization.Being a minority is not just about numbers. It’s about understanding pain, power, and the impact of the past. Organizational consultant Adrian Pei describes key challenges ethnic minorities face in majority-culture organizations. He unpacks how historical forces shape contemporary realities, and what both minority and majority cultures need to know in order to work together fruitfully. If you’re a cultural minority working in a majority culture organization, or if you’re a majority culture supervisor of people from other backgrounds, learn the dynamics at work. And be encouraged that you can help make things better so that all can flourish. -
Epistle To The Romans
$55.99Add to cartIn this now-classic commentary, first published in 1988 in the Pillar New Testament Commentary series, noted biblical scholar Leon Morris unravels Romans and the complexities of faith and interpretation associated with the epistle.
In his introduction Morris deals with matters of authorship, destination, date, occasion, and contents in a brief but helpful way. The commentary proper consists of careful verse-by-verse exposition of the text along with full and informative footnotes. Though he interacts considerably with the immense body of literature on Romans, Morris’s approach to the study of the epistle remains clearly his own. His thorough exegesis enables readers to understand Romans as one of the greatest and most spiritually significant books in the Bible.
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Introduction To The New Testament
$70.00Add to cartThis New Testament introduction is different.Many introductions zero in on the historical contexts in which the New Testament literature was written. This introduction goes farther-to give particular attention to the social, cultural, and rhetorical contexts of the New Testament authors and their writings.Few introductions to the New Testament integrate instruction in exegetical and interpretive strategies with the customary considerations of authorship, dating, audience, and message. This introduction capitalizes on the opportunity, introducing students to a relevant facet of interpretation with each portion of New Testament literature.Rarely do introductions to the New Testament approach their task mindful of students preparing for ministry. This introduction is explicit in doing so, recognizing as it does that the New Testament itself-in its parts and as a whole-is a pastoral resource. Each chapter on the New Testament literature closes with a discussion of implications for ministry formation.These integrative features alone would distinguish this introduction from others. But in addition, its pages brim with maps, photos, points of interest, and aids to learning. Separate chapters explore the historical and cultural environment of the New Testament era, the nature of the Gospels and the quest for the historical Jesus, and the life of Paul.First published in 2004, David A. deSilva’s comprehensive and carefully crafted introduction to the New Testament has been long established as an authoritative textbook and resource for students. This beautiful, full-color second edition has been updated throughout with new scholarship and numerous images. It is the first choice for those convinced that a New Testament introduction should integrate scholarship and ministry.
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Freedoms Light
$17.99Add to cartHannah Thomas left the South and all that was familiar to marry her beloved John. But the fact that she’s never been quite accepted by his mother and sister and that she doesn’t quite fit the strict Massachusetts Puritan community only becomes more difficult when John is killed in one of the first battles in the war for freedom. Hannah is allowed to continue to serve as lightkeeper for the twin tower lighthouses on the lonely coastline, but it is grueling work for a woman alone.
One of the first shipwrecks washes ashore a handsome captain she thinks is a Tory, but she soon finds out he’s working as a spy for Washington. Much stands in the way of their happiness including the need to protect his secret, pressure from John’s family to marry another, near-constant disapproval from the townspeople, and the appearance of Hannah’s wayward sister. Coupled with the strain of war, Hannah isn’t sure she’ll ever see the light of freedom.
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Messy People Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$15.99Add to cartEvery life gets messy at times. Sometimes these messes are literal, like a house that would be easier to condemn than to clean. But sometimes they are intangible messes such as illness, conflict, depression, abuse, bankruptcy, divorce, and job loss. And these messes can be painful, hurting our hearts and our homes. But as we see in the Bible, God loves to use messy people! In this six-week study, we will dig into the lives of biblical heroes who were messy people just like us but who were used by God in powerful ways. Together we will examine the stories of five wonderful but messy people and one messy parable character: Rahab, the Prodigal Son, Josiah, Mary, David, and Daniel. From their stories, we will learn how God can use broken people, restore damaged hearts and relationships, give us power to handle our critics, and help us deal with the hard moments of life. Along the way we’ll discover that we don’t have to just endure messy lives but can actually learn to thrive with God’s guidance and help. In the hands of God, our messes can become His masterpieces! The Leader Guide, to be used along with the study’s workbook and DVD, contains six session plan outlines, complete with discussion points and questions, activities, prayers, and more-plus leader helps for facilitating a group. Other components for the Bible study, available separately, include a Participant Workbook, DVD with six 10-15 minute sessions, and boxed Leader Kit (an all-inclusive box containing one copy of each of the Bible study’s components).
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Sick Success : The Entrepreneur’s Prescriptions For Turning Pain Into Purpo
$15.99Add to cartSick Success shares the crucial truths of what it means to be an entrepreneur today who is struggling to keep a business afloat while also managing health crises. You will learn how to turn on your abundance mindset, to channel your anxiety into productivity, why you must always hone your faith and trust as you progress toward your goals and so much more. Sick Success offers road-tested mental strategies that you can apply to your business and your life today to attain the success you have desired. Everything you need to reach your greatest professional pinnacle is inside you right now, and Hilary will teach you how to unleash, apply it and live the benefits that will make your life positively unrecognizable.
Sick Success: The Entrepreneur’s Prescriptions for Turning Pain into Profit and Purpose, written by Hilary Jastram, Founder of Sick Biz and host of the Sick Biz Buzz podcast provides you with prescriptive insights to improve your life, no matter your mindset challenges. After a diagnosis of a rare neurological disorder, Hilary was forced to leave her job and literally become the mother of invention. She has found success working with the world’s one percent and is paying her fortune forward through the creation of Sick Biz, an organization dedicated to helping sick and disabled entrepreneurs.
