Pastoral Helps
Showing 1501–1600 of 3609 results
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Mastering Outreach And Evangelism
$19.99Add to cartThe Mastering Ministry Series covers the various challenges of a ministry encounters and teaches how to deal with them-one subject at a time. Mastering Ministry is a perfect “survival guide” for today’s pastor addressing relevant topics such as worship, preaching, controversies, evangelism, church management, pastoral care, fundraising and personal growth.
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Mastering Church Management
$22.99Add to cartThe Mastering Ministry Series covers the various challenges of a ministry encounters and teaches how to deal with them-one subject at a time. Mastering Ministry is a perfect “survival guide” for today’s pastor addressing relevant topics such as worship, preaching, controversies, evangelism, church management, pastoral care, fundraising and personal growth.
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When God Changes A Church
$17.49Add to cartWhen God changes a church, He begins with the leader. He changes him from the inside out. That person is known to us as the pastor. This role is pivotal to any real redemptive work that God will ultimately do in the life of a particular congregation. In this book, we will see how God changed a particular African American Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The pastor chronicles how God inspired a vision that changed a traditional church with traditional values into an outward focused ministry with real worldwide reaching possibilities.
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Grounded In The Living Word
$28.99Add to cartGrounded in the Living Word responds to the disconnect between pastoral care and biblical interpretation in a unique – and much-needed – manner. In this cross-disciplinary conversation Denise Dombkowski Hopkins and Michael S. Koppel engage the intersections between biblical stories and human stories in order to assist care practitioners and Bible interpreters in the transformative work of healing pastors, communities, and ultimately, creation.
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For The Parish
$35.99Add to cartFresh Expressions of Church are most significant development in the Church of England in recent decades. Many have called for a thorough theological engagement with the movement. The Church of England is engaging in radical new departures when the ecclesiological thinking for such experiments is far from complete. Parishes are the mainstay of the ‘inherited church’. Frequently they are belittled and cast as either unhelpful or irrelevant. The authors argue for the vitality of the parish, both for mission and for discipleship. The authors argue that the forms of the church are to be an embodiment of her faith. They should therefore be more determined by our theological traditions than by the surrounding culture. They show that the traditions of the parish church represent ways in which time, space, community are ordered in relation to God and the gospel.
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Future Of Preaching
$35.00Add to cartPreaching remains a central feature of almost all Christian worship. There are thousands of men and women in the UK who preach on a regular basis, clergy of all denominations, Readers, Local Preachers, Lay Preachers, Chaplains etc. This book, edited and contributed to by some of the leading authors in this field, seeks to make a substantial and authoritative contribution to the teaching and learning of preaching. The contributors offer reflections on subjects such as Preaching in a Communications Culture, Preaching and the Bible, Preaching and Personality Types, the Life of the Preacher and Educating Future Preachers.
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Real Life Discipleship Training Manual (Teacher’s Guide)
$19.99Add to cartWhat’s the most effective way to make disciples? By following this step-by-step game plan! Designed to equip small groups to multiply followers of Christ, this 12-week course helps you assess spiritual maturity, understand what it means to be an intentional leader, learn how Jesus used relationships purposefully, discover how the training process works, and more.
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Preaching The Gospel Of Matthew
$44.00Add to cartThis commentary for preaching Matthew, a companion to WJK’s successful Preaching the Gospel of Luke, Preaching the Gospel of John, and Preaching the Gospel of Mark, works through every passage of Matthew’s Gospel with exegetical insight and a keen sensitivity to the demands of preaching.
Saunders’s commentary follows the biblical text, divided into passages. After each passage, a number of possibilities are presented for how to preach that text. He includes a wealth of creative and pertinent tips to help preachers apply Matthew’s narrative to the lives of today’s churchgoers. -
Practical Skills For Ministry
$32.00Add to cartThe SCM Studyguide: Practical Skills for Ministry offers a practical introduction for those who are training for ministry, both lay and ordained, within the church. The book answers the questions asked by those preparing for ministry and by those who have recently started and found gaps in the way they have been prepared. The author uses real examples drawn from his experience of over 20 years of pastoral ministry, together with work in chaplaincy and broadcasting and the shared experience of others. The book covers all those aspects of ministry required within the more practical contextual areas of the course of preparation for ministry in use by mainstream denominations, such as baptisms, weddings, working with others, communication, meetings and funerals. It provides practical guidance which is soundly theologically and pastorally based.
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Diagramming The Scriptures
$24.99Add to cartIn Diagramming the Scriptures. . . the curriculum starts with the simple sentence, adds precept upon precept until the learner is able to master complex sentences. . . As each concept is introduced, the student has plenty of practice, followed by quizzes, and later a cumulative test over the entire text. As an educator, a homeschool parent, and a tutor I see this curriculum as an excellent choice for a homeschool, a Christian school classroom, or for an individual of any age who is interested in studying grammar or God’s Word, word by word.
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Crisis In The Camp
$15.49Add to cartMove from being in crisis to believing “Christ is”!
Crisis in the Camp is the latest work by author Dave Gentry-a veteran mentor who has ministered to Christian leaders and their families for decades-offering a bold look at the condition of the church and suggesting solutions for what troubles it. This treatment of the church and the state of its leaders is a startling wake-up call to all those who will listen and learn to discern the signs of trouble. Hope and help are offered in the face of daunting challenges and readers are reminded to return to the radical ways of Jesus Christ.
“Dave Gentry has written a challenging book about the contemporary church and its leadership. This should be read by all leaders in the church-clergy and laity-and be discussed and applied thoroughly by leadership teams. There are numerous insights that will enable the church and leadership to more appropriately represent Jesus and His design for Christian community and outreach in the days ahead. It is a persuasive argument for doing better than we have done.
John Barner, D. Min.
Pastoral Care Ministry
Focus on the Family -
5 Practices Of Fruitful Living (Student/Study Guide)
$19.99Add to cart*Receiving God’s Love
*Loving God In Return
*Growing In Grace
*Loving And Serving Others
*The Grace Of Giving
*Fruitful Living And Offering God’s LoveAdditional Info
How do I cultivate a life that is purposeful, deep, and fruitful? What are the commitments, critical risks, and personal practices that open me to God’s grace? How can I discover the spiritual life and the difference God intends for me to make in the world?Radical Hospitality. Passionate Worship. Intentional Faith Development. Risk-Taking Mission and Service. Extravagant Generosity.
Five Practices of Fruitful Living provides an honest, practical, and winsome guide to the spiritual journey. By repeating and deepening certain fundamental practices, we cooperate with God in our spiritual growth. These five practices – to receive God’s love, to love God in return, to grow in Christ, to serve others, and to give ourselves fully – as we attend to them and develop them, help us settle ourselves in God and become instruments of God’s grace.
Following Christ will change your heart; and through you, God will change the world.
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Imagine : Creating Memorable Characters For Kids Church
$13.49Add to cartMarty Martin has been a children’s pastor for eighteen years and worked as a volunteer with children before that. His mother always worked with children at church and in a daycare center, eventually starting a daycare in her home. Marty first started interacting with children in this setting and creating goofy characters to entertain them. Now he is a dad and has five boys of his own who are the best audience to try his silly acts on!
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Rhythms Of Grace 1
$37.95Add to cartRhythms of Grace is a unique and innovative program resource designed to meet the spiritual needs of children and families living with autismspectrum disorders. Participant families gather monthly with program leaders and volunteers for sessions that are a hybrid of worship and faith formation. Rhythms of Grace helps children and their families feel at the center of a worship/formation experience that is specific to their needs and circumstances, rather than merely at the margins of a more conventionally “inclusive” program of worship or faith formation.
The Rhythms of Grace curriculum consists of a 3-year syllabus of distinct scripture-based session plans, as well as the background material needed to establish a successful program. Each year of the program includes 12 monthly sessions (Sept. to Aug.) and 6 feast sessions. Volume 1 contains a single year’s worth of session plans (18 sessions total), plus background material.
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Psychology And Christianity (Revised)
$35.99Add to cart1. A History Of Christians In Psychology – Eric L. Johnson
2. A Levels-of-Explanation View – David G. Myers
An Integration Response
A Christian Psychology Response
A Biblical Counseling Response
A Transformational Psychology Response3. An Integration View – Stanton L. Jones
A Levels-of-Explanation Response
A Christian Psychology Response
A Biblical Counseling Response
A Transformational Psychology Response4. A Christian Psychology View – Robert C. Roberts And Paul J. Watson
A Levels-of-Explanation Response
An Integration Response
A Biblical Counseling Response
A Transformational Psychology Response5. A Biblical Counseling View – David Powlinson
A Levels-of-Explanation Response
An Integration Response
A Christian Psychology Response
A Transformational Psychology Response6. A Transformational Psychology View — John H. Coe And Todd W. Hall
A Levels-of-Explanation Response
An Integration Response
A Christian Psychology Response
A Biblical Counseling Response7. Finding One Truth In Five Views – Eric L. Johnson
Name Index
Subject IndexAdditional Info
How are Christians to understand and undertake the discipline of psychology? This question has been of keen interest (and sometimes concern) to Christians because of the importance we place on a correct understanding of human nature. Psychology can sometimes seem disconnected from, if not antithetical to, Christian perspectives on life. How are we to understand our Christian beliefs about persons in relation to secular psychological beliefs? This book presents four models for understanding the relationship between psychology and Christianity. David Powlison (Westminster Theological Seminary) offers the biblical counseling model. The levels-of-explanation model is advanced by David G. Myers (Hope College), while Stanton L. Jones (Wheaton College) introduces the integration model. The Christian psychology model is put forth by Robert C. Roberts (Baylor University). Each of the contributors responds to the other essayists, noting points of agreement as well as problems they see. This second edition includes an entirely new chapter by Stanton L. Jones presenting the integration model, along with new responses from the other contributors. It also includes a revised introduction by Eric L. Johnson, describing the history of Christians and psychology, as well as a conclusion that considers what might unite the four views and how a reader might evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of each view. Psychology and Christianity: Four Views has become a standard introductory textbook for students and professors of Christian psychology. This revision promises to keep it so. -
Lectionary Scripture Notes Cycle A
$24.95Add to cartThis book provides guidelines and resources for homilies and sermons, worship planning, and Scripture study based on the texts in Year A (Cycle A) in The Revised Common Lectionary: Consultation on Common Texts (Nashville: Abingdon, 1992). It is a thoroughly revised and updated replacement for Norman A. Beck, Scripture Notes for Series A (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing, 1986). Leaders in worship and worship planning and other members of Christian congregations and communities will find this book to be helpful for use as individuals and in study groups as they prepare for more meaningful worship services each weekend.
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What Can We Believe Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartIn each of Sunday’s assigned lectionary readings — the First, Second, and Gospel lessons — we are invited to view the glorious narrative of scripture through three different, yet harmonious, perspectives. In the second lesson, we become witnesses to the growth and development of the early church as described in the epistles of Paul and the other apostles. As the early Christians take their first steps in their faith, we too learn how to travel on our own journey with Christ.
As part of the Sermons on the Second Readings, Series III, Cycle A series, What Can We Believe? guides us through the last third of the season of Pentecost as James L. Killen Jr. explores the second lessons from Proper 23 through Thanksgiving, bringing the lectionary cycle year to its conclusion.
This collection of sermons is a valuable resource for:
* Sermon starters and illuminating illustrations
* Gaining a new homiletical perspective to the lectionary
* Offering a newer, deeper understanding and appreciation of scripture
* Using as a starter for adult Bible study groups or personal devotions
This insightful collection of sermons includes:
What Can We Believe about the Christian Life?
What Can We Believe about the Reign of Christ?
What Can We Believe about Stuff?
… and many more!
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Strategically Small Church (Reprinted)
$16.00Add to cartBrandon O’Brien helps pastors and church leaders understand that a smaller church is sometimes better than a big one. He demonstrates the strengths of small congregations, including that today’s church “shoppers” want services that are local, personal, and intimate. Also, small churches provide space to nurture close relationships across age and lifestyle barriers, and they facilitate a higher level of commitment from laypeople. And small church budgets are often more effective because of greater efficiency. The Strategically Small Church will encourage small-church pastors in their ministries and challenge them to play to their strengths.
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Prophetic Preaching : A Pastoral Approach
$28.00Add to cartWhere have all the prophets gone? And why do preachers seem to shy away from prophetic witness?
Astute preacher Leonora Tisdale considers these vexing questions while providing guidance and encouragement to pastors who want to recommit themselves to the task of prophetic witness. With a keen sensitivity to pastoral contexts, Tisdale’s work is full of helpful suggestions and examples to help pastors structure and preach prophetic sermons, considered by many to be one of the most difficult tasks pastors are called to undertake. -
Feasting On The Word Year A 1
$55.00Add to cartWith the twelve-volume series Feasting on the Word, Westminster John Knox Press offers one of the most extensive and well-respected resources for preaching on the market today. When complete, the twelve volumes will cover all of the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with moveable occasions.
The page layout is truly unique. For each lectionary text, preachers will find brief essays–one each on the exegetical, theological, pastoral, and homiletical challenges of the text. Each volume will also contain an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers may make use of its contents. -
Even Me : Master Can You Use Me
$14.99Add to cartThis book, “Even Me, Master Can You Use Me?” is designed to help Christians get to the highest level job on earth, the call to minister.
Ten essential steps are outlined to assist in finding God’s purpose for your life. An added bonus is ten powerful testimonies of people who have been used by the Master.
They include: Bishop Philip Coleman, Sr., Bishop D. Rayford Bell, Minister Wanda Stallworth-Davis, Sister Gwendolyn Faye Fortson, Deacon Herman Wilson, Bishop William L. Bonner, Deacon Larry Joe Lindsey, Deacon Henry Terry, Pastor Richard Heard and Sister Leola Blossom. All of these individuals are ordinary people who became extraordinary after serving the Master.
After reading this book, you too, will be able to answer this question, “Can God Use Someone Like Me?”
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10 Power Principles For Christian Service (Reprinted)
$15.00Add to cartIn a church culture that is rapidly losing its unique, intergenerational make-up in favor of small groups and even entire churches designed to target specific age groups, it can be difficult for ministers to relate to those who are not in their own demographic. But Warren and David Wiersbe, representing two generations, believe that generational differences should not keep ministers from relating to their congregations. In this thoughtful and practical book, they offer ten principles for Christian service that always work, at all times and in all places, inviting ministers to get back to the basics of serving others. New and seasoned pastors alike will find this a welcome source of inspiration and instruction on how they can relate and minister to people of all ages.
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Connecting Like Jesus
$21.95Add to cartNumerous opportunities for introspection, study, and practice in developing “holy habits” that foster Christ-like communication are presented in this well-organized and accessible guide. Coauthors Campolo and Darling (The God of Intimacy and Action) offer combined expertise in preaching, public speaking and spiritual direction, resulting in a thought-provoking, valuable resource for Christians seeking to engage in “spiritually charged communication.” They draw insights from the writing of John Wesley as well as from interviews conducted with contemporary Christian figures Brian McLaren, Mindy Caliguire, and Shane Claiborne to illuminate ways that Jesus’ ministry explicitly models how today’s Christians can live in “dynamic communion with God, ourselves, others and the world.” The authors apply a Christian lens to familiar communication techniques such as empathic listening, practicing forgiveness, and knowing one’s audience. For example, in noting the importance of self-awareness for loving communication, they quote Jesus’ admonition, “First take the log out of your own eye,” and then suggest several spiritual practices to help Christians identify personal strengths and weaknesses. This book’s blend of kindly spiritual insights and practical wisdom may well appeal to those beyond the target Christian audience.
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You Can Double Your Class In Two Years Or Less
$19.99Add to cartYou Can Double Your Class in Two Years or Less is a revolutionary concept based on tried and true principles of church growth. Hunt shows us that Sunday school isn’t dinosaur headed for extinction, but a dynamic tool that can be used to reach many people for Christ. Contents include: Section One THE VISION – A Worthy Goal An Attainable Goal Who Owns This Class Anyway You Can Do It! Section Two THE MEANS —-TIGER Teach a halfway decent lesson each and every week – nothing less will do: Growth Principle #1 Quality is More Important than Quantity The Importance of a Halfway Decent Lesson 10 Marks of Great Teaching Honesty Smart People Listen Good Questions! Why Asking Questions Is the Best Way to Teach Creating Tension in Class. Invite every member and every prospect to every fellowship every month: Growth Principle #2 Principle #1 is Just Barely True Ice Cream and Evangelism The Anatomy of a Party The Most Receptive People in Town Zone Offence The Law of Large Numbers What 623 Phone Calls Taught Me. Give Friday Nights to Jesus: Giving Friday Nights to Jesus Group Life: Get Serious About Having Fun People Love to Turn You Down – Let Them. Encourage the Group to Ministry: Recruit to a Dream, Not to a Job Teamwork Election Day. Reproduce New Groups: What if it Works? Groups of Groups. Section Three GETTING THE JOB DONE: Passion How to Get Things Done Laziness, Ignorance, Failure, and Thievery “Apart from Me you can do Nothing” The Other Side of Success What’s It all About Anyway? It all begins with prayer! Relationships – That is the way to reach people for Chirst and the Church and Josh Hunt tells how to do it. This book breathes excitement and passion. The purpose of doubling a class in not just numbers or to have a bigger Sunday school. Hunt appeals to the NT purpose of evangelism and outreach.
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Foundations Of Church Administration
$34.99Add to cartChurch leadership is a demanding and challenging role. There are many responsibilities involved in leading a church, which can be difficult to maneuver without the proper tools and resources.
Written with Bible-based truths and helpful insights, Foundations of Church Administration is both an exploration of those responsibilities and a practical guide to navigating through them. Each chapter is authored by a notable expert in the field who, with sound experience and effective steps, helps church leaders efficiently succeed in the many facets of their responsibilities.
In this honest exploration, church leaders will find a new perspective on church administration that will help them dig deeper and develop a long-lasting and effective practice of leading and administrating a church.
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Creative Retreat Ideas
$39.99Add to cartTime apart to listen to God is an essential component of the Christian life. This wide ranging practical resource offers complete programme ideas – from short spiritual breaks for those who can only manage a couple of hours from their work or family responsibilities, to a range of ideas for whole day and full weekend retreats. aaExperienced retreat conductor Sue Pickering explores the elements that are commonly used in retreats:silence, journalling, using craft materials, reflection, lectio divina, imaginative prayer, music and movement, and more. aaOut of these building blocks, unlimited retreat programmes can be created. Part two offers themed retreat programme outlines complete with handouts which are downloadable from the accompanying CD Rom. These include Quiet Breakfasts, A Prayer Walk, A Garden Retreat and much more.
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Grants For Christian Ministries And More
$15.49Add to cartDo you need funds for your ministry? You could take the next few years and spend thousands of dollars to travel the country and to hear what the funding experts who wrote this book have to say. Or you can order this book right now and get all their expert advice in one place at one time. Get their help now to avoid the funding land mines and move more quickly into the harvest field of greater provisions for your ministry. BRIAN KLUTH, Founder of the www.STATEofthePLATE.info giving research and www.MAXIMUMgenerosity.org
Our Lord Jesus has allowed me to serve ministries and generous givers all across the country for almost three decades. Each week during the past nine years, the professional team at Servant Christian Community Foundation has helped me personally and professionally with this important facet of Christian Discipleship. Grants for Christian Ministry and More is a tremendous resource and typical of the excellent support that consistently flows from Servant. DAVID M. DAVIES, Vice President of Gift Planning and Acquisition for Kids Across America
Grants for Christian Ministries and More is a must read for anyone engaged in the work of our Lord. It is the “how to” book for any Christian Ministry that also provides foresight to the challenges ahead. Carl Landwehr, President Vitae Foundation
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Soul Shaping Small Groups
$23.99Add to cartInterVarsity Press Publication
Kim Engelmann was bored with her small group, but wondered, is it small groups that are the problem or the way we do small groups? In this book she shares her answers, offering a new format for groups that gives authentic spiritual community a chance. She challenges the compartmentalization of Bible study, prayer and even fun (only laugh during icebreaker time!), and offers creative, practical suggestions that can serve to integrate these aspects into an experiential framework. A must-read for anyone who leads or participates in a small group!
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Redeeming The Wounded
$16.99Add to cartIn this book Redeeming the Wounded you will hear from a chaplain who ministered to prisoners and to crime victims who have experienced the homicide of a loved one. Crime hurts us all and this book reveals there are spiritual and practical ways to enable the process of healing the wounds and repairing the harm.
_______________________________________________________________________Rev. Dr. B. Bruce Cook has been the inspiration behind substantive victim’s rights legislation in Georgia for the last twenty- five years.
He enlightens the world with his vision of a restored segment of American society – that of victims of crime. He exposes the gap between criminal justice and victim justice.
This book will be an invaluable resource for support groups, victim advocates and organizations that provide training for those entering the field of victim services.
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Preaching : 25th Anniversary Edition (Anniversary)
$27.99Add to cartA standard textbook on the art and craft of preaching. Craddock weaves history, theology, and hermeneutics into an exhaustive text on sermon preparation and preaching.
Painstakingly prepared for seminary students and clergy, this book answers the fundamental question: How does one prepare and deliver a sermon? Craddock’s approach is practical, but also allows for concentrated study of any particular dimension of the process.
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Preaching Christ From Ecclesiastes (Reprinted)
$33.99Add to cartAs Sidney Greidanus points out here, Ecclesiastes is especially relevant for our culture – the Teacher confronts enticements like materialism, secularism, hedonism, human autonomy, and self-sufficiency. But how can preachers convey these important teachings to their congregations in a helpful way? / Sidney Greidanus here does preachers a great service by providing the foundations for one or more series of expository sermons on Ecclesiastes. He breaks the book down in several ways, including: the boundaries of each preaching text, the text’s theme and goal, various ways to move to Christ in the New Testament, detailed exposition of the fifteen literary units, and application for today
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10 Things Every 10th Grade Girl Should Know
$16.99Add to cartTenth grade is a lot like that last emergency drill before life taps you on the shoulder and says, “It’s time.” Although you are still a minor, the next two years will require you to take on more responsibility and to make bigger decisions. Now is the time to mentally prepare yourself for the whirlwind ahead because after tenth grade, things begin moving very quickly. Between now and your senior year, several hallmark events await you, such as taking senior pictures, getting your class ring, going to prom, ordering your cap and gown, and finding a way to pay for it all. Before you know it, you will be eighteen, graduating, and embarking on a whole new level of life. If you are not prepared, your final years of high school will leave you dazed, confused, and wondering what just happened (not to mention broke).
“10 Things Every 10th-Grade Girl Should Know” discusses the top ten things that affect the lives of young women ages 15-17 from a Biblical perspective without hiding behind political correctness. It is real talk for real times. Use it as a guide to avoid the common mistakes that many teen girls tend to make during this particular season of life. You may not be able to completely avoid having emotional baggage when you are done reading, but you can at least have a 2-carry-on limit.
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Externally Focused Quest
$26.95Add to cartTwo highly respected missional experts distill years of wisdom in this practical step-by-step guide to making your church all God wants it to be. They identify and explain how to work through nine critically important areas: focus, purpose, scope, missions, partnering, evangelism, systems, creativity, and outcomes. 261 pages, hardcover. Jossey-Bass.
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Quick Reference Guide To Sexuality And Relationship Counseling
$32.00Add to cartOne of the foremost counseling needs in our day is help with sexuality and relationship issues. But sometimes those who are faced with helping the hurting could use a little more information about the problems that people bring to them. The Quick-Reference Guide to Sexuality and Relationship Counseling provides the answers. It is an A-Z guide for assisting people-helpers–pastors, professional counselors, youth workers, and everyday believers–to easily access a full array of information to aid them in (formal and informal) counseling situations. Each of the 40 topics covered follows a helpful eight-part outline and identifies:
1) typical symptoms and patterns,
2) definitions and key thoughts,
3) questions to ask,
4) directions for the conversation,
5) action steps,
6) biblical insights,
7) prayer starters, and
8) recommended resources. -
Heroes Of The Bible For Preschool Children
$14.99Add to cartAll-in-One Bible Fun is the perfect children’s program for teachers on a budget or looking for a simpler approach. Each book is a collection of 13 Bible lessons for children containing a plan with opening, story, activity, and craft. The material is undated so teachers can use throughout the year.
Heroes of the Bible lessons include:
Daniel
Jonah
Esther
Paul, and more -
Advent Christmas And Epiphany Services
$14.99Add to cartJesus: God’s Unlikely Revelation
Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany Services includes biblically-based sermons, suggested scriptures, children’s time, hymn and prayers, as well as litanies for lighting the Advent wreath. Also included are suggestions for seasonal funerals. These services offer a completing message of hope during this important church season, when people often visit a church for the first time.
Each service focuses on and celebrates a different aspect of the theme: Jesus: God’s Unlikely Revelation
1. First Sunday of Advent-
Jesus: The Unlikely Image of God (Genesis 1:26-27; Colossians 1:15-17)
2. Second Sunday in Advent
Jesus: The Unlikely Gift from God (Isaiah 55:1-9)
3. Third Sunday of Advent
Jesus: The Unlikely Story of God with Us (Matthew 1:18-25)
4. Fourth Sunday of Advent
Jesus: The Unlikely Messiah (John 7:25-31)
5. Christmas Eve
Jesus: An Unlikely Peacemaker (Luke 2:8-20)
6. Christmas Day
An Unlikely Christmas Card (Matthew 2:13-23)
7. Epiphany
John the Baptizer: Jesus’ Unlikely Herald (John 1:1-14)Seasonal Funerals
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Biblical Preaching And Teaching 2
$25.99Add to cartOne objective of this book is to set forth an interest in the significance of the Book of Psalms in the lives of God’s people. Fifteen psalms were chosen in order to address the “then” as well as the “now.” In this study, the Egyptian Hallel Psalms (113-118) are included since Jesus and His disciples sang these psalms during the Passover Meal. Psalm 114 (Chapters 4 and 5) explores the philosophy of atheism versus biblical theism. Four chapters (16-19) are devoted to the Book of Revelation. These chapters deal with foundational studies, which in-depth studies are essential to a correct interpretation of this book. For instance: (1) the date of the Book of Revelation, (2) the identity and character of the beast, (3) a new heaven and a new earth, and (4) the last days. Finally, the last four chapters focus upon two abused texts. Chapters 20-22 study the Greek text of Hebrews 13:17 in order to pinpoint more clearly the meaning of the author. The final chapter examines the phrase “if we deliberately keep on sinning.”
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Nature Of Love
$27.99Add to cartThe themes of love – love from and for God and love for others as oneself – are central to Christian piety and scripture. But most Christian theologians have not systematically placed love and its implications at theology’s core. Thomas Oord argues that love should be the essence of Christian theology. He further concludes that God gives from a nature of love, and this overcomes a host of traditional theological problems (e.g., the problem of evil).
Written for pastors, undergraduates, and others interested in theology The Nature of Love offers new insights into God’s love for all and contends that the phrase “God is love” stands as the touchstone to good theology and life abundant.
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Mustard Seed Church
$20.99Add to cartThe Christian church has fallen away from Christ’s New Testament model of faith. The church desperately needs change and reform today. This generation has several objections to Christianity. It perceives the church as hypocritical, judgmental, delusional, pushy, bigoted, and overly political. Younger church members also recognize Christendom’s image problem today. Fulfillment of church mission and destiny requires the church to remove obstacles and dispel objections hindering completion of the Great Commission these latter days. What is happening to the church today? Why are so many people abandoning Christianity or reluctant to embrace the faith? What kind of spiritual attack is hindering Christian mission and destiny? Where is the church going prophetically? What can change Christianity’s image?
The Church is under malevolent attack that continually hinders Christian mission and destiny. Church reform begins within each member of the church. Church attrition and backsliding are evidence of the expanding apostasy within Christendom. False doctrine and systemic bondage are destroying the spiritual fiber of the church. We must also recognize the moral failure reflecting Christendom’s overall inadequacy. The church must repent before able to reach the present generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ. This book is a call to church mission and reform. Church repentance will initiate a new wave of change, reform, and evangelism throughout Christendom.
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Sticky Teams : Keeping Your Leadership Team And Staff On The Same Page
$19.99Add to cartLarry Osborne exposes the hidden roadblocks, structures, and goofy thinking that all too often sabotage the health and harmony of even the best intentioned ministry teams. Then with practical and seasoned advice he shows what it takes to get a leadership board, ministry team, and an entire congregation headed in the same direction, sticking together, unified and healthy for the long haul.
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I Declare War
$16.49Add to cartFrom I Declare War…
“Deliverance Ministry is a very complex ministry and one that it is very real. The world has
led even the Church into the mindset that deliverance is about theatrics and gimmicks. The
image of a monstrous, behorned, red-eyed animal figure attacking Christians is not
consistent with the clear teachings of the Bible. This book (based on the author’s research)
will serve as a reference that reveals the truth against various myths about deliverance that
are widespread in the Church. It will help those who are called to Deliverance Ministry
understand what can be done to stop the activities of the devil in the lives of God’s people.
This work is not hypothetical in its nature; it is actuality confirmed by the truth of the Word
of God. Scripture contains many references to deliverance.
“The Church must be open to discussing these passages and applying their truth. There is
no excuse for ignorance in the Body of Christ concerning spiritual matters. One of the gains
and benefits of this research is to free the mind of preconceived notions about the spirit
realm and encourage the Church to seek ‘freedom’ for the people of God. Legitimate
Deliverance Ministry has been harmed by many who have intentionally incited fear and
paranoia in people to render the Church powerless. Knowledge is power, however, and
spiritual truths should be taught and practiced from the inception of Jesus Christ as Lord and
Savior in the Church. This gives the Body of Christ an accurate picture of the victory that
Jesus won on the cross.” -
Uncommon Decency : Christian Civility In An Uncivil World (Expanded)
$22.99Add to cartIn these wild and diverse times, prolifers square off against pro-choicers, gay liberationist confront champions of the traditional family, husbands and wives face each other in court, artist attack legislators, and “politically correct” intellectuals abhor crusading fundamentalists. Philosopher and ethicist Mouw is concerned that, too often, Christians seem to be contributing more to the problem than to the solution. But he recognizes – from his own personal struggle – that it’s not easy to hold to Christian convictions and treat sometimes vindictive opponents with civility and decency.
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Viral Churches : Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers
$24.95Add to cartBased on a national, cross-denominational study commissioned by Leadership Network, Viral Churches outlines the best practices in church multiplication movements and reveals the common threads among them. A hands-on resource, Viral Churches offers the fresh vision and critical perspectives essential as a catalyst fortoday’s church planting leaders. Throughout the book, Ed Stetzer and Warren Bird advocate the core belief that “Church planting is good. A vision for a church multiplication movement is better.
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Preaching The Incarnation
$32.00Add to cartPreaching the Incarnation, a follow-up to the authors’ Preaching the Atonement, offers a theological discussion of ten important Bible passages connected with the doctrine of incarnation, bringing historical and literary questions about the text into dialogue with Christian tradition, drawing out the implications of the passage for preaching. In each chapter a sermon is presented, followed by a commentary that sets the sermon in context and highlights the rhetorical strategy of the preacher. Well-known preachers William Willimon, Thomas Long, Rowan Williams, and Anna Carter Florence each contribute sermons to the book, as do the authors.
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Love And War Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartThe Love & War Participant’s Guide-designed for use with the Love & War eight-session DVD group video study-will help you take your marriage to new levels through deeper intimacy by stepping into the great adventure God has waiting for you and your spouse … together. What Wild at Heart did for men, and Captivating did for women, the Love & War Participant’s Guide and DVD will do for married couples everywhere.
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Grief : Contemporary Theory And The Practice Of Ministry
$26.00Add to cartThe experience of grief has been a source of intrigue and curiosity throughout history, and it continues to stimulate thought and theory in various fields of study. Unfortunately, these fields tend to function in isolation from each other. The result is a substantial disconnect between grief research, theory, and care?which has evolved greatly over the last two decades?and ministerial practice.
Using a metaphor of grief as a mosaic, Melissa Kelley presents contemporary grief theory and research, integrated with important theological, religious, and ministerial perspectives. Written in an accessible way for ministers, ministers-in-training, and all pastoral and spiritual caregivers, this book provides the most up-to-date theory and research in grief to help inform their care of others. Through exploration of critical topics including attachment to God, meaning making, and religious coping in grief, readers are brought right to the heart of a contemporary understanding of grief.
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Divine Conspiracy Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartRenowned teacher and writer of the acclaimed The Spirit of the Disciplines, Dallas Willard is one of today’s most brilliant Christian thinkers and has forever changed the way thousands of Christians experience their faith. In this new six-session DVD study and participant’s guide-The Divine Conspiracy-Willard offers a timely and challenging call back to the true meaning of Christian discipleship.
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Transforming Preaching
$25.95Add to cartAt once a “travel guide” and a vision for the future, this series is good news for the Episcopal Church at a time of fast and furious demographic and social change. It analyzes our present plight, sketch a positive way forward, and point to the seeds of change – those transformative practices already at work renewing the church. What church models can help point us toward transformation? What are the essential tools? What will give us strength, direction, and purpose to the journey?
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Leadership Ellipse : Shaping How We Lead By Who We Are
$18.99Add to cartThe Leadership Ellipse by Bob Fryling is designed to help Christian leaders embrace both halves of the tension of being in leadership–our internal relationship with God and our external relationship with others–to find a truly authentic, integrated way to lead.
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Field Guide To U S Congregations (Expanded)
$28.00Add to cartIn 2001 the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) conducted the U.S. Congregational Life Survey. More than 1.2 million worshipers and 12,000 congregations across three continents were surveyed to provide a portrait of congregational life. The findings were published in the first edition of A Field Guide to U.S. Congregations.
With the completion of the 2008 survey comes an expanded edition of this invaluable reference with new findings; updated statistics, tables, and cartoons; a new chapter describing changes in congregational life; and chapter summaries focusing on the implications of the 2008 survey. -
Gospel In Life Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartIn the Gospel in Life Study Guide, join author and pastor Timothy Keller in an eight-week study of the gospel and the ways to live it out in your everyday life. From exploring the world you live in now to preparing for the world that is to come, you will learn how the gospel can change your heart, your community, and how you live in the world. Designed for use with the Gospel in Life DVD.
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No Stones : Women Redeemed From Sexual Addiction
$28.99Add to cartIn this book Marnie C. Ferree offers a unique resource for women struggling with sexual addiction. Written by a counselor who understands the condition from the inside out, No Stones offers practical help for those battling sexual addiction and those who want to come alongside women as they seek help. Important for pastors and church leaders, this book will also be a much sought-after resource for Christian counselors and therapists counseling women who grapple with this type of addiction.
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Holy Conversation : Spirituality For Worship
$20.00Add to cartDespite widespread interest in spirituality, its most common corporate form, congregational worship, is rarely discussed in those terms. This book explores liturgical spirituality as a holy conversation between God and us.
Linking the themes of spirituality and worship and giving each needed focus in ways that are biblically and theologically rich and consistent with ecumenical traditions, this book specifically explores the relationship of sacred reading (lectio divina) to worship. Linman sees this practice as one element in the larger liturgical action of Gathering, Word, Meal, and Sending. Our “spiritual worship” (cf. Rom 12:1), he argues, is the holy conversation between worshipers and the triune God who leads us to greater participation in Christ and to transformation through Christ’s presence.
Raising important issues for worship renewal and interspersed with practical insights and suggestions, this book serves as a primer for those who want to more fully learn how to worship, and, through the power of the Spirit, to deepen their awareness of the encounter with Christ made known in Word and Sacrament.
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Missional Map Making
$24.95Add to cartGuidance for church leaders to develop their own maps and chart new paths toward stronger, more vibrant, and more missional congregations.
In the burgeoning missional church movement, churches are seeking to become less focused on programs for members and more oriented toward outreach to people who are not already in church. This fundamental shift in what a congregation is and does and thinks is challenging for leaders and congregants. Using the metaphor of map-making, the book explains the perspective and skills needed to lead congregations and denominations in a time of radical change over unfamiliar terrain as churches change their focus from internal to external.
*Offers a clear guide for leaders wanting to transition to a missional church model
*Written by Alan Roxburgh, a prominent expert and practitioner in the missional movement
*Guides leaders seeking to create new maps for leadership and church organization and focus
*A Volume in the popular Leadership Network SeriesThis book is written to be accessible to all Christian congregational styles and denominations.
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Fruit Of The Spirit For Preschool Children
$14.99Add to cartComplete and easy lessons that make Bible learning fun!
All-in-One Bible Fun is the ideal children’s program for teachers working within a budget or looking for a simpler approach.
Each book contains 13 easy-to-teach Bible lessons that require little preparation time.
An inexpensive alternative for Sunday school and other Bible-teaching opportunities.Each lesson includes an opening, story, activity, and craft.
Ideal for use throughout the year.
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Fruit Of The Spirit For Elementary Children
$14.99Add to cartAll-in-One Bible Fun is the perfect children’s program for teachers on a budget or looking for a simpler approach. Each book is a collection of 13 Bible lessons for children containing a plan with opening, story, activity, and craft. The material is undated so teachers can use throughout the year.
Fruit of the Spirit includes lessons on:
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Generosity
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-Control
Honesty
Forgiveness
Obedience
Responsibility -
We Have Seen His Glory
$22.99Add to cartPrelude
We Have Seen His Glory: The Day Is Coming And Now Is
Glorifying The Creator And Redeemer
Worship As Sabbatical
The Legacy Of Judaism
Glorifying God In A Bolder Way
Illuminating The Good News
Work And Worship – Labors Of Love?
Doxology: The End And Aim Of All Things
Additional Info
We Have Seen His Glory asks – and answers – the question of what worship would and should look like in light of the eschatological future, of kingdom come. Ben Witherington here contends that it cannot be a matter of merely continuing ancient practices. Instead, it must also be a matter of preparation for worship in the Kingdom of God when it comes on earth. / “I am convinced that one of the great problems to having a more reflective and more Christian approach to worship is that even many of our ministers and worship leaders have very little understanding of what the New Testament actually says about worship, what it is meant to be, what it entails, and what we ought to do. In this study I hope to remedy some of that problem and tease some minds into active thought about what worship should look like if we really believe that God’s Kingdom is coming. . . . It is time for us to explore a more Biblical and Kingdom-oriented vision of worship.” / – Ben Witherington, from the prelude -
Novel Preaching : Tips From Top Writers On Crafting Creative Sermons
$28.00Add to cartFiction writers are highly creative people who have learned the discipline of translating their ideas into effective communication. That same combination of creativity and skill comes into play for preachers crafting their sermons.
In this lively and accessible book, Alyce McKenzie explores how fiction writers approach the task of writing novels: how they develop ideas, find their inspiration, and turn the spark of a creative notion into words on paper that will captivate the masses. McKenzie shows how preachers can use the same techniques to enhance their own creativity and to turn their ideas into powerful, well-crafted sermons.Novel Preaching offers a wealth of advice from successful fiction writers, including Isabelle Allende, Frederick Buechner, Julia Cameron, Annie Dillard, Natalie Goldberg, Stephen King, Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, and Melanie Rae Thon, and also includes sample sermons from McKenzie.
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Favorite Bible Stories For Preschool Children
$14.99Add to cartComplete and easy lessons that make Bible learning fun!
All-in-One Bible Fun is the ideal children’s program for teachers working within a budget or looking for a simpler approach.
Each book contains 13 easy-to-teach Bible lessons that require little preparation time.
An inexpensive alternative for Sunday school and other Bible-teaching opportunities.Each lesson includes an opening, story, activity, and craft.
Ideal for use throughout the year.
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Heroes Of The Bible For Elementary Children
$14.99Add to cartAll-in-One Bible Fun is the perfect children’s program for teachers on a budget or looking for a simpler approach. Each book is a collection of 13 Bible lessons for children containing a plan with opening, story, activity, and craft. The material is undated so teachers can use throughout the year.
Heroes of the Bible lessons include:
Daniel
Jonah
Esther
Paul, and more -
Church Leadership : Vision Team Culture Integrity (Revised)
$20.99Add to cartMuch has changed since the first edition of Lovett Weems’s seminal work Church Leadership appeared in 1993. In that time a substantial literature about leading the congregation has appeared, written from a broad variety of perspectives. But in some ways, little has changed in that time. The need for leadership in the church-defined as discovering the faithful future into which God is calling the congregation, and walking with the congregation into that future-is just as pressing as it ever was. And for that reason, the need for clear, insightful thinking about leadership is just as great as it ever was.
In this revised edition, Weems draws on the best new ideas and research in organizational leadership, yet always with his trademark theological grounding foremost in mind. Anyone who guides the life of a congregation, be they clergy or laity, will find Church Leadership the indispensable tool with which to follow their calling to be a church leader.
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Surprised By Hope Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$10.99Add to cartMany Christians believe that our future in heaven is all that really matters. But that’s not what the Bible teaches. Premier Bible scholar N. T. Wright takes you inside the Scriptures to grasp the full, breathtaking hope Jesus offers the world, and its implications for how we live our lives today as believers.
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Turning Point That Changed Everything
$16.99Add to cartIn every person’s life, there comes a moment in time when circumstances or events require decisions and responses that greatly determine the future. This book has no design to be another volume on leadership techniques. Rather, it is a candid exploration of those unexpected turns birthed out of the experience of being confronted with a reversal of circumstances in the life of an individual. Frankly, it is a study about the drama of life. The intention of the author is to give a sincere and straightforward examination of why turnabouts often get high-jacked and fail to live up to people’s expectations. Even more, individuals will find a plea for courage and faith when things do not occur as they once envisioned they would. Consequently, it is a clarion call for courage to go further than some would desire, but also a caution to impatient leaders to be watchful of their own intentions to push a change further than would be wise. In the end, some leaders must be willing to consider a more contemplative life built on valuing people above their own ideological mindset.
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Repo : The Church In Foreclosure
$15.49Add to cartRepo is a wake-up call to pastors with a growing sense of isolation and irrelevance; silently maintaining their sanctuaries, trapped in the industry of church, they simply wait retirement or hope for Christ’s return. The USA is gripped by a recession unlike any since the ’30s, its financial and political institutions guilty of enabling unsustainable debt while its pulpits proclaim prosperity. Could we be living in the era referenced in Revelation 5:5-14, the Lamb soon to “repo” His church?
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Beyond Maintenance To Mission (Revised)
$27.00Add to cartHere, in a newly revised edition, is a powerful and pertinent guide for congregations wanting to move away from “maintenance thinking” to powerful, creative engagement with the world.
Visionary yet practical, Nessan’s influential book makes a persuasive case for the centrality of mission in the life of the church. Nessan’s model of mission-driven leadership is strongly centered on the community of faith’s worship and draws unique connections between the worship life of a congregation and every aspect of the church’s ministry. Around the twin foci of congregational identity and mission, the chapters in this dynamic book provide solid theological and radical direction on the themes of worship, education, fellowship, stewardship, evangelism, global connections, and social ministry.
Equally pertinent to seminary classroom and parish life, the new edition highlights worship’s centrality, adds a new chapter on prayer and spiritual practices in this framework, significantly revises the treatments of fellowship and evangelism, and adds a full set of materials designed for congregational visioning and planning.
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Turning Point That Changed Everything
$26.99Add to cartIn every person’s life, there comes a moment in time when circumstances or events require decisions and responses that greatly determine the future. This book has no design to be another volume on leadership techniques. Rather, it is a candid exploration of those unexpected turns birthed out of the experience of being confronted with a reversal of circumstances in the life of an individual. Frankly, it is a study about the drama of life. The intention of the author is to give a sincere and straightforward examination of why turnabouts often get high-jacked and fail to live up to people’s expectations. Even more, individuals will find a plea for courage and faith when things do not occur as they once envisioned they would. Consequently, it is a clarion call for courage to go further than some would desire, but also a caution to impatient leaders to be watchful of their own intentions to push a change further than would be wise. In the end, some leaders must be willing to consider a more contemplative life built on valuing people above their own ideological mindset.
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Nearness Of God
$26.95Add to cartWhat distinguishes Christian ministry from other “helping professions”? While many books tell clergy how to run a capital campaign, handle conflict, and lead a vestry, this book helps pastors, chaplains, and lay professionals appreciate the spiritual depth of their calling and reminds them that Christian ministry is Christ’s ministry working through them.
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Our Own Time
$58.99Add to cartThe End Of The Mainline
Billy Graham (1918-)
A “New Breed” Of Presbyterians
Protestant Preaching In Black Africa
Liberation Theology In Latin America
Vatican II And American Catholic Preaching
The Romanian Revolution And The Preaching Of Joan Alexandru
Black Preaching
The Charismatics
A New Age In Britain
The Megachurch
The Young Churches Of East Asia
Additional Info
This magisterial volume is the seventh and last of Hughes Oliphant Old’s history of preaching. Here Old takes up the story with the sixties and the Second Vatican Council and follows it all the way through to the house churches of China and the preaching of the Archbishop of Uganda, known as the “Billy Graham of Africa.” Along the way he looks at the engaging preaching found in Latin America, the rise of the modern megachurch, the role of Joan Alexandru’s preaching in bringing down the house of Ceausescu, and other historically significant moments in preaching. / Full of surprising details and inspiring stories of ministry, this book is a fitting work to round out Old’s monumental, comprehensive series written by a preacher for preachers on the history of preaching in the Christian church. -
Kingdom Experiment Youth Edition
$8.99Add to cartThe people are starting to catch on. There s this guy who has spent his life working in his dad s wood shop, making beds, stools, and some real nice end tables. But, around the age of thirty he gets to thinking a career change is necessary. Only problem is he wants a position that is seemingly already filled, the job of priest. Doesn t stop him. Call him an entrepreneur of sorts, cause he begins preaching and healing in ways no one has ever seen without the employment of the temple. And to top it all off, he starts collecting a good fan base lots of people begin showing up to all his public appearances.
One day, he climbs up on a mountain and says there is a new kingdom at hand, and that this kingdom will be contradictory to everything they have known before.
And the people get the feeling this is only the beginning. You see, they were expecting a king arriving in grand fashion, but instead they got a carpenter, turned speaker and healer, who was about to shake things up a bit.
The Kingdom Experiment is a challenge to live this kingdom intentionally. It won t be easy. And it may get uncomfortable. But if you commit to live what a carpenter started 2000 years ago, you too will experience the kingdom He spoke of.
How it works:
1. Read and discuss each chapter with your group
2. Pick one of eight experiments (challenges to live intentionally) to do throughout the week.
3. Journal your thoughts and experiences
4. Share your experiences as a group the following weekThe point of The Kingdom Experiment is community. And to share stories while we re at it. To grapple with what good news means in the context of this specific time and place. The Kingdom Experiment is an 8-week challenge, but who says it has to end there. Journey with your students through 8 weeks of the beatitudes. With both community and individual challenges each week, this study helps students engage the kingdom in every aspect of their lives.
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Connect : Real Relationships In A World Of Isolation
$22.99Add to cart“In an age where teenagers are deeply engaged in virtual communities and social networks, they’re still feeling alone and isolated. It may sound all too simple, but the truth is that you have the opportunity to make a profound impact on the lives of students with the simple act of spending time with them, one-on-one. Whether you’re a volunteer or the lead youth pastor, getting some students to open up and share their lives can be a challenge. In this practical book you’ll learn the importance of connecting with students on an individual basis and get helpful ideas on how to engage a variety of students in meaningful dialogue. You’ll explore and learn more about connecting with six different types of students, including:
* The “No Way” Kid
* The “Not Interested” Kid
* The “Checking Things Out Kid”
* The “Stagnant” Kid
* The “Growing” Kid
* The “Looking for Ministry”Kid Connect will walk you through the steps to lead you into relationships with students that go beyond the youth room and impact them into adulthood.”
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Recovering From Traumatic Stress
$12.99Add to cartExperiencing symptoms of traumatic stress can be debilitating. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a normal reaction to an abnormal event. Recovering from Traumatic Stress: A Guide for Missionaries provides information and resources for support that can lead to comfort and healing. This book teaches about the symptoms experienced after a traumatic incident and how to recognize them. It offers strength and ways to talk to children and others about traumatic experiences. With God’s help, readers who have experienced traumatic situations can begin to regain a sense of peace for themselves and their families.
Stephanie Laite Lanham and Joyce Hartwell Pelletier are presenters with Sunrise Seminars, a Christian association of mental health professionals based in Maine. The group is dedicated to improving the lives of people through education, insight, and change.
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TalkSheets To Confirm The Faith Of Your Teenagers
$22.99Add to cart“Many churched teens struggle to connect their faith to their everyday lives, and when asked what they believe, you often get the Christianese answers they think they need to give in church. And with most issues of faith, these are things that can’t simply be taught in a four-week series of messages. As part of the bestselling TalkSheets series, TalkSheets: Confirm It! helps teens engage in real conversations where belief can be discovered, Christian words and notions can be unpacked, and faith can be connected with and expressed. Whether you use these TalkSheets as the primary lesson or as a supplement for your youth group, Sunday school class, small group or confirmation class, Confirm It! offers 52 TalkSheets that will allow teenagers to learn more about:
* God
* Jesus
* The Holy Spirit
* The Bible
* Salvation
* Discipleship
* Key Words of FaithAs each TalkSheet presents important issues, interesting activities, and challenging questions, kids will be encouraged to think about opinions, learn about themselves, and grow in their faith.”
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Into The Word
$22.99Add to cartDesigned to spiritually guide anyone seeking more than just a surface reading of the Bible, these 52 weekly studies emphasize personal application and have been written to draw you directly into God’s Word. This roll-your-sleeves-up look at Scripture is a refreshing departure from other Bible studies on the market, prompting you to personally dig into Scripture and discover God’s specific message for yourself.
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Teaching In A Distant Classroom
$30.99Add to cartVeteran educators Mike Romanowski and Teri McCarthy provide an essential guide for Christians teaching in overseas contexts. Providing both the theoretical framework as well as practical tools, the authors offer concrete advice and real-life examples for classroom instruction, daily life and much more.
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Small Group Leaders Handbook
$20.99Add to cartWhat do we mean when we talk about small groups? And more important: what do we expect to happen when people gather in this way? The small group that wrote this book–made up of current and former campus ministry professionals with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship–explores these questions and gives you everything you need to know about small groups, including foundations, key components, life stages, planning, communication, conflict, leadership and more!
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Finding Language And Imagery
$18.00Add to cartSermons use words. And though it appears obvious that preachers should be careful and exacting in word choice, novice preachers often set aside this aspect of preaching in favor of exegetical work and sermonic focus. Nonetheless preachers subscribe to preaching aids, peruse preaching websites, and purchase annuals of sermon illustrations in order to adorn their sermons with apt imagery. Preachers look for others’ words to amplify their own. The weekly work with language is daunting: Preachers must be disciplined to find fresh phrases for sermons and to make good choices about their own words and those borrowed from others as language shapes faith. This volume introduces the power of language to determine reality, the intricacies of language issues for preaching, and the custodial task of preachers for this work.
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Word In Small Boats
$22.99Add to cart“The word travels in small boats, the thought and speech of human beings, living the life of faith like any other believe but set aside for this ministry.” (from the introduction) / Oliver O’Donovan has been preaching and teaching for over three decades, committed to the perpetual voyage that is the service of the Word of God. In The Word in Small Boats O’Donovan offers 32 occasional sermons he has preached over the past twenty or so years. / Content headings: / The Mission of God’s Word / The Community of God’s Word / Tradition, Truth, and the Public / Launched upon Life by God’s Word
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Rock Solid Faith
$14.99Add to cartDo your students know how some of the Bible’s most significant passages apply to their lives? Take them to a deeper understanding of the Christian life, teach them how Jesus wants us to live, and show them the loving God who wants us to follow Him! We’ve adapted our best-selling Instant Bible Lessons format to create a series of flexible Bible lessons especially for kids ages 10-12. They will love the variety of activities that match each topic, and you will enjoy the quick and easy preparation. Reproducible. Illustrated.
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Stories Of Jesus For Elementary Children
$14.99Add to cartAll-in-One Bible Fun is the perfect children’s program for teachers on a budget or looking for a simpler approach. Each book is a collection of 13 Bible lessons for children containing a plan with opening, story, activity, and craft. The material is undated so teachers can use throughout the year.
Stories of Jesus features lessons exploring the life and ministry of Jesus.
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Psychology In The Spirit
$38.99Add to cartIn this volume in the Christian Worldview Integrations series, edited by J. P. Moreland and Francis Beckwith, John H. Coe and Todd W. Hall provide an introduction to a new approach to psychology. This model “represents a spiritual formation and relational approach to psychology for the sake of servicing the spiritual needs of the church.” Their goal is to provide a unique model of doing psychology and science in the Spirit. Here you will find an introduction to the foundations, methodology, content and praxis for this new approach to soulcare.
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Managing Polarities In Congregations
$42.00Add to cartCongregations often find themselves in power struggles over two opposing views. People on both sides believe strongly that they are right. They also assume that if they are right, their opposition must be wrong-classic “either/or” thinking. A polarity is a pair of truths that need each other over time. When an argument is about two poles of a polarity, both sides are right and need each other to experience the whole truth.
This phenomenon has been recognized and written about for centuries in philosophy and religion. It is at the heart of Taoism, where we find the familiar polarity of yin and yang energy. In the past fifty years, business leaders have come to appreciate the phenomenon, often called dilemma or paradox. No matter what it is called, the research is clear: leaders and organizations that manage polarities well outperform those who don’t.
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How To Do Mission Action Planning
$18.99Add to cartHow to Do Mission Action Planning (SPCK, 2009) was the first book to appear on the MAP process, at a time when it was beginning to have a significant impact. In this fully revised and expanded edition, the authors offer further critical evaluation and theological reflection, by drawing on the experiences of people who have been using the MAP process in different contexts from their own: Fr Damian Feeney, parish priest and Catholic Missioner of Lichfield diocese Canon David Banbury, leader of Parish Mission Support, Blackburn diocese The Rt Revd Dr Alan Smith, Bishop of St Albans Dr Stephen Hance, Canon Missioner of Southwark diocese Linda Rayner, the United Reformed Church co-ordinator for Fresh Expressions ‘This is a rare book – a refreshing meditation on planning for mission – and one that is rooted in spirituality. As the authors show, the church and its mission arise from our vision of God. And once that vision has been realised, churches are able to become more intentional about their mission. Our vocation to share God’s love is not an option or an afterthought. It is the heart and soul of our faith. Mission – and our planning of it – should not fill us with fear or foreboding. Rather, as the authors argue, the call to share God’s love can be evermore meaningful, even as mission becomes more methodical.’ The Very Revd Prof. Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford ‘This is a must-read for anyone using MAP. The rich theological reflection, the detailed unpacking of the 4 MAP phases and the learning offered by the 5 guest practitioners add up to an impressive offering. This book enables good questions to be asked, overflows with wise reflection and contains oodles of practical examples, ideas and resources. I commend it to all local church leaders who are seeking to discern how best to translate the prayer ‘your kingdom come’ into appropriate church and congregational action.’ John Dunnett, General Director, CPAS ‘This timely revision is honest, well researched and carefully put together – an important contribution to the necessary change of culture required in today’s Church.’ Julian Henderson, Bishop of Blackburn
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Children And The Theologians
$49.95Add to cartConnects theology with the practice of ministry in new ways.
Connects historical themes with modern research about the meaning and development of children.
A magisterial theological survey that sheds new light on the various ways children have been viewed.
Provides a historical and theological rationale for the Godly Play project.The long story of children in theology is told via analysis of some twenty-five theologians, grouped according to six historical periods. Each account examines what a particular theologian thought about children and the experience it was based upon. Four themes that have shaped our attitudes about children in the church emerge from this history, ambivalence, ambiguity, indifferences, and grace. The result of this study is to promote a healthier church, which will respect and utilize the distinctive gifts of children. In so doing, theologians will be better able to help clear the way for grace in the postmodern church.
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Living Reminder : Service And Prayer In Memory Of Jesus Christ (Reprinted)
$16.99Add to cartHow service is prayer and prayer is service
In this rich and deceptively simple book, beloved writer Henri Nouwen speaks–from the heart and from his own experience–of the joys and challenges of religious service. He shows how ministry cannot be separated from spirituality and reveals how anyone involved in religiously motivated service can act as a healing, sustaining, and guiding reminder of Jesus.
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Your Own Jesus (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartWhose Jesus do you believe in? Too many people inherit somebody else’s Jesus. Rather than discovering for themselves who Jesus really is, they depend on their family, friends, or pastor for their spiritual vitality and end up defeated by compromise. In Your Own Jesus, pastor and Casting Crowns’ lead singer Mark Hall explores the meaning of knowing the living Lord.
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Teaching The Faith Forming The Faithful
$45.99Add to cartWith the decline of traditional Sunday school and education programs in recent years, many Christians have not learned the fundamental doctrinal content of the faith. In this text Gary Parrett and Steve Kang set forth a thoroughly biblical vision for intentional teaching of the Christian faith that attends to both the content and process of educational and formational ministries.
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Introducing The Missional Church (Reprinted)
$22.00Add to cartMany pastors and church leaders have heard the term “missional” but have only a vague idea of what it means, let alone why it might be important to them. But what does it actually mean? What does a missional church look like and how does it function? Two leading voices in the missional movement here provide an accessible introduction, showing readers how the movement developed, why it’s important, and how churches can become more missional.
Introducing the Missional Church demonstrates that ours is a post-Christian culture, making it necessary for church leaders to think like missionaries right here at home. Focusing on a process that allows a church to discern its unique way of being missional, it guides readers on a journey that will lead them to implement a new set of missional practices in their churches. The authors demonstrate that living missionally is about discerning and joining God’s work in the world in order to be a witness to God’s kingdom on earth. -
Common Roots : The Original Call To An Ancient Future Faith
$24.99Add to cartRobert Webber’s legacy testifies to the vitality evangelicals experience when insights of the early church inform community life and ministry. His original expression of this theme, presented here with a foreword by David Neff (director of the Robert E. Webber Center for an Ancient-Evangelical Future), promises to stimulate new and ongoing conversations about ancient-future faith.
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Education For Human Flourishing
$35.99Add to cartFar from offering a thin patina of “niceness” spread over standard educational philosophy, Steven Loomis and Paul Spears set forth a vigorous Christian philosophy of education that seeks to transform the practice of education. Beginning with a robust view of human nature, they build a case for a decidedly Christian view of education that still rightfully takes its place within the marketplace of public education.
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Women Out Of Order
$39.00Add to cartWhile there are many similarities among women’s experiences, there are undeniable and important differences as well. Assembling a leading group of theologians, social scientists, and practitioners, this volume pioneers pastoral care of and by women in light of differences in race and ethnic background, class, generations, sexual orientation, and experience with the cultural realities that typically assail women.
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Spirit Filled Small Group
$14.95Add to cartSmall group resources tend to overlook the spiritual side of small group leadership. And yet most would agree that spiritual preparation is the most important aspect of leading a small group. Only Gods supernatural power can draw people to the truth and liberate them to be all that God wants them to be. Only through the Spirits power can we expect to see the miracles that Jesus talked about when He said that if we would abide in Him, we would bear much fruit and even do greater works than He did while He was on earth. The key distinction of this book is the spiritual perspective it gives to small group ministry. So much of the literature about small groups that is already published relates to small group technique and only touches briefly on the Spirits power. This book is a practical reference guide to help small group leadership begin to move in the supernatural realm. The books first priority is to help small group leaders and members trust the Holy Spirit to lead them, empower them and work in their group. Small group facilitators often sense a lack of guidance, power and spiritual authority. Jesus knew His disciples would be powerless without a touch from the Holy Spirit, and so He told them to wait in Jerusalem, saying, You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth Acts 1:8. Small group leaders need a power boost to make small group ministry relevant and exciting. The second priority of this book is to help the facilitator identify and mobilize each small group member to use his or her own spiritual gifts. Small group facilitators often feel ill-prepared to identify spiritual gifts of the people in the group. I firmly believe that the small group atmosphere is the perfect place to develop the gifts of the Spirit in each members life, and so it is essential that the facilitator know how to do this. Whatever denominational or non-denominational label a church wears, the most important characteristic, in my opinion, is promoting individual sensitivity, devotion and dependence on the Holy Spirit. In a Holy Spirit-charged atmosphere, cell leaders are best raised up and members are encouraged to minister in their giftedness. Some churches are better at empowering lay people than others. Those that are less adept often make lay people feel they must possess a theological degree much like the pastor has before they can successfully minister to a
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Serving The Word
$18.00Add to cartThis book invites the reader to see how God’s word can become the crux not only of the sermon but of the worship service as a whole. Over the past half-century, worship scholars have found a substantial ecumenical worship pattern in Luke’s story of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearance on the road and at the table in Emmaus. In that word-and-meal structure, the relationship between preaching and worship as distinct aspects of liturgical experience breaks down. The preached word, then, and the liturgical event within which preaching is located become integral to each other. This book invites the reader to explore how-through God’s word-preaching informs and is, in turn, supported by the worship event as a whole.
