Pastoral Helps
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Reading The Bible In Faith A Print On Demand Title
$23.99Reading the Bible in Faith gathers the deepest reflections of leading pastor-theologians dealing with the heart of Holy Scripture – the restoration of the proper relationship between God and his people. Speaking ecumenically, pastor to pastor, the contributors to this very special book provide sound encouragement, rooted in both the Bible and experience, to other church leaders who are also called to stand as the theologians of their local congregations. Seeing the present “crisis of the church” more truly as a crisis of faith that compels too many pastors to major in the minors, this volume confidently reaffirms the Christian gospel as the trustworthy and dynamic basis for the church’s mission and ministry. Short, insightful writings by respected leaders of local congregations urge church renewal through scripturally grounded preaching, teaching, pastoral care, and church administration.
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Preaching For Special Services
$21.17Sooner or later, every pastor will be called on to conduct special services. Baptisms, weddings, funerals, infant presentations, and evangelistic services, each in their own way, challenge pastors to find the right words to mark the occasion.
Preaching for Special Services will help pastors prepare sermons for these special services. Each chapter explores a different occasion and offers the perspective, encouragement, and practical advice that pastors need as they plan their messages.
Through this useful book, pastors will discover how Christ-centered special occasion preaching can make a difference in the lives of their listeners.
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Using Illustrations To Preach With Power
$22.50Paul’s vivid metaphor of the “armor of God” still speaks to us today. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “dream” transformed an entire nation. Using illustrations in your sermon furthers your congregation’s understanding. Arguing that lively illustrations are vital to effective preaching, Chapell shows you how to choose, shape, and incorporate them into your sermons.
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Uncovering Your Churchs Hidden Spirit
$32.85Parishioners today look to their congregations to feed their spiritual hunger. But many members and clergy are not sure how the words “congregation” and “spirituality” fit together. Author Celia Hahn interviewed 30 lay people and clergy from five Episcopal congregations to discover their stories of congregational spirituality and to help them identify the congregation’s gifts for spiritual development. Hahn becomes a spiritual companion and resource for the searching congregation, guiding the church as it begins to discover its gifts. How is God at work in our congregation? How do members empowered by the transforming Spirit minister in their workplaces, neighborhoods, and families? How do members move into a deeper relationship with one another and with God? Foreword by Tilden Edwards, executive director of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Direction.
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Its News To Me Messages Of Hope For Those Who Havent Heard Cycle A
$16.18All too often, many people find traditional worship dull and the sermons they hear impractical for living in today’s world. Yet Linda McCoy is convinced that the message of God’s unconditional love is the most vital word for life anyone can receive — especially those who have never heard or truly experienced it. Her inspiring sermons share that message of hope with modern Americans by bridging the gap between the sacred and the secular. As the fruit of her non-traditional ministry directed toward those who have never been part of a church or who have been “turned off” or “disenfranchised” by the established church, McCoy’s short, to-the-point messages effectively and relevantly communicate the good news to anyone who is searching for an experience of the Divine. Readers of these sermons will be connected to a deep sense of purpose and enriched by God’s amazing love and grace.
Sermon titles include:
* Prepare For Arrival — Matthew 3:1-12
* The Power Of A Dream — Matthew 2:13-23
* Positive Identification — John 1:29-42
* Building Bridges — Matthew 5:21-37
* It’s A Mystery — Matthew 17:1-9Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Blueprints For Worship
$24.99165 Pages
Additional Info
This book is intended to provide practical assistance for pastors, musicians, and others who plan and lead worship in local congregations. Based upon the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal, the 1992 United Methodist Book of Worship, and the 1992 Revised Common Lectionary, this book will enable you to create, design, build, and lead effective worship experiences in your local congregation. Through a worksheet format that culls information and references from the sources mentioned above, you’ll be able to more effectively integrate preaching, music, movement, and environment.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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How To Reach Secular People
$24.99HOW TO REACH SECULAR PEOPLE
How do you communicate the Christian faith to the growing numbers of “secular” people in the western world? Pastors and Sunday school teachers who teach the faith week by week to professing Christians experience their assignment as increasingly difficult; so how do you communicate Christianity’s meaning to people who do not darken church doors, who have no church background, who possess no traditional Christian vocabulary, who do not know what we are talking about? The question presses us with greater intensity as we realize that the countries and populations of the western world have become “mission fields” once again.
The following pages contain a mere fraction of what we will one day know about effective mission in the western world. But they contain enough insight from communicators, congregations, and converts to help 99 percent of our churches to triple the number of new Christians they help into faith and thereby become contagious movements in their communities.
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Beyond The Ordinary A Print On Demand Title
$21.99Over the past few decades mainline Protestant congregations have not easily embraced the notion of spirituality. As much as any aspect of church life, spirituality has been misunderstood, misused, and resisted by both clergy and laity. Yet times are changing. Today many people feel a deep spiritual hunger and are out looking for fulfillment in a wide variety of settings. In this new context, mainline congregations need to awaken to the presence of the Spirit in their midst and equip leaders to nurture both the personal and corporate spirituality of their congregations.
Beyond the Ordinary is explicitly written to help church leaders who have had no formal training in spiritual formation. Drawing from years of experience teaching Christian spirituality, Ben Campbell Johnson and Andrew Dreitcer explore the spiritual dimensions of leadership, looking in depth at the meaning of spirituality as it relates to the tasks of ministry. This friendly, inspiring book will enable readers to erase the negative stereotypes of spirituality and develop vital models and practices for the church today.
The book introduces a faithful understanding and practice of the spiritual life to those who have not yet dipped into the well that is Christian spirituality. For those who have already tasted this water and still thirst, it offers a way to dip even more deeply. Chapters discuss the issues surrounding a meaningful spirituality for our changing times, the importance of holding prayer and mission in tension, and the crucial role of Scripture in the formation of our lives. The authors also underscore the importance of vision, myth, and discernment in the spiritual life of the church. And they discuss the power of spiritual practices like discernment and visioning for enhancing the spirituality of congregations and for helping them become agents of social transformation.
Intended for personal and group use by pastors, elders, other church leaders, and those preparing for service in the church, the book includes suggestions for reflection and discussion as well as journaling exercises that encourage learning and growth.
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Listening Ministry : Rethinking Pastoral Leadership
$28.33Listening Ministry is a timely and practical work that invites church leaders (professional and non-professional) to look at leadership in the church in a completely different way. It is also a valuable scholarly work that calls forth new learning through the reflection questions provided at the end of each chapter. The book helps readers rethink the dynamics of ministry from the perspective of listening, focusing on both its individual and communal dimensions. Hedahl’s work presents a unique blend of theological reflection on listening, new and tested research on listening as it relates to church leadership, and suggested forms of listening as education and skills assessment in a continual effort to locate and understand listening as the heart of effective and faithful ministry.
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Pastoral Leadership : A Handbook Of Resources For Effective Congregational
$31.99This comprehensive problem-solving reference for pastors provides theological foundations and experience-tested techniques for effective clergy leadership.
Robert D. Dale offers insight into the dynamics of clergy management by placing leadership into a congregational context and stressing servanthood as the primary biblical leadership image. Following a discussion of the three critical dimensions of organizational effectiveness, Dale explores and critiques the four basic leadership styles: catalyst, commander, encourager, and hermit. Out of this background exploration, Dale discloses decision-making guidelines that have proved effective in helping clergy: resolve conflicts; lead churches through change; define the congregation’s dream; budget resources effectively; manage meetings; build teams; and, motivate oneself and others.
Pastoral Leadership concludes with a unique look at the effects of clergy leadership on the pastor as a person, offering valuable insight into clergy spirituality, burnout, family demands, and career development. Notes, a bibliography, and review questions accompany each chapter.
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4 Views Of Youth Ministry And The Church
$24.99This book delineates four distinct philosophical/ecclesiological views of how youth ministry relates to the church at large. The dialogical and sometimes feisty format gives readers a taste of what’s profound and what’s flawed in these four typologies: inclusive (Malan Nel), preparatory (Wes Black), missional (Chap Clark), and strategic (Mark Senter). Each view has theological assumptions and pragmatic implications regarding the church’s mission to youth which are examined in Youth Specialties’ unique style that marries solid academic research with tone and design that is as compelling to in-the-field, practicing youth workers as undergraduate and graduate students. In short, here’s a meaty theological dish for the malnourished academic literature in the discipline of youth ministry
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Strategies For Brief Pastoral Counseling
$45.00In this extraordinarily helpful resource, eleven leaders in pastoral counseling offer a convincing rationale for and careful and smart instruction in brief pastoral counseling. Based on research, case studies, and the latest thinking they lay out: the dynamics of the pastor-parishoner relationship, including the need for collaborative, hospitable, future-oriented, and wholistic counseling specific strategies, including brief counseling’s solution-focused method, its relation to spiritual direction, its focus on people’s strengths, and time limits the major literature in the field of pastoral counseling in the past fifty years, offering ways in which it can speak more directly to the concerns of parish pastors as they offer counsel to those they serve
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Building The Christian Academy A Print On Demand Title
$17.99For centuries the Christian academic tradition played a major role in both Western intellectual history and the history of the church. In this volume Arthur Holmes explores the tradition of learning, focusing on seven formative episodes in history that can have a contribution to make to the building and maintenance of a strong Christian academy today.
For each historical period considered, Holmes probes the particular problems educators faced and discusses the major concerns that guided educational practice. By examining the thought of Plato, Origen, Abelard, Aquinas, Erasmus, Francis Bacon, John Henry Newman, and others, Holmes identifies four recurring emphases at the heart of the Christian academy: the care of the soul, the unity of truth, contemplative learning, and the usefulness of liberal arts as preparation for service to both church and society. This insightful work makes a convincing case for reclaiming the theological foundations of learning for our day.
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Act Of God Active God
$16.66This book raises in a straighforward fashion the faith-related questions that victims/survivors of natural disasters have as a result of their experiences. Is the disaster an “act of God”? Did God cause the disaster? If God is all powerful, why did God allow it to hapen? Dr. Gary Harbaught provides insights and understandings to help persons of faith to struggle with that seeming contradiction. Instead of seeing disasters as “acts of God”, he shows that when disasters occur, God in fact is active: active in and through our questions, confusion, and doubts; active in and through our responses and actions; active in and through the community; and active in and through people of faith.
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Practical Wisdom For Pastors
$21.99Some aspects of the minister’s life cannot be learned in a seminary classroom. Veteran pastor Thomas covers most of them with practical insights concerning everything from personal life to church life, study habits to e-mail, pulpit notes to litigation. A rich source of help and encouragement for church leaders. Includes a pastor’s self-evaluation questionnaire.
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Undivided Soul : Helping Congregations Connect Body And Spirit
$26.99In The Undivided Soul: Helping Congregations Connect Body and Spirit, Cheryl Kirk-Duggan offers a worship, study, and sermon planning resource containing meditations, responsive readings, poems, and small-group leaders. This volume is designed as a year-long teaching/learning guide. Each chapter explores various aspects of faith, health, and spirituality. The book can be used as a worship resource for Sunday worship, retreats, or other gatherings; it can be used as a devotional resource for small groups; it can be a study guide for group study or retreats. This resource is designed to help persons and groups explore the relationship between the faith journey, physical bodies, and spiritual discipline.
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Wild Truth Bible Lessons Pictures Of God 2
$22.99The Bible is a photo album, brimming with self-portraits of a God who wants to be known. God has put these pictures in the Bible to reveal his character. By examining them, we discover who God is and why he’s worth knowing better. And we discover something else: who he wants us to be. He wants us to copy his picture into our own character. Wild Truth Bible Lessons – Pictures of God 2 is a guide to 12 God-pictures taken straight from the Photo Album. They are active Bible lessons for junior high and middle school Sunday school classes or youth group meetings, each one based on one of the 50 pictures of God and presented energetically, relevantly, and scripturally in the companion student book Wild Truth Journal: Pictures of God. The lessons are loaded with off-the-wall and easy-to-do discussion starters, video ideas, scripts, games with a point. And, of course, Bible passages and studies that springboard junior highers from the abstract into the concrete as (open Bibles in hand) they explore the nature of God in a lively, relevant way, and then begin practicing in their own lives the traits of God.
Here’s how the lessons are organized:
* Picture Prep grabs your group’s attention to prepare them for what’s ahead.
* Action Shot takes your students into the Bible to catch God in the act of revealing his character.
* Self-Portrait explores the given aspect of God’s character – how it makes God just that much more awesome…and why it’s a very good trait for us to have, too.
* Print It! challenges your students to print God’s picture into their own lives by living out his character in an immediately practical way.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Understanding Teaching : Effective Biblical Teaching For The 21st Century
$19.98Chapter 1: Why Teach?
Chapter 2: Why Students Learn?
Chapter 3: Preparing Yourself In The Word
Chapter 4: Application And Learning
Chapter 5: Understanding Lesson Aims
Chapter 6: Planning The Lesson
Chapter 7: Teaching Students – Not Lessons
Chapter 8: Selecting Methods
Chapter 9: Preparing Methods
Chapter 10: Setting Your Classroom
Chapter 11: Evaluating Teaching
Chapter 12: Keeping FreshAdditional Info
Many engaged in Christian teaching do so for years without weary spirits. Others, who were once earnest, give up in despair. What makes the difference? A biblical understanding of teaching brings appreciation for this spiritual gift. To understand the teaching ministry is to realize its significant impact on the spread of the Gospel. Approaching this task biblically involves empowerment from the Holy Spirit, insight into God’s Word, sharp communication skills, and accurate interaction with students.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Acting On The Absurd Cycle A
$16.18Packed full of stories about the human condition, this book of insightful sermons based largely on texts from Pauls’s letter to the Romans will be invaluable to preachers, teachers, and laypersons. Readers will serendipitously find marvelous results when one acts in faith on the “absurd” notion that God loves us unconditionally. These messages from an outstanding preacher demonstrate that when we follow the example of Paul and faithfully try to become what God created us to be, wonderful things begin to happen!
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Access To High Hope Cycle A
$19.93Harry Huxhold’s excellent sermons build on the epistle texts from the lectionary to express and explain the meaning of the Lord’s passion and resurrection. His messages interpret the events of Jesus’ life in the light of God’s revelation to us through the scriptures. By sharpening our focus on the access we have to hope through the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, he helps readers find the true significance in the events of his earthly life. Harry Huxhold currently serves as pastoral associate at King of Glory Lutheran Church in Carmel Indiana.
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Holy E Mail Cycle A
$16.18Many modern Christians yearn for a deeper spiritual life, a relevant relationship with a God who still matters and who thinks we still matter. However, Dallas Brauninger tells us, we are not good at listening and talking with God. What we are good at is hurling questions at the Almighty — and Brauninger says that questions are what we are all about if we are to continue to grow spiritually. And so is confession. We doubt. We fear. We stretch to the limits of our patience. We wonder if tenacity will prevail or if we will sink. We have moments of bliss and ponder anew the mystery of God. We wonder and grieve about the world.
Brauninger believes that question and confession are two forms of our prayer — and for many of us, these conversations with God are as brief and instant as an e-mail. In Holy E-Mail, she inventively casts fourteen sermons based on Cycle A lectionary epistle texts in the form of extended e-mail messages to God. It’s as if congregations and pastors were privy to someone’s private ponderings that reflect our own spiritual roaming.
This volume is not only a creative resource for preachers; it’s also directed to the everyday person in the pew. Crafted to help hearers connect with God and each other, these sermons address universal queries of the human soul. By uniting sermon with prayer, they’re excellent for use as readings for personal meditation.
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Tears Of Sadness Tears Of Gladness Cycle A
$17.43Albert Butzer believes that “sermons should speak to the real and immediate lives of the listeners and be grounded in the everyday events of their lives.” This collection of sermons for Lent and Easter based on gospel texts definitely achieved that goal: Butzer’s messages consistently and creatively deliver a ringing proclamation of the good news. They are outstanding examples of the homiletical art that bring together several elements of the classic sermon: biblical text, theological tradition, life of the world, life and experience of a particular congregation, and faith and experience of the preacher.
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Lets Get Committed Cycle A
$16.18People seem dazzled by the world’s glitter of false grandeur and pay little to no attention to the majesty of God. The sparkle of glitter the world offers does nothing but litter the ocean floor of the spirit. A saint’s job is to pay close attention to the security of God’s grandeur — magnitude, creation, mercy, hope, happiness, joy, peace, and life. With God as our ship we can stay afloat for eternity. (from All Saints’ Sunday sermon, “Called To Be Saints”)
Derl Keefer explores the timeless and life-changing truths of the Bible in ten powerful and effective messages based on First Lesson passages from the Revised Common Lectionary. While particularly useful to pastors gleaning ideas for their own preaching, these sermons offer an abundant dose of spiritual power to all who read and digest them.
Sermon titles include:
* Where Are We Without God? — Exodus 33:12-23
* Leaving A Legacy — Deuteronomy 34:1-12
* Reformation To Transformation — Jeremiah 31:31-34
* God’s New Shepherd — Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Living On One Days Rations Cycle A
$12.95In eleven thought-provoking sermons based upon texts from Genesis and Exodus, Douglas Bailey highlights events from the lives of Jacob, his son Joseph, and Moses. But these messages are more than simple biblical exegesis – drawing on insights from scholarly research, Bailey demonstrates that the spiritual struggles and faith of Jacob, Joseph, and Moses are very pertinent to vital issues we face in our lives today. For example, Jacob’s “growing pains” make us wonder “What prizes are worth working for?” and “Why does God pick a fight with us and challenge us to a wrestling match?” Similarly, the story of Joseph leads us to ask why genuine forgiveness is truly painful. And sermons reviewing major episodes in the life of Moses raise such questions as “Can we really trust God to come through when the chips are down?” and “Can an affluent society ever accept God’s limited offer of one day’s blessings – one day at a time?” Bailey mines the texts for answers to these timely questions, proving that the ancient texts are still very relevant.
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Formed By A Dream Cycle A
$16.18Kristen Borsgard Wee tells us that the scriptures are “endlessly fascinating, constantly surprising, and an unparalleled adventure in God’s interaction with people.” The same might be said of these first-rate sermons based mainly on texts from the Book of Genesis. Readers will discover that Wee has an uncanny ability to place them right in the heart of the lections – experiencing what the biblical characters did while at the same time revealing what God is trying to say to us that can transform our lives. By challenging basic assumptions and raising interesting questions, Wee is able to unveil some of the truths about God and human nature that are embedded in these sacred texts. These messages offer to readers, in the words of Anne Lamott, “a path and a little light to see by.”
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Restoring The Future Cycle A
$16.18Drawing upon thoughtfully mined biblical insights and his alert attention to contemporary culture, Rob Elder has crafted sermons that not only disclose some unexpected angles of vision on Lent and Easter, but also serve as models for preaching on neglected and overlooked texts. These are not the usual texts and these are not the expected words for the seasons of Lent and Easter, but it is sometimes what we do not expect to see and hear that delights us most. Robert J. Elder is currently the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Salem, Oregon.
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Long Time Coming Cycle A
$16.18It is not God’s plan to take us by surprise. Throughout scripture there is the rolling thunder of the Deity’s voice resounds: “I’m going to do it! Get ready! Pay close attention! Here comes what I promised!” We call such predictions “prophecy,” history written before it happens. And about nothing is God more prophetic, more predictive, than Jesus Christ. (from the Foreword)
In Long Time Coming! Stephen Crotts proclaims the richness of Jesus’ birth. Noting that the Lord always tells us ahead of time what he is about to do, his 14 sermons based on Old Testament lectionary texts examine how God foretold in Isaiah’s prophetic ministry that he would save and redeem mankind.
Sermon titles include:
* Still Small Voice — Isaiah 11:1-10
* When A Halo Slips — Jeremiah 31:7-14
* What Does Your God Say About People Like Me? — Isaiah 42:1-9
* Let Sleeping Dogmas Awake! — Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Love
$9.99Exciting contemporary Bible study series designed to meet the needs of adult learners in their 20s and 30s. Each volume in the series examines a powerful biblical image and includes: * Bible background * Articles on group leadership, and teaching options * Case studies throughout the text to use as discussion starters * Seven easy-to-lead sessions with clear teaching helps on each page * Options for service projects Love is the fifth book in the series. Chapters deal with love in its many forms, such as romantic, family, community and church, and God. The book also explores “Sacrificial Love” and “Expressions of Love.”
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Congregations As Learning Communities
$28.57In our rapidly evolving religious scene, congregations that are open to continuous learning and willing to respond to external and internal change, will be the ones that achieve new vitality and health. Dennis Campbell describes what those congregations will look like and provides four tools to help a congregation shape its community into what God would have it be. Systems thinking, congregational culture, appreciative inquiry, and scenario planning are explained and illustrated, and readers will be shown how to apply the principles to their setting. Paperback.
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Mission Based Management (Reprinted)
$47.00This practical, comprehensive, and easy-to-use workbook provides key tools to help managers of nonprofits ensure that their organization pursues its mission, meets the changing needs of the community-and has enough money to make ends meet-while also satisfying the demands of funders, clientele, boards, staff, and bankers. Designed to equip nonprofit managers and other nonprofit workers with the guidance they need to do their jobs and run their organizations more effectively and efficiently, this workbook is also a hands-on tool to help implement the ideas in the author’s highly regarded Mission-Based Management. Filled with indispensable checklists, worksheets, forms, displays, and hands-on suggestions, and including a companion CD-ROM, the Workbook will show you how to smoothly and successfully:
* Hone your organization’s core competencies
* Focus your resources
* Improve overall mission capability
* Get the most out of group discussions
* Utilize self-assessment toolsAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Homiletical Plot : The Sermon As Narrative Art Form (Expanded)
$30.00Lowry argues that preachers should regard the sermon as a narrative art form, a sacred story of God’s dramatic encounter with humanity. He outlines five steps for preaching narrative sermons, even when dealing with non-narrative biblical texts. Because the plot of each sermon moves from a point of tension to a point of resolution, people willingly become involved in the sermon.
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Gateways To Worship
$28.99Here are 52 easy-to-follow “how-to” session plans for introducing young children to worship. Carolyn C. Brown uses her many years of experience as a Christian educator to show
How to use the church school hour to introduce children to worship and to prepare them for the day they will participate in the church’s worship;
How to learn and explore the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer and other elements of the worship service; and
How to become familiar with the sacraments and celebrate the seasons of the church year.
For every church wishing to make the church school a valuable introductory worship experience for children, Gateways to Worship is the ideal resource.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Participating In God
$50.00Seeks to develop an image of God which is appropriate to the demands of experience in the pastor care for others. Explores the way in which pastoral care shapes our doctrine of God, and how faith in the triune God shapes the practice of pastoral care.
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Still Listening : New Horizons In Spiritual Direction
$32.95Interest in the practice of spiritual direction has grown in recent years. With the increased number of people seeking direction have come a number of new issues confronting spiritual directors. This volume of essays by seasoned spiritual directors form a variety of faith traditions addresses issues of concern to directors today such as direction with: abused persons, the poor, church drop-outs, and gays and lesbians. Other essays look at spiritual direction in new contexts, such as the congregational setting, the corporate arena, spiritual direction and genera- tional issues, and direction at the turn of the century. The final section of the book addresses some specific circumstances: working with the addicted, with those who are dying, using art in spiritual direction, and direction and social justice.
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Resurrecting The Person
$25.99In Resurrecting The Person, John Swinton argues that while mental illnesses are often biological and genetic in orgin, the real handicap experienced by individuals is imposed by the types of reactions, values, and attitudes which are typical of contemporary western society. In other words, how a mental illness is experienced has much to do with how it is socially constructed.
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For God So Loved A Study Of The Gospel Of John (Teacher’s Guide)
$8.40SKU (ISBN): 9780570015291ISBN10: 0570015294David WidenhoferBinding: UnknownPublished: October 2000Lutheran High School ReligionPublisher: Concordia Publishing House Print On Demand Product
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Nuts And Bolts Of Christian Education
$25.99You’ve agreed to teach your first Sunday school class. Now what do you do? Grab this A-to-Z guide! From “advisory boards” to “zany tunes,” you’ll get answers to the most frequently asked questions, as well as ready access to the practical wisdom and helpful tips of experienced teachers. Includes reproducible charts and handouts, and a topical index.
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Talking The Walk
$24.99Here are 31 small-group meetings about well, small groups. After all, the kind of honest sharing, perspective silence, compassionate boldness, and mutual growth that are the marks of an effective and attractive small group don’t always come naturally. With the complete sessions in Talking the Walk all of them customized precisely for small groups you can lead your small group of teenagers from getting comfortable with kids they don’t usually hang with, to talking honestly, listening carefully, and understanding themselves with each other. The first five meetings are a gradual, gentle introduction to the idea of communication, confidences, and listening skills, the mechanics and heart of small group dynamics then on to more than two dozen topical meetings about issues that matter most to adolescents: how to face life’s tensions, self-esteem, change, sexuality, giving and receiving love, clarifying future goals, friends, family, forgiveness, diversity, conflict, moods, priorities – and more, all of them based in Bible passages – appropriate for mixed groups of churched and unchurched kids – and each session with more than enough creative and quirky ideas, so you can select those that best fit your style and your small group’s temperament. Perfect for outreach and evangelism groups, discipleship groups, Sunday school, midweek cell groups – any time you want small groups of your student to grow together in community, intimacy, in faith.
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Ethics And Spiritual Care
$24.99Ethics and Spiritual Care responds to three phenomena of increasing importance. (1) Although spiritual care is at the heart of ordained ministry, there is no text in professional ethics for clergy that focuses specifically on spiritual care. What ethical guidelines are needed to ensure that spiritual care in ministry is appropriate? (2) Many people in our world do not consider themselves “religious,” but use the term “spiritual.” The burgeoning interest in “spirituality” is an invitation to people with little training to set themselves up as “spiritual directors.” Guidelines are needed not simply for the ethical practice of parish ministry, but for specific practices of spiritual direction. (3) Allegations of “spiritual abuse” have been made both in practice and in the literature: the term is being used with some frequency. The development of the term and its implications requires some scrutiny and response as “sexual abuse” is not a good model for understanding spiritual abuse.
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Instruments In Gods Hands A Study Of Christian Ethics (Teacher’s Guide)
$8.40SKU (ISBN): 9780570090885ISBN10: 0570090881Bruce FredericksonBinding: UnknownPublished: October 2000Lutheran High School ReligionPublisher: Concordia Publishing House Print On Demand Product
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Word Of The Lord Year C
$48.00The only liturgical resource to offer the authorized readings for all three services in one volume. The OT, Epistle and Gospel readings are set out in full from the NRSV translation, making this an essential resource for worship and worship preparation.
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Creative Styles Of Preaching
$26.001. Narrative Preaching
2. African American Preaching
3. Evangelistic Preaching
4. Topical Preaching
5. The Four Pages Of The Sermon
6. Preaching The Literary Forms Of The Bible
7. Pastoral Praching
8. Biblical Preaching
9. Imaginative PreachingAdditional Info
This useful book on newer preaching styles is designed for students and experienced clergy alike. It consists of nine chapters, each treating a different contemporary approach to preaching, such as Narrative, Evangelistic, African American, Topical, Pastoral, Biblical, Literary, and Imaginative styles. Each chapter is illustrated by sermons from well-known preachers including Tony Campolo, Barbara Brown Taylor, Sam Proctor, Fred Craddock, William Willimon, Ronald Allen, and others. This book will prove to be an invaluable travel guide to the homiletical landscape, and it will aid pastors who want to keep their sermons fresh, invigorating, and relevant to the life experiences of their congregations.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Preaching Through The Year Of Luke
$21.95Preaching Through The Year of Luke is the ninth book in a series devoted to presenting examples of preaching excellance. These sermons, collected from the 1999 Preaching Excellance Program and from clergy nationwide, explore bibical passages for the liturgical year C, which focuses on the Gospel of Luke. Sermons for the major holy days, as well as a selection of Sundays throughout the year, will be helpful to pastors preparing to preach and lay people seeking a better understanding of the lectionary passages from year C.
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7 Ways Of Teaching The Bible To Adults
$18.99Barbara Bruce helps teachers and learners understand seven different learning styles, or “intelligences,” and how these learning styles can be used to bring the Word of God alive for adult students. Chapters include suggestions of activities to incorporate a specific intelligence into lessons, questions for the teacher on his or her own preference for the particular intelligence, a lesson focusing on the intelligence and a prayer demonstrating the intelligence. In addition, the book contains suggestions for teacher training, bibliographies, a glossary, and a self-discovery sheet.
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Making The Church Work (Revised)
$14.11In the first edition of Making the Church Work, Hammett wrote that the church is not only in need of change, but also in need of a conversion. Now his conviction is stronger than ever. In this second edition, he addresses the issues of changing values–values about what leaders and their congregations are doing as a church and the effectiveness of their techniques. Hammett is convinced that until church leaders change their values, healthy, relevant, and effective churches are not likely to appear.
Unique features of this book include:* Overview of trends and issues impacting the church’s ineffectiveness
* Opportunities for individual readers and small groups, and congregations to reflect on their journey in light of these trends and issues
Practical guidance for addressing some problems and for equipping the church for more effective ministry in the 21st century
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Congregational Fitness : Healthy Practices For Layfolk
$32.85When serious conflict surfaces in a congregation, lay people are usually stunned. They feel frightened, angry, and helpless. Congregational Fitness explores why congregations are prone to conflict and describes healthy behaviors lay people can practice to manage conflict constructively. Goodman argues that since it is members of the congregation who carry on from one pastor to another, it is important for them to know and practice positive behaviors continually, rather than reacting out of emotion and anxiety to an unexpected situation. Designed for use by individuals, study groups, and retreat participants. Foreword by Hugh F. Halverstadt.
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Leading And Managing A Growing Church
$23.99Not all pastors are natural-born managers—but they can learn! In this practical volume, Hunter gathers insights from the best leadership and management experts, then shows pastors how to apply proven-effective principles to the service of the church. Learn to be a dynamic supervisor, a skilled steward of church resources, and more!
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Career Counselor : Charting Your Lifelong Career Path
$20.98If you are searching for a job or just surviving in the one you’ve got, this book may open up new Christian-based insights that could make the difference for you. This timely book is a survival guide for men and women caught in career crisis. Career Counselors will also find it to be a valuable resource as they help clients struggling with tough career decisions.
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Ask And You Shall Receive (Teacher’s Guide)
$31.25Fundraising expert Kim Klein has trained thousands of groups and individuals to cultivate assets that make good works possible. The Ask and You Shall Receive training package is a do-it-yourself, start-to-finish program on jumpstarting fundraising efforts. A peer-led program designed for use with its companion Participant Manual, the Ask and You Shall Receive Leader Manual walks you through the most common fundraising scenarios with dependable information, methods, prompts, and preparation guidelines. Realistic time allowances keep the training within reach of busy volunteers.
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Feeding And Leading (Reprinted)
$41.25Every church and Christian organization has a leadership and administrative team. But how well is that team functioning? Feeding and Leading, now available in paperback, addresses this key component to effective ministry.
Kenneth O. Gangel begins with the foundations of the administrative process and then focuses on the vocational Christian leader–pastor, president, principal, mission executive–targeting such issues as spiritual leadership, style, organization of work, goal setting, and long-range planning. The book also covers topics such as:– recruiting and training volunteers
– motivating workers
– delegating responsibility
– making decisions
– building good working relationships
– communicating
– chairing business meetings
Feeding and Leading contains over forty figures that illustrate the practical principles outlined by the author. Self-evaluation questions, sample job descriptions, and other helpful tools for Christian administrators are also included.
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Learning While Leading
$32.85As the world changes, so do people’s expectations of their faith community and clergy. This book uses three case studies to speak to religious professionals about the challenges they face, to provide readers with specific, user-friendly techniques to become more aware of how they function, and to learn new ways to lead. Clergy will find real-life examples of how more effective leadership enhances the life of the community and promotes the deepening of members’ faith. Foreword by Chris Argyris
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Beside Still Waters
$21.47Succinct and highly practical, Beside Still Waters is devoted to solutions to the common obstacles of a successful and authentic pastoral ministry. The contributors use the 23rd Psalm to provide the context for discussion of a variety of the most critical pressure points that can disable a healthy ministry.
The book culminates in a final chapter, which addresses the task of preaching as pastoral care, which is most genuine when it emerges out of a keen awareness of good boundaries that protect the spiritual life of both pastor and parish. An annotated list of further readings is given for each area of discussion.
The authors have among themselves more than two hundred years of pastoral experience and have been on the front lines of the Pastoral Institute’s national ministry to clergy in crisis. They include Greek Orthodox, Methodist, Presbyterian, Southern Baptist ministers and pastoral counselors. They draw on both pastoral and clinical experiences to address the common and frequently overlooked areas of difficulty in ministry.
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Very Large Church
$28.99American institutions such as schools and businesses have all become larger—what does this mean for our congregations? Schaller believes the organizational structure of the church must change, too, in order to minister effectively—and here’s where the transformation begins. Let this organizational expert help turn your body into a megachurch, while retaining Christian integrity!
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Glory Of It All
$14.93Bring Jesus’ message and ministry to life with this set of inspiring and thought-provoking sermons. Donald Lacy offers a treasure trove of creative homiletic ideas and practical, scripture-based wisdom in these messages based on these Gospel texts. In The Glory of it All!, Lacy weaves together insightful illustrations with keen insight into contemporary life. These sermons passionately proclaim the Good News and powerfully remind us of God’s limitless love. Each riveting message is certain to enlighten the mind and warm the heart.This essential resource is useful for: * Fresh homiletical approaches to the lectionary texts * Inspiring preaching illustrations and sermon starters* Understanding scripture passages* Bible study and discussion groups* Personal devotions and inspirational reading
Some of the captivating sermons in this collection are:
The Hard Sell
Testing Time
No Intimidation
More Time
The Two Prodigals
Holy Extravagance
History Hangs In The Balance
A Frightening FridayAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Next Steps In Community Ministry
$41.42Dudley and a research team go back to 24 ministries still in existence five years after the Church and Community Project’s completion. They discovered:
how the myths and expectations of funding, lay/clergy leadership, and church/society partnerships were shattered by what is doable;
how the often Herculean efforts frustrated and tired participants, who were then uplifted and sustained by making a difference;
how faith was the foundation for action, and how, through action, the poor, the homeless, and others in need became real people and not statistics.
Perhaps most important is the discovery that community ministry takes shape in ways unique to local issues of theology, church size, social location, and cultural composition.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Changing Life Patterns (Expanded)
$27.99“This splendid text has served well as a dependable guide for defining spirituality, connecting it with developmental thought, and placing both in the congregational context. All who are concerned with the necessary spiritual disciplines and spiritual formation of persons who will be living and serving in the complex worlds of our new millennium will be guided, challenged, and graced by its profound insights.”
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How To Read Slowly
$18.00Established in 1968, the Wheaton Literary Series provides insightful books for the thoughtful reader, inspiring imagination, and reflection. These beautifully produced volumes feature prose and poetry of high literary, academic, and artistic merit, written by and about Christian artists of significant stature.
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Pastoral Care Emergencies
$36.25Drawing from 40 years of pastoral experience, Switzer discusses the attitude and act of caregiving, covering hospital calls, the dying and bereaved, suicide, divorce, domestic violence, psychiatric disorders, and more. The crucial question of when and how to refer is also addressed. Highly practical, yet sensitive to theological issues. You’ll reach for this book often!
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Mainline To The Future
$24.00While others lament the declining attendance of mainline churches and blame it on a stodgy and out of date tradition, Jackson W. Carroll offers a more hopeful perspective. According to Carroll, the key to the future health and vitality of mainline churches can be found in that same tradition. In Mainline to the Future: Congregations for the 21st Century, Carroll states that tension between change and tradition has always been part of the Protestant heritage. He believes that when older practices are challenged by change, tradition can no longer be accepted at face value and must be adapted. In this spirit, Carroll calls mainline churches to “go forward, remembering.”
Neither change nor tradition supercedes the other. Both are gifts of divine grace that enable churches to live faithfully in the world. When churches no longer accept tradition as unchangeable, they are free to engage in dialogue with the secular culture and are able to retrieve and reinterpret selective aspects of their tradition in ways that are meaningful for today’s congregations. True to the Protestant tradition itself, the ability to adapt allows the authority of tradition to shift from being “out there” to being “in here.” Thus does the church reclaim its interpretive power to make the Gospel relevant to every time and place.
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Solitary Sorrow : Finding Healing And Wholeness After Abortion
$14.99Despite the growing frequency of abortions, most women feel intensely isolated, guilty, and angry afterward. Co-authored by a family therapist and a physician, this book addresses the questions women have about Post-Abortion Syndrome and how to deal with feelings of loss, guilt, and anger. The Reissers have counseled hundreds of post-abortion women.
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Wedding Sermons And Marriage Ceremonies
$16.18Marriage ceremonies don’t have to fall into a routine of just doing and saying the same old things. This creative resource provides pastors with several unique marriage liturgies, including ceremonies for a traditional wedding, a wedding of an older couple, a second marriage with children, a marriage combined with communion, and more. They’re guaranteed to put meaning into one of the most important days of a couple’s life.
This is a wonderful resource for those who want to be sensitive to the needs of couples from all backgrounds.
Tom Barnard, Vice President
Eastern Nazarene College
Quincy, MassachusettsThis collection also contains 14 five-minute wedding homilies which addresses a variety of situations. Blending images from scripture and the practical realities of modern life, these succinct messages reveal the connection between faith in God and the promises of marriage. Included are meditations for a marriage when both parties have been divorced; a widowed, mature couple; a wedding in an outdoor setting; a formal wedding; and the marriage of a couple with a baby…and more!
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Boundaries In Marriage Workbook (Workbook)
$19.991. What’s A Boundary, Anyway?
2. Applying The Ten Laws Of Boundaries To Marriage
3. Setting Boundaries With Yourself
4. It Takes Two To Make One
5. What You Value Is What You’ll Have
6. Value One
7. Value Two
8. Value Three
9. Value Four
10. Value Five
11. Value Six
12. Three’s A Crowd
13. Six Kinds Of Conflict
14. Resolving Conflict With A Boundary-Loving Spouse
15. Resolving Conflict With A Boundary-Resistant Spouse
16. Avoiding The Misuse Of Boundaries In Marriage
208 PagesAdditional Info
1. What’s A Boundary, Anyway?
2. Applying The Ten Laws Of Boundaries To Marriage
3. Setting Boundaries With Yourself
4. It Takes Two To Make One
5. What You Value Is What You’ll Have
6. Value One
7. Value Two
8. Value Three
9. Value Four
10. Value Five
11. Value Six
12. Three’s A Crowd
13. Six Kinds Of Conflict
14. Resolving Conflict With A Boundary-Loving Spouse
15. Resolving Conflict With A Boundary-Resistant Spouse
16. Avoiding The Misuse Of Boundaries In Marriage
208 PagesAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Experiencing The Psalms
$23.82Preface
Chapter 1. Where Have All The Psalms Gone?
Chapter 2. Speaking To God In A Harsh Language
Chapter 3. An Invitation To Play With The Psalms
Chapter 4. Whatever Happened To Praise?
Chapter 5. Introducing Rage Into Worship
Chapter 6. Preaching The Dialogue
Chapter 7. Letting God Teach The Church How To Pray
Chapter 8. Exploring The Psalms Through The Lord’s Prayer
Chapter 9. A Canonical Look At The Psalms
Chapter 10. A Pastoral Use Of The Psalms
Chapter 11. A Psalm Retreat For Religious Professionals
Chapter 12. Looking At Jesus Through The Eyes Of The Psalms
Chapter 13. Studies Of Prayer In The Face Of The World’s PainAdditional Info
Many Christians do not know how to utilize the wisdom of the Psalms. Drawing upon more than thirty years of pastoral ministry, the author offers a fresh approach to integrating the Psalms into the life of the whole church. He not only illustrates practical ways to utilize the Psalms in liturgy and preaching, but also suggests ways to use the Psalms in pastoral care.The Psalms can become the framework for examining current ethical problems and for providing self-care for clergy. McCutchan examines the Psalms with these goods in mind, and confronts the issue of the harsh language of the psalms, suggesting that this language may well be the key to helping believers bring their whole lives to the worship of God.
Experiencing the Psalms can be used as a resource for the congregation that seeks to bring the language of spirituality to the lives of the believers. This book provides an effective strategy for clergy who want to help their members cope with their pain and share their joys in all aspects of their lives.
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Faithful Living Faithful Dying
$21.95What do faithful living and faithful dying mean as we near life’s end? With all the technology and choices available to us today, making decisions about the end of life grows ever more difficult. As a result of all the theological and ethnical issues that have arisen around the dying process in recent years, the 72nd General Convention of the Episcopal Church created a task force to study and responds to the broad range of theological, ethical, pastoral and policy issues that are generated by the need to provide loving and fitting care at the end of life.
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Foundations For A Practical Theology Of Ministry
$26.99The pastoral ministry is in danger of losing its focus, say the authors of this perceptive and timely study. Specialization in preaching, counseling, evangelism, administration, and education has diffused the impact of practical theology. And because of competing ideas as to what now is central, the very image of ministry may be breaking down. Foundations for a Practical Theology of Ministry responds to the problem by introducing a specific method for doing practical theology which will be welcomed by concerned church leaders everywhere.
Presenting a realistic, workable answer to those who call for a revival of this vital discipline, Drs. James N. Poling and Donald E. Miller propose that the unifying image for ministry becomes the formation of the community of faith. After developing this as the most appropriate base for the practice of theology, they carefully outline their method and show how it will work by demonstrating its success in the actual experiences of typical congregations.
For Christian leaders who seek to renew the integrity of ministry and restore the character of pastoral leadership, this significant book will provide a solid foundation. And for individuals interested or involved in education for the future of the church, this important resource will prove invaluable.
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To Understand Each Other
$18.00“Most couples enter into conjugal life with a high ideal for marriage,” states Paul Tournier. “How many of them can say, a dozen years later, that their home has become what they expected of it? All too few!”
This is the problem Dr. Tournier considers in To Understand Each Other. His concern is for marriages that have become the quiet failures.
“When we talk of marriage counseling we think immediately of the extreme cases, of threats to seek divorce, of couples in violent disputes who frequently come to blows,” he says. But there are many other couples whose marriages are no less failure. “They live side by side, without hurting one another, but poles apart, because of no real understanding of one another.”Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Life Worth Living Leaders Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$7.99New Heart
New Purpose
New Attitude
New Responsibilities
New Friendships
New Confidence
New Ambitions
New Resources
New GenerosityAdditional Info
Manual
A manual designed to assist leaders and helpers in running the A Life Worth Living course. Contains sample discussion questions for each session of the course. (See related A Life Worth Living DVD set, book and manual.)Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Why Do Christians Shoot Their Wounded
$21.99Preface
PART I: HOW AND WHY WE SHOOT THE WOUNDED
1 Don’t Shoot! I’m Already Wounded!
2 Why We Wound
3 Can A Spirit-Filled Christian Have Emotional Problems?
PART 11: WHAT CAUSES EMOTIONAL ILLNESS?
4 Ws Not Necessarily “All In Your Mind”
5 It’s Not Necessarily “All In Your Mind,” Continued
6 How Childhood Experiences And Stress Cause
Emotional Illness
7 What About Personal Choice?
8 Putting It All Together
PART III: HOW SHALL THE WOUNDED BE MENDED?
9 The Church: Business, School Or Hospital?
10 How The Strong Can Help-Not Shoot-the Wounded
11 What The Wounded Can Do While The Bullets Are Flying
Appendix: Are Drugs Of The Devil Or Tools For Heating.?Additional Info
Thousands of Christians suffer real emotional pain-such as depression, anxiety, obsessiveness. Many other Christians, including prominent leaders, believe emotional problems are the result of sin or bad choices. These attitudes often only add to the suffering of those who hurt.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Whats That Supposed To Mean
$29.93Every pastor, catechism teacher, and serious student of the catechism will want to have a copy of this valuable resource in his or her library.
This volume may serve as a …
* sermon series for pastors
* devotional for members of the parish
* new member handbook
* guide for catechetical studentsAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Teaching Like Jesus
$35.70As a teacher, you long to help others do more than understand the Bible. You want them to experience its relevance and power for their lives. Teaching like Jesus is the answer! This commonsense guide offers examples of Jesus’ teaching style from the Gospels, then shows how you can make these principles work for you — regardless of what age group or ethnic background you’re dealing with. Using a proven, four-step plan, Teaching Like Jesus gives you action steps, summaries, and other practical resources that will make your classroom a lively place to learn and apply the lessons so vitally important for transforming lives and nurturing disciples. You’ll learn to think in terms of “see, hear, and do” in your lesson plans. And you’ll find sample plans for age groups and cultures ranging from African-American preschoolers to Chinese married couples.
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