Pastoral Helps
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Passion Driven Congregation
$25.99Add to cartWhat can sustain a church’s growth over a lengthy period of time, especially across a change in senior pastors? Long, successful pastorates are customarily followed by brief, unhappy ones, and then by a period of stagnation and even decline. Succesive pastors of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, demonstrate how a theologically and socially progressive church can be faithful to its particular character and still experience significant, sustained numerical growth.
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Called To Teach
$40.00Add to cartPresbyterian educators Duncan Ferguson and William Weston argue that the calling to teach in higher education is distinctively Reformed and a primary mission of the Presbyterian church. This collection of essays first lays the biblical, theological, and historical foundations for this calling, then explores how it is lived out today in educational institutions-church-related as well as secular. Concluding that today’s church must have the nurture of the teacher as a central part of its mission, Called To Teach will be a welcomed resource for all those who have the vocation of teaching.
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Strength In Weakness
$20.99Add to cartHelp and hope for men . . .
undermined by silent fathers
harassed by pornography and sexual temptation
afraid of failing those they love most
angered by past relationships with womenHelp and hope for women . . .
lost in their relationships with others
betrayed by fathers, husbands or male leaders
wounded by sexual assault
paralyzed by self-hatredAndrew Comiskey sees our weakness as “a threshold for holy power”–the point at which God can meet us for healing and equip us for service. He has seen it happen again and again. During many years of ministry, Comiskey, his wife, Annette, and their fellow “strugglers” have accompanied hundreds of wounded men and women to transformation at the cross of Christ. Telling real-life stories of despair, hope and lasting change, Comiskey lays out the foundations for healing from relational and sexual sin. With chapters focusing on particular areas of vulnerability for men and women, on the battle over homosexuality in church and culture, and on the essential role of the church in ongoing healing, Strength in Weakness makes clear the way to the cross–God’s sufficient answer to our deepest needs.
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5 Pillars Of The Apostolic
$15.99Add to cartMichael Scantlebury, seeks to find a biblical, balanced and logical approach to explainging the ministry of today’s apostles. It is a timely expression since so much of what is being said and written today about apostles and apostoloic ministry lacks strong biblical basis and is often extreme and contradictory. This book provides an excellent tool for the Church to measure apostolic claims by the yardstick of the author’s five-pillars of apostolic grace. This book set the standards appropriately gigh for those who have the high-calling of apostle. Best of all the book is Christ-centered in its approach, revealing Jesus Christ as the real answer to each fundamental and eternal question rather than apostles in themselves.
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When God Walked On Campus
$16.99Add to cartA brief history of evangelical awakenings at American colleges and universities. Do you long for revival on your college or university campus ? Is your heart burdened for the students you interact with each day? Here are some accounts of revivals in the past two centuries that will whet your appetite for the transforming work of God’s Spirit on your campus today. From the academic halls of America-Princeton, Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Brown, Middlebury, Union, Bethel, Wheaton, Williams, Trinity, Ashland, and many others-comes the stirring stories of awakening and revival. On both secular and Christian campuses, the moving of God was evident as men and women were converted and stirred to ministry and foreign service. Out of these pockets of awakening came the formation or strengthening of student and campus fellowships such as InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Youth for Christ, Campus Crusade for Christ, Navigators and the YMCA. The powerful ministries of men such as Timothy Dwight, J. Edwin Orr, Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Charles Spurgeon were used to promote revival in these seasons of collegiate awakening and a sermon from each has been selected to quicken your heart and challenge your thinking. May this brief look at history equip you with fresh hope for revival today!
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Help I Teach Childrens Sunday School
$12.25Add to cart1. Today’s Children
2. Characteristics Of Effective Teachers
3. Birth-2 Years Old
4. 3-5 Years Old
5. 6-7 Years Old
6. 8-9 Years Old
7. Pre-teens – 10-12 Years Old
8. Applying Effective Teaching Methods
9. What About Discipline
10. Children With Special NeedsAdditional Info
A teacher in a Sunday school program is a valuable asset in a child’s spiritual formation. Much of what they do lays the foundation for a child’s growth in the Christian faith and life. They are a vital resource to children and their parents. What they do during this crucial Sunday morning time truly matters. Help! I Teach Children’s Sunday School is an aid book for these special teachers of infants through sixth graders. This guidebook to teaching excellence in the Sunday school will be a help to beginning and experienced teachers alike. -
Contemporary African American Preaching
$34.99Add to cartL. Susan Bond reveals the full range and diversity of African American preaching in this exploration of African American homiletical theories. Portraying the many approaches that are empowering preaching in African American churches today, Bond shows how different theological perspectives produce different methods of sermon preparation and delivery, different strategies for selecting illustrative material, and even different ways of beginning and ending sermons. Her goal is not to lift up the “right way” to preach in the African American tradition, but to show the richness and nuance contained within this powerful cultural expression.
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Practicing Gospel
$38.00Add to cartFor seminarians and pastors too often tempted to equate pastoral care with popular psychology, good preaching with snappy public speaking, and Christian education with flashy curriculum, esteemed theologian Ed Farley offers a more faithful approach to the tasks of ministry in this collection of groundbreaking essays. By holding theology and practice in an inescapable partnership, Farley rightly refocuses the Church’s life on its proper object and subject: a mysterious, transforming God.
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Unfinished Business : Returning The Ministry To The People Of God (Revised)
$24.99Add to cartA comprehensive listing of field-tested programming material designed to supplement a church9s creative process of service planning The Source is an encyclopedic catalog of music, drama, and video resources compiled by the Willow Creek Association. It provides worship planners and creative directors with a quick, topical reference to help them relate sermon topics, drama, music, and movie clips to a unifying theme. Complete with a clear, thorough user9s guide, this one-stop workbook for effective worship planning covers more than 130 topics. Major headings include Christian Life Issues, Holidays and Special Services, Identity of God, Life Issues, Relationships with God, Social Issues, Seeker Issues, and Relationships. This revised edition is geared to meet the needs of both seeker-oriented churches and traditional churches that use contemporary music or drama or video in their services.
New features include:
* A worship chorus section, including over 150 songs from Integrity, Maranatha!, EMI, Vineyard, Word, and more
* Interviews with programming directors from various WCA churches focusing on how different churches use the arts in their specific settings -
New Mercies I See
$12.95Add to cartIn New Mercies I See, Stan Purdum does for the ministry what James Herriot did for veterinary medicine in All Creatures Great and Small. Set in rural Ohio churches, Stan’s stories are humorous, poignant, thought-provoking, pathos-filled, and heartwarming. But above all, they are hopeful. Whether it’s sudden rain falling on a pain-wracked young man clinging to his brother’s coffin, the guilty woman whose love for an abused baby brings resurrection to them both, or the overly enthusiastic pastor who has to serve communion with walnut juice freckling his face, these accounts recognize that the persistent grace of God is never far from any one of us.
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Story Time At The Altar
$13.95Add to cartJesus told stories, and the scriptures are the sacred story of God and his people … and since children love stories as well, what could be a more appropriate way to plant the seeds of faith than with stories? This outstanding collection provides 86 enchanting parables that you can share during “children’s time” on Sunday morning, as well as at home, school, camp, or any other setting where young people are gathered together and want to hear a story. Brief talking points and questions in each message help youngsters clearly understand the good news of God’s incredible grace and unconditional love. Many of the stories illustrate biblical themes — but a wide variety of other topics and approaches are included, along with a convenient scripture index. Written in a simple, direct style that children of all ages can easily relate to, these delightful stories will inspire joy and hope.
Stories include:
* Elijah And The Voice (1 Kings 19:11)
* Timothy’s Questions (Psalm 100:3a)
* The Aspen And The Wind (Mark 10:44)
* The House On The Rock (Matthew 7:24-27)
* Teach Us To Pray (Matthew 14:22-33)
… and many more! -
Gods Word Alive And Active
$13.95Add to cartHere are more ready-to-use children’s sermons from the prolific pen of Julia Bland which are sure to appeal to busy pastors and teachers. In this collection, Bland compares God’s Word to a variety of concrete objects, teaching youngsters that although the scriptures were written a long time ago, they remain a powerful and unequaled guide for good and holy living. Like all of her other acclaimed CSS titles, each message in this collection comes with a two-sided activity sheet including a coloring page for young children along with puzzles and word games for older children that reinforce the lesson’s theme and key concepts. In addition to “children’s time” during the worship hour, this resource is also excellent for Sunday school or Vacation Bible School.
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Built By The Owners Design
$14.95Add to cartEvery church needs to reach out and bring in new members in order to remain a living, vital entity — yet there are many different ideas about what is the best way for Christian congregations to foster real growth. In recent years, what has been termed the “Church Growth Movement” (as exemplified in such best-selling books as The Purpose Driven Church and The Habits Of Highly Effective Churches) has come to the forefront with its agenda of meeting felt needs and targeting specific audiences. At the same time, there has been a less-publicized but pointed reaction to what some perceive as the church growth movement’s misdirected zeal. And while the church growth movement has been very successful with new churches, its methods often fall short of satisfying the growth needs of established congregations.
In Built By The Owner’s Design, Danny Von Kanel invites you into the drawing room of the Master Designer to examine His blueprints for evangelism and church growth. Employing the plumb line of God’s Word, he makes it clear that God’s way of growth and outreach is most effective. Von Kanel draws on a careful analysis of more than 50 churches in the Southern Baptist, United Methodist, and Presbyterian (USA) denominations to offer a viable alternative that charts a middle ground between overzealousness and declining attendance, identifying a proven framework that can support lasting growth in diverse situations. Several checklists are included that help you systematically evaluate your own congregation and develop a tailor-made growth plan based on your specific circumstances. Grounded in solid research and Von Kanel’s own experience in several growing ministries, Built By The Owner’s Design is an immensely practical resource that belongs in every pastor’s library.
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Sermon Warm Ups
$12.95Add to cartCould you use an attention-getting introduction to set up a talk or sermon? If so, the brief sketches in this collection are exactly what you need to create living illustrations of scriptural themes that will stick in your audience’s memory. Jesus explained concepts about God’s kingdom through parables utilizing elements familiar to his listeners; likewise, the modern storytelling in these short, easy-to-prepare scenes helps worshipers understand the gospel by depicting the biblical message in the context of our daily lives. And they’re effective. Since drama draws on both our visual and auditory senses, it’s a proven vehicle for increasing learning and retention rates. When you want a change of pace that will really make a difference, these scenes are great for use in place of the sermon or for various types of fellowship programs.
Contents include:
* The Inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14; Mark 6:14-29)
* Cooking With Carol (John 6:24-35, 41-51)
* The Pray-er (James 5:13-20)
* Are You Calling Me? (Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 10:35-40)
… and many more! -
Gospel Telling : The Art And Theology Of Childrens Sermons
$16.95Add to cartWhen was the last time you took a moment to consider the purpose and effectiveness of your children’s sermons? After all, nothing is more important than sowing the seeds of faith early in life. In this comprehensive look at all aspects of preaching the gospel to young people, Richard Coleman challenges you to examine your approach with a critical eye and gives you plenty of practical guidance for developing simple, direct messages that help children form a relationship with Jesus Christ.
In the first section of Gospel-Telling, Coleman discusses what constitutes meaningful children’s sermons, offering a thoughtful rationale for the idea that we must proclaim the gospel so youngsters experience God’s love. You’ll learn how you can mine your own experience for inspiration and proclaim gospel stories that flow from your specific circumstances. Then in the second portion of the book you’ll see this process at work, with over 30 examples illustrating several different types of children’s sermons.
Whether you’re a pastor, Christian educator, or engaged in the teaching ministry, you’re sure to profit from the practical advice and in-depth reflection in these pages. With Gospel-Telling, you’ll be equipped to share with young people the Good News — with creativity and theological integrity.
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Shaking Wolves Out Of Cherry Trees
$20.95Add to cartIf you want to stimulate your creative juices and avoid dull, cliche-filled preaching, then you’ll love this collection of 150 imaginative “sermon starters.” Each idea consists of a clever title that’s sure to catch the interest of the person in the pew along with a purpose statement and a brief discussion of the topic (including appropriate scripture references). There are a variety of suggested approaches with striking imagery, providing you with plenty of seeds for developing interesting, thought-provoking messages. And with a convenient subject index included, Shaking Wolves Out Of Cherry Trees is certain to be a treasured addition to any pastor’s library. But this volume isn’t just for preachers — it’s also an excellent source of meditations for men’s, women’s, or youth groups as well as inspiring devotional reading.
Here’s a sample of some of the inventive entries:
* Daring To Be A Lion’s Breakfast!
* Is There A Lightning Bolt With Your Name On It?
* How Many Will Your Garbage Can Feed?
* We Have Met The Monster And It Is Us
* Will Your Bones Dance Again?
* Cain’s And Einstein’s Theory Of Relativity -
Old Wine In New Skins 2
$16.95Add to cartAcross the broad spectrum of the Christian faith, worship services are in transition. There is a richness of expression in traditional worship structures that needs to be maintained, yet there is a vitality and joy in contemporary praise celebrations that is an essential part of the Christian spirit. But whatever the style of service, whether it’s traditional, contemporary, or “blended,” meaningful worship that makes a powerful impact is directly connected to our daily lives, addressing our hopes and fears.
Like the first volume of Old Wine In New Skins, this comprehensive collection provides plenty of resources for strengthening and reinvigorating your worship services. There are two years’ worth (104) of calls to worship in a wide variety of styles that can be used in almost any setting. Each weaves together suggested hymns or praise songs with spoken material utilizing everyday language and images, creating a strong thematic thrust that truly prepares the congregation to stand before the Lord in praise and petition. There’s also a group of brief reflections that can be used as sermon illustrations, theme-setters for the service, or newsletter features.
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Preaching To Myself
$12.95Add to cartA compelling preacher shares her unique method for creating memorable sermons in this practical, down-to-earth manual that’s chock-full of excellent ideas for homiletical preparation. It’s an engaging look at what characterizes outstanding preaching as well as a humorous catalog of the hazards facing those who enter the pulpit. Schmitz relates numerous amusing and instructive anecdotes from her own preaching experience, and offers valuable advice on how to write and deliver messages with maximum impact. For example, Schmitz notes that compelling stories which resonate with hearers are a crucial ingredient of great sermons — and Preaching To Myself illustrates how to tap into this endlessly renewable resource. Simple, funny, field-tested in the trenches with real people — if you want to enjoy a chuckle while learning what makes top-notch sermons that change lives, then this is the book for you.
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Feasts Of The Kingdom
$21.95Add to cartFeasts and festivals are a central part of many cultures, and for Christians there is no more important “meal” than Holy Communion, in which we commemorate our liberation through the sacrificial death of Jesus. Yet there are many other occasions in the Bible where Jesus taught his friends and disciples as he ate and drank. In The Feasts Of The Kingdom, Maurice Fetty examines a wide variety of sacred meals in scripture, ranging from the Lord’s supper to banquets in the parables. He connects these occasions to our mealtimes today, where we can develop a sense of community and Christian fellowship that is emblematic of the spiritual feast at the heart of the Church’s worship. With 26 messages included for all seasons of the church year, this volume is an especially valuable source of preaching ideas. But most of all, Fetty’s insights provide sustenance for the soul!
Chapter titles include:
* Faith And Fast-Food Religion (John 6:67-68)
* The Hunger Pangs Of Success (Philippians 2:5-7)
* Breakfast On The Beach (John 21:9, 12)
* The Ultimate Wedding Reception (Revelation 19:9)
* Table Manners In A Hungry World (Luke 16:20-21)
… and many more! -
Teaching Prayer In The Classroom (Revised)
$19.99Add to cartIn this revised and expanded edition of Teaching Prayer in the Classroom, Delia Halverson provides children’s teachers and leaders with practical guidance for teaching the elusive, and often mystifying, topic of prayer to children and young people. As in the original volume, Teaching Prayer in the Classroom offers step-by-step activities that engage children in different prayer experiences, while also providing specific examples of age-appropriate prayers for preschoolers to twelve-year-olds. In addition, age-level understandings and experiences of prayer are presented, as well as guidance for integrating different prayers into existing Sunday school lessons and creating a variety of unique prayers. Along with a number of reproducible handouts that provide useful information for teachers and students, this volume offers guidance and suggestions to help parents use prayer with their children at home.
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Giant Book Of Childrens Sermons
$49.95Add to cartThe youngest members of your congregation have trooped up the aisle in their Sunday best. Be prepared with these 260 object lessons and simple visual aids such as crayons, scissors, and salt shakers! Features five years of 10-minute “sermonettes” that complement New Testament Scripture passages. Includes a companion CD-ROM.
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Preaching Marks Gospel
$18.95Add to cartIn a classic case of failing to see the forest for the trees, Jensen, a homiletics professor and author of two works on narrative preaching, says that preachers tend to analyze biblical books to glean the slightest bits of exegetical data, yet miss the thrust of the overarching story they try to convey. Jensen contends that preachers get too caught up in an analytical, left-brained mentality that obscures the power and meaning of the good news story.
In these pages Jensen helps us approach Mark’s gospel with eyes wide open rather than with microscope in hand. He treats Mark’s gospel as a narrative whole and challenges preachers to tell the gospel’s story to their congregations. In doing so, Jensen emphasizes the strength of biblical stories. He says that these stories are powerful in and of themselves, that they work without much explanatory help. The problem is that listeners never hear the entire story, because it’s always told to them in bits and pieces.
Jensen’s adaptation of what Robert Alter (author of The Art of Biblical Narrative) calls narrative analogy assumes that “… parallel acts or situations are used to comment on each other in biblical narrative.” In other words, if Mark told story “B” to flesh out the reality of story “A,” then perhaps preachers today can do the same thing in their preaching. Students of Jensen have enthusiastically embraced this approach: “This is great, we never get to hear them (stories) whole!” How did it ever occur to us that we could improve on the story of the Prodigal Son, for example, by reducing it to ideas?
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Pastors At Greater Risk
$23.00Add to cartSome of today’s pastors are relatively untroubled but need help in releasing the pressure inherent in ministry to others. Others are close to running on empty, both spiritually and emotionally. All of them would like someone to confide in who can provide realistic help based on firsthand experience. This is precisely what Pastors at Greater Risk is all about! First published in 1993, this edition is completely rewritten, with updated stats, interviews with contemporary pastoral leaders, and a special emphasis on today’s hot-button issues, such as job turnover, pornography, spiritual burnout, congregational turnover, and more. The result: A book that is rich in wisdom and understanding and one that provides pastor-to-pastor help at a time when it is needed more than ever!
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Youth Workers Guide To Parent Ministry
$24.99Add to cartBoth a theoretical and practical framework for parent ministry by youth workers in a local or parachurch setting In order for youth workers to be truly effective in ministering to parents, it9s important to lay a careful relational groundwork to ensure that the “right to be heard” has been earned. This book presents a ministry model with 9 evolving levels, each one strengthening the credibility of the youth worker and opening doors to deeper and more meaningful parent support. Each of the 9 levels includes practical ideas and strategies for implementation. The book provides useful tools for youth workers in a variety of ministry settings dealing with a range of family structures.
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Preaching From The Soul
$22.99Add to cartCareful biblical interpretation; insights into contemporary life; polished delivery; humorous anecdotes; these are the building blocks of preaching that genuinely reach people. Right? Wrong, says Ellsworth Kalas. We have all encountered preachers who seem to know all the fine points of exegesis and inflection, yet whose sermons leave us surprisingly unmoved, aware that we were in the presence of good speaking, but not great preaching.
The difference, Kalas reminds us, lies in that hard-to-describe, yet essential quality known as soul. Soul is the collection of those perspectives and convictions that matter most to the preacher. Soul preaching means offering one’s particular ideas, attitudes, and convictions fully to the congregation. When one preaches with soul, one engages the biblical text with the core of one’s values and beliefs. Soul preaching is, in other words, simply giving the whole self to the task of proclamation. While the concept may sound simple, the reality is anything but.In the clear, insightful style for which he is known, Kalas takes readers on a path of discovery, introducing them to the unique gifts that they can bring to preaching, and the best way to engage those gifts in preparing and delivering the sermon.
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Tour Of The Nations
$16.99Add to cartTour of the Nations is a book designed to aid teachers in assisting their students to become more knowledgeable in foreign missions. It takes students on a one-year visit to the seven major continents of the world, introducing them to many cultural and spiritual adventures. It presents lesson material each week for approximately one year, and provides thorough lessons for each session. This book will serve as a great tool for missions training and Christian education for children from preschool through the elementary grades. The work of training children in the local church setting can be a great task, but one that is commanded of us by Christ. Tour of the Nations will help make that task easier, providing lessons and ideas for classroom teachers in introducing their students to foreign mission countries, hopefully igniting the embers that may be placed in young, tender hearts by the gifting power of the Holy Spirit.
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Pastors Guide To Effective Preaching
$14.99Add to cart12 Chapters
Additional Info
Pastors are judged by their preaching. How are you measuring up?
Every week, those 30 minutes you spend in front of the congregation impact their decisions about whether or not to attend your church.
Preaching changes lives when Christians answer the call to do what
God asks of them.
In The Pastors Guide To Effective Preaching, Billy Graham William Willimon, Eugene Peterson, and other well known church leaders will teach you to connect with the congregation through your preaching. Beyond the “how to’s” of preaching, The Pastors Guide provides a foundation for embodying God’s grace and holiness as a means of communicating His message.
You’ll learn to
Keep your congregation engaged in what you’re saying.
Plan an extended preaching schedule.
Relate the gospel to our secular and humanistic society
Understand the role of preaching in your overall ministry
Preach with authority and communicate the gospel with simplicity
And much more. -
Christs Own Forever Leaders Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$25.95Add to cartThe Leader’s Guide provides clergy and lay people with a flexible, succinct framework for meeting with parents, informally or in a group setting. Includes background on baptism and Christian initiation, as well as guidance on preparation for baptism in the Episcopal Church today. Guidance is provided for preparation and follow-up with parents who are parish members and those who are unchurched. (Living the Good News)
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Christs Own Forever Parent Godparent Journal
$12.95Add to cartThis interactive journal invites parents and godparents on a child’s spiritual journey as he or she takes this important first step.
If you are ordering a quantity of 30 or more, please call 1-800-824-1813 to receive your volume discount.
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Christly Gestures : Learning To Be Members Of The Body Of Christ
$29.99Add to cartThe church is not only the central place of Christian worship but also a place of faith-filled education. Christly Gestures reframes the very meaning of religious education, exploring what the form and content of Christian learning would look like if local churches truly saw themselves as the body of Christ.
Author Brett Webb-Mitchell begins with the writings of Paul, using them to clarify the biblical image of Christ’s body as the community of believers. Taking this powerful analogy to heart, he suggests that Christian education must not only nurture the minds and spiritual lives of church members but also educate their bodies into the “Christly gestures” – performing acts of faith that imitate Jesus and embody the gospel in daily life. In the quest for a richer, more relevant understanding of Christian education, Webb-Mitchell provides meaningful answers to questions concerning the purpose, context, ways, and means of educating Christians today.
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Where All Hope Lies Print On Demand Title
$29.99Add to cart304 Pages
Additional Info
“Where All Hope Lies” presents fifty-six select sermons by James Van Tholen, a gifted young pastor who lost his battle with cancer in January 2001 at the age of thirty-six.Though Jim’s untimely death gives a certain poignancy to this volume, these sermons are far from dark or despairing. Van Tholen’s conversational style, thought-provoking insights into Scripture, and frequent interaction with such writers as Flannery O’Connor, Frederick Buechner, Kathleen Norris, and others make these sermons truly enjoyable as well as profitable to read. Through them all there runs a sense of concentrating on what really matters trusting in God no matter what suffering or difficulties might come our way. Indeed, as demonstrated by the book’s title sermon first published in “Christianity Today” as “Surprised by Death” more than anything, Van Tholen preached the grace and goodness of God.
Including a foreword by Neal Plantinga and a closing reflection on “the man behind the sermons” by Jim’s wife, Rachel, “Where All Hope Lies” offers gracious, powerful, uplifting words for believers throughout the church year
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3 Months With The Spirit (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartIn his lively writing style, renowned author Justo Gonzalez makes this material, formerly available only in Spanish, available to an English-speaking audience. Consisting of 13 Bible studies–each in 7 parts–Three Months with the Spirit can be used for individual or group study.
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Im More Than A Pastors Wife
$22.99Add to cartA serious yet good humored look at the unique challenges facing pastors9 wives in the 21st century. Pastor9s wives confront unique challenges, both as wives of a public figure and as members of the congregation. Lorna Dobson, whose husband, Ed, is senior pastor of Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, MI, speaks from experience. In this open and caring discussion she addresses the dynamics that pastors9 wives face in a church culture that is in transition to a new era in the 21st century. Dobson9s writing has been praised for its combination of good humor and serious advice and for its balance of scriptural basis, personal illustrations, honesty, and sincerity. In this revised edition she draws on fresh experiences and mature reflection. Here she delves further into the ways wives can support their husbands9 ministries, and she explores the dynamics of dealing with “problem people” and conflicts between pastor and congregation. “Although this book is an easy read, Dobson isn9t always easy on readers, using a tone of gentle exhortation .[She] is well read and includes great quotes from authors .This book will help any pastor9s wife wanting to fine-tune her role.” Bookstore Journal
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Preaching In Black And White
$22.99Add to cart12 Chapters
Additional Info
A noted black preacher and a white preacher interact on the dynamics of pulpit ministry Black preachers and white preachers have tended to minister in isolation within their separate communities. They have been unaware of what they might learn from each other as members of the same body of Christ. Yet as America becomes increasingly diverse, pastors need to become more sensitive to the needs of people from other cultural backgrounds. Preaching in Black and White is the first attempt to bring together a noted black preacher and white preacher to interact on the dynamics of pulpit ministry and what can be learned from each other. Readers are invited to pull up a chair and listen in to a conversation between the two authors as they discuss the context in which African-American preaching has developed, the similarities and differences in styles of preaching in the two communities, and how they go about preparing and delivering a sermon. Humor and stories punctuate the dialogue including the stories of Dr. Bailey9s receiving a beating from the police in California and how forgetting the second point in his sermon brought the house down with laughter. Features include: * Two illustrative sermons on the same text about Zacchaeus by a white preacher and a black preacher * Audio CD featuring signature sermon from E. K. Bailey, “Testing of a Tax Collector” * Annotated bibliography of preaching resources * Biographical section introducing noted black preachers * Black and white photographs -
Help Im Leading A Childrens Sermon 1
$14.00Add to cart1. Common Lectionary Year A
2. Common Lectionary Year B
3. Common Lectionary Year C
ApendixAdditional Info
Children are an important part of the worshipping community and need to have opportunities that create for them a sense of belonging. Children’s sermons provide this opportunity and should be events of proclamation. Help! I’m Leading a Children’s Sermon, Volume 1 contains a collection of children’s sermons designed to involve children creatively in worship and the proclamation of the Word. The collection contains two sermons for each Sunday with a key emphasis on Scripture, including key verses to be read within the sermon. The sermons invite the children to participate in corporate worship in a meaningful, creative way by asking questions and using hands-on activities to explain themes such as hope, forgiveness, repentance and God’s sovereignty. Help I’m Leading a Children’s Sermon, Volume 1 is an essential book for the collection of any worship leader -
Mission Trip Prep Kit Leaders Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartYou work hard planning mission trips. Now make mission trips work for you and your group. Headed to inner-city America? Appalachia? A border of Shantytown? Overseas? Wherever your destination, the MISSION TRIP PREP KIT contains all you need to prepare your students for an unforgettable cross-cultural experience _ and tools to debrief them after they9ve returned to their worlds. Use this kit- *To get on-site impact as well as long-term spiritual change in your kids. *Whether you9re a mission-trip novice or a savvy traveler outside your comfort zones. *Whether your group9s is geared toward reaching others with the gospel or to disciple your young missionaries. *In several sessions spread over a month or two _ or in an intensive, two-day training session or retreat. IN THIS LEADER9S GUIDE: You9ll receive not only the rationale, the how, and the logistics of planning and pulling off a missions trip, but _ and this is the genius of the leader9s guide _ 4 PRE-TRIP TEACHING SESSIONS that will help your students _ *Assess their EXPECTATIONS, their fears, their motivations. *Adjust their PERCEPTIONS of the culture they9ll be working in. *Improve their emotional and spiritual STAMINA for living for a week or a month in a very different world from their own. *Practice the skills and ATTITUDES (teamwork, servanthood, Christ-centeredness) they9ll need for a missions trip. And to make sure your trip9s goals are accomplished and the benefits stick around for a long haul, you9ll also receive 2 POST-TRIP SESSIONS that will help you DEBRIEF your students, ease them back into their own worlds, CELEBRATE with them, and make missions and ministry part of their EVERYDAY LIVES WITH JESUS. What9s more, in these pre- and post-trip teaching sessions are a variety of ACTIVITIES processing points creative PRAYER IDEAS take-home applications BIBLE STUDIES relevant to mission tripping TALK OUTLINES that both instruct and inspire and lots of sessions options you can tailor to your own HIGH SCHOOLERS OR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS.
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Teaching Todays Teachers To Teach (Revised)
$24.99Add to cartA revision of a standard resource for classes and seminary courses in Christian education. A revised edition of the best-selling Teaching Teachers to Teach (1974), this book is a basic, comprehensive manual offering practical guidance that helps teachers learn the art and practice of teaching. Throughout the book, Griggs identifies the basic elements of the teaching process and outlines the essential ingredients needed for effective teaching.
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Confessing Jesus Christ A Print On Demand Title
$32.99Add to cart264 Pages
Additional Info
Denying any realities beyond our own mental constructions, postmodernists relentlessly question the presuppositions of many disciplines—including homiletics. Confessing Jesus Christ: Preaching in a Postmodern World encourages pastors to treat sermons as public acts of “faith alone.” Offering a lively description of antifoundationalism—and its implications for Christianity—David Lose suggests concrete methods of countering the challenges it poses. Includes two sample sermons. -
Ministry Loves Company
$25.00Add to cartIn Ministry Loves Company John Galloway provides new and veteran pastors with insights on establishing and maintaining a vital parish ministry while remaining invigorated by the practice of ministry. Drawing on the image of a congregation as a family, Galloway uses anecdotes to describe the life of a congregation and the life of a pastor, who have both been called to be the body of Christ. Poignant, memorable, and often humorous, Galloway’s reflections derive from his own personal experiences as a pastor. Ministry Loves Company uniquely addresses the many challenges facing today’s pastors and serves as a practical guide for those veteran pastors who are seeking to remain courageous and excited about parish ministry.
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Boundaries With Kids Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartA video resource kit that helps parents bring control to their family and instill godly character in their children This ZondervanGroupware curriculum is a complete resource kit for helping parents put into practice the principles detailed in the book Boundaries with Kids. Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend take parents through the ins and outs of establishing family boundaries and cultivating sound character in their children. The video features presentations by the authors as well as dramatic vignettes. The 8 sessions can be used in large or small groups and are presented in a new test-proven small group interactive format. The complete ZondervanGroupware kit includes one leader9s guide, one participant9s guide, one Boundaries with Kids softcover book, one VHS video, and one DVD. Each element except the videos is also sold separately. An 8-Session Focus on Boundaries and Kids
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17 Indisputable Laws Of Teamwork (Workbook)
$19.99Add to cartWhether leading in business, church, sports, or in your family, teamwork is essential. In this new book, John Maxwell walks readers through the various laws of leadership showing the importance of working together.
Everyone who works with people is realizing that the old autocratic method of leadership simply doesn’t work. The way to win is to build a great team.
John C. Maxwell has been teaching the benefits of leadership and team building for years. Now he tackles the importance of teamwork head on, writing about teamwork being necessary for every kind of leader, and showing how team building can improve every area of your life.Written in the style of the bestseller The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, this new book not only contains laws that you can count on when it comes to getting people to work together, but it tells them in such a way that you can start applying them to your own life today. And it’s illustrated with great stories of team leaders – and team breakers – from history, business, the church, and sports.
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Boundaries With Kids Leaders Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$29.99Add to cartA video resource kit that helps parents bring control to their family and instill godly character in their children This ZondervanGroupware curriculum is a complete resource kit for helping parents put into practice the principles detailed in the book Boundaries with Kids. Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend take parents through the ins and outs of establishing family boundaries and cultivating sound character in their children. The video features presentations by the authors as well as dramatic vignettes. The 8 sessions can be used in large or small groups and are presented in a new test-proven small group interactive format. The complete ZondervanGroupware kit includes one leader9s guide, one participant9s guide, one Boundaries with Kids softcover book, one VHS video, and one DVD. Each element except the videos is also sold separately. An 8-Session Focus on Boundaries and Kids
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Principles Of Prison Ministry
$14.99Add to cartMany churches have sent teams of ministers into prisons, and nearly two-thirds of them have returned to their churches defeated. The Principles of Prison Ministry serves as a manual for such teams, giving volunteer chaplains a far better view of what prison ministry is all about. Dr. Seay’s twenty-three years of experience will help navigate you through some of the trouble areas in this difficult world of prisons.
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What They Dont Teach You At Theological College
$23.00Add to cartThis is an accessible guide for all those thinking of ordination, their teachers, and all those setting out in the ministry, along with their families. It offers practical advice on all the personnel issues related to the ministry, from sensing a call to planning for your retirement. There is clear and simple guidance on the appointments system and chapters on handling conflict, introducing change, managing on less money, knowing when to move on and reviewing your ministry. The Church is exempt from employment law and clergy aften have to feel their way through 30 years or more service. This text offers support and guidance for every stage of your ministry, a summary of legal responsibilities and parish structures and advice for nurturing your personal life.
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Milk For Babes
$17.49Add to cart“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1 Peter 2:2-3) “The title and subject matter of this book,” says Anne Murchison, “arose out of my own need for follow-up material for new Christians who have no classes readily available to them.” Anne discovered the lack of a Christian “primer” through her own experiences as a new Christian, and as she attempted to share her faith with non-Christian friends and with classes of new believers put in her care. Consequently she has written this basic, yet thorough study which provides the tools for laying a sure foundation for faith. The author addresses these and other queries so often posed by beginning Christians and curious unbelievers. What is God’s nature-what’s he like? Who is Satan? What about those who never hear of Jesus? The Trinity-how can three be one? What is sin? “Whether you are a nonbeliever or a believer in Jesus Christ,” states Tom Landry in his preface, “the challenge of Christianity brings up questions that need answering. Anne Murchison has used these questions as topics for her study guide. She has allowed the Word of God, the Bible, to answer these questions. . . . “I encourage you to use this book as a study guide for your time in the Bible. The Holy Spirit will reveal to you only what you are able to handle. As you continue to grow and mature as a Christian, God will continue to reveal new truths that will enable you to fully enjoy the ‘peace that passes all understanding.”
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Lessons From A Dog Guide Cycle C
$10.95Add to cartDee Brauninger has a way with words that makes one’s heart sing and be open to learn andhear more. Gentle phrases leap out and make one think and wrestle with God and one’s self.(from the introduction)Margaret Slater, Inclusive Ministry CoordinatorLocal Church Ministries, United Church of ChristIn these meditations on the love and trust of the relationship between guide dog and person, readersfind themselves learning to love and to trust in other important ways. Brauninger speaksfrom experience, yet with care and respect for the reader’s own journey and conclusions about life.Mary Avidano, PastorAlbion United Church of ChristAlbion, NebraskaBrauninger has a gift for writing words that are truly inspired and inspiring. Her workwith guide dogs has given her a unique insight into spiritual life, and a very understandableway of presenting God’s message.Judy Campbell, Director of TrainingLeader Dogs for the BlindRochester, MichiganTheses superbly crafted meditations, focusing on messages of hope and the reality of God’spresence, introduce insights that speak to the heart. The meditations bear reading severaltimes, allowing one to savor the words and explore the meanings for one’s own life.Martha D. Walker, Counselor and Christian EducatorPottstown, PennsylvaniaUsing her own experiences with leader dogs as a metaphor for our dependence upon a caringGod, Brauninger creatively weaves together personal stories, fresh insights into biblical passages, and implications for people in the pews.Dosia Carlson, Pastor EmeritusChurch of the BeatitudesPhoenix, ArizonaThese messages are a real treasure! Told in a setting that includes a dog guide namedTreasure, the stories help relate our faith to our own daily situations. Treasure helps us gainsome insight and understanding into both our faith and our life.Bob Loffer, Associate Conference MinisterNebraska Conference, United Church of ChristThe images of our faith strengthen our spiritual growth. Dee Brauninger weaves the attributesof the divine so well as she captures the person with a disability living in unity with adog, or is it with God?David Denham, ConsultantUnited Church of Christ Disabilities MinistriesDallas A. Brauninger is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ andfull-time writer who has served churches in Colorado and Nebraska. She has been honoredby her denomination for outstanding ministry to persons with disabilities and theirfamilies, and she is the editor of That All May Worship And Serve, the
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If A Sermon Falls In The Forest
$23.95Add to cartThis fascinating volume looks at the scriptural texts concerning a pivotal New Testament theme — the resurrection of Jesus — and examines how they may be read in various interpretive communities. Shepherd analyzes each of the major New Testament writers — Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul — and places their distinctive accounts of Jesus’ resurrection in the broader context of their entire output. Through a careful study of the literary, historical, theological, anthropological, and sociological dimensions that color each writer’s picture of the resurrection, Shepherd helps readers understand the unique view each brought to bear on the life of Jesus and the faith of his followers.
But that is not all this book has to offer. Each section also includes one or more sample sermons illustrating how a preacher might treat these texts for an actual congregation. Each message is introduced with a description of its original setting and the homiletical and interpretive issues involved — so this is an excellent resource for pastors looking for stimulating Easter material or instructive preaching models.
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Alleluia : Messages For Children On Lent And Easter Themes
$12.95Add to cartElaine Ward passionately believes that it is vital for children to hear the good news of God’s love through the Lenten stories of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. In this companion volume to An Idle Tale Becomes Good News (also available from CSS Publishing Company), Ward shares her gift for communicating with young people through twenty stories based on specific phrases or objects related to Jesus’ ministry in his final days or in his resurrection appearances. Each message tells a captivating tale in easily understood language, then invites children to enter the sacred story by connecting it with the scriptural narrative. Brief talking points and questions are included to help presenters clearly make the link for their young listeners.
Stories include:
* The Wasted Ointment
* The Warning Dream
* The Misdirected Tears
* The Torn Curtain
* The Idle Tale
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Idle Tale Becomes Good News
$15.95Add to cartEach chapter in this collection of twenty meditations considers a specific phrase or object related to Jesus’ ministry in his final days or in his resurrection appearances. In several cases, this is something intangible yet very distinct, such as Jesus’ prayer for his disciples, Pilate’s wife’s dream, or the astounding news of the resurrection which seemed like an “idle tale.” Other messages address objects that could have been seen and touched: the torn curtain in the Temple, ropes, scars, or the burial spices the women brought to the empty tomb. But whether tangible or intangible, each symbol reflects a significant event in the biblical narrative which Sheets explores to see what lessons can be drawn for today’s Christian living. This volume is excellent for adult Sunday school classes or other study groups, devotional reading during Lent and Easter, and as background for sermon preparation. A companion book of children’s sermons based on the same texts (Alleluia! by Elaine M. Ward) is also available from CSS Publishing Company.
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Journey Of Stones
$7.95Add to cartDrawing on the rich imagery of rocks and stones in scripture, these powerful messages center around the compelling metaphor of stones (and our willingness to throw them) as representative of our sins. As worshipers enter the sanctuary they are invited to pick up stones as a concrete symbol of each sermon’s theme; then as the message concludes the stones are placed at the foot of the cross. When the stones disappear on Easter (just like the stone sealing Jesus’ tomb), it’s a vivid illustration of how the Lord also removes our stones of sin. Each chapter includes several thought-provoking discussion questions to spur further reflection. With messages for Ash Wednesday, five weeks of Lent, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday, this is an excellent resource for Lenten midweek programming.
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Is Human Forgiveness Possible
$15.95Add to cartForgiving those closest to us who have hurt us is one of the most difficult things Christians are called to do. For pastoral counselors the forgiveness issue creates a particularly serious dilemma, because it places counselors in the position of telling clients to do something their emotions vehemently fight against.
Is Human Forgiveness Possible? offers an effective way out of this quandary by giving the forgiveness issue an entirely new focus.
John Patton begins by scrapping our past understanding of forgiveness. Forgiveness is not something we do, he asserts; it’s something we discover. To truly forgive someone, we must discover that “I am more like those who have hurt me than different from them. I am able to forgive when I discover that I am in no position to forgive.”
Patton presents case studies from his pastoral counseling practice that illustrate the difficulty of forgiving and actively demonstrate his new solution to the forgiveness problem.
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Getting The Word Out
$32.00Add to cartHigh quality publications and public relations will enhance a congregation’s overall ministry by promoting strong stewardship, effective evangelism, and exciting parish education. Getting the Word Out provides all the tools congregations need to create attention-grabbing, informative, and inspiring communications.
Frederick H. Gonnerman shows readers how to assess their audience and the competition for the audience’s attention; identify a publication’s purpose; and create useful, readable, and attractive publications-whether print or online, for the congregation or a broader community. One chapter deals with the role of publications in the celebration of special events.
Approaching the parish communications task as a team effort-one that might include pastors; a volunteer or paid editor; and secretaries, other paid staff, and lay leaders-Gonnerman shares the experience and expertise of professional journalists, graphic designers and artists, photographers, and public relations personnel. Getting the Word Out will teach every member of the team how to produce the most effective and highest quality publications possible. Foreword by Martin E. Marty.
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Get Up Off Your Knees
$14.95Add to cartGet Up Off Your Knees is a thoughtful and provocative collection of sermons by a group of preachers from across the international church spectrum who have been moved to theological reflection on the art and work of U2. This book will appeal to fans of U2, students of homiletics, and everyone interested in the intersection of art, popular culture, and religion.
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House Of Prayer For All Peoples
$28.00Add to cartContrary to the oft-repeated truism, there are churches in America where Sunday is not the “most segregated day of the week,” as Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook convincingly demonstrates in her compelling exploration of congregations tackling racial justice issues. Yet the truism continues to haunt many congregations, and Kujawa-Holbrook reveals, through story and thoughtful analysis, what it means to create and live out multiracial community.
Focusing on six congregations from different denominations, geographical regions, and settings, the author shows us the joys and struggles in their intentional pursuits of a more diverse and just community. The stories in A House of Prayer for All Peoples will inspire leaders to explore their congregation’s history, study their community’s demographics, and, most of all, search their souls for ways they can develop and celebrate the diversity in their midst. The book is capped by an extensive annotated resource list for readers who want to explore the topic further.
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Completing The Circle
$21.00Add to cartOn his second day as association minister for the United Church of Christ, David McMahill received three phone calls from lay leaders who were looking for resources on “how to evaluate our minister.” He knew of several churches in which a poorly constructed process for evaluating the ministers had spun out of control, however, and had gradually come to believe it is probably better for a church not to attempt an evaluation process at all than to do one carelessly or to naively use a design intended for a secular organization.
Based on the needs he saw, McMahill began to work with numerous congregations looking for ways to review both leaders and ministries and developed the feedback/reflection process he lays out in this book. Based on sound principles of effective communication, this simple system of asking for descriptive feedback about various aspects of a congregation’s life together takes into account the specific setting and the unique relationship between minister and congregation.
The results: a respectful, constructive, helpful review of leaders and ministries in a congregation, and the creation of a culture of healthy communication in the congregation. Foreword by Clyde J. Steckel.
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Unexpected Journey : Reflections On Pastoral Ministry
$26.00Add to cartJ. Philip Wogaman offers candid reflections on his service as Senior Minister at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C.- an unexpected journey that he began at the age of sixty – following a career as an ethics professor. Wogaman chronicles the task he faced as a new pastor, tasks with which every pastor deals-effective and faithful preaching, balancing pastoral and prophetic roles, presenting the church to the public media, dealing with prominent church members, and addressing stewardship. He also discusses the challenges of succeeding a long-loved pastor who departed under a cloud, the responsibilities of pasturing to a president, and his efforts to balance the roles of a pastor against such a dramatic backdrop. Identifying his own successes and mistakes, Wogaman provides fresh insights on parish ministry that are sure to become guideposts for all pastors.
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21 Positive Principles For A Powerful 21st Century Church
$15.49Add to cartThe author, Dr. Dennis Davis, builds the thesis of this book on the premise that there are irrefutable, undeniable laws, both moral and physical, that govern the universe. He contends that these God-establiched laws cannot be broken. They can be denied, but not broken, as the law will always remain intact. He also contends that God has established “laws” that guide the growth, success, and future of the Church, and that when one operates within the framework of these laws (principles), there will be a natural consequence of both numerical and spiritual growth.
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1 Bread One Body
$29.00Add to cartAs a troubadour for global music and an instigator of cross-cultural worship for more than 15 years in a variety of denominational settings, including congregational, national, and international venues, Michael Hawn has observed many faithful people who find that a taste of Pentecost in worship is refreshing and invigorating. In One Bread, One Body: Exploring Cultural Diversity in Worship, Hawn seeks to help bridge the gap between the human tendency to prefer ethnic and cultural homogeneity in worship and the church’s mandate to offer a more diverse and inclusive experience. He offers a rainbow vision of the universal church where young and old joyfully and thoughtfully respond to the movement of God’s Spirit in multicultural worship.
Hawn and four colleagues from Perkins School of Theology in Dallas formed a diverse team in ethnicity, gender, academic field of study, and denominational affiliation to study four United Methodist congregations in the Dallas area that are grappling with cross-cultural ministry. Their four case studies illustrate both the pain and the possibilities encountered in capturing the Spirit of Pentecost in worship. Hawn also offers a concise and practical theological framework as well as numerous strategies and an extensive bibliography for implementing “culturally conscious worship.” This book is invaluable for congregations that want to undertake the hard work of cross-cultural worship. Foreword by Justo Gonzalez.
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Projects That Matter
$26.00Add to cartProjects That Matter is a primer for project leaders and teams about basic project planning and evaluation. Intended for the nonexpert, the book introduces readers to the five basic elements of project design and describes in detail a six-step process for designing and implementing a project evaluation and for disseminating evaluation findings. Project leaders in congregations, colleges and seminaries, camps and other specialized ministries, and other religious settings will find Cahalan’s guidance clear and invaluable.
Cahalan presents evaluation as a form of collaborative inquiry and shows how leaders can use evaluation design to develop effective project plans and prepare case statements for donors or grant proposals for foundations. She introduces project planning and evaluation as mission-related practices and invites leaders to consider how their tradition’s particular mission and beliefs influence the way they plan and evaluate. In the final chapter, she makes explicit her own theological presuppositions-that the virtues of discernment, stewardship, and prudence are essential for good project planning and evaluation. Foreword by Craig Dykstra.
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Find A Niche And Scratch It
$26.00Add to cartJesus was uniquely adept in the art of “reading” people. He fit his approach to the precise needs and interests of the person with whom he was dealing, and he spoke the cultural language of that individual. In this book, Robert Perry takes what Jesus and others have done intuitively-niche marketing-and provides a framework for applying those principles in everyday practice.
Convinced that congregations can learn from the wisdom of secular disciplines and apply that wisdom to congregational life without damaging the integrity of the Christian faith, Perry offers a detailed process for using sound marketing principles to identify a congregation’s strengths and the needs of its community, and to develop strategies for effective ministry.
Perry’s plan: to create a common vocabulary that will bridge the communication gap between the disciplines of business marketing and congregational outreach strategizing. The key: to keep in mind the reason we are working to reach people-not to make money for shareholders, but to share the Good News that God loves us. The goal: to foster genuinely healthy, growing congregations! Foreword by Robert D. Dale.
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Our Structure : Carrying Out The Vision
$14.99Add to cartLeading effectively in a congregation begins with identifying a vision for the future and then carrying it out. This book shows a variety of ways to organize your congregation, promote hospitality, set boundaries, recruit volunteers, plan work, and build a team.
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Our Stewardship : Managing Our Assets
$14.99Add to cartGod gives resources or assets to each person and every congregation. Yours may include a church building, grounds, equipment, or credibility and trustworthiness. “Our Stewardship” looks at why your congregation has the gifts it has and how best to use them. Use this book on your own or with your congregation council in planning and management.
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Preaching
$20.99Add to cartAnyone who’s ever stepped into the pulpit knows that preaching is anything but easy. Speaking a word from God that is grounded in the biblical witness, theologically responsible, and true to contemporary experiences is one of the most difficult things one can do. Advice on how to do this is as old as preaching itself, and there are as many opinions on preaching as there are preachers. Where does a preacher begin? What basic understanding and practices are necessary? In the new addition to the Essential Guides series, Ronald Allen seeks to answer these basic questions about preaching. He does so through the use of an inductive method. Starting with a sample sermon, he uses that sermon to illustrate the process of moving from the first thoughts about what one will preach to the delivery of an actual sermon. Each chapter raises a question about the sample sermon that leads into a discussion of the practical and theoretical issues related to this particular aspect of the sermon.
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When Violence Is No Stranger
$21.00Add to cartThe paucity of resources for pastoral care of acquaintance-rape survivors highlights the invisibility of this growing crime and its largely uncharted pastoral challenges. In fact, more rape is by an acquaintance. Only 16 percent of such cases are reported; and because they are difficult to prosecute, only 5 percent of those reported result in guilt verdicts. Focusing on the psychospiritual effects of this sexualized violence, Kristen Leslie offers the psychological and theological tools to religious professionals for understanding the deep spiritual trauma of the survivor and how best to work with her to reconstruct a personal world of meaning, trust, and faith. Based on extensive interviews with survivors. Leslie explains the personal and theological issues they raise, what they found helpful from religious professionals, the images and metaphors most germane to their trauma and recovery, and how they coped with or healed from the experience of rape. An exemplary and important study in practical theology, Leslie’s volume will not only equip pastoral caregivers and counselors with specific guidelines. It will also enlighten them on the crucial role that theology can play in the re-construction of shattered lives
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Welcome Speeches For Special Days
$10.99Add to cartThis useful resource incorporates recitations, suggested scripture, prayers, poetry, speeches, and responses for celebrating a variety of special days in the African American church. Perfect as a worship planning tool for pastors and worship leaders, Welcome Speeches for Special Days is ideal for celebrating those special Sundays that congregations highlight throughout the year.
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Leading The Way
$18.99Add to cartIVP Print On Demand Title
As we enter a new millennium, there is a growing vacuum of leadership among the younger generation. The need is great for young men and women who will rise to the challenge-in the face of great opportunities and great obstacles-to be obedient to the call of leadership. This is the rallying call Paul Borthwick puts forth in Leading The Way. He asserts that leadership is not just reserved for those with the right education, abilities, status or background. Rather, God is calling all young Christians who have the vision and responsibility to persevere, to fill this growing leadership vacuum.
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Addiction
$21.99Add to cartChances are, no church is immune to the drug demographics in America. Pointing out that addiction is a pervasive problem in North American society, Lynn Dann provides pastors and other pastoral caregivers with crucial help in understanding the needs of the addicted, their families, and the congregations of which they are a part. He draws on years of experience as a pastor and a certified alcohol and substance abuse counselor to offer practical guidance on how to recognize the addicted and minister effectively to them.
Dann begins by outlining, in clear and accessible terms, the best contemporary thinking on the nature of addiction. From there he moves to a discussion of the particular resources that Christian churches can add to the treatment of addiction and the support of the addicted and their families. Finally, he includes tools for preaching and teaching on the nature of our drug-obsessed culture and biblical themes related to the care of the addicted. Those who are just beginning in pastoral ministry, as well as those who have engaged in it for many years, will find this an invaluable resource for knowing how to deal with this tragic and increasingly prevalent problem.
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Word Before The Powers
$40.00Add to cartIn this examination of the ethical significance of preaching, Charles Campbell provides both fresh insights into the relationship between preaching and ethics, and a challenging moral vision for the contemporary church. Moving beyond a narrow focus on moral decision-making or social-issues sermons. Campbell argues that a particular ethic–nonviolent resistance–is inherent in the practice of preaching and shapes the moral life of the church. In the face of the powers, the fundamental ethical task of preaching involves building up the church as a community of resistance. Employing three dimensions of character ethics–vision, practices, and virtues–Campbell demonstrates the concrete ways in which preachers may undertake this task.
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Voices Of This Calling
$20.00Add to cartPublished to mark the tenth anniversary of the ordination of women in the Anglican church, this work includes prominent clergy, both female and male, such as Lucy Winkett, Angela Tilby, Una Kroll, Rose Hudson-Wilkin and Rowan Williams. It tells women’s stories about the reality of life as a priest and reveals defining moments in their own personal journey. Influential men in the church also reflect upon the challenges and opportunities that women’s ministry has created for them.
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Perfect Illustrations For Every Topic And Occasion
$22.99Add to cartGood communicators are always on the lookout for fresh, relevant anecdotes and examples to drive home the point of their words. This handy reference contains 300 anecdotes and illustrations for pastors, writers, teachers, and other Christian communicators on a variety of topics. Each entry includes Scripture references, cross-references to related topics, an anecdote or illustration, and a citation of its source.
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Speaking Jesus : Homiletic Theology And The Sermon On The Mount
$36.00Add to cartOnce again, renowned homiletician David Buttrick has written a highly practical book that conveys and makes contagious his excitement for the theological task of preaching. In this book, he delineates the theological issues inherent in the Sermon on the Mount and presents a homiletical strategy for preaching its meaning an relevance. In Part One, Buttrick gives a general overview of the text and raises central theological issues imperative to its preaching, particularly the authenticity of Jesus’ words and the sermon’s relevance for today. In Part Two, he provides commentary on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, provides suggestions for preaching, and includes some of his own sermons as examples.
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On Purpose Leadership
$15.99Add to cart22 Chapters
Additional Info
After 20 books and three decades of developing innovative, need-meeting ministries, Galloway is recognized as one who trains the leaders of leaders of leaders. Now he offers the best of his best on multiplying your effectiveness through others. Building on Christ’s own model, he offers powerful insights for encouraging, equipping, and reproducing lay leadership. -
Pastor : A Reader For Ordained Ministry
$31.99Add to cartBrings together the finest wisdom from 20 centuries of church history focusing on the core concerns of preaching the Word, caring for souls, and celebrating the sacraments via the roles of priest, preacher, teacher, evangelist, counselor, prophet, and leader. Excerpts from major lights of the past.
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Preaching Biblical Wisdom In A Self Help Society
$25.99Add to cartThis book equips preachers to tap into the treasures of the biblical wisdom tradition to counter the claims of a self-help society. The wisdom books and genres of the Bible, long neglected, are now the subject of avid scrutiny by biblical scholars. They’ve turned up the shining insight that the Bible, both Old and New Testament, is brimming with materials that are the ancestors of contemporary slogans and self-help manuals. This is indeed good news! We have proverbs and instruction every bit as vivid and compelling as “Don’t sweat the small stuff”–and for more aware of the depth, complexity, and mystery of life in God’s world. McKenzie demonstrates how Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and other biblical wisdom can provide fruitful opportunities to preach to those who are hungry for wisdom, and often unaware of the richness and depth of the Bible’s wisdom tradition.
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Power In The Pulpit
$28.00Add to cartScholar and preacher Cleophus J. LaRue brings together the voices of twelve of America’s most influential African-American preachers. Each of these renowned preachers describes his or her method of sermon preparation and includes a sample sermon for illustration. An excellent how-to-manual for pastors and students, this book is both sage wisdom on the art of preaching and an inspiring look at some of the most prominent figures in the black church
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Money And The Kingdom Of God
$16.95Add to cartConventional wisdom would tell us that money and religion are mutually exclusive entities. It’s easy to understand why: there’s the popular maxim about money being the “root of all evil”, as well as Jesus’ admonitions about our inability to serve both God and Mammon or how difficult it is for a rich man to enter heaven. But Maurice Fetty disagrees – he notes that in Jesus’ view, money and the kingdom of God are intertwined. In these pages, Fetty stresses the importance of our being good stewards of God’s creation, and he points out that what we do with our money is indelibly linked with faithful living. When rightly done, Fetty concludes, the rich can be righteous, and the righteous can be rich. This book is excellent for spiritual growth reading or as a source for stewardship sermons.
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Great Commission
$5.99Add to cartOUR PURPOSE FOR LIVING ON THIS PLANET
In this twelfth Biblical Foundation book, The Great Commission, we discover that as disciples of Jesus Christ, our marching orders are to go and make disciples. We can start right where we are! God has called us as His church to touch every nation of the world, but we must ask the Lord where He has called us specifically. Although some believers will go to another country to make disciples, many believers will reach out to others right where they live. God places people all around us we can disciple and train.
Can be used for:
*Personal Study Read as an individual study program to develop spiritual maturity.
*Daily Devotional Each book has one month’s worth of daily readings, including questions.
*Mentoring Questions and life applications discussed as a one-on-one discipling tool.
*Small Group Study Each chapter has a teaching outline and questions for discussion.
*Biblical Foundation Course Can be taught individually or as part of the 12-book Biblical Foundation Series. -
Called To Minister
$5.99Add to cartEVERY CHRISTIAN’S CALL TO SERVE
In this eleventh Biblical Foundation book, Called to Minister, we discover that every Christian is called by God to minister to other people. The Lord has called pastors and other spiritual leaders to train the saints so that every believer can be involved in ministry and become mature in Christ. As each believer fulfills what the Lord has called him to do, a wonderful thing happens. God begins to build His church through His people from house to house and in each community. Ministry does not just happen in our church meetings; it happens at our schools, our places of work, and in our homes as we reach out to others.
Can be used for:
*Personal Study Read as an individual study program to develop spiritual maturity.
*Daily Devotional Each book has one month’s worth of daily readings, including questions.
*Mentoring Questions and life applications discussed as a one-on-one discipling tool.
*Small Group Study Each chapter has a teaching outline and questions for discussion.
*Biblical Foundation Course Can be taught individually or as part of the 12-book Biblical Foundation Series. -
What Is The Church
$5.99Add to cartFINDING OUR PLACE IN GOD’S FAMILY
In this eighth Biblical Foundation book, What is the Church? we will see the importance of being a part of a spiritual family united under Christ. This spiritual family gives us a place to grow and learn from other believers how to live our Christian lives. We need this input from spiritual leaders and fellow believers. We need one another. We are not supposed to live the Christian life alone. God’s will is for every believer to be connected to a local church where he can be trained, protected, and available to serve others.
Can be used for:
*Personal Study Read as an individual study program to develop spiritual maturity.
*Daily Devotional Each book has one month’s worth of daily readings, including questions.
*Mentoring Questions and life applications discussed as a one-on-one discipling tool.
*Small Group Study Each chapter has a teaching outline and questions for discussion.
*Biblical Foundation Course Can be taught individually or as part of the 12-book Biblical Foundation Series. -
Learning To Fellowship With God
$5.99Add to cartHOW TO DEEPEN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST
In this seventh Biblical Foundation book, Learning to Fellowship with God, we learn God wants to know us personally! We’re going to learn how to fellowship with God through meditating on God’s Word and praying and worshiping Him. We will discover how to develop a close, intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ as we learn to hear His voice.
Can be used for:
*Personal Study Read as an individual study program to develop spiritual maturity.
*Daily Devotional Each book has one month’s worth of daily readings, including questions.
*Mentoring Questions and life applications discussed as a one-on-one discipling tool.
*Small Group Study Each chapter has a teaching outline and questions for discussion.
*Biblical Foundation Course Can be taught individually or as part of the 12-book Biblical Foundation Series. -
Freedom From The Curse
$5.99Add to cartCHRIST BRINGS FREEDOM TO EVERY AREA OF OUR LIVES
In this sixth Biblical Foundation book, Freedom From the Curse, we learn that due to Adam and Eve’s disobedience to the Lord when they chose to believe the lies of the devil in the Garden of Eden, we now live in a “cursed or fallen” world. In the fall of Adam, sin gained entrance into the human race. In this book, we will take a closer look at all that is involved in the curse and how to be freed spiritually, physically and emotionally from its bondage(s). Although sin has cursed mankind, Christ provides everything we need to defeat sin and Satan!
Can be used for:
*Personal Study Read as an individual study program to develop spiritual maturity.
*Daily Devotional Each book has one month’s worth of daily readings, including questions.
*Mentoring Questions and life applications discussed as a one-on-one discipling tool.
*Small Group Study Each chapter has a teaching outline and questions for discussion.
*Biblical Foundation Course Can be taught individually or as part of the 12-book Biblical Foundation Series. -
Living In The Grace Of God
$5.99Add to cartAPPLYING GOD’S GRACE TO EVERYDAY LIVING
In this fifth Biblical Foundation book, Living in the Grace of God, we discover that it is grace that motivates God to offer us salvation even though we did not earn it. In fact, we cannot earn it; it is a gift. Our salvation comes as a gift of God’s grace, and it can be accessed by our response of faith. God’s grace is present in our lives to save us-“the free unmerited favor of God on the undeserving and ill-deserving.” Then we will look at the other side of God’s grace which is defined as “the power and desire to do God’s will.” The grace of God is literally “divine energy” that the Holy Spirit releases in our lives. God has given us supernatural provision to live a victorious life. God gives us an abundance of grace! We do not deserve any of it, but the Lord pours it on us anyway!
Can be used for:
*Personal Study Read as an individual study program to develop spiritual maturity.
*Daily Devotional Each book has one month’s worth of daily readings, including questions.
*Mentoring Questions and life applications discussed as a one-on-one discipling tool.
*Small Group Study Each chapter has a teaching outline and questions for discussion.
*Biblical Foundation Course Can be taught individually or as part of the 12-book Biblical Foundation Series. -
Knowing Jesus Christ As Lord
$5.99Add to cartGOD’S PURPOSE FOR OUR LIVES THROUGH A PERSONAL RELATIONAHIP WITH JESUS.
In this first Biblical Foundation book, Knowing Jesus Christ as Lord, we build on Jesus Christ and His words: Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24). Do you want to be wise? Build on Jesus Christ, the solid rock!
The foundational truths from the Word of God are presented with modern-day parables that help you easily understand the basics of Christianity. Use this book and the remaining 11 Biblical Foundation books to lay a solid foundation in your life, or if you are already a mature Christian, these books are great tools to assist you in discipling others. May His Word become life to you today. God bless you! Larry Kreider
Can be used for:
*Personal Study Read as an individual study program to develop spiritual maturity.
*Daily Devotional Each book has one month’s worth of daily readings, including questions.
*Mentoring Questions and life applications discussed as a one-on-one discipling tool.
*Small Group Study Each chapter has a teaching outline and questions for discussion.
*Biblical Foundation Course Can be taught individually or as part of the 12-book Biblical Foundation Series. -
Word Disclosed : Preaching The Gospel Of John (Revised)
$16.99Add to cart“While taking account of historical and social dynamics in the setting of John’s community, O’Day offers a subtle but sophisticated literary reading of John to show that the listener must experience the movement of the plot within the text of John in order to understand the text as fully as he can…All preachers should own this book for its specific studies of the passages of John, for its clarity in helping us hear the distinctive Johannine theological voice, and for its model of close reading that can guide a preacher working with almost any text.”
-Homiletic -
Our Community : Dealing With Conflict In Our Congregation
$14.99Add to cartConflicts will arise in your congregation. Right now, you may be experiencing the storms of conflict, dealing with storm cleanup or trying to put a past conflict behind you. Although we can’t prevent conflict from occurring altogether, we can develop skills to make sense of a past controversy, better understand a current situation, and promote forgiveness and healing. Use Our Community: Dealing with Conflict in Our Congregation on your own or with your congregation’s council, committees, or staff. The book includes reproducible tools that can be downloaded and customized at www.augsburgfortress.org/CLS.
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Our Gifts : Identifying And Developing Leaders
$14.99Add to cartThis book explores how to recruit leaders and volunteers into your congregation. It provides a definition and description of Christian leadership, identifies how to match members with opportunities to lead and serve, and helps you create your own leadership development plan. Use this book on your own or with your congregation’s council, staff, new member classes, mutual ministry committee, and more.
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Our Mission : Discovering Gods Call In Us
$14.99Add to cartThis new title provides four strategic planning steps to help your congregation fulfill its mission:
–STOP to pray and discern if your congregation is fulfilling the will of God–LOOK at God’s word to make sure it is at the heart of your mission
–LISTEN to the mission mandate of Christ to establish goals for the congregation
–GO to implement your action plans with confidence and hope in God’s blessings
This book can be used by pastors and congregational leaders for strategic planning and effective management. Includes reproducible tools that can be downloaded and customized.
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Our Context : Exploring Our Congregation And Community
$14.99Add to cartUnderstanding your congregation and the surrounding community is a key to leadership. This book helps you examine your context as you carry out your congregation’s mission and proclaim the gospel. Exploring your context can help identify potential problems and highlight new opportunities. If you are in a congregation or community that is changing, the process outlined in this book can help your congregation deal with change in a positive manner.
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John Wesley On The Sermon On The Mount
$35.99Add to cartThis is the second volume of The Standard Sermons of John Wesley, transcribed into today’s English. The volumes in this series accurately transcribe Wesley’s eighteenth-century language into a form suitable for today’s readers. This volume contains the sermons John Wesley preached on the Sermon on the Mount.
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Our Staff : Building Our Human Resosurces
$14.99Add to cartBuilding your congregation’s staff takes careful preparation and follow-through, from planning for a position and determining compensation packages to promoting an appropriate work environment. This book can help you, your congregation council, or your committee to answer many important questions. You will learn how to configure the staff of the congregation, what planning is needed before staff is hired, what the responsibilities of the congregation as an employer are, and much more. Use this book on your own, with your congregation’s council or staff, or in personnel and staff support.
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Making Of A Vision
$24.99Add to cartThe development and encouragement of Christian leaders has been a hallmark of Frank Damazio’s ministry. In The Making Of A Vision he tackles the breathtaking goal of imparting virtually all the steps necessary for understanding and achieving one’s vision, to discerning and pursuing one’s own vision, and on through implementation and impartation, this is a masterful teaching guide. Extensive scriptural references enrich this ambitious outline. Leaders at every level of ministry will find this challenging and rewarding.
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Building For Eternity
$5.99Add to cartTHE HOPE OF THE RESURRECTION, THE LAYING ON OF HANDS AND ETERNAL JUDGMENT
In this fourth Biblical Foundation book, Building For Eternity, we look at the final three of the six foundational doctrines of the Christian faith found in Hebrews 6:1-2-the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment: Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment (NKJ). The foundational doctrine of the laying on of hands is an act in which one person imparts or conveys blessing, healing and/or authority to another for a specific spiritual purpose. We will learn that the laying on of hands has a vital connection with many aspects of our Christian lives. The hope of the resurrection is another biblical foundation that is so important to a Christian’s faith because those who believe in Christ will share in His resurrection and have eternal life! Another foundation stone that is linked to the resurrection of the dead is eternal judgment. Every man and woman who has ever lived will be judged by God for all of eternity. The reality of an eternal judgment should cause all believers to hate sin and diligently seek the lost to tell them of God’s wonderful plan for mankind!
Can be used for:
*Personal Study Read as an individual study program to develop spiritual maturity.
*Daily Devotional Each book has one month’s worth of daily readings, including questions.
*Mentoring Questions and life applications discussed as a one-on-one discipling tool.
*Small Group Study Each chapter has a teaching outline and questions for discussion.
*Biblical Foundation Course Can be taught individually or as part of the 12-book Biblical Foundation Series. -
New Testament Baptisms
$5.99Add to cartFOUR BAPTISMS INCLUDING BAPTISM IN WATER AND BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
In this third Biblical Foundation book, New Testament Baptisms, we look at another of the six foundational doctrines of the Christian faith found in Hebrews 6:1-2-the doctrine of baptisms: Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment (NKJ). This book covers four baptisms, including baptism in water (a sign of cleansing and remission of sin), baptism into the body of Christ (the Holy Spirit supernaturally places us into the “body” or “the family of God”), baptism of fire (facing suffering in our lives and persevering), and the baptism in the Holy Spirit (a new dimension of the Holy Spirit’s power).
Can be used for:
*Personal Study Read as an individual study program to develop spiritual maturity.
*Daily Devotional Each book has one month’s worth of daily readings, including questions.
*Mentoring Questions and life applications discussed as a one-on-one discipling tool.
*Small Group Study Each chapter has a teaching outline and questions for discussion.
*Biblical Foundation Course Can be taught individually or as part of the 12-book Biblical Foundation Series. -
New Way Of Living
$5.99Add to cartTRUE REPENTANCE AND FAITH TOWARD GOD
In this second Biblical Foundation book, The New Way of Living, we will look at two of the six foundational doctrines of the Christian faith found in Hebrews 6:1-2-repentance from dead works and faith toward God: Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment (NKJ). We will learn that we must repent from trying to gain God’s acceptance by doing good things (Hebrews 6:2). Good deeds done to impress God or man are “dead works,” and they do not get us closer to God. Only true repentance leads to faith in God.
Can be used for:
*Personal Study Read as an individual study program to develop spiritual maturity.
*Daily Devotional Each book has one month’s worth of daily readings, including questions.
*Mentoring Questions and life applications discussed as a one-on-one discipling tool.
*Small Group Study Each chapter has a teaching outline and questions for discussion.
*Biblical Foundation Course Can be taught individually or as part of the 12-book Biblical Foundation Series.
