Pastoral Helps
Showing 401–500 of 2246 results
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Drawing From The Wells 2
$9.95Add to cartToday, many young ministers feel the need to minister to thousands of individuals to be successful. In truth, most of the churches within the United States have congregations of 125 parishioners or less. In the Church of God in Christ, ninety percent of congregations are less than one hundred members. In Drawing from the Well, author Bishop Nathaniel Wells offers a self-help guide on building a strong church and mega ministry, without mass numbers and in small communities.
Through scriptural examples and personal experiences, Wells discusses the key elements-for which Jesus has provided the insight and instructions-for creating a strong church foundation. He includes the importance of relying on the word of God, empowering parishioners, and keeping the personal and spiritual connection to people.
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Preaching With All Ages
$23.99Add to cartThe all-age talk is a task guaranteed to give preachers sleepless nights! Very few people feel they have a gift for it, and most lack confidence. This reflective and practical guide addresses these concerns, and aims to build a sure theological understanding, develop skills and grow confidence.
Twelve chapters explore different kinds of engagement – with the senses, with one another, with oneself, with scripture, with liturgy, with the church, with God, with challenging situations, and more to enable preachers make real connections with their listeners, whatever the age.
Each chapter is followed by a practical case study illustrating key principles and providing down-to-earth, tried and tested wisdom for all kinds of contexts and occasions.
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Traveling Home : Tracking Your Way Through The Spiritual Wilderness
$21.95Add to cartOffers readers a way to find their place in God’s story
A creative invitation to those who are on the margins of the church Recent research in the sociology of religion indicates that around one in five Americans are religiously “liminal,” that is, they are on the fence about affiliating with a faith or a congregation. Traveling Home is an invitation to those people who are standing on the edges or just coming into the Church. It makes a case for why Christianity can make a difference by taking the reader on a spiritual journey through the story and ancient wisdom of the Bible. It shows the reader how to find a place within this great cosmic adventure. Why Christianity at all? How do we understand where we fit into a bigger picture? Anyone asking these questions, including people exploring other liturgical traditions, will find this book of interest. It is also a tool for clergy teaching newcomer/inquirer classes.
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EveryWORD John : Scipture – Outline – Commentary
$39.99Add to cartFrom LMW, the publishers of The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible comes everyWORD, a starting point for pastors, teachers, and students of the Bible who are seeking a better understanding of every Word of scripture. Outlined verse-by-verse in the popular ESV translation, and including a comprehensive, easy-to-understand commentary drawn from hundreds of sources, everyWORD equips you to preach your best.
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Romans Womens Bible Study Participant Workbook (Student/Study Guide)
$17.99Add to cartWe live in a world full of bad news. The media recounts stories of natural disasters, violence, and conflict. In the midst of all this heartbreak, we can’t lose sight of the fact that God has given us good news. We call it the gospel. It reminds us that God loves us and longs to redeem our suffering. He stepped out of eternity and into time to send us His one and only Son. The gospel truths shared with the early church at Rome echo into our day, reminding us that we still have good news to embrace personally and to share with others.
In this six-week study of the Book of Romans, we will be highlighting significant concepts regarding the good news about faith, grace, daily life, God’s plan, relationships, and eternity. Whatever bad news we may receive, in Romans we will find good news to encourage and transform us.
Join Melissa in taking a posture of listening and learning as we approach this powerful book packed with good news? Let’s ask God to do a mighty work in and through us as we study so that we might be inspired with a spiritual renewal that spreads to those around us!
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Defined Bible Study Book
$14.99Add to cartDefined Bible Study Book includes content for eight sessions, personal study between group sessions, applicable Scripture, “How to Use This Study,” tips for leading a group, a leader guide, and a family-discipleship page.
When you introduce yourself to someone for the first time, you have an opportunity to define yourself. You disclose your name, profession, and interests. These factors help our culture define us, but are those answers enough? People are struggling in ten thousand ways because of identity issues. They can’t help but ask, who am I? and why do I matter? Can our culture really provide meaningful answers to those questions, or do we need something deeper and more significant?
Before asking, who am I? we need to be able to answer, who is God? If we can’t answer the first question, we will never answer the second. The problem with our search for identity is that we are looking in all the wrong places. Scripture teaches that we are all made in the image of God. We do not define ourselves-the Creator does. We were all created to be known and loved by God. Once those answers are clear, we can move forward and discover all God has called us to be.
Session topics:
1. Uniquely Created by God
2. Uniquely Broken by Sin
3. Transformed by the Gospel
4. Who We Are in Christ
5. What We Have in Christ
6. Living Out Our Identity
7. Walking in the Spirit
8. Walking in Mission -
Love Talk Workbook For Women Newly Updated And Expanded (Workbook)
$12.99Add to cartWe set off to crack the code for meaningful conversation . . . a plan that would move our communication from good to great. And we found it. A deep and simple plan for everything a loving conversation has to offer. We call it Love Talk. –Drs. Les and Leslie Parrot
This women’s workbook will help you personalize the concepts you encounter in the Parrotts’ book Love Talk and put them to work in your relationships. Inside, you’ll find exercises, assessments, self-tests, tips, applications . . . all the tools and guidance you need to:
*Identify your personal communication style
*Understand how it interacts with that of your partner
*Talk your way to a healthier, stronger relationshipLove Talk is like no other communication book you’ve ever read. The fruit of years of research by two foremost relationship experts (who also happen to be husband and wife), this book forges a new path to the heart of loving conversation. You’ll begin by identifying your security need and determining your personal communication style. Then you’ll put together everything you discover to learn how the two of you can speak each other’s language like never before.
This very day, you can begin an adventure in communication that will draw the two of you closer, and closer, and closer . . . consistently, in a way that creates the depth and connection you long for in your relationship.
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Kingdom Single Group Video Experience Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartThis participant’s guide for the video-based group study explores the message in the book Kingdom Single. It encourages singles to see themselves as complete in Christ and free to serve Him, and empowers them to live as Kingdom men and women in a morally corrupt culture.
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Smart Stepfamily Participants Guide Revised And Updated (Student/Study Guide)
$11.00Add to cartGet the Most out of The Smart Stepfamily
Discover the key steps to building a healthy family with stepfamily expert Ron L. Deal. This interactive workbook is guaranteed to help you benefit from The Smart Stepfamily book and DVD. It includes:
– discussion questions for before and after each DVD session
– space to take notes
– bonus question and answer section
– group leader instructions
– guidelines for facilitating effective groupsThrough eight engaging sessions, you’ll learn useable solutions for everyday living and glean valuable insight and practical tips for becoming a smart stepfamily.
Ideal for small groups, premarital counseling, or personal study. Use with The Smart Stepfamily book (Revised and Expanded Edition) and Small-Group DVD Resource (Revised and Expanded Edition).
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Care Of Souls
$24.99Add to cartDrawing on a lifetime of pastoral experience, The Care of Souls is a beautifully written treasury of proven wisdom which pastors will find themselves turning to again and again.
Harold Senkbeil helps remind pastors of the essential calling of the ministry: preaching and living out the Word of God while orienting others in the same direction. And he offers practical and fruitful advicea”born out of his five decades as a pastora”that will benefit both new pastors and those with years in the pulpit.
In a time when many churches have lost sight of the real purpose of the church, The Care of Souls invites a new generation of pastors to form the godly habits and practical wisdom needed to minister to the hearts and souls of those committed to their care.
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How To Pioneer Single Copy
$7.50Add to cartA Church House Publishing Title
This five-part group study booklet is designed to encourage and equip local church communities who are contemplating setting up a pioneering church community, but are unsure how to get going or what will be involved.
It opens up the wise insights and practical know-how of Dave Male’s book ‘How to Pioneer’ to the wider church, introducing the basics of pioneer ministry to PCCs and congregations while encouraging their supportive participation. The booklet consists of five group sessions based on chapters of the original book:
1. You can do this
2. Focusing on your mission
3. Adapting to your context
4. Creating Jesus-centred communities
5. Enabling disciples of JesusAll pioneer enterprises depend on the active support of the home church team. This booklet will help generate essential backing for local mission projects.
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Taking It To The Streets
$17.00Add to cartReverend Harry “OG Rev.” Williams from Oakland, California, is called to the streets: to the hungry, homeless, addicted, incarcerated, and vulnerable. Bringing us face-to-face with both the injustices that plague our cities and the gospel of compassion that offers hope to the downtrodden, this introduction to urban ministry will inspire and equip a new generation to bring the life-giving good news of Jesus to our cities.
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Connections Year C Three Volume Set
$155.00Add to cartDesigned to empower preachers as they lead their congregations to connect their lives to Scripture, Connections features a broad set of interpretive tools that provide commentary and worship aids on the Revised Common Lectionary.
For each worship day within the three-year lectionary cycle, the commentaries in Connections link the individual lection reading with Scripture as a whole as well as to the larger world. In addition, Connections places each Psalm reading in conversation with the other lections for the day to highlight the themes of the liturgical season. Finally, sidebars offer additional connections to Scripture for each Sunday or worship day.
This nine-volume series is a practical, constructive, and valuable resource for preachers who seek to help congregations connect more closely with Scripture.
This set contains Year C, volumes 1, 2, and 3.
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Who Cares About HIV
$18.99Add to cartThis timely book gives a voice to those living with HIV who are too often ignored or misunderstood by the Church and other religious institutions – including those in positions of care who may have thought they were helping but have ended up doing more harm than good. The book exposes and challenges attitudes of institutional blindness and abuse and suggests some positive means of remedy, all of which have been formed and tested with the help of clients at the London HIV Chaplaincy. With its powerful combination of moving personal testimony and honest pastoral reflection, this book will encourage a more informed, sensitive and effective interaction with many who, for whatever reason, feel marginalized by our society and alienated by those who most want to help. As Rowan Williams says in his foreword, ‘This book is a proclaiming of the gospel as well as a call to judgement. It is necessary material for the self-examination and self-awareness of any Christian minister or community, if the Church’s claim to be what it is supposed to be is not to go on being so hollow for so many who need to hear that their agency and dignity are understood and honored.’
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Evidence That Demands A Verdict Study Guide
$12.99Add to cartFor more than forty years, Evidence That Demands a Verdict has encouraged and strengthened millions of people around the world. It has convinced skeptics of the Bible’s reliability, helped believers articulate their faith, and given them the vital facts they need to defend God’s Word and lead others to faith in Jesus. The book has now been revised and updated to include newly uncovered historical documentation, recent scholarship, and new and expanded chapters to address recent attacks on Christianity.
In this new eight-session video study (DVD/digital downloads sold separately), Josh and his son, Sean, help believers in Christ understand how the books of the New Testament came into being, how they differ from “Gnostic” and non-biblical texts, and why they can be sure that the New Testament books are historically reliable. They also examine how believers can know that Jesus existed, why the claims he made about himself are true, how he fulfilled Old Testament prophecies about himself, and how believers can know the resurrection took place.
This study is for anyone who has ever been stumped by someone’s arguments against Christianity or the Bible-or has wondered for themselves if the Bible’s depiction of Jesus is true and not just a made-up fairy tale. It has been specifically created to help Christians know what they believe, why it is true, and how they communicate biblical truth to a skeptical world.
This study guide is designed for use with the Evidence That Demands a Verdict Video Study (sold separately).
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Creative Ideas For The Family Eucharist
$40.00Add to cartFind everything you need to lead a Family Eucharist in this comprehensive and versatile all-age resource. Building on the new Eucharistic Prayers for use in services with children, it balances formality and informality to help you create engaging worship for all. Easily adaptable for large and small all-age congregations, it offers ready-to-use worship ideas and service outlines for themed occasions throughout the year. Imaginatively-planned and well-structured Family Eucharists are a key part of growing churches, and this resource will give you both the structure and the confidence to lead all-age worship well.
It includes:
-advice on recruiting and training leaders
-ways of getting children involved
-a guide to creating a basic structure
-suggestions for using music and props creatively
-themed services for different seasons
-imaginative service outlines for a variety of occasions, including a baptism in the context of a Eucharist
-downloadable scripts and illustrations for use throughout the year -
Bridgebuilding : Making Peace With Conflict In The Church
$27.00Add to cartThere is a prevailing culture of ‘niceness’ within churches which can lead to conflict avoidance, suppression and denial. Consequently, ministers and church leaders often struggle to handle tensions, difference and competing demands within their congregations.
Drawing on practical theology, conflict theory, family systems theory and experience, Bridgebuilding will help church ministers and church members find more fruitful ways of engaging with tensions and conflicts in the life of the Church. It offers numerous practical tools for transforming conflict into opportunities for personal and corporate growth.
It complements the ‘Growing Bridgebuilders’ training course developed by Bridge Builders with CPAS.
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Seasoned Speech : Rhetoric In The Life Of The Church
$25.00Add to cartBeing a faithful disciple of Christ means having seasoned speech: practicing a rhetoric that beneficially and persuasively imparts the surprising truth of the gospel. James Beitler seeks to renew interest in and hunger for an effective Christian rhetoric by closely considering the work of five beloved Christian communicators: C. S. Lewis, Dorothy L. Sayers, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Desmond Tutu, and Marilynne Robinson.
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Pastoral Rule For Today
$25.00Add to cartHow can pastors thrive amid the demands of being preacher, therapist, administrator, and CEO? We need a contemporary pastoral rule: a pattern for ministry that encourages and enables pastors to focus on what is most important in their pastoral task. Written by three veteran pastors, this book gives examples of pastoral rules in communities throughout the church’s history, providing concrete advice on how pastors can develop and keep a pastoral rule today.
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Always On : Practicing Faith In A New Media Landscape
$29.99Add to cartMany of us are “always on”–scrolling through social media, checking email, or searching the web. New media spaces can be sites and instruments of God’s unconditional love, but they can also nurture harmful conditions and become a source of anxiety, jealousy, and despondency. Always On provides useful tools for helping students and congregants understand the world of social media and engage it faithfully, enabling Christian communities to address its use in constructive, pastoral ways. The book includes discussion questions and sample exercises for each chapter.
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Fruitful Boughs Broken
$23.99Add to cartResponding to failure in ministry is painful for all touched by it.
The journey toward failure is unchosen, undesired, and unplanned. When it occurs, we all ask ourselves this one question: why? The result of failure is the loss of many well-trained and adequately equipped men and women from churches. Often, they disappear into oblivion.
This has been true throughout history. It’s not a new problem. Witness the experiences of Abraham, David, Elijah, and Peter in Scripture. They served well, but they also failed, disappointing God and their associates. Modern pastors, too, become entrapped in situations of fear, loneliness, depression, and failure.
We must address ways to prevent failure and learn about possibilities for intervention in order to be the witnessing church that God intends us to be.
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Power Of Jesus Names Interactive Workbook (Workbook)
$9.99Add to cartWhat’s in a Name?
His name holds the power to heal and lift up. It comforts the brokenhearted. Jesus is a powerful name, but it’s not the only one the Son of God is known by.
This companion to Dr. Tony Evan’s The Power of Jesus’ Names DVD introduces you to many new facets of Jesus and His nature that are revealed by each of His names. Full of in-depth scriptural research and enriched by Dr. Evan’s relatable storytelling and practical application, you’ll find valuable insights through…
*questions that promote reflection and conversation
*relevant Scripture passages for reflection and discussion
*activities for further personal study and growthWhether in a group or on your own, you will come to a more intimate understanding of who Jesus is and what He came to do for you as you journey through The Power of Jesus’ Names.
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Budgeting For A Healthy Church
$18.99Add to cartMany pastors conceive of the church budget as primarily a financial tool, but in fact it is primarily a pastoral tool. A church’s philosophy of ministry is locked into its budget, and so the budget will either stifle or accelerate any attempts to move a congregation toward a biblical model of church health. As such, the church budget is a far more potent pastoral tool than many church leaders realize. Budgeting for a Healthy Church examines each section of the budget in light of Biblical principles to show how a church budget can lock in healthy approaches to ministry. Whereas most books on church budgeting are “how” books, explaining how the budgeting process should work, this is a “what” book, helping church leaders determine the pastoral implications of what they choose to fund in their budgets.
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Contemplation And Counseling
$24.00Add to cartCan contemplative prayer be integrated into therapeutic work? Building an alliance between science, theology, and Christian contemplative thought, Gregg Blanton presents a new paradigm for integrating contemplative prayer with counseling practice. This practical resource offers eleven fundamental interventions to fit the needs of clients and a practical four-stage process for helping clients change.
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Raising Giant Killers Leaders Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$17.00Add to cartWith honesty, humor, and keen biblical insight, bestselling authors Bill and Beni Johnson help you discover the keys to successful parenting in God’s kingdom. “Parents, we rule for the purpose of protection, but we also serve with the purpose of empowering,” they write. “We want to release our children into their destiny–that’s the privilege of parenting.”
In these pages you will gain the wisdom, kingdom concepts, and practical tools you need to help raise your children to their best.
You’ll discover how to parent to their uniqueness, gifts, and strengths, as well as how you can demonstrate and reveal who God is to your kids. The authors also address pressing issues parents face today, including how to:
*be fully engaged in hearing what the Lord is saying over each child
*maintain relationship and discipline
*develop character
*train your children for worship
*fan the flame of what God has put in their hearts
*and moreNo matter what age your kids are, you have an incredible opportunity to shape their hearts, minds, and values. Here is everything you need to help your children walk into the destiny of their lives and see them become the awesome people they were created to be.
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Re Membering God
$21.95Add to cart* Reflections on tradition and change for the twenty-first-century church * Something for both newcomers and those familiar with liturgy and spirituality Like the scribe and master of the household cited by Jesus in Matthew 13, Re-membering God “brings out of treasure what is new and what is old,” and empowers us to go and do likewise. As both critique and encouragement for the church in the early part of the twenty-first century, it seeks to reclaim the foundational riches of the church’s liturgy and spirituality in the face of cul-tural change. These resources, some lost or neglected and others under-utilized, can help rebuild the church, raising up what has been cast down and renewing what has grown old. This series of reflections explore with discernment what is “fashionable,” and acknowledge the deepest and most endur-ing human needs and hopes, which only God can answer. Re-membering God puts liturgical and spiritual practice into terms easily understood by both newcomers and seasoned devotees, for the benefit of this and future generations. Understanding the value of the past and with an eye to the future, this book will inform our next conversations about evangelism and church growth.
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Raising Giant Killers Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$18.99Add to cartWith honesty, humor, and keen biblical insight, bestselling authors Bill and Beni Johnson help you discover the keys to successful parenting in God’s kingdom. “Parents, we rule for the purpose of protection, but we also serve with the purpose of empowering,” they write. “We want to release our children into their destiny–that’s the privilege of parenting.”
In these pages you will gain the wisdom, kingdom concepts, and practical tools you need to help raise your children to their best.
You’ll discover how to parent to their uniqueness, gifts, and strengths, as well as how you can demonstrate and reveal who God is to your kids. The authors also address pressing issues parents face today, including how to:
*be fully engaged in hearing what the Lord is saying over each child
*maintain relationship and discipline
*develop character
*train your children for worship
*fan the flame of what God has put in their hearts
*and moreNo matter what age your kids are, you have an incredible opportunity to shape their hearts, minds, and values. Here is everything you need to help your children walk into the destiny of their lives and see them become the awesome people they were created to be.
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Connections Year C Volume 3 Season After Pentecost
$55.00Add to cartDesigned to empower preachers as they lead their congregations to connect their lives to Scripture, Connections features a broad set of interpretive tools that provide commentary and worship aids on the Revised Common Lectionary.
For each worship day within the three-year lectionary cycle, the commentaries in Connections link the individual lection reading with Scripture as a whole as well as to the larger world. In addition, Connections places each Psalm reading in conversation with the other lections for the day to highlight the themes of the liturgical season. Finally, sidebars offer additional connections to Scripture for each Sunday or worship day.
This nine-volume series is a practical, constructive, and valuable resource for preachers who seek to help congregations connect more closely with Scripture.
This volume covers Year C for the season after Pentecost.
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Healing The Wounds Of Sexual Abuse
$20.00Add to cartThis accessibly written book illuminates the good news of healing and liberation the Bible offers survivors of sexual abuse. As an expert in pastoral ministry and a survivor of abuse herself, Elaine Heath handles this sensitive topic with compassion and grace. The book is illustrated with stories and insights from survivors, and each chapter ends with reflection questions and recommended activities. Previously published as We Were the Least of These, this repackaged edition includes a new contextualized introduction that explores how the book speaks into a vital cultural conversation (#MeToo).
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Practicing The Preaching Life
$31.99Add to cartPreaching is a way of life that can be beautiful and good; however, It can also be anxious, self-focused, and destructive. Preachers and teachers of preaching need a holistic view of preaching that not only paints the way to good preaching, but also to good living. They need a comprehensive practical theology of preaching that combines the ‘why’ and the ‘what’ with the ‘how’ and ‘whom’ of preaching. Practicing the Preaching Life unites Christian practices, contextual virtues, and the best of homiletical pedagogy to pave the way to a beautiful preaching life. Preaching is best learned as a formative Christian practice embedded within a web of other Christian practices that form a way of life from which great sermons emerge. Therefore, preaching requires not only a way of speaking well, but also a way of living well. This embedded nature of preaching requires the enrollment of Christian practices in the formation of the preacher and the pursuit of contextual virtues for preaching that avoid cultural relativism on the one hand and cultural imperialism on the other. These requirements lead to a new vision for the preaching classroom, the rhythms of the preaching life, and the definition of what it means to be a good preacher.
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Written To Be Heard
$34.99Add to cartRecovers the lost messages of Mark, Matthew, Luke-Acts, and John for people today
The words of the gospels were meant to be heard. While we can still appreciate the construction and grasp some understanding when we read, we miss much of the message because we’re working in the wrong medium. In Written to Be Heard Paul Borgman and Kelly James Clark offer the keys to recovering the radical, relevant messages of each gospel as they were first heard.
The shaping of the gospels for oral performances, which would have been obvious to ancient (mostly preliterate) listeners, is lost on even the best contemporary reader. With careful analysis of the gospel writers’ particular voices within their own ancient literary context, Borgman and Clark equip readers to read as if hearing, focusing on overlapping patterns of hearing cues that shape each text and embed theological perspective.
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2 Steps Forward Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.00Add to cartThe women of Sensible Shoes encounter new adventures and roadblocks in their spiritual journeys in Two Steps Forward. With this study guide, you can explore your own next steps as you dive into the book’s spiritual formation themes along with Mara, Meg, Hannah, and Charissa. In this eight-week study guide you’ll find daily Scripture readings, reflection questions, and spiritual practices designed to help you be attentive to the invitations of the Holy Spirit. Each week concludes with discussion questions and suggested practices for reading groups to do together. Individually or with a group, you are invited to meet with God and find encouragement for the path ahead.
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Barefoot Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$10.00Add to cartThe journeys of Hannah, Meg, Charissa, and Mara take unexpected turns in Barefoot, the third book of the Sensible Shoes series. In this study guide author Sharon Garlough Brown has crafted a practical resource to help you process the characters’ stories and explore the novel’s spiritual formation themes more deeply. You’ll find twelve weeks of daily Scripture readings, reflection questions, and invitations to prayer, with weekly discussion questions and practices for groups to do together. Each week also features a list of spiritual disciplines used by the characters that you can incorporate into your own life with God. Individually or with a group, as you walk with the women of Sensible Shoes on holy ground, you’ll be invited to encounter God in significant new ways.
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Extra Mile Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.00Add to cartWhat next steps is God calling you to take? Join the characters of An Extra Mile, the final book in the Sensible Shoes series, as they journey through the seasons of Lent and Easter. In this eight-week study guide you’ll dive deeper into key spiritual practices from the book, using daily Scripture readings and reflection questions designed to help you be attentive to the invitations of the Holy Spirit. Each week concludes with discussion questions and suggested practices for groups to do together. This guide offers the perfect tools for individuals and groups to explore and apply the spiritual formation themes of An Extra Mile along with Mara, Hannah, Charissa, and Becca.
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Assessment For Counseling In Christian Perspective
$50.00Add to cartAssessment in counseling?like its biblical counterpart, discernment?is an ongoing and dynamic routine to encourage movement in a productive direction toward what is truly best. In Assessment for Counseling in Christian Perspective, Stephen P. Greggo equips counselors to put assessment techniques into practical use, particularly with clients who are looking to grow in their identity with Jesus Christ. As a Christian perspective on assessment, this book is designed to supplement standard resources and help counselors navigate challenges at the intersection of psychotherapy and Christian ministry. Greggo charts a course for care that brings best practices of the profession together with practices of Christian discipleship. Key topics include:
Does a Christian worldview offer distinguishing parameters for assessment practice?
Can clinical proficiency in assessment bring glory to God?
How can the crucial psychometric construct of validity be translated into our Christian faith?
In what ways can the inclusion of objective procedures be transformed into a message of hospitality and affirmation?
How can counselors maximize the benefits of a therapeutic alliance to attend to immediate concerns and foster spiritual formation?
How can formal personality measures add depth and substance to the counseling experience?
How can assessment contribute to client retention, treatment completion, and aftercare planning?With Assessment for Counseling in Christian Perspective, clinical and pastoral counselors can bring the best of assessment into counseling that reflects the essence of the Christian faith.
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Friends With God Discover How To Read The Bible
$9.99Add to cartHow Do I Read the Bible? The Bible is a big, big, BIG book. Kids might think it’s hard to read. Where do you start? How much should you read? What if you don’t understand it? How will you ever finish it? This hands-on book shows your kids what the Bible is all about-its thrilling stories, its jaw-dropping surprises, and why it’s all so important. Bible characters will show kids just how easy it can be to read and understand God’s Word. They’ll be expert Bible readers in no time!Here’s a sneak peek at the book’s introduction from Jesus… From “once upon a time” to “happily ever after,” you know a good story when you read one. The Bible is the ultimate true story. It tells us what God has done from the beginning of time, what’s going to happen at the end of the world, and some of the best stuff in between. But what are all these stories for? And why should you read them? I’m here to tell you! God created the Bible to help you discover how much God loves you and wants to be with you as your forever friend. All the stories, poems, prophecies, and letters in the Bible give you the answers to life’s questions and problems. So now you can grow closer to God no matter what you’re going through. That’s because I’m always with you. And the Bible can help you remember that. How should you read the Bible? With an open heart and an open mind to understand just how much God loves you. Because God really, really, really loves you, my friend. Your friend, Jesus
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Developing Female Leaders
$18.99Add to cartKadi Cole, world-class creative thinker and 30-year veteran in leadership and people development, offers a practical strategy to help church and organizational leaders intentionally craft work and volunteer cultures that facilitate the development of women leaders.
Christian leaders use only a small portion of their female volunteer potential for several reasons. Some don’t know how to intentionally and professionally develop and deploy women’s talents and abilities. Others don’t have the staff or resources. Then there are those who can’t get past unfortunate cultural traditions and organizational systems that commonly leave women with the choice to either limit their potential or go outside their church or volunteer organization for training and then invest their skills elsewhere. Developing Female Leaders by Kadi Cole is the book for leaders who face these challenges.
Using contemporary interviews with and about women in key church and organizational roles combined with more than 30 years of research on the development of professional women leaders, the author has created eight easy to implement “best practices” that help accelerate a woman’s organizational contribution. Thorough appendices and references make this book a one-of-kind publishing event.
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God Is : Meditations On The Mystery Of Life, The Purity Of Grace, The Bliss
$16.00Add to cartYour God is too small-way too small! What if God is not a human-like personal being but the God Beyond God of the Christian mystical traditions? What if God is the ultimate reality beyond all beings, including beyond all divine beings, indeed beyond all Being? It’s a mind-bending idea. Speaking of God as a human-like personal being is much easier but people who care about the deepest mystical understandings of God within our traditions need to make the effort to speak about the God Beyond God, despite the difficulties. This book makes the attempt to speak of the God Beyond God in the language of the sermon, using metaphor and potent imagery tuned to the existential intensities of human life. The God Beyond God is closer to us than our jugular veins, vividly present in every moment of our lives. These sermons are practical and moving, and they also resonate with the most rigorous theological understandings of ultimate reality. Their deconstruction of our convenient fantasies about a divine being make these sermons emotionally intense and perhaps not suitable for beginners in the journey of faith. But veteran believers can breathe deeply in the air of these meditations, relaxing into the bliss of engaging ultimate reality without delusions, without deflections, and without controlling the object of our worship.
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Millenial Narrative : Sharing A Good Life With The Next Generation
$20.99Add to cartA good education will land you a good job, “Be an entrepreneur/Start something in a garage or dorm room” and even “Jesus saves” are narratives that collapsed for the millennial generation (born 1982-2002). These narratives, amongst many similar social and religious ones, have lost their meaning and power as millennials question all authorities and struggle to flourish in a world come of age. With their needs for community and success, a strong spirituality, and believing that their gifts should be recognized and can make a difference, millennials increasingly find meaning and purpose outside the church. As they face economic uncertainty, reduced career prospects, unceasing change, as well as civic, global, and ecological uncertainties, however, a large number of millennials are overwhelmed with feelings of anxiety and depression. Caught between hope and fear, millennials leave the church with their values of personal transformation, purpose, community, spirituality, social transformation and ecological awareness. Ironically the church often holds the same values. Reaching the Millennial Generation is written for pastoral leaders who want to welcome millennials, both inside and outside their congregation. The book draws on the wisdom of the prophetic Book of Joel as a narrative worth living into. Drawing on Joel’s three chapters, Reaching the Millennial Generation empowers pastoral leaders to: – Facilitate the work of mourning Millennials are facing; – Envision a spiritual community that can welcome millennials; – Introduce a compassionate God that restores and indwells as the Spirit; – Reflect on God’s judgment through the lens of accountability; and, – Support and encourage millennials to be a blessing to others.
In addition, pastoral leaders will receive a sermon outline and material for adult education. -
Family Systems And Congregational Life
$29.99Add to cartExperienced pastor and seminary teacher R. Robert Creech helps pastoral leaders increase their effectiveness by applying family systems theory to congregational life and ministry. Creech introduces readers to the basic concepts of Bowen’s Family Systems Theory, applies family theory to the work of ministry in church settings, and connects systems thinking to the everyday aspects of congregational ministry, such as preaching, pastoral care, leadership, spiritual formation, and interpreting biblical texts. Each chapter contains discussion questions, and there are five helpful appendixes with supplemental information about Bowen theory. Professors and students in clinical pastoral education, family ministry, pastoral care, and family systems theory classes; pastors in local church ministry; and Christian counselors and therapists will all value this work.
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Wonder Of The Word
$12.99Add to cartEverything you need to know about Scripture
The Wonder of the Word gives you a complete survey of the Bible and shows you how Scripture produces power in someone’s life. It is the second book in the Kingdom Pastor’s Library from Tony Evans and will reinvigorate your love for Scripture. Dr. Evans explores the nature and benefits of God’s Word, as well as how to sow and grow the seed. It will also cover important topic such as:
*The revelation of Scripture
*The inspiration of Scripture
*The illumination of Scripture
*The interpretation of Scripture
*The canonicity of ScriptureLearn the essentials of Scripture from the gifted, veteran pastor, Tony Evans.
The Kingdom Pastor’s Library is a series of books that brings you a concise, complete pastoral philosophy and training from Tony Evans.
Faithful. Powerful. Practical. Become a Kingdom Pastor today.
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Preaching The New Testament Again
$19.00Add to cartThis book combines critical New Testament scholarship with homiletic concerns. Kim unravels complexities of the most prominent themes in the New Testament such as faith, freedom, and transformation, and brings them into dialogue with modern preaching contexts, ranging from personal identity to social justice to global issues. This book invites readers to reinterpret the most familiar themes that have not been thoroughly explored in scholarship and to make an informed choice about what to preach to whom in what context.
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Finding Your Way Through The Bible CEB
$9.99Add to cartThis self-instruction book was written to help middle and older elementary children become familiar with their Bibles and learn how to use them at their own speed. Finding Your Way Through the Bible is intended to be used with the Children’s Common English Bible at home or in the classroom. Students completing this book will be able to: -Find any book in the Old or New Testaments using the Table of Contents -Find any chapter in any book and any verse in any chapter -Find parts of verses when the Bible reference uses the letters a, b, and c with a verse number -Tell the difference between books with similar names such as 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel and John and 1 John -Recognize the additional helps in a Bible and be able to use them
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Free Of Me Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartOur me-centered culture affects every area of our lives–our friendships, our marriages, even our faith. The self-focused life robs our joy, shrinks our souls, and is the reason we never quite break free of insecurity.
Now churches and small groups can together heed the call to a bigger, Jesus-centered vision of life–one that restores our freedom and inspires us to live for more. Free of Me helps participants:
*identify the secret source of insecurity
*understand how self-focus sabotages seven areas of our lives
*learn four practical steps for focusing on God and others
*experience freedom from the burden of self-focusAnyone yearning for a purpose bigger than “project me” will cherish this paradigm-shifting message of true fulfillment.
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New Testament You Never Knew Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartThe New Testament You Never Knew Study Guide by N.T. Wright and Michael F. Bird is the definitive introduction to the New Testament.
In this 8-session video-based study (DVD/digital downloads sold separately), leading New Testament scholars, N.T. Wright and Michael Bird, hope to take you on a tour of the New Testament Story, from Galilee to Golgotha, from Jerusalem to Rome. They will look at who Jesus is, the real meaning of his death and resurrection, the expansion of the church in the Greco-Roman world, examine the debates and setbacks that they had along the way, and show how Christians can live out the story of New Testament in their own lives today.
Sessions include:
*The Story of the New Testament
*The World of Jesus
*Life and Death of Jesus
*The Resurrection of Jesus
*The Apostle Paul
*The Early Christians
*The Mission of the Church
*How the NT Came to BeDesigned for use with The New Testament You Never Knew Video Study (sold separately).
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Power Of Preaching
$14.99Add to cartThe No-Nonsense Preaching Manual Every Pastor Needs
The first book in the Kingdom Pastor’s Library from Tony Evans, The Power of Preaching will help you be faithful to the Word of God and preach with power and conviction. From the practice of preparation to learning to choose subjects wisely, this book offers brings you a preaching education from one of the most trusted and effective voices in ministry. It also includes important lessons on:
*Bible study methods & expository preaching
*The development and use of illustrations
*The cadence of deliveryLearn the essentials of preaching a powerful message from the gifted, veteran pastor, Tony Evans.
The Kingdom Pastor’s Library is a series of books that brings you a concise, complete pastoral philosophy and training from Tony Evans.
Faithful. Powerful. Practical. Become a Kingdom Pastor today.
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Holy Roar Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartIn this four-session video Bible study (DVD/digital downloads sold separately), Chris Tomlin and Darren Whitehead share a fresh perspective from the worship practices of the ancient world to show what it really means to praise God. They explain that in the Jewish culture, something extraordinary happened when God’s people gathered to worship him. It was more than just singing-it was a declaration, a proclamation, and a time for the people to fully embody praise to God for who he is and what he has done.
In the book of Psalms, the writers used seven distinct words that are translated into English as praise. However, as Chris and Darren point out in this study, each of these Hebrew words actually represents a different aspect of what it means to truly worship God:
*Yadah: to revere or worship with extended hands
*Halal: to boast, celebrate, and be clamorously foolish
*Zamar: to celebrate in song and in music
*Towdah: to give thanksgiving for things not yet received
*Barak: to kneel before God and bless him
*Tehillah: to sing a spontaneous song to God
*Shabach: to commend, glory, and triumphHoly Roar will provide insights and encouragement for group members to deepen their practice of praise and they learn about the deeper meanings of these words and put them into practice.
Sessions include:
1. The Shout of Praise
2. The Posture of Praise
3. The Music of Praise
4. The Expectation of Praise -
Irresistible Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartOnce upon a time there existed a version of our faith worth living and dying for, something the world found irresistible. Men and women pursued it at the risk of persecution, job loss, and eviction from their homes, temples, and society.
What if we actually followed their lead? Perhaps it would change how we read the Bible? Perhaps it would help us understand our own faith and what we believe? Perhaps we would change the world again?
In this six-session video study (DVD/video downloads sold separately), pastor and author Andy Stanley shows how Jesus’ arrival signaled that the Old Testament was fulfilled and its laws reduced to a single verb–love–to be applied to God, neighbor, and enemy. So, what is required if we want to follow Jesus’s example and radically love the people around us? We almost always know the answer. The hard part is actually doing what love requires.
Rather than working harder to make Christianity more interesting, we need to recover what once made faith in Jesus irresistible to the world.
Sessions include:
*Simply Resistible
*Brand New Agreement
*The Bible According to Jesus
*The Irresistible Ethic
*What Love Requires of Me
*A New ApproachDesigned for use with the Irresistible Video Study (9780310100515), sold separately.
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Neighborhood Church : Transforming Your Congregation Into A Powerhouse For
$22.00Add to cartHow can we embody the values of love, grace, and justice? As faith communities, how can our collective embodiment of these values shine even brighter? The answers to these questions must always unfold right here, right now, exactly where God has planted us. Neighborhood Churchacts as a resource to inspire churches to become a vibrant and engaging community partner with the families and neighborhoods living around them. The need for transformation is acute. Congregational decline continues across all mainline denominations. The abandonment of the church by the millennial generation is ubiquitous; no denomination is escaping it. This is, in part, a consequence of disconnection from our communities. Van Tatenhove and Mueller believe that, parish by parish, we can reverse this trend. They dare to have an audacious hope for local congregations not only as signs of God’s kingdom but as life-giving institutions that anchor their neighborhoods. Drawing on their combined sixty years of parish experience, wisdom from Asset-Based Community Development, and compelling case stories, Van Tatenhove and Mueller do more than just call us to incarnational ministry. They give practical, essential tools that lead to communal conversion, develop the DNA of listening, spur fruitful partnerships, promote integrated space, and sustain long-term visions. They believe these tools will spark true revival and unleash the power of incarnational ministry.
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Politics Of Ministry
$24.00Add to cartForeword By Steven Garber
Introduction
1. Three Ministry Stories
2. The Four Dynamics Of Politics
3. Power In Ministry Politics
4. The Branches And Roots Of Interests
5. Personality Interests
6. Organizational Interests
7. Societal Interests
8. Negotiation With Power For Interests
9. Negotiation In Cell Four
10. Ethical Issues In The Politics Of Ministry
11. Tom Moves Into A Political Swamp
Postscript: How People Learn The Politics Of Ministry
Acknowledgments
Appendix 1: Emotions Checklist
Appendix 2: Constructing And Exploring A Family Diagram
NotesAdditional Info
We all need help navigating the politics of ministry.Politics is often considered a dirty word. It brings to mind lies and manipulation, accusations and scandals. But at its most basic level, politics is simply the everyday activity of getting things done with other people: understanding their interests, recognizing the power dynamics at play, and learning how to negotiate relationships and institutions to achieve a common goal.These realities are as true in ministry settings as anywhere else. In The Politics of Ministry, Bob Burns, Tasha Chapman, and Donald Guthrie combine their long ministry experience with sociological research on the topic. Filled with real-life stories taken from a variety of ministry settings, this book sets out wise principles and practices that help us see more clearly the political dynamics at play in our churches and parachurch ministries.
All ministry is political. As servants of Christ’s kingdom, we are called to navigate the politics of ministry with grace, wisdom, and charity. This book shows us how the gospel of Jesus changes the way we work with those around us toward our common goal.
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Connections Year C Volume 2 Lent Through Pentecost
$55.00Add to cartDesigned to empower preachers as they lead their congregations to connect their lives to Scripture, Connections features a broad set of interpretive tools that provide commentary and worship aids on the Revised Common Lectionary.
For each worship day within the three-year lectionary cycle, the commentaries in Connections link the individual lection reading with Scripture as a whole as well as to the larger world. In addition, Connections places each Psalm reading in conversation with the other lections for the day to highlight the themes of the liturgical season. Finally, sidebars offer additional connections to Scripture for each Sunday or worship day.
This nine-volume series is a practical, constructive, and valuable resource for preachers who seek to help congregations connect more closely with Scripture.
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Grandparenting : Strengthening Your Family And Passing On Your Faith
$16.00Add to cartMany powerful voices are influencing our grandchildren, from those at home and in their schools to those in the world of entertainment and media. What can you as a grandparent do to speak wisdom and godliness into their lives? Grandparenting gives you a biblical foundation for investing spiritually in your grandkids, walking you through the principles of influencing them for Christ–from sharing with unbelieving grandkids to discipling them into a mature faith. This book is perfect for individual use, small groups, or Sunday school classes. A Grandparenting DVD is available that features eight family ministry experts with over six hours of video content.
Two other resources are also available:
Biblical Grandparenting is a full-length leadership book that places grandparenting ministry on a firm scriptural foundation. It is ideal for pastors and church leaders as well as for use in the classroom at seminaries.Equipping Grandparents is a brief book to teach pastors how to begin a grandparenting ministry in their church.
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Your Church At Its Best
$14.99Add to cartBroken into four parts, Your Church at Its Best examines sixteen crucial components of a healthy church, along with best practices for keeping a ministry running smoothly. This comprehensive and practical resource helps leaders see that we are not victims of the past, of location, or of present conditions.
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Storyline The Parables Of Jesus The Leaders Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$30.00Add to cartA Soulwithaview Media Limited Title
Dotted throughout the complex storyline of Jesus lies a wealth of simple stories. Tales of lost sheep, praying widows and self-important Pharisees. To comprehend their meaning, you will require open eyes, listening ears and a heart ready to understand.
Storyline is a six-session teaching series, set out in the form of a menu with starters, main courses (divided into three spice levels) and a range of sides and desserts to explore. Due to the flexibility of the material, Storyline works as a whole church programme, content for a retreat, within small groups or as a youth series.
The session outlines are as follows:
Lub Dub – the condition of the heart
Jesus looked out at the expansive crowd gathered before Him. Why had they come to listen?
Each heart came with a different need, question, and willingness to listen. We will never know the backstory of the crowd that gathered there that day, or the impact the words of Jesus would have on their heart. Some would never think of Jesus again, others would dedicate their lives to Him. The only difference was the condition of their heart.
Blot – the power of grace and forgiveness
Holding on tightly to the jar of perfume, she made her way across the room to Jesus. She must have known what they thought of her. As her tears mingled with the expensive scent and she dried the feet of Jesus with her hair, she must have sensed the looks of disgust from Simon the Pharisee. He had barely offered Jesus a drink let alone washed His feet.
As she washed away the dirt from Jesus’ feet, her faith and His forgiveness blotted out every stain.
Kerching – the cost of discipleship
Surrounded by blueprints, bank statements and spreadsheets the entrepreneur scanned the plans for the biggest building project he had ever undertaken. Every possible calculation had been made and every financial option explored. Despite the meticulous planning this was going to take every single penny he had, but he knew it would be worth it.
A life of discipleship costs us everything but it leads to a lifelong investment in a building project that is beyond anything we could dream or imagine.
Tic Toc – the way we invest our time and talents.
The bags of silver had been handed out, the time had passed and now the three servants stood before their master. After a long and tiring trip, he was keen to see the return on his investment. God’s love for us is not dependent on the things w
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99 Prayers Your Church Needs But Doesnt Know It Yet
$9.99Add to cartWhen the unexpected comes and you can’t find the words to pray, 99 Prayers Your Church Needs (But Doesn’t Know It Yet) will provide the starting point that will help lead you to the prayer your congregation or pastor needs. From prayers for a family who has lost a loved one to addiction, to a prayer for the new pastor in a new congregation, these 99 prayers will help you respond to a multitude of unexpected prayer requests? whether celebratory or grieving, or somewhere in between?in the course of your congregation’s life.
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Lords Prayer
$55.00Add to cartC. Clifton Black provides a thorough analysis of the most famous prayer in the Christian church, the Lord’s Prayer. He begins with an impressionist painting of how the ancients prayed during Jesus’ time in order to set the context for understanding the prayer he taught his disciples. Throughout the book, Black systematically interprets the rich meanings of each part of the Lord’s prayer. Additionally, he includes an overview of Christian thought on the Lord’s Prayer from early church mothers and fathers like Tertullian and Teresa of Avila to modern theologians like Karl Barth. Uniquely, this book is an academic study of the Lord’s Prayer with a focus on the rhetorical culture from which it developed as well as the theological, literary, and historical meanings of the prayer itself.
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Reciprocal Church : Becoming A Community Where Faith Flourishes Beyond High
$20.00Add to cartIntroduction: Reciprocal Church
Part 1: A Theological Vision For The Reciprocal Church
1. Eating Melon On Tuesdays: Young People And Faith
2. Galloping Mares: The Gospel Without Christ’s Church
3. A Vital Identity: God Gathers A People
4. A Vital Purpose: Christ Is Reconciling Relationships
5. A Vital Avenue: The Spirit Transforms You, Me, And UsPart 2: Values And Practices For Flourishing Communities
6. Tetherballs And Floodlights: Valuing Memory
7. The Oxpecker’s Gift: Valuing Mutuality
8. Seeing Beyond The Epidemic: Recognizing Potential
9. Moving Beyond The Epidemic: Valuing Contribution
10. Windmills Of Hope: Valuing MaturityEpilogue: Faith Flourishes With Practice
Acknowledgments
Discussion Questions
NotesAdditional Info
The church faces an unprecedented loss of rising generations. Young adults who were active and engaged in the local church are leaving the community behind after high school. What can we do? Responding to these concerning statistics, Sharon Galgay Ketcham reflects theologically on the church community and its role in forming faith. She exposes problems in the way leaders conceive of and teach about the relationship between individual faith and the local church, and offers fresh solutions in the form of values and practices that can shape a community into a place where faith will flourish in those both young and old. -
Case For Easter Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$10.99Add to cartIn his bestselling book The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel retraced his spiritual journey from atheism to faith by showing how the evidence he obtained from experts in the field of history, archaeology, and ancient manuscripts led him to the verdict that Jesus truly was the Son of God. Now, in this four-week study for Easter (DVD/digital downloads sold separately), Lee investigates the story surrounding the resurrection of Jesus-and how we can know that it is true.
In each session, he will explore the following aspects of the Easter story:
*What the Gospel accounts actually say about Jesus’ death and resurrection, how we can reconcile the discrepancies between the accounts, and how we can know the biblical accounts are accurate
*How we can use a technique known as “five minimal facts”-facts on which even skeptical scholars agree are true-and medical evidence to build a strong case for Jesus’ resurrection
*What the evidence in the Gospels reveals about the Jesus’ tomb being empty, why the Gospel writers are credible when they make this claim, and what this evidence leads us to conclude
*Who the Bible states witnessed Jesus being alive after the crucifixion, how early creeds emerged that stated Jesus was alive, and how it’s clear the early church carried on this teachingThe Case for Easter invites participants to examine the evidence for themselves and consider whether the story of Jesus’ resurrection makes sense. It will point them to the inescapable conclusion that led Lee from atheism to Christianity: Jesus was the Son of God who conquered the grave.
Designed for use with The Case for Christmas Video Study/The Case for Easter Video Study (sold separately). This DVD is a set of two videos to accompany The Case for Christmas Study Guide and The Case for Easter Study Guide (each guide sold separately).
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Curating Church : Strategies For Innovative Worship
$31.99Add to cartIf we are willing to shift our approach to church, we will better connect with increasingly heterogeneous cultures. This shifting requires curation. Church leaders must learn to be curators! Churches in modernity were set up to facilitate a particular kind of experience with God. Church was its own (protected) culture. In the wake of postmodernity, facilitated by new forms of (digital) communication, we are entering a new epoch in the history of the church. Curators manage the tasks of connection, preservation, and transformation, in their care for cultural artifacts and communities. When someone serves as a curator, they make connections between different elements in the culture, preserving the best of cultural traditions, and promoting fresh ways of thinking and being in the world. What might this work of curation mean for us? In Curating Church, readers learn how curation can reorient and sharpen the ways and work of the church. Curation can inform how we connect with cultures beyond the church, preserve what is best in the rich history of Christian thought and expression, and nurture spaces where contemporary persons may be transformed by the gospel. This book helps readers to understand with new richness the church and the world, and it equips them to become active in making those connections-as curators-with and for others.
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12 Disciples : Bible Study
$11.99Add to cartJesus called twelve ordinary men–and turned their weaknesses into strengths, their faults into testimonies, and their doubts into faith. Who were these men who walked with Jesus? What can we learn from their lives? Find out with The Twelve Disciples Visual Bible Study.
From John and Peter to Matthew and Mark, enjoy digging deeper into the lives of each of Jesus’ twelve disciples and learn more about:
*Their personalities
*Why Jesus called each of them
*How they served
*The lessons that we can learn from their mishaps and strengths
*And more!All-Inclusive Ready-to-Use Bible Study on the Twelve Disciples Can Be Led By Anyone!
This highly visual and informative introduction to the twelve disciples shows how Jesus called the Twelve individually–and uniquely–for life with him. See how Jesus entrusted them with authority despite all their mishaps and failures. Discover how these men’s lives were radically changed in the midst of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection; and celebrate the global effect they had for generations to come. Features include:
*6-session flexible Bible study
*Optional reading plan for people with more time who want to go deeper
*Leader’s guide is contained within each study guide, so no extra book purchase is required
*Discussion questions for each session and lots of space for writingMost Bible studies on the twelve disciples don’t include visuals. Imagine having one that does!
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Megachurch Christianity Reconsidered
$30.00Add to cartBuilding from a behind-the-scenes case study of Kenya’s Nairobi Chapel and its “daughter” Mavuno Church, Wanjiru M. Gitau expands their story into a narrative that offers analysis of the rise, growth, and place of megachurches worldwide in the new millennium. In contexts experienced as deeply volatile, and in Africa reeling from the structural incoherence imposed by colonial times, megachurches provide a map of reality to navigate by, with the gospel as their primary compass. Gitau shows that recognizing the psychological, spiritual, and social destabilization of modernizing societies is the first step to valuing the place of megachurches in contemporary Christianity.
Through analysis of social demography, theology, philosophy of ministry, leadership development, and strategy, Megachurch Christianity Reconsidered makes integral sense of the historical and social forces that give megachurches their growth opportunity in ministry, and reclaims them as a subject of serious theological conversation.
This lively, engaging account centers on the role of millennials in responding to the need for “a home for new generations” amid the dislocating transitions of globalization and postmodernity in postcolonial Africa and around the world. Gitau gleans practical wisdom for postdenominational churches everywhere (mega- and otherwise) from the lessons learned in Kenya’s remarkable urban, evangelical renewal movement.
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Will Willimons Lectionary Sermon Resource Year C Part 2
$26.99Add to cartWill Willimon is widely acclaimed as one of the top ten preachers in the world. For each Sunday of the Christian year, Will provides just what you need to begin the journey toward a sermon. This guide will stoke, fund, and fuel your imagination while leaving plenty of room to insert your own illustrations, make connections within your congregational context, and speak the Word in your distinctive voice. Guidance from Will Willimon is like sitting down with a trusted clergy friend and asking, “What will you preach next Sunday?” Year C Part 2 is part of a six-volume set that includes years A, B, and C (2 volumes per year) in the Revised Common Lectionary. Each week of sermon resources includes: 1. Readings 2. Theme title 3. Introduction to the Readings 4. Encountering the Text 5. Proclaiming the Text 6. Relating the Text
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Last Days Cycle C
$15.95Add to cartDo you serve people who feel like underdogs?
The story of Jesus’ last days on Earth, as recorded in the Gospel of Luke, provide some of the New Testament’s most powerful inspiration for the “underdogs” among us.
Richard A. Hasler draws from a deep well of modern-era stories to illustrate Jesus’ words of comfort and hope to people who seemed foolish, destined to lose in life.
Learn how Albert Schweitzer “wasted” his gifts to become a missionary to equatorial Africa; how Feodor Dostoevsky depended on the grace of God to create beautiful work out of a broken life; how one young believer ministered to a woman living with a family of Satanists in an unlikely place; and more.
These 12 sermons included in The Last Days reminds us we have the strength to serve, persevere and trust in Jesus Christ, even when doing so looks foolish, because we follow the king of underdogs … until the last days and forevermore.
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Find Your Fit (Revised)
$18.00Add to cartGod made you unique and valuable, and he invites you into an incredible future. But it can be hard to think through what that means and what it should look like. How can you figure it all out in the middle of your responsibilities, expectations, and pressures?
Find Your Fit is an incredible resource to help you discover who you are. It assesses your interests, abilities, spiritual gifts, values, and personality so you can understand what makes you tick and how you can become all God designed you to be. But it’s not just a powerful tool–it’s also fun to understand yourself better than you ever have before.
The Find Your Fit Discovery Workbook is also available, and it includes self-assessments, questions for digging deeper, and group exercises. Set yourself free to dream big dreams about what your life can be. God loves you so much and wants you to join him to change the world!
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Overcomer Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartIn this six-session Bible study, bestselling author Dr. David Jeremiah turns his insights to one of the most quoted but least understood passages of the Bible: the apostle Paul’s admonition in Ephesians 6:10-18 to take up the whole armor of God. With his signature depth, wisdom, and compassion, Dr. Jeremiah explores the powerful relevance of spiritual armor as a critical tool in our daily living as we confront the challenges in our lives and of our time. He reveals how God has given us, his followers, the tools we need to live a life defined not by our trials but by our victories.
This study will serve as a practical guide for how we can live each day in the strength that God provides as we equip each piece of spiritual armor. Although we all live in a time of deep uncertainty, the Bible promises we can live the life of freedom that God intended-even in times when the world seems filled with darkness. We were created to be overcomers, conquering the greatest obstacles in our lives.It is time to find renewed strength and claim the promises of God’s Word to overcome life’s greatest threats. It is time to claim our victory in Christ an be an overcomer.
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Taste And See Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartFood has always been something that joins us to one another as we procure, prepare, and share meals. We gather around tables and enter the hallowed belonging and sacred union of fellowship. In this place, we reconnect with our true selves as reconciles and healers of the world who dine with justice and mercy, practice divine hospitality, and restore our bodies with God’s gift of provision. Scripture likens Jesus to bread, an edible and necessary source of life. The Holy Spirit is likened to oil and anointing. The process of produce growth and pruning and harvesting is all through God’s word.
This six-session Bible study (DVD/downloads sold separately) explores those metaphors focusing on a few select, but pointed examples that take us full-circle in the experience of harvesting a relationship with Christ.
Sessions include:
*Come to the Table
*Bread of Life
*Pressed and Anointed
*First Fruit Offerings
*Sacrifice
*Invite and ServeDesigned for use with the Taste and See Video Study (sold separately).
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Return Of Jesus Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartThe second coming of Jesus has been a topic of fascination for both scholars and lay people for centuries. The accounts of Jesus’ return found throughout the Bible, especially in Revelation, are put forth with a cinematic quality that is both enrapturing and unnerving. In this study, we’ll explore apocalyptic literature throughout the Bible along with what it does and doesn’t tell us about Jesus’ return, and the key takeaways that these scriptures have for our faith. A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18 4-session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the Bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the Bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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Connections Year C Volume 1
$55.00Add to cartDesigned to empower preachers as they lead their congregations to connect their lives to Scripture, Connections features a broad set of interpretive tools that provide commentary and worship aids on the Revised Common Lectionary.
For each worship day within the three-year lectionary cycle, the commentaries in Connections link the individual lection reading with Scripture as a whole as well as to the larger world. In addition, Connections places each Psalm reading in conversation with the other lections for the day to highlight the themes of the liturgical season. Finally, sidebars offer additional connections to Scripture for each Sunday or worship day.
This nine-volume series is a practical, constructive, and valuable resource for preachers who seek to help congregations connect more closely with Scripture.
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Introduction To The New Testament
$70.00Add to cartThis New Testament introduction is different.Many introductions zero in on the historical contexts in which the New Testament literature was written. This introduction goes farther-to give particular attention to the social, cultural, and rhetorical contexts of the New Testament authors and their writings.Few introductions to the New Testament integrate instruction in exegetical and interpretive strategies with the customary considerations of authorship, dating, audience, and message. This introduction capitalizes on the opportunity, introducing students to a relevant facet of interpretation with each portion of New Testament literature.Rarely do introductions to the New Testament approach their task mindful of students preparing for ministry. This introduction is explicit in doing so, recognizing as it does that the New Testament itself-in its parts and as a whole-is a pastoral resource. Each chapter on the New Testament literature closes with a discussion of implications for ministry formation.These integrative features alone would distinguish this introduction from others. But in addition, its pages brim with maps, photos, points of interest, and aids to learning. Separate chapters explore the historical and cultural environment of the New Testament era, the nature of the Gospels and the quest for the historical Jesus, and the life of Paul.First published in 2004, David A. deSilva’s comprehensive and carefully crafted introduction to the New Testament has been long established as an authoritative textbook and resource for students. This beautiful, full-color second edition has been updated throughout with new scholarship and numerous images. It is the first choice for those convinced that a New Testament introduction should integrate scholarship and ministry.
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Faithful Bible Study Book
$18.95Add to cartBorrowing from best-selling studies by Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, Lisa Harper, Kelly Minter, and Jennifer Rothschild, this 5-session study explores crucial moments in the lives of five Old Testament figures-Esther, Gideon, Malachi, Nehemiah, and Hosea. Through their stories, discover how God uses the lives of ordinary people for His glory and the good of His people. Strengthen your faith as you walk alongside these larger-than-life figures who all chose to obey God no matter the circumstances.
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Your Companion Through Chronic Illness
$5.99Add to cartThe Out of the Depths series addresses common pastoral crises in a faithful, encouraging, and factual manner that provides support to parishioners in crisis beyond the initial pastoral conversation. These inexpensive booklets can be given out to parishioners when they bring their recent diagnosis, crisis, or trauma to the pastor as a way to continue to provide care throughout the difficult season. Each booklet begins with a thoughtful consideration of the topic at hand, which is followed up by 30 brief devotions. These devotions are designed to be manageable in an overwhelming time, encouraging, and honest. This Chronic Illnessedition is authored by Lauren Dunkle Dancey, a United Methodist chaplain and pastor who lives with chronic illness. The Out of the Depths booklets are essential care resources to be given out by pastors, Stephen Ministers, and congregational care teams. Key Features:
Written by metal health professionals and pastors to help the reader process their trauma both psychologically and theologically.
Includes accessible material describing the dynamics of the crisis situation and typical reactions, which provides the reader with a sense of grounding and direction through increased knowledge.
The thirty short devotions creates a sense of companionship and hope in a difficult and lonely time.
Knowing they are sharing a resource written by mental health professionals and pastors with personal experience provides pastors a trustworthy source of information.
Easy for pastors/churches to keep in stock and distribute as needed, serves as a tangible reminder of the faith community’s care. -
Your Companion Through Depression And Anxiety
$5.99Add to cartThe Out of the Depths series addresses common pastoral crises in a faithful, encouraging, and factual manner that provides support to parishioners in crisis beyond the initial pastoral conversation. These inexpensive booklets can be given out to parishioners when they bring their recent diagnosis, crisis, or trauma to the pastor as a way to continue to provide care throughout the difficult season. Each booklet begins with a thoughtful consideration of the topic at hand, which is followed up by 30 brief devotions. These devotions are designed to be manageable in an overwhelming time, encouraging, and honest. This Depression and Anxiety edition is authored by Jim Hightower and features insightful devotions by Harriet Bryan. The Out of the Depths booklets are essential care resources to be given out by pastors, Stephen Ministers, and congregational care teams. Key Features: Written by metal health professionals and pastors to help the reader process their trauma both psychologically and theologically. Includes accessible material describing the dynamics of the crisis situation and typical reactions, which provides the reader with a sense of grounding and direction through increased knowledge. The thirty short devotions creates a sense of companionship and hope in a difficult and lonely time. Knowing they are sharing a resource written by mental health professionals and pastors with personal experience provides pastors a trustworthy source of information. Easy for pastors/churches to keep in stock and distribute as needed, serves as a tangible reminder of the faith community’s care.
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Return Of Jesus Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartThe second coming of Jesus has been a topic of fascination for both scholars and lay people for centuries. The accounts of Jesus’ return found throughout the Bible, especially in Revelation, are put forth with a cinematic quality that is both enrapturing and unnerving. In this study, we’ll explore apocalyptic literature throughout the Bible along with what it does and doesn’t tell us about Jesus’ return, and the key takeaways that these scriptures have for our faith. A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18 4-session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the Bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the Bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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Surrendering My Ordination
$20.00Add to cartIn May 2017, after sixty years as an ordained United Methodist minister, Rev. J. Philip Wogaman surrendered his ordination, choosing to exit a community of clergy who will not allow an openly gay person to join. By surrendering his ordination, he chose to join the group of devoted Christians outside the clergy who welcomed gay and lesbian individuals.
Beginning with an examination of ordination and what is means theologically, ethically, and pastorally, Wogaman then describes the action itself and its aftermath. Surrendering My Ordination also explores how The United Methodist Church can move forward, beyond the polarized present situation found in many contemporary Christian churches.
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Names Of God (Workbook)
$16.99Add to cartDrawn from the books, Praying the Names of God and Praying the Names of Jesus, this Bible study includes additional questions designed to help individuals and groups explore the most important of God’s names and titles as they are revealed in the Bible. Exploring his names and titles in both the Old and New Testaments allows study participants to begin to realize how utterly great, loving, and powerful God is. By studying such rich and varied names as Adonai, Yahweh, Abba, Yeshua, Lamb of God, and Prince of Peace, we understand more about who God is and how he loves us. Each week’s study provides background information to help readers understand the name, a key Scripture in which the name was either first or most significantly revealed, a series of questions for individual or group study, and a brief list of passages for further study.
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Women Of The Bible
$16.99Add to cartBased on the bestselling book coauthored with Ann Spangler, Women of the Bible, this study edition includes an introduction to each woman, major Scripture passages, study materials, and cultural backgrounds. There are fifty-two studies, one for each week of the year. Newly gathered study aids include helpful charts as well as a complete listing of all women of the Bible, with pertinent Scripture references. Space is included to record your thoughts and insights.
Each timeless biblical story mirrors the challenges and changes today’s women face. Through understanding these women’s lives, this easy-to-use study resource will help you discover the God behind their stories-and yours.
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Gods Plan For Christian Living (Workbook)
$29.95Add to cartEvery ESL Ministry Needs This Book!
God’s Plan for Christian Living, Book 2 in the ESL Ministry Series, is a practical, time-tested workbook with step-by-step activities that help ESL students move easily from learning English or reading more fluently to considering what it means to live as a disciple of Christ.
This ESL workbook is part of a series that is:
*Deliberately simple in design and vocabulary.
*Easy to follow with engaging and effective exercises.
*Suitable as a stand-alone resource or as a supplement to existing ESL courses.
*Designed to share the basic principles of Christian living in clear, concise lessons.
*Perfect for ESL teachers and ministries to use and adapt to a variety of contexts.God’s Plan for Christian Living is ideal for:
*People with limited English ability.
*Individuals with little or no previous Bible knowledge.
*People who may be reluctant to interact with the Bible because of its perceived complexity.For those looking to introduce the Good News of Christ into their ESL program, the first book in this ESL Ministry Series–God’s Plan of Love (ISBN: 978-1-61314-401-5)–is also available. Together, these easy-to-use materials will provide the tools to bridge the gap between ESL language teaching and sharing Christ and important biblical truths.
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Seeing Gray In A World Of Black And White Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartEveryone agrees that America is polarized, with ever-hardening positions held by people less and less willing to listen to one another. No one agrees on what to do about it. One solution that hasn’t yet been tried, says Adam Hamilton, is for thinking persons of faith to model for the rest of the country a richer, more thoughtful conversation on the political, moral, and religious issues that divide us. The Leader Guide includes session plans, discussion questions, and multiple format options.
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Affirm Student Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$13.99Add to cartAffirm is a 6 week discipleship refresh from confirmation. With an emphasis on following Jesus and spiritual practices Affirm is great for a youth group series, a small group study, or for a weekend retreat. Providing leaders with the tools to enlist the support of their church and parents to help students grow stronger and go deeper with their relationship with Christ.
The Affirm student guide is a devotional resource designed to support the ownership of your teens faith journey. We know teens are social. The devotional material is woven into the rest of the student material so their growth gets worked out with their peers, and is shareable. This connection with their small group will lead to better faith/life integration.
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Focus On Jesus Cycle C
$16.95Add to cartEvery time Rev. Derl G. Keefer preaches a Christmas sermon, he asks himself the same question. Why did Jesus come to earth?
It’s the question that Jesus’ earthly parents, Mary and Joseph, must have asked themselves over and over. They struggled to understand why, when he was 12 years old, he would leave their care to join the scholars of the temple.
His answer served to refocus his own parents on who he really was.”Did you not know,” he asked them, “that I must be about my Father’s business?”
The 15 sermons contained in Focus on Jesus will provide four answers to the question of why he came by revealing the nature of the Father’s business as described in the Gospel of Luke:
*Jesus came to be the fulfillment of prophecy.
*Jesus came to be our Messiah.
*Jesus came to be our Savior.
*Jesus came to be the human face of God.This Advent season, utilize Keefer’s clear, simple teaching style in Focus on Jesus to help those seeking Jesus understand who he is, and to reignite the passion that first brought members of your congregation into his arms.
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Pastoral Ministry Theology And Practice
$38.99Add to cartRelevant to active pastors, seminarians, and laity, particularly as pastors explain the office to their elders, Pastoral Ministry: Theology and Practice builds on existing pastoral theology resources and addresses pastoral theology to the ministry in the 21st century.
Though author Richard Warneck’s material is of special value to pastors of the Lutheran Church, Warneck addresses a broader audience than simply the LCMS, making this book relevant to pastors and priests of other denominations.
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Healing Our Broken Humanity
$24.00Add to cartForeword By Willie James Jennings
Introduction: Nine Practices That Heal Our Broken Humanity
1. Reimagine Church
2. Renew Lament
3. Repent Together
4. Relinquish Power
5. Restore Justice
6. Reactivate Hospitality
7. Reinforce Agency
8. Reconcile Relationships
9. Recover Life Together
Epilogue: A Benediction And Prayer
Acknowledgments
Appendix One: Questions For Discussion And Engagement
Appendix Two: The Nine Transforming Practices Accountability Form
Appendix Three: Resources For Healing Our Broken Humanity
Notes
IndexAdditional Info
We live in conflicted times. Our newsfeeds are filled with inequality, division, and fear. We want to make a difference and see justice restored because Jesus calls us to be a peacemaking and reconciling people. But how do we do this?Based on their work with diverse churches, colleges, and other organizations, Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Graham Hill offer Christian practices that can bring healing and hope to a broken world. They provide ten ways to transform society, from lament and repentance to relinquishing power, reinforcing agency, and more. Embodying these practices enables us to be the new humanity in Jesus Christ, so the church and world can experience reconciliation, justice, unity, peace, and love.
With small group activities, discussion questions, and exercises in each chapter, this book is ideal to read together in community. Discover here how to bring real change to a dehumanized world.
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Shouting Joy To The Storm Cycle C
$15.95Add to cartHow are we to respond when the violent storm of change rolls into our lives?
Should we hide from the storm? Hide in the status quo?
As this volume of sermons reminds us, that is not the way of the Christ.Followers of Jesus are called to believe that our greatest treasure ought not be found in the comfort of worldly life as we make it. The Lord calls us instead to step outside and face the coming storm, as he did.
When we do, we face all manner of fears in a world that does not like its order challenged. Mockery when we follow God; poverty when we stop worshipping money; grief when we are vulnerable enough to love the oppressed.
Shouting Joy to the Storm reminds us that, just as the Father partnered with the Son to bring him through the storm of Calvary, so he will bring us through our storms. We are not in this for a mere lifetime. We are in it for the long haul.
“They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid (Ezekiel 34:28, ESV).”
Sermons include:
*Long View – The Long Haul(Luke 13:31-35)
*What Is Truth? (John 18:1-19, 42)
*Death Shall Be No More (John 13:31-35, Revelation 21:1-6) -
Unshakable Hope Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartThe Unshakable Hope group Bible study provides groups of all sizes the opportunity to discuss and apply what they experience during the twelve-week Unshakable Hope church campaign.
In this 12-week study, bestselling author and pastor Max Lucado reveals how the heroes in the Bible came from all walks of life. They were rulers, servants, teachers, doctors. They were male, female, single, married. Yet one common denominator united them: they all put their faith in God’s promises. Because of God’s promises, Noah built an ark on dry land, Abraham went to a distant land, Joshua claimed the Promised Land, David became king, Peter preached the first sermon, and John caught a glimpse of the future.The stories of the men and women in Scripture were different, but the theme was the same: they were people of the Promise. Since the beginning of time, God’s relationship to humankind has been shaped by specific requirements and promises. These covenants were unchangeable decrees that defined the outflow of history. Some of the promises were positive, the assurance of blessings. Some of them were negative, the guarantee of consequence. But all the promises were binding.
This world has a tremble to it. There are things that seem unsteady in this life. But when we belong to God, it allows us to filter our problems through the promises of God. When crises arise, we can simply mutter, “But God said…” When struggles threaten, we can be seen flipping through the Bible, saying, “I know that God said something about this.” When we choose to be people of the promise, we choose to build our lives on promises of God not the circumstances of life.
It is through the great and precious promises that we participate in the divine nature of God. They sit like golden stones in the pathway to God’s world. They are strong boulders that form the bridge over which we walk from our sin to salvation. They aren’t just great, they are “very great”; and they aren’t just valuable, they are “precious.” To bind them around our neck is to adorn ourselves with the finest jewels of the universe. As Dwight Moody put it, “If you would spend a month feeding on the precious promises of God-you wouldn’t be going about complaining how poor you are. You would lift up your head and proclaim the riches of His Grace, because you couldn’t help doing it.”
Sessions include:
1. You Are Stamped with God’s Image
2. God Will Win the Victory
3. You Are an Heir of God
4. Your Prayers Have Power
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Glimpsing Resurrection : Cancer Trauma And Ministry
$28.00Add to cartIn Glimpsing Resurrection, Deanna A. Thompson combines recent trauma research with compelling first-person narrative to provide insight into the traumatic dimensions of living with a serious illness. Her aim is to help those who are ill and those who care for and minister to them deepen their understanding of how best to offer support.
“The tendency for Christians to move almost immediately from death to proclamations of new life risks alienating those for whom healing and new life seem out of reach,” says Thompson. Glimpsing Resurrection focuses less on the “why” to help readers instead come to terms with the “how” of living with a serious disease. In particular, Thompson provides a framework and concrete suggestions for how to be a church where those who are undone by illness can be undone, as well as a place that can love and support them to hope.
“Finding space within the psalms, the story of Job, Jesus’ cry of God-forsakenness on the cross, and even Christ’s descent into hell helps us imagine how Christian communities can be spacious enough to acknowledge and hold those who are undone by illness,” Thompson says. “Only then does it become possible to identify the hope that can emerge from our not-yet-resurrection reality to imagine more in life today as well as in the life to come.”
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After The Trip
$15.00Add to cart1. What Now?
2. Coming Home With Gifts
3. Mining For Gold
4. Treasures On The Journey
5. Keeping The Lines Open
6. Make Your Next Trip Your Best Trip
7. The Key To A Life-Changing Journey
Afterword: The Trip Is Just The Beginning
Questions For Reflection And Discussion
Appendix: Eight Great Questions
NotesAdditional Info
Can a one-time crosscultural experience truly be life-changing?Veteran trip leader and intercultural guide Cory Trenda says yes-if we let the trip launch a journey of integrating the experience into our ongoing life.
In After the Trip Trenda provides a unique guide for individuals and teams to make the most of a crosscultural trip after returning home. Readers will find help with navigating the crucial reentry process, remembering and sharing key stories, interweaving new insights into everyday life, and engaging in continuing learning and service. Combining practical tips, reflections, and stories from Trenda’s own decades of crosscultural travel, this is an essential resource for organizations, churches, schools, and all travelers who want crosscultural trips to be a catalyst for lasting good.
The trip itself is just the beginning; real life change happens after the trip.
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Miracles : Gods Presence And Power In Creation
$50.00Add to cartMiracles are not confined to the stories of Scripture; these signs of God’s presence and power in creation are experienced throughout our daily existence. Yet cultural challenges and modernity’s skepticism have marginalized belief in them as unreasonable and irrational, says Luke Timothy Johnson.
In this excellent resource for church professionals, Johnson reclaims Christian belief in miracles as integral to recovering a proper and strong sense of creation, recognizing the validity of personal experience and narrative and asserting the truth-telling quality of myth. His analysis includes:
a description of the competing symbolic worldviews that have framed the discussion on miracles, including secular debates and theological imagination;
interpretation of miracles consonant with the biblical construction of reality in the Old and New Testaments;
suggestions for four areas in the church’s life-teaching, preaching, prayer, and pastoral care-that can work together to shape a symbolic world, within which believers can expect, perceive, and celebrate the miracles in everyday life. -
Guardrails Study Guide Updated Edition (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartEver wonder what it would be like to have guardrails in other areas of your life-areas where culture baits you to the edge of disaster and then chastises you when you step across the line? Your friendships. Your finances. Your marriage. Maybe your greatest regret could have been avoided if you had established guardrails.
In this five-session video-based small group Bible study (video sold separately), Andy Stanley challenges us to stop flirting with disaster and establish some personal guardrails.
Sessions include:
*Direct and Protect
*Proximity
*Forever Yours
*Money Matters
*The Heart of the MatterDesigned for use with the Guardrails Video Study (9780310095910), sold separately.
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Rock The Road And The Rabbi Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartA lifetime student of Scripture, popular television personality Kathie Lee Gifford has been traveling to Israel since she was seventeen years old. Having a Jewish father, she has always felt what she calls “a deep resonance in my very being for the Jewish people and Land of the Covenant-Israel.” But it wasn’t until she started studying the original texts in Hebrew and Greek and hiking the land with teachers like Ray Vander Laan that she finally began to find what her soul had been longing for.
In this six-session video curriculum (DVD/downloads sold separately), Kathie Lee invites group participants to join her as she revisits some of these sites in Israel that have impacted her life and recounts events that happened there. As she shares her story, she will be accompanied by co-author Rabbi Jason Sobel, a Messianic Jewish Rabbi who will provide fascinating background details and eye-opening revelations that make the story of the New Testament come alive. Kathie Lee and Rabbi Sobel will take participants beyond the typical “Sunday School” teaching so prevalent in churches today to examine the true texts of the Bible.Something profound happens when we follow along the ancient paths in the actual places where Jesus taught, healed, lived, died, was resurrected, and ascended into heaven. As Kathie Lee and Rabbi Sobel reveal in this study, Jesus is indeed the Rock and the Rabbi whom we follow along this Road in life. And when we are introduced to the mysteries of the Word by teachers who are actually trained in the ancient rabbinical way, radical transformation begins to renew our hearts and minds.
Sessions include:
1. Bethlehem: Where It All Began
2. Nazareth: Jesus’ Early Years
3. Judean Wilderness: The Temptation
4. Galilee: Jesus’ Early Ministry
5. Jerusalem 1: Teaching in the Temple
6. Jerusalem 2: Crucifixion and ResurrectionDesigned for use with The Rock, the Road, and the Rabbi Video Study (sold separately).
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A To Z Thru The Bible
$19.99Add to cartGuide preschoolers through the Bible from A to Z with this ready-to-go resource! Whitney’s 26 lessons teach children foundational biblical truths while reviewing early education basics. The familiar alphabetical structure makes the key points easy to grasp—and remember. Features step-by-step instructions, age-appropriate crafts, fun interactive activities, and more. Ages 3 to 5. Approx. 200 reproducible pages, softcover from RoseKidz.
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Leaders Of The Church Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartIn The Leaders of the Church, students will be introduced to some of the lesser-known, but still vitally important leaders of the early church. These four lessons will profile four leaders and help students understand what it means to be a leader while following God and working towards the kingdom of Heaven. These studies will come from the Gospels, Acts, and the New Testament Letters. A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18-4 session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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Quit Church : Because Your Life Would Be Better If You Did (Reprinted)
$18.00Add to cartBased on research among congregations across the country, seasoned church coach and pastor Chris Sonksen reveals habits we need to simply let go, along with spiritual practices we need to relearn in order to thrive as individuals and produce growth in our churches.
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Making Your Case For Christ Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartIn his bestselling book The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel retraced his spiritual journey from atheism to faith by showing how the evidence he obtained from experts in the field of history, archaeology, and ancient manuscripts led him to the verdict that Jesus truly was the Son of God.
Now, in this new six-week training course, Lee and co-author Mark Mittelberg equip believers with practical tools to equip them articulate this same message to their unsaved friends and present evidence that backs up Jesus’ claims and credentials. As participants go through the course, they will discover how to . . .
*Help their unsaved friends and family members open up to consider the case for Christ
*Describe their own personal journey with Christ and how it has impacted them
*Share with confidence about the biblical record of Christ-that Jesus was real
*Present the evidence for the resurrection of Christ-that Jesus died and was raised to life
*Explain the central message of Christ in an authentic and compelling way
*Help their unsaved friends and family members respond to the truth of JesusMaking Your Case for Christ is designed to help Christians, both young and old, understand and articulate the message of Christ along with evidence that backs up his claims and credentials. The training course will combine high points of the historical apologetics presented in The Case for Christ book and movie with specific evangelistic training related to this information. Each session will feature a teaching from Lee and Mark and, as part of a special deal with PureFlix, will include a relevant clip (or set of clips) from The Case for Christ movie. A comprehensive leader’s guide will also be included to help course facilitators use the teaching and movie clips to guide the discussion times.
Sessions include:
*Helping Friends Consider the Case for Christ
*Describing Your Own Journey with Christ
*Backing Up the Biblical Record of Christ
*Presenting Evidence for the Resurrection of Christ
*Explaining the Central Message of Christ
*Encouraging Friends to Follow ChristDesigned for use with the Making Your Case for Christ Video Study (9780310095156), sold separately.
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Good Samaritan : Discover The Scriptures Jesus And Luke Used In Luke 10:30-
$9.99Add to cartThe account of the Good Samaritan in Luke has been examined by many scholars. Yet, in examining over 100 commentaries on the passage, very few even mention the account in the Hebrew Scriptures that Jesus drew from to present his teaching. These few that mention the account in the Hebrew Scriptures mostly only mention a possible relationship between the two passages. Far fewer still, acknowledge and examine the passage in the Hebrew Scriptures that the account in Luke comments upon, which is from a different passage yet. This pastoral commentary on the Good Samaritan(s) examines the different passages and the interactions between the different accounts. This new approach yields exciting new avenues for Scriptural study and preaching. Jesus never mentions why the man in Luke was beaten and robbed or who the robbers were and why they attacked the man. However, these inferences can be made to better understand Jesus’ teaching and Luke’s writing.
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Disciples Path Daily Workbook (Workbook)
$15.99Add to cartA Disciple’s Path is an engaging approach to discipleship from a distinctly Wesleyan perspective that is perfect for a new member class or other small group. The six-week program guides individuals to take the next step in discipleship and become dynamic followers of Jesus Christ and engaged, vital members of the local church. The study combines a Wesleyan understanding of our growth in God’s love and grace with the time-tested practices of spiritual discipline expressed in the membership vows to uphold the church with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Participants will develop spiritual practices, discover their unique gifts, and become engaged in ministry that brings transformation in their own lives, the lives of others, and the world. This Daily Workbook contains six weeks of daily readings (five per week) that guide participants in learning and practicing seven essential spiritual disciplines: Prayer Scripture Corporate Worship Small-group Community Financial Generosity Gifts-based Service Invitational Evangelism Each day’s reading includes a Scripture, a message for the day, questions and prompts for personal reflection (with space provided for recording responses), and prayer. A special introductory section includes material on the history, beliefs, and structure of the church and answers to frequently asked questions. Whether you’re just setting out or are further along the path of discipleship, this excellent resource will help you to take the next step. – Roger Scholtz, Senior Pastor, Manning Road Methodist Church, Durban, South Africa A Disciple’s Path has the potential to revolutionize the way we view our participation in the church. Following this ‘path’ can transform us from wanderers into pilgrims. – Dr. Steve Harper, Professor of Spiritual Formation, Asbury Theological Seminary
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Life In The Church 2 Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartIn this study, your students will learn about what it was like to be a part of the early church in the first century. In addition to unpacking selected teachings in Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2 & 3 John and Jude, teens will also gain an understanding of the historical context and local church situations that led to the writing of these letters. A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18-4 session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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Life In The Church 2 Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartIn this study, your students will learn about what it was like to be a part of the early church in the first century. In addition to unpacking selected teachings in Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2 & 3 John and Jude, teens will also gain an understanding of the historical context and local church situations that led to the writing of these letters. A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18-4 session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
