Pastoral Helps
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Becoming A Makeover Congregation
$16.95Add to cart“There can be no resurrection without a death.”
This quote from H. George Anderson, former presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), speaks to the makeover approach to ministry that evolved during the course of more than nine years at a small, struggling congregation in Janesville, Iowa called Messiah Lutheran Church.
When Pastor Beth Olson arrived, members told her they weren’t sure from week to week if they would see each other in worship or if the church would even be open the following Sunday.
How did that same congregation, then, end up building the first new church and education unit in the Northwest Iowa Synod? How did it come to host an ELCA Division for Outreach regional workshop on ministry in action? How did this congregation, which had looked death in the eye, experience a resurrection few might have expected?
The answers are in Becoming a Makeover Congregation, a story that shows how things as diverse as glow sticks for Christmas Eve worship, jumper cables as an image for transformational ministry and a makeover scene from the Disney movie The Princess Diaries can bring about resurrection and renewal. Pastor Olson’s story will equip you to assemble your own makeover for mission and ministry toolkit so you too can celebrate the power of resurrection in your church.
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Ministry Of Care
$13.99Add to cartChurches tend to focus rightly so on spiritual care for parishioners, but what if your church also had a healthcare ministry? Health-related concerns affect the majority of individuals at some point in their lives. Whether it s facilitating healthcare clinics, hosting seminars by medical professionals, or helping congregants navigate the complex healthcare system, A Ministry of Care explores a variety of ways for any church to become a place where people can be ministered to in spirit, mind, and body. Advanced practice nurses Cynthia Russell and Kristen Mauk guide you through the steps toward starting and sustaining a health-oriented ministry in your church. Pastors, church board members, or motivated lay members can take advantage of the professional tips and advice shared in this handbook in order to better care for the physical well-being of the members in their church and the community beyond.
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Transforming Vestries
$25.95Add to cartDrawing on the resources of five other volumes in the series, “Transforming Vestries” creates a single source designed specifically for this governing body. The chapters will highlight the nature – and the needs – of vestry membership: stewardship, leadership, evangelism, discipleship, and vital congregational life.
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Word To Fellow Pastors And Other Christian Leaders
$13.99Add to cartThe objective of the Christian ministry is to convert sinners and to edify the body of Christ. No faithful minister can possibly rest short of this. Applause, fame, popularity, honor, and wealth – all these are vain. If souls are not won, and if saints are not matured, our ministry itself is futile.
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Following King Jesus Workbook
$19.99Add to cartAuthor and scholar Scot McKnight helps us learn what it means to follow King Jesus through 24 lessons of discipleship essentials that will help develop a proper framework for the Christian life. Designed for small groups of two or three, McKnight helps you discover what it means to embrace a biblical gospel, learn how to properly read the Bible, live a kingdom vision for life, and show the world God’s design for life together.
Each lesson contains a discipleship reading, an in-depth Bible study, discussion questions, and going-deeper sections for journaling and reflecting. This workbook will help you explore what it means to be a disciple and what are the choices/practices that a disciple must employ in order to effectively follow King Jesus and to understand what it means to be a disciple in your relationship to God, yourself, and others (both inside and outside the Church).
The 24 lessons include:
Part 1: Gospel
*What Is the Gospel?
*The Apostolic Gospel of Paul
*The Gospel of Jesus
*The Gospel of Peter
*What Is Gospeling Today?
*How Do We Create a Gospel Culture?Part 2: Bible
*What Is the Bible?
*How Are We to Live the Bible?
*How Should We Read the Bible?
*How Do We Listen to the Bible?
*How Do We Read the Bible as Story?
*Now What?Part 3: Life
*Kingdom Life
*Love Life
*Wisdom Life
*Relational Life
*Vocational Life
*Eternal LifePart 4: Church
*Grace
*Love
*Table
*Holiness
*Newness
*Flourishing -
Connecting For A Change
$16.99Add to cartAt its simplest, Mission Strategy is about aligning the what, who, how and when with God’s why. Learn to implement Mission Strategy in your community of faith! Church and community relevance and vitality depends on leaders who see their situation through the lens of mission strategy. At its simplest, mission strategy is about aligning the what, who, how and when with God’s why. The authors have lived Mission Strategy in a variety of bold ways and have helped others do the same. In doing so, they have created vitality in existing congregations and in newly formed clusters of churches. They have helped create zones of innovation and new ministry development. The sky is the limit when pastors, church leaders and laity in local churches begin emphasizing mission strategy in their conferences, regions, neighborhoods and churches.
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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
$24.99Add 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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Roots And Routes
$31.99Add to cartRandy Litchfield’s fresh look at the perennial question of vocation combines theological reflection on the development of personal spiritual identity with a thoughtful look at the significant dimension of place – how the realities of our contexts call for particular responses to vocation in specific times and places. Roots and Routes helps pastors and leaders claim a rich vocational imagination for recognizing God’s ongoing call to partnership in the specific, concrete locales of ministry. The Carnegie Institute’s rich ethnographic studies of graduate education in the professions reveal that guiding experiences of risk are at the heart of professional development – combining call with experiences in the actual realities of professional life. Hence the emphasis on field education and internships. But how can we help pastors and leaders see calling as a life-long process of discernment and response? With ministerial burnout (and confusion) at an all-time high, connecting the dots between the ongoing call of God and the specific locales of ministry is an interpretive life-skill necessary for pastors, leaders, and disciples of Jesus Christ. Failed vocational imagination obstructs the effectiveness of individuals and the church as a whole in fulfilling their mission of partnership with God’s creating, redeeming, and sustaining work in the world. The primary audience for the book is seminary educators and students and pastors. It also has congregational leaders in mind.
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2 Steps Forward Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add 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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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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Extra Mile Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add 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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Developing Female Leaders
$19.99Add 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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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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Foolish Church : Messy, Raw, Real, And Making Room
$42.00Add to cartMessy, raw, and real aren’t the words most of us use when we say what’s good about our churches. But what if they were? Author Lee Schott found out, serving a beautiful church inside the Iowa women’s prison. A lifelong church person, she discovered more church, and greater faithfulness, in this most unlikely setting, with room for people the church has often overlooked. She shares the lessons she has learned there, with the hope that church leaders outside of prison might be inspired, equipped, and encouraged to loosen the fetters that keep our churches so closed off. We’ll explore church characterized by honest relationship, protection of the vulnerable, radical welcome, and healthy boundaries. Practical application for the local church context and discussion questions for group study are included throughout.
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God Is : Meditations On The Mystery Of Life, The Purity Of Grace, The Bliss
$36.00Add 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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Preaching The New Testament Again
$39.00Add 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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Foolish Church : Messy, Raw, Real, And Making Room
$22.00Add to cartMessy, raw, and real aren’t the words most of us use when we say what’s good about our churches. But what if they were? Author Lee Schott found out, serving a beautiful church inside the Iowa women’s prison. A lifelong church person, she discovered more church, and greater faithfulness, in this most unlikely setting, with room for people the church has often overlooked. She shares the lessons she has learned there, with the hope that church leaders outside of prison might be inspired, equipped, and encouraged to loosen the fetters that keep our churches so closed off. We’ll explore church characterized by honest relationship, protection of the vulnerable, radical welcome, and healthy boundaries. Practical application for the local church context and discussion questions for group study are included throughout.
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Learning To Use My Bible Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartLearning to Use My Bible provides opportunities for kids ages 7-9 to acquire and practice skills that will help them understand how to use the Bible, feel comfortable using the Bible, and build a foundation for studying the Bible.
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Learning To Use My Bible Student Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$7.99Add to cartLearning to Use My Bible provides opportunities for kids ages 7-9 to acquire and practice skills that will help them understand how to use the Bible, feel comfortable using the Bible, and build a foundation for studying the Bible.
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Millenial Narrative: Participant Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add 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.
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Addiction And Pastoral Care
$28.99Add to cartA timely resource treating addiction holistically as both a spiritual and a pathological condition
Substance addictions present a unique set of challenges for pastoral care. In this book Sonia Waters weaves together personal stories, research, and theological reflection to offer helpful tools for ministers, counselors, chaplains, and anyone else called to care pastorally for those struggling with addiction.
Waters uses the story of the Gerasene demoniac in Mark’s Gospel to reframe addiction as a “soul-sickness” that arises from a legion of individual and social vulnerabilities. She includes pastoral reflections on oppression, the War on Drugs, trauma, guilt, discipleship, and identity. The final chapters focus on practical-care skills that address the challenges of recovery, especially ambivalence and resistance to change.
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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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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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Preaching About Racism
$24.99Add to cartHelping pastors preach about racism to white congregations.
Of all the activities that come with being a minister, sermon preparation can loom largest – especially when racism is the subject. You’ve got to address racism with your white congregation from the pulpit. But, truthfully, you can’t wrap your head around how to preach about this topic thoughtfully and sensitively.
In Preaching about Racism, preaching professor and pastor Carolyn Helsel speaks directly to other white preachers about how to address racism from the pulpit. In her first book, Anxious to Talk about It: Helping White Christians Talk Faithfully about Racism, Helsel addressed the anxiety white Christians experience around conversations about race. In this follow-up, Helsel provides strategies and a theoretical framework for crafting biblical and theological sermons that incorporate insights from social sciences and psychology, gleaned from more than a decade of writing and teaching about racism.
Written for the busy pastor, several chapters are quick reads – helpful reminders as you prepare a thoughtful and sensitive sermon – while others dig deeper on the theory behind the crucial work of dismantling racism.
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Homiletics And Hermeneutics
$25.00Add to cartScott Gibson and Matthew Kim, both experienced preachers and teachers, have brought together four preaching experts–Bryan Chapell, Kenneth Langley, Abraham Kuruvilla, and Paul Scott Wilson–to present and defend their approach to homiletics. Reflecting current streams of thought in homiletics, the book offers a robust discussion of theological and hermeneutical approaches to preaching and encourages pastors and ministry students to learn about preaching from other theological traditions. It also includes discussion questions for direct application to one’s preaching.
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Simon Peter Large Print (Large Type)
$20.99Add to cartSimon Peter was an ordinary fisherman who heard an extraordinary call. He was not rich or educated, but he was familiar with hard work. He was quick-tempered and impetuous but possessed a passion that would change the world. He left everything to follow his teacher, yet struggled with doubt and fear. Join pastor and author Adam Hamilton in this six-week Lenten journey, and take an in-depth dive into the life, faith, and character of Simon Peter. Additional components for a six-week adult study include a comprehensive Leader Guide and a DVD featuring author and pastor Adam Hamilton filmed in Israel and Italy. Also available are resources for children and youth. Chapters Includes: The Call of Simon the Fisherman Walking with Jesus in the Storm Bedrock or Stumbling Block? “I Will Not Deny You” From Cowardice to Courage The Rest of the Story
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Biblical Grandparenting : Exploring Gods Design For Disciple Making And Pas
$17.00Add 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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Simon Peter : Flawed But Faithful Disciple
$19.99Add to cart1. The Call Of Simon The Fisherman
2. Walking With Jesus In The Storm
3. Bedrock Or Stumbling Block?
4. ” I Will Not Deny You”
5. From Cowardice To Courage
6. The Rest Of The StoryAdditional Info
He was not rich or educated, but was familiar with hard work. He was quick-tempered and impetuous, but possessed a passion that would change the world. He left everything to follow his teacher, yet struggled with doubt and fear. Join pastor and author Adam Hamilton in this six-week Lenten journey, and take an in-depth dive into the life, faith, and character of Simon Peter. Additional components for a six-week adult study include a comprehensive Leader Guide and a DVD featuring author and pastor Adam Hamilton teaching on site in Israel and Italy. Also available are resources for children and youth. Chapters Include: The Call of Simon the Fisherman Walking with Jesus in the Storm Bedrock or Stumbling Block? “I Will Not Deny You” From Cowardice to Courage The Rest of the Story -
Politics Of Ministry
$24.99Add 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
$18.00Add 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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Case For Christmas Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add 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 Christmas (DVD/digital downloads sold separately), Lee investigates the story surrounding the birth of Jesus-and how we can know that it is true.
In each session, he will explore the following aspects of the Christmas story:
*What the Gospel accounts actually say, what other stories about Jesus’ birth emerged in the first through third centuries, and how we can know the biblical accounts are accurate
*The Bible’s claim that Jesus was born of a virgin and whether that idea-and other aspects of the Christmas story-developed from the pagan religions of the day
*Some aspects of the Christmas story that don’t seem to match with the historical or archaeological record, such as the census, the existence of Nazareth, and the slaughter of the innocents
*The great mystery of the incarnation-how Jesus could be both fully God and fully human at the same time-and how we can know he is truly the promised MessiahThe Case for Christmas invites participants to examine the evidence for themselves and consider why Christmas matters in the first place. It will point them to the inescapable conclusion that Jesus truly was who he said he was: the divine Son of God.
Designed for use with The Case for Christmas Video Study/The Case for Easter Video Study (sold separately).
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Making A Scene In The Pulpit
$30.00Add to cartHow can preachers ensure that their sermons continue to engage listeners in a world defined by visual media and the short, segmented delivery of information? Alyce McKenzie harnesses the element of drama and the human fascination with scenes to offer ministers a modern means of sermon development and delivery.
McKenzie’s core strategy is to invite listeners into scenes-whether from Scripture or contemporary life-and, once they are there, to point them toward the larger story of God’s relationship with humankind. Creating such scenes unifies the whole process of preaching, she says, from the preacher’s daily life observations to interpretation of scenes from Scripture, to sermon shaping, sequencing, and delivery. The process culminates in a specific understanding of the purpose of the sermon: to send listeners out into the scenes they’ll play in their lives for the next week, equipped to act out their parts in ways that are kinder, more just, and more courageous than last week.
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Living In The Gaze Of God
$35.00Add to cart“Living in the Gaze of God” offers an accessible exploration of the theme of ministerial accountability through the lens of one reflective tool – that of formal supervision of ministerial practice. Bold and far-reaching, the book addresses the key presenting issues around a need for a change of culture in the church as regards accountability for ministerial practice. It outlines a theological and practical model of 1-to-1 supervision, arguing that such an approach enables the development of greater attentiveness to God, the self and others and thus enhances accountability.
Laying aside the need to offer a ‘how-to’ approach, Helen Cameron instead brings us a rigorous and dynamic consideration of the interface between supervision, accountability and ministerial practice, and offers a theological underpinning for the issues.
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New Elders Handbook
$15.00Add to cartPastors and church leaders are in need of mature, godly elders to ensure church health, but the training of elders is often entirely missing or badly neglected. What if there were a process to proactively call and train elders? The New Elder’s Handbook is designed to equip elders with the knowledge, character, and skills the office calls for. It takes church leaders through the development of a vision for ministry, recruitment of elders to carry out that vision, and specific, biblical training, providing a way to be intentional about developing elders.
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Ingenuity : Preaching As An Outsider
$31.99Add to cartIngenuity introduces a theology and practice of preaching within the simultaneous existence of being Black and woman. This approach opens up new avenues to understand sermon development and design for every student and practitioner of the proclaimed word. Preaching is a creative expression forged at the intersections of tradition, life experience, and theological conviction. Every preacher negotiates these converging entities in an attempt to make way for sacred speech. Likewise, every pursuit of this process is textured by the particulars of culture and personhood. Ingenuity equips readers to navigate this complex task. This approach is helpful for black women who are learning to preach or are serving as preachers, because there is a vast gap in the literature available for them. Preaching is resourced and taught from a primarily white/male perspective. Black women are left to pioneer their own way, to ‘figure it out’ with very little help from the established academic sources. This book – finally – fills that gap. Ingenuity is also helpful for students and preachers who are not black women, because it enlarges their understanding, their language, their sense of shared experience. The best preachers are not just good at mimicking their (predominately white/male) teachers; they understand their own voices, and the voices of others. They stretch and grow, and this enables them to preach more effectively.
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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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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
$20.99Add 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. -
Lectionary Stories For Preaching And Teaching Series 3 Cycle C
$24.95Add to cartStorytellers who excel at their craft can draw readers or listeners into the worlds they create, using characters and situations to entertain and enlighten us. Jesus, the Master Storyteller, often spoke using parables — short stories that conveyed spiritual truths. By drawing his listeners into his stories, he unlocked their minds and hearts to hear the truth he was relating to them.
Asked about his style and direction when authoring this book, Keith Hewitt said, “I thought it would be interesting to look at the Biblical passages from a slightly different angle than we might normally see them. Some of the stories are set in the time and place of the passage, others are set in different periods, using different characters–but in all of them I try to humanize the events so that the reader can sense that they’re happening to real people. I think this can help them to connect to the meaning of the story.”
Some of the stories can easily be adapted as vignettes or monologues, to be performed during worship. Depending upon the age of the students, other stories could be used in Sunday School as alternative texts to get students thinking about a particular passage in different ways.
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Luke Alive Volume 2
$15.95Add to cart“Do you feel as though God favors you? That He is on your side? That He is always with you?”
These are the questions Robert Blair asks in the 13 sermons in Luke Alive, Volume 1e Alive, Volume 1. They cut straight to the Christian heart. They address our greatest fear: that we might not be good enough for God. That we might not enjoy his favor.
Blair does not stop short at dismissing our fears with a casual overview of grace. He addresses where they come from, a natural drive to earn favor, to work toward something we can never fully attain ourselves. The Gospel of Luke shows us what we can “earn” with our actions and what we can’t.
In the sinful woman who cries at Jesus’ feet and cleans them, we see the image of genuine gratitude for forgiveness. In the healing of the crippled woman, we discern that it’s always time to do good for other people.
Luke Alivee Alive guides ministers through our deepest of Christian fears and desires, and offers satisfying answers based firmly in scripture. It is a must-have volume for pastors seeking to answer direct questions with plain language, whether from the pulpit or the living room couch.
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Luke Alive Volume 1
$15.95Add to cart“Do you feel as though God favors you? That He is on your side? That He is always with you?”
These are the questions Robert Blair asks in the first of 13 sermons in Luke Alive, Volume 1. They cut straight to the Christian heart. They address our greatest fear: that we might not be good enough for God.That we might not enjoy his favor.
Blair does not stop short at dismissing our fears with a casual overview of grace. He addresses where they come from, a natural drive to earn favor, to work toward something we can never fully attain ourselves. The Gospel of Luke shows us what we can “earn” with our actions and what we can’t.
In Mary, the Mother of Jesus we have an image of what it means to be chosen, to be given the Lord’s favor. In Jesus’ proclamation of the year of the Lord’s favor at Nazareth we see that, favored as we may be, there is a kind of favor we can earn when we seize the opportunity. In the story of Jesus and his disciples picking grain on the Sabbath we learn that we do not earn favor by following rules.
That’s when it gets really exciting.
Luke Alive guides ministers through our deepest of Christian fears and desires, and offers satisfying answers based firmly in scripture. It is a must-have volume for pastors seeking to answer direct questions with plain language, whether from the pulpit or the living room couch.
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Watch This Cycle C
$15.95Add to cartIt is often challenging to discuss with new believers – or even seasoned believers – the meatiest parts of Christian theology. You can’t exactly answer these questions in the course of an elevator ride.
“What is the Holy Spirit? How does it work?”
“What does it mean for God to be in three persons?”
“Are demons really in the world? What are Christians supposed to do about demon possession?”
Dave Zuchelli draws from the Gospels of Luke and John to give you tools to wrestle with these questions. Whether from the pulpit, in a small group or personal conversation, the sermons inWatch This!remind us to enter into discussion with humility. To sit with our guests at the last seat at the table.
The Lord will meet you there.
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Inside The Transformative World Of Childrens Ministry
$14.99Add to cartDoes your church need a shared language to talk about children?
Sometimes children’s ministry leaders and other staff members struggle to relate to one another. Yet all would agree that children are important–not just to the future of the church but to the church now. Inside the Transformative World of Children’s Ministry seeks to provide a shared perspective, offering an inside look at the unique challenges of children’s ministry. Safety procedures, volunteer development, ministry philosophy from kids in diapers to kids in puberty–practitioner Kyle Tyler gets inside the mind, heart, and world of ministry to kids.
This book is for lead pastors.
This book is for church boards.
This book is for children’s leaders.Inside the Transformative World of Children’s Ministry will help you understand, empower, and energize your church staff in their ministry to children.
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Rebooted : Reclaiming Youth Ministry For The Long Haul A Biblical Framework
$15.99Add to cartMost youth ministry is simply too small. Or too time- or fad-bound. Or based on a model of some sort but without solid biblical foundations. The author is passionate about growing youth ministry that can outlive the youth worker. He deplores particularly the call for ‘something’ for youth. Something just won’t do.Tim Gough seeks to redress the balance. He takes us on an expositional journey through the Bible as he sees it relating to youth work, pulling out purposeful themes through key stories and passages. He offers guidelines which can be used by any leader as he casts this strong, healthy biblical vision to inspire us.Here is youth leadership training for the long haul.Introduction – Methods and goals1 Passing it on – Youth work through the Pentateuch (Gen-Deut)2 Walking beside them – Youth work through the history books3 Staying relevant – Youth work through wisdom literature4 Cultivating community – Youth work through the Psalms5 Getting involved – Youth work through the Prophets6 Growing up – Youth work through the Gospels7 Going out – Youth work through the Acts8 Displaying devotion – Youth work through the EpistlesConclusion – Bringing it all together as a facilitator model of youth work
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Rebellious Faith Cycle C
$17.95Add to cart“Go against the grain.”
This is what Mark Ellingsen wants your church to hear in A Rebellious Faith. It isn’t merely odd or contradictory in the eyes of the world to live a Christian life. It is offensive.
To go against the grain – by discounting our accomplishments, carrying no shame in the light of grace, considering no one outside of God’s love – is to sometimes make people who worship hard work, the quest for perfection and exceptionalism deeply uncomfortable.
And that is a very good thing.
Ellingsen begins with the irrevocable truth that the ashes we put on our living bodies at the beginning of the Lenten season represent the death we all deserve. From there, he leads your congregation through the brazenly offensive, un-American ideas presented in the New Testament.
Confession does not shame and isolate us, it liberates us. Bearing the cross of our sin is not a burden, but a blessing in the knowledge the Lord has paid the ultimate price for our sin. The Resurrection does not make anyone exceptional. It unites us all whether or not we are ready to enter Heaven together.
A Rebellious Faith reminds us thatthe war is already won, and we are to live as brave sinners whose Savior cannot be overcome.
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Short Term Missions Workbook (Workbook)
$18.99Add to cartIntroduction
1. The God Of Mission
2. Learning To Delight In Differences
3. Embracing Change
4. Maximizing Personal Growth
5. Working Together As A Team
6. Communicating Clearly
7. Staying Spiritually Fresh
8. Preparing For Risks
9. Anticipating The Return Home
10. Making The Most Of Your Trip Once You’re Home
Acknowledgments
Appendix 1: Leader’s Guide
Appendix 2: Recommended Reading And Additional Resources
Appendix 3: Language Acquisition Phrases And Cultural Research Questions
Appendix 4: A Quick Guide To A Christian Theology Of Suffering
Appendix 5: Bookmark And Journal Insert
Appendix 6: Debriefing Prayer Of Examen
NotesAdditional Info
Going on a short-term missions trip can be a life- and faith-transforming experience. It can enrich the way you view the world. It can cause you to rely on God more fully. It is an opportunity to develop deep relationships with your team and the people you serve.A short-term missions experience can also involve weeks of physical and spiritual challenges. An unprepared team can wreak havoc on each other and the people they intend to serve.
To get the most out of a missions trip, you need to go prepared. Whether you are going on your own or with a team, the keys to preparation are here in this workbook. In this ten-week course, which includes questions for individual reflection and group discussion, you will find
-a concise summary of crosscultural principles
-help in facing spiritual warfare
-tips on avoiding a tourist mentality
-spiritual preparation through individual or group Bible studyThis revised and expanded edition includes updated content throughout and new chapters on facing risks, fears, and suffering, and making the most of the trip after returning home.
If you are planning to go on a short-term missions trip, don’t leave home without working through this book!
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Preaching As Resistance
$19.99Add to cart30 new sermons to empower your prophetic voice for solidarity and justice. As nationalism, patriarchy, and alt-right fear-mongering threaten our troubled nation, the pulpit has again become a subversive space of sacred resistance. In this provocative and powerful collection of sermons from diverse pastors across America, hear the brave and urgent voice of Christians calling for radical change rooted in love, solidarity, and justice. Preaching as Resistance resists, confronts, and troubles the dangerous structures of authoritarianism and oppression crashing in from all sides – and proclaims the transformation, possibility, and hope stirring in the gospel of Christ. From big-steeple churches in big cities to rural congregations in red states, preaching as resistance is practiced in a wide variety of social contexts and preaching styles, inspiring and equipping listeners to respond to the call of justice. Ideal for pastors and church leaders, Preaching as Resistance also provides the opportunity to experience hopeful, welcoming Christian voices rooted in the gospel values of love, solidarity, and justice. In these challenging times when Christianity is so often misrepresented, misunderstood, and misused for unjust agendas, take heart and find your own voice in this collection of resistance sermons from everyday pastors across the country. Contributors: Emily Bowen-Marler, Amy Butler, Jeff Chu, Aric Clark, Wil Gafney, Sarah Tron Garriott, Richard Gehring, Molly Housh Gordon, Cassandra Gould, Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, Anna Holloway, Jesse Jackson, Sandhya Jha, Jin S. Kim, Kenji Kuramitsu, Jose F. Morales, Gary Peluso-Verdend, Alton B. Pollard III, Micki Pulleyking, Susan Russell, Leah D. Schade, Darryl Schafer, Austin Shelley, David Swinton, Laura Jean Truman, Richard Voelz, Alexis James Waggoner, Lori Walke, Michael W. Waters, Erin Wathen, Layton E. Williams, Brian Zahnd
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I Declare War Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartIn the New Testament, some the most common analogies used to describe following Jesus are that of a soldier engaged in a good fight and an athlete running to win a prize. In our world today, athletes and soldiers know they must have a mental edge to successfully deal with everything they encounter. They know victory will never occur unless they’ve first won their internal battles.
In I Declare War, author and pastor Levi Lusko shows how the same is true for Christians. God has called each of us to an important assignment-to win the battle and claim the prize-but to fulfill that calling we first have to win the war within. Levi draws from the Bible to show four ways to fight this internal battle:
*Key #1: Discover Your Calling
*Key #2: Prepare for the Trial
*Key #3: Learn Self-Control
*Key #4: Rely on God’s PowerLevi draws on stories from his own life to show how God can help us wage war against issues that rob us of joy such as depression, fear, anxiety, addiction, negative thoughts, pride, jealousy, resentment, anger, self-doubt, and codependent relationships. While Levi does not offer a quick fix or promise the “perfect life” if participants follow all the steps, he does point toward the hope that God provides as we commit to fight the good fight through all the pain, sweat, and tears that each day brings.
Designed for use with the I Declare War Video Study (sold separately).
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Adoptive Church : Creating An Environment Where Emerging Generations Belong
$22.00Add to cartTeens and emerging adults don’t feel at home in the church because they are not fully included in the church body. How can congregations nurture young adults, welcome them as siblings into God’s household, and empower them to become fully embedded contributors within and to their faith community?
Integrating the latest research on adolescent faith and young adult ministry for the local church, this book presents a new way of thinking about youth ministry. Chap Clark makes the principles found in Sticky Faith, Growing Young, and Hurt 2.0 highly practical for today’s youth leaders, showing how they can implement a sustainable youth ministry program in a local church akin to Purpose-Driven Youth Ministry. Clark presents the adoptive youth ministry model as a way to help congregations see youth ministry as a bridge to inclusion, participation, and contribution in the body of Christ. His comprehensive plan for designing and implementing youth ministry shows churches how to intentionally welcome young people and create an environment where they belong.
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Ultimate Reliance : Breakthrough Prayer Practices For Leaders
$18.99Add to cartAdding a Breakthrough Prayer Initiative to the teamwork of your church or ministry’s leadership will change everything-and transform what may have become routine administrative work, into riding the exciting rapids of a God-led spiritual adventure together! Author Sue Nilson Kibbey’s classic church leadership book, Ultimately Responsible, and her most recent release Flood Gates: Holy Momentum for a Fearless Church, are followed by this new resource that will strengthen the “flood gate” of your breakthrough prayer practices both collectively and individually. Each chapter includes discussion questions, application ideas, a breakthrough prayer practice for the week or month-plus a short inspirational video story of a leader like you whose breakthrough prayer practice made all the difference. (Downloadable video stories package sold separately). Ideal for use with your church council, board, leadership team, class, small group or entire congregation-whoever longs to build prayer practices for breakthroughs and new God possibilities as the ultimate foundation for everything else.
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8 Virtues Of Rapidly Growing Churches
$17.99Add to cartLeaders who are interested in planting or revitalizing congregations often feel discouraged and defeated after leadership conferences, or after reading about the ‘heroes’ of church planting and church growth. “They are amazing,” they say. “I can’t be that amazing.” But Jesus’ load is easy and his burden is light. When we examine the practices and characteristics of those ‘heroes’, we see striking trends and commonalities. Aspiring church leaders can learn the practices and develop the characteristics that will lead to successful churches. Instead of feeling defeated, new leaders should have a hope-filled sense of what new thing they can do. Authors Matt Miofsky and Jason Byasse carefully researched, interviewed, and profiled successful church-growers across the U.S., and identified 8 characteristics these leaders and their congregations have in common. These pastors are still learning, still figuring out how to do this work and how to faithfully live into God’s call. But for now, how are they doing what they do? What mistakes have they made & learned from? Where have they paid the stupid tax that others should avoid? Each of these ‘heroes’ is painfully ordinary and up front about their flaws. And each can see slightly farther than the rest of us. What do they see that we can learn from? Discover the 8 characteristics, and learn how to adapt them for your own congregation and calling.
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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
$30.99Add 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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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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Unwanted : How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way To Healing
$17.99Add to cartUnwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing is a ground-breaking resource that explores the “why” behind self-destructive sexual choices. The book is based on research from over 3,800 men and women seeking freedom from unwanted sexual behavior, be that the use of pornography, an affair, or buying sex.
Jay Stringer’s (M.Div, MA, LMHC) original research found that unwanted sexual behavior can be both shaped by and predicted based on the parts of our story–past and present–that remain unaddressed. When we pay attention to our unwanted sexual desires and identify the unique reasons that trigger them, the path of healing is revealed.
Although many of us feel ashamed and unwanted after years of sexual brokenness, the book invites the reader to see that behavior as the very location God can most powerfully work in their lives. Counselors, pastors, and accountability partners of those who experience sexual shame will also find in this book the deep spiritual and psychological guidance they need to effectively minister to the sexually broken around them.
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Meeting God At The Mall Cycle C
$15.95Add to cartAmericans are mired in idolatry. This is perhaps at no time more evident than during the Christmas season.
What idols do we worship? We often point out the consumerism that eclipses the meaning of the holiday, but as Mary Austin points out, there are others that might escape our notice. Perfectionism, that belief that if we can host the perfect holiday party or keep a perfect house, for example;thesefalse gods, we often believe will offer us wholeness. Busy-ness, too, can give us a false sense of worth.
These sermons use the words and actions of Paul to call out these false gods, to reveal our idolatry and its cause: our longing for the true source of peace. Once we have determined the cause of our love/hate relationship with the Christmas season, we can begin to pursue the counter-cultural cure.
Meeting God at the Mallting God at the Mall shows us there is no obstacle too great to prevent us from finding our way back to the peace we can find only in our loving Savior.
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Church Creation And The Common Good
$14.95Add to cart* A youth and adult study * Engages participants in how we should now live into this time of climate change crisis It is hard to be hopeful in the face of climate crisis. The problem is on a scale difficult for us to understand. Actions needed to address the crisis require a radical change in way of life. Does the Church have anything unique to offer? Is there something in our life of community, worship, and prayer that suggests a different way through this time? Church, Creation, and the Common Good is a program resource offering a hopeful answer to these challenges. Through scripture, tradition, and Christian practice, it guides church communities into deeper understanding of their role as the Church in the world and how they might be communities for the common good in this time. This curricular resource is sure to foster rich conversations and provide a path toward love of all creation and our particular places as we face the climate crisis together.
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Christianity And World Religions Leader Guide (Revised)
$14.99Add to cartPastor and best-selling author Adam Hamilton returns to one of his most popular topics, Christianity and world religions. This new, fully updated book and Bible study explores four major world religions-Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism-and compares the beliefs of each with those of Christianity.
He deals openly and honestly with questions people ask about other religions, such as: Why are there so many different religions?
How should Christians view other religions?
How is God at work in other religions?
What is the fate of those who earnestly pursue God through other religions?
In examining these major world religions and the beliefs of their followers, Hamilton urges us as Christians to build bridges with others so that we might grow in our faith, seek peace in our world, love our neighbors, and find positive ways to share the gospel. The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the six-week study including session plans, activities, and discussion questions, as well as multiple format options. -
Christianity And World Religions (Revised)
$17.99Add to cartPastor and best-selling author Adam Hamilton returns to one of his most popular topics, Christianity and world religions. This new, fully updated book explores four major world religions-Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism-and compares the beliefs of each with those of Christianity.
He deals openly and honestly with questions people ask about other religions, such as: Why are there so many different religions?
How should Christians view other religions?
How is God at work in other religions?
What is the fate of those who earnestly pursue God through other religions?
In examining these major world religions and the beliefs of their followers, Hamilton urges us as Christians to build bridges with others so that we might grow in our faith, seek peace in our world, love our neighbors, and find positive ways to share the gospel. Additional components for a six-week study include a new Leader Guide to help facilitate each weekly session and a DVD featuring Hamilton in new 10-15 minute segments, each including an interview with followers from that tradition. -
Your Companion After Sexual Assault
$5.99Add to cartThe Out of the Depths series addresses common pastoral crises in a faithful, encouraging, and factual manner that provides support to parishioners in crisis beyond the initial pastoral conversation. These inexpensive booklets can be given out to parishioners when they bring their recent diagnosis, crisis, or trauma to the pastor as a way to continue to provide care throughout the difficult season. Each booklet begins with a thoughtful consideration of the topic at hand, which is followed up by 30 brief devotions. These devotions are designed to be manageable in an overwhelming time, encouraging, and honest. This Sexual Assault edition features devotions from Emily Flemming, United Methodist clergywoman. The Out of the Depths booklets are essential care resources to be given out by pastors, Stephen Ministers, and congregational care teams.
Key Features:
Written by metal health professionals and pastors to help the reader process their trauma both psychologically and theologically.
Includes accessible material describing the dynamics of the crisis situation and typical reactions, which provides the reader with a sense of grounding and direction through increased knowledge.
The thirty short devotions creates a sense of companionship and hope in a difficult and lonely time.
Knowing they are sharing a resource written by mental health professionals and pastors with personal experience provides pastors a trustworthy source of information.
Easy for pastors/churches to keep in stock and distribute as needed, serves as a tangible reminder of the faith community’s care. -
End Of Preaching
$16.99Add to cartThe End of Preaching is equal parts instruction and inspiration, offering practical help for every preacher and seminarian, and providing a new way of thinking about the purpose and craft of preaching. Tom Troeger explores the end–or purpose–of preaching as prayer. He gently reveals layer after layer of meaning for the preacher and the practice of preaching, giving deep insight into the preacher’s approach, the task of preaching itself, and the impact of preaching on the hearers. This is a book to be studied and savored, a wonderful gift for one’s self or any preacher friend. Thomas Troeger delivered the 2016 Beecher Lectures, the nation’s most prestigious and influential series of lectures on the topic of preaching. The series was established at Yale University in 1871.
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4 Pages Of The Sermon (Revised)
$37.99Add to cartDoing justice to the complexity of the preaching task and the questions that underlie it, author Paul Scott Wilson organizes both the preparation and the content of the sermon around its “four pages.” Each “page” addresses a different theological and creative component of what happens in any sermon. Page One presents the trouble or conflict that takes place in or that underscores the biblical text itself. Page Two looks at similar conflict–sin or brokenness–in our own time. Page Three returns to the Bible to identify where God is at work in or behind the text–in other words, to discover the good news. Page Four points to God at work in our world, particularly in relation to the situations described in Page Two. This approach is about preaching the gospel in nearly any sermonic form. Wilson teaches the ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘how’ of sermon construction, all rooted in a theology of the Word. This completely revised edition guides readers through the sermon process step by step, with the aim of composing sermons that challenge and provide hope, by focusing on God more closely than on humans. It has been largely rewritten to include an assessment of where preaching is today in light of propositional preaching, the New Homiletic, African American preaching, the effect of the internet, and use of technology. A chapter on exegesis has been added, plus new focus on the importance of preaching to a felt need, the need for proclamation in addition to teaching, and developing tools to ensure sermon excellence. New sermon examples have been added along with a section that responds to critics and looks to the future.
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Promise Of The Future Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartThe story of Jesus doesn’t begin in a manger in Bethlehem. Instead, it first begins hundreds of years before, when God’s prophets begin to preach about the coming of the Messiah who would redeem all of humanity. In this study, we will unpack that message of hope and anticipation as it’s found in the prophets of Isaiah and Micah and the redeeming story of Ruth A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18 4-session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the Bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the Bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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Promise Of The Future Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartThe story of Jesus doesn’t begin in a manger in Bethlehem. Instead, it first begins hundreds of years before, when God’s prophets begin to preach about the coming of the Messiah who would redeem all of humanity. In this study, we will unpack that message of hope and anticipation as it’s found in the prophets of Isaiah and Micah and the redeeming story of Ruth A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18 4-session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the Bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the Bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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Exile And Return Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartThis study turns its focus to the prophetic proclamations offered to the people of Israel while they were in exile in foreign lands. These four lessons based on passages found in Hosea, Esther, Ezra and more will explore what it means to be in exile, and how our lives are changed when we follow a God that reminds us that we are not alone and not forgotten and who promises to restore us. A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18 4-session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the Bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the Bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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Exile And Return Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartThis study turns its focus to the prophetic proclamations offered to the people of Israel while they were in exile in foreign lands. These four lessons based on passages found in Hosea, Esther, Ezra and more will explore what it means to be in exile, and how our lives are changed when we follow a God that reminds us that we are not alone and not forgotten and who promises to restore us. A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18 4-session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the Bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the Bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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Your Companion After Addiction
$5.99Add to cartThe Out of the Depths series addresses common pastoral crises in a faithful, encouraging, and factual manner that provides support to parishioners in crisis beyond the initial pastoral conversation. These inexpensive booklets can be given out to parishioners when they bring their recent diagnosis, crisis, or trauma to the pastor as a way to continue to provide care throughout the difficult season. Each booklet begins with a thoughtful consideration of the topic at hand, which is followed up by 30 brief devotions. These devotions are designed to be manageable in an overwhelming time, encouraging, and honest. This Addiction edition, co-authored by Jim Hightower and Peter Ferguson, is appropriate for both individuals experiencing addiction and their family and friends. The Out of the Depths booklets are essential care resources to be given out by pastors, Stephen Ministers, and congregational care teams.
Key Features:
Written by metal health professionals and pastors to help the reader process their trauma both psychologically and theologically.
Includes accessible material describing the dynamics of the crisis situation and typical reactions, which provides the reader with a sense of grounding and direction through increased knowledge.
The thirty short devotions creates a sense of companionship and hope in a difficult and lonely time.
Knowing they are sharing a resource written by mental health professionals and pastors with personal experience provides pastors a trustworthy source of information.
Easy for pastors/churches to keep in stock and distribute as needed, serves as a tangible reminder of the faith community’s care. -
True Inclusion : Creating Communities Of Radical Embrace
$14.99Add to cartDiscover how to move your church beyond mere welcome to radical embrace.
So your church website says you’re welcoming, a rainbow flag flies out front, worship uses gender-inclusive language, and you make sure you greet the stranger next to you on Sunday mornings. But is all of that really enough? And what if those welcoming gestures actually keep visitors from returning and exclude dozens of other groups or people in your community?
In True Inclusion, public theologian and pastor Brandan Robertson shares how to move your church from mere welcome to radical embrace. Pointing to a clear biblical imperative for radical inclusivity in the sanctuary and in the public square, Robertson presents a paradigm-shifting vision of community, “where nothing is simple, nothing is easy, but everything is beautiful.” Learn practical, step-by-step approaches to becoming deeply, robustly, and richly inclusive of all people regardless of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, political affiliation, and socioeconomic status.
Written for people and communities at every stage of the journey, True Inclusion will challenge and inspire you to embody a gospel of radical embrace for all.
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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.
