Pastoral Helps
Showing 1201–1300 of 4151 resultsSorted by latest
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Music Architect : Blueprints For Engaging Worshipers In Song
$30.00Add to cartGuidance for Leaders Seeking a Richer Way to Employ Worship Music
Worship expert Constance Cherry offers comprehensive guidance to Christian leaders seeking a deeper, richer way to employ worship music in engaging ways for twenty-first-century worshipers. Following Cherry’s successful book “The Worship Architect,” this work helps Christian leaders think theologically and act pastorally about worship music in their churches. It addresses larger issues beyond the surface struggles of musical styles and provides tools to critically evaluate worship songs. The book is applicable to all Christian traditions and worship styles and is well suited to both the classroom and the local church. Each chapter concludes with suggested practical exercises, recommended reading, and basic vocabulary terms. -
Why Study Religion
$19.99Add to cartWhy Studying Religion Matters in a Pluralistic Context
This brief primer explains why Christian students should study religion, how they should go about it, and why it is important in our contemporary, pluralistic context. Senior religion scholar Terry Muck introduces the discipline and explains how it can be approached by Christian students. He explores the contemporary significance of studying religion in a complex, multicultural world and concludes by addressing the skills students must bring to the study of religion in the twenty-first century. Written in accessible prose suitable for undergraduates, this introduction can be used to supplement any standard religion textbook. -
Mission Of Jesus Discovery Guide
$18.99Add to cartJoin renowned teacher and historian Ray Vander Laan as he guides you through the land of the Bible. In each lesson, Vander Laan illuminates the historical, geographical, and cultural context of the sacred Scriptures. Filmed on location in Israel, the That the World May Know DVD series will transform your understanding of God and challenge you to be a true follower of Jesus.
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RelatAble Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$10.99Add to cartLet’s face it: relationships are tricky. We have problems in our relationships with friends. We have conflicts with our parents. We have unresolved issues in some relationships and wonder if reconciliation is even possible. We want to make our relationships healthier, more meaningful, and more fulfilling, but we don’t know where to start. The good news is that because God put us on this planet to interact with others, we know that he has a plan for how we can build stronger relationships. He has given us a model in Christ for how we can become the kind of people who move through life with the ability to connect with others. He can do something within our hearts to shape us into the kind of people that others want to be around. But we have to be willing to change our ways and adopt the mindset of Christ. In this six-session video-based study, pastor and author Louie Giglio explores the fundamental questions of what makes us relatable to others. He reveals that the degree to which we are able to share our lives, love others, and extend mercy in all situations is determined by the degree to which we are able to receive the gift of grace that God has extended to us. He shows how God can change our perspective on relationships, bring us peace in the midst of conflict, and help us restore relationships that seem broken beyond repair.
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Living Out The Message Of Christ Participants Guide 8 (Student/Study Guide)
$7.99Add to cartA Program for Implementing a Christ-Centered Recovery Ministry in Your Church
Alcoholism – Divorce – Sexual Abuse – Codependency – Domestic Violence – Drug Addiction – Sexual Addiction – Food Addiction – Gambling Addiction and others.There is a way the church can help the hurting move beyond their wounds to experience the healing and forgiveness of Christ. Since 1991, more than 200,000 people have participated in the Celebrate Recovery programs offered at more than 3,500 churches, prisons, and rescue missions.
Drawn from the Beatitudes, Celebrate Recovery helps people resolve painful problems in the context of the church as a whole.
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Moving Forward In Gods Grace The Journey Continues Participants Guide 5
$7.99Add to cartA Program for Implementing a Christ-Centered Recovery Ministry in Your Church
Alcoholism – Divorce – Sexual Abuse – Codependency – Domestic Violence – Drug Addiction – Sexual Addiction – Food Addiction – Gambling Addiction and others.
There is a way the church can help the hurting move beyond their wounds to experience the healing and forgiveness of Christ. Since 1991, more than 200,000 people have participated in the Celebrate Recovery programs offered at more than 3,500 churches, prisons, and rescue missions.
Drawn from the Beatitudes, Celebrate Recovery helps people resolve painful problems in the context of the church as a whole.
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Looking For Lovely Teen Girls Bible Study Book (Student/Study Guide)
$15.99Add to cartLooking for Lovely: Collecting the Moments that Matter explores the ordinary people of the Bible to discover the beauty in each life. This seven-session study for girls examines people of various professions-fishermen, gardeners, women, soldiers, and ultimately Jesus to find the lovely in everyday life. Every moment matters. Every individual matters. We can’t put life on pause to avoid the difficulties, but we can be people of influence in and through all circumstances. There are moments of suffering, perseverance, character building, and hope in every life. In our everyday, normal lives, looking for lovely is discovering God and connecting with Him in the midst of the positive and negative circumstances we face. God asks that we trust His timing and lean in as He turns the soil in our lives to make everything beautiful in His time. In the end, it is not about outside circumstances but actually about our hearts.
Features:
Seven sessions (Bible study book includes 6 weeks of homework, 4 days per week; 7 video sessions optional and available for purchase)
Group material that guides questions and discussion with a small group
Optional digital download bundle for group use optional and available for purchase
Personal study segments for 6 weeks, 4 days per week to complete between group sessions
Women’s version also available
4 color cover / 2 color insideBenefits:
Girls will discover lovely in the mundane and difficult moments of life
Engage in a more personal relationship with God as you discover scriptural truths
Encourage spiritual growth in girls through the individual time in the homework and the group sessions
Understand that God sometimes calls us to do hard things but they are worth finishing
Laugh through times of perseverance and discover the beauty in the journey
Trust God’s timing and lean in as He makes everything beautiful in His time -
Sermones Actuales Sobre Las Pa – (Spanish)
$17.99Add to cartLa obra contiene 43 sermones basados en las parabolas de Jesus, con el proposito de contribuir a la renovacion del predicador, pastor, o lider cristiano facilitando ideas actuales y sugerentes para crear nuevas predicaciones con una aplicacion actual a nuestros dias.
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Missionary Mindset : What Church Leaders Need To Know To Reach Their Commun
$17.00Add to cartDoug Ruffle writes A Missionary Mindset using the timeless principles of E. Stanley Jones and transfers them for use today. Teaching us to approach the mission field as if we were from a different country and learning a new culture, a new way of communicating, and a new way to connect people to the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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1st Things First
$13.99Add to cartAs the young Ken Kamau devoured books on leadership, he became increasingly aware that they were written by and for people who were way ahead of where he was in his life and ministry. He needed to know how one begins to be a leader, not how one continues to lead a large and successful ministry. He has now written the book he would have wanted to read as a young pastor. His key thesis is that if you want to be a blessing to the kingdom, you have to get the basics right. Before you step into the spotlight of ministry life, you need to work on the backstage of your life. So he writes about learning from mistakes and from successes, learning how to be led as well as how to lead, and building and safeguarding a strong marriage. He also deals with the practical issues involved in building and nurturing a strong support team, even in a small church with few resources. The book is infused with humour and practical wisdom acquired the hard way, and also with a passion to fulfil the Great Commission. It thus speaks even to those who are not pastors, for we too are called to serve God faithfully, listen to his word, and use the lessons God has been teaching us to reach out to those who need to hear the message of God’s love. We too need to live out that message with integrity in our day-to-day lives.
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More To Your Story Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartJoin bestselling author Max Lucado on a journey through the promises of the New Testament and discover your place in God’s plan. Everything changes when you see how your story fits within God’s. Designed for use with the 6-session DVD study.
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Longevity In Leadership
$15.99Add to cartEverybody knows that leading is challenging. Leaders are out front, showing people and organizations new places where they can and should go. They have to inspire people to challenge themselves to do more things or to increase their abilities in order to achieve specific goals.
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Preachers Guide To Lectionary Sermon Series Volume One
$47.00Add to cartPreachers get the best of lectionary and topical series preaching with this comprehensive manual of sermon series ideas based on the Revised Common Lectionary. Designed to frame consecutive weeks of lectionary texts into seasonal and short-term series, a diverse group of twelve preachers outline multiple thematic series plans for each lectionary year. Each series plan provides a series overview, chart that outlines each segment of the series, tips and ideas, scriptural references, and a brief sermon starter. The series honors holy days and seasons and responds to typical patterns of church attendance, maximizing visitor retention and member engagement. Pastors can honor their commitment to lectionary preaching while taking advantage of the benefits series preaching can offer with this truly unique resource.
Contributors include:
Theresa Cho, Pastor of St. John’s Presbyterian Church, San Francisco, California
Bob Dannals, Rector of St. Michael’s and All Angels Episcopal Church, Dallas, Texas
Magrey R. DeVega, Pastor of Hyde Park United Methodist Church, Tampa, Florida
Brian Erickson, Pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church, Birmingham, Alabama
Mihee Kim-Kort, Presbyterian Minister and Campus Ministry Leader at University of Indiana, Bloomington, Indiana
Jessica LaGrone, Dean of Chapel at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky
Cleophus J. LaRue, Professor of Homiletics, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey
Jacqueline J. Lewis, Senior Minister, Middle Collegiate Church, New York City, New York
Katherine Willis Pershey, Pastor of First Congregational Church, Western Springs, Illinois
Paul Rock, Pastor of Second Presbyterian Church, Kansas City, Kansas
Martin Thielen, Pastor of First United Methodist Church, Cookeville, Tennessee
Winnie Varghese, Priest and Director of Community Outreach at Trinity Wall Street, New York, New York -
Equipping Church : Serving Together To Transform Lives
$22.99Add to cartPicture your church as a place where the priesthood of believers finds its expression in creative and powerful ways. Picture leaders and staff equipping and unleashing people to minister in ways consistent with how God designed them. Think of the effectiveness, vitality, and contentment that come when the body of Christ nurtures itself through the healthy give-and-take of each member. In The Equipping Church, Sue Mallory describes the benefits, the structure, and the culture of an equipping church and shows how your congregation can become one. This book is about limitless possibilities. Think “vision.”
What might your church look like if its members became vital, fully empowered partners in ministry? How can you help them discover and release their full potential? How would their roles change–and yours?
AN EQUIPPING CHURCH IS A CHURCH WHERE:
* pastors and leaders enable church members to share in ministry
* people’s gifts, talents, and life callings are matched with areas of service
* ministry opportunities are recognized and developed
* the culture encourages the growth of a broad array of ministries
*a well-designed system addresses needs of every kind, both individual and corporate *the pastor doesn’t have to be all things to all peopleUnpacking insights and principles uncovered by Leadership Training Network over the last several years, Mallory helps you customize an equipping system and culture in your church. You’ll proceed from preparation (what you need to know), to foundations (what you need to change), to construction (what you need to do). In the process, Mallory takes you inside the story of her own church, Brentwood Presbyterian, to observe the different stages of their trial-and-error journey and how it has transformed their approach to “doing church.” See how they dealt with various concerns that arose along the way, and meet men and women whose lives have been changed because Brentwood took the ministry road less traveled. Each chapter includes a section of “Equipping Principles,” questions for discussion and reflection, and a summary of different equipping churches from around the country. With the accompanying Equipping Church Guidebook, this book will be a mile marker in your church–and the gateway to a more effective and biblical approach to ministry.
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Generous Church : A Guide For Pastors
$18.99Add to cartOur possessions can create unbearable weight and affect our ability to serve and thrive. How do we defy gravity and find freedom? In this 4-week small group study and stewardship campaign, pastor and author Tom Berlin explores what is required to sustain a vibrant life, what we need versus what we want, and what we can do to avoid being pulled into the orbit of materialism. The Pastor Guide helps the pastor and leadership team think strategically about financial planning and giving beyond the annual campaign vision. Tom Berlin believes and teaches that the church, in order to inspire generosity in individuals, needs to be seen and understood as generous. People will embrace giving if they see the ways their gifts are used in the community and the world. Generous church… generous people. Sermon helps and fresh illustrations will be included, broken down into four segments: Think About It – How do I think through the key aspects of our church’s financial reality and plan? Communicate It – How do we tell our story so the whole congregation shares a vision who we are, what we do, and what changes we can make in the world with our people and resources. Plan It – What’s the short-term campaign plan, the annual plan, and our long-term plan for the financial and spiritual life of our congregation? – Manage It – How do we set up processes, reports, goals, and metrics to stay true to our plan?
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Little Handbook For Preachers
$22.99Add to cartNo function of the pastor is as visible and stress inducing as preaching. Being a good preacher requires learning the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical skills needed to effectively share God’s word with a congregation. It demands a commitment to the craft of preaching. But few pastors feel adequately prepared for this high-stakes responsibility when they begin their ministries. Mary Hulst knows what it takes to preach well. Forged by her experiences as a pastor, preaching professor and college chaplain, she recognizes the challenges of the pulpit. In this uniquely practical book, Hulst provides foundational concepts and tips that all pastors can use, whether they are ministry newcomers or seasoned professionals. Preaching can bring both you and your congregation great joy and satisfaction, week after week. And A Little Handbook for Preachers can help you deliver a better sermon by Sunday.
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Claiming Resurrection In The Dying Church
$22.00Add to cartHow do you minister faithfully to a congregation that is in decline? While many congregations struggle with trying to find the key to regrowth, pastor Anna Olson suggests that the answer may actually be to accept and embrace this moment for what it is. In this beautifully written work, Olson helps pastors recognize that, while the congregation might be going away, the community of which it is a part is still very much alive. Using her own experiences in a dying congregation, Olson encourages pastors to use this opportunity to explore new ways to minister, freely and selflessly, and provides a powerful model of what faithfulness to the gospel looks like. This hopeful book about letting go of false hope gives pastors the guidance they need for ministering effectively during the final stages of a church’s life.
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Transforming Community : The Wesleyan Way To Missional Congregations
$15.00Add to cartDrawing from the strength of their previous book, Transforming Evangelism, Henry Knight and Douglas Powe show us a Wesleyan way to form missional communities and congregations. Drawing from John Wesley’s own organizing abilities, this will better equip today’s congregations to be more transfomational. Each chapter also has study questions.
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Seeking Allah Finding Jesus Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$16.99Add to cartBuilding on the powerful story and arguments he shared in Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, Nabeel Qureshi and co-author Kevin Harney take viewers deeper into apologetics and evangelism among Muslims with this complete study course. In eight lessons coordinated to be used alongside the Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus Video Study, Qureshi and Harney explore Muslim culture, the most common Muslim objections to Christianity, and the core doctrines upon which Islam stands or falls. Compassionate and clear, the Seeking Allah Finding Jesus Study Guide will be a useful training tool for pastors, outreach leaders, and any believers wanting to winsomely engage Muslims in spiritual conversations. The Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus Study Guide develops in further detail the objections to Islam and case for Christianity that Qureshi introduced in Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. When studied with the accompanying Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus Video Study, this accessible course is perfect for adult classes, small groups, segments in college or seminary courses, and motivated independent learners alike.
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Story : The Power Of Narrative For Christian Leaders
$17.99Add to cartLet me tell you a story.
Humans exist by story. Through it we cope, survive, and thrive. From daily stories to life stories, narrative is part of who we are and who God intended us to be. In Story, Jay Martinson uses a variety of narrative examples to demonstrate the power stories can wield when told in timely, relevant, and clever ways. The tips and instructions found in Story will be useful to Christian leaders who hope to evangelize, instruct, or mentor others for the sake of the gospel.
Each chapter ends with questions for discussion or reflection to help readers engage the text and learn to apply the book s principles to their individual contexts. So what are you waiting for? Start telling your stories.
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Fresh From The Word
$31.99Add to cartFresh From the Word gathers together Rosalind Brown’s acclaimed reflections on the Sunday Lectionary readings which appeared in the Church Times every week for three years. Now expanded and arranged for use in any liturgical year, and with an additional section for saints’ days and festivals, this comprehensive preaching companion provides an inspiring resource for worship throughout the year.
Noted for their insightful, distilled wisdom and practical focus, these scripture reflections draw on the breadth of the Christian spiritual tradition to illuminate the Lectionary readings and open up their meaning for Christian living today, offering a trusted guide for all who share in the ministry of the word.
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Introduccion A La Psicologia P – (Spanish)
$14.99Add to cartEste libro no es mas que una introduccion a las diferentes dinamicas que afectan a la personalidad y el comportamiento humano, y sus implicaciones para el asesoramiento pastoral. No es un manual exhaustivo, pero si una introduccion completa a todos los temas, que esperamos despierte en el lector el apetito para seguir profundizando mas en el tema.
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History Of Preaching 2
$54.99Add to cartA History of Preaching brings together narrative history and primary sources to provide the most comprehensive guide available to the story of the church’s ministry of proclamation. Bringing together an impressive array of familiar and lesser-known figures, Edwards paints a detailed, compelling picture of what it has meant to preach the gospel. Pastors, scholars, and students of homiletics will find here many opportunities to enrich their understanding and practice of preaching. Ecumenical in scope, fair-minded in presentation, appreciative of the contributions that all the branches of the church have made to the story of what it means to develop, deliver, and listen to a sermon, A History of Preaching will be the definitive resource for anyone who wishes to preach or to understand preaching’s role in living out the gospel.
Volume 2 contains primary source material on preaching drawn from the entire scope of the church’s twenty centuries. The author has written an introduction to each selection, placing it in its historical context and pointing to its particular contribution. Each chapter in Volume 2 is geared to its companion chapter in Volume 1’s narrative history. Volume 1, available separately as 9781501833779, contains Edwards’s magisterial retelling of the story of Christian preaching’s development from its Hellenistic and Jewish roots in the New Testament, through the late-twentieth century’s discontent with outdated forms and emphasis on new modes of preaching such as narrative. Along the way the author introduces us to the complexities and contributions of preachers, both with whom we are already acquainted, and to whom we will be introduced here for the first time. Origen, Chrysostom, Augustine, Bernard, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Edwards, Rauschenbusch, Barth; all of their distinctive contributions receive careful attention. Yet lesser-known figures and developments also appear, from the ninth-century reform of preaching championed by Hrabanus Maurus, to the reference books developed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries by the mendicant orders to assist their members’ preaching, to Howell Harris and Daniel Rowlands, preachers of the eighteenth-century Welsh revival, to Helen Kenyon, speaking as a layperson at the 1950 Yale Beecher lectures about the view of preaching from the pew. “…’This work is expected to be the standard text on preaching for the next 30 years,’ says Ann K. Riggs, who staffs the NCC’s Faith and Order C
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History Of Preaching 1
$65.99Add to cartA History of Preaching brings together narrative history and primary sources to provide the most comprehensive guide available to the story of the church’s ministry of proclamation. Bringing together an impressive array of familiar and lesser-known figures, Edwards paints a detailed, compelling picture of what it has meant to preach the gospel. Pastors, scholars, and students of homiletics will find here many opportunities to enrich their understanding and practice of preaching. Volume 1 contains Edwards’s magisterial retelling of the story of Christian preaching’s development from its Hellenistic and Jewish roots in the New Testament, through the late-twentieth century’s discontent with outdated forms and emphasis on new modes of preaching such as narrative. Along the way the author introduces us to the complexities and contributions of preachers, both with whom we are already acquainted, and to whom we will be introduced here for the first time. Origen, Chrysostom, Augustine, Bernard, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Edwards, Rauschenbusch, Barth; all of their distinctive contributions receive careful attention. Yet lesser-known figures and developments also appear, from the ninth-century reform of preaching championed by Hrabanus Maurus, to the reference books developed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries by the mendicant orders to assist their members’ preaching, to Howell Harris and Daniel Rowlands, preachers of the eighteenth-century Welsh revival, to Helen Kenyon, speaking as a layperson at the 1950 Yale Beecher lectures about the view of preaching from the pew. Volume 2, available separately as 9781501833786, contains primary source material on preaching drawn from the entire scope of the church’s twenty centuries. The author has written an introduction to each selection, placing it in its historical context and pointing to its particular contribution. Each chapter in Volume 2 is geared to its companion chapter in Volume 1’s narrative history. Ecumenical in scope, fair-minded in presentation, appreciative of the contributions that all the branches of the church have made to the story of what it means to develop, deliver, and listen to a sermon, A History of Preaching will be the definitive resource for anyone who wishes to preach or to understand preaching’s role in living out the gospel. “…’This work is expected to be the standard text on preaching for the next 30 years,’ says Ann K. Riggs, who staffs the NCC’s Faith and Order Commis
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Espiritu Santo – (Spanish)
$16.99Add to cartEl Espiritu Santo le acompaa fielmente en todos las luchas y alegrias de su vida. Fue enviado para revelar a Jesus y empoderar a todo el Cuerpo de Cristo.
Sin embargo, una de las figuras mas malentendidas por la Iglesia es el Espiritu Santo. Se pretende entender Su obra y Su poder, sin conocerlo primeramente como una Persona. Y es, ante todo, una Persona que ha prometido no dejarnos ni desampararnos jamas, porque somos Su pasion y deleite.
Las explicaciones claras y directas de este libro interactivo le llevaran a:
*Desarrollar una relacion de amistad intima con el Espiritu Santo.
*Hablarle, preguntarle, escucharle.
*Recibir su empoderamiento.
*Entender la llenura del Espiritu Santo y buscarla.
*Pedirle y recibir su guia, su consuelo y su revelacion.
*Distinguir entre los dones y los frutos del Espiritu Santo.
*Conocer las diferentes lenguas, y discernir para orar en el Espiritu.
*Buscar Su presencia.Sin el Espiritu Santo, no hay vida cristiana, vision, revelacion, paz ni libertad. !Dediquese a conocer y a depender de su Compaero Fiel para toda la vida!
The Holy Spirit keeps your company in every battle and in moments of joy. He was sent to reveal Jesus and empower the Body of Christ.
However, He has been misunderstood by church and His people. They pretend to understand His works and His power, without knowing him as a Person. And the Holy Spirit is, first of all, a Person who has promised never to leave us nor forsake us, because we are His passion and delight.
The straightforward facts in this interactive book will take you to:
*Develop and keep a close friendship with the Holy Spirit.
*Talk to Him, ask Him and listen to Him.
*Receive His empowerment.
*Understand the Holy Spirit’s fulfillment and pursue it.
*Ask Him and receive His guidance, his relief and His revelation.
*Understand the difference between the gifts and the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
*Get to recognize the different tongues, and have discernment to pray in the Spirit.
*Pursue His presence.Without the Holy Spirit, there is no Christian life, vision, revelation, peace or freedom. Devote yourself to know Him, and rely on your Faithful Companion forever!
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How To Preach And Teach The Old Testament For All Its Worth
$18.99Add to cartMany preachers ignore preaching from the Old Testament because they feel it is outdated in light of the New Testament and difficult to expound. On the other hand, some preachers will preach from the Old Testament frequently but fail to handle it correctly, turning it into moralistic rules or symbolic lessons for our spiritual life. In How to Preach and Teach the Old Testament for All Its Worth, Christopher J. H. Wright proclaims that preachers must not ignore the Old Testament. It is the Word of God! The Old Testament lays the foundation for our faith and it was the Bible that Jesus read and used. Looking first at why we should preach from the Old Testament, the author moves on to show the reader how they can be preach from it. Covering the History, Law, Prophets, Psalms, and Wisdom Literature, interspersed with practical checklists, exercises, and sermons, he provides an essential guide on how to handle the Old Testament responsibly.
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Live Smart : Preparing For The Future God Wants For You (Reprinted)
$14.00Add to cartA Guide to Living Wisely While You’re Young
As a professor and youth director, author Dan Dumas has seen that young people have high expectations for themselves. They want their lives to matter, and there’s no reason our expectations for them should be any different.This book presents practical tools and biblical advice to middle school and high school-aged readers so they can make the most of their youth. It covers everything from making the right friendships to how to think about education and how to invest in their relationships with God. The habits a person forms when they’re young can last a lifetime–now’s the time to make it count.This book is ideal for parents and youth pastors to give to young people to read on their own or study in groups. -
Stepping Aside Moving Ahead
$18.99Add to cartHenri Nouwen’s statement that too many clergy are “lonely ministers practicing lonely ministry” can be amplified in the years leading up to and immediately following retirement. Although there are books about retirement in general, clergy have unique personal and professional dimensions to retiring. Stepping Aside, Moving Ahead provides a clergy-oriented context. The author begins with letters from clergy nearing retirement about the issues they are facing and structures the book in the following way: Opening Letters from clergy Foundations (the formative dynamics that create a good retirement) Movements (the formative transitions that lead to a good retirement) Actions (the specific behaviors that produce a good retirement) Outcomes (the attitudes which emerge from a good retirement)
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Changeover Zone : Successful Pastoral Transitions
$17.99Add to cartUtilizing the metaphor of a relay race, The Changeover Zone provides step-by-step, hands-on application of techniques and principles that bring about successful pastoral transitions-passing the baton from one pastor to her/his successor. While the concepts apply to any type of pastoral transition, the techniques are specifically designed to improve the transitions when new churches are going through their first pastoral change and when churches are receiving a new pastor following a long-tenured pastor. The first section teaches the key action steps for each party involved in a transition; the second section focuses specifically on new churches going through their first pastoral transition and; the third section focuses more on long-tenured pastorates and draws the distinctions and similarities between existing churches and new churches going through a pastoral change. Drawing on years of experience the authors introduce the reader to best practices that any church, pastor, or denominational office can implement.
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Talking God : Preaching To Contemporary Congregations
$19.95Add to cartToday’s church has a digital dilemma: We live in an age where “new media” is inescapable, yet many still perceive these new forms of communication as either an unmanageable challenge or at odds with the mission of the church. Clergy and lay leaders alike can be at a loss as to what methodologies, practices, and adjustments are necessary to engage today’s congregations. How can we effectively meet the challenges of our present context?In Talking God, Fr. Cutie, whose wide following spans both traditional and new media, starts where preaching the gospel has always started, with a preacher and an audience, and examines the challenges digital communications pose to all involved in the craft of preaching, including the way contemporary audiences receive and listen to the message preached. Is the 21st century church responding to this evolution by seeking to understand the present-day “listening context” and the often overwhelming “media culture” in which it is called to preach? Must preachers and teachers of the Word of God evolve in style and practice to continue being effective communicators of the gospel? Has the world changing around us changed our methodology or even our message?
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Ways Of The Word
$37.00Add to cartPreaching, and the discipline of preaching, is at a crossroads. The changing realities of church and theological education, the diversity of our classrooms, and our increasingly complex community contexts leave us in search of tools to help train a rising generation of preachers for a future whose contours are far from clear. The questions are immense: How to support preachers in contexts that are diverse religiously, culturally, and ethnically, both inside and outside the church? How to help students take varied contexts seriously as they are formed as leaders?
In Ways of the Word, a dynamic team of master preachers brings much-needed help. Different in race, gender, age, and tradition, both Sally A. Brown and Luke A. Powery speak with one voice their belief that preaching is an Spirit-empowered event: an embodied, vocalized, actively received, here-and-now witness to the ongoing work of God in the world.
They aspire to help students and preachers alike to reflect on a journey of learning by doing. They aim to help preachers to become more attuned to the Spirit, more adept in preaching’s component skills, and more self-aware about all that is at stake in proclaiming the redemptive work of God in specific contexts.
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Move : What 1000 Churches Reveal About Spiritual Growth
$24.99Add to cartOne of the church’s primary responsibilities is to foster genuine spiritual growth in people’s lives. Today’s pastors bring tremendous effort and passion to this task, but they are often disappointed by people who sit in the pews for years, knowing about Jesus but never really knowing him. In 2004, Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago undertook a three-year study to measure spiritual growth called the REVEAL Spiritual Life Survey. Over the next six years, additional data was collected from over a quarter million people in well over a thousand churches of every size, denomination, and geographic area. Move presents verifiable, fact-based, and somewhat startling findings from the latest REVEAL research, drawing on compelling stories from actual people-congregation members of varying spiritual maturity, as well as pastors who are equally candid as they share their disappointments and their successes. It provides a new lens through which church leaders can see and measure the evidence of spiritual growth. The local church is uniquely equipped to foster spiritual growth and challenge people to pursue a life of full devotion to Christ. Move helps pastors and church leaders inspire and direct that challenge with confidence as they lead their congregations to move closer to Christ.
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Think Tank : 100 Adaptable Discussion Starters To Get Teens Talking
$19.99Add to cartGod, the Great Storyteller, chose to communicate with us through story – in fact a great library of stories, filled with heroes, villains, sex, violence, intrigue, sacrifice and redemption. The Think Tank gives young people an opportunity to meet that incredible Bible narrative – perhaps for the first time. This book contains 100 stories designed to provoke discussion, followed by penetrating questions which relate the stories to biblical bedrock. The stories are in four parts: * WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT? – Unbelievable stories, all absolutely true! * INSPIRING INDIVIDUALS – Stories of celebrities, public figures and other people of note making a positive difference. * WHAT WOULD YOU DO? – Ethics explored through stories, many based on real events. * AT THE MOVIES – A major bonus: 25 movie clips that pack a punch with young people, and all the background and questions you’ll need to facilitate discussion around them.
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Ideas Factory Revised And Updated
$19.99Add to cartThe Ideas Factory is a priceless resource for youth leaders. 100 adaptable discussion starters provide a brief story, usually factual, followed by a series of provocative questions. Each story explores a topic pertinent to young people, such as drugs, truancy, or parental relationships; or an important biblical concept, such as giving, the afterlife, or love. The questions begin with general issues, before moving on to what the Bible has to say. Extra questions are included for use with unchurched young people. The last 25 discussion starters provide a journey through the main stories and themes of the Bible.
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When God Doesnt Fix It Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartFor years, recording artist Laura Story believed common Christians myths such as God always promises happy endings, we can avoid pain if we serve God, and God will fix our problems if we just pray hard enough. But this all changed in 2006 when she her husband, Martin, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He would never be the same. The fairytale life Laura had dreamed was no longer possible, yet through her broken dreams she was able to find joy and a deeper intimacy with Jesus than she knew was possible. In When God Doesn’t Fix It, Laura examines what the Bible says about God and why our lives often don’t turn out the way we expect. She examines the brokenness of some of the heroes of our faith-men like Abraham, Joseph, David, and Paul-and shows how despite their flawed stories, God used them in extraordinary ways. This was not because of their faith but because of the faithfulness of their God. God may not fix everything. In fact, our situation might never change or get better. But we can get better regardless of our situation.
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Pilgrim The Beatitudes
$14.95Add to cartPilgrim is a teaching and discipleship resource that helps inquirers and new Christians explore what it means to travel through life with Christ. A Christian course for the twenty-first century, Pilgrim offers an approach of participation, not persuasion. Following the practice of the ancient disciplines of biblical reflection and prayer with quotes from the Christian tradition throughout the ages, Pilgrim assumes little or no knowledge of the Christian faith. Individuals or small groups on the journey of discipleship in the Episcopal tradition can use Pilgrim at any point. There are many different aspects to helping people learn about the Christian faith. We have taken as our starting point Jesus’ summary of the commandments. We are called to offer our lives to God through loving God with all our mind, soul, strength, and heart, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Learning about Christian faith and growing in Christian faith is about more than what we believe. It’s also about the ways in which we pray and develop our relationship with God, about the way we live our lives and about living in God’s vision for the Church and for the world. Course 4. The Beatitudes: The Beatitudes is a short but profoundly beautiful and influential collection of sayings by Jesus. They sum up his teaching about what it means to live as a child of God’s kingdom. The authors of this course believe that following Jesus requires us to engage with this important text, so that it is restored to a central place in the life of the Church. We believe that the Beatitudes, and trying to live them out, is one of the best ways of loving God with all your heart and understanding the Christian vision for the world.
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Shaped By The Gospel
$22.99Add to cartIt is easy to assume that if we understand the gospel and preach it faithfully, our ministry will necessarily be shaped by it-but this is not true. Many churches claim to be gospel-centered but do not have a ministry that is shaped by, centered on, and empowered through the gospel. The implications of the gospel have not yet worked their way into the fabric of how that church does ministry.
Gospel-centered ministry is more theologically driven than program driven. To pursue it, we must spend time reflecting on the essence, the truths, and the very patterns of the gospel itself. The gospel is neither religion nor irreligion, but something else entirely-a third way of relating to God through grace. In Gospel-Centered Church, bestselling author and pastor Timothy Keller addresses several current discussion and conflicts about the nature of the gospel and shows how faithful preaching of the gospel leads to individual and corporate renewal.
This new edition contains the first section of Center Church in an easy-to-read format with new reflections and additional essays from Timothy Keller and several other contributors.
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Healing The Wounded Heart Workbook (Workbook)
$19.00Add to cartFirst published in 1989, Dan Allender’s The Wounded Heart has helped hundreds of thousands of people come to terms with sexual abuse in their past. Now, more than twenty-five years later, Allender has written a brand-new book on the subject that takes into account recent discoveries about the lasting physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual ramifications of sexual abuse.
With great compassion Allender offers hope for victims of rape, date rape, incest, molestation, sexting, sexual bullying, unwanted advances, pornography, and more, exposing the raw wounds that are left behind and clearing the path toward wholeness and healing. Never minimizing victims’ pain or offering pat spiritual answers that don’t truly address the problem, he instead calls evil evil and lights the way to renewed joy.
Counselors, pastors, and friends of those who have suffered sexual harm will find in this book the deep spiritual guidance they need to effectively minister to the sexually broken around them. Victims themselves will find here a sympathetic friend to walk alongside them on the road to healing.
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Healing The Wounded Heart (Reprinted)
$16.99Add to cartFirst published in 1989, Dan Allender’s The Wounded Heart has helped hundreds of thousands of people come to terms with sexual abuse in their past. Now, more than twenty-five years later, Allender has written a brand-new book on the subject that takes into account recent discoveries about the lasting physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual ramifications of sexual abuse.
With great compassion Allender offers hope for victims of rape, date rape, incest, molestation, sexting, sexual bullying, unwanted advances, pornography, and more, exposing the raw wounds that are left behind and clearing the path toward wholeness and healing. Never minimizing victims’ pain or offering pat spiritual answers that don’t truly address the problem, he instead calls evil evil and lights the way to renewed joy.
Counselors, pastors, and friends of those who have suffered sexual harm will find in this book the deep spiritual guidance they need to effectively minister to the sexually broken around them. Victims themselves will find here a sympathetic friend to walk alongside them on the road to healing.
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Thoughts From My Journey
$9.99Add to cartWith Thoughts from My Journey, Seattle business leader Ralph Palmen has gifted his readers with simple and profound words of wisdom that have a direct bearing on how we can live godly lives. Stemming from an intimate relationship with God and decades of experience and success in the business world, these devotional gems offer practical advice on dynamic Christian living, biblical management, leadership, and organizational development, and how to gain the cultural high ground in order to impact the world for Christ. Ralph Palmen is founder and president of the Palmen Institute, Inc. and co-founder of Express Employment Professionals.
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Ministry Training Academies
$11.95Add to cartMinistry Training Academies are dynamic ministries that train and release children to do ministry. They provide children with a unique opportunity to learn ministry through hands-on experience.
Ministry Training Academies also help to fulfill the purpose of the local church. Given that children make up approximately 25% of the church population, it would be unlikely for a church to fulfill what God has called it to do unless children are engaged in helping fulfill that purpose.
Can you imagine if every evangelical church equipped and released their children in ministry? Not only would there be radical changes in the church of Jesus Christ, there would be changes in homes, schools, and neighborhoods. Children who walk in newness of Christ as a believer AND partner with Him in ministry, will have a profound impact in their world.
Let’s stop doing ministry to our children and begin a chapter in church history where we begin doing ministry WITH children.
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1 Thing : A Revolution To Change The World With Love
$15.99Add to cartNeil Cole demonstrates the Church’s lack of influence on our society because believers are not bringing true transformative love to it, but rather a form of religious moralism. Neil details how real change was launched within the New Testament church and demonstrated in history, impacting harsh societal issues like slavery and the oppression of women. The author details how similar change can occur if we address today’s pressing issues with love rather than a moralistic posture.
Cole points out that the church has unrealistic expectations of imposing morality without spirituality to the lost. The church acts surprised when the unredeemed act like they are unredeemed. The real shock, Neil notes, is how the redeemed act like they are not. This book is a call for the church to respond in love toward the world and to not impose their own values on others, but rather live them out.
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Do This Remembering Me
$18.95Add to cartWhat do I do to help? Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, almost everyone knows someone with some form of dementia, yet few know how to answer that question, and very little material exists on providing spiritual care to adults with dementia-related diseases. Even seminaries rarely provide training or clinical pastoral education in this field. This book is an answer. It provides a hands-on manual that will give clergy, spiritual care providers, and family members an understanding of the ongoing spiritual needs of individuals with dementia, as well as practical tools such as how to create a religious service in a memory care unit and how one might plan a nursing home visit. Accessibly written, with real life applications and sample services for a variety of settings. More than just useful, the book inspires with shared stories that are tender, sad, funny-and sometimes all three at once, encouraging readers to develop spiritual care ministries for people with memory loss in congregations, homes, nursing facilities, or other communities-a ministry that will only gain in importance in the coming decade, as Baby Boomers age and the number of people with Alzheimer’s and dementia skyrockets.
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Serving A Movement
$18.99Add to cartOur goal as Christians is never simply to build our own tribe. Instead, we seek the peace and prosperity of the city or community in which we live through a gospel movement led by the Holy Spirit, a movement united by the gospel of Jesus Christ, a common mission to reach and serve others, and a commitment to be gracious and generous to those who disagree with you.
In Serving a Movement, best-selling author and pastor Timothy Keller looks at the nature of the church’s mission and its relationship to the work of individual Christians in the world. He examines what it means to be a “missional” church today and how churches can practically equip people for missional living. Churches need to intentionally cultivate an integrative ministry that connects people to God, to one another, to the needs of the city, and to the culture around us. Finally, he highlights the need for intentional movements of churches planting new churches that faithfully proclaim God’s truth and serve their communities.
This new edition contains the third section of Center Church in an easy-to-read format with new reflections and additional essays from Timothy Keller and several other contributors.
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Help Me Help Others
$12.99Add to cart“Help Me Help Others” was written for compassionate individuals who are looking for biblically-based, relational truths to use as they help those in distress. Dr. Wagner’s use of real-life examples, end-of-chapter contemplations, and easy-to-follow diagrams increase the ease with which these concepts can be understood and applied.
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Ministry Training Academies
$28.95Add to cartMinistry Training Academies are dynamic ministries that train and release children to do ministry. They provide children with a unique opportunity to learn ministry through hands-on experience.
Ministry Training Academies also help to fulfill the purpose of the local church. Given that children make up approximately 25% of the church population, it would be unlikely for a church to fulfill what God has called it to do unless children are engaged in helping fulfill that purpose.
Can you imagine if every evangelical church equipped and released their children in ministry? Not only would there be radical changes in the church of Jesus Christ, there would be changes in homes, schools, and neighborhoods. Children who walk in newness of Christ as a believer AND partner with Him in ministry, will have a profound impact in their world.
Let’s stop doing ministry to our children and begin a chapter in church history where we begin doing ministry WITH children.
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Necessary Nine : Things Effective Pastors Do Differently
$16.99Add to cartConventional wisdom is that leaders are born, not made. In reality, that is one small piece of the leadership puzzle. The fact is, approximately 10% of church leaders are naturally-gifted leaders who actually don’t need any help. Another 10% of church leaders do not have the capacity to lead nor learn to lead with the skill set needed for the 21st century church. This means approximately 80% of church leaders have the possibility of becoming a more effective church leader. This book is for them. The Necessary Nine contains nine simple axioms for effective pastoral and lay leadership for the church. These axioms have the greatest potential for fruitful ministry. These strategies are straightforward and easy to use. The reader will have “that’s true” moments and learn to put those insights into regular practice. It will help the reader with the simple leadership strategies that, if practiced over and over and over, will change the effectiveness of their leadership, the church and the world.
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She : Five Keys To Unlock The Power Of Women In Ministry
$22.99Add to cartWe are not all the same. The time has come for us to honestly name the ways we are different and similar so that we can serve together in unity, grace and trust. Women in ministry experience unique challenges in their church settings which continue to hinder their vocational, professional, and personal success. Women in ministry need a trusted and comprehensive resource not only to be able to survive but to thrive in their places of call. She provides theoretical, theological, and practical frameworks and strategies for flourishing as woman in ministry and engages critical reflection on the practice of ministry in light of current feminist theory, biblical interpretation, and experience. Covering everything from biblical arguments for and against women in the church to what not to wear, this book offers background information and tools for negotiating the many and varied issues that woman in ministry face, including leadership, the authority and office of the clergy, and structures and power in the church. A trusted and comprehensive resource for women in ministry, equipping them to thrive in their places of call, and for the men who serve alongside them.
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How Youth Ministry Can Change Theological Education If We Let It
$33.99Add to cartSince 1993, forty-nine theological seminaries have created opportunities for high school students to participate in on-campus High School Theology Programs (HSTPs) that invite them to engage in serious biblical and theological study. Many of the young people who take part in these programs go on to become pastoral or lay leaders in their churches. What has made these programs so successful – especially given the well-documented “crisis of faith” among young people today?
In this book thirteen contributors – many of whom have created or led one of these innovative theology programs – investigate answers to this question. They examine the pedagogical practices the HSTPs have in common and explore how they are contributing to the leadership of the church. They then show how the lessons gleaned from these successful programs can help churches, denominations, and seminaries reimagine both theological education and youth ministry.
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Discipleship That Fits
$24.99Add to cartFor far too long, the church has tried to make disciples using a one-size-fits-all approach. Some churches advocate 1-on-1 discipling, others try getting everyone into a small group, while still others training through mission trips or service projects. Yet others focus all their efforts on attracting people to a large group gathering to hear biblical teaching and preaching. But does one size really fit everyone? Based on careful biblical study and years of experience making disciples in the local church, Bobby Harrington and Alex Absalom have identified five key relationships where discipleship happens in our lives. In each relational context we need to understand how discipleship occurs and we need to set appropriate expectations for each context. Discipleship That Fits shows you the five key ways discipleship occurs. It looks at how Jesus made disciples and how disciples were formed in the early church. Each of the contexts is necessary at different times and in different ways as a person grows toward maturity in Christ: Public Relationships: The church gathering corporately for worship Social Relationships: Networks of smaller relationships where we engage in mission and live out our faith in community Personal Relationships: Small groups of six to sixteen people where we challenge and encourage one another on a regular basis Transparent Relationships: Close relationships of three to four where we share intimate details of our lives for accountability The Divine Relationship: Our relationship with Jesus Christ where we grow through the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit Filled with examples and stories, Alex and Bobby show you how to develop discipleship practices in each relational context by sharing how Jesus did it, how the early church practiced it, and how churches are discipling people today.
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Pastoral Care : Telling The Stories Of Our Lives
$38.99Add to cartThis book affirms the historic link between Christian formation and pastoral care by locating the distinctive nature of pastoral care in the mission of the church to form persons in the Christian life of love. Drawing primarily on the theological concept of sanctification and using insights from narrative psychological theory, this text presents a praxis-oriented model of pastoral care as companionship. Pastoral caregivers, it suggests, are called to be companions growing in love, walking alongside others who are likewise growing in love of God, self, and other. Such pastoral caregivers engage their companions in narrative, relational, and prophetic practices in multiple settings. The book develops a model of companionship. It then explores the process of becoming trustworthy companions; a process of practicing companionship through pastoral assessment and developing plans of care; companioning communities; and accompanying persons and families in the midst of life joys and challenges, such as stress, crisis, violence, the end of life. Case studies throughout the book illustrate these practices of companionship with individuals, families, and congregations. Pastoral caregivers are called to be companions growing in love as we walk with and alongside others on a shared journey of growth in love of God, self, other, and the entirety of God’s creation. Pastoral caregivers both point towards the companionship of God’s Spirit and become companions in the Christian life as we are formed more fully in love through grace. Companionship implies relationship, community, and sharing the embodied realities of this life together, which is symbolized in the Christian community by breaking bread together. Our English word companion derives from the Latin com + panis, which literally means bread mates. Companionship includes the radical hospitality of sharing bread as Christians do in the celebration of communion or Eucharist and as envisioned in the eschatological banquet to which Jesus invites us all.
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Integrity At Stake
$14.99Add to cartIntegrity at Stake: Safeguarding Your Church from Financial Fraud by Rollie Dimos is a financial resource book intended for pastors, church leaders, and church administrators. Dimos’ expertise as a certified fraud examiner and internal auditor provides the church audience with essential tools and know-how to assess their financial processes. Including practical steps for evaluation, Integrity at Stake details internal controls, risk management, and true stories to help church leaders reduce the risk of fraud and increase financial accountability and integrity.
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Sticky Faith Service Guide Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$18.99Add to cartSo you’re on fire, you want to make a difference, you want to change the world…but how? Signing up for a service project or mission trip is a great first step. But you probably have a lot of questions. Are you ready for the different cultures you may encounter? How are you going to really connect with the people you serve? And what about when you come home-how do you make sense of all the things you’ve experienced? Will any of it make a lasting difference for anyone? It turns out that if you really want to change the world, you have to change too. The only way that’s going to happen is if you spend time before, during, and after your trip preparing for and processing your work. This Journal will help you think about: – Why you’re going – The people you’re serving – Your relationship with your teammates – How God factors into your service project – The impact your experience has had on you – How you can keep making a difference back at home If you think you’re fired up to serve now, just wait! This hands-on Journal will equip you to serve in a way that sticks-both for you and those you serve. – How you can keep making a difference back at home If you think you’re fired up to serve now, just wait! This hands-on Journal will equip you to serve in a way that sticks-both for you and those you serve.
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Glocalization : How Followers Of Jesus Engage A Flat World
$24.99Add to cartIf you want to know where and how the church is going to grow, think local and global. Think glocal. Glocal is Bob Roberts’ term for the seamless connectedness between the local and global. That connection is affecting the church in ways that never could have been imagined in the first-century church, or even the twentieth-century church. And it’s creating unprecedented opportunities for individuals and churches-for you and your church-to live out their faith in real time across the world. Glocalization offers a vision of the unprecedented changes of our times and how they are impacting the church. Discover how these changes will transform the way churches define their mission and how Christians relate to one another and to the world. This provocative book turns the traditional mission-agency model upside down and shows how transformed people and churches can make a glocal (global and local) impact. Glocalization offers an exciting vision for churches and individuals who want to reach this changing world for Christ.
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Membership Matters : Insights From Effective Churches On New Member Classes
$22.99Add to cartInsights from Effective Churches on New Member Classes and Assimilation Findings from a national study to improve membership classes and to motivate current members into active ministry How do churches move members-both old and new- into ministry? Many church staff and lay leaders know they need to start new member classes as a point of entry into their churches but don’t know how. This book is based on a national study of effective churches and shows how growing churches implement new member classes and motivate their members into ministry. Membership Matters is designed to be a guide for church leaders wanting to start or improve a membership class. It includes models for classes and examples of resources such as church covenants, class schedules, and lesson outlines. It also gives direction on motivating uninvolved members to participate in ministry. One chapter chronicles an ongoing discussion among pastors of growing churches that are effectively motivating members to do ministry.
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Bible Lessons For Children
$11.95Add to cartChildren’s Church Sermons for Worship Service offers adult leaders and teachers a complete year’s worth of scripts for presenting the truths of the Christian faith to children from four to eight years old. Drawing upon long experience, including more than two decades teaching children in the public schools and nineteen years leading children’s worship, author Sunday Burger offers season-specific messages crafted to encourage children to explore their developing faith.
Building upon the foundation of research into the ways children in this age group learn, this collection offers lessons field-tested in worship with children. Each week’s script highlights a passage from the Scriptures, presents a central Christian truth, suggests a visual aid, outlines a message for an adult to share with children, and ends with an invitation for the children to join the leader in a prayer. Depending upon children’s inquisitiveness, the scripts encourage them to explore the message’s theme by connecting the visual aid with the Bible’s message and by answering questions along the way.
If your ministry involves working with children between the ages of four and eight, then this guide can equip you to share the truths of the Christian faith in the main worship service, Sunday school classes, children’s church, Bible school, or whenever young children gather. Through these lessons, the Holy Spirit can use encounters with God’s Word to prepare children to live by faith, lead the Church, and extend the Kingdom of God.
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Bible Lessons For Children
$28.95Add to cartChildren’s Church Sermons for Worship Service offers adult leaders and teachers a complete year’s worth of scripts for presenting the truths of the Christian faith to children from four to eight years old. Drawing upon long experience, including more than two decades teaching children in the public schools and nineteen years leading children’s worship, author Sunday Burger offers season-specific messages crafted to encourage children to explore their developing faith.
Building upon the foundation of research into the ways children in this age group learn, this collection offers lessons field-tested in worship with children. Each week’s script highlights a passage from the Scriptures, presents a central Christian truth, suggests a visual aid, outlines a message for an adult to share with children, and ends with an invitation for the children to join the leader in a prayer. Depending upon children’s inquisitiveness, the scripts encourage them to explore the message’s theme by connecting the visual aid with the Bible’s message and by answering questions along the way.
If your ministry involves working with children between the ages of four and eight, then this guide can equip you to share the truths of the Christian faith in the main worship service, Sunday school classes, children’s church, Bible school, or whenever young children gather. Through these lessons, the Holy Spirit can use encounters with God’s Word to prepare children to live by faith, lead the Church, and extend the Kingdom of God.
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Pastor : The Theology And Practice Of Ordained Ministry (Revised)
$34.99Add to cartOrdained ministry, says Willimon, is a gift of God to the church–but that doesn’t mean that it is easy. Always a difficult vocation, changes in society and the church in recent years have made the ordained life all the more complex and challenging. Is the pastor primarily a preacher, a professional caregiver, an administrator? Given the call of all Christians to be ministers to the world, what is the distinctive ministry of the ordained? When does one’s ministry take on the character of prophet, and when does it become that of priest? What are the special ethical obligations and disciplines of the ordained? In this book, Willimon explores these and other central questions about the vocation of ordained ministry. He begins with a discussion of who pastors are, asking about the theological underpinnings of ordained ministry, and then moves on to what pastors do, looking at the distinctive roles the pastor must fulfill. The book also draws on great teachers of the Christian tradition to demonstrate that, while much about Christian ministry has changed, its core concerns–preaching the word, the care of souls, the sacramental life of congregations–remains the same. Ordained ministry is a vocation to which we are called, not a profession that we choose. To answer that call is to open oneself to heartache and sometimes hardship; yet, given the one who calls, it is to make oneself available to deep and profound joy as well.
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100 Things Every Child Should Know Before Confirmation
$20.00Add to cartMany youth arrive at confirmation classes without a basic grasp of key Bible stories or Christian traditions. This book helps to fill that gap, offering Sunday school teachers, parents, and adult volunteers a compact guide for equipping their youth with knowledge and understanding of their own faith. It offers an overview of one hundred essential topics that all children growing up in the church should learn about, including key Bible stories, church history, the sacraments and creeds, world religions, and more. Each entry includes a brief summary, a suggestion for how educators and parents can explore this item with their children, and ideas for integrating the topic into the child’s overall Christian education. This practical resource helps children think critically about Christian faith as they begin their confirmation studies, providing the vocabulary and understanding needed to articulate their own theology.
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Holy Currency Exchange
$22.99Add to cartEric Law’s foundational Holy Currencies (2013) demonstrated a new way ministries can think about the resources needed to do their work in their communities. Law’s follow-up book, Holy Currency Exchange, shares a variety of tools for thinking differently about how those resources can mobilize ministries into new life, mission, and vitality. Examples include a restaurant ministry, programs for youth, an emergency rent loan fund for people in the neighborhood, worship service in Mexican restaurants, and many more. What could your ministry do?
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Broken And Whole
$18.99Add to cartIn his nearly four decades of pastoral, parachurch and nonprofit ministry leadership Steve Macchia has come to understand his own brokenness. He writes: “I’ve experienced great success and embarrassing failure. I’ve considered myself effective, and I’ve watched myself implode. I’ve brought others a lot of joy, and I’ve dished out my share of disappointment. In essence, as much as I like to view myself as a good or very good leader, in fact I’m more truthfully a blessed and broken leader?one who is daily in need of being renewed by the Spirit of God who resides in me.” In these pages Steve offers the gifts of love found in 1 Corinthians 13 as the antidote to our brokenness. He writes with personal transparency from his own experience. Each chapter concludes with a powerful spiritual assessment tool to use in reflecting on our own leadership strengths and weaknesses. By embracing and befriending our own brokenness we can find true wholeness in God’s strength. In these pages you will discover a new way to live in freedom and joy.
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Easter Programs Dramas And Skits For Youth
$8.99Add to cartA compilation of programs written for youth 10-16. A new author collection writing in contemporary and tradition formats and style for churches of all sizes and selected small groups. This program book also contains poems, quotes and reading to add to the enjoyment and inspiration during this special time in the church.
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Leading Healthy Growing Multiplying Small Groups
$17.99Add to cartLiberty University Press
In “Leading Healthy, Growing, Multiplying Small Groups,” Rod Dempsey and Dave Earley make the process of forming your own small group attainable. They demonstrate the necessity of small groups, and then teach their readers how to structure a new group. Dempsey and Earley share their passion for discipleship and Christ-centered community, and show others how they can further the Great Commission in their own lives. From local churches to neighbors and extended families, Dempsey and Earley encourage their readers to reach out to those around them. “Leading Healthy, Growing, Multiplying Small Groups” provides the wisdom and tools to transform your community. -
Along The Way
$19.99Add to cartConversations about children and faith draw us close to the heart of God, and the authors of Along the Way lead everyone in the church–parents, grandparents, teachers, friends, ministers, and leaders–into a careful, honest dialogue about nurturing children spiritually. Along the way, readers will rediscover how each child’s walk with God is a unique journey of discovery. Readers will also realize that sharing these paths with children can change and bless not simply the children, but their own lives as well.
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Inclusive Marriage Services
$28.00Add to cartAs the country moves toward marriage equality for gays and lesbians, couples and pastors are in need of updated language for marriage services. This sourcebook not only provides inclusive marriage services, taking into account a variety of situations, but also provides guidance for couples and pastors to take into account for all couples. In addition, it includes prayers for a number of situations that happen around many weddings, such as rehearsal dinners, the wedding participants before worship, and the reception.
Inclusive Marriage Services includes updated but traditional language carefully chosen, resembling historical marriages we are all familiar with, but improving some of the language.
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Brief Survey Of The Bible Study Guide
$14.99Add to cartThe Bible is the inspired Word of God, and over the centuries it has changed people’s lives and led them to God. Yet sometimes it can be a difficult book to understand. The culture in which the Bible was written is so different from our own that at times we struggle to understand what it means or how it is relevant to our modern lives. In A Brief Survey of the Bible, Bible professors John Walton and Mark Strauss give you the background you need to successfully understand even the difficult parts of the Word of God. They provide an overview of the Bible’s key themes, show what the teachings meant to the people at the time, and explain how those teachings apply to your life today. By the end, you will have a greater understanding of Scripture, know how all the books work together, and understand what God has done to make a way for you to come to him. This participant’s guide includes: Group discussion questions and notes to help you get the most out of the fourteen video sessions in A Brief Study of the Bible: A DVD Study An overview of each book of the Bible and a daily reading plan Between-sessions Scripture passages, reading tips, and key stories to help you dig into the content Additional facts to help you understand the situations behind the story
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Groove The Basics Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$10.99Add to cartToday’s faith and biblical illiteracy in general and among those who attend church and claim to be Christian is staggering. Some alarmists are claiming that the Christian faith is in danger of becoming extinct. We can no longer rely on culture to support the passing on of faith in Jesus Christ to the coming generations. The Basics study is not a quick fix to this situation. It is a handcrafted tool that when used by compassionate, caring, and committed adults, will ignite their imagination for God, the Scripture, the faith community, and living a transformed life. The Basics will likely raise more questions than it answers, and that’s intentional. Don’t feel the need to make sure all the loose ends are tied up at the conclusion of your youth gathering. Allow your teens the opportunity to leave with ideas and truths on which to reflect and wrestle as they use the daily devotionals provided in the Groove: The Basics Student Journal. The Groove Bible study series invites teens to learn the essentials of their faith, own their story, and engage the world in serving Jesus. Each topical study consists of four weekly sessions that are easy to lead and relate to life issues teens face. With up to 48 weeks available, Groove is great for Sunday and mid-week gatherings for both large and small groups as well as retreats.The student journal contains session-specific questions, background information, and daily devotions for each session.
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Groove The Life Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$10.99Add to cartThe life of the Christian is marked by disciplines, practices, and commitments that help shape the foundation of our faith. So how do we help youth encounter and choose to embrace some of these practices as they move into a faith that they claim as their own? The Life is a four-week study designed to help youth consider spiritual practices and what those practices can mean in their lives. Each week, they will consider the practices of being committed to a church family, of prayer, of giving, and of sharing their faith with others. The ideas and lessons are reinforced with exercises and daily devotions, found in the Groove: The Life Student Journal, designed to help them reflect and apply these disciplines in their own lives. The Groove Bible study series invites teens to learn the essentials of their faith, own their story, and engage the world in serving Jesus. Each topical study consists of four weekly sessions that are easy to lead and relate to life issues teens face. With up to 48 weeks available, Groove is great for Sunday and mid-week gatherings for both large and small groups as well as retreats.The student journal contains session-specific questions, background information, and daily devotions for each session.
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Groove Character Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartWhen beliefs, attitudes, and values line up with actions there is character. Helping teenagers grow in Christlike character is no easy task. How do we help teenagers follow Jesus and take on his character? It takes practice and the commitment of their church family to support, encourage, and celebrate the “wins” with them along this exciting journey of growth. Character is a four-week Bible study designed to help teens develop Christ-like behavior in their daily lives. Teenagers will consider the ideas of truth, how they use their words, how they view their possessions, and what it is to be a person of integrity. The study is reinforced with daily devotions and exercises found in the Groove: Character Student Journal. Helping youth embrace character and the practice of growing their spiritual lives independent from group study can be a powerful combination. The Groove Bible study series invites teens to learn the essentials of their faith, own their story, and engage the world in serving Jesus. Each topical study consists of four weekly sessions that are easy to lead and relate to life issues teens face. With up to 48 weeks available, Groove is great for Sunday and mid-week gatherings for both large and small groups as well as retreats.The student journal contains session-specific questions, background information, and daily devotions for each session.
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Groove Jesus Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartWhat do Christian teenagers believe today about Jesus Christ? And what difference does that belief make in their life? Research shows that most teenagers do not understand the basic core beliefs of Christianity and often express misgivings of their own faith. How do we help teens connect with the significance and importance of Jesus Christ? Jesus is a four-week study designed to help teens encounter the basic truths about who Jesus is and why that matters in their lives. Through group study and daily devotions, found in the Groove: Jesus Student Journal, teenagers will begin to understand the significance of Christ and how that relates to their daily walk. The Groove Bible study series invites teens to learn the essentials of their faith, own their story, and engage the world in serving Jesus. Each topical study consists of four weekly sessions that are easy to lead and relate to life issues teens face. With up to 48 weeks available, Groove is great for Sunday and mid-week gatherings for both large and small groups as well as retreats.The student journal contains session-specific questions, background information, and daily devotions for each session.
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Groove Temptation Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartTemptations are all around us; and facing those temptations is never easy, especially for teenagers. While simply avoiding temptation would make life a lot easier, it can be very hard for teens, who are still developing socially, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, and physically. Temptation is a four-week study designed to help teens navigate and overcome the daily temptations they battle. Greed, pride, envy, and lust are challenges we all face; so understanding the spiritual implications of those temptations can help our youth thrive in their spiritual lives as they move into adulthood. The Groove: Temptation Student Journal provides exercises and daily devotions that help teens deal with the temptations they face as they learn to develop a maturing faith in Christ. The Groove Bible study series invites teens to learn the essentials of their faith, own their story, and engage the world in serving Jesus. Each topical study consists of four weekly sessions that are easy to lead and relate to life issues teens face. With up to 48 weeks available, Groove is great for Sunday and mid-week gatherings for both large and small groups as well as retreats. The student journal contains session-specific questions, background information, and daily devotions for each session.
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Groove The Walk Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartWhat does it look like to “walk with Jesus”? Like a great deal of church jargon we toss around, it can become a confusing concept for teens to embrace and understand. The Walk is designed to teach youth what it means to walk with Jesus. As their faith grows, they will learn to exercise the grace, love, patience, humility, and meekness found only in Christ. As a result, they will begin to own their faith, as it moves from something that they hear about to something that they are living in their own lives. The daily devotions of the Groove: The Walk Student Journal will encourage youth to embrace these concepts and experience a rich and fulfilled life as they learn to imitate Christ in their daily lives. The Groove Bible study series invites teens to learn the essentials of their faith, own their story, and engage the world in serving Jesus. Each topical study consists of four weekly sessions that are easy to lead and relate to life issues teens face. With up to 48 weeks available, Groove is great for Sunday and mid-week gatherings for both large and small groups as well as retreats. The student journal contains session-specific questions, background information, and daily devotions for each session.
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Groove School Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$10.99Add to cartNearly all youth are involved in school and educational pursuits for a majority of their day. Even if they are not attending a traditional school, there are ways to encourage them to live out their faith as they follow Jesus and at the same time grow in their academic knowledge. School is designed to help teenagers consider how their faith affects their lives at school. From the lessons studied each week, combined with the daily devotions found in the Groove: School Student Journal, teens will be encouraged to pause and reflectively engage as their academic and spiritual lives collide. Over the course of the series, youth will be encouraged to make a place of belonging for everyone in their school, to set and keep priorities that reflect their faith in Jesus, to find joy even at school, and to know that our worth ultimately lies in who Jesus is and what he has done for us. The Groove Bible study series invites teens to learn the essentials of their faith, own their story, and engage the world in serving Jesus. Each topical study consists of four weekly sessions that are easy to lead and relate to life issues teens face. With up to 48 weeks available, Groove is great for Sunday and mid-week gatherings for both large and small groups as well as retreats. The student journal contains session-specific questions, background information, and daily devotions for each session.
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Groove Grace Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartGrace is a church word that sometimes gets lost in the world of teenagers. Research shows that most teenagers have embraced a system of belief in which being a follower of Jesus is defined by behavior, instead of the grace of God offered through Christ. Grace is designed to show youth that grace is a real, practical force in their lives even in the midst of brokenness, fear, doubt, and stress. These key factors can often become major stumbling blocks for youth if they are not equipped with the tools to understand how God’s grace operates in each of these areas. Each lesson in the Groove: Grace Student Journal includes daily devotions and reflections to help young people work through the issues raised. Sometimes the lessons leave youth with more reflection and processing to do; such challenges help youth develop a maturing, deepening faith that will last into adulthood. The Groove Bible study series invites teens to learn the essentials of their faith, own their story, and engage the world in serving Jesus. Each topical study consists of four weekly sessions that are easy to lead and relate to life issues teens face. With up to 48 weeks available, Groove is great for Sunday and mid-week gatherings for both large and small groups as well as retreats. The student journal contains session-specific questions, background information, and daily devotions for each session.
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Groove Relationships Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartIf you have been in youth ministry for any length of time, you will quickly learn the one thing that teenagers value most: their relationships. As they move into a world of independence, these relationships help shape their identity and affect their lives for the future. Relationships looks at the key relationships that youth have with their families, friends, and members of the opposite sex. All youth have relationship stories; and the reality is that we can help them navigate those relationships, whether they come from great circumstances or challenging ones. The daily devotions and exercises in the Groove: Relationships Student Journal are designed to help youth dig deeper into the ideas presented in the weekly lessons and move them toward more thoughtful relationships. T The Groove Bible study series invites teens to learn the essentials of their faith, own their story, and engage the world in serving Jesus. Each topical study consists of four weekly sessions that are easy to lead and relate to life issues teens face. With up to 48 weeks available, Groove is great for Sunday and mid-week gatherings for both large and small groups as well as retreats.The student journal contains session-specific questions, background information, and daily devotions for each session.
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Groove Dilemmas Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$10.99Add to cartEvery day, youth are called to navigate a world full of challenging decisions-from the simple choices about everyday life to the much more serious ethical dilemmas that can make being a teenager a complicated experience. Some of those dilemmas include: What does it mean to be a person with established morals and ethics? How does the commandment to love others affect our lives in a tangible way? What happens when we make choices that have consequences that greatly affect our lives and the lives of those around us? Dilemmas isn’t designed to provide simple answers to complicated questions, but rather help teens understand how to make inspired, smart choices that reflect both who they are and who they are striving to be. The Groove: Dilemmas Student Journal will challenge youth to be deliberate, thoughtful, and faithful as they attempt to make choices that are consistent with their character and their faith. The Groove Bible study series invites teens to learn the essentials of their faith, own their story, and engage the world in serving Jesus. Each topical study consists of four weekly sessions that are easy to lead and relate to life issues teens face. With up to 48 weeks available, Groove is great for Sunday and mid-week gatherings for both large and small groups as well as retreats.The student journal contains session-specific questions, background information, and daily devotions for each session.
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Groove I Am Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$10.99Add to cartDiscovering and embracing one’s identity has proven to be a long, lonely, rough, and at times, dangerous road for today’s teenagers. It’s likely you’ve chosen this study to use with your youth group because you care deeply and want the teenagers within your sphere of influence to find the answers to their identity questions in Jesus Christ. The I Am study is not a quick fix for your teenagers’ needs. It is a handcrafted tool that, when used by compassionate, caring, and committed adults, will ignite their imagination and excitement for whom their Creator says they are and the purpose for which they were designed. I Am will likely raise more questions than it answers, and that’s intentional. Don’t feel the need to make sure all the loose ends are tied up at the conclusion of your youth gathering. Allow your teens the opportunity to leave with ideas and truths on which to reflect and wrestle as they use the daily devotionals provided in the Groove: I Am Student Journal. The Groove Bible study series invites teens to learn the essentials of their faith, own their story, and engage the world in serving Jesus. Each topical study consists of four weekly sessions that are easy to lead and relate to life issues teens face. With up to 48 weeks available, Groove is great for Sunday and mid-week gatherings for both large and small groups as well as retreats. The student journal contains session-specific questions, background information, and daily devotions for each session.
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Core Study 2 All In Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$9.99Add to cartCORE (Connect, Own, Reveal, Empower) is a resource designed to help teenagers discover their true identity, value and worth as God’s children and empower them to reach their potential in faithfully following Christ with others. All In is a four session study for groups of all sizes. When used alongside Dig In, All In is a powerful tool to help you help your group take the next step of living their newfound commitment to their God-given identity with confidence. Responsibility Reveal Empower True Identity The CORE All In Leader Guide contains helps for using the study with your teens along with plans that include engaging material for both large-group and small group discussions. Featured in each session is a short and powerful video introducing the topic.
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Core Study 1 Dig In Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$9.99Add to cartCORE (Connect, Own, Reveal, Empower) is a resource designed to help teenagers discover their true identity, value and worth as God’s children and empower them to reach their potential in faithfully following Christ with others. Dig In is a four session study for groups of all sizes that takes teens on the journey of addressing the obstacles they’ve experienced in understanding who they are in Christ toward connecting with God and others in new and healthy ways. Who I’m Not:Identity Theft Delete the Spam Connect with the Holy Spirit Connect with Others The CORE Dig In Leader Guide contains helps for using the study with your teens along with plans that include engaging material for both large-group and small group discussions. Featured in each session is a short and powerful video introducing the topic.
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Core Study 2 All In Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartCORE (Connect, Own, Reveal, Empower) is a resource designed to help teenagers discover their true identity, value and worth as God’s children and empower them to reach their potential in faithfully following Christ with others. All In is a four session study for groups of all sizes. When used alongside Dig In, All In is a powerful tool to help you help your group take the next step of living their newfound commitment to their God-given identity with confidence. Responsibility Reveal Empower True Identity The student journal is a resource for the journey providing the opportunity for teens to explore what they are learning on a personal level.
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Core Study 1 Dig In Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartCORE (Connect, Own, Reveal, Empower) is a resource designed to help teenagers discover their true identity, value and worth as God’s children and empower them to reach their potential in faithfully following Christ with others. Dig In is a four session study for groups of all sizes that takes teens on the journey of addressing the obstacles they’ve experienced in understanding who they are in Christ toward connecting with God and others in new and healthy ways. Who I’m Not:Identity Theft Delete the Spam Connect with the Holy Spirit Connect with Others The student journal is a resource for the journey providing the opportunity for teens to explore what they are learning on a personal level.
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Groove Character Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartWhen beliefs, attitudes, and values line up with actions there is character. Helping teenagers grow in Christ-like character is no easy task. How do we help teenagers follow Jesus and take on his character? It takes practice and the commitment of their church family to support, encourage, and celebrate the “wins” with them along this exciting journey of growth. Character is a four-week Bible study designed to help teens develop Christ-like behavior in their daily lives. Teenagers will consider the ideas of truth, how they use their words, how they view their possessions, and what it is to be a person of integrity. The study is reinforced with daily devotions and exercises found in the Groove: Character Student Journal. Helping youth embrace character and the practice of growing their spiritual lives independent from group study can be a powerful combination. The Groove Bible study series invites teens to learn the essentials of their faith, own their story, and engage the world in serving Jesus. Each topical study consists of four weekly sessions that are easy to lead and relate to life issues teens face. With up to 48 weeks available, Groove is great for Sunday and mid-week gatherings for both large and small groups as well as retreats. The leader guide contains everything needed to lead teens through a Groove study, including teaching outlines, leader notes, Bible background, reflections, and parent communication.
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Groove School Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartNearly all youth are involved in school and educational pursuits for a majority of their day. Even if they are not attending a traditional school, there are ways to encourage them to live out their faith as they follow Jesus and at the same time grow in their academic knowledge. School is designed to help teenagers consider how their faith affects their lives at school. From the lessons studied each week, combined with the daily devotions found in the Groove: School Student Journal, teens will be encouraged to pause and reflectively engage as their academic and spiritual lives collide. Over the course of the series, youth will be encouraged to make a place of belonging for everyone in their school, to set and keep priorities that reflect their faith in Jesus, to find joy even at school, and to know that our worth ultimately lies in who Jesus is and what he has done for us. The Groove Bible study series invites teens to learn the essentials of their faith, own their story, and engage the world in serving Jesus. Each topical study consists of four weekly sessions that are easy to lead and relate to life issues teens face. With up to 48 weeks available, Groove is great for Sunday and mid-week gatherings for both large and small groups as well as retreats. The leader guide contains everything needed to lead teens through a Groove study, including teaching outlines, leader notes, Bible background, reflections, and parent communication.
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Groove The Basics Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartToday’s faith and biblical illiteracy in general and among those who attend church and claim to be Christian is staggering. Some alarmists are claiming that the Christian faith is in danger of becoming extinct. We can no longer rely on culture to support the passing on of faith in Jesus Christ to the coming generations. The Basics study is not a quick fix to this situation. It is a handcrafted tool that when used by compassionate, caring, and committed adults, will ignite their imagination for God, the Scripture, the faith community, and living a transformed life. The Basics will likely raise more questions than it answers, and that’s intentional. Don’t feel the need to make sure all the loose ends are tied up at the conclusion of your youth gathering. Allow your teens the opportunity to leave with ideas and truths on which to reflect and wrestle as they use the daily devotionals provided in the Groove: The Basics Student Journal. The Groove Bible study series invites teens to learn the essentials of their faith, own their story, and engage the world in serving Jesus. Each topical study consists of four weekly sessions that are easy to lead and relate to life issues teens face. With up to 48 weeks available, Groove is great for Sunday and mid-week gatherings for both large and small groups as well as retreats. The leader guide contains everything needed to lead teens through a Groove study, including teaching outlines, leader notes, Bible background, reflections, and parent communication.
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Pioneering Movements : Leadership That Multiplies Disciples And Churches
$20.99Add to cartGod’s mission needs movement leaders. Jesus pioneered something completely new in human history?a dynamic missionary movement intent on reaching the world. His mission is as clear and as relevant today as in the days of the early church: to make disciples everywhere, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded. But the potential of the church remains untapped. What does it take to lead movements that successfully carry out this mission? In Pioneering Movements, Steve Addison identifies what it takes to follow Jesus’ example. Building on his previous books Movements That Changed the World and What Jesus Started, he reveals the apostolic qualities and behaviors of biblical, historical, and contemporary pioneers who can guide church and ministry leaders today. This is a book for those who are called to embrace the mission-driven work that Jesus and his disciples began?making disciples of all nations, in all places.
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Christian Mission In The Modern World
$24.99Add to cartJesus sends us into the world just as the Father sent him. And yet thousands of years later Christians continue to disagree on what this involves. Some believe that the focus of Christian mission is evangelizing and “saving souls.” Others emphasize global justice issues or relief and development work. Is either view correct on its own? John Stott’s classic book presents an enduring and holistic view of Christian mission that is just as needed today. Newly updated and expanded by Christopher J. H. Wright, Christian Mission in the Modern World provides a biblically based approach to mission that addresses both spiritual and physical needs. With his trademark and unparalleled clarity and conviction, Stott illuminates how the Great Commission itself not only assumes the proclamation that makes disciples, but also teaches obedience to the Great Commandment of love and service. Wright has expertly updated the original book and demonstrates the continuing relevance of Stott’s prescient thinking. This balanced approach to mission offers timeless guidance for current and future Christians to embrace Jesus’ unconflicted and holistic model of ministry.
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Microaggressions In Ministry
$26.00Add to cartCarlos-a third-generation U.S. citizen from New Jersey whose family emigrated from Colombia many years before Carlos was born-is often complimented on how articulate he is and asked how long he has been in the United States.
Deborah, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who is up for election as church treasurer, has her qualifications questioned, debated, and scrutinized by the congregation far more than any of her male predecessors who were elected with a simple vote.
Lisa, a male-to-female transgender person, attends a Sunday school where her classmates continue to refer to her with masculine pronouns (he, him, his).
The three examples above portray microaggressions: subtle slights, insults, and indignities expressed to persons of varied minority statuses. Although microaggressions are usually unintentional, they occur on a regular basis in education, the workplace, and daily life.
This is the first book that addresses the concept of microaggressions in ministry and church life. Drawing from their background as ordained clergy, Sanders and Yarber introduce ministry leaders to the concept of microaggressions and look specifically at microaggressions directed at race, gender, and sexuality in the church. Sanders and Yarber help readers become more aware of these subtle and often unconscious communications, offering realistic examples and guidance for grappling with this issue in preaching, religious education, worship, spirituality, and pastoral care and counseling. Microaggressions in Ministry equips congregations with methods for assessment and tools for action that will ultimately help create stronger, more welcoming faith communities.
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Stewardship In African American Churches
$14.00Add to cartStewardship in African American Churches: A New Paradigm offers practical ideas to help church leaders lead in stewardship effectively. Based on both scripture and tradition, Melvin Amerson draws upon his experience as a stewardship consultant to help churches accomplish the following: Develop a theology of generosity Define stewardship leadership roles Celebrate the offering each week Establish endowment giving
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Biblical Counseling And The Church
$32.99Add to cartAs people face addictions, deal with loss and grief, and seek help in restoring broken relationships, where can they turn for counsel and assistance? The local church has been uniquely blessed with the gift of the gospel and is able to offer hope and counsel that no other institution on earth can. In Biblical Counseling and the Church, Bob Kellemen and Kevin Carson have assembled over twenty respected ministry leaders who examine the relationship between counseling and the church. This comprehensive resource, part of the Biblical Counseling Coalition series, helps leaders and counselors develop a vision that goes beyond being a church with a biblical counseling ministry to becoming a church of biblical counseling-a church culture that is saturated by “one-another” ministry. Divided into five parts, Biblical Counseling and the Church will help church leaders: Unite the pulpit ministry of preaching the Word with the personal ministry of the Word in counseling Offer practical and theological training to equip counselors Launch and lead a counseling ministry, regardless of the size of your church Bring together the relational focus of small group ministry with the ministry of care and counseling Better understand the relationship between biblical counseling, church discipline, and conflict resolution Learn how to use counseling in outreach through “missional” biblical counseling-moving biblical counseling beyond the doors of the church and into the world
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Reaching People Under 30 While Keep People Over 60
$24.99Add to cartSeasoned church consultant Edward H. Hammett shares his latest insights and suggestions for churches seeking to serve all generations. This is an updated version of Hammett’s 2007 book Reaching People Under 40 while Keeping People Over 60 that expands the reach another decade and emphasizes diversity with insight from new contributors Paul L. Anderson and Cornell Thomas.
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Preaching The Whole Counsel Of God
$24.99Add to cartPreaching the Whole Counsel of God is a primary textbook on the art and science of preaching for pastors and pastors-in-training that teaches you how to practice expository, Christ-focused hermeneutics, combined with Gospel-centered, audience-transforming homiletics. It will guide you to:
*Discover the truth of the text according to the human author.
*Discern Christ in the text according to the divine author.
*Design your sermon with truth, goodness, and beauty.
*Deliver your sermon in a way that keeps attention, retention, and leads to transformation. -
Crossover Preaching : Intercultural Improvisational Homiletics In Conversat
$45.99Add to cartAcknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction: “Time Is Filled With Swift Transition”
1. Gardner C. Taylor: Case Study In Crossover Preaching
2. Turning Ink To Blood: Performative Improvisation
3. Rooted, But Not Restricted: Metaphorical Improvisation
4. Transgressing The Divides: Intercultural Competence
5. Putting Flesh To Bones: Homiletical Strategies
Conclusion: Crossing La Frontera (the Border)
Bibliography
Author Index
Subject IndexAdditional Info
As society becomes more culturally diverse and globally connected, churches and seminaries are rapidly changing. And as the church changes, preaching must change too.Crossover Preaching proposes a way forward through conversation with the “dean of the nation’s black preachers,” Gardner C. Taylor, senior pastor emeritus of Concord Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York. In this richly interdisciplinary study, Jared E. Alcantara argues that an analysis of Taylor’s preaching reveals an improvisational-intercultural approach that recovers his contemporary significance and equips U. S. churches and seminary classrooms for the future.
Alcantara argues that preachers and homileticians need to develop intercultural and improvisational proficiencies to reach an increasingly intercultural church. Crossover Preaching equips them with concrete practices designed to help them cultivate these competencies and thus communicate effectively in a changing world.
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Saving Your Second Marriage Before It Starts Workbook For Men Updated (Workbook)
$12.99Add to cartComplete with twenty-eight self-tests-two of them brand-new-and a new group discussion guide, the expanded and updated Saving Your Second Marriage Before It Starts workbooks for men and women will help couples uncover and understand the unique shaping factors they bring into their second marriage both as men and women and as individuals.
Exercises and assignments will help couples identify and meld their love styles, face the myths of remarriage honestly, become soul mates, identify each person’s “hot topics,” and much more.
The discussion guide in each workbook integrates with the Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts DVD (sold separately and includes seven pre-marriage sessions plus one additional session specifically designed to help prepare couples for remarriage) to facilitate lively and eye-opening interaction. Each session links with the workbook exercises and concludes with exercises each couple can do together between each lesson.
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Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts Workbook For Women Updated (Workbook)
$12.99Add to cartThe Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts Workbook for Women will help you uncover and understand the unique shaping factors you bring into your marriage both as a woman/man and as an individual. Prepare for some surprising and helpful insights, for honest, intimate, and enjoyable relationship-strengthening conversations with you and your fiance, and for engaging discussions with a small group.
EXERCISES AND ASSESSMENTS
Twenty-four exercises will shed amazing new light on the way you are put together, how that affects specific aspects of how you and your loved one relate, and how you can improve those areas to build a better relationship. You will gain unprecedented insights into – your personal “Ten Commandments” – making your roles conscious – getting your sex life off to a great start – identifying your “hot topics” – your spiritual journey … and much, much more
DISCUSSION GUIDE
Les and Leslie will help both of you enjoy lively and eye-opening interaction through seven sessions and bonus sessions on the DVD. For small groups, individual couples, and pastors and marriage counselors, each session links with the workbook exercises and concludes with an exercise each couple can do together over the next week. -
Beyond The Local Church
$18.99Add to cartForeword
Introduction
1. The Power Of A Balanced Anatomy
The Biblical Genius And Design For Apostolic Structures And Movements
2. Limping Or Leaping Through Time
The Encouragement Of Apostolic Missionality In History
3. Mother Teresa Wasn’t A “Para-Catholic”!
Why “parachurch” Is A Dirty Word
4. So What Is “Apostolic”?
The Oft-neglected Essential To Authentic Missionality
5. Holy Discontent And Sanctified Ambition
The Apostolic Imperative Of Ephesians
6. Setting Visionaries Free
Pioneering As A Second Decision Entrepreneur
7. Finding Second Decision People
How To Engage And Release Apostolic Leaders
8. Running Together!
The Exponential Leverage Of Interdependence
9. Movements Of God
The Extraordinary Results Of Apostolic Gifting Lived Out In Apostolic Structures
10. The Momentum Of Movements
To Kill Or To Multiply, That Is The Question
Conclusion: Be A History Shaper
AcknowledgmentsAdditional Info
Many people have given up on the church. But that doesn’t mean that they’ve given up on God or Christianity. In many cases, it was merely that local church congregations were not the best context for missional people to live out their sense of God’s call.The good news is that God is raising up vibrant movements of Christians in a vast array of vocations around the world: disciple-making ministries, missions, relief and development, social activism, advocacy and much more. These are all strategic ways to live for the kingdom-in venues beyond the local church.
Wherever movements of the gospel have occurred, visionary people and apostolic structures have been essential. Mission leader Sam Metcalf shows how God has always worked through entrepreneurial individuals and organizations that launched out in fresh ways. He gives biblical and missiological foundations for missional movements, showing that what has often been called “parachurch” is an equally valid manifestation of the church. Affirming the strengths of apostolic personalities, Metcalf shows how they can be deployed to cross cultural barriers, renew secular societies and transform the nations with the power of the gospel.
God may be inviting you to join what he is doing around the world. Answer the call and discover how God can use you beyond your imagination.
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Apostolic Church Planting
$18.99Add to cartPreface
Introduction
1. What Is Church Planting?
2. How’s Your Ecclesiology?
3. Practices Of Team Members
4. Pathway To Planting
5. Stages Of Planting
6. Planned Role Changes
7. Church Multiplication Cycle
8. Methods
9. Where To Begin?
10. Pastoral Development
11. Strategy Development
12. Ethical Guidelines
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
About The AuthorAdditional Info
Church planting is not just about gathering new communities of people who are already Christians. In the book of Acts, church plants begin with sharing the gospel. Planting churches flows naturally out of making disciples.Missionary church planter J. D. Payne explains the process and stages of church planting, with biblical foundations and practical steps for planting teams. He provides a pathway for the multiplication of disciples, leaders and churches. Here are church planting strategies and activities that are simple, highly reproducible and can be implemented by ordinary team members, not just by charismatic leaders.
This guide can be used for planting in contexts among any given people group, domestically or internationally. It is an ideal resource for teams to work through together as they follow God’s call in their community.
Read more: http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=4124#ixzz3ZOJH0pFd
