Pastoral Helps
Showing 3401–3500 of 4772 resultsSorted by latest
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Youre Called So Whats The Hold Up
$18.11As someone who ran from God’s calling for two years, it grieves me to see people walking down the same path that I once walked down. There are many who wonder if they’re really being called by God to do something. The reality is that every single one of us is called by God to do something. Whatever that something is, it’s important that we answer what God is calling us to do. Get rid of the excuses and realize that you are called…so answer!
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17 Cualidades Escenciales De U – (Spanish)
$14.99288 Paginas
Additional Info
Las cualidades que Maxwell ensena, lo lleva a uno rapidamente al corazon del trabajo en equipo. Cualquier persona puede entenderlas y aplicarlas en su vida – ya sea en la casa o en el trabajo, en la iglesia o en el parque de beisbol. Si aprende las 17 cualidades esenciales de un jugador de equipo, podra convertirse en la clase de persona que todo equipo desea. Si todos en su equipo lo hacen, no habra quien los detenga.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Art Of Listening
$25.50224 pages
Additional Info
Availability and confirmation—key concepts of philosophers Gabriel Marcel and Martin Buber—are central to this fresh approach to pastoral care, which Pembroke has structured around a practical theological framework. He also explores the possible effects of shame clergy often feel when they fall short in these areas. Essential wisdom for all pastoral counselors!Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Bible Jesus Read Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Award-winning author Philip Yancey serves as guide and interpretive leader of ten video study sessions. In a series of in-depth interviews and explanations he covers five crucial segments of the Old Testament:
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Starting A Non Profit At Your Church
$43.33A large and growing number of congregations are setting up church-based nonprofit organizations in order to operate community development or educational programs. Once formed, the nonprofit structure allows for new opportunities for accessing additional funding and drawing new collaborative partners and volunteers into the ministry. Joy Skjegstad outlines the step-by-step procedures for setting up a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization connected to a congregation using simple, easy-to-understand terminology and plenty of examples from churches that have already taken on this task.
In addition to accessible and specific information on the legal aspects of a church-based nonprofit, topics include:
Why set up a nonprofit?
Advantages and disadvantages to setting up a nonprofit
Assessing readiness for the challenge
Defining the nonprofit’s mission and niche
Accountability and control
Establishing a board structure and defining board roles
Maintaining a positive relationship with the congregation
Personnel issues
Developing a fundraising plan
Ongoing evaluation
Whether a congregation is setting up new program or has an established nonprofit that needs to be restructured or redefined, congregations will find helpful guidance in this practical, experience-based book. Foreword by Mary Nelson, President, Bethel New Life, Inc., Chicago.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Ending With Hope
$38.33“Why is it we do funerals so well but often balk at even recognizing the death of a congregation? Couldn’t we do grief ministry and funerals as well for social groups as we do for individuals?” challenges Gilson Waldkoenig, in his seminary classes. Waldkoenig, associate professor of church in society at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, contributes his special insights on the subject of church endings, in this unique and important book.
Ending with Hope grows out of the understanding that although closing a congregation is in many ways about dying, it can also be about new life. Closing a congregation does not have to be about failure but can be about redirecting resources for new ministry.
Contributors represent eight denominations and include more than a dozen pastors, lay leaders, judicatory staff, and others who have “been there”-who have helped congregations through the painful closing process. Resources include models for assessing whether a congregation should close; reflections on members’ and pastors’ experiences during closing; case studies; guidance for deciding what to do with a building; suggestions for selecting and preserving documents and artifacts; rituals for healthy closings; a survey of historical trends regarding closings; and other helpful materials.
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Ministry And Money
$43.33Frank, straightforward guidance for clergy seeking to develop a sound theology of money and skills for church administration, Ministry and Money also puts forth a new strategy for self-care, and a confident approach to managing both personal and congregational finances. Alban Senior Consultant and author Dan Hotchkiss wants to help clergy overcome their own anxieties about money matters so they can help others address the personal, social, and congregational aspects of this challenging and often difficult topic.
Hotchkiss observes that clergy are anxious about money for all the same reasons other people are and for some special reasons, as well:
Many people believe that what is “spiritual” excludes money and power.
Many clergy’s own finances are in difficulty.
Clergy depend on their congregations for their livelihood.
And in many congregations, clergy effectiveness may still be judged in financial terms.
Drawing on the full spectrum of American religious life, Hotchkiss addresses these important issues, offering practical assistance to clergy who wish to become more effective leaders by examining their own unique anxieties and convictions about money.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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12 Dynamic Shifts For Transforming Your Church
$18.99That today’s mainline churches are in crisis is apparent; a solution is less obvious. In this constructive new book E. Stanley Ott points a way ahead, describing twelve shifts in philosophy and practice that can help congregations build need-responsive, disciple-growing churches full of life and vigor.
Arguing that the weakness of the church today is a loss of personal spirituality and congregational vitality, Ott challenges local churches to discover how to adjust the style of their ministries to attract new people while encouraging current members. Ott examines the characteristics of “traditional” churches, extols the features of new, “transformational” churches, and lays out proposals to help established congregations make the transition.
Well balanced by an honest assessment of the church’s present and a positive vision for its future, this book is must reading for pastors, church leaders, and members of every congregation.
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Servants Manual : Christian Leadership For Tomorrow
$26.66Christians and their institutions are stuck, says Michael Foss, stuck in the thinking and dilemmas of the past. This short volume is a plea for Christians to rethink their point and purpose in light of larger cultural changes and a crisis in leadership. Foss detects a crisis in leadership in declining rates of church participation, stagnant levels of students preparing for ministry, and burnout among clergy. To energize a new generation of leaders able to transcend yesterday’s thinking, Foss encourages a new style of ecclesial thinking. He first traces the larger cultural shifts that affect the church’s position in the world and styles of leadership. He then diagnoses church thinking as largely reproductive of past successes and ineffective in this new context. Advancing to productive thinking empowers Christians to leave behind the most important and frustrating dichotomies or polarities in today’s church: evangelism vs. social justice, control vs. freedom, growth vs. discipleship. Foss’s model of moving from issues into conversation and then into compassion is a blueprint for new leadership “equipped to think productively for the sake of the reign of our God in the world.” This book is aimed in part at bringing the key ideas and energy of Foss’s earlier book, Power Surge, to a wider audience of concerned Christians, potential leaders for the next generation.
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Preaching Workbook Series 1 Year 1
$31.95Providing a fresh, timely reflection every week can be a daunting task. So when time or inspiration is flagging and you need the jump-start of creative ideas, the “Preaching Workbook” from CSS is just what the doctor ordered! Prominent pastor, former seminary president, and prolific author Jerry Schmalenberger draws upon the experiences of a lifetime in the ministry to help readers effectively share God’s word with crisply written insights. This outstanding set of practical aids explores many homiletical approaches and is sure to help preachers prepare more vital, incisive sermons.
Each chapter includes:
– a listing of and commentary on selected scripture texts
– a theme for the day’s service
– suggestions on preaching possibilities
– an outline of possible sermon moves
– additional illustrations to help flesh out the messageAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Name Your Favorite
$10.99In the best-selling line of Would You Rather?, What If?, Have You Ever?, and Unfinished Sentences comes a fifth collection of discussion starters, guaranteed to get teenagers talking and thinking about their favorite things. This book includes 700 phrases that can be used anytime, anywhere, for breaking the ice, stimulating discussions, building community, or just having fun.
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Age Of The Reformation
$55.99Hughes Oliphant Old’s survey of preaching throughout the history of the Christian church has been heralded as a monumental achievement. This fourth volume of Old’s history brings the story of preaching up through the Protestant Reformation to the end of the seventeenth century.
This is the pivotal volume in Old’s project because it covers not only what the Reformers preached but also their reform of preaching itself. Luther made a clear break with the preaching traditions of the Middle Ages, while figures like Bucer and Calvin developed a strong expository approach to preaching. Old traces the main events and people involved in the development of distinctly Protestant forms of preaching, giving due attention to how and in what sense preaching was itself an act of worship.
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Spiritual Leaders Guide To Self Care
$53.33The Spiritual Leader’s Guide to Self-Care is an ideal companion for clergy, lay leaders, and others who would like guidance about how to make changes in their personal life and ministry but do not want to read a text-heavy book about self-care. The guide addresses seven themes:
Creating a Life Vision
Caring for Yourself at Work
Nurturing Your Relationships
Caring for Your Spirit and Body
Caring for Your Finances
Caring for Your Intellect
Sustaining a Life Vision
Readers may work through one of the 52 sections each week or adopt a more leisurely pace. The guide includes journalwriting suggestions, personal reflection questions and activities, guidance for sharing the discovery process with another person, an activity for the coming week, and suggested further resources, such as novels, videos, and Web sites. Foreword by Roy M. Oswald, Alban Institute Senior Consultant.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Difficult But Indispensable Church
$31.66Why is it so difficult to be church today? Of course, Christian community is marked by ennobling worship, mutual care, and joyful celebration. But just as often it is marred by staid routine, insularity, and disagreement over leadership, budgets, ethical stances, or even the shape of congregational prayer itself. Alienation, blame, and power struggles ensue. Is church worth it? In this volume of fresh thinking about life in Christian community, twenty-one theologians from Wartburg Seminary strongly attest to Christ-centered community, offering new views of church as the indispensable site of radical Christian commitment and an essential healer for a hurting world. Reflective churchgoers will find here a virtual theological guide to church renewal. In part 1 the authors show how church can model an alternative vision of community, helping people achieve well-being and health, even as their differences are affirmed. Part 2 gets to the heart of Christian practice through creative discussions of belief, fellowship, encounters with Scripture, preaching, and moral deliberation. Part 3 finds the church in motion in new ways of understanding discipleship and mission near and far. Part 4 shows how a Christ-inspired openness can reveal new perspectives on tough issues of public policy, race and class, and ordination of gays and lesbians. Modeling what they espouse, the authors find unanimity in affirming the strengths of diversity, the unsuspected key to church renewal. Contributors include: James L. Bailey, Karen L. Bloomquist, Norma Cook Everist, Roger W. Fjeld, Ann L. Fritschel, Paul Hill, Peter L. Kjeseth, L. Shannon Jung, Duane H. Larson, Elizabeth A. Leeper, David J. Lull, Craig L. Nessan, James R. Nieman, Daniel L. Olson, Winston Persaud, Duane A. Priebe, Ralph W. Quere, David A. Ramse, Gwen B. Sayler, Thomas H. Schattauer, and H. S. Wilson.
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Too Deep For Words
$32.00Exploring fundamental ways in which verbal expression in worship relates to aesthetic expression, Clayton Schmit provides a vitally important book for all homiletics students and scholars. Worship isn’t just a sequence of “holy” words. Schmit reflects theologically on the relationship between verbal and aesthetic expression and the aesthetic responsibility of those who preach, pray, and lead in public worship.
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Preaching John
$41.66The Gospel of John and 1 John exhibit a peculiar Christian language and thought that need to be understood and employed in the preaching ministry. The preacher’s task involves penetrating the thick and often confusing language of the Gospel and comprehending its frequently paradoxical theology. The preacher can find new and powerful resources for preaching in Johannine language and thought, as well as its use of narrative and discourse. These discoveries facilitate preaching John in ways that are consistent with recent trends in homiletic theory. The method of this book is to combine the practical (how to preach John) with proposals for understanding the Gospel and 1 John. The author offers a variety of sermon ideas and designs throughout each chapter based on numerous passages selected from the Revised Common Lectionary.
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John Wesley On Christian Beliefs
$35.99This is the first volume of The Standard Sermons of John Wesley, transcribed into today’s English. The volumes in this series accurately transcribe Wesley’s eighteenth-century language into a form suitable for today’s readers. Volume 1, 1-20 contains the first twenty sermons, in which Wesley deals with theology. Appropriate for individual and small-group study.
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If It Could Happen Here
$17.99In this informative book, Jeff Patton describes six “levers” for transforming a small-membership church: prayer, discerning a clear vision, indigenous worship, growth groups, membership that means something, and lay pastoring. Filled with solid insights on how the principles Patton has developed can be applied in different contexts, this book will offer hope to all leaders of small-membership congregations who know that there is more to life in Jesus and want to experience it.
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Preaching Is Believing
$28.00This practical handbook will help preachers equip congregations to grasp core Christian convictions so that the community can believe, live, and witness with integrity. Allen encourages preachers from the broad spectrum of theological families to bring their perspectives more boldly to the surface of the sermon. This volume does not so much advocate a special kind of preaching as it commends more conscientious and critical attention to systematic theology throughout the preparation and preaching of all sermons.
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Spiritual Maturity : Preserving Congregational Health And Balance
$31.66Like all human bodies, the body of Christ that we call “church” needs to attend to its health or it may become ill. Renowned pastor, preacher, and teacher Frank Thomas believes that many congregations exhibit a number of dysfunctional habits in conducting business that lead to rifts, divides, and even congregational splits. Often they are caused by leadership styles that are ineffective and controling. Thomas examines how poor congregational leadership is often the result of personality conflicts among leaders and how many key leaders–both clergy and lay–participate in keeping unhealthy methods alive. Thomas’s book will help lay and clergy leaders improve the health of their congreagation by taking a close look at the styles of church leadership, methods of information flow, and levels of participation that exist within the body. Thomas offers a holistic solution based on a model of spiritual maturity for creating and preserving a healthy comgregation.
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Pastors Guide To Effective Ministry
$14.9912 Chapters
Additional Info
Systematic theology. . . Philosophy of religion. . . Old Testament exegesis. Just about every seminary-trained pastor is educated in these areas. But how about nurturing the congregation? Don’t forget administration of the church and pastoral counseling. And on a more personal note, they must keep their family life in shape, care for their own physical and emotional health, manage their finances, and maintain a pure life and witness.Larry Burkett, Dallas Willard, William Willimon, and Dale Galloway, along with other well-known church leaders, provide solid advice for the personal and professional development of pastors. This book will be a desktop companion for pastors who are in the trenches and facing the day-to-day challenges of ministry.
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New Tools For A New Century
$24.99Is your church bewildered by the new technologies? Newell tours the most important options, keeping in mind the financial constraints of small- to medium-sized churches. Sane, careful explanations of how to set up a congregational website, use PowerPoint presentation software, and plenty more.
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Ideas For 52 Great Childrens Sermons And Other Good Stuff
$16.18Children are the future of the church — and pastors are always on the lookout for creative ideas for “children’s time.” Because abstract concepts are so difficult for children (and many adults) to grasp, it’s very important to use simple, concrete methods of illustrating biblical truth. This resource offers a year’s worth of ideas you can expand upon for great messages. Each nugget makes the scriptures understandable to children of all ages — while having some fun in the process. The material also can be used in the home or for story time in Sunday school or day care settings.
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Nurturing Faith In Families
$25.99A family crisis is occuring in church-going families. Often church leaders are perplexed about the best way for their congregation to care for their families within their midst and in the community. This book offers 425 creative ideas that pastors, teachers, and other leaders can use to help families grow spiritually and feel more connected to the church.
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Now Bring Your Joy To This Wedding
$18.68One of the important, if often overlooked, tasks of the parish pastor is effective premarital counseling. Since many couples are overwhelmed by the arrangements for their wedding, it can often be difficult to lead them into a realistic and faithful dialogue that prepares them for the long-term implications of the marriage covenant. Developed by an experienced pastoral counselor/marriage therapist along with a parish pastor, Now Bring Your Joy To This Wedding is an excellent premarital resource with a practical, accessible approach to preparing couples for the joys and challenges of marriage. Its field-tested material is structured around four key areas of married life: intimacy, power, security, and freedom/responsibility. The text is addressed to couples in a friendly, conversational tone, and questions, exercises, cartoons, and guidelines stimulate active participation. Each chapter has prayer exercises that reveal God’s grace-filled ways. Two workbooks (one each for the bride and groom) for writing down and sharing responses are also included. Whether the setting is a weekend retreat for a number of couples, individual counseling sessions with a pastor, or even use by a couple themselves, Now Bring Your Joy To This Wedding is sure to help couples grow in all phases of their relationship.
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Grace (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Have you ever felt that you wanted to get closer to God but didn’t derserve even to try? This book explores God’s love for us and how it isn’t something we earn, but something that is; how that love leads us into relationship with God and with others; and how our hearts and lives are changed as we use the gifts God has given us to build community, growing toward perfect love.
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3 Months With Matthew (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Available in English for the first time, Three Months with Matthew is popular author Juso Gonzalez’s study of the Gospel of Matthew. Eminently readable, the study uses the see-judge-act method to bring readers closer to the text and to inform and challenge the daily life of the Christian. These thirteen studies can be used for Sunday school, evening Bible study, home study meetings, retreats, or personal Bible study. It can easily be used as a daily Bible study, as each lesson is divided into seven parts.
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Fling Open The Doors
$26.99The temptation to focus only on their own internal problems and issues is powerful for congregations. Without realizing it, even churches that have a long tradition of outreach and social involvement become centered on issues of institutional survival and preservation. Worst of all are congregations that adopt a “fortress mentality,” addressing the larger community rarely, and only in the “language of Zion” when they do. In this book, Paul Nixon paints a picture of what community-based ministry is all about. Drawing on his experiences within a congregation that has seen twenty-five years of increased worship attendance, he lays out practical steps that churches can take to plant themselves firmly within the lives of the communities they serve. Written with an infectious sense of hope, this book will become a critical tool for church leaders seeking to transform their congregations into outward-looking.
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Vanishing Ministry In The 21st Century (Revised)
$18.991. The Mess Of Reality
2. The Devilish Diversion
3. The Company Of The Committed
4. The Road Back
17 PagesAdditional Info
Tom Brokaw labeled them the “Greatest Generation,” and for decades the vision and commitment of the World War II generation have changed the world. Christian ministries have flourished, and the gospel has circled the globe because of the lifelong service of the faithful believers in that generation. But times – and generations have changed. Today’s inheritors of the Great Commission are not signing up for vocations in Christian service at anywhere near the rate of their immediate predecessors. Given this alarming trend – coupled with aggressive evangelization by other world religions – what’s the future of the worldwide movement of the gospel message? In this updated and revised edition, Dr. Kroll provides a careful overview and able assessment of the condition of Christian ministries. He offers a penetrating look at the current state of vocational Christian ministry and the changes we’re making – and not making – around the world. He gives praise for progress made during the last decade and issues a renewed call for ongoing change.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Congregations In Transition
$26.00This hands-on guide helps congregations meet the reality and challenges of today’s constantly changing urban and suburban church communities. Congregations in Transition, written in an easy-to-follow workbook format, is designed to help communities of faith focus on the changing needs of their members and explore the opportunities and options open to them.
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New Testament Exegesis (Revised)
$32.00A favorite among pastors and seminary students for 20 years, Fee’s trusted handbook offers a clear, step-by-step process for interpreting the Greek text—even if you only know English. Newly revised, his indispensable manual provides seasoned guidance for accurate reading and practical help for sermon preparation. Includes an extensive annotated bibliography explaining the best resources
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Winds Of Hope For A World Out Of Breath
$16.18How can the past speak to the present? How can the ancient make itself known in the contemporary? Many feel that it cannot — that nothing can be learned from the past – that everything to be learned is in the present and in the future. Perhaps this is where we have missed the true meaning of life. (from chapter 4)
Robert G. Tuttle brings the 23rd Psalm to life for the 20th Century Christian. His approach aids study groups, clergy seeking preaching background material, and persons wanting personal devotional reading.
The book is filled with countless illustrations in its eight chapters.
Chapter titles include:
The Good Shepherd
Finding God In The Narrows Of Life
God’s Extravagance
The Final Dimensions of LifeAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Making A Parade For Jesus
$17.43Making A Parade For Jesus offers 52 easy-to-use children’s object lessons for the entire church year. The lessons are based on New Revised Standard Version gospel texts, mostly from Luke.
Each lesson offers:
Simple delivery: “Good morning boys and girls! Have you ever …”
Easy-to-gather objects: You’ll need a map, flashlight, dog leash or magnifying glass to tell about searching diligently for the child (Matthew 2:1-12).
Clear directions: Set in italic type, you’ll know when to “let the children answer, or give directions.”All objects are easy to relate to and fun to use. For example, you may need, napkins, light bulbs, pens, valentine card, and binoculars. The table of contents lists the scripture passage used with the lesson title.
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What To Do When Everyones Doing It
$16.18“It is easy to be brave when everyone agrees with you; but the difficulty comes when you have to stand out, one among many, remembering your obligations as a child of God. It is just as difficult for adults. It takes some real effort to live a good life in today’s world.” (from the first chapter)
Harold C. Warlick, Jr. writes from his college chapel experience. He offers 15 sermons aimed especially at college students — but useful to persons of any age.
Sermons are divided among three sections:
What To Do When Everyone’s Doing It
Belief And Behavior
Survival And The SelfAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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New Hearing Of An Old Prayer
$16.18Churchgoers often find that the Lord’s Prayer is so familiar, they have somewhat dismissed it and its deeper meaning. Packed with gripping illustrations and fresh insights, this series of seven sermons will be both informational and inspirational.
Author Thomas Short makes the point that prayer is the coming together of two who belong together. Since prayer is the union of the created and the creator, the result of prayer is not reward but relationship. Prayer is communion. It is one of the ways we have of moving toward God for whom we thirst. He notes that Jesus taught us not to be too wordy with our prayer time when he said that heathens thought “they would be heard for their many words.” Consequently, Short says, the same man who taught us not to be woo wordy gave us the words for a prayer-the Lord’s Prayer.
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As The Shadows Lengthen
$23.68As one of the most noted preachers and pastors in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for nearly 50 years, Richard Boye has seen just about everything. And readers of these messages are the fortunate beneficiaries of his experience as he shares much of what he has “learned along the way.” Both clergy and laity alike will find inspiration and many ideas in these distinctive messages, which Boye describes as being “the best of me.” Those who are climbing the arduous slopes of contemporary ministry will discover that Boye’s wisdom, accumulated from years of service in some of the most prominent Lutheran churches in the country and always rooted in the gospel, will be a great help and comfort as they chart their own course toward the summit. Among the many outstanding sermons in this volume is one that Boye preached at the ELCA’s first churchwide assembly.
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Gospel Subplots
$18.68If over the centuries Christians have become used to sermons being a string of assertions, explanations, or exhortations — with a sprinkling of stories as illustrations — the sermons have not been preached in a manner consistent with how the Bible communicates reality. Most of the Bible is stories. Story sermons do today what Jesus did in his stories — they sneak up on people. Listeners can ward off moral exhortations, and they become resistant to three points, a poem, and a prayer. Intellectually they can parry with information doled out in a series of reasoned arguments. But stories win us over before we understand what is going on. Stories quietly tip the scale of our minds toward agreeing with God’s graciousness. (from the Introduction)
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Backside Of God
$16.18The fifteen sermons in this volume will provide busy pastors with a resource for several occasions:
* A mini-series for summer – The Christian Journey
* Two sermons for weddings (or the wedding season)
* Two sermons for the beginning of school or the church program year
… and more!Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Speaking The Word
$16.18What is the condition of the public reading of scripture in your church? If you are searching for new ways to present meaningful scripture reading in the worship setting, this book will help you.
The creating of a speaking choir is one way to elevate oral reading of scripture. This can be a small or large group, depending on the talents and size of your congregation.
Once a choir is formed, it needs direction and reading material. This book offers both. The author provides 30 choral readings and directions on making the choir an effective ministry in your congregation.
The readings are based on Old and New Testament scripture. Topics range from Christmas and Easter to Mother’s Day, praise, missions, and service.
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Pastoral Pitfalls And How To Avoid Them (Student/Study Guide)
$12.95How do you deal with the unspoken, yet continuing dilemmas of your ministry?
Are you seen as a good luck charm?
Are you put on a pedestal of undue adoration?
Are you discouraged in evangelism and stewardship efforts?Pastoral Pitfalls is an excellent tool to help you deal with these and similar problems. It is a resource to be used in small group discussions, in professional retreat centers, and as a practical pastoral instruction guide in seminary classes.
Each chapter offers a brief short story, which deals with a daily pastoral dilemma. A study guide concludes each chapter. The guide assists you to think more deeply about the chapter’s concern. Questions, meditations, and prayer focus are built into each study guide.
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Hope For Tomorrow
$21.18Here is a creative approach to Bible study that will spark discussion. McGriff tackles such issues as divorce, homosexuality, the divinity of Jesus, and miracles. This book will be of interest to church groups as well as to individuals wrestling with their personal faith.
Though he sometimes takes controversial positions, McGriff always delivers fascinating and challenging reflections. He reconsiders traditional interpretations of Jesus’ words, intending to stretch the minds of traditionalists while winning over doubters, especially those new to the Church but still sitting on the fringes of its theology.
One of America’s premier preachers, Dr. E. Carver McGriff has had a distinguished life and career. As a teenager, he was wounded and captured by a German SS battalion during World War II. He received a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts, and returned home to earn a degree in business administration from Butler University. Following a career as a salesman and a business owner, McGriff entered Garrett Theological Seminary, where he was voted Best Preacher by the faculty and graduated with distinction. He was then appointed by the Bishop of Indiana to start a new congregation on the northeast side of Indianapolis. He built the membership of his congregation from 900 to over 4,400, with Sunday attendance increasing from 300 to over 1,850.
During his Indianapolis ministry, McGriff received an honorary degree from the University of Indianapolis and the Outstanding Alumnus award from Butler University, and was voted the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year by Christian Theological Seminary. McGriff was also honored with the Sagamore of the Wabash by then Governor Evan Bayh. His sermons have been distributed nationwide by the Methodist Publishing Company.
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Asking For Wonder
$28.68This volume will become a primary resource for pastors and worship planners of all denominations. It contains some of the most creative and inspirational worship material we have seen.
Wonder is the ability to be open to surprise and possibility. It is the source of gratitude, expectancy, and trust … the quality of an authentic and abundant life … Asking for Wonder … is a call to beauty, celebration and God. (from the Introduction)
After exploring the meaning of “Creative Worship,” the author offers a wide variety of:
Calls To Worship
Prayers Of Confession And Assurance
Scripture Readings For Worship
Litanies And Readings
Offerings
Affirmations Of Faith
Prayers
BenedictionsThe book concludes with chapters on Baptism and Communion, which include gripping narrative stories and contemporary services. The final chapter offers suggestions for involving children in worship.
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In The Carpenters Workshop 2
$13.95Have you ever wished you could find ways other than a monologue to express the Sunday sermon? This volume will help preachers who are seeking alternative forms for presenting the life transforming power of the Gospel. It will also be useful to Sunday School teachers, youth group leaders, worship committees, and Bible study groups
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Keeping In Touch
$19.93Anyone involved in a leadership role, at one point or another, encounters the need for “prayer handles” — prayers that can be used as written, or ones users can adapt for themselves. This collection of 377 prayers will give them plenty to “grab on to” for those occasions when plenty comes to mind, but little leaves the tongue.
These prayers are not necessarily designed to take the place of one’s own heartfelt prayers. Rather, they are intended to widen prayer horizons, spark prayer imagination, expand prayer language and enrich personal encounter through prayer.
Following each prayer is ample space for personal or pastoral notes. Also included is an exhaustive subject index.
Keeping In Touch is also perfect for:
Personal devotion
Preparation for special events
A special prayer with a “care note”
Newsletters and pastoral lettersAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Meal For The Road
$16.18When you come to his table, Jesus wants it to be a time for positive change, as it was for Zacchaeus, hopefully for the Pharisee and for the disciples. This is where the food is. This is the gate of heaven. Sense his presence here, respond to it in your hungry heart, and you may be changed, too.
From a Pentecost season sermon Charles E. Link offers 14 sermons on communion themes. Each includes a list of helpful discussion questions for an after church or mid-week discussion time. These sermons explore the little-known aspects of the Lord’s Supper: Who was there? What did they sing? What prayers were offered? What was their mood and how was it changed?
Sermons cover the following seasons or special days: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, world-wide communion Sunday, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Maundy Thursday, Easter season, Pentecost season, Thanksgiving, first communion and confirmation.
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Called To Witness
$16.18The Number one priority for many parishes at the present time needs to emphasize moving he new member and/or new Christian from loyalty to the local organization to faithfulness in discipleship … This work is an attempt to look at the evangelism side of that fellowship call. (from the Foreword)
Jerry L. Schmalenberger offers insight to all congregations seeking to grow. “Called To Witness” offers a blend of three themes. These are: parish program emphasis, church growth methodology and disciplining. In addition, the author provides a helpful critique of the church growth movement.
Chapters focus on:
Reclaiming the witness
Congregational witness
Multicultural witness
Pastoral witnessAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Cloud Of Witnesses
$16.18“His name was Jesus, and his cause was humanity. It was a cause Jesus did not have to meet alone. There was a cloud of witnesses to bear him out.” (from the Introduction)
Gordon Pratt Baker offers “cameos of 10 who testified” in his sermon collection.
“My purpose in writing is, first, to lift up the concept that the individual, whatever his or her station in life or aptitude, plays no small part in the fulfillment of the Lord’s will in the world,” writes Baker. He adds that this collection came together out of a long-standing interest in these biblical personalities as individuals in whom we can see our potential selves.
In the process of sharpening such an insight it will become increasingly evident that, given the chance, faith will overcome frailty.
Personalities in A Cloud Of Witnesses include:
Woman of Samaria
Mary of Bethany
Peter
Nicodemus
John the Baptist
Salome and four othersAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Leading Beyond The Walls
$27.99Good pastoral leadership is not a “by the numbers” proposition. It is a matter of heart and soul, of devoting the whole self to the vision God gives for the congregation in which one serves. Yet neither is it purely intuitive; it requires hard, careful thinking about the directions and details of the path down which God calls. When Adam Hamilton became pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, its membership consisted of himself and his family. Ten years later the church averages between five and six thousand worshipers per weekend. Throughout this remarkable period, Hamilton learned many serious lessons about both the broad visions and the specific details of pastoral leadership. Bringing a depth of analytical skills often lacking in visionary leaders, in this book he goes beyond simply telling the story of Church of the Resurrection. He shares the questions that he learned to ask about the largely unchurched population to which Church of the Resurrection has reached out. Further, he demonstrates what he learned by listening to the answers to these questions, and how doing so has made possible a number of strategically crucial decisions the church has made. One of those crucial decisions was to make more traditional forms of worship and praise the center of the congregation’s life. The result is that the example of Church of the Resurrection offers pastors and church leaders (especially those in mainline denominations) the realization that they need not completely change their liturgical and theological identity in order to reach out to the unchurched. Drawing on his own experience, as well as the detailed research on the characteristics of highly successful congregations he undertook during a sabbatical leave, Hamilton offers pastors and other church leaders solid, substantive thinking on steps that congregations can take to become centers of vibrant outreach and mission.Also available in:Adobe Ebook 9780687026753Microsoft Ebook 9780687027491
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It Works For Us
$16.18The reason you have this manual in your hands is that you hope yours can become a growing congregation. The question is “How?”
This study has been prepared by a minister whose church increased its membership from 790 to 1,200 plus and its worship attendance from 340 to 650 in five years.
The study is designed to help you and your church develop a positive, practical, biblical-based answer to the question: “How can it happen to us?”
Chapter titles include:
The approach
Prayer, power, Bible power and Small group dynamics
Christian education
Getting startedAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Gifts Of Lent
$16.18This book was written for busy pastors and lay leaders who want to provide their congregations with a biblical, informative, and motivational monologue series for the Lenten season. Each monologue features a Bible character who gave something to Jesus during Holy Week, and one who had nothing to give. A children’s sermon accompanies each monologue.
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Why Didnt Noah Swat Both Mosquitos
$17.43God made a few perfect heads, the rest he covered with hair.
Subject: BaldnessA certain church was taking a missionary offering. As the plate was passed to one dour-/aced man, he growled, “I don’t believe in missions.” The usher replied, “Well, then take some out, brother, this offering is for the heathen.”
Subject: OfferingA congregation in Florida installed a sound system on a trial basis. One reaction: “If I had wanted to hear, I would have moved up front.”
Subject: HearingAcross one-half century of Hoover Rupert’s ministry, humor has been a part of his preaching portfolio. This collection includes nearly 300 stories collected by the author that could be used by any preacher.
The stories are listed alphabetically by subject or theme. Themes range from religious to secular. A selection of topics includes: accidents, babies, Bible, complaints, church, Devil, ecumenical, faith, heaven, Jesus, music, offering, prayer, theology, viewpoint, words and others.
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Guide For Godparents
$9.93A Guide For Godparents is an aid for pastors who deal with ministering to a parade in our constantly moving parish populations. Often godparents arrive from out of town or state. The parents themselves move more often today than ever before in our society.
With this book you will cover the theological basics of baptism and the spiritual life in a way that is simple and friendly without being simplistic or condescending.
The spiritual basis of the book is suited to the busy couples that the church sees coming for their spiritual nurture and the baptism of their children. The content of this book will not scare off these couples — parents and godparents — returning to their church.
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Gods Game Plan
$16.18God’s Game Plan will add color, warmth, humor, and imagination to any preacher’s message. Its anecdotes can be used by anyone who seeks to interpret more effectively the Good News in our day.
The book includes over 75 sports anecdotes that relate to all age groups. Themes used cover the entire range of athletics from team to individual competition.
Subjects are grouped in nine categories including:
Training
Risking
Losing
Winning
and Witnessing.Author Richard A. Hasler chooses anecdotes Jimmy Carter, John Wooden, Frank Laubach, Martin Marty, and many others. The book includes an extensive scripture index.
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Holy Communion Is
$16.18What can the busy pastor say that has not already been said before, when the congregation gathers to share the Sacrament of the Altar? What new meanings and insights about this special Meal ought to be imparted before the breaking of the bread and passing of the cup?
R. E. Lybrand, also a busy pastor, has created this useful resource to help you give your congregation thirteen thoughtful snapshots of this always-fresh and sometimes-too-familiar sacrament.
Holy Communion is:
Real Presence
Refreshment
Reconciliation
Reunion
Running No MoreThere are messages enough in this brief resource for each month in the year. A special concluding message is designed for use on First Communion Sunday.
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Penguin Principles : A Survival Manual For Clergy Seeking Maturity In Minis
$16.18Question: Why is a parish pastor like a penguin?
Answer:
Penguins have a way of looking dignified and ridiculous simultaneously.
Penguins are sensitive to heat.
Penguins have treacherous enemies.
Penguins are relatively defenseless.
Penguins have a homing instinct.
No matter what happens to penguins, they keep their heads high. (from the Authors’ Preface)While the surgeon-general has yet to rule publicly on this matter, the evidence suggests that reading this book could be injurious to the professional health and the personality of those pastors who are without fault; who have never had a parishioner or a denominational official or a seminary professor lay a guilt trip on them; and who find it painful to laugh at themselves.
Lyle E. Schaller
Yokefellow Institute
(from the Foreword)I believe this book will be a balm to veterans in the pastoral office and will help new clergy avoid many of the pitfalls that lie hidden in the path …
Paul A. Weber
President, Ohio District, LCMSAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Shadows To Sunrise
$21.18Are you looking for fresh, vibrant material for Holy Week worship? Do you want your congregation to experience the unforgettable drama of Jesus’ suffering, so that they more fully appreciate the celebration and joy of Easter? If so, then you’ll want this anthology that provides several innovative choices for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter sunrise worship. Copying privileges are included for all six segments.
Beyond The Shadows combines communion with gradually extinguished candlelight to create a moving Maundy Thursday tenebrae experience. As each part of the Passion story unfolds, more candles are snuffed out, and the service concludes in total darkness. By reminding us that the Light of the World came to us, yet was engulfed in total darkness as his life slipped away, Beyond The Shadows focuses worshipers’ attention on the coming resurrection, and how that brightness contrasts with the darkness of the crucifixion.
When The Son’s Light Failed is a poignant Good Friday dramatization that imagines the presence at the crucifixion of many women whose lives were profoundly affected by Jesus. The women all share their stories with each other as they witness our Lord’s ultimate sacrifice. It’s a moving portrayal which reminds us that Jesus’ ministry touched the lives of everyone.
The tenebrae service Choices At The Cross explores some of the choices faced by those involved in the events of Christ’s Passion — ones of far greater magnitude than what we often face on a daily basis. Choices At The Cross emphasizes that the most important decision we ultimately face is our response to the question posed by Pilate: “What shall I do, then, with Jesus, who is called Christ?”
Based on John’s account of Christ’s passion, Good Friday Readings, Meditations, And Prayers is a series of seven brief contemplations and prayers that can form the basis for a remarkably effective Good Friday service or be used for personal devotional reading during Lent. Filled with vivid imagery, the meditations make the scriptures come alive while relating them to contemporary life.
Good Friday: I Was There is a stark, gripping Good Friday worship experience which confronts us with the powers of darkness and destruction which were responsible for Christ’s crucifixion. Brief monologues from seven shadowy personae (Doubt, Sorrow, Fear, Shame, Agony, Hate, and Death) dramatically recall how our Lord suffered as he took the sins of humanity upon himself.
Designed as a co
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At The Cross With Jesus
$16.18By combining a compelling sermon series with an insightful group of monologues, At The Cross With Jesus offers flexible, effective resources that will keep the cross central in your congregation’s minds and hearts during Lent. Practical for use in any church, large or small, the material in At The Cross With Jesus is perfect for midweek worship or Holy Week services, and could also be used for a Bible study.
The five moving messages in The Symbols Of The Cross examine Jesus’ final days by focusing on powerful images from the Passion story. Each homily relates these events to our everyday lives by exploring a specific symbol and the human characteristic it exemplifies. There are also directions for creating a searing memory of these symbols by placing visual representations of each image on a wooden cross.
Symbols included are:
* The Palms (a symbol of our fickleness)
* The Money Bag (a symbol of our greed)
* The Towel (a symbol of servanthood)
* The Crown of Thorns (a symbol of mockery)
* The Nails of the Cross (a symbol of suffering)In Five Who Knew Jesus, five persons who were intimately acquainted with Jesus describe their personal relationships with him. Through hearing the perspective of those who played critical roles in Jesus’ life, we are encouraged to look more closely at our own relationships with Christ during the introspective season of Lent. The monologues may be performed in readers’ theater format, but are even more effective if memorized. Few props are required, and costumes are a nice touch but not essential.
Characters represented are:
* John — a hot-tempered man who becomes the disciple of love
* Mary, the mother of Jesus — a woman who suffers a mother’s pain while humbly accepting God’s will
* Peter — an arrogant man who becomes a humble disciple
* Judas — the disciple who failed because he thought he knew best
* Mary Magdalene — a woman of the world who strives to love herself as Jesus loved herAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Life Injections 2
$22.43Life Injections II shows how the scriptures can provide help, comfort, and insight into life’s problems. Father Richard Zajac’s heartfelt and thought-provoking messages draw inspiration from many sources, including his extensive hospital experience. Whether you’re interested in striking sermon illustrations, wisdom for coping with difficult circumstances, or just bedside reading with a message of hope and peace, Life Injections II is just what the doctor ordered!
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Let Me Tell You
$12.95Even though the sermon is perhaps the central element of Protestant worship, preachers sometimes have difficulty capturing the imagination of their audiences and communicating the spiritual resources that worshipers need. But the messages in David Rogne’s latest book, Let Me Tell You…, provide the living connection that worshipers are hungering for. Rogne makes a further presentation of an autobiographical homiletic style described in his previous CSS release, Telling It Like It Was. Readers will see how the preacher can assume the identity of featured characters, stressing aspects of their spiritual pilgrimages which are relevant for today’s faithful living. Following an introductory chapter in which Rogne briefly touches on issues raised by the characters represented, he presents twelve monologues highlighting the experiences of both biblical and more recent personalities. You’ll meet such fascinating personages as Abraham, Jeremiah, Thomas, Paul, Father Damien, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The monologues depict individuals who persevered through difficulty and emerged with their faith intact.
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Come In And Worship
$16.18Come In And Worship offers a complete worship resource for your Holy Week needs, including a festival celebration for Palm Sunday, a Holy Communion service for Maundy Thursday, and a tenebrae service for Good Friday. Each features lengthy scriptural readings supplemented with stirring messages that place worshipers in the emotional turmoil of the passion events. The Palm Sunday ceremony includes a charming children’s story, “The Donkey’s Tale.”
Anyone who has to plan or lead worship will find these services to be a wonderful way of bringing Holy Week to life for congregations. Use them in combination with Bankhead’s other Lenten titles for a complete interrelated seasonal program.
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Shepherd And His Sheep
$16.18One of the most striking representations of Jesus in the scriptures is that of a shepherd. Based on John 10’s statement that He is the Good Shepherd, this series of eight lessons teaches youngsters of Jesus’ unfailing love and care (even to the point of death on the cross). Like all of her previous collections, each children’s message is accompanied by a two-sided activity page — one side that’s a coloring page for younger children, and the other with numerous puzzles and activities to reinforce the lesson’s theme for older children. Bland has a well-earned reputation for biblical faithfulness, creativity, and practicality. Busy pastors and teachers have found her ready-to-use materials just what they need for their children’s time — we know you’ll love her latest release!
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Lenten Discipline
$16.18An acclaimed Luther scholar revisits the wisdom of Martin Luther’s Small Catechism in this complete Lenten program. Based on the six sections of the catechism, A Lenten Discipline provides instructive homily/meditations and worship services for each week in Lent, including Maundy Thursday. An initial chapter examining the Word of God as Law and Gospel sets the tone for the series and can be used as the basis of an Ash Wednesday sermon. Subsequent weeks explore the basic teachings of the faith on the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, Baptism, Confession, and Holy Communion.
Though perfectly suited for congregational use during Lent, this series has a multitude of other applications. In addition to catechism or confirmation instruction, it’s also excellent for a sermon series, as a theological resource, or for classrooms, workshops, and retreats. But whatever the setting, these informative homily/lectures and worship experiences will give users new insight into Luther’s genius.
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Lessons We Can Learn From The Animals
$14.93Children learn that Jesus is their Lord and develop Christian character through attention-getting pictures and rhyming words in this book of children’s sermons and activity pages from the prolific pen of Julia Bland. Like all of her other popular CSS titles, these messages come with two-sided activity pages. Busy pastors and teachers will appreciate the coloring pages for younger children and the numerous activities reinforcing the lesson for older children.
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Telling It Like It Was
$16.18Even though the sermon is the centerpiece of Protestant worship, preachers sometimes fail to capture the imagination of their audiences and communicate the spiritual resources that worshipers need. But David Rogne’s messages in Telling It Like It Was provide the living connection that worshipers are hungering for. Rogne introduces readers to an autobiographical homiletic style in which the preacher assumes the identity of a featured character. He shares his method of preparation, describes how to overcome obstacles, and then presents twelve monologues highlighting the experiences of both Biblical and more recent personalities. Each presentation is prefaced by a few paragraphs detailing considerations related to that particular individual. Some of the characters you will meet are Pharaoh, Solomon, Herod, John the Baptist, Pontius Pilate, St. Francis of Assisi, and Albert Schweitzer.
This book will be invaluable for preachers and seminarians who are interested in expanding their repertoire of sermon styles, as well as for anyone who wants a concise biographical portrait of the people who have shaped our faith.
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Life On The Edge Of Faith
$16.18Five characters bear witness to a world-changing event that forces them right to the edge of faith in this series of midweek worship services for Lent, which also includes services for Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. Each service contains a brief sermon, and the five midweek services also feature monologues from the perspective of someone who was present at our Lord’s Passion (a sleeping disciple, the high priest, a maid, a soldier, and a city resident). The bewilderment experienced by these characters will help worshipers find a voice for the confusion that we all feel from time to time.
Life On The Edge Of Faith is a complete package of thematically-related worship resources for the busy pastor looking for midweek programming. The monologues can be read by parishioners, and it’s a great opportunity to have your young people participate in worship activities.
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Gods Top 10 List
$16.18God’s Top Ten List approaches the Ten Commandments not as a list of do’s and don’ts, but rather as a path toward personal peace and social renewal. In messages liberally sprinkled with gripping illustrations, Robert Kopp explores the timeless truth of the commandments, and notes that they are God’s recipe for achieving a happy and satisfying life.
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Returning Home
$16.18God’s never-ending pursuit of all prodigals, whether they’re far from home or nearby, is the theme of this complete package of preaching and worship resources. The timeless story of the Prodigal Son is examined through first-person portrayals of its characters: the prodigal, the elder son, the father, the mother, and a servant. The five monologues are perfect for use in midweek services — and with companion sermons for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday plus seven orders of worship, Returning Home provides everything busy pastors need for a total Lenten program. The material is also excellent for a sermon series, small group discussion, or personal devotional reading.
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Conversations With The Savior
$16.18Nine dialogues built around the “I AM” sayings of Jesus in the Gospel of John offer a fresh perspective while meeting the demands of extra services during the Lenten season. Through their interaction with Jesus, various characters gain insight into who Jesus Christ is and turn to him in faith. Each dialogue can be performed by two readers, and may be staged as elaborately or as simply as desired. Accompanying each conversation is a children’s message that uses easily obtained objects to reinforce the day’s featured “I AM” statement.
The conversations explore the following statements:
I AM the Bread of Life
I AM the Gate
I AM the Good Shepherd
I AM the Resurrection and the Life
I AM the Way and the Truth and the Life
I AM the True Vine
I AM He
I AM the Light of the WorldAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Miracles Of Jesus And Their Flip Side Cycles A B And C
$16.18The miracles of Jesus are some of the most striking passages in the New Testament — they bring the power of God “up close and personal” by dramatically rearranging human situations and teaching us great spiritual truths. But how can we translate the sometimes arcane historical content of the miracle stories in a way that will be meaningful to contemporary sensibilities?
Jerry Schmalenberger has come up with an original solution in these 13 well-crafted sermons on miracle stories contained in the Revised Common Lectionary. Using the analogy of old 45 rpm records which were usually released with a “hit” side and a “flip” side, Schmalenberger shares a structure for presenting the miracles in narrative form. He initially focuses on the traditional approach to each miracle (the “A” or “hit” side), and then offers a fresh look at the “other side of the story” (the “B” or “flip” side). Schmalenberger’s punch, contemporary language, and narrative style produce hard-hitting and inspirational messages that offer a unique twist in the interpretation of these fascinating stories.
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Come As You Are
$16.18Communion is an inexhaustible mystery — a gift of God’s grace. Yet because it is familiar we sometimes take it for granted. Though theologians may disagree about exactly what happens in and through the sacrament, we all agree that something happens — at the Lord’s Supper we are changed. Gondola explores the wonder of communion in these captivating and well-illustrated sermons.
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Affirming The Ash Heap
$16.18These seven sermons will penetrate the hearts and souls of every listener…because each one of us has been touched by the tragic side of life. Like Job, everyone sitting in a church pew has at one time or another screamed for a reason why, or even wondered (like Jesus), “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”. Including sermons for five Sundays in Lent, along with Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, Kirby’s meditations will help worshippers understand the process of coming to grips with these difficult questions
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And The Sea Lay Down
$14.93Here are all the pastoral resources you need for a complete and integrated Lenten season of preaching and worship — Ash Wednesday through Easter, including Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
Included for each Sunday or worship service are:
* Call to worship
* Suggested processional hymn
* Children’s message
* Prayers
* Scripture passages
* Sermon
* Suggested hymn
* Pastoral prayer
* Affirmation of faith
* Suggested closing hymnWard’s first book for CSS, Asking For Wonder: Resources For Creative Worship And Preaching, has become a favorite resource for thousands of busy pastors.
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Cows In Church
$31.18These children’s object lessons use an interactive presentation. Topical and scriptural indexes are helpful in selecting the appropriate message.
The outstanding feature of these children’s object lessons is the interactive approach Fannin takes in presenting them. Children are involved through leading questions.
The topical and scriptural indexes at the back are helpful in selecting the appropriate children’s message for the time of year or to correspond with the adult sermon.
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Preaching Eyes For Listening Ears
$23.68One of the master preachers of today reveals how sermon styles can bring scriptural texts to life. This is a classic for students of the art of preaching.
This collection of sermons by one of the master preachers of the century reveals how a scriptural text can be brought to life through the story sermon style. But Ormond is not limited to that style alone, as this book reveals. He also cleverly employs deductive and inductive reasoning to call the believer to faith and action.
Students of homiletics and sermonic form will find the Introduction and Comments of Dr. Lucy Rose extremely helpful. Until her recent death from cancer at the age of 50, Dr. Rose was associate professor of preaching and worship at Columbia Theological Seminary as well as a noted scholar and theological leader who served as president of the Academy of Homiletics. Her commentary will help make this book a classic text for students of preaching.
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Case For Excellence
$22.43Here are over 50 case studies of very real clergy/church situations: crises, problems, legal issues. Each one provides background to the situation, a description of the event, an analysis, and an evaluation by the person(s) involved suggesting how it might have been handled differently.
This fascinating collection of studies describes clergy life on the front lines. Pastors, seminary students, and even congregational staff and members will learn not only what those other churches have faced, but what they might encounter in the parish … and how they might best deal with it.
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Time To Plant
$17.43This collection of 52 children’s sermons is designed to captivate and educate young children. Busy clergy are constantly searching for ready- to-use, interactive children’s sermons that will stimulate the thinking and capture the interest of both youngsters and adults in the congregation. These messages are presented to challenge, nurture, teach, and enlighten children as they take their first steps of faith. They cover a wide variety of topics. Some are object lessons while others are story lessons, but all are lessons that will leave an impression on those who hear them.
Imagine the curious anticipation of the children and the congregation as the pastor/leader reaches into a plastic garbage bag and distributes empty pizza boxes, old newspapers and soft drink cans to introduce “God, the Recycler,” the One who can make everything new. Watch them readily grasp the concept as they observe a game of tug-of-war in which all the participants are on the same team, demonstrating how in the church we all pull together for a common purpose and no one struggles to pull anyone into the mud. These brief sketches are representative of the many well-loved children’s sermons created, collected, and delivered during the years of this staff pastor’s ministry.
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Conversations Over Bread And Wine
$16.18No occasion offers greater opportunity or a more imposing challenge for communicating the Gospel than Holy Communion. The sacrament itself takes one to the very heart of the Christian faith. What a pastor says to congregants who come to share the Eucharist ought to focus on the central realities of Christian truth. And it needs to be said succinctly!
Scripture records numerous conversations Jesus held around the dinner table: with Matthew and Zacchaeus; in Simon the Pharisee’s home; meals shared with his special friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Well known are his feeding of the multitude with the loaves and fish and his Last Supper with the disciples. For Jesus mealtime was uniquely an occasion for God’s truth to be shared and for significant decision-making to take place.
This book offers messages that provide themes, ideas, and illustrations appropriate for Holy Communion that both pastors and lay persons will find helpful.
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From A Mustard Seed
$17.43From A Mustard Seed … 52 messages for children … one for each Sunday of the coming year.
One of the biggest challenges of parish ministry is to capture and motivate the imagination of our children so that they relate to the Gospel in more direct ways. From A Mustard Seed is filled with creative approaches. It builds on the everyday experiences of children, using the most common of household items, to give them a point of identification with the living God.
The interactive approach of these messages will not only have the children of your congregation relating to God more directly, it will have your adult members thanking you for speaking so clearly and powerfully to their faith as well.
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Bad And The Good
$13.68This activity-oriented series of children’s sermons deals with word opposites. The lessons are based on the example found in Jesus’ teachings that the bad is followed by the good, through trust and obedience in God.
This series of children’s messages help young people understand the suffering and death of Jesus in a positive way. Throughout the series the children are asked to participate with word opposites. The lessons are planned so that each child may take back to the pew an activity sheet. One side is a coloring page for younger children. The other side has word puzzles and games for older children.
The usefulness of this series will become evident:
They require little preparation
The coloring pages will appeal to the younger children
The activity page will keep older children interested
The series can be used for worship services, Sunday school, or other timesAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Rules For Happy Living
$17.95During 44 years as a pastor’s wife, Julia Bland was often given the task of presenting the children’s sermon. Her presentations were always well-received.
Busy pastors and worship leaders who are searching for Bible-based lessons can use these with a minimum of preparation. Each sermon has suggested visual aids and activity sheets to reinforce the lesson taught. The activity sheets are for all ages, with a coloring page for younger children on one side and puzzles and word games for older children on the opposite side. The messages are based on the love laws of Jesus found in Matthew 22:34-40.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Great I Am
$17.43Who is Jesus Christ? These fourteen chapters answer that question in his own words: I AM the light of the world … I AM the way, the truth and the life … I AM the Good Shepherd … I AM the alpha and the omega…, Why a book on the I AM sayings of Jesus? Because so much of our religious emphasis today focuses on “feeling more fulfilled …” or “improving our relationships with others.” While these are important and have their place in our discussions, this book puts the emphasis on the place of God in our lives.
The questions are practical: What shall I believe? What shall I do? And so Lavin writes for the people in the pews as well as for their pastors.
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Psalms Were Made For Lent
$16.18The Psalms have long been recognized as a rich resource for individual spiritual enrichment and for magnificent corporate liturgical expression in the life of the church.
The Psalms Were Made For Lent provides a collection of six sermons which translate some of the deep themes inherent in the Psalms into meaningful language for the average person sitting in the congregation.
The book includes:
Six sermons based on the Psalms
Liturgical responses with each sermon (Call to Worship, Call to Confession, Prayer of Confession, Declaration of Pardon)
Three hymns based on the Psalms, which can be sung to well-known hymn tunesAltogether this resource invites the congregation to experience the Psalms in a new and meaningful way.
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Life Of Christ And The Death Of A Loved One
$16.18Pastors will receive solid theological and practical assistance with the important task of creating and presenting the funeral homily. Because time is usually limited for meditation creation, they will find invaluable help time and again from this volume.
The first part of the book addresses the actual art of crafting a funeral homily with a step by step description or the process. The second part consists of actual sermons written using the process. Besides illustrating the methods, Schmitz, provides starting points for constructing sermons based on the liturgical year. Also included are canticle and music suggestions which highlight each homily’s theme and give insights into planning the entire funeral service.
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Come Dine With Jesus
$16.18Why did Luke include ten occasions of Jesus sharing meals with people, seven of those scenes found only in Luke? How many hundreds or thousands of times did Jesus eat with other people? These ten occasions must have been preserved in the Christian community and related to Luke because Jesus had used them to meet deep, widespread needs or to convey important truths. Luke clearly recognized that Jesus had some purpose, some meaning to convey in these mealtime conversations. While all four Gospels show this theme, Luke gives the most specific examples.
In the ten meals addressed by Scott, we see the importance Jesus placed on meeting people socially and interacting with them in their personal settings. Found in these occasions are strong bonds of affection and sharp confrontations. It is in the intimacy of sharing a meal that emotions are brought to the surface: indignation, thanksgiving, forgiveness, sorrow, overflowing joy. Scott shows Jesus exposing these emotions and meeting them with searching insight, sometimes confirmation, sometimes deserved reproof, and always his offer of healing grace.
Included with each sermon is a litany that is coordinated with the teaching of the meal. Also included at the beginning of each chapter is a suggested “Worship Focus” — one or two easy to find objects which serve to illustrate Jesus’ purpose at each meal.
Originally written for midweek Communion services during Lent, they also are quite suitable for Communion services throughout the year.
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Preaching To A Church In Crisis
$17.43The title of John Killinger’s newest book, Preaching To A Church In Crisis, is meant to underline the uniqueness of the present situation in mainline Protestantism, and perhaps the urgency of it, but not to sensationalize it. He makes the point that inasmuch as the mainline churches for so many years established the social and political norms in our country, as well as the spiritual norms, any crisis in their existence becomes a major crisis in modern Christendom, and, by extension, in American life as a whole.
In the opening chapters of the book Killinger creates a general understanding of the malaise now affecting our churches. He then extrapolates from that understanding a sense of the moods and feelings affecting the people in America’s congregations. Answering the question of what influence the disintegration of the mainline church has on the psyche of the persons attending these congregations, he places the preacher in a better position for thinking about preaching and what its hallmarks must be in order to speak truly and effectively for the gospel in our time.
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Pray Like Jesus
$19.9313 Chapters
Additional Info
Is it humanly possible to pray like Jesus?
Since God knows what we need even before we pray, why bother to pray?
To what extent does one’s relationship with God affect one’s prayers?
With questions like these, John Brokhoff takes you on a 13-chapter journey of prayer in Pray Like Jesus.This book will help develop more effective prayer for persons and groups. It examines and studies the nature of Jesus’ prayers. It examines methods and techniques Jesus used. It explores a theology of prayer, and a study of prayers in the Bible, which culminates with a study of the Lord’s Prayer.
This book is ideal for personal use, group study or a sermon series. Each chapter concludes with a series of discussion questions.
Chapter titles include:
The Contents Of Prayer
The Variety Of Prayer
Prayer And Healing
The Power Of PrayerAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Counseling Families Across The Stages Of Life
$38.99This case-study book which will be used both as a resource for clergy and other pastoral workers and for those in training in those fields. The case studies translate technical material into real-life situations while highlighting practical implications for pastors. The authors provide readers with treatment options, referral procedures within the context of the religious community and beyond, and additional national, self-help, and cross- cultural resources, emphasizing those available on the internet.
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Prayers For Healing
$9.93No one truly knows how vital prayers can be to mental, physical, and spiritual health until they find themselves seriously ill. While people will often say that they are praying for those who need healing, what is really needed is for someone to pray with them. But there are many people who simply don’t know what to say or feel uncomfortable when lifting up the sick in prayer. Prayers For Healing helps readers tap into this powerful resource by examining why we should pray for healing and how to do it effectively. This brief booklet includes a healing service with prayers and Bible readings that’s an excellent template for pastors and laypersons to use in church services, the home, a hospital, or a nursing home. Her approach lends itself equally well to use by a whole congregation or just one or two individuals.
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Jesus The Pastor
$22.99There are times when the best training, the wisest principles, and the most effective procedures break down in the face of the realities of pastoring. How often have you wished not for a method, but a mentor? Someone caring enough to join you in the trenches and wise enough to guide you unerringly through your most impossible problems? A pastors’ pastor. There is such a person: Jesus. Remember his promise never to leave you or forsake you? He’s ready to take it personally if you are. Jesus the Pastor may well be the book that transforms your ministry. Read it if you’re ready to admit that your toolbox of personal resources is limited. And prepare for one of the most wonderful surprises of your life. Because the Good Shepard stands ready to equip you with his power, his insight, his very heart–so you can fulfill with undreamed-of effectiveness the calling he himself placed within you.
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Funeral And Wedding Handbook
$29.93If you’re looking for a planning resource to help you deal with funerals and weddings, this book is worth its weight in gold. Pastors are repeatedly called on to perform these ceremonies in an infinite variety of circumstances, yet there’s no “one-size-fits-all” service, so it’s a constant challenge to come up with meaningful and appropriate material that witnesses to the Lord’s power. In this book an experienced minister shares a wealth of ideas that help you tailor services to individual needs, making these complicated occasions ones of impact and success for your ministry.
The Funeral And Wedding Handbook shows you how to …
* Deal with difficult funerals … suicides, infants, non-Christians, and many more
* Effectively comfort the hurting
* Plan memorable weddings from premarital counseling to the recessional march
* Be prepared for the overlooked details and unexpected events that often arise during funeral and wedding servicesAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Simple Science Sermons
$11.18Guy Stewart, a science teacher for fifteen years, combines his love for science with his love for the Lord to create children’s messages that they will not soon forget. Presented in a light, bantering, and informational style, each presentation uses simple scientific principles to illustrate matters of faith in a magnificent, infinite creation. Each faith-affirming lesson includes the scripture that it is based on, a list of materials needed for the demonstration, the sermon, and the science behind the sermon.
A perfect resource for pastors and church school teachers … for Sunday morning worship, Sunday School classes, Vacation Church School, or home teaching.
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Religious Humor : 409 Bits Of Humor For Preachers Teachers And Public Speak
$16.18An extensive index will make this book of humor one of the most useful resources in your library. All of the key words in every story are in the index. The preacher, teacher or public speaker will have no difficulty finding the exact bit of humor needed to bring sparkle to a sermon, speech, lesson or monthly bulletin.
A sampling of the contents:
The world’s best after-dinner speech: I’ll take the check
One thing you can say about an egoist: He never talks about other people.
Preachers don’t talk in their sleep; they talk in their parishioner’s sleep.
Conversation heard after church: “Do you think Madilyn Johnson is tinting her hair?” “I don’t know; I didn’t see her.” “Do you think that dress Mrs. Hansen was wearing should be paraded before God-fearing people of the church?” “I didn’t notice that, either.” “A lot of good it does YOU to go to church.”
He dieted religiously: he quit snacking in church.
An old Scotchman lay dying. The pastor and family gathered around his bedside. Finally the old man motioned to his grandson. When the grandson reached the bed, the old Scotchman laid his gold watch in the boy’s hand. “Grandson, how’d you like to buy a good watch?”Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Pastoral Prayers For All Seasons
$24.93Here is a resource for pastors, Sunday school teachers, or any church or worship leaders who need to pray on behalf of a congregation, class, or group, yet realize as the time draws near that they can’t quite find the right words.
Rolland Reece, a seasoned pastor with over 46 years of ministry, uses images and a structure that enable parishioners to easily follow the words in these pastoral prayers. They offer sensitivity and insight to the needs of the Sunday morning worshiper. These prayers are sure to provide just the spark of creativity that’s needed when time is short and inspiration seems to have dried up.
Prayers are arranged according to the seasons of the Christian year. Material for other special days such as Mother’s and Father’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Election Day, and Thanksgiving is also included.
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Preaching To A TV Generation
$17.43The gospel has always been conveyed primarily by speaking it to people. The problem is that in today’s world of television people listen and hear differently than they listened and heard in the past.
“When preachers understand the dynamics of this new world, then the gospel can ring with new vigor and life in our preaching,” writes the author.
Preaching To A TV Generation explores the changes brought to our society by television. It suggests what preachers can do in the face of these changes — in terms of language, structure, creativity and delivery.
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