Pastoral Helps
Showing 1101–1150 of 4114 results
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Whole : Hope For The Broken Pastors Wife
$11.99Add to cartIs there hope for a messed-up pastor’s wife? She can’t figure out who she is or what she’s supposed to be doing, but she’s expected to be a leader in the church. What would happen if the truth came out–about how conflict and bitterness make her want to stay at home on Sunday mornings in her pjs and how her own struggles with anger are compounded by having a spouse who is never home? Whole offers an authentic look at one woman’s journey to hope and wholeness.
This is a book for pastors’ wives and women in ministry leadership who struggle with their roles, their families, and their ministries. Whole offers hope and encouragement to those women who are looking for authenticity in their lives. This book also provides insight for anyone who has ever wondered what leaders struggle with and how they might pray for them.“Jennifer’s journey in living both a Whole and holy life is a great encouragement to those of us in ministry families. Whole provides us with fresh biblical insights that will strengthen us all onward.
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Answers For Beginners And Teachers
$17.95Add to cartAnswers for Beginners and Teachers is filled with interesting Bible scriptures and the author’s comments on them. Ladonna shares her personal experiences, God’s audible voice, spiritual dreams, and visions, how she was healed of cancer, and two out-of-body experiences.
Teachers can use this book as a guide for Bible-study groups and sermons. Or it can be read through like a book.
It is written for new Christians and others who are thirsting for God’s Word. Expect to have your memory refreshed on the deeper things of God and find answers to questions you may have that are similar to those the author had for many years.
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Proliferate : Church Planting Strategy For Everyday Churches
$13.99Add to cartThe tendency is to think churches with less than 200 people in weekly attendance are ordinary or everyday-conventional wisdom says that bigger is better and Everyday Churches can have only a limited impact. However, Jesus compared the Kingdom to a mustard seed-the smallest of seeds, but with the potential to change the landscape.
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Are You In The Game Or In The Way
$14.99Add to cartA men’s ministry reality check: What is standing in the way of a vital men’s ministry in your church? The guy who should be at the forefront is often in the way of the program getting off the ground.
Are you, as pastor, the main obstacle to the growth of a vital men’s ministry?
Are you the guy who wants to start a men’s ministry in your church but don’t know how?
Is fear or a sense of inadequacy keeping you from starting such a ministry?
Pastor Ross Holtz tells his personal story of how he became a catalyst for growth, instead of an impediment will inspire pastors and men’s ministry leaders.What works, what doesn’t, and what is required in forming a vital men’s ministry. Practical and honest teaching filled with relevant and tested examples from recognizing the problem to finding the fix.
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Whole Life Worship
$14.99Add to cartThis book is a continuation of the LICC series begun by Neil Hudson’s Imagine ChurchWhole-Life Worship will demonstrate that the contemporary Western Church has reached a point where our “gathered” worship is separated from our “scattered” lives outside of church. This is detrimental to the congregation’s spiritual development and their effectiveness on their “frontlines”. Church worship should be inspired and informed by our everyday experiences. It should empower and send the congregation out to continue worshipping. The book will provide patterns and resources to better connect gathered worship with the lives of the congregation beyond church meetings.The book will unpack a biblical grounding for both gathered and scattered worship. It will then identify patterns within our gathered services which help us re-make these connections. It will provide practical resources such as songs, prayers and activities which can help churches connect Sunday to the rest of the week. It will draw examples and stories from other church streams and traditions, to demonstrate how different kinds of Christian spirituality engage worshipfully with everyday life. In the second half of the book is a practical resource looking specifically at different aspects of a gathered service, and how each one can have an “outward” dimension.
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Organizing Church : Grassroots Practices For Embodying Change In Your Congr
$24.99Add to cartWhat if congregations embraced community organizing? While many theories exist on how to plant or how to renew a church and its leadership, Organizing Church offers a unique perspective that brings together the tools of community organizing and a robust ecclesiology to suggest a new way forward for revitalizing and empowering churches. This book is a helpful field guide for pastors and other church leaders trying to build healthy congregations, create a deep culture of discipleship in their community, and to respond to the challenges presented by the global culture of the 21st century.
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Right Thinking In A Church Gone Astray
$16.99Add to cartKeeping the Church on Track in a Secular World
One of the greatest challenges to Christianity today is the pervasive influence popular culture has on the church. When Christians embrace a secular worldview, it causes division within the church and greatly diminishes its impact.
Right Thinking in a Church Gone Astray offers responses from trusted evangelical voices on 20 timely issues. With a careful look at God’s Word, you’ll gain wisdom and insights on highly relevant topics such as…
*countering the church’s celebrity culture
*ministering to the “Me Generation”
*discovering where science meets Scripture
*responding appropriately to homosexuality
*reclaiming the essentials of the Christian faithWith biblical guidance on these and other controversial matters, this resource provides much-needed clarity for today’s church.
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Self Aware Leader
$20.00Add to cartIntroduction
1. Seeing The Race Before Us
2. Seeing Your Self
3. Seeing Your Past
4. Seeing Your Temptations
5. Seeing Your Emotions
6. Seeing Your Pressures
7. Seeing Your Conflicts
8. Seeing Your Margins
9. Seeing Your Best
Acknowledgments
NotesAdditional Info
Effective ministry begins here. You’ve studied what you think you need to know before entering a career in ministry. Is there anything that is more important than knowing about hermeneutics, homiletics, theology, exegesis, and everything else you have likely learned in seminary and church ministry so far? Yes, there is. How well do you know yourself? You need to build your ministry career on the right foundation of an objective understanding of self. If you don’t comprehend your strengths and weaknesses, then you won’t be fully prepared to enter the crucible of ministry. Serving as a pastor is one of the toughest calls there is. But it can also be one of the most fulfilling and rewarding, especially if you have taken the time to examine both your gifts and vulnerabilities. The church needs leaders who have the clear-eyed courage to pursue the hardest part of the ministry journey: seeing yourself. The Self-Aware Leader will help you to do just that. -
Top 50 Instant Bible Lessons For Elementary
$24.99Add to cartPart of our Top 50 series, enjoy 50 fully-reproducible kids’ Bible lessons for elementary-aged children (ages: 5-10). This brand new resource includes two bonus lessons for Christmas and Easter, making it perfect to use as an easy full year curriculum. Each story comes with an easy-to-follow object lesson and 2-3 volunteer-friendly activities. Use this reproducible book for weekend curriculum or mid-week teaching opportunities. Each lesson is volunteer-friendly and child approved! Packed with object lessons, puzzles, games and crafts, these kids’ Top 50 Bible stories will keep your elementary-aged children actively involved and growing in God’s Word.
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Boomer Spirituality : Seven Values For The Second Half Of Life
$18.00Add to cartIntroduction
Part One: Spiritual Roots
1. Brokenness
2. Loneliness
3. Rootlessness
4. Self-Seeking
Part Two: The Search For God
5. Godliness
6. Supernaturalism
7. Wholeness
NotesAdditional Info
As the boomer generation navigates dramatic change as it ages, it will be informed by a unique spirituality that was forged in the tumultuous years of the 1960s and 1970s. If you are a boomer, you are sure to be reminded of the events and experiences that had an impact on you when you were young. If you are the child of a boomer, this book will help you understand why your parents act the way they do. If you are creating ministry for this generation, this will be your guide to the way boomers view the world and look toward the future. -
Recovering From Un Natural Disasters
$25.00Add to cartRecovering from Un-Natural Disasters is a must-read handbook for pastors and church leaders of communities who could or perhaps already have experienced an un-natural disaster, such as gun violence, suicides, or sexual abuse.
Unlike natural disasters, un-natural disasters deal with the concept of sin and require a different recovery strategy. In this book, readers will explore the four phases of human-caused disaster – Devastation and Heroism, Disillusionment, Reforming, and Wisdom – and receive step-by-step suggestions to use with their faith community during the recovery process. Example worship resources, including prayers, music suggestions, and sermons that are appropriate to use during periods of trauma and recovery, are included.
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Preaching The Women Of The Old Testament
$28.00Add to cartTake an in-depth look at over twenty fierce, faithful, and strong women featured in the Old Testament with Preaching the Women of the Old Testament. Inside this unique resource author Lynn Japinga interprets the stories of various biblical women, including Eve, Rebekah, Dinah, Tamar, Miriam, Deborah, Jael, Abigail, Bathsheba, and Vashti. Along with providing an interpretation, Japinga demonstrates how the character’s story has been read in Christian tradition and offers sermon ideas that connect contemporary issues to each story. This book is ideal for pastors who want to know more about the many women of the Old Testament and learn how to better incorporate them into their sermons.
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12 Women Of The Bible Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$16.99Add to cartIn this 12-session small group Bible study, Twelve Women of the Bible, Lysa TerKuerst, Elisa Morgan, Jeanne Stevens and other leaders look at the spiritual lessons learned from twelve biblical women and what they mean for your life today.
You’ll learn about the triumphs and failures of Mary Magdalene, Rebekah, Hannah, and nine other women, studying their lives and learning how to:
*Apply biblical lessons to their own modern-day struggles
*Live through their failures as well as successes
*Draw near to God in a world filled with trials
*Find lasting contentment
*Overcome rejection and insecurity and much moreEach of the 12 sessions focuses on one biblical character. You’ll also discover lessons from each of these women that will help you persevere through the circumstances you are facing today.
This Study Guide features discussion questions, background information on each character, space to write down thoughts, a helpful Leader’s Guide, and much more. It is designed for use with the Twelve Women of the Bible DVD (sold separately).
Sessions include:
1. Eve: Finding Lasting Contentment in the Truth (Lysa TerKeurst)
2. Rebekah: Breaking Free of Feminine Stereotypes (Jonalyn Fincher)
3. Leah: Overcoming Rejection and Insecurity (Naomi Zacharias)
4. Hannah: Surrendering in Waiting (Amena Brown)
5. Abigail: Dealing with Confrontation in Relationships
6. Gomer: Learning to Accept Unconditional Love (Jeanne Stevens)
7. Mary, Mother of Jesus: Moving from Comfort to Courage (Jeanne Stevens)
8. Mary Magdalene: Transforming from Outcast to Follower (Jonalyn Fincher)
9. Mary of Bethany: Putting Our Faith into Action (Elisa Morgan)
10. Martha: Finding Our Identity in Jesus (Amena Brown)
11. The Woman at the Well: Turning Our Messes into Messages (Lysa TerKuerst)
12. The Syrophoenician Woman: Approaching God with Persistency and Boldness (Naomi Zacharias) -
Marriage Preparation Workbook (Workbook)
$9.95Add to cartLife is filled with choices, but one of the most significant choices a person will ever make is the decision to marry someone. The questions in this marriage preparation workbook are designed to help you explore a number of issues that couples face as they contemplate life together.
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Preparing For Baptism
$7.99Add to cartIntroduction
Session 1: A Sign That We Have A New Hope
Session 2: A Sign That We Have A New Family
Session 3: A Sign That We Have A New LifeAdditional Info
Like a window, baptism helps us see what a Christian is and what it means to live the Christian life. Baptism expresses a Christian’s new hope, new family and new life. It’s like a funeral, naming ceremony and wedding rolled into one!This three-session Bible course is designed for:
– people who have recently decided to follow Jesus
– people who want to be baptized
– people who want to understand the significance of their baptismIt will help you understand the gospel and know how to begin the Christian life.
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Discipleship Is A Journey
$15.00Add to cartAutumn Light Publications
Christian Discipleship is the outward expression of the relationship which baptism has restored. It is the deep, abiding friendship between God and one who has chosen to accept His gift of salvation. In practice, discipleship is the earnest attempt to become like Christ, doing everything possible to LEARN what Christ wants His followers to do AND then trying to DO it. Discipleship is a Journey is an activity-based study guide created to help young believers to understand what is meant by discipleship and what they should do to grow in their new relationship with Jesus. The book can be used independently by the young person to have fun as he learns more about being a disciple or it can be used as a tool in a church’s mentoring plan for their young believers. The content is broken into five sections, focusing on: understanding the new role as a Christian, understanding and using resources that God provides, understanding the role of worship in a Christian’s life, understanding the role of service in a Christian’s life, and understanding that discipleship is a lifelong journey.
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What The Bible Says To The Minister (Student/Study Guide)
$34.99Add to cartGod has called you into ministry…now what? The Bible is full of wisdom, instruction, and sage advice for the minister on every topic, including: Your Calling, Your Purpose, Your Mission, Security In Christ, Your Family and Relationships, Your Daily Walk, Preaching and Teaching, Your Reward, and over 100 other topics! What the Bible Says to the Minister is a cherished resource for pastors and ministers all over the world. Available in 12 languages, this handbook is one that pastors return to over and over again as they seek to fulfill their call to serve God.
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Who Lynched Willie Earle
$19.99Add to cartPastors and leaders long to speak an effective biblical word into the contemporary social crisis of racial violence and black pain. They need a no-nonsense strategy rooted in actual ecclesial life, illuminated in this fine book by a trustworthy guide, Will Willimon, who uses the true story of pastor Hawley Lynn’s March of 1947 sermon, “Who Lynched Willie Earle?” as an opportunity to respond to the last lynching in Greenville, South Carolina and its implications for a more faithful proclamation of the Gospel today. By hearing black pain, naming white complicity, critiquing American exceptionalism/civil religion, inviting/challenging the church to respond, and attending to the voices of African American pastors and leaders, this book helps pastors of white, mainline Protestant churches preach effectively in situations of racial violence and dis-ease.
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Integrative Psychotherapy : Toward A Comprehensive Christian Approach
$45.99Add to cart12 Chapters
Additional Info
Mark McMinn and Clark Campbell present an integrative model of psychotherapy that is grounded in Christian biblical and theological teaching and in a critical and constructive engagement with contemporary psychology.Now in paperback, this foundational work integrates behavioral, cognitive, and interpersonal models of therapy within a Christian theological framework. Not only do the authors integrate Christian faith and spirituality with the latest thinking in behavioral science at a theoretical level, they also integrate the theoretical and academic with the pastoral and clinical, offering a practical guide for the practitioner.
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Journey To The Pulpit
$13.95Add to cartMy parents love their pastor, but they rarely get much from his sermons. Sound familiar?
Why live with word salad, rabbit trails and bouncing around like a ball in a pin ball machine when you can work smarter, not harder.Frank pastors a country church. His positive attitude and effective preaching create an air of expectation for something great each week. As a multi-vocational pastor he rarely experiences the Saturday night panic and arrives at the pulpit ready to preach.
George, a loner, also pastors a country church. The services are lack luster, he is approaching burn out and he questions his call to a pulpit ministry. George just toughs it out thinking it to be more godly. Saturday night is repetitively panic time and Sunday often brings excuses. George does not understand that he might need more preparation than does his sermons.
What makes the difference?Frank recognized his need for help, and found a mentor. He learned to establish the purpose of the sermon first, match it with divine inspiration and have others help gather materials. This reduced preparation time, balanced his work schedule, family time, self-care and sermon preparation. By working on his illustrations and delivery, he could take a lesser quality sermon and turn it into a great event.
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Holding Up Your Corner
$17.99Add to cartHolding Up Your Corner: Talking About Race in Your Community, equips pastors to respond with confidence when crises occur, lower their own inhibitions about addressing this topic, and reclaim their authority as prophetic witnesses and leaders in order to transform their communities Pastors and other church leaders see, to varying degrees, racially rooted injustice in their communities. Most of them understand an imperative, as part of their calling from God, to lead their congregations to address and reverse this injustice. For instance, preachers want to be preaching prophetically on this topic. But the problems seem irreversible, intractable, overwhelming, and pastors often feel their individual efforts will be futile. Additionally, they realize that there is a lot of risk involved, including the possibility that their actions may offend and even push some members away from the church. They do not know what to do or how to begin. And so, even during times of crisis, pastors and other church leaders typically do less than they know they could and should. This book provides practical, foundational guidance, showing pastors how to live into their calling to address injustice, and how to lead others to do the same. Holding Up Your Corner prompts readers to observe, identify and name the complex causes of violence and hatred in the reader’s particular community, including racial prejudice, entrenched poverty and exploitation, segregation, the loss of local education and employment, the ravages of addiction, and so on. The book walks the church leader through a self-directed process of determining what role to play in the leader’s particular location. Readers will learn to use testimony and other narrative devices, proclamation, guided group conversations, and other tactics in order to achieve the following: Open eyes to the realities in the reader’s community-where God’s reign/kingdom is not yet overcoming selfishness, injustice, inequality, or the forces of evil. Own the calling and responsibility we have as Christians, and learn how to advocate hope for God’s kingdom in the reader’s community. Organize interventions and activate mission teams to address the specific injustices in the reader’s community.
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Serving Local Schools
$22.99Add to cartThe heartbeat of every local community is found in its local schools. Yet many churches have little to no connection with school leaders, much less an active ministry presence. But if the church wants to effectively reach its community, it must take the time to invest in school administrators, teachers, and families. Not having a relationship just isn’t an option.
Thankfully, there are new opportunities where schools and churches can work together for the common good of students and the community. Many schools today are facing budget crises’ and financial shortfalls or declining enrollment. Few church leaders know how to walk through the doors of their local school and partner in a sustainable way. Some are worried about crossing the line of separation between church and state, while others just aren’t sure what they have to offer.
This book tells the story of churches that have overcome these barriers, providing biblical support and practical resources to equip churches to meet the needs of local schools while faithfully witnessing to the good news found in Jesus Christ.
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Ethics In Christian Ministry
$16.99Add to cartPastoring is packed with unexpected challenges-both good and bad. Improvising in the face of the unforeseen is often the norm. But like talented athletes and great jazz musicians, improvisation for pastors only comes by first knowing and practicing the basics. Ethics in Christian Ministry is about preparing for the highs and lows of ministry by internalizing and rehearsing the ethical essentials of Christ-centered pastoring. Here is a resource designed to equip pastors with the tools needed to make healthy and theologically sound ethical decisions in the areas of communication, relationships, preaching, counseling, and finances. With such preparation in hand, responding to the unexpected becomes about well-grounded decision-making that leads to the best in pastoral practices.
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Cherish Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartMost married couples survive by gritting their teeth and holding on. But what if husbands sought to truly cherish their wives? What if in social settings they did their best to make sure she was heard? What if they supported her goals so she could work in her gifts? What if they bought the things she needed to open up her home and put the beauty of her hospitality on display? And what if wives adopted the same attitude? What if she made sure her husband knew she was his strongest supporter? What if she were willing to support him, stabilize him, bind up his wounds-spiritual and emotional-and turn him so his strongest side was always showing? What if she helped him risk failure out in the world because she made it known to him that he would always be her courageous champion? What would that do to him? For the relationship? In the Cherish Him, Cherish Her video-based study, bestselling author Gary Thomas shows how marriages can not only survive but also thrive when husbands and wives learn to cherish one another. How we can go from neglect and disrespect to cherish and adore. How we can send our marriages into a different dimension. How we can recalibrate our marriages when needed so we don’t suffer from apathy, indifference, and gradual drift. None of us want marriages where we grit our teeth and just tolerate each other because God’s Word says we don’t qualify for divorce. We don’t want marriages where our spouses really don’t like us, much less respect us. We want to be married to someone we cherish and who cherishes us, and it is possible to get to that point.
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Wounded In The Church Participants Guide With DVD (Student/Study Guide)
$19.99Add to cartChurch should be a safe place, right? Then why do so many get hurt there?
Ray Beeson and Chris Hayward combine their years of ministry experience to address head-on the elephant in the room: church members and church leaders hurt Christians. All the time. And the long-lasting effects–rejection, shame, despair, loneliness, fear–can be devastating. The authors have witnessed the rise of the “dones,” those who are just done with God thanks to scars from church. With first-person stories of hurt and loss, Wounded in the Church is a wake-up call for any who deny woundedness in the church but is also a redemptive message for any who hurt from church wounds.
The Participant’s Guide for Wounded in the Church contains eight sessions based on the contents of the book, and includes questions for discussion and personal reflection for each session, as well as key Scriptures, quotes to ponder, and a closing prayer. In the companion DVD, Ray and Chris introduce each of the eight sessions. Their fresh content and personal appeal make this an ideal aid for group leaders and participants.
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Keeping Faith In Fundraising
$21.99Add to cartA biblically grounded call for Christians to engage in fundraising as ministry
Fundraising has always been an essential element of the Christian life-churches, schools, and many other organizations rely on it to function. But it is a risky enterprise, fraught with questions and challenges. How can Christians raise funds with integrity?
In this book Peter Harris and Rod Wilson, experienced fund-raisers themselves, bring fundraising within the scope of normal Christian life and work. After first laying a biblical foundation by discussing 2 Corinthians 8-9, Harris and Wilson develop seven themes central to the giving and receiving of money. They offer valuable insights based on their many years of fundraising as Christians.
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Restored Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$12.99Add to cartOften we make a mess of our lives and wonder if there is any redemption. In this six-week study, pastor and author Tom Berlin helps us see our mess through the eyes of Christ to find redemption and restoration. Using Scripture, devotional tools, and the writings of Ignatius of Loyola, John of the Cross, St. Augustine, John Wesley, Evelyn Underhill, and others, Berlin encourages reflection and meditation through our own brokenness. Only then can we focus on the cross as the place where we truly surrender control, leave our mess, and find redemption. The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the 6-week study for Lent, including session plans and discussion questions, as well as multiple format options.
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Restored : Finding Redemption In Our Mess
$15.99Add to cartOften we make a mess of our lives and wonder if there is any redemption. In this book, pastor and author Tom Berlin helps us see our mess through the eyes of Christ to find redemption and restoration. Using Scripture, devotional tools, and the writings of Ignatius of Loyola, John of the Cross, St. Augustine, John Wesley, Evelyn Underhill, and others, Berlin encourages reflection and meditation through our own brokenness. Only then can we focus on the cross as the place where we truly surrender control, leave our mess, and find redemption.
Chapters include:
This Is a Real Mess
Who Left This Mess?
Bless This Mess
No Messing Around
Address This Mess
The Message in the Mess -
Creed Youth Study Book (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartWe’re all searching. Sometimes the search is easy: simply type a question and the answer pops up. But sometimes our questions are complicated, and the answers are difficult to see and harder to articulate. How do we discover and examine the truths that give meaning and purpose to life? Adam Hamilton believes that some powerful answers are contained in the Apostles’ Creed, an early statement of foundational Christian beliefs. In this six-week study for Lent, Easter, and beyond, Hamilton considers important questions of life, reality, and truth. He explores not only what Christians believe, but also why they believe it and why it matters. This Youth Study Book takes the ideas presented in Adam Hamilton’s book and interprets them for young people grades 6-12. Can be used with the adult-level DVD.
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Creed Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$12.99Add to cartWe’re all searching. Sometimes the search is easy: simply type a question and the answer pops up. But sometimes our questions are complicated, and the answers are difficult to see and harder to articulate. How do we discover and examine the truths that give meaning and purpose to life? Adam Hamilton believes that some powerful answers are contained in the Apostles’ Creed, an early statement of foundational Christian beliefs. In this six-week study for Lent, Easter, and beyond, Hamilton considers important questions of life, reality, and truth. He explores not only what Christians believe, but also why they believe it and why it matters. The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the 6-week study for Lent and Easter, including session plans and discussion questions, as well as multiple format options.
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Creed : What Christians Believe And Why (Large Type)
$20.99Add to cartWe’re all searching. Sometimes the search is easy: simply type a question and the answer pops up. But sometimes our questions are complicated, and the answers are difficult to see and harder to articulate. How do we discover and examine the truths that give meaning and purpose to life? Adam Hamilton believes that some powerful answers are contained in the Apostles’ Creed, an early statement of foundational Christian beliefs. In this book for Lent, Easter, and beyond, Hamilton considers important questions of life, reality, and truth. He explores not only what Christians believe, but also why they believe it and why it matters. Chapters include: Is There a God? Jesus: More Than a Rabbi? The Holy Spirit: A Rushing Mighty Wind Death’s Funeral Holy? Catholic? Church? The Forgiveness of Sins The Resurrection of the Body Creed: What Christians Believe and Why is also part of a six-week church-wide program that includes a Leader Guide, DVD, and youth and children resources.
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Creed Childrens Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$18.99Add to cartWe’re all searching. Sometimes the search is easy: simply type a question and the answer pops up. But sometimes our questions are complicated, and the answers are difficult to see and harder to articulate. How do we discover and examine the truths that give meaning and purpose to life? Adam Hamilton believes that some powerful answers are contained in the Apostles’ Creed, an early statement of foundational Christian beliefs. In this six-week study for Lent, Easter, and beyond, Hamilton considers important questions of life, reality, and truth. He explores not only what Christians believe, but also why they believe it and why it matters. The Children’s Leader Guide contains session ideas for younger and older children, including games, activities, craft ideas, and reproducible handouts. Children are forming their own faith, and we can help shape it by looking at the beliefs contained in the Apostles’ Creed and presenting them in a way children can follow and enjoy.
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Singing Gods Psalms
$27.99Add to cartDrawing on his decades of experience as a pastor, hymn writer, and hymnal consultant, Fred Anderson here offers pastors and worship leaders a rich treasury of singable psalms – one for each psalm text or canticle appointed in the three-year Revised Common Lectionary.
Anderson renders each psalm into metered text, using contemporary, biblical, inclusive language, and suggests appropriate pairings with familiar hymn tunes. Short pastoral reflections on each psalm text provide background on what is being sung – and are also useful for sermon preparation and personal meditation.
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Visual Arts In The Worshiping Church
$31.99Add to cartAlthough numerous studies have examined biblical and theological rationales for using the visual arts in worship, this book by Lisa J. DeBoer fills in a piece of the picture missing so far – the social dimensions of both our churches and the various art worlds represented in our congregations.
The first part of the book looks at Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and Protestantism in turn – including case studies of specific congregations – showing how each tradition’s use of the visual arts reveals an underlying ecclesiology. DeBoer then focuses on six themes that emerge when Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant uses of the visual arts are examined together – the arts as expressions of the church’s local and universal character, the meanings attributed to particular styles of art for the church, the role of the arts in enculturating the gospel, and more.
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Unique Time Of God
$41.00Add to cartWorld War I changed Karl Barth’s theology forever. In this book William Klempa presents for the first time in English thirteen sermons that offer Barth’s unique view and commentary on the Great War. Barth saw the war as “a unique time of God,” believing it to represent God’s judgment on militarism. The sermons reveal a deep strain of theological wrestling with the war’s meaning, as Barth comes to see the conflict as the logical outcome of all human attempts to create God in our own image. As it demonstrates a decisive shift in Barth’s early theology, this volume is essential for anyone who wishes to understand the twentieth century’s greatest theologian.
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Breaking The Huddle
$20.99Add to cartMost Christians are stuck in the huddle. Even though we believe in outreach, our communities tend to focus on our own needs. That makes us into insular groups that don’t have many relationships with outsiders. So evangelism is occasional and conversions are rare. How do we change? In their groundbreaking I Once Was Lost, Don Everts and Doug Schaupp identified five thresholds that individuals move across from skeptics to followers. Now they and Val Gordon show how huddled communities can become witnessing communities. The authors have studied the growth of witnessing communities, what enhances and limits them, and have gathered best practices for transformation. Our churches and fellowships can become places where evangelism is not done by a just few people, but where the whole community itself becomes a winsome, thriving witness to those around it. Break out of the huddle. It’s time to get in the game.
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Pattern Of Our Calling
$44.99Add to cartMinistry has always changed, adapting to time and place. But the pace of change has increased. There is a greater need for success and less tolerance of diversity. A few high-achievers hold up their heads whilst others struggle or wonder how to make sense of what feels like failure. Our theology is impoverished and we are so quick to adopt new models that we have forgotten our own past. This book explores the changing theologies of ministry during the church s history with the aim of challenging the lack of theological reflection in some of today s results-driven understanding of ministry that seems more influenced by the business world than by Christian theology and tradition. Setting out to explain why theologians said what they said about ministry, why it might matter, and why it might be exciting, David Hoyle covers nearly two thousand years of theological reflection from the Didache to Michael Ramsey and current writers, and provides a synthesis not found anywhere else. The book offers realistic sustenance to practitioners struggling with the new demands on clergy.
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Take The Flag (Large Type)
$14.99Add to cartThe purpose of this book is not to turn readers into race fans but to help them become stronger disciples of Jesus Christ by paying attention to the signals God gives us each day.
In this Bible -based, 7-week churchwide series, Fuquay uses the flags from auto racing as a way to discuss different aspects of our life of faith.
Green Flag (start) – How do we start our journey of faith?
Yellow Flag (caution) – The decisions we make can sometimes put us in danger. How do we learn to heed God’s caution?
Red Flag (delay) – Finishing well involves pit stops. How does God help us get the most our of these breaks?
Blue Flag (yield) – Each of us may run our own race, but we also need to respect others. How does God help us focus on others’ needs?
Black Flag (disqualification) – What happens when our own violations take us out of the race, and how does God help us get back in?
White Flag (final lap) – As we head toward the finish line, how do we steer according to God’s will?
Checkered Flag (victory) – If we persevere – navigating the hazards, managing the pit stops – then victory is ours. But how does God want us to experience victory?This book will captivate your congregation and engage them in an exciting adventure of spiritual growth.
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From Suriving To Thriving
$13.95Add to cartSome Chapters Included:
Stop Making Excuses And Start Doing Something
Get Your Church’s Financial House In Order
Reclaim Your Inactive Members
Reach The Unchurched In Your Community
Remove The Roadblocks That Impede Thriving
Expect God’s MiraclesAdditional Info
For years, Rev. Dr. John H. Krahn has been one of his denomination’s most successful interim pastors whom God has used to save many dying churches. He shares his proven methods for helping churches which are barely surviving to once again thrive. Whether your church is on life support or is doing quite well, this book shares ways and insights which will strengthen your church and its ministry. Unlike other books on church growth, From Surviving to Thriving — A Practical Guide to Revitalize Your Church, is a hands-on approach that will assist you and your church greatly. Dr. Krahn believes that no church should fail. He has written this book to help your church once again thrive.Inside you will find a good measure of practical advice, pressed down, shaken together and running over with experience and good sense. There are not many suggestions that cannot immediately be put into practice by pastors and members of congregations alike. Pastor Krahn has done what he recommends and seen the results of intentional missional ministry in more than one context. The book is overflowing with good stories and examples of excellent ministry. He draws richly from the pastoral imagination of other settings. We all know that the current culture does not necessarily support our congregational revitalization, but rather than simply analyze the situation and describe the problem, the author proposes concrete and effective practices in worship, finances, and programs that he has seen work. There are no silver bullets to address our challenges but a comprehensive approach including, among others, getting the church’s financial house in order, practicing good stewardship, developing a strategic plan and vision, marketing the church in new and old ways, and developing an evangelism program. Here is a book by a veteran pastor who knows how to revitalize a congregation that is long on hope and short on excuses.
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Preaching Christ From Psalms
$52.99Add to cartIn this final volume of his series on preaching Christ from the Old Testament, Sidney Greidanus offers expert guidance for busy pastors on preaching Christ from Psalms.
Beginning with a general introduction on how pastors can interpret and preach from the biblical psalms – and why they should – Greidanus proceeds by discussing twenty-two psalms in the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, supplying the building blocks necessary to preach from Psalms at Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, and other major days and seasons of the church year. In addition to laying out basic homiletical-theological approaches suitable for each selected psalm, these chapters also provide verse-by-verse exposition, bridges to Christ in the New Testament, and ideas for placing the psalmist’s words into contemporary context.
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Way Of A Disciple
$19.99Add to cartThe Walking with God series was developed as the curriculum for small groups at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. Since its release in 1992, it has been used by churches and small groups to help raise up devoted disciples of Christ. Group members who work through the program will lay a solid foundation for a lifelong walk with God.
While small groups may be formed for a variety of purposes, the goal of this curriculum is for groups to produce disciples-fully devoted followers of Christ-by studying God’s Word in community. To this end, the goal of the study is to produce disciples who walk with God, have a personal relationship with Jesus, and live in step with the Holy Spirit. It is also to produce believers who live the Word in all areas of life and contribute to the work that God is doing in the local church. Ultimately, the goal is to develop believers who impact the world and are prepared and eager to spread the good news of Christ to others.
This material will help develop these attributes in group members. Each lesson includes group Bible study and discussion questions in addition to devotions, reflections, and personal study for use by individuals between the group sessions.
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Polycentric Missiology : 21st Century Mission From Everyone To Everywhere
$26.99Add to cartThe Edinburgh 1910 World Missionary Conference was the most famous missions conference in modern church history. A century later, five conferences on five continents displayed the landscape of global mission at the dawn of the third millennium: Tokyo 2010, Edinburgh 2010, Cape Town 2010, 2010Boston and CLADE V (San Jose, 2012). These five conferences provide a window into the state of world Christianity and contemporary missiology. Missiologist Allen Yeh, the only person to attend all five conferences, chronicles the recent history of world mission through the lenses of these landmark events. He assesses the legacy of Edinburgh 1910 and the development of world Christianity in the following century. Whereas Edinburgh 1910 symbolized Christendom’s mission “from the West to the rest,” the conferences of 2010-2012 demonstrate the new realities of polycentric and polydirectional mission-from everyone to everywhere. Yeh’s accounts of the conferences highlight the crucial missiological issues of our era: evangelism, frontier missions, ecumenism, unengaged and post-Christian populations, reconciliation, postmodernities, contextualization, postcolonialism, migration and more. What emerges is a portrait of a contemporary global Christian mission that encompasses every continent, embodying good news for all nations.
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How To Pioneer
$15.99Add to cartSmall new Christian communities created by pioneer ministers, both lay and ordained, are popping up everywhere – on housing estates, in community centres, schools, cafes, among different age groups and in numerous other contexts beyond the local church. This practical book is for all who are engaged in this form of ministry and it begins by identifying some basic principles from a wide variety of creative examples of pioneer ministry.
Illustrated with actual examples throughout, it explores
-how to ‘listen’ to the physical, social and spiritual environment of a local context
-how to discern a community’s needs and the appropriate missional response
-how to build a creative team
-the art of the start – how to begin well
-how to build relationships and create community by acts of authentic love
-how to become and stay Jesus-centred
-how to live and tell the gospel in meaningful ways
-how to grow disciples
-how to stay fresh (and avoid rotas!) -
3 Simple Rules For Christian Living Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartThis small-group study by Jeanne Torrence Finley is based on Rueben P. Job’s book Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living. Six sessions provide extended reflection for adults on three principles of Christian life: do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God. Each rule has a session to help you understand the rule and a session to help you explore ways to practice the rule. The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the 6-week study, including session plans, discussion questions, and other useful information for organizing, leading, and publicizing your study group.
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Introduction To African American Preaching
$38.99Add to cartThis book by Frank A. Thomas serves as an introduction and primer on African American preaching. He sets out to answer six questions: 1) What is the historical study and scholarly treatment of black preaching? The formal study of black preaching matured in the 1990s from Abingdon Press, through the books Black Preaching by Henry Mitchell (Interdenominational Theological Center) and The Hum by Evans Crawford (Howard University). The initial chapter traces how and why black preaching evolved. 2) What is black preaching? What makes black preaching distinctive? What are the substantive methodologies and content of black preaching? Does black preaching include the preaching of the African Diaspora or is it limited to American shores? How does black preaching correlate with the preaching methodologies of other communities, i.e. Euro-American, Latino/Latina, Korean, etc. 3) What are the benchmarks of excellence in black preaching? In every preaching tradition, models and styles or examples emerge based on community recognition and acclaim within the cultural preaching tradition. These models are built on criteria that point to “excellence” in oral practice. The goal in the classroom is to surface conscious and unconscious codes of excellence, which the student can then adapt in a particular congregation. 4) What methods are practiced in African American preaching? Three methods are explored from “folk” and “educated” preaching. Methods of “old-time Negro Preaching,” are compared to the Hegelian method of Samuel DeWitt Proctor and the celebrative preaching method of Henry H. Mitchell, Frank A. Thomas, and Luke Powery. 5) What are the future trends in black preaching? What cultural and media forces are changing black preaching? 6) What are the best bibliographic resources in African American preaching?
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Evangelism For Non Evangelists
$24.99Add to cartMark Teasdale believes evangelists are taught, not born. Accustomed to teaching a seminary course not many want to take, he reframes evangelism, taking it beyond the stereotypes. He calls us to examine our basic understanding of the gospel and gives us voice to speak authentically and creatively about the gospel.
