Pastoral Helps
Showing 3001–3050 of 4141 resultsSorted by latest
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Preaching And Reading The Old Testament Lessons Cycle B
$23.95Writing in a homiletical style, prominent Bible scholar Elizabeth Achtemeier provides expositions on all of the Old Testament texts contained in Cycle B of the Revised Common and Lutheran Lectionaries. Infused with her customary insight into the Hebrew scriptures, this collection of Achtemeier’s contributions to the preaching journal Emphasis furnishes a plethora of fruitful starting points for preparing sermons rooted in the Bible yet connected to modern life. But as the book’s title suggests, this volume is not just for preachers and homiletics students — it is also a powerful commentary for study groups and personal devotional reading. Achtemeier’s unrelenting focus on the promises of God appearing in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament, combined with her outstanding scholarship, make these essays a priceless resource that will enrich anyone looking for a clearer understanding of the scriptures.
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10 Commandments : A Preaching Commentary
$23.99Plenty of resources help preachers explore and understand the lectionary texts—but what if you don’t follow the lectionary, or occasionally depart from it during the year? Offering valuable assistance for preparing sermons on The Ten Commandments, John Holbert’s helpful preaching commentary—the first volume in The Great Texts series—will help you to powerfully proclaim this keystone of the faith.
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Enacting The Word
$18.00The addition of simple drama to sermons is effective in bringing Bible passages alive and involving a variety of church members in preaching. In this book, James O. Chatham invites clergy to develop a use of drama to proclaim the gospel. Chatham writes that the Bible is comprised primarily of stories–stories of the relationship between God and God’s people spanning over more than a thousand years–many of which are so good that they need little explanation. There is no more engaging way to tell these stories, he says, than through effective sermon drama. Chatham offers seven example dramas that are ready for use, complete with lines, stage directions and a list of characters and needed props. Drawing from both New Testament and Old Testament texts, Chatham’s dramas tell the stories of the persistent widow in Luke 18, of Rahab, and of Jonah; give testimony to the re-creative power of God. God’s continued calling of God’s people, and the importance of the Easter story in modern contexts, and provides a lesson for discerning light from darkness.
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Help Im A Small Church Youth Worker
$19.99Practical help for volunteer, part-time, and full-time youth workers in small churches
Eighty-five percent of the churches in America are classified as small. This book provides youth workers with processes and ideas that enable them to address their particular needs as part of small churches.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Preaching Gods Compassion
$19.00Suffering is universal, but how we handle it goes a long way in determining who we will become. Arden and Hughes, following the Pauline/Augustinian tradition viewed through a Lutheran lens, sensitively handle such tough issues as illness, loss, fear, violence, and failure, then offer three sample sermons.
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Church As Learning Community
$36.99Norma Cook Everist contends it is meaningful to say that in ministries of adminstration, outreach, and pastoral care, the church is functioning as a learning community. Whenver and wherever Christians are being formed into the image of Jesus Christ through ministry. Christian education is taking place. Christian education is the name of this process of formation. Building on this central insight, Everist has written a major new introduction to the tasks and practices of Christian education.
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Childrens Sermons For Special Days
$13.95Children’s stories are important times for pastors and laypeople to relate to children in the context of worship. But resources that will hold their attention and help them learn about the Bible and the Christian faith are hard to find. Children’s Sermons For Special Days is both relevant and easy to use. The biblically based stories are told in a manner children can understand, and the pictures and activity sheets help to reinforce the learning experience. I highly recommend this book as a valuable tool for enhancing worship and learning for children.
Marvin Zehr
Conference Minister
Western District Mennonite ConferenceLooking for children’s material specifically tailored for holidays and other special, out-of-the-ordinary days? If so, then Julia Bland’s latest collection is a practical resource that you’ll draw on for fresh ideas throughout the year. Like all of her other popular titles, each children’s message in Children’s Sermons For Special Days is accompanied by a two-sided activity page — one side is a coloring page for younger children, while the other has a variety of puzzles and activities that emphasize the lesson’s key points for older children. Busy pastors and teachers who have little preparation time will love these scripturally sound and ready-to-use presentations — and better yet, so will your young people!
Lessons are included for:
* New Year’s Day
* Valentine’s Day
* Palm Sunday
* Easter Sunday
* Mother’s Day
* Father’s Day
* Independence Day
* Start of School
* First Day of Autumn
* Halloween
* Thanksgiving
* ChristmasDuring nearly 50 years as a pastor’s wife, Julia E. Bland has taught church groups of all ages from children through senior adults. She has been active in United Methodist Women and served as district chairperson of Global Concerns as well as Publicity and Public Relations. Bland’s award-winning oil, watercolor, and pen and ink artwork has appeared in private and public collections. Among her many CSS titles are Lessons We Can Learn From The Animals and Praises From The Psalms.
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Soaring Where Christ Has Led
$30.95Believing that Christian worship should be both exciting and stimulating and respectful of God and worshipers and liturgical traditions, Dick Avery and Don Marsh have put their considerable talents together to bring you ideas and music that make worship soar. As you read these groundbreaking ideas tailored to the seasons of the church year, you’ll find yourself saying, “Yes! YES! YES!” — and you’ll be eager to put them in place with your congregation.
Everything Avery and Marsh describe in this remarkable volume has been done successfully in their congregation at the regular Sunday morning service of worship, so you will find no off-the-wall suggestions pushed for mere novelty’s sake or just to “shake things up.” Rather, every principle, every suggestion, every idea has a purpose and goal befitting the Gospel and designed to help worshipers tune in to the mighty Lord of All.
With all of this plus several samples of original Avery & Marsh music, written especially for Sunday morning worship, Soaring Where Christ Has Led is a resource you will use week after week in planning worship services that delight congregations, honor God with momentous expressions of joy, and teach the way of Christ in today’s world.
Nationally renowned for their creative worship celebrations, Richard Avery and Donald Marsh were colleagues in ministry for 40 years at the First Presbyterian Church in Port Jervis, New York, where Avery served as pastor and Marsh as choirmaster (directing 3 choirs) and director of arts (producing 83 major plays and working with educational projects). They have collaborated in composing hymns, songs, and anthems, of which more than 150 have been published. During the last 30 years they have led regional and national church assemblies, conferences, and workshops on worship, music, and drama for many denominations and in virtually all 50 states.
A native of California, Avery is a graduate of the University of Redlands and Union Theological Seminary in New York. Marsh has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Houston, and worked for 17 years in New York’s music and theater world as a composer, choreographer, pianist, and actor. Avery and Marsh continue their collaboration in composing for the church and in leading special liturgical and musical events while living in retirement in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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Battle For The Soul
$17.99“This book is extremely helpful in ministering to others. It will give you the information to get past the game playing, guessing, and excuses and get right to the bottom-line issues in a person’s life. Clear and simple. Best of all, the focus is total reliance on the Person of Jesus Christ and His being in every way, shape, and form, all in all, to each individual believer.” –Mrs. Janie Glover, Christian Worker, Nampa, ID “I am amazed at the deep level of inspiration and revelation in Battle for the Soul. God is using GSM to reveal truths and depth that He has entrusted with few others on the face of the earth. The completed book will be a must-have for any minister seeking to break enemy strongholds in others’ lives, and I highly recommend it to any Christian who is ready to stand up and fight the good fight, move to another level with God, and get serious about letting Christ control his or her life. I asked one co-worker what he thought of a certain passage, and this was his response: ‘Again, another bottom line–sounds like Watchman Nee or possibly Francis Schaffer.’ He had no idea where the passage originated.” –Crystal Garvin, Editor, Patrick AFB, FL “Chapter 5 quite frankly about blew my mind–about Adam needing to be transfigured. WHOA. Totally new concept here.” –Trent Glover, Data Warehouse Manager, Nampa, ID
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Help Our Church Is Growing
$14.00It’s the secret, unspeakable dream shared by every minister. After years of diligent work in an average-sized church, you glance up one Sunday and notice a new family. The next month you notice another. Soon it seems like somebody new arrives almost every week. Suddenly you are the leader of a living, breathing, growing church!
Like any roller coaster ride, this one begins with a long, slow ascent. Attendance climbs. Giving climbs. Expectations climb. Of course a few problems crop up along the way, because, as with every other roller coaster, this one has a long and often scary downside. Even as your church continues to climb in every measurable statistic, you, the spiritual leader, may well find yourself in a virtual free-fall as you struggle over how to manage the impact this change will have on your congregation.
What can you, as a minister in a growing church, do to survive the pitfalls that lie just around the corner? What do you do when the old ways no longer work?
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Your First Two Years In Youth Ministry
$22.99In this sequel to his bestseller Purpose-Driven Youth Ministry, Fields offers 10 valuable steps to beginning a successful program. You’ll learn the importance of going before God, focusing on relationships, communicating your desires, identifying your personal values, developing and teaching your purpose, pursuing leaders, evaluating and creating programs, and more. Ideal for veterans or first-timers.
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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
$26.00A 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
$23.00“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
$26.00Frank, 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
$16.00Christians 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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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
$32.00The 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
$19.00Why 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
$25.00The 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
$19.00Like 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
$12.95Children 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
$14.95One 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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It Works For Us
$12.95The 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
$12.95This 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
$13.95God 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
$7.95A 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
$12.95God’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
$12.95What 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
$12.95Question: 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
