Pastoral Helps
Showing 3801–3850 of 3931 results
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Theology Is For Proclamation
$29.00Add to cartIn this work, Gerhard Forde makes a dashingly bold move to construct a whole systematic theology on the model of Martin Luther’s Bondage of the Will. Forde continues Luther’s polemic against every theology that fools with God apart from the Word. He drags systematic theology out of the study, sticks it into the pulpit, onto the altar, and under the waters of baptism so that it proclaims the gospel. He sets limits within which discussions of ministry and ecumenism must occur, if we are to remain proclaimers of the gospel. He writes a theology that is good for nothing but proclaiming the living Word of God.
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Imagining A Sermon
$19.99Add to cartHere is the remedy for trite, boring sermons! Thomas H. Troeger shows how to breathe fresh life into your sermons by harnessing your imaginative powers in a new way. In scores of dynamic workshops, Troeger has shown preachers and seminarians how to create powerful sermons by seizing moments when the heart and mind catch fire. Now, in Imagining a Sermon Troeger share the secrets of capturing the imaginative spirit within you.
You will discover:
How to observe daily events that can energize the preaching event
How to fine-tune your visual and listening skills to fuse televised, scriptural, and remembered images into new truths for your congregation. -
Reframing : A New Method In Pastoral Care
$29.00Add to cartThis is a new method of pastoral care by Donald Capps. Capps is a professor of pastoral theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. He explains his theory of Reframing in three parts. Topics touched on are techniques of refraiming, the ministry of Jesus, superficial counsel, healing utopia, the inadequate methods of Job’s counselors, and more.
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Get Em Talking
$22.99Add to cartDoes your youth group suffer from the “silent complex”? Need help to get them talking about what’s really important? Would you like to be a more effective discussion leader? Then look no further! Get ‘Em Talking gives you 104 field-tested ideas that will get your kids talking about topics like . . . Rock Music – Dating – Serving God – Death – Friendship – Peer Pressure – Anger – Drugs and Alcohol – Gossip – Family – Parents – The Church – Values – Faith – Cheating – Jesus . . . and many more! Get ‘Em Talking is the perfect resource for anyone who leads discussions. You’ll glean the insights of two of the nation’s most experienced youth professionals on what makes discussion groups tick, how to get a good discussion started, what to do when problems hit, and much more. Learn How to Effectively Use Discussion Techniques Like: – No-risk Discussions – Rug Discussions – “If” Surveys – Yarn-Sharing Experiences – Relay Discussions – Tape Talk – Groupers – Continuum Discussions — Get ‘Em Talking will quickly become an indispensable part of your youth ministry resource library. Whenever you need a great discussion-starting idea, just reach for Get ‘Em Talking!
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Preaching The Miracles Cycle B
$14.95Add to cartour partner in intelligent, meaningful sermon preparation Cycle B
Exegesis
The Situation
The Setting
Cultural and Historical Contexts
Other Lectionary Texts For the Day
Meanings and Derivations of Key WordsHomiletics
Suggested Sermon Themes
Sermon Outlines
Preaching IllustrationsNine Miracles Include
Cleansing a Leper — Mark 1:40-45
Calming a Sea Storm — Mark 4:35-41
Healing a Blind Man — Mark 10:46-52 -
Places Of The Promise
$12.95Add to cart“The Advent/Christmas story is one that identifies specific places as the font of the rich interactions between God and humanity. The names of such locales are as familiar to us as our own homes.”
Here are six sermons with accompanying children’s sermons. The series covers Advent 1 through Christmas 1. Each sermon focuses on the particular sphere God used to prepare creation for the gift of Jesus.
The sermons offer:
* Texts from Lectionary Cycle B
* Other suggested texts
* Suggestions for congregational activitiesThe children’s sermons follow an advent wreath-lighting series. Following Christmas, these sermons use the Christmas tree and the creche scene as themes. Each children’s sermon offers at least three objects to use as illustrations.
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Palms And Thorns Cycle B
$12.95Add to cart“Liturgy,” which literally means “the work of the people,” sums up all the ways people have responded to God, including hymns, prayers, laments, invocations and confessions of faith.
14 Worship Services The Liturgical Witness Of The New Testament contemporizes and brings to life these various forms of worship as the author draws unique canticles, prayers, hymns and responsive petitions from the books of the New Testament. Each New Testament book is allowed to speak with its own voice. For example, the service based on Luke gives voice to the Gospel by the use of four canticles (psalms), and Luke’s own version of the Words of Institution and his truncated version of the Lord’s Prayer are included.
Also included are a helpful index listing the worship services according to their use in the lectionary and ten sermons for use with these liturgies.
Contents include:
Through The Desert Clear A Highway! — The Liturgical Witness Of Luke
One Lord, One Body — The Liturgical Witness Of The Corinthian Letters
Lordship And Unity — The Liturgical Witness Of Colossians
God Is Love — The Liturgical Witness Of First John
Worthy The Lamb — The Liturgical Witness Of Revelatio -
Pastor : Readings From The Patristic Period
$26.00Add to cartPatristic theology is primarily pastoral. Yet often the study of writings from the first six centuries of the church is pursued in ways that make the polemical, philosophical, and political aspects stand out. But if one reads around those texts that are profiled in these ways, the pastoral concerns will emerge. Even contemporary interests in social, economic, and deconstructionist approaches locate much of the data for their questions within or near texts that also can be looked at for the descriptions of shepherding the flock. Thus it is likely that any who read ancient Christian literature will find this volume helpful. The introduction is masterful. No other volume known to me does that so well through the translated words of ancient leaders. Whatever historical surveys one finds helpful, they cannot replace this guide. It is done with such competence and flair that specialists who are historians with no particular interest in ministry other than its being a feature of the early church will need to consult it. Those, however, who as believers and ministers are attempting to serve contemporary congregations will devour this book. No seminarian should be without it
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Ethics In Ministry
$29.00Add to cart1991 Academy of Parish Clergy Book Award recipient. ”Deserves commendation and a large readership. The authors have touched sensitively on a wide range of issues with a wisdom that is practiced and practical.”—Christian Ministry. Deals with truth-telling, authority, salary, burnout, confidentiality, and more.
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How To Preach A Parable
$23.99Add to cartIn this pratical and insightful guide, one of the nation’s most respected preachers shows how to use the structure of Jesus’ parables to preach highly effective sermons. During the past decade, NT scholars have dne fresh and exciting work on the style and function of Jesus’ stories. Now Eugene L. Lowry–in clear, step-by-step fashion–shows how he and other well-known preachers use and develop parables to create lively and interesting sermons.
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Cowherding Christians Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartIf you and your parishioners don’t know much about sheep, you might find a shepherding Savior difficult to fathom; but if you grew up on a family farm anywhere in rural America, you might know something about cows. And you just might find it easier to relate to a cowherding Savior. It is this type of familiar, experiential approach to God’s word that makes this collection of model homilies so unique — and so meaningful.
Messages include:
– Where Are the Lilies Now?
– Jesus’ Hospital
– Cowherding Christians
– A House for God
and seven more!
For use with Common, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic lectionary texts -
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 3 Cycle A
$42.95Add to cartPractical preaching strategies to help the over-burdened parish pastor communicate God’s Word in vital, meaningful ways.
This is the first volume in CSS’s third series of popular preaching workbooks — Designed to help you get the most out of every moment you spend in sermon preparation.
Special Features Include:
– Commentary on Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Common lectionary texts
– Sermon Starters for First Lesson, Second Lesson, and Gospel texts for every Sunday in Cycle A
– “Theological Clues” to help you explore the relationships among all the texts for each Sunday
– Wide Margins and Stay-flat binding for ease of use
– Overviews of preaching challenges and possibilities for each liturgical season
– Extensive Bibliography of exegetical and homiletic resources for Cycle A preaching
– And All-new Insights from one of CSS’s most well-respected and successful authors
This workbook is an exercise in liturgical, as well as lectionary preaching. It springs from the rationale that most lectionary helps ignore the liturgical setting of the lessons assigned to the various Sundays. It is this author’s contention that the exegetical/homiletical process begins with the church year. The year, cycles, seasons, Sundays, and festivals establish the themes and provide theological clues for worship and, particularly, preaching, especially in the first half of the church year. This approach is the outgrowth of the author’s doctoral dissertation and two of his books, “The Renewal Of Liturgical Preaching” and “The Song And The Story.” Both deal with preaching from the lectionary texts in the context of the worship, work, and lives of the people of God. -
New Testament Exposition
$22.99Add to cartExpository preaching is an elusive ideal. Many preachers aspire to it, few are acknowledged masters. For most a gap exists between the sermon that addresses the needs of the hearers and one that methodically plumbs the depths of Scripture. New Testament Exposition is written to bridge this gap and bring together the disciplines of preaching and exegesis. In this book Liefeld addresses the three main concerns of expository preaching: What is the text saying? How can its message be communicated in ways that are appropriate to the passage, the seeing, and the goals of the sermon? How can the message meet the real needs of the congregation in a way that is consistent with the purpose and function of the text? This book demonstrates how these concerns can be brought together in a sermon, and it is this thoughtful, practical approach that makes the book so valuable to preachers and seminarians. The book is divided into three parts. Part I explores the characteristics of expository preaching. Part II deals with preparing the text and addresses such areas as practical exegesis, exegetical outlines, narratives and compositional patterns, semantic patterns, and underlying assumptions of the text. Part III discusses application of the text by asking, What is the function of the text? What are the needs of the congregation? How can one preach to inner heart needs as well as to the external circumstances facing the congregation? New Testament Exposition is not vague theory, nor is it esoteric study beyond the grasp and time of the busy pastor. Throughout the book Dr. Liefeld reflects his experience in the classroom and pulpit, and his concerns as scholar and pastor are clearly seen in the final chapters of this volume. Chapter 9 examines preaching from difficult texts: How might one handle parables, miracle stories, obscure passages, culturally related texts? The final chapter provides a demonstration of all that is discussed throughout the book by walking the road through the actual preparation for a sermon.
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From Anticipation To Transfiguration Cycle A
$14.95Add to cartThe Advent season is one of expenctancy and anticipation. But it is not fulfilled completely in the Nativity. For it is not until the Transfiguration that God’s people can even begin to really understand what the fulfillment of God’s promise might mean.
Joe E. Pennel Jr. takes his reader on that journey “From Anticipation to Transfiguration” with the sensitive insight that Christmas is not the end but the beginning of God’s promise to his people.
Messages include:
– Shaped by the Future
– Away with the Stable
– The Called Ones
– Fog-Cleared Moments
and thirteen more!
For use with Common, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic Lectionaries. -
Fashion Me A People
$36.00Add to cart“Curriculum” as described in Maria Harris’s book is an exciting process embracing the entire course of the church’s life. It concerns the creative and educational powers used to “fashion a people.” Encompassing the total teaching mission of the church, it includes community, service, worship, proclamation, and instruction of all the members from birth to death. Contains “Reflection and Practice” exercises at the end of each chapter.
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Prophets Bread Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartFrom the author of the vastly popular “Gospel Horizons” series, comes this new collection of deeply thoughtful, personal; yet, universal responses to First Lesson lectionary texts for the Advent season.
Drawn from the author’s own searching questions and sensitive insights, these model homilies will deepen your understanding of the proclaimers and prophets who were sustained by the word of the Lord.
Messages include:
– God as Woodcutter
– The Glance of God
– What God Sees
– Six Cloudy Days
and thirteen more!
For use with Common Lectionary texts. -
Revelation For Today
$20.99Add to cartRevelation is the Bible’s most puzzling book. Though it has inspired some of the world’s greatest literature and art, to many readers the book remains a total mystery–a hodge-podge of strange, mystical symbolism and obscure references. Now James M. Efird provides a clear, readable look at the meaning of Revelation. Probing the mysterious book to its very core, Efird offers the best of modern scholarship in an accessible way. Efird places Revelation in its historical context (approximately AD 90), and explains its message for us today. Revelation for Today features an appendix on ways to teach the book, designed for pastors and church school teachers.
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Master Has Come
$12.95Add to cartJesus and his kindom are the focus of this seven-part preaching series for Lent and Easter Day. Thomas Pilgrim, a seasoned proclaimer and an effective parish pastor, brings the reader and the listener face to face with Jesus and his claims upon Christian disciples. Well illustrated and carefully outlined, Pilgrim’s messages are appropriate for a Lenten Sunday or Lenten mid-week preaching series. Each message is accompanied by an appropriate and easy-to-tell children’s object lesson.
The author develops the theme in this way:
The Master Has Come
To Proclaim God’s Kingdom
And Calls Disciples
And Is Moved With Compassion
To Build His Church
And Is Calling For You
To Face Jerusalem (Palm Sunday)
To Be Lord of Life (Easter Day) -
Finally Comes The Poet
$29.00Add to cartThis manuscript was prepared and presented as the 1989 Lyman Beecher Lectures at Yale Divinity School. The Beecher Lectures are by definition addressed to the subject of preaching. In these lectures, the author has sought to address the crisis of interpretation the preacher faces in our culture, which has either dismissed or controlled the text. Preaching as an act of interpretation is in our time, demanding, daring, and dangerous.
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Pastoral Ethics : Professional Responsibilities Of The Clergy
$27.99Add to cartLike most community leaders, clergy are constantly asked to make decisions that have far-reaching effects. For clergy, the matter is particularly complicated because of the many arenas in which they operate–counseling, church management, community affairs, ecumenical relationships, denominational politics, and others.
In Pastoral Ethics, Gaylord Noyce looks at clergy as professionals, and shows what can be learned from the professional ethics of other disciplines. He also demonstrates the special responsibilities (and opportunities) that affect those who are ordained. A book at once practical and prophetic, Pastoral Ethics is the standard for a new generation.
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Taking On The Gods
$25.99Add to cart“Taking on the gods is a significant responsibility of pastoral counseling. Confronting those psychic structures, forces, and images which masquerade as God; bringing love, faith, and hope into the lives of persons; and being an extension ministry of Jesus Christ walking in the hells of human existence are all ways of expressing the true evangelistic purposes of pastoral counseling. The thought of taking on the gods in one’s clients and in oneself may seem like arrogance or a humbling and awesome challenge. Nevertheless, taking on the gods is at the heart and soul of pastoral counseling.” –from the author’s Introduction
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Channeling Grace : Sermons For Lent And Easter Sundays In Ordinary Time Cyc
$12.95Add to cartWILL THE REAL JESUS CHRIST ARISE? WHO WAS JESUS CHRIST? AND WHAT IS THE REAL SIGNIFICANCE OF HIS RESURRECTION? IF YOU FIND YOURSELF WISHING YOU HAD MORE TIME…IDEAS…ENERGY FOR SHARING THIS CRUCIAL MESSAGE WITH YOUR CONGREGATION, YOU WILL APPRECIATE THESE NINETEEN FRESHLY INSIGHTFUL SERMONS BY CARL L. JECH. WITHIN ARE SERMONS FOR EVERY CYCLE C GOSPEL TEXT DURING LENT AND EASTER FROM THE COMMON, LUTHERAN, AND ROMAN CATHOLIC LECTIONARIES, INCLUDING: THE PIETY THAT ISN’T LOVE IS DOWN TO EARTH SOME WOMEN’S STORIES WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO? COLORIZING JESUS BECOMING WHAT YOU ARE AND THIRTEEN MORE USE THESE COMPLETE SERMONS AS PRESENTED — OR AS INSPIRATION FOR YOUR OWN ORIGINAL MESSAGES.
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Senses Of Preaching
$24.00Add to cartWritten in conversational style, The Senses of Preaching is a thought-provoking book using anecdotes to take a careful look at the relationship between preachers and congregations. Thomas Long provides insight into faith and life as well as preaching and homiletics. He offers preachers a better understanding of the whole concept of their craft and complements it with sermon-starter ideas. This compact volume shows preachers how to develop and implement a preaching experience that encourages the hearing of the gospel.
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Christian Education : Seeking To Become Like Jesus Christ
$24.99Add to cartThis is a book that relentlessly pursues defining the goams of Christian education and then offers a plan in keeping with those goals. So many books in the field assume the goals and simply describe the methods. Not so Larry Richards. His biblical and theological analysis conveys an excitement that makes Christian education a mission, not just a responsibility. And still his approach is eminently practical, insightful, and motivational.
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Childrens Ministry : Nurturing Faith Within The Family Of God
$27.99Add to cartA book that integrates a biblical and theological understanding of the child and the most useful insights of developmental psychology. This is a unique volume combining both biblical and theological foundations for children’s ministry with a careful assessment of the other major issues in nurturing children: developmentalism, the context of learning and growth, values, cognitive abilities, and social relationships. In this one comprehensive volume an integrated approach to children’s ministry emerges, compelling the student and practitioner alike to latch on to its theological handles and pull.
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Ministry : A Theological Pastoral Handbook
$12.99Add to cartThis highly praised handbook on ministry is an essential resource for clergy and laity alike–clear, readable, theologically sound, and pastorally wise. Traces the development of ministry from New Testament times through Vatican II to provide pastoral guidance for priests, nuns, teachers, and others who are called to the ministry.
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Congregations
$32.00Add to cartC. Ellis Nelson–noted author, Christian educator, and church leader–collaborated with and collected the works of ten leaders experienced in congregational affairs. The result was CONGREGATIONS: THEIR POWER TO FORM AND TRANSFORM. This book is designed as a resource that helps ministers and lay leaders understand the dynamics of congregations so that they may use that spiritual energy to invigorate their own congregations.
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Counsel For Pastors Wives
$22.99Add to cartDr. Diane Langberg, a licensed psychologist, offers sympathetic and realistic answers to fourteen questions from pastors’ wives, questions that are often asked. In answering the questions Dr. Langberg addresses not only the particular women who asked them, but also those who are looking in over the shoulders of these women. Some of the answers are simpler than others. All of the answers require acts of faith, renewed patience, and wisdom that must come from God. With these divine resources come healing and possible solutions. Counsel for Pastors’ Wives is a good prescription for people who want to be helped and healed and for people who want to help the healing. It is not merely for pastor’s wives, it is for concerned laypeople as well
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David Lion And Lamb
$12.95Add to cartFew biblical characters are as popular as David, and this set of 27 complete messages covers all Cycle B texts in the Common Lectionary — as well as several others — dealing with this popular Bible personality.
Each message incorporates thorough biblical scholarship with popular reference points and concerns, and addresses the reader in a comfortable, personable style — making this versatile resource appropriate for Cycle B lectionary preaching, independent sermon series preparation, and individual or group Bible study. -
6 Presents From God
$12.95Add to cartAdvent is a time to think about gifts. Who should receive them? How much should they cost? What do the people on our list “need” most of all? We scramble every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas, trying to “take care of our gift list.”
Here is a refreshing second look at the whole area of giving and receiving gifts. When all is said and done, it is not us but God who is the gift-giver. By his rich giving we are graced for life and for eternity. Throughout the season of Advent and Christmas, share with members of your congregation the good news of God’s enormous generosity. Look together at the “gift list ” God assembled for us once where shepherds watched and angels sang.
These six sermons are each supplemented with simple object lessons for young children. The author focuses on God’s gifts to us of:
Angels
Mary
Shepherds
Wisemen
The baby Jesus
Joseph -
Call In The Clowns
$12.95Add to cartChildren love stories. (So do their parents.) The Sunday morning worship hour is a perfect time to take five minutes to gather the children and share a story with them. When the youngest in the congregation understand what is being shared, all who are older will as well.
These fifty object lessons are based on gospel texts. Many but not all are from the gospel of Luke, including familiar parables of Jesus such as the prodigal son and the good Samaritan. Each story makes use of a familiar household object, such as a paper bag, a candle, some construction paper, or a balloon, in order to make a simple teaching memorable to young learners.
Anyone who loves children and can tell a story can share the stories in this book. It may be the pastor, a Sunday church school teacher, a gifted (or simply dedicated) lay person, or a parent of younger children. The stories can also be used effectively in the church school classroom or in the Christian home. -
Reading The Signs Cycle C
$12.95Add to cartIf you are like many parish pastors, you find the Christmas season to be the most frustrating season of the church year — so much to do, so much to celebrate, so much to say — and so little time to prepare it all!
That is why J. Ellsworth Kalas has prepared these twelve thoughtful sermons — to help you present the meaningful and coherent messages you want your congregation to hear during this busiest of seasons.
Within are sermons for every Cycle C gospel text during the Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany seasons from the Common, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic lectionaries, including:
– The Signs of Summer
– The Hinge of History
– Songs of the Season
– Return to the New
– From Empty Nets to Full Lives
– Awake to GloryUse these complete sermons as presented — or as jumping-off points for your own meaningful messages.
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44 Ways To Increase Church Attendance
$21.99Add to cartAre you still suffering over the sight of empty pews? Have your efforts been more than exhaustive in expanding your congregation? Have you maximized your brainstorming potential for bringing in new members?
If you have reached what appears to be your limit, then no longer fret, 44 Ways To Increase Church Attendance can open the doors of both your church and mind. With proven techniques for building a body for Christ, church leaders can increase their membership and then free themselves to focus on other important missions for God. Schaller’s suggestions will energize leaders and put their churches on the road of abundance.
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Ministerial Ethics And Etiquette (Revised)
$22.99Add to cartNow revised, Ministerial Ethics and Etiquette has been hailed as “an authoritative standard,” the book that “answers almost every question of ministerial ethics which may arise.” Nolan Harmon, who has authored each successful edition since 1928, studied the ethical codes of conduct of five major denominations and secured the expert opinions of eighty-six leading pastors, Harmon uses this wisdom to show ministers how to conduct themselves etically in virtually every phase of ministry.
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Faith Development And Pastoral Care
$22.00Add to cartJames Fowler’s work as the originator of faith development research – his use of the theories of Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson for theology – has been widely acclaimed for it’s profound impact on the field of religious education, and for it’s promise for other fields.
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Preaching Through A Storm
$24.99Add to cart1. I’ve Been In The Storm So Long
2. Predicting A Storm
3. Maintaining Relationships
4. The Eye Of The Storm
5. The Identity Of Evil
6. If It Had Not Been For The Lord
7. The Preacher’s Friend
8. Tragedy Or Triumph?
9. The Storm Is Passing Over
10. Preparing For The Next Storm
11. Storms Keep Coming224 Pages
Additional Info
The context was a building program for an urban congregation. The beginning bore no omens of controversy. But before long, both the pastor (the author) and the congregation found themselves in a storm that threatened the church’s very existence and the pastor’s future in ministry. It is common in this kind of storm that neither the preacher nor his flock will expect to hear from God. But the arresting message of this book is that it is often through the preaching itself that God speaks to the issues of conflict. It is through preaching that the issues are resolved, and neither the pastor nor the people are left unchanged. By example and by precept this book shows how to weather a storm in the only successful way — by preaching through it under the guiding hand of a compassionate God who knows our human anguish. This is a book you cannot afford to ignore. For, as one preacher puts it, you’re either “coming out of a storm, in a storm, or heading for a storm.” -
Death
$30.00Add to cartA compelling handbook for pastors, counselors, adult discussion groups. It encourages personal reflection. William Phipps deals honestly and openly with the cultural and human issues surrounding death. His comprehensive resource covers definitions of life and death, life expectancy and quality of life, terminal illness, suicide, grief, funeral practices, body disposal, violent death, nuclear war, handgun control, the death penalty, how to explain death to children, and theories of life after death.
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Homiletic : Moves And Structures
$39.00Add to cart”This is the most encyclopedic work of the modern period. Preachers really serious about the challenge of effective preaching will reap the rewards of serious interaction with a model master craftsperson,”—Preaching. Relates preaching to all human discourse.
