Pastoral Helps
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These Are Our Bodies Intermediate Parent Book
$11.95Add to cart* Faith formation resource for children on human sexuality * For use in congregational, home, and school settings This sexuality education resource from a mainline/progressive denominational prospective aids the leader, child (participant), and parent in learning about their body and using skills that enable them to embrace and affirm the wholeness of sexuality as part of who they are. Session plans will address facts about sexuality, vocabulary, decision making, faith and daily life, respect, growth and change, behavior, responsibility, values, prayer, and intentionality in an age appropriate manner for children and their parents. One Leader Guide will cover all ages, with three Parent Books (Preschool: 3- to 5-yearolds, Primary: 6- to 8-year-olds, and Intermediate: 9- to 11-year-olds), and two Participant Books (Primary and Intermediate ages).
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These Are Our Bodies Young Adult Leader Guide
$28.95Add to cart* Faith formation resource for young adults on human sexuality * For use in congregational and campus ministry settings Our inherent value and worth comes from God’s love for us, but our modern world is filled with sexual expression that too often leads us away from the life of Christ. As Christians seeking to live a life worthy of our calling and desiring to pass along these values to our children and youth, these books (Leader Guide and Participant Book) offer session plans with activities for Young Adults (ages 18-30) to explore issues of sexuality in the context of our faith, building on the foundational book of the same name and as part of the These Are Our Bodies program resource. Session topics include: * Holiness * Intimacy * Covenant * Love * Biology * Communication * What is Sacred? * Power and Parity * Mind, Body, and Soul * Brokenness and Shame * Our Bodies: Currency and Creators
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These Are Our Bodies Preschool And Elementary Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$34.95Add to cart* Faith formation resource for children on human sexuality * For use in congregational, home, and school settings This sexuality education resource from a mainline/progressive denominational prospective aids the leader, child (participant), and parent in learning about their body and using skills that enable them to embrace and affirm the wholeness of sexuality as part of who they are. Session plans will address facts about sexuality, vocabulary, decision making, faith and daily life, respect, growth and change, behavior, responsibility, values, prayer, and intentionality in an age appropriate manner for children and their parents. One Leader Guide will cover all ages, with three Parent Books (Preschool: 3- to 5-yearolds, Primary: 6- to 8-year-olds, and Intermediate: 9- to 11-year-olds), and two Participant Books (Primary and Intermediate ages). Session topics include: * We are Wonderfully Made * We are Complex * We are Changing * We are Knowledgeable * We are Equipped * We are Called * We are Growing Up
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Because Of Gracia Theme 3 A Film And Faith Leaders Guide
$5.99Add to cartA Film and Faith Leader’s Guide: Theme 3 Voicing Faith equips youth pastors and small group leaders to explore the key theme of Voicing Faith in public as presented in the award-winning film. This three-week guide inspires participants to confront fear and complacency even when faced with opposition from the world around them.
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Because Of Gracia A Film And Faith Conversation Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartThe Because of Gracia Film and Faith Conversation Guide is a different kind of resource from most movie discussion guides, and it’s different from most bible studies. It’s a 45-day experience to spark conversations on the challenges students face every day as Christians. Based on the themes of Because of Gracia, each week’s conversation has info on group activities and then follows up with five days of devotional reflections for a student and his or her conversation partner. Topics and conversations include Practicing Friendship (teen dating and relationships), Choosing Life (pro-life values and ministering to those facing teen pregnancy), and Voicing Faith (defense of one’s faith in public). These Because of Gracia conversations will help students know how to handle the life-altering choices they face everyday– friendships and relationships, dating and falling in love, how to choose life and support those facing teen pregnancy, and how to confidently voicing your faith and beliefs in public. So let this film and faith conversation be a part of their faith journey, and get real with these real-life questions on God, friendship, and love.
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Unboxed : Uncovering New Paradigms For Tomorrow’s Church
$18.99Add to cartWhy live like an artificial when you were designed to be an original? That’s the theme ministry leader entrepreneur Martijn van Tilborgh unpacks as he delivers this challenge for us to become “unboxed.” His premise? God is waiting to empower you to shed the shackles of personal limitations so you can become an authentic change-agent in this world.
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That Deacon Book
$14.99Add to cartIn many churches today, finding true, faithful servants to the church can feel like hunting for unicorns. Lots of people say they want to be like Jesus, but too few are willing to serve like him. “That Deacon Book” was written for pastors, staff, and lay leaders in mind. It can be handed to literally anyone in the church to great benefit.
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Jeremiah-Lamentations NIV Preacher Edition
$39.99Add to cartWhat if you could study Jeremiah & Lamentations with your favorite Bible scholars from across the ages? With The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible, you can! This unique resource is designed to empower pastors and leaders to effectively preach and teach God’s Word. This is much more than a commentary – it takes the best scholarly works available and combines them in a single resource. Inside each volume of The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible, you’ll find: A verse-by-verse outline alongside each passage of Scripture that draws out key concepts. In-depth commentary synthesized from hundreds of trusted sources, including Matthew Henry, John MacArthur, Charles Spurgeon…and many more. Thoughts designed to provide practical application of Scripture for your congregation. Deeper studies that expand on original Greek sources, provide historical background, and explain key points. An Outline & Subject Index designed for topical study – perfect for quickly creating messages on a particular theme. There’s a volume of The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible series for nearly any sermon you can imagine. Explore the full series on our website at lmw.org
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These Are Our Bodies Primary Parent Book
$11.95Add to cartFaith formation resource for children on human sexuality – For use in congregational, home, and school settings This sexuality education resource from a mainline/progressive denominational prospective aids the leader, child (participant), and parent in learning about their body and using skills that enable them to embrace and affirm the wholeness of sexuality as part of who they are. Session plans will address facts about sexuality, vocabulary, decision making, faith and daily life, respect, growth and change, behavior, responsibility, values, prayer, and intentionality in an age appropriate manner for children and their parents. One Leader Guide will cover all ages, with three Parent Books (Preschool: 3- to 5-yearolds, Primary: 6- to 8-year-olds, and Intermediate: 9- to 11-year-olds), and two Participant Books (Primary and Intermediate ages). Session topics include: – We are Wonderfully Made – We are Complex – We are Changing – We are Knowledgeable – We are Equipped – We are Called – We are Growing Up
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Lectionary Stories For Preaching And Teaching Series 2 Cycle B
$19.95Add to cart“A good story of faith … allows us to better see ourselves and our relationships while offering to us an opportunity to consider and know God. We enter into the story and emerge a different person.” – Peter Andrew Smith
Restaurant workers closing up for the night do their duty to prepare the store for the morning crew, despite their impatience to leave. An elderly man finds hope and encouragement in a congregation where he never quite felt like he belonged.
These are the simple, quiet vignettes Smith offers in his third collection of stories.Lectionary Stories for Preaching and Teaching: Series II, Cycle Bis inspired by the details Jesus draws from everyday life in the Gospel of Mark. Likewise, Smith delves into the ordinary to explore the extraordinary power of the Holy Spirit alive from moment to moment today.
Lectionary Stories for Preaching and Teaching is an accessible collection of stories ideal for inviting both experienced disciples and those young in the Christian faith alike to discover the Lord yet at work where and when we least expect Him.
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Like A Phoenix Cycle B
$16.95Add to cartThe season after Pentecost has had several different names over the years. It has been called “Ordinary Time,” which meant that the Sundays were numbered, not that they were common or mundane. It has been called “Kingdomtide” as the celebration of the imminent nature of God’s Kingdom breaking forth in the world as both present and future reality. And it has sometimes just been called “The Time after Pentecost.” Whatever we choose to call it, it is often felt as a slow-down, or a sag in the enthusiasm and energy of the church. Rarely does anything new begin in the summer. It’s a time of waiting for vacations to end and school to begin again so we can get back to the business of doing ministry. The sermons in Like A Phoenix offer the goal of bringing new vigor and vitality into the life of the church even in the hot months of the year when everything and everyone is calling us to slow down and take it easy.
Since the season after Pentecost is drawn out it may be more difficult to come up with sermon ideas. This book will help ease the burden. A busy pastor will have more time to focus things other than sermon preparation, especially during the summer, with vacation time in full-swing.This book may be used for:
Sermon preparation
Independent or group study
Inspirational readingSome Sermon Titles Include:
Together in One Place (Acts 2:1-21)
Meeting Jesus (John 3:1-17)
Meet the Rose Family (Mark 3:20-35)
Little Start, Big Finish (Mark 4:26-34)
A Non-anxious Presence (Mark 4:35-41) -
Hearers To Kneelers To Chosen Cycle B
$12.95Add to cartCSS author, Ron Love’s Hearers to Kneelers to Chosen: The Transformed Life provides Second Lesson sermons for Cycle B for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. These sermons are filled with spiritual guidance and will help you serve your own congregation with fresh ideas.
Some sermon titles include:
“Cathedra” (1 Corinthians 1:3–9)
Wavering Notes by an Uncertain Trumpet (1 Corinthians 1:3–9)
Standing in the Forecastle (1 Thessalonians 5:16–24)
Soli Deo Gloria (Romans 16:25–27)
Abba! Father! (Galatians 4:4–7)
Our Magic Mirror (1 Corinthians 6:12–20) -
Saints Alive : Claiming The Saints For Protestant Preaching
$12.95Add to cartOver 20,000 visit the unincorporated farming community of Maria Stein, Ohio every year to visit the National Shrine of the Holy Relics, which displays around a thousand relics of Roman Catholic saints. Rev. Dr. Alex A. Gondola, Jr. would often visit this peaceful setting and, as he watched devotees come to honor these figures and pray, he realized he didn’t quite “get it.” Could there be spiritual enrichment for him, a Protestant, in a place like this?
Discover the answer for yourself in Saints Alive: Claiming the Saints for Protestant Teaching, sermons from a year Rev. Gondola devoted to preaching on one saint per month. He offers this volume as a companion for pastors and group leaders prepared to take a deep dive into matters of faith, calling and the hope Christ offers the world through his humblest of servants, from St. Augustine to Mother Teresa.
Seasonal sermons include:
St. Patrick: “Christ in All Things” for Lent
Nicholas of Myra: “An Advent Saint” for Advent
You and I: “Called to Be Saints” for Year End/New Year’s Day -
Journeying With Mark
$22.00Add to cartJourneying with Mark offers a brief and accessible guide to the Gospel of Mark. Perfect for personal reflection and sermon preparation, this inspiring resource follows the Revised Common Lectionary. Each chapter corresponds to a season of the liturgical year and the Gospel passages read during that season. The reader will find an introduction to the biblical text that looks at historical and literary themes; imaginative new ways to encounter Mark in preaching and study, including poetry; and reflections on the text’s meaning for contemporary Christian life. Each chapter ends with an action item, reflection questions, and a prayer.
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These Are Our Bodies Preschool Parent Book
$11.95Add to cart* Faith formation resource for children on human sexuality * For use in congregational, home, and school settings This sexuality education resource from a mainline/progressive denominational prospective aids the leader, child (participant), and parent in learning about their body and using skills that enable them to embrace and affirm the wholeness of sexuality as part of who they are. Session plans will address facts about sexuality, vocabulary, decision making, faith and daily life, respect, growth and change, behavior, responsibility, values, prayer, and intentionality in an age appropriate manner for children and their parents. One Leader Guide will cover all ages, with three Parent Books (Preschool: 3- to 5-yearolds, Primary: 6- to 8-year-olds, and Intermediate: 9- to 11-year-olds), and two Participant Books (Primary and Intermediate ages). Session topics include: * We are Wonderfully Made * We are Complex * We are Changing * We are Knowledgeable * We are Equipped * We are Called * We are Growing Up
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Gods Country : Faith Hope And The Future Of The Rural Church
$29.99Add to cartWith the poetic force of Kathleen Norris and the pastoral warmth of Eugene Peterson, Kansas pastor Roth sets forth a vision for vibrant rural churches, for ministry in congregations that bear a profound sense of both loss and possibility, and for harvesting fruits of transformation and renewal. Rooted in stories from Scripture, his own ministry, and interviews with rural church leaders, Roth offers a sturdy theological and practical alternative to church-growth strategies that rely on success stories and flashy metrics.
Reclaiming God’s vision for the rural church, Roth writes, means learning how to praise, abide, watch, pray, grow, work the edges, die, befriend, and dream. In God’s Country, rediscover the stunning abundance of God’s presence in rural communities. Name the ways that the rural church testifies to God’s glory and goodness. Learn to live and love and minister right where you are, no matter how small or unassuming it may seem.
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Renovate Participant Book (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartRenovating a house can be an exciting and rewarding experience. But the act of renovation can often leave the house in a state of disarray, causing stress and frustration. In the same way, God wants to renovate your life by altering the “old you” and creating a “new you” with an improved heart. It’s not going to be easy, and your life might experience some disarray, but renovating with God is the opportunity of a lifetime. Using the Book of Nehemiah, popular author and pastor Jacob Armstrong explores the physical and spiritual renovation experienced by the nation of Judah. Nehemiah knew that his plan for renovating the wall and gates of Jerusalem would be hard work. But equally hard would be the spiritual renovation of the Jewish people as they returned to their homeland. Thankfully, spiritual renovation is not a do-it-yourself project. We need God’s great power working through us to renovate our lives by the power of the Holy Spirit. Chapters include: Never Too Late for a Renovation It Starts with Tears What to Know Before You Build When Others Don’t Like Your Plans Inviting Others to Come Home The Big Reveal Additional components for a six-week study include a comprehensive Leader Guide and a DVD featuring author and pastor Jacob Armstrong.
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5 Means Of Grace Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$13.99Add to cartJohn Wesley gave the Methodist movement (and all Christians in general) a discipleship pathway to follow. Wesley began with Three Simple Rules (or “General Rules”), and followed this instruction a year later with the Five Marks of a Methodist (or “Character of a Methodist”). Over the next decade, Wesley observed the need for continuous renewal of relationships with God and others, so he established a recurring annual process for God’s people to make One Faithful Promise: The Wesley Covenant for Renewal. Wesley confirmed the tendency in each of us for the love of God and others to grow cold, so that we drift away from the gift of God’s unmerited grace. So Wesley showed us ways to reorder our lives through the “means of grace.”
These means are the ordinary channels that God uses to draw us into a fruitful relationship. These five means or channels are:
1. Prayer
2. Searching Scripture
3. Receiving the Lord’s Supper
4. Fasting
5. Conferencing (worship together)This six-week, video-based study will help Christians (new and seasoned) to re-order their lives by recognizing and affirming the outward signs, words, and actions of an invisible divine grace. Through these “means” we receive God’s gifts together, and we experience the power of a spiritual relationship with God.
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Which Way Lord
$14.99Add to cartThe life and travels of the apostle Paul can help us find God’s purpose for our lives. God created every person with a desire for meaning and purpose. Most of us ask how and what do we do to live the purposeful life God intends for each of us? This 6-week church wide series is designed to help us intentionally consider the big question asked by everyone: “What is the purpose of my life?” It wasn’t the Damascus experience only that sent the apostle Paul into a life of evangelism, but the entirety of his life including his traditions, his education, his travels, and his challenges that shaped him for his ministry. Paul traveled a course covering roughly 10,000 miles to spread the Good News throughout the Mediterranean world. After years of prayer and discernment, Paul was certain of his purpose, but he had no idea how God’s plan for him would take shape. This series helps us unpack our life alongside Paul’s life, past and present, to find our purpose and passion. A perfect study series for back-to-school or the beginning of a new year, the series includes a book; DVD with video sessions filmed in Turkey, Israel, and Greece; age-level discussion guides for children, youth, and adults; sermon helps; worship media; daily devotions; and more. Rediscover you are wonderfully made, created for purpose, and equipped to live a life of significance, despite the adversity and detours you will encounter along the way. Join us as we travel to find our purpose together. For more information, visit RobFuquay.com.
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Which Way Lord
$12.99Add to cartThe life and travels of the apostle Paul can help us find God’s purpose for our lives. God created every person with a desire for meaning and purpose. Most of us ask how and what do we do to live the purposeful life God intends for each of us? This 6-week church wide series is designed to help us intentionally consider the big question asked by everyone: “What is the purpose of my life?” It wasn’t the Damascus experience only that sent the apostle Paul into a life of evangelism, but the entirety of his life including his traditions, his education, his travels, and his challenges that shaped him for his ministry. Paul traveled a course covering roughly 10,000 miles to spread the Good News throughout the Mediterranean world. After years of prayer and discernment, Paul was certain of his purpose, but he had no idea how God’s plan for him would take shape. This series helps us unpack our life alongside Paul’s life, past and present, to find our purpose and passion. A perfect study series for back-to-school or the beginning of a new year, the series includes a book; DVD with video sessions filmed in Turkey, Israel, and Greece; age-level discussion guides for children, youth, and adults; sermon helps; worship media; daily devotions; and more. Rediscover you are wonderfully made, created for purpose, and equipped to live a life of significance, despite the adversity and detours you will encounter along the way. Join us as we travel to find our purpose together. For more information, visit RobFuquay.com.
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Good Arguments : Making Your Case In Writing And Public Speaking
$22.00Add to cartThis brief introduction to making effective arguments helps readers to understand the basics of sound reasoning and to learn how to use it to persuade others. Practical, inexpensive, and easy-to-read, the book enables students in a wide variety of courses to improve the clarity of their writing and public speaking. It equips readers to formulate firmly grounded, clearly articulated, and logically arranged arguments, avoid fallacious thinking, and discover how to reason well. This supplemental text is especially suitable for use in Christian colleges and seminaries and includes classroom discussion questions.
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Will Willimons Lectionary Sermon Resource Year B Part 1
$26.99Add to cartWill Willimon is widely acclaimed as one of the top ten preachers in the world. For each Sunday of the Christian year, Will provides just what you need to begin the journey toward a sermon. This guide will stoke, fund, and fuel your imagination while leaving plenty of room to insert your own illustrations, make connections within your congregational context, and speak the Word in your distinctive voice. Guidance from Will Willimon is like sitting down with a trusted clergy friend and asking, “What will you preach next Sunday?”
Year B, Part 1 is part of a six-volume set that includes years A, B, and C (2 volumes per year) in the Revised Common Lectionary.
Each week of sermon resources includes:
1. Readings
2. Theme title
3. Introduction to the Readings
4. Encountering the Text
5. Proclaiming the Text
6. Relating the Text -
Mythical Leader : The Seven Myths Of Leadership
$19.99Add to cartPastor and popular blogger, Ron Edmondson exposes some of the common misunderstandings of leadership through stories from his own experiences, helping leaders develop healthier patterns of individual leadership.
Being a leader involves much more than holding a title. And simply having a leader doesn’t ensure success. This reality has never been more prevalent in the church than now, when so many churches are considered to be plateaued or dying.
Pastor and popular blogger, Ron Edmondson believes this is due to a misunderstanding of what leadership is and what it isn’t. In his work with hundreds of pastors and churches, the most common need he encounters is the need for more effective leadership in the local church. Seminaries may prepare pastors to preach, just as colleges may prepare teachers to teach, but who prepares pastors to lead?
Simply stated: The church needs better leadership.
In The Mythical Leader, Edmondson exposes some of the most common misunderstandings of leadership, shares stories from his own experiences, and will help church leaders develop healthier patterns to improve their individual leadership.
While most people may have a preliminary understanding of many of these myths, they often are not lived out with a great degree of depth in the life of the church leader. Don’t fall prey to these myths! If gone untreated they can be the very thing that prevents a good leader from leading well.
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Introverts In The Church (Expanded)
$20.99Add to cartIntroduction: Can Introverts Thrive In The Church?
1 The Extroverted Church
2 The Introverted Difference
3 Finding Healing
4 Introverted Spirituality
5 Introverted Community And Relationships
6 The Ability To Lead
7 Leading As Ourselves
8 Introverted Evangelism
9 Introverts In Church
Epilogue: Finding Our Place
Questions For Reflection And Discussion
Further Reading
NotesAdditional Info
Introverts are called and gifted by God. But many churches tend to be extroverted places where introverts are marginalized. Some Christians end up feeling like it’s not as faithful to be an introvert. Adam McHugh shows how introverts can live and minister in ways consistent with their personalities. He explains how introverts and extroverts process information and approach relationships differently and how introverts can practice Christian spirituality in ways that fit who they are. With practical illustrations from church and parachurch contexts, McHugh offers ways for introverts to serve, lead, worship and even evangelize effectively. Introverts in the Church is essential reading for any introvert who has ever felt out of place, as well as for church leaders who want to make their churches more welcoming to introverts. This expanded edition has been revised throughout and includes new research on how introverts lead and material for parenting and encouraging introverted children. Discover God’s call and empowerment to thrive as an introvert, for the sake of the church and kingdom. -
These Are Our Bodies Primary Participant Book (Student/Study Guide)
$11.95Add to cart* Faith formation resource for children on human sexuality * For use in congregational, home, and school settings This sexuality education resource from a mainline/progressive denominational prospective aids the leader, child (participant), and parent in learning about their body and using skills that enable them to embrace and affirm the wholeness of sexuality as part of who they are. Session plans will address facts about sexuality, vocabulary, decision making, faith and daily life, respect, growth and change, behavior, responsibility, values, prayer, and intentionality in an age appropriate manner for children and their parents. One Leader Guide will cover all ages, with three Parent Books (Preschool: 3- to 5-yearolds, Primary: 6- to 8-year-olds, and Intermediate: 9- to 11-year-olds), and two Participant Books (Primary and Intermediate ages). Session topics include: * We are Wonderfully Made * We are Complex * We are Changing * We are Knowledgeable * We are Equipped * We are Called * We are Growing Up
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Fear Of The Other Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$10.99Add to cartThis five-week DVD/video based small group study (DVD and Leader Guide) companion to the book, Fear of the Other: No Fear in Love invites readers to consider the Gospel command to love (and not merely tolerate) those considered to be “Other” or outside mainstream Christian culture. Rooted in the faith of Israel and the Christian story and vision, Willimon – in an onscreen conversation with Delia Catalina Ramirez, brings a non-technical, Wesleyan perspective to bear on what may be the hardest thing for people of faith to do: keeping and loving the Other as Other. Emphasizing the biblical mandate to receive Others in their particularity and difference as gifts and mysteries bearing the grace of God, this study also offers a strong critique of the privileged who all too often rush to language of reconciliation and evade the huge inequalities surrounding conversations and practices dealing with xenophobia and injustice. Rooted in the New Testament understanding of Gentile outsiders grafted into the covenant community, this study invites readers to an on-the ground faith that hearkens to a soliciting and revealing God – the God who comes to us again and again through so-called outsiders, strangers, immigrants, and those without status. The 5 video conversations between Will Willimon and Delia Ramirez focus on each of the five chapters of Fear of the Other: Session 1: Saved by the Other Session 2: The Other, My Enemy Session 3: Learning to Fear Like Christians Session 4: Loving the Other in Church Session 5: Jesus, the Other
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Beyond The Offering Plate
$26.00Add to cartEveryone knows that stewardship is more than money and finances. Nevertheless, seldom do we give time to explore the profound concept of stewardship in its many dimensions, including stewardship of time, work, body, mind, spirit, community, technology, and more. Beyond the Offering Plate does just that.
Written by ten engaging pastors, seminary professors, and church leaders, this unique resource offers a diverse and holistic approach to stewardship. In ten accessible chapters, readers will learn how they can faithfully and practically discuss and engage with stewardship on a regular basis. Ideal for church leaders, seminary students, and pastors, this book includes questions for reflection and applications for life together at the end of each chapter. Copeland adds a special section with biblical references and preaching themes at the end of the book.
Featured contributors include:
Margaret P. Aymer, Associate Professor of New Testament at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, Texas
Kathleen A. Cahalan, Professor of Theology at Saint John’s University School of Theology and Seminary in Collegeville, Minnesota
MaryAnn McKibben Dana, author of Sabbath in the Suburbs
David Gambrell, Associate for Worship in the Office of Theology and Worship of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
David P. King, Karen Lake Buttrey Director of the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving and Associate Professor of Philanthropic Studies at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana
Neal D. Presa, pastor and former moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Ellie Roscher, Director of Youth and Story Development at Bethlehem Lutheran Church Twin Cities in Minneapolis and author of How Coffee Saved My Life
Mary Hinkle Shore, pastor of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Brevard, North Carolina
John W. Vest, Visiting Assistant Professor of Evangelism at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia -
Because Of Gracia Theme 2 A Film And Faith Leaders Guide
$5.99Add to cartA Film and Faith Leader’s Guide: Theme 2 Choosing life equips youth pastors and small group leaders to explore the key theme of Choosing life as presented in the award-winning film.This three-session study guide empowers students to address the issues of unplanned and teen pregnancy with confidence, faith, and love.
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Science Of Virtue
$22.00Add to cartThe church and science have drifted apart over the past century. Today the church is often deemed irrelevant by those who trust science, and science is often deemed irrelevant by those whose primary loyalties are to the church. However, this book shows that the new science of virtue–the field of positive psychology–can serve as a bridge point between science and the church and can help renew meaningful conversation.
In essence, positive psychology examines how ordinary people can become happier and more fulfilled. Mark McMinn clarifies how positive psychology can complement Christian faith and promote happiness and personal flourishing. In addition, he shows how the church can help strengthen positive psychology. McMinn brings the church’s experience and wisdom on six virtues–humility, forgiveness, gratitude, grace, hope, and wisdom–into conversation with intriguing scientific findings from positive psychology. Each chapter includes a section addressing Christian counselors who seek to promote happiness and fulfillment in others.
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Mark His Word Cycle B
$15.95Add to cartJesus told his apostles to “count the cost” of following him. For the twelve, it meant leaving their jobs, their homes and families. It meant literally taking up a new life and leaving the old one behind.
What is the cost of following Jesus today?
Frank Ramirez challenges the modern Church as he explores that question in Mark His Word: Cycle B Sermons for Proper 16 through Thanksgiving Based on the Gospel Texts. Using analogies from the space race to a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov to the diary of a Civil War-era abolitionist preacher, Ramirez paints a variety of pictures of what it looks like to act in allegiance to the cause of Christ, to answer the call of the Holy Spirit no matter the consequences.
The pastor who utilizes Mark His Word will see a church reinvigorated in time for Advent, prepared to step forth courageously into the world to live and speak truth to a world dying to know it.
Lessons Include:
“No Turning Back” (John 6:56-69)
“For Us or Against Us?” (Mark 9:38-50)
“Give Thanks for What?” (Matthew 6:25-33) -
Developing A Powerful Praying Church
$8.95Add to cartBlackaby Ministries International
Today’s church faces challenges and crises it can only overcome through prayer. In their latest book, Blackaby and Fisher focus on the adjustments pastors and church leaders must make in their prayer life in order to see a rebirth of God-honoring, world-impacting …
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Feasting On The Word Childrens Sermons For Year B
$24.00Add to cartMany pastors are confused about what to say during children’s time in churches. Feasting on the Word Children’s Sermons for Year B offers practical suggestions for preparing and delivering the children’s sermon. After explaining the importance and purpose of the children’s sermon, noted Christian educator Carol Wehrheim provides a retelling of each Sunday’s Bible story- based on the Revised Common Lectionary-for the entire church year. In addition, she provides a few stories for special Sundays, including the Jewish Celebration of Purim, the Jewish Celebration of Passover, and Thanksgiving Day. This resource provides pastors and other church leaders with fresh, engaging stories that children will understand and enjoy.
Also available: Feasting on the Word Children’s Sermons for Year A and Feasting on the Word Children’s Sermons for Year C.
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Because Of Gracia A Film And Faith Leaders Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$9.99Add to cartBecause of Gracia: A Film and Faith Leader’s Guide equips youth pastors and small group leaders to explore the key themes in this award-winning film through a life-changing discipleship curriculum. The nine-week guide contains three weeks of “Conversations” on three core topics from the film, Practicing Friendship (God’s Design for Relationships), Choosing Life (Teen Pregnancy and the Sanctity of Life), and Voicing Faith (Defending Christianity in Public). The Because of Gracia Leader’s Guide is designed for use with the related Because of Gracia Film and Faith Conversation Guide for students, a unique hybrid experience that offers complementary material for small group sessions, as well as daily reflections for students to use throughout the week in “conversation partner” pairs. The resulting 45-day experience allows young Christians to pursue discipleship with others, while helping them to wrestle with the difficult issues they’re facing today. The Because of Gracia curriculum was created to affirm that with God’s amazing and empowering grace, young people CAN live in a new way.
Take your students on a spiritual journey alongside Gracia, Chase, and the rest of Eastglenn High as they face life-altering decisions, learning that grace is both the gift of mercy when we fail and our empowerment to live in truth and light.
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Financial Management For Episcopal Parishes (Revised)
$38.95Add to cart* Written by CPA working exclusively with parishes of various denominations * Updated to reflect changes in tax law * What to do and how to do it for parishes of all sizes * Real-life examples Experience shows that open and transparent churches engender a greater feeling of trust and willingness on the part of the donor. The policies and processes in Financial Management for Episcopal Parishes, which can be implemented by any size church, allow clergy, vestry, and parishioners to establish and document procedures that enable a financially transparent organization. The book defines the roles of the clergy, staff, vestry, and congregation and outlines what needs to be done by them to design and implement a system of checks and balances for financial oversight and stewardship, in order to protect donations and assets. Throughout the book, real-life examples of processes and procedures that did not work (and why) make for enjoyable reading of an otherwise business-like subject. Every reader will recognize some of them in their own church life.
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Healing For Our Soul Gardens
$16.99Add to cartOne out of three to four women is sexually abused within her lifetime. Though we are all created to flourish and grow, sexual abuse leaves us broken, in pain, and bound by fear and anxiety. Self-blame and shame keeps the secret hidden.
But no one is too damaged to be restored. There is hope.
Kristin Clouse, a sexual abuse survivor, shares her story, and her professional experience as a licensed mental health counselor, to walk with women through the healing and restoration process. Includes study questions, moments of reflection, and creative activities. For use by individuals, counselors, or in a small group setting.
Understand how the abuse of your past relates to your life issues today.
Discover why your life feels chaotic, out of control, or anxiety driven.
Learn healthy ways to address a negative thought process and shame-led thoughts.
Develop new coping skills.
Restore your self-image to what God designed you to be. -
It Has Not Yet Appeared What We Shall Be
$49.99Add to cart1. The Problem And Its Setting
2. Literature Review
3. Exegesis Of Pertinent Passages
4. A Reconsideration Of The Imago Dei
5. Implications And Practical ApplicationsAdditional Info
The doctrine of the imago Dei has been criticized for technically excluding people who suffer from severe cognitive disabilities. With such people in mind, Hammond reexamines the doctrine and sets forth a more accurate and inclusive understanding. This work concludes with implications and practical applications to help seminary professors, pastors, and church members include, embrace, and welcome people with severe intellectual disabilities and their families. -
Imagining The Gospels Cycle B
$13.95Add to cartImagining the Gospels: Cycle B Sermons for Lent and Easter Based on the Gospel Texts is the latest from Rev. Timothy W. Ayers. As a pastor who writes his messages while also writing novels, children’s books, and short dramas, Rev. Ayers found himself working hard to visually create the picture of what was hap-pening in the gospel accounts. Why? These were people lis-tening to Jesus. They would have had emotions about the topics. They would have had little things they recognized when Jesus spoke about lambs, shepherds, and vines. Much like our congregants, there would be nods of recognition toward experiences in their lives. His goal was to get the listener to imagine themselves, with their feelings, and their rea-sons for being in church, to better use their cognitive skills, inside the stories.
At other times, Ayers sought to take them on a week by week journey through the Easter season. He didn’t assume they have a relationship with Christ. He didn’t assume they are vibrant, serving members of the congregation. He only assumed that the listener is seeking something they do not have. He was attempting to take them one step further on a journey from week to week.
At times Rev. Ayers brings humor to the scene in order to lighten the mood of the listener. The body relaxes when we laugh and that helps us to hear the message. Imagining the Gospels hopefully will achieve this.
This book will make life easier for any busy pastor during the Lent and Easter season, by providing a sermon for each and every Sunday, when attendance is likely to be at its highest.
This book has several intended uses:
Sermon ideas
Inspirational reading
Bible study with individuals or groupsSome Sermon Titles Include:
Beginning The Lenten Journey (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21)
Tearing The Sky To Get To You (Mark 1:9-15)
Did I Say That Out Loud? (Mark 8:31-38, Mark 9:2-9)
The Road To The Passover (John 2:13-22)
A Nod Of Recognition (John 3:14-21) -
Redemption To Transformation The Journey Of Lent And Easter Cycle B
$13.95Add to cartIf the Lenten journey is traversed successfully, then we can fully enter into the celebratory time of Easter. Yet, even as we observe these events we must acknowledge that the challenges of the Christian life are ever present. We should never forget British writer G.K. Chesterton’s admonition in What’s Wrong with the World (1910), “The Christian life has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.” The Easter season reminds us that despite the triumph of Christ there will always be challenges to our belief. We seemingly cannot believe unless we see; yet we know that faith often is beyond proof and, thus, beyond sight as well. We are also challenged to discover ways of transforming problematic situations and what appears to be defeat into triumph through the grace of God. Additionally, this great season of grace teaches us that we must continually evaluate what we do and keep our eyes fixed on Christ and his mission and message. Finally, as Jesus ascends to the Father, we come to realize that the Lord’s work in not complete and, therefore, each day presents us with the opportunity to do something to complete the master’s work.
The cycle B second lesson sermons of Reverend Richard Gribble’s Redemption to Transformation: The Journey of Lent and Easter represent an understanding of the challenges presented us through this highly significant and very special journey. The church in its wisdom gives us this opportunity annually to review where we are and, after ascertaining our present position, the challenge to move to higher realms that are more consistent with our common Christian call to holiness. It is hoped that these reflections will be helpful to you as together we travel the path from Lent to Easter, and eventually to Christ and eternal life.
Redemption to Transformation: The Journey of Lent and Easter provides a second lesson sermon for every Sunday of cycle B, which will provide the following advantages:To give busy pastors ideas for their sermon creation
To make the day-to-day life of being a pastor easier
To free up time for counseling, visitation, or just your own leisureSome Sermon Titles Include:
Suffering Leads to Victory (1 Peter 3:18-21)
Enduring the Trails of Faith (Romans 4:13-25)
The Cost of Discipleship (Philippians 2:5-11)
Sacrifice Leads to Life (Hebrews 10:16-25)
Rising to New Life (1 Corinthians 15:1-11) -
Womens Voices And The Practice Of Preaching
$23.99Add to cartExpert, practical help for women who preach or lead worship
Many women preachers and worship leaders have trouble speaking; they struggle to fully use their physical voices. Maintaining that there is often a disconnect between the woman’s self-understanding as a preacher and her own body, Nancy Lammers Gross presents not only techniques but also a theologically empowering paradigm shift to help women fully embody their God-given preaching vocations.
Grounding her work in the biblical story of Miriam, Gross begins with a discussion of how women are instrumental in the work of God. She then tells stories, including her own, of women’s experiences in losing connection to their bodies and their physical voices. Finally, Gross presents a constructive resolution with exercises for discovering and developing a full-body voice.
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Clash Of Kingdoms Discovery Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartLike the Roman Empire, today’s governments or organizations can become centered on power and believe their messages are the “good news.” As Christians, we’re called to proclaim God’s name in all the earth (1 Chronicles 16:8), but how do we to do that in the midst of false gospels?
In this fifteenth volume of That The World May Know , discover how Paul communicated the Good News of Christ to Philippi, a Roman colony that worshipped false gods. Can you live the message as Paul did while he encouraged the church in Philippi to consider itself a colony of heaven, not Rome? Consider your citizenship-and the message you convey to the world-as Ray Vander Lann takes you deeper into the culture of ancient Philippi.
Experience the Bible in historical context, as you walk in the footsteps of the second missionary tour of the Apostle Paul in Greece-in locations like Philippi, Thessaloniki, and Delphi.
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Confident Identity : Christian Strategies To Forget Who You Aren’t And Disc
$21.95Add to cartA Christian counselor walks readers through the steps to find emotional healing when they feel insignificant or not good enough. Multiple assessments and exercises help people discover exactly who God made them to be.
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Grieving A Suicide (Expanded)
$18.00Add to cartIntroduction: For Survivors-the Other Victims Of Suicide
Part I: When Suicide Strikes
1. Shock
2. Turmoil
3. Lament
4. Relinquishment
5. RemembrancePart II: The Lingering Questions
6. Why Did This Happen?
7. Is Suicide The Unforgivable Sin?
8. Where Is God When It Hurts?Part III: Life After Suicide
9. The Spirituality Of God
10. The Healing Community
11. The Lessons Of SuicideEpilogue: Going On
Acknowledgments
Appendix: Resources For Suicide Survivors And Suicide Prevention
Questions For Reflection And Discussion
A Single-Session Discussion Guide For Suicide Survivor Groups
Notes
IndexAdditional Info
A 2003 Finalist in the United Kingdom Christian Book Awards! “Albert,” the neighbor said, “your mom needs you to come home.” That’s how it began for Albert Hsu when his father died. Anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide experiences tremendous shock and trauma. What follows is a confusing mix of emotions-anger, guilt, grief, and despair. Suicide raises heartrending questions: Why did this happen? Why didn’t we see it coming? Could we have done anything to prevent it? How can we go on? Many also wonder if those who choose suicide are doomed to an eternity separated from God and their loved ones. Some may even start asking whether life is worth living at all. After his father’s death, Hsu wrestled with the intense emotional and theological questions surrounding suicide. While acknowledging that there are no easy answers, he draws on the resources of the Christian faith to point suicide survivors to the God who offers comfort in our grief and hope for the future. For those who have lost a loved one to suicide and for their counselors and pastors, this book is an essential companion for the journey toward healing. This revised edition incorporates the latest statistics, has expanded resources for suicide prevention and mental health ministry, and now includes a discussion guide for suicide survivor groups. -
Freedom And Interim Ministry
$13.00Add to cartI have been both an interim minister and what is called a regular, installed minister. Without a doubt in my mind, I say that the interim minister has much more freedom than the regular, installed minister. In Freedom and Interim Ministry: 12 Freedoms of the Interim, I show how the interim minister has more freedom than the regular minister.
