Being 'church' with older people in care homes, congregations and the community Messy Vintage is Christ-centred and creative, full of celebration and hospitality and open to all, aspiring to include people of all ages while specifically reaching out to older people. A typical session involves hands-on creative activities to explore a Bible story, a short celebration with story, song and prayer, and refreshments. Whether you're just getting started with Messy Vintage or looking for new session material, this book offers practical advice and resources to help you reach out to the older people in your community. 'The Messy Vintage team always make me feel welcome - they are worth their weight in gold.' Messy Vintage participant 'We love Messy Vintage. It's like a breath of fresh air!' Care home social activities coordinator

How and why did the early church grow in the first four hundred years despite disincentives, harassment, and occasional persecution? In this unique historical study, veteran scholar Alan Kreider delivers the fruit of a lifetime of study as he tells the amazing story of the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Challenging traditional understandings, Kreider contends the church grew because the virtue of patience was of central importance in the life and witness of the early Christians. They wrote about patience, not evangelism, and reflected on prayer, catechesis, and worship, yet the church grew--not by specific strategies but by patient ferment.

Many Christians are nervous about politics - isn't the political world murky and sleazy, a den of deceit and backstairs deals? At the same time, the image of Christians in politics isn't great either - often seen as judgemental hypocrites, intolerant and hateful control freaks... shouldn't this mean that faith and politics should be kept firmly apart? In A Mucky Business, Tim Farron, former Leader of the Liberal Democrats Party and friends, explore and defend why Christianity and politics should and must work together. If Christians are to love their neighbours, they need to engage with the issues that affect everyone. Why should Christians leave their beliefs at the door when they enter public life? No one else does! Tim Farron shares his experience as the UK's best known Christian MP and draws on case studies from across the political spectrum. Many of these case studies come from his successful A Mucky Business podcast. Demonstrating that it's possible to be both a Christian and to step into the political world with confidence. A Mucky Business will both inspired and better equip christians to care about politics, pray knowledgeably, and engage with politics effectively.

How can we ignite faith in the next generation? We are all in a relay race called life. The Baton is Truth that leads to faith in Jesus Christ. Each generation receives the Baton from the previous generation, who runs the race to the best of their ability and is then responsible for passing it smoothly and securely to the next generation. As parents, grandparents, and mentors, we must be intentional as we seek to ignite faith in the next generation by receiving, running with, and relaying the Truth that leads to personal faith in Jesus Christ. Join Anne Graham Lotz and Rachel-Ruth Lotz Wright for this five-session study as they demonstrate a family Bible study discussion, plus four ways to ignite faith in the next generation, centered around your Witness, Worship, Walk, and Work. Intentionally following Jesus in these aspects of your daily life will make you more effective as you seek to ignite faith in the next generation. This study guide includes: Individual access to five streaming video talks from Anne and Rachel-Ruth Weekly individual Bible studies Group discussion questions A Facilitator's Guide Answers to frequently-asked questions Sessions and video run times: Bible Study Workshop (46:00) Our Witness (25:00) Our Worship (24:00) Our Walk (30:00) Our Work (29:00) This study guide has everything you need for a full Bible study experience, including: The study guide itself-with discussion and reflection questions, video notes, and a leader's guide. An individual access code to stream all video sessions online. (You don't need to buy a DVD!) Streaming video access code included. Access code subject to expiration after 12/31/2027. Code may be redeemed only by the recipient of this package. Code may not be transferred or sold separately from this package. Internet connection required. Void where prohibited, taxed, or restricted by law. Additional offer details inside.

Despite its size, Ely has always been one of the most wealthy and important dioceses in the country. The essays here focus on the careers of its bishops, with additional chapters on its buildings and holdings. The diocese of Ely, formed out of the huge diocese of Lincoln, was established in 1109 in St Etheldreda's Isle of Ely, and the ancient Abbey became Ely Cathedral Priory. Covering at first only the Isle and Cambridgeshire, it grewimmensely in 1837 with the addition of Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire and West Suffolk. The latter two counties left the diocese in 1914, but a substantial part of West Norfolk was added soon after. Until the nineteenth century Ely was one of the wealthiest dioceses in the country, and in every century there were notable appointments to the bishopric. Few of the bishops were promoted elsewhere; for most it was the culmination of their career, and manyhad made significant contributions, both to national life and to scholarship, before their preferment to Ely. They included men of the calibre of Lancelot Andrewes in the seventeenth century, the renowned book-collector John Moorein the eighteenth, and James Russell Woodford, founder of the Theological College, in the nineteenth. In essays each spanning about a century, experts in the field explore the lives and careers of its bishops, and their families and social contacts, examine their impact on the diocese, and their role in the wider Church in England. Other chapters consider such areas as the estates, the residences, the works of art and the library and archives. Overall, they chart the remarkable development over nine hundred years of one of the smallest, richest and youngest of the traditional dioceses of England. Peter Meadows is manuscript librarian in Cambridge University Library. Contributors: Nicholas Karn, Nicholas Vincent, Benjamin Thompson, Peter Meadows, Felicity Heal, Ian Atherton, Evelyn Lord, Frances Knight, Brian Watchorn

Bestselling, Easy-to-Use Spiritual Gifts Resource for Group Use This trusted spiritual gifts resources has been helping individuals and congregations learn about their unique giftings for generations. Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow is the quintessential group resource. Comprehensive and easy to understand, this guide includes the questionnaire and will help you and your group identify the gifts God has given you. More than that, you will discover how each gift works so that you and your group or congregation can use your unique gifts to help your church and community flourish.

To seek and find God is everything.
In his forty-three years of seeking after God, Francis Frangipane has learned one simple (yet essential) truth...
It is in seeking God, that we actually find Him.
The deliberate movement of our hearts toward God leads us into far more than a simple answer to our need--it leads us straight to Him. We discover God to be an ally whose wisdom is all encompassing and whose power can transform all things with just one look.
In "I Will Be Found by You" he shares a collection of some of his best writings on the topic, both old and new, to reveal the key to seeking God and possessing a heart after God--the key that unlocks everything important.

Holiness and hedonism. Lonesomeness and community. Tradition and progress. Highly regarded commentator on Christianity and popular culture Rodney Clapp argues that these great tensions form the bedrock of American history and our current culture. Utilizing the life and music of Johnny Cash to illustrate these and other American contradictions, he probes these phenomena with sharp theological questions--seeking the language and knowledge that will enable us to reach across political and cultural divides and encourage a more graceful and constructive negotiation of current contradictions.

The mission of God has a church. So the church needs to be in sync with the mission of God. This is the guiding philosophy of the Forge Missions Training Network, which has helped church leaders and laypeople alike all over the world to reach their neighbors, their neighborhoods and their communities with the gospel. In these guides you and your friends will be equipped to be missionaries where you are--which is why God has a church in the first place. In Mission: Living for the Purposes of God you and your friends will consider how your life and faith experience would change if you conceived of yourselves not as church members but as ambassadors for Christ. You'll explore what a mission-shaped life looks like in your context, and how you can more fully calibrate your life around God's life-giving mission in the world. Other volumes in the Forge Guides for Missional Conversation: Community: Living as the People of God Culture: Living in the Places of God Power: Living by the Spirit of God Vision: Living Under the Promises of God

Too many males abuse the power they have. Often those males grow up without healthy role models and so, while they look like men, they act like boys. Only now there are adult consequences to their actions. And many of us are caught in the shifting cultural ideas about manhood, unsure of how to make sound decisions or truly be a man. Every day we find evidence that the role of men at home, at work, and out in the world is deeply misinterpreted. In Male vs. Man, Dondre Whitfield equips us to become men rather than simply "grown males." Men are healthy and productive servant-leaders who bring positive change to their communities. Males are self-serving and stuck in negative cycles that we hear and read about daily. They create chaos instead of cultivating calm. Male vs. Man is an uplifting playbook for men who want to level up. It will help men and women alike understand what real manhood is, based on biblical wisdom as well as hard-earned lessons from someone who has been there. With practical guidance and a strong spiritual foundation, Dondre shows how to cultivate the life-changing spiritual, emotional, and psychological attributes of servant leadership at home, at work, and in our communities.

This book engages with Christian church traditions and disability issues in Africa, focusing on Zimbabwe in particular. It critically reflects on how the church has not done much to intentionally minister 'to and with' persons with disabilities. In the context of this volume, 'ministering to' is concerned with creating worshipping space for persons with disabilities; while 'ministering with' is connecting and identifying with persons with disabilities to meet their needs from the material life of the church. The author considers a stewardship model of disability as an appropriate ministerial response to transform lives in poverty-stricken postcolonial contexts. The argument put forth is that the church is a living organism endowed with spiritual and material resources, and that these resources should be appropriated to marginalised stakeholders.

DeYoung shares seven reasons why he encouraged his church to switch Bible translations to the ESV.

A few years into his current pastoral role, Kevin DeYoung was faced with a church that needed to replace its well-worn pew Bibles. DeYoung wrote to his congregation, outlining seven reasons why he preferred the English Standard Version (ESV) and was proposing its adoption. Among his top reasons for switching to the ESV DeYoung noted its essentially literal translation philosophy, avoidance of over- and under-translation, consistency in translating important Greek and Hebrew words, and retention of important literary features.

DeYoung's letter has been newly edited and put into booklet form. Sold individually or in packs of ten, Why Our Church Switched to the ESV is an excellent tool for pastors or lay leaders seeking to learn more about the English Standard Version.

Word Guild 2012 Canadian Christian Writing Award Honorable Mention, The Grace Irwin Prize (2013) 2012 Book of the Year Award, Foreword Magazine The history of women interpreters of the Bible is a neglected area of study. Marion Taylor presents a one-volume reference tool that introduces readers to a wide array of women interpreters of the Bible from the entire history of Christianity. Her research has implications for understanding biblical interpretation--especially the history of interpretation--and influencing contemporary study of women and the Bible. Contributions by 130 top scholars introduce foremothers of the faith who address issues of interpretation that continue to be relevant to faith communities today, such as women's roles in the church and synagogue and the idea of religious feminism. Women's interpretations also raise awareness about differences in the ways women and men may read the Scriptures in light of differences in their life experiences. This handbook will prove useful to ministers as well as to students of the Bible, who will be inspired, provoked, and challenged by the women introduced here. The volume will also provide a foundation for further detailed research and analysis. Interpreters include Elizabeth Rice Achtemeier, Saint Birgitta of Sweden, Catherine Mumford Booth, Anne Bradstreet, Catherine of Siena, Clare of Assisi, Egeria, Elizabeth I, Hildegard, Julian of Norwich, Therese of Lisieux, Marcella, Henrietta C. Mears, Florence Nightingale, Phoebe Palmer, Faltonia Betitia Proba, Pandita Ramabai, Christina Georgina Rossetti, Dorothy Leigh Sayers, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriet Beecher Stowe, St. Teresa of Avila, Sojourner Truth, and Susanna Wesley.

We're called to be like Jesus, not like each other - so why are most Western churches predominantly middle class? Could it be that we're reaching out to people in poverty, but struggling to connect them into church life? Natalie Williams and Paul Brown know all too well that those saved from working-class backgrounds often find themselves discipled effectively - but into middle classism rather than authentic Christianity. Drawing on their own experiences, and mixing theory with practical application, they explore the invisible divides that prevent churches from becoming places of true inclusion and keep poor and working-class people on the edges of faith. Packed full of surprising insights and helpful advice, Invisible Divides will change the way you see church life. Essential reading for anyone concerned with the class divide within the church, it will challenge you to look at the ways in which we inadvertently exclude, alienate and offend people who aren't like us, and equip you to start working towards making church a more open, inclusive space for everyone. Jesus calls for us all to follow him, no matter our background; together, we can break down the invisible divides between us so that people from all walks of life can come to know Christ and find family in our churches.

In this six-session video study (video streaming code included) bestselling author Dan Kimball guides you step-by-step through making sense of the most misunderstood, difficult, and disturbing Bible passages. This study guide has everything you need for a full Bible study experience, including: The study guide itself-with discussion and reflection questions, video notes, and a leader's guide. An individual access code to stream all six video sessions online (you don't need to buy a DVD!). For centuries, the Bible was called "the Good Book," a moral and religious text that guides us into a relationship with God and shows us the right way to live. Today, however, some people argue the Bible is outdated and harmful, with many Christians unaware of some of the odd and disturbing things the Bible says or how to understand them. Whether you're a Christian, a doubter, or someone exploring the Bible for the first time, Dan Kimball is your guide to understanding and contextualizing passages in Scripture that seem backward on topics related to women, science, violence, slavery, and world religions. Filled with stories, visual illustrations, and memes reflecting popular cultural objections, How (Not) to Read the Bible is a lifeline for individuals who are confused or discouraged with questions about the Bible. Sessions include: Never Read a Bible Verse Stranger Things Boys' Club Christianity Jesus Riding a Dinosaur My God Can Beat Up Your God Rated NC-17 This study can be done in youth groups, single's groups, small groups, Sunday classes, and by individuals. *Streaming video access code included. Access code subject to expiration after 12/31/2027. Code may be redeemed only by the recipient of this package. Code may not be transferred or sold separately from this package. Internet connection required. Void where prohibited, taxed, or restricted by law. Additional offer details inside.