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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Christianity > Christian life & practice
Finding your heart’s true home - This 365-day devotional carefully unpacks the meaning of each part of the Serenity Prayer and how to apply it to our lives.
We live helter-skelter lives; each day we are pulled here and there by circumstances, both good and bad. We feel as if we are living at the mercy of events beyond our control. We long for peace, for a safe, serene and secure place where we can be at rest. In response to this search for peace, beloved author and minister Trevor Hudson reminds readers of the Serenity Prayer—a simple prayer that most of us know by heart:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.
This 365-day devotional carefully unpacks the meaning of each part of the prayer and how to apply it to our lives. As we let the Serenity Prayer show us how to live each day in friendship with our Lord and Creator, God’s gift of peace will grow and fill us to overflowing. “Seeking Serenity”—a practical suggestion at the end of each day’s devotion—will also help the reader put this prayer into practice, and begin to develop the clear life-focus that brings the peace our hearts long for.
Trevor Hudson is a Methodist minister, currently seconded to The Institute for Creative Conversations at the Northfield Methodist Church, South Africa. He exercises a ministry of teaching and lecturing around the country and internationally, and is the author of several books including The Serenity Prayer, Questions God Asks Us, Holy Spirit Here and Now, Friendship with God and Towards a Closer Walk with God.
40 Days with the Holy Spirit will inspire you to encounter God in
fresh and surprising ways. You'll develop stronger spiritual
muscles as you breathe, read, reflect, and pray-all with an eye to
cultivating a relationship with the least familiar member of the
Trinity. The book is interactive, offering the opportunity to write
and pray each day; intelligent, rooted in a rigorous study of
scripture, from Genesis to Revelation; and inviting, with 40
insightful, well-planned 20-30 minute daily exercises; and
prayerful, with 40 original prayers that capture each day's insight
into the deep, spiritual work of the Holy Spirit.
What does it mean to be a Christian citizen of the United States
today? This book challenges the argument that the United States is
a Christian nation, and that the American founding and the American
Constitution can be linked to a Christian understanding of the
state and society. Vincent Rougeau argues that the United States
has become an economic empire of consumer citizens, led by elites
who seek to secure American political and economic dominance around
the world. Freedom and democracy for the oppressed are the public
themes put forward to justify this dominance, but the driving force
behind American hegemony is the need to sustain economic growth and
maintain social peace in the United States.
This state of affairs raises important questions for Christians.
In recent times, religious voices in American politics have taken
on a moralistic stridency. Individual issues like abortion and
same-sex marriage have been used to "guilt" many Christians into
voting Republican or to discourage them from voting at all. Using
Catholic social teaching as a point of departure, Rougeau argues
that conservative American politics is driven by views of the
individual and the state that are inconsistent with mainstream
Catholic social thought. Without thinking more broadly about their
religious traditions and how those traditions should inform their
engagement with the modern world, it is unwise for Christians to
think that pressing single issues is an appropriate way to
actualize their faith commitments in the public realm.
Rougeau offers concerned Christians new tools for a critical
assessment of legal, political and social questions. He proceeds
from the fundamental Christian premise ofthe God-given dignity of
the human person, a dignity that can only be realized fully in
community with others. This means that the Christian cannot simply
focus on individual empowerment as 'freedom' but must also seek to
nurture community participation and solidarity for all citizens.
Rougeau demonstrates what happens when these ideas are applied to a
variety of specific contemporary issues involving the family,
economics, and race. He concludes by offering a new model of public
engagement for Christians in the American Empire.
In a post-9/11 world, Christian. Muslim. Friend. lays out a path
toward authentic friendship between Christians and Muslims. Most
similar books either teach Christians to evangelize Muslims or else
downplay their Christian commitments. The author, who has lived and
worked among and befriended Muslims for more than fifty years,
offers readers a third way: holding onto the Christ-centered
commitments of their faith while cultivating peaceful friendship
with Muslims.
Maybe it's time to stop ignoring God, and start embracing him
instead . . .
It started with a simple question: How can we help them? It became
an international movement called NEGU: Never Ever Give Up. When
Jessica Joy Rees was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor at
age 11, she chose to focus not on herself but on bringing joy and
hope to other children suffering from cancer. During the ten months
she battled cancer, she and her family worked in the "Joy Factory"
(originally their garage) making JoyJars (R)-packages filled with
toys, games, and love for other kids with cancer. Jessie first
handed them out personally at the hospital where she was being
treated, but the effort blossomed quickly and there were soon
thousands of JoyJars (R) being distributed across the United States
and to over fifteen countries. Today, more than 100,000 kids have
received JoyJars (R), and they continue shipping each week to kids
in over 200 children's hospitals and 175 Ronald McDonald Houses.
Jessie lost her battle with cancer in January 2012, but her message
lives on in the Jessie Rees Foundation, which has become a beacon
of hope for families fighting pediatric cancer. Join the movement
at www.negu.org.
"Rediscovering the Beauty of Sabbath Rest"
Our bodies and souls were "created "to rest--regularly--and when
they do, we experience heightened productivity, improved health,
and more meaningful relationships.
In these pages you'll find wonderful stories of the senator's
spiritual journey, as well as special Sabbath experiences with
political colleagues such as Bill Clinton, Al and Tipper Gore, John
McCain, Colin Powell, George W. Bush, Bob Dole, and others. Senator
Joe Lieberman shows how his observance of the Sabbath has not only
enriched his personal and spiritual life but enhanced his career
and enabled him to serve his country to his greatest capacity.
This book is an illuminating guide on critical, sensitive and
salvation-based topics that will intrigue, educate, inspire and
above all promote the doctrine of salvation as the focal point of
the entire Bible. The book highlights the fact that humanity's
greatest need has never been the food that satiates his hunger, the
building that gives him shelter, the status that makes him relevant
or anything that caters to his physical needs, albeit it consists
of topics that discuss humanity's daily needs and how they can be
acquired in line with God's word. It adequately emphasises that the
salvation of souls constitutes the greatest need and should occupy
the top echelon of our priorities. The scripture says that faith
comes by hearing and hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). But
what happens when the word is not correctly taught, or correctly
taught but not completely broken down and hence not properly
understood? This book breaks down biblical lessons in a manner that
will be easily understood by readers. Many have read the Bible and
taught from it wrongly because they missed the central theme of the
Bible which is the salvation of our souls but the words in this
book have been written to help the reader avoid reading the Bible
amiss and achieve this precious and priceless gift - salvation -
that will make existence in this world a meaningful one. The
lessons readers will learn are drawn from the context of the
scriptures, the express commands of God and from the lives and
experiences of several biblical characters. Readers are made to
examine some biblical characters' strengths and flaws, successes
and failures and extract valuable lessons that will guide them on
the journey through life. While people can scan through the Bible
and get a general understanding of the stories within these
chapters, this book will draw the readers' attention to vital
lessons they may not have noticed.
This book is an illuminating guide on critical, sensitive and
salvation-based topics that will intrigue, educate, inspire and
above all promote the doctrine of salvation as the focal point of
the entire Bible. The book highlights the fact that humanity's
greatest need has never been the food that satiates his hunger, the
building that gives him shelter, the status that makes him relevant
or anything that caters to his physical needs, albeit it consists
of topics that discuss humanity's daily needs and how they can be
acquired in line with God's word. It adequately emphasises that the
salvation of souls constitutes the greatest need and should occupy
the top echelon of our priorities. The scripture says that faith
comes by hearing and hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). But
what happens when the word is not correctly taught, or correctly
taught but not completely broken down and hence not properly
understood? This book breaks down biblical lessons in a manner that
will be easily understood by readers. Many have read the Bible and
taught from it wrongly because they missed the central theme of the
Bible which is the salvation of our souls but the words in this
book have been written to help the reader avoid reading the Bible
amiss and achieve this precious and priceless gift - salvation -
that will make existence in this world a meaningful one. The
lessons readers will learn are drawn from the context of the
scriptures, the express commands of God and from the lives and
experiences of several biblical characters. Readers are made to
examine some biblical characters' strengths and flaws, successes
and failures and extract valuable lessons that will guide them on
the journey through life. While people can scan through the Bible
and get a general understanding of the stories within these
chapters, this book will draw the readers' attention to vital
lessons they may not have noticed.
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