The Alpha Guide is a companion to either the Alpha Film Series or Alpha with Nicky Gumbel. This guide is divided up by session with an easy-to-read outline so that guests can follow along during each talk. With simple bullet-point organization and plenty of room for notes, the guide functions as an invaluable resource to the guest during Alpha, and as a reference tool for individual reflection long after Alpha. It is considered an essential resource for Alpha guests as well as the host and helpers on Alpha. Alpha creates an environment of hospitality where people can bring their friends, family, and work colleagues to explore the Christian faith, ask questions, and share their point of view. Alpha makes it easy to invite friends to have spiritual conversations which explore life's biggest questions in a safe and respectful way. Alpha's approach to hospitality, faith, and discussion is designed to welcome everyone, especially those who might not describe themselves as Christians or church-goers. Each session includes time for a large group meal, short teaching, and small group discussion.

Is there really any hope for a spiritual way of living that actually works?

Admiration, comfort, love, power, success, pleasure, escape, control: we’re all addicted to something, whether we realize it or not.

In this deeply heartfelt book, author John Ortberg offers a guide for transformation when we know something needs to change but we can’t do it on our own. Rooted in the teachings of Jesus and using the framework of AAs 12 steps as a guide, Ortberg offers all of us a freeing roadmap for:

• Giving up our exhausting and fruitless efforts to fix, manage, and control our own lives
• Distinguishing between when willpower is essential and when it is futile
• Discovering how God can do for us what we can’t do for ourselves, and
• Living authentically, joyfully and in communion with God and other people

In Steps, find what’s needed to experience a new freedom, a new fellowship and a new happiness no matter our circumstances.

In The Fight for Female: Reclaiming Our Divine Identity, New York Times bestselling author delivers an urgent, power-filled call to women to understand their enemy, to reclaim their value as females created on purpose, and take their place in the spiritual battleground.

The very idea of womanhood is being assailed on all fronts: sexualized by our culture, eliminated from language, and silenced by the church. For decades, both sexes have been systematically undermined and stripped of their strength. Male and female were originally created as a power union, but that turned into a power struggle. For years, women listened to the lie that to be powerful they needed to act like men. Now the tables have turned, with men acting like women.

This attack is more than cultural, it is spiritual. Revelation 12:17 portrays a dragon enraged with women who has declared war on our children. Our enemy, terrified of what--and whom--we were made to reflect, seeks to blur the lines, distorting the very idea of what it means for women to bear God's divine image.

We were made for this fight. It will require honest, intimate conversations to emerge with God-inspired answers equal to the challenges of our day. Our marriages, children, churches, communities, and futures depend on it. It's time to unite, confident in our divine identity, clear in our commission, and courageous in our calling, to confront the darkness with love and light. It's time to fight for female!

Will their faith prove to be stronger than their fear? Sensible and independent, Cassie Barton never anticipated being on her own at thirty-two. But after the death of her father and the marriage of her sister, she's found joy in her work as a seamstress. When a minor accident leaves her unable to sew, she decides to use her time to compile a book of stories about the men working on the Santa Fe Railroad. But worry begins to grow in San Marcial as Mexican revolutionaries set out to destroy the railroad--and put many lives in danger. With Europe at war and his longtime friend Cassie injured, railroad worker Brandon DuBarko is burdened by his troubles. He promised Cassie's father he would watch over her, but as their comfortable friendship slowly transforms into something deeper, he feels trapped by a secret from his youth. When a vengeful man reappears in Brandon's life, intent on causing conflict, Brandon must face his past before he can move forward. As the danger intensifies, Cassie and Brandon must rely on God to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of a brighter future. "The poignant rendering of transformation through faith will resonate with inspirational readers."--Publishers Weekly on Beyond the Desert Sands

Be still. For some, these two simple words a welcome invitation to slow down. For others, they feel impossible, out of reach in our increasingly noisy world, or simply just too hard to maintain. There is another way. In fact, there are many. In this practical, easy-to-read guide, Brian Heasley explores the multitude of rhythms of Christian prayer and devotion available to every believer. From memorising scripture and prayer running to noticing beauty everywhere, he demonstrates how we don't need to be static for our hearts to be still, and how even in the midst of a full, busy life, we can spend quiet time with God. Be Still is a prayer book for anyone looking for ways to revitalise the way they pray or who is struggling to make space for devotional time with God. Packed full of ideas for different ways to pray and tips and advice for how to build prayer practices into everyday life, Brian's book will change the way you think about prayer and devotion and equip you with all the tools you need to deepen your relationship with God. You can use the book individually or in small groups, or read it alongside 24-7 Prayer's new Be Still prayer course. It also makes a great resource for youth leaders looking to help teenagers cultivate daily rhythms of prayer and spend more quiet time with God, or as a gift for people starting out on their faith journey or those returning to faith after a while. Join Brian Heasley, and discover the different ways in which we can all Be Still.

The True Story Behind the Powerful Film ALL SAINTS

Newly ordained, Michael Spurlock's first assignment is to pastor All Saints, a struggling church with twenty-five devoted members and a mortgage well beyond its means. The best option may be to close the church rather than watch it wither any further. But when All Saints hesitantly risks welcoming a community of Karen refugees from Burma--former farmers scrambling for a fresh start in America--Michael feels they may be called to an improbable new mission.

Michael must choose between closing the church and selling the property--or listening to a still, small voice challenging the people of All Saints to risk it all and provide much-needed hope to their new community. Together, they risk everything to plant seeds for a future that might just save them all.

Discover the true story that inspired the film while also diving deeper into the background of the Karen people, the church, and how a community of believers rally to reach out to those in need, yet receive far more than they dared imagine.

The Reverend Michael Spurlock served All Saints Episcopal Church in Smyrna, Tennessee, for three years. He is currently on the clergy staff at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City. Michael, his wife, Aimee, and their two children live in New York City..

Die wêreld het meer sonneblommense nodig mense wat hulle koppe na die Son toe draai, mense wat meer en meer soos die Son wil wees eerder as giftige ivies, stink Afrikaners, stekelrige kaktusse, knieserige rosies of klaende hangkop wilgers.

Transformasie begin as ons ons deel begin doen en verantwoordelikheid aanvaar om ons negatiewe gedagtes elke dag bewustelik by die alomteenwoordige Son te vernuwe. Ons moet onsself daagliks toewy in die bestudering van die Meester Sonneblom se lieflike kwaliteite en meer van die vrug van sy liefdevolle genadige gees te kweek deur ons gedagtes by hom te vernuwe. Om ou negatiewe gewoontes en denke af te breek vra baie herhaling en volharding.

Kom ons maak dit ons doel om elke dag 'n rapsie meer na Jesus se voorbeeld van christenskap en menswees te lyk. Met hierdie 260 sonneblom dagstukkies nooi Susan jou uit na 'n avontuur van sonsoek al agter die Son aan.

Geniet die sonneblomreis.