Exodus is the Rosetta stone for unlocking the Old Testament and the thread of redemption throughout Scripture. The exodus served as the primary model of God’s idea of redemption, not just in the Old Testament but even in the New, where it is used as one of the keys to understanding the meaning of the cross of Christ. Over six sessions, participants in this Bible study will walk through the first 15 chapters of Exodus. You’ll relive the experience as God hears the cries of His people and responds by sending a deliverer, ultimately giving us a pattern for recognizing His work in the world. (6 sessions)

Session Topics:

• Problem
• Deliverer
• Discouragement
• Deliverance
• Redemption
• Worship

An easy-to-learn, easy-to-use tool for in-depth Bible study

With a patented reference system beloved and acclaimed for more than five generations, the Thompson® Chain-Reference® Bible is unparalleled in its ability to enrich personal devotions, topical study, and sermon preparation. This easy-to-learn, easy-to-use system enables you to see the breadth of Scripture’s teachings on thousands of topics. With over 100,000 references listed in the Bible’s margins, covering over 8,000 topics, the chain-reference system is an ideal tool for comprehensive topical study. You can also expand your Bible study with even more tools, including biographical sketches, an archeological supplement, and outlines of each book of the Bible. The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible allows Scripture to interpret itself without commentaries.

Features:

• Full text of the English Standard Version (ESV)
• Easy to understand Chain-Reference System with over 100,000 references in the margins
• References cover over 8,000 topics, each with its own pilot number for exhaustive topical study
• Complete alphabetical and numerical indices listing all 8,000 topics with corresponding pilot numbers and Bible references for comprehensive topical study
• Bible study aids such as biographical sketches of the most prominent people in the Bible, an archeological supplement, glossary, concordance, Bible harmonies, and outlines of each book of the Bible
• Key Verses and Key Thoughts provide basic information you can use to develop your own study
• Verse Analysis shows the topics and themes of every verse and provides easy reference to other verses with the same topics or themes
• 16-page full-color map section
• Words of Christ in red
• Presentation page for gift-giving
• Satin ribbon marker
• 8.3-point type size

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.

ANNA WEEPS over the phone with her best friend as she describes a marriage that feels hopeless and lifeless. No matter what she tries, her husband cannot seem to see her, care about her, or change the behavior that is destroying their marriage and their family. Jake is alone. He assumed that by age thirty he would be well on his way to his dream of a successful career, marriage, and starting a family. Instead, Jake works an unmotivating job and can't seem to gain the courage to talk to the woman he admires from afar. Even after losing significant weight, Lily still views herself as several sizes larger than she is and doesn't connect someone discussing"a thin woman" as describing her. Can you relate to these scenarios and forms of shame? Perhaps your experiences have been different, but despite its manifestation, shame is something we all endure. WHAT IS SHAME? Shame is the feeling of "not good enough," according to our own standard or our perception of someone else's standard for us. It's what keeps us from being honest about our struggles, sins, and less-than-perfect moments. Whereas guilt is associated with actions, shame taints your entire identity. At its core, shame is fear of weakness, failure, or unworthiness being unveiled for all to see. It commonly masquerades as embarrassment, and it shows up when you attempt something new, or when you're unsure of your place in a group. The ultimate origin of shame is no less dark than the Accuser of our souls himself, Satan. The Evil One always wants us to doubt whether we belong to the kingdom, whether God loves us, and whether we are truly forgiven and free of our sin and others' sin against us. THE GREAT SHAME EXCHANGE How can we break the cycle of reacting to shame with more shame? In the "great shame exchange," Jesus took our shame and clothed us with joy. The gospel--the good news of Jesus Christ--means that through Jesus's life, death on a cross, and resurrection from the grave, all of our shame is exchanged for honor, beauty, joy, comfort, justice, favor, and freedom. This shame exchange is costly. It is very costly for Christ, but not for us. All it costs us is the humility of admitting we cannot cover our own shame. We receive honor; he took our shame. We are lavished with grace; he was stained with our sin. We receive salvation; he experienced damnation. When Jesus cried, "It is finished" from the cross, he bore our sin, guilt, and shame, that we might know forgiveness, redemption, and freedom. Consider the good news Jesus offers: - Jesus comes to give honor instead of dishonor. - Jesus clothes you with beauty, removing the ashes of shame you've worn for your sin or for the sinful atrocities committed against you. - He comforts you as you mourn. - Whether in this life or the one to come, he brings justice for the injustice you've suffered. - Jesus brings favor instead of the vague cloud of constant disapproval. FIGHTING THE BATTLEAGAINST SHAME Bringing Shame into the Light of Community Shame thrives in secrecy. But fighting against shame moves you out of your lonely bunker of one into vibrant community. It does so one brave conversation at a time. It does so one relationship at a time. It will not be smooth and seamless. Expect your initial attempts to be flawed and broken and bumpy. Meeting Shame with the Grace of Forgiveness The Bible is unique in its approach to community because it holds in tension both the ideal vision of people living in harmony with one another and the reality that our sin and brokenness will often disrupt this harmony. It allows for repair of the inevitable fissures that happen as we try to love one another perfectly with hearts that are imperfect. Living in the reality of God's forgiveness of us requires a posture of forgiveness toward others. And when we receive forgiveness from others, it makes us grateful for God's forgiveness of us, and the cycle of redemption rolls along like the reassuring tide of the ocean's waves. Scripture provides God's instruction for living in community: Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (Colossians 3:12-13) FREEDOM FROM SHAME The battle against shame is definitively won through the gospel of Jesus and his victory over sin and death--the freedom that follows Christ's victory arrives through something as simple and as hard as faith. This type of faith agrees you cannot rescue yourself from your shame, that your attempts to clothe yourself have been as futile as the fig-leaf loin cloths our first parents in Adam and Eve crafted. It's a faith that addresses the complication of shame mingled with guilt. This faith gives you an underlying confidence that your sin has truly been atoned for and taken away by a dying-now-resurrected Savior. By faith, we know that there will be no more mourning or tears or death in the life to come. We look back to the Garden of Eden to see that there was no shame before sin. Unashamed. It's where we began, and it's our destiny as the redeemed ones in Christ. The Christian's ultimate hope for shame is that we will be clothed in the honor of Jesus Christ when we stand before God in all his glory. Focusing on this sure and true shame-free destiny gives us hope to keep going--to keep battling shame's dark lies, to enlist others into our journeys with us, and to seek to make our church communities a small though imperfect taste of the life to come.

Many parents have taken a defeatist approach toward understanding their teens, and not without good reason; it does often seem hopeless, after all. But that's where you, the volunteer youth worker, come in. Mark Oestreicher shows that Understanding Today's Teenager is both possible and rewarding, if one has the right tools. Marko explores the dimensions of nature vs. nurture, brain activity, culture, biology, and emotional development, all of which lead teenagers to do the wacky things they do that adults don't understand and often can't remember having done themselves. Marko also reminds us that adolescent development doesn't end at the age of 18 just because United States law says it does. A Volunteer Youth Worker's Guide to Understanding Today's Teenager uses a combination of science, logic, and compassion to help bring us back from the cliff edge and remember why we started working with teens in the first place. Use this book as a jumping-off point to re-ignite your passion for teens.