So, you've signed up for your theological studies; you've weathered the storm of those early weeks of language study; you've coped with your early forays into biblical exegesis; and you've been given a sketch of the history of the early church. There's been some spiritual highs and some frustrating lows. You can see perhaps just the beginnings of the benefits of the process of theological education creeping into your ministry - such precious minutes of it as you can grab, anyway. But sensing a deadline looming, you go to the relevant webpage on your seminary website and discover that a strange beast is lying in wait for you: the theology essay. How do you write a theology essay? The aim of this book is to tell you how. With humour and insight, Michael Jensen, who has taught theology for a number of years in the UK and Australia, explains not only what makes for a good theology essay but what makes for good theology. If you want to make the most of your theological education, then this book is for you. Michael Jensen (D. Phil, Oxon) teaches at Sydney's Moore Theological College and longs for his students to have a deep understanding of the knowledge of God. His previous books include Martyrdom and Identity: The Self on Trial (T&T Clark, 2010). He is married to Catherine and they have four children.

Designed to help pastors and worship planners integrate four of the most important biblical themes into worship, each volume provides complete services for a number of different scripture passages. These resources can be used in conjunction with the new Bible Quest curriculum or in other worship contexts, including churches that follow the lectionary.

The services, written by pastors and lay leaders from several denominations, feature a call to worship, an opening prayer, a prayer of confession, words of assurance, prayers of the people, a children's sermon, two sermon starters, an offering meditation, an offering prayer, a communion meditation, and a benediction.

Nearly a decade after that classic study, congregations are still struggling with what quality Christian education is and how to build and maintain it.

In this concise and easy-to-use guide, Karen Tye offers practical help, addressing the vital areas that need attention when planning for and building a Christian education program.

Questions and exercises at the end of each chapter help pastors, Christian educators, seminary students, and laity apply the information to their own unique setting, building on the basics to renew and transform Christian education.

With dramatic artwork and colorful detail, "The Story of Jesus" tells the story of Jesus in a fresh, biblical way--from the angelic appearance to Zechariah through Joseph and Mary's escape to Egypt. Available in packs of 25, "The Story of Jesus" is ideal for church programs, community outreach, family devotions, and as an outreach tool for children or adults.

The unassuming title "Home for Good" and the original motivation Mother Loyola had in writing this book-that is, to help young ladies who were finishing boarding school to make the right choices in life-both utterly belie the groundbreaking significance of its content. While Mother Loyola's King of the Golden City is charming and entertaining; while her catechesis books are both informative and inspiring; and while her devotional works are unparalleled in their ability to reach the hearts of their readers, Home for Good is a rock on which an unshakable faith can be built amidst the storms and calms of everyday life.
Having spent most of her adult life in educating young ladies, Mother Loyola was intimately familiar with the character of youth as well as the challenges young people face when confronted with the temptations of worldliness. Though this book was written with her young charges in mind, it is no less relevant to young men, who endure the same enticements-and in our own culture, perhaps even greater ones. It is a clarion call to young Catholics to hold fast to their faith and morals in a world that seeks to destroy that faith at every opportunity. Readers of all ages, both male and female, have equally to gain by reading from this book regularly.

Explore a new way of pastoral care that enables caregivers to develop relationships and provide meaningful pastoral care to the children and youth they encounter! The Pastoral Care of Children focuses on the need for pastoral caregivers, clergy and chaplains to develop relationships with youths and gives you suggestions to overcome the anxiety associated with caring for an acutely ill child through unique, playful, and child-centered approaches. Many pastoral caregivers have high anxiety when children are ill or hurt, are unsure how to have a substantive conversation with a nine-year old, or their fears of what could be said keep them from hearing what children have to say. The effective approaches in The Pastoral Care of Children are illustrated to assist you with serving the spiritual needs of children. You will explore actual pastoral care experiences that will help you gain confidence in handling situations such as a teenager's desire to be baptized out of fear of death when neither he nor his parents believe in Christ. Intelligent and heartfelt, this valuable book gives you a complete theological exploration of ministering to children who may ask you "Why me?", "Why do people have to die?" and "What happens to children if they die before they are baptized?" The Pastoral Care of Children helps you answer these questions with meaningful responses that are genuine and grounded with yourself, and reflect the parents'beliefs. Some of the help you will discover in The Pastoral Care of Children includes: understanding the similarities and differences of caring for children in comparison to adults, such as different vocabularies but similar emotions, and realizing that children are very perceptive using play as a tool, for example referring to a puppet's experience in reference to the child to eliminate the child's self-consciousness and help him or her open up confronting pastoral issues in acute care settings, such as fear, guilty feelings, and anger, from parents, family and the child helping children recover from mental health issues such as depression, eating disorders, and identity and self-esteem issues by using cognitive therapy conducting prayer and rituals with children such as baptism, naming ceremonies, anointings, and funerals to assist the child and family through this spiritual rite of passage Complete with child and family focused approaches for dealing with the questions surrounding death, The Pastoral Care of Children also provides you with several cited scriptures, and a list of questions you may be asked by a child who is facing death. You will learn from actual circumstances pastoral caregivers have encountered and discover how to approach topics, and answer questions on God and death. The Pastoral Care of Children, an extremely resourceful book that will assist you in overcoming anxiety and help you deliver thoughtful and uplifting pastoral care to children and youth.

Adventure is extensively used as a teaching tool throughout the Bible. In God of Adventure Bruce Dunning proposes 19 principles from the Bible that outline the validity, core concepts and teaching approaches of Christian adventure learning. "Finally A book has been written for adventure learning leaders that is grounded in Scripture. This well-researched and highly readable text will be a valuable resource for Christian educators desiring a stronger theological basis for their practice." -Ken Kalisch, Author of "The Role of the Instructor in the Outward Bound Educational Process," Associate Professor of Outdoor Education, Montreat College, Montreat, North Carolina "Adventure learning has long been with us but seldom understood or valued as the powerful tool for learning and personal transformation as this book so clearly shows it to be. Bruce Dunning has crafted a solid biblical treatise for adventure learning with great applications to ministry and personal life. It is valuable reading for any youth worker or Christian educator who is willing to go beyond the normative approaches to the teaching-learning paradigm in helping young people become all that God first created them to be." -John H. Wilkinson, Executive Director of Toronto YFC, Toronto, Ontario "I would buy this for the Appendix alone." -Stephen J. Cyphers, Outdoor Leadership Program, Colorado Christian University BRUCE DUNNING has been involved in Christian camping every year of his life and has worked full-time at Medeba Adventure Learning Centre since 1980. Medeba is located in West Guilford, Ontario, Canada and specializes in Christian adventure learning. Its mission is to use adventure and community to challenge young people to continually say "yes" to God. Bruce also has extensive experience within the world-wide Christian camping movement. www.GodofAdventure.com

Have you tried all the new youth programs? Have you planned one too many wacky activities? Are you frustrated about the size of the youth group? Here's an approach to ministry that takes youth work seriously. Family-based youth ministry is about adults discipling teens one-on-one and in groups. It is about involving not just the nuclear family but the whole church family--from singles to older adults. More important, it's about incorporating youth into the life of your church. So stop worrying about the size of your youth group or your budget. Mark DeVries's refreshing approach to youth ministry will show you how your church can reach today's teens and how you can keep them involved in the life of the church. Whether you are a parent, a youth pastor or a church member who cares about teens, you will find in this book an entirely different approach to youth ministry that will build mature Christian believers.

The call to live a Godly life... Follow Dr. Jeremiah through the letters of 1 and 2 Peter in a chapter-by-chapter study that will help you understand what it meant to the people at the time it was written, and what it means to Christians today. Peter-one of Jesus' closest disciples-composed two short letters to Jewish and Gentile believers who were suffering persecution. He offers encouragement and instructions on perseverance and holy, righteous living. He teaches that God can actually use hardships to strengthen Christians and their witness. Each of this study's twelve lessons is clearly organized to include: Getting Started: An opening question to introduce you to the lesson. Setting the Stage: A short reflection to explain the context of the study. Exploring the Text: The Scripture reading for the lesson with related study questions. Reviewing the Story: Questions to help you identify key points in the reading. Applying the Message: Questions to help you apply the key ideas to their lives. Reflecting on the Meaning: A closing reflection on the key teachings in the lesson. -ABOUT THE SERIES- The Jeremiah Bible Study Series captures Dr. David Jeremiah's forty-plus years of commitment in teaching the Word of God. In each study, you'll gain insights into the text, identify key stories and themes, and be challenged to apply the truths you uncover to your life. By the end of each study, you'll come away with a clear and memorable understanding of that Bible book. Each study also contains a Leader's Guide.

This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published by: The Luther press in 1908 in 169 pages; Subjects: Lutheran Church; Law / General; Law / Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice; Law / International; Literary Collections / Essays; Religion / Christianity / Lutheran; Travel / Essays & Travelogues;

How teachers teach is not necessarily how learners learn. Educators focus on content delivery, but much of the learning process involves affective and behavioral factors. Veteran educators Muriel and Duane Elmer provide a holistic model for how learning takes place. Their learning cycle moves beyond mere recall of information to helping learners value and apply learning in ways that are integrated into behavior and practice. With insights from neuroscience, educational psychology, and learning theory, they address how the brain can become more receptive, how emotional environments affect learning, and how learning tasks and experiential exercises can help foster the development of skills and habit formation. They do so in the context of a thoroughly Christian framework that emphasizes not just knowledge, but character, integrity, and wisdom. Learning can be accomplished in and beyond the classroom to move from content mastery to life experience. Here are sound avenues for helping your students become the lifelong learners God intends.

"Beginning With Christ," designed for new believers, provides a format for telling others about salvation and the Christian life. Topics include assurance of salvation, answered prayer, victory over sin, forgiveness, and guidance. Includes Scripture memory cards.

There is nothing so perfect in the world as to be quite above objection and criticism. The very sun which gives us light and warmth is not free from spots, yet notwithstanding these defects it does not desist from its regular duty. It behooves us in like manner to carry on to the best of our ability what has been entrusted to us, and strive constantly to make our lives fruitful. When the truths set forth in this book were revealed to me by the Master they deeply affected my life, and some of them have been used by me in my sermons and addresses in Europe, America, Africa, Australia, and Asia. At the request of many friends I have now gathered them together in this little book, and though it is possible that there are defects in setting them forth, I am sure that those who read them with prayer and an unprejudiced mind will benefit from them as I have.

The Classic Guide for Educators of Any Denomination

What mission calls us to teach? How do societal issues-social oppression, poverty, politics-affect what we teach, how we teach it, and how people learn? Who are our students? What and when are they ready to learn? Once we understand these foundations, how can we facilitate an educational experience that has the power to shape and transform people and communities in life-giving ways of faith?

In this classic text, Thomas Groome asks and answers these central questions, providing a comprehensive integration of the history, theory, and practice of modern religious education for a new generation of educators. His self-reflective approach-shared praxis-will inspire school teachers, students of religious education, pastors, parents, and religious educators in local churches who want to understand themselves, their mission, and their surroundings-to inform, form, and transform their students' lives.

"Anyone tugged by the calling at the heart of education or religious life can only cheer for the republication of this classic book."-Robert Kegan, Harvard Graduate School of Education

"Whether returning Christian Religious Education or reading it for the first time, readers will discover freshness leaping from the page; you will soon know why this formative book of the past is a beacon for the future-informative, inspiring, and wise!"-Mary Elizabeth Moore, professor of theology and Christian education, Claremont School of Theology

To succeed in the world today, students need an education thatequips them to recognize current trends, to be creative andflexible to respond to changing circumstances, to demonstrate soundjudgment to work for society's good, and to gain the ability tocommunicate persuasively. This book argues for returning to theclassical liberal arts educational system so that students areprepared for lifelong learning.

Hay & Stardust offers a collection of worship and meditation resources for the season of Christmastide - including Christmas Day, Holy Innocents' Day, Winter and New Year, Epiphany, Homelessness Sunday and Candlemas. It also contains eight Christmas plays; props include puppets, knuckle-dusters, big flashes, sticking plasters, sacks and stars! You have been warned. Just like its companion volume Candles & Conifers, which covers the period from All Saints to Christmas Eve, the material in this book has been contributed by Iona Community members, associates, friends and others and reflects their diverse experiences of life. When sleet blinds you, hail drowns out voices, and snow hides your path, may you discern in each flake a star, image of the one that guided the Magi, and find that in the pain of birth, death or change there is a light to guide you. - From `Winter Blessing' by Mary Palmer