This perfectly delightful and all-inclusive resource covers Years A, B, and C of the liturgical cycle. It is perfect for parishes who schedule a childrens Liturgy of the Word as well as for those who simply want materials to prepare children for the weekly liturgy. It is geared to ages 5-8 and for each week of the lectionary cycle there are creative hand-out activity sheets that involve children in the scriptural message. Best of all, it offers informative background notes and directions for liturgy leaders, parents, catechists, and all who work with parish children. This is a must-have resource for every parish.

Dante's Divine Comedy is widely considered to be one of the most significant works of literature ever written. It is renowned not only for its ability to make truths known but also for its power to make them loved. It captures centuries of thought on sin, love, community, moral living, God's work in history, and God's ineffable beauty. Like a Gothic cathedral, the beauty of this great poem can be appreciated at first glance, but only with a guide can its complexity and layers of meaning be fully comprehended. This accessible introduction to Dante, which also serves as a primer to the Divine Comedy, helps readers better appreciate and understand Dante's spiritual masterpiece. Jason Baxter, an expert on Dante, covers all the basic themes of the Divine Comedy, such as sin, redemption, virtue, and vice. The book contains a general introduction to Dante and a specific introduction to each canticle (Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso), making it especially well suited for classroom and homeschool use.

Theological field education, in which a ministry student steps out of the classroom and begins practicing with the supervision of a mentor, is a critical part of accredited ministry programs. Engage equips both students and their supervisor-mentors to engage in this important opportunity with energy and imagination, and it prepares students for the challenging work of integrating theory into real-world practice. Engage provides coaching from recognized experts in the arts of ministry: preaching, administration, evangelism, pastoral care, public ministry, leadership, faith formation, liturgical arts and more. Other chapters address themes such as race, gender, and ministry across faith traditions (or no faith tradition). The book addresses field education in a range of contexts-from churches to non-profits. Engage offers a valuable resource for students making the most of their transition from the classroom into real world ministry with all its joys and many challenges.

Author, historian and keen cultural observer Phyllis Tickle invites us to join her in examining the changing face of Christianity and culture. Phyllis surveys 2000 years of Western history, identifying the great upheavals that occur in Western culture and Christianity every 500 years. The last was the Great Reformation of the 1500 s; the next is happening now. What are the implications of this Great Emergence, both culturally and spiritually? What are the key questions and issues that need to be addressed? Where might we be headed next? And, perhaps most importantly, where are you, at this moment? Might you be an emergence Christian?

The six sessions are: 1) Emergence 101, 2) Where Now Is the Authority? 3) The 20th Century and Emergence, 4) Gifts from Other Times, 5) How Then Shall We Live? and 6) Hallmarks of Emergence

The Participant s Workbook contains all the material needed for use by class participants as well as notes for the class leader to facilitate each session; leadership can be shared among members of the group.

DVD SOLD SEPARATELY There are six sessions on the DVD. Each session begins with a video presentation by Phyllis Tickle, lasting from 10-15 minutes. Ms. Tickle s presentation is followed by filmed interaction with a small group. The Participant Workbook then helps your small group join the dialogue in your own setting.

Phyllis Tickle, founding editor of the religion department of Publisher s Weekly, is frequently quoted in print sources like USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, and NY Times as well as in electronic media like PBS, NPR, Hallmark Channel and innumerable blogs and websites. She is an authority on religion in America and a much sought after lecturer and workshop leader. In addition to lectures and numerous essays, Tickle is the author of over two dozen books in religions and spirituality."

During his sixty years of ministry, Dr. Charles Stanley has faithfully shared the biblical
principles that have guided him and helped him grow in his knowledge, service, and
love of God. The Charles Stanley Bible Studies captures his many years of teaching
on these principles in twelve lessons and will guide readers on how to apply them in
practical ways to their everyday situations.

Each lesson includes:

• Overview: A brief look at what is covered in the lesson
• Life's Questions: A teaching from Dr. Stanley that unpacks the topic of the lesson
• Living the Principle: Application and Bible study questions based on the key points
• Reflection: Key takeaways to put into practice today and tomorrow
• Notes and Prayer Requests: A closing section to record any insights and needs

The Godly Play(R) approach helps children explore their faith through story, to gain religious language, and to enhance their spiritual experience through wonder and play. Based on Montessori principles and developed using a spiral curriculum, the Godly Play(R) method services children through early, middle, and late childhood and beyond. Revised and expanded, The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 4, offers new concepts, new terminology, new illustrations, and a new structure that stem from more than 10 years of using Godly Play(R) with children across the world. Thirty to forty percent of the text is new or revised, including a new lesson, revised Introduction, and a full Appendix.

We are story-making people. We love reading stories-and we love hearing the personal stories of others. We need stories, or narratives, to make sense of our world. And those stories shape our lives. What is the story you have been told about the gospel? About God? About the Christian life? About Jesus? About the cross? About yourself? About heaven? Your answers to these questions will form a story that will determine how your life will go. The answers reveal your ability to trust, to love, to hope-and even your capacity for joy. Any story worth giving the power to shape our lives must pass a simple test: Is it beautiful, good, and true? If it is, then it is a magnificent story-and that is where transformation takes place. From James Bryan Smith, author of the bestselling book The Good and Beautiful God, comes this spiritual formation resource meant to help both individuals and groups understand the magnificent story of Christ in their lives. Soon to be followed by The Magnificent Journey: Living Deep in the Kingdom (Fall 2018) and The Magnificent Mission: Called and Sent by the Storyteller (Fall 2019), the field-tested material within includes spiritual practices at the end of each chapter and a group discussion guide. Uncover the true story of beauty, goodness, and truth that will satisfy the ultimate longings of your heart.

You don't need to abandon your life to get it back. You can restore it with sustainable practices that are within your reach. And you will never be the same... We live in soul-scorching times. The 24-7 onslaught of contemporary life-with its never-ending feed of global tragedies, demands for our attention, and pressures of work, family, and friends-has left us feeling ragged, wrung-out, and emptied. But if we have no margin in our lives, how do we find room to change anything? In this life-changing video Bible study (DVD/digital downloads sold separately), John Eldredge distills a lifetime of wisdom into five practical and ready-to-implement practices for putting your life back together: The one-minute pause, Benevolent detachment, Practicing kindness, Getting outside, and Stepping back from technology. Together, these simple practices will add up to enable you to begin recovery, care for the neglected places in your soul, and rediscover the hidden life of God in you. Rest assured, the graces offered in this study are within reach of normal life. They're practicable and refreshing. God wants to come to us and restore our lives. We just need to put ourselves in places that allow us to receive his help. Designed for use with Get Your Life Back Video Study (sold separately).

Many young Bible scholars are passionate for the Scriptures. But is passion enough? In A Little Book for New Bible Scholars, Randolph Richards and Joseph Dodson encourage young students of the Bible to add substance to their zeal-the kind of substance that comes from the sweat and toil of hard study. "Just as we should avoid knowledge without love," they write, "we should also avoid love without knowledge." Aimed at beginners, this concise overview offers a wealth of good advice, warns of potential pitfalls, and includes wisdom from a variety of other biblical scholars as well as stories from the authors' own long experience in the guild. Full of warmth, humor, and an infectious love for Scripture, this book invites a new generation of young scholars to roll up their sleeves and dig into the complex, captivating world of the Bible.

Drawing on examples from British world expressions of Christianity, this collection further greater understanding of religion as a critical element of modern children's and young people's history. It builds on emerging scholarship that challenges the view that religion had a solely negative impact on nineteenth- and twentieth-century children, or that 'secularization' is the only lens to apply to childhood and religion. Putting forth the argument that religion was an abiding influence among British world children throughout the nineteenth and most of the twentieth centuries, this volume places 'religion' at the center of analysis and discussion. At the same time, it positions the religious factor within a broader social and cultural framework. The essays focus on the historical contexts in which religion was formative for children in various 'British' settings denoted as 'Anglo' or 'colonial' during the nineteenth and early- to mid-twentieth centuries. These contexts include mission fields, churches, families, Sunday schools, camps, schools and youth movements. Together they are treated as 'sites' in which religion contributed to identity formation, albeit in different ways relating to such factors as gender, race, disability and denomination. The contributors develop this subject for childhoods that were experienced largely, but not exclusively, outside the 'metropole', in a diversity of geographical settings. By extending the geographic range, even within the British world, it provides a more rounded perspective on children's global engagement with religion.

Many of us have felt the temptation to opt for a domesticated version of the gospel. We want enough to make us happy and secure, but not so much that it really affects our lives. We want ecstasy not repentance, security not selfless love and service. We may not like to admit it, but the temptation is there. It is nothing new, but perhaps it is especially strong today. Many changes in society and increasing self-indulgence all put pressure on believers to water down the gospel and its impact on our lives. The apostle Paul saw the insidious evil of similar influences in the Roman Empire of his day, and recognized that these pressures could harm the fledgling Christian community in Philippi. He couldn't visit them, but he wrote to encourage them to maintain basic Christian commitments and to be on guard against an array of dangers: temptations from within and seduction and opposition from without. In 'Basics for Believers', Don Carson opens up the life-transforming lessons of Philippians, showing us how we can put the whole gospel first, learn to live as disciples of Christ, and never give up the Christian walk.

With this new lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. When complete, the twelve volumes of the series will cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints' Day.

For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays--one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclaimation of the Word on any given occasion.

The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series will follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume will contain an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.

Ephesians was written to remind us who we are. It's about refamiliarizing ourselves with our identities in Christ so that we don't have to live under the crushing weight of heartache and disappointment. In his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul gives us beautiful insight into the Lord's redemptive power. In this six-session video Bible study (video streaming included), Lori Wilhite draws on her experience as the pastor's wife of a large congregation to share the truth of what Paul tells the Ephesians about identity, unity, and the impact these things have on our hearts, our focus, and our love for God. 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!). Scripture memory cards and coloring pages. Too often, our shoulders slump under the weight of family struggles, financial stress, and feelings of insecurity. We are pushed down by insignificance, insecurity, and an overwhelming sense of powerlessness and discouragement. You are not meant to be under that burden any longer. You are a chosen child of God, saved by His grace, forgiven and free. In the Ephesians Study Guide, you'll learn how the book of Ephesians reveals what God has done, is doing, and will continue to do-so that you can walk confidently in him with head held high. Watch on any device! 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. -Beautiful Word Bible Study Series- What book of the Bible do you turn to for wisdom about the situation you find yourself in? Where do you go for words of comfort when you're feeling overwhelmed, lost, or frustrated in life? The Beautiful Word Bible Study series makes the Bible come alive in such a way that you know where to turn no matter where you find yourself on your spiritual journey. Featuring celebrated authors and teachers, like Margaret Feinberg and Jada Edwards, each guide is a creative and illumination journey through one book of the Bible.

Year B, Volume 1: Advent through Transfiguration. With this new lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox Press offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. When complete, the twelve volumes of the series will cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints Day. For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. They might focus on the Gospel text, for instance, by reading all four essays provided for that text, or they might explore connections between the Hebrew Bible, Psalm, Gospel, and Epistle texts by reading the theological essays for each one. Each lectionary year will consist of four volumes, one for the Advent and Christmas season, one for Lent and Easter, and one for each half of Ordinary Time. While the twelve volumes of the series will follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume will contain an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers may make use of its contents.

Why is there so little agreement on what it means to be a Christian? In this eight-session video-based Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), join pastor and bestselling author Andy Stanley as he examines the characteristics Jesus used to define those who follow him and the implications these characteristics have for believers today. In Christian: It's Not What You Think, you'll learn: The one word that should be descriptive of every Christian. How Jesus' followers should treat those who are outside the faith. Why people love Jesus but can't stand his followers. So, what does it mean to be Christian? Curiously, the term 'Christian' was a label used by outsiders to define Jesus' followers. Jesus simply used 'disciple' to describe his followers and stressed the fact that they would be known by their love-a radical concept not only in their day, but in ours as well. Throughout these eight sessions, Andy Stanley unpacks the qualities Jesus prescribes for his followers that made them unique. What if believers today embodied these traits and put them before all others? Would the non-believing world put aside its derisive definition of 'Christian' and instead know us by our love? Sessions include: Brand Recognition Quitters Insiders, Outsiders Showing Up When Gracie Met Truthy Angry Birds Loopholes Working It Out Designed for use with the Christian Video Study 9780310693352 (sold separately).

An essential course of study for church leaders and candidates for Christian ministry 'Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching' (1 Tim. 4:16) This course is a study of the three New Testament Epistles traditionally attributed to the apostle Paul - The 'Pastoral Epistles' - 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. This course-book will make the student aware of the issues surrounding the authorship, date and purpose of these epistles; and discuss of the principles of early church theology, practice and governance described within them. This course is meant to help the student discover how we can apply these principles to the 21st century Church, and so equip the student for Christian ministry as they lead the church of God in a modern context.