This five-session small group Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately) by noted teacher and historian, Ray Vander Laan, is volume one of the That the World May Know series. Vander Laan illustrates how God guided his people to a specific place - the Promised Land - to impact the world both in ancient times and today. Just like the time and place of our birth shapes our journey, so the land and culture of the Hebrew people shaped their story. Promised Land provides wonderful context to the stories of that time. Faith Lessons is a unique video series that brings God's Word to life with astounding relevance. By weaving together the Bible's fascinating historical, cultural, religious, and geographical contexts, teacher and historian Ray Vander Laan reveals unique insights into the Scriptures' significance for modern believers. Each lesson: Focuses on passages of Scripture explored in the DVD Includes sidebars, maps, photos and other study tools Features questions that facilitate discussion and inspire personal reflection Include 30 personal Bible studies to help you deepen your learning experience between sessions, and turn lessons from the past into applications that impact how you live out your faith today. Filmed on location in Israel, these illuminating "faith lessons" afford a new understanding of the Bible that will ground your convictions and transform your life. The Faith Lessons video series is ideal for use in small groups, personal and family Bible studies, and adult Sunday school. Individual believers and families will gain vital insights from long-ago times and cultures through this innovative approach to Bible study. Lessons include: Standing at the Crossroads -Tel Gezer Wet Feet - Jordan River First Fruits - Tel Jericho Confronting Evil - Tel Beth Shemesh Iron of Culture - Tel Azekah Designed for use with the Faith Lessons Promised Land Video Study (sold separately).

Churches throughout the world's developed nations are losing members in droves. As a result, parishes are downsizing or consolidating to remain intact-- in many cases to just survive. There must be a reason, and this author opines that antiquated Church doctrines are no longer relevant to 21st century minds. If religions are to remain viable entities in our rapidly accelerating world, they must be willing to re-examine their outdated doctrinal systems to better resonate with an educated populace. Primitive man created his gods and goddesses-and fi nally "God"-- in his own image, believing that these entities manipulated the forces of nature that were beyond his own ability to control. In doing so, he imbued his divine creations with his own best-and worst-attributes because they were what he witnessed around, and about, himself. His gods, like their mythological counterparts, were often powerful, tyrannical and self-aggrandizing beings, demanding praise, worship and blood sacrifi ce; gods who would wrathfully smite those who would not bow down in worship to them. But that was then, and this is now. Instead of rigid religious rules and antiquated beliefs, our psyches crave an inner directed experience of the Divine from which we can derive a sense of value, purpose and meaning for the lives we live. This book hopes to sound a wake-up call to the world's major religions before they fi nd themselves placed on dusty library shelves, among other "quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore." i Unless this reconstruction can happen, religion, as it has existed for millennia, cannot help but wither and die.

The Bible, American Standard Version, Verseless Second Edition is a bible without verse numbers from Genesis to Revelation in a single volume, single column format. It is only the text with chapter numbers. It does not have a preface, foreword, index, concordance, study notes, or maps. Certain distinguishable features of this new edition include the durable cloth hardcover, the flowing arrangement of the text, and the highly readable font. A marked improvement in quality and appearance.

In the tradition of parents telling their children stories from the Bible, this new edition of a delightful book presents a continuous narrative of the Scriptures that brings the great heroes and events from the Bible to life. It is unabridged and features 168 stories from the Old and New Testaments, copious BW illustrations, a presentation page and a retouched version of the 1904 cover. Since it was written in 1904 by an American Methodist Episcopal Clergyman, Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, over 4 million copies have been distributed.