Incredible stories and the inspiration behind the most popular Christmas songs, including Jingle Bells, Mary, Did You Know?, The First Noel, O Holy Night, Silver Bells, and White Christmas. Ringing along with the chimes in Silver Bells. Laughing along with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Holding a candle while singing a chorus of Silent Night. The songs that you've sung since you were a child continue to bring Christmas to life each year. Now, you'll learn how your favorite Christmas songs came to be. Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas reveals the surprising and fascinating origins of secular and religious Christmas hits. Here are spiritual insights, heartwarming stories, and tales of the humble men and women of decades past who wrote what remain the most beloved Christmas songs today. Discover how: Iconic artists such as Judy Garland and Nat King Cole were influenced and inspired to record instant classics like Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and The Christmas Song. God-inspired words given to an unlikely musician became Mary, Did You Know? One of the oldest Christmas songs still sung today, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, changed from a hymn sung in Latin only in Catholic masses to a carol embraced by every Christian denomination in the world. The songs of Christmas reveal the true joy to be found in the celebration of Christ's birth and the spirit of the season that is anticipated each year all over the world. These stories will warm your heart and bring extra significance to the carols you sing each December.

Every Moment Holy, Volume II: Death, Grief, and Hope, is a book of liturgies for seasons of dying and grieving -- liturgies such as "A Liturgy for the Scattering of Ashes" or "A Liturgy for the Loss of a Spouse" or "A Liturgy for the Wake of a National Tragedy."

These are ways of reminding us that our lives are shot through with sacred purpose and eternal hopes even when, especially when, suffering and pain threaten to overwhelm us.

Based on the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year C, Volume 2 is an invaluable aid that provides liturgical pieces needed in preparing for worship each week. Written and compiled by a team of eleven ecumenical and seasoned liturgy writers under the creative leadership of Kimberly Bracken Long, this resource offers a multitude of poetic prayers and responsive readings for all parts of worship and is meant to complement existing denominational resources. In addition, the weekly entries include questions for reflection and household prayers for morning and evening that are drawn from the lectionary, allowing churches to include them in their bulletin for parishioners to use throughout the week.

During times of the year when two different tracks of Old Testament texts are offered by the RCL, this resource offers an entire set of materials for each track. Also, a CD-ROM is included with each volume that enables planners to easily cut and paste relevant readings, prayers, and questions into worship bulletins.

Prayer is foundational to the Christian life, but many people donaEURO (TM)t understand it. What is it for? How does it work? Why do we do it? This short and accessible book explains what prayer is, why it exists and how it can encourage us in our life of faith. Written by a pastor with years of teaching and counselling experience, Why We Pray doesnaEURO (TM)t simply tell readers why they should pray, but instead focuses on four blessing-filled reasons that will help us want to pray. Rather than feeling discouraged and disheartened by our inconsistency in prayer, we feel reinvigorated to approach God with confidence and joy, delighted by the privilege of talking directly to our heavenly Father.

Have we replaced the glory of God with our church programs. If so, is there anything we can do to get the glory of God back into our gatherings and individual lives? While we have good music, well-written songs and history to learn from, we can still miss having the presence of God in our meetings the way it was in Bible times. In this challenging and often provocative book, Jarrod Cooper deals with these important questions. Providing plenty of biblical illustrations to support his concerns, Jarrod shakes up more of our conventional thinking on the subject or worship. Can we for example only worship in the presence of the microphone, worship leader and powerpoint. What if all these were stripped away and it was just God and us? What would our worship be like then?

From the bestselling author of Wild Hope - a beautiful book for Advent. Open a window each day of Advent onto the natural world. Here are twenty-five fresh images of the foundational truth that lies beneath and within the Christ story. In twenty-five portraits depicting how wild animals of the northern hemisphere ingeniously adapt when darkness and cold descend, we see and hear as if for the first time the ancient wisdom of Advent: The dark is not an end but the way a new beginning comes. Short, daily reflections that paint vivid, poetic images of familiar animals, paired with charming original wood-cuts, will engage both children and adults. Anyone who does not want to be caught, again, in the consumer hype of "the holiday season" but rather to be taken up into the eternal truth the natural world reveals will welcome this book.

Most evangelical Christians know of Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Bible, but few are as familiar with his A Method for Prayer, with Scripture Expressions Proper to Be Used under Each Head.

The WorshipMusic.com 2003 Book of the Year Andy Park writes, "I've learned through the years that becoming a worship leader involves far more than developing a set of skills--it's all about developing a life in God." Here's your opportunity to sit at the feet of one who has for twenty-five years led contemporary worship services in the United States and Canada. In Park's book you'll get an inside look at how this worship leader has learned to follow the leading of the Spirit as he brings others into God's presence. And you'll find practical advice, experienced counsel and inspiring ideas on a variety of issues like songwriting pulling together a team staying humble planning the flow of worship what to do in times of dryness working with the pastor and much more Above all, Park will help you discover what it means for you as a worship leader to be first and foremost a worshiper.

Andrew Wommack uncovers the traditions and misconceptions in prayer that often bring more suffering than good! In finding out how Jesus taught us to pray, we can bring joy back into our relationship with God. Many people, who truly love God with all of their heart, find it difficult to pray as they have been taught. And their once-vibrant relationship with the Lord had become stifled, mechanical, and lifeless. What they don't understand is that prayer is an opportunity to have communion with God-fellowship with the Father. Of course it includes requests because we need help from our Father every day, but it also includes a connection and friendship with God. Readers may find it amazing that God would talk with them just as a friend, but His greatest desire is for His children to know Him in much the same, intimate way as He knows them. After 30 years of ministry, Andrew Wommack has discovered some important things about prayer including what prayer is and what it is not. Readers will uncover the traditions and misconceptions in prayer and discover true and meaningful communion with God through Jesus' example of prayer. More importantly, they'll come to know a new, profound joy and fulfillment in their relationship with God, receiving the answers they need. The subject of prayer has been touched on many times through classic and current authors, but Andrew Wommack brings a fresh approach to prayer by "defuncting" the common traditions that make prayer laborious and lifeless. In much the same style as Tommy Tenny's The God Chasers and Jim Cymbala's Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, readers will be thrilled to find a God who desires to talk with them anytime, whenever they are open and willing.Readers will learn to develop vibrant, open communication with the Father all throughout their day.

While worship is the primary purpose of all churches, worship in the small church is distinctive. Whether a house church, a new church plant, a rural church along a country road, or a city church whose neighborhood demographics have shifted, these small faith communities present unique opportunities and challenges for worship leaders. Peter Bush and Christine O'Reilly draw on their passion and experience equipping lay people to plan and lead worship to answer the question, what makes for effective worship

Halloween has been referred to as the Devil's holiday, but all 365 1/4 days were created by and belong to Jesus. If Satan usurps even one day it is our Christian duty and responsibility to reclaim and redeem it in the name of our Lord. Are the imaginary ghouls and goblins of Halloween any more wicked than the jolly elf called Santa Claus, or the Easter bunny? Should the Church stop celebrating these holy days, the bookends of our faith, as well?

Instead of battling the spiritual enemy on Halloween, the Church is guilty of crossing swords with one another. We fight among ourselves, not about "how" to celebrate Halloween, but whether it should even be observed. Jesus is more the "reason for the season" on Halloween than He is at Christmas. The Church must realize it is forfeiting Halloween as an opportunity to glorify the Prince of Peace, the One who has given us the victory over the "prince of darkness" and his evil minions. The Way, the Truth and the Life has conquered Death and the grave.

By dressing up in costumes and portraying frightening creatures who at one time caused us to fear and tremble, we are not glorifying Satan. Rather, we are poking fun at the Serpent whose kingdom has been plundered by our Savior, and whose head has been crushed Should we celebrate Halloween? The question is, "How can we not?" "Halloween, Hallowed is Thy" "Name "offers a believer confidence and joy in expressing the greeting "Happy Halloween."