Offers the opportunity to spend a month with Saint Augustine, with readings for both morning and evening

Unique, Powerful Call to the Front Lines of Prayer From bestselling author James W. Goll, a strategic prophetic leader in global intercessory prayer, comes an in-depth journey into the heart of what it means to be a "watchman on the wall." Designed for serious worshipers and intercessors, this unique 21-day journey will help you move to the front lines of prayer--becoming more alert to the presence of God and praying his will with confidence. With reflection questions, devotional prayers, and practical application, this book will help you * discern the specific spiritual atmosphere around you * discover the strategies of God for certain times * pray more effectively for others * understand how to intercede for current events Walking in the lifestyle of a watchman means that you can be the sentinel that God is calling his mature intercessors to be. Learn to partner with the strategies of heaven and step boldly into your calling.

This book presents a unique effort to create a new understanding of the Christian sign of the cross. At its core, it traces the conscious and unconscious influence of this visual symbol through time. What began as the crucifixion of a Jewish troublemaker in Roman-occupied Judea in the first century eventually gave rise to a broad spectrum of readings of the instrument used to accomplish such a punishment, a cross. The author argues that Jesus was a provocative, grandiose masochist whose suffering and death initially signified redemption for believers. This idea gradually morphed into a Christian sense of freedom to persecute and wage war against non-believers, however, as can be seen in the Crusades ("wars of the cross"). Many believers even construed the murder of their savior as a crime perpetrated by "the Jews," and this paranoid notion culminated in the mass murder of European Jews under the sign of the Nazi hooked cross (Hakenkreuz). Rancour-Laferriere's book is expertly written and argued; it will be readable to a large audience because it touches on many areas of controversy, interest, and scholarship. The work is critical, but not unfair; it employs psychoanalysis, art history (the study of the symbol of the cross in works of art), religion and religious texts, and world history generally. The interweaving of these various themes is what gives this work its ability to draw in readers and will ultimately be what keeps the reader interested through the conclusion.

This book begins by addressing the two main Hours of Morning and Evening Prayer and then presents the other Hours. It offers guidance to individuals as well as for groups to pray in a rich and meaningful way.

Traumatized and terrified of cancer? Whether you or a family member is battling the disease, this beautiful, updated edition of the trusted, encouraging 90-day devotional will comfort and strengthen you. Written by women who have faced cancer themselves, this book reminds you that you are not alone and will help set your heart free from fear. When you hear the doctor say the word cancer, your fears can be overwhelming. Thankfully, there is a place of peace you can experience. Through these pages, women who have walked this difficult journey themselves will pray through cancer with you and walk alongside you through your own journey. This encouraging daily devotional is written specifically for women battling cancer, and it is written by women who have faced cancer themselves, containing insight, wisdom, and clarity found only through personal trial. Whether you are facing breast cancer, thyroid cancer, or any form of the disease, the testimonies and prayers in this book will strengthen and bless you in the months ahead. This updated edition features a beautiful new cover. Each daily devotional includes: Scripture verse and prayer Inspirational story where fears and anger are transformed into confident expectation and pure worship Intentional tip of the day to help you personally encounter God Prayer references for encouragement You don't have to face cancer alone. As you read, you'll feel as though you are meeting kindred spirits-old friends who will come alongside you in your journey, encouraging you and understanding what no one else can. Contributors include Kay Warren, Pat Palau, Barbara Johnson, Joyce Wright, and many more. Praise for Praying Through Cancer: "What an encouraging devotional! Written by women who have walked the road and speak from experience, it demonstrates how God can enable you to come through the trials of cancer with praise on your lips, peace in your spirit, and hope in your heart."-Kay Marshall Strom, author of The Cancer Survival Guide "Journeying through breast cancer, the most authentic voices that encouraged me were women who have pilgrimmed ahead of me. . . . This book nourished my spirit and renewed my hope-may it do the same for you."-Karen Hill, Author of Owen's Walk and assistant to Max Lucado

Year 2000 is a Jubilee year for the Catholic church and very large numbers are expected to make the pilgrimage to Rome. Debra Birch's lively account of pilgrimage to Rome throughout the medieval period is well-documented and clearly presented. HISTORY TODAY [Emma Mason]Well researched, clearly written, and, quite apart from the eternal city, provides an excellent introduction to pilgrimage as a whole. CHURCH TIMES [Nicholas Orme] Rome was one of the major pilgrim destinations in the middle ages. The belief that certain objects and places were a focus of holiness where pilgrims could come closer to God had a long history in Christian tradition; in the case of Rome, the tradition developed around two of the city's most important martyrs, Christ's apostles Peter and Paul. So strong were the city'sassociations with these apostles that pilgrimage to Rome was often referred to as pilgrimage `to the threshold of the apostles'. Debra Birch conveys a vivid picture of the world of the medieval pilgrim to Rome - the Romipetae, or `Rome-seekers' - covering all aspects of their journey, and their life in the city itself. DEBRA BIRCH is assistant secretary at the Institute of Historical Research. CONTENTS The Cult of Saints and Pilgrimage to Rome. The Journey to Rome . Obligations and Privileges . Rome of the Pilgrim I . Rome of the Pilgrim II . Welfare Provisions for Pilgrims in Rome . The Popularity of Pilgrimage to Rome in the 12th Century . The 13th-Century Revival.

Learn the teaching method God uses to teach His children. The ultimate hands-on Bible lessons! Teach your children the way God instructed the Hebrews to teach their children-with annual events telling the story of His people and the coming of Jesus. This giant, 585 page telephone-size book gives an an extensive look at the nine annual holidays: Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Tabernacles, Hanukkah, Purim and the weekly holiday-the Sabbath! Having this book at your fingertips is like having a library on the Bible holidays! This book includes information that will fill ten books: one on each of the seven holidays in Leviticus, the Sabbath, plus Hanukkah and Purim, and tons of information about the importance of our Hebrew Roots. You'll use this book over and over for year to come!

If you were to join us in either of our homes at the end of almost any evening, or if you were to attend one of our retreats, we would invite you to do with us the process described in these pages. This book is about asking ourselves two questions: For what am I most grateful? For what am I least grateful? These questions help us identify moments of consolation and desolation. We call this process the examen. "We have given retreats in over forty countries,and we find that regardless of culture or age group, this simple process is the most helpful way for people to hear the voice of God guiding them from within. For example, should people bring us many questions ranging from, 'Should I change my job?' to What can help me with my depression?' We usually suggest they spend the next month focusing each day on the examen questions. Such people often return a month later having discovered from their own experience of consolation and desolation exactly what they should do more of and less of in order to resolve their problem. "For centuries, prayerful people have found direction for their days and for their lives by identifying these moments. Since even small children can do this, we have tried here to present the examen in a format that families, friends and communities can share and that will be easily accessible to anyone. We hope the examen will enrich your lives and your relationships as much as it has ours."

In this addition to the Short Studies in Biblical Theology series, Guy Prentiss Waters provides a study of the Sabbath, from creation to consummation.

Series Information:
Radical Orthodoxy

What has theology to do with economics? They are both sciences of human action, but have traditionally been treated as very separate disciplines. Divine Economy is the first book to address the need for an active dialogue between the two.
D. Stephen Long traces three strategies which have been used to bring theology to bear on economic questions: the dominant twentieth-century tradition, of Weber's fact-value distinction; an emergent tradition based on Marxist social analysis; and a residual tradition that draws on an ancient understanding of a functional economy. He concludes that the latter approach shows the greatest promise because it refuses to subordinate theological knowledge to autonomous social-scientific research.
Divine Economy will be welcomed by those with an interest in how theology can inform economic debate.

We hear a lot about the importance of praying, even when we feel no one is listening, but how often do we actually stop to remember the times prayers have been answered? In Remember, Richard Gamble, the man behind the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer, encourages us to do just that: to recall and reflect on the things God has done for us - in the Bible, throughout history and in our lives and the lives of others. With uplifting warmth, he explores the Scriptural importance of remembering answered prayers, showing how such reflection gives us a deeper understanding of who God is and helps us to greater maturity in prayer. Bursting with remarkable stories, Remember is a hopeful, encouraging invitation to a tradition that runs throughout the Bible. It will give you a fresh appreciation of the power and importance of prayer, and how it lies at the heart of our relationship with God.

Have your prayers become stagnant? Do you long to see God move in fresh ways? Are you ready to move to new places in your walk with God? If so, it's time to take the 40-day prayer challenge and press into God like never before. In this five-session video study, bestselling author and pastor Mark Batterson reveals how taking up this challenge will not only change the way you pray today but also dramatically impact the rest of your life. While this challenge won't be easy, and you will certainly experience setbacks along the way, as you pray through you can be assured that God will come through for you in new and exciting ways. Miracles that happen in your life decades from now will trace their origin back to this season of prayer, and breakthroughs that occur will become generational blessings that will live on long after your time on earth is over. Today is the day for you to not only draw your prayer circle but also form your prayer circle with other believers in Christ. Now is the time to join with the more than half a million people who have already accepted this 40-day challenge to pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on them. As you do, you will witness the miraculous results in your life, your church, your community, and your world that only God can bring. The Draw the Circle Study Guide includes video discussion questions, personal reflection questions, and daily devotional readings for each of the 40 days in the challenge. Sessions include: Drawing a Circle Dream Big Pray Hard Think Long The Ripple Effect Designed for use with the Draw the Circle Video Study (9780310094685) sold separately.

The Anastenaria are Orthodox Christians in Northern Greece who observe a unique annual ritual cycle focused on two festivals, dedicated to Saint Constantine and Saint Helen. The festivals involve processions, music, dancing, animal sacrifices, and culminate in an electrifying fire-walking ritual. Carrying the sacred icons of the saints, participants dance over hot coals as the saint moves them. 'The Burning Saints' presents an analysis of these rituals and the psychology behind them. Based on long-term fieldwork, 'The Burning Saints' traces the historical development and sociocultural context of the Greek fire-walking rituals. As a cognitive ethnography, the book aims to identify the social, psychological and neurobiological factors which may be involved and to explore the role of emotional and physiological arousal in the performance of such ritual. A study of participation, experience and meaning, 'The Burning Saints' presents a highly original analysis of how mental processes can shape social and religious behaviour.

Discusses historical and contemporary aspects of pilgrimage within the Tibetan cultural world. Examines myths and legends, material conditions, textual sources, a modern pilgrim's impressions, political and economic influences, biographies and contemporary developments.

Offers a study of the Japanese "hidden" Christians and the development of their faith and rituals from the 16th century to the present day. The Kakure Kirishitan are the descendants of the communities who maintained the Christian faith in Japan as an underground church during the time of persecution, and then chose to remain separate from the Catholic Church when religious toleration was granted in 1873. The island of Ikitsuku, where the most active Kakure are to be found, was an important centre of early Christianity, and its Kakure communities came into being when differences were perceived between the beliefs and practices they had preserved and orthodox Catholic teaching. Kakure worship consists of prayer and the eating of a communal meal. The prayers tend to be offered for worldly benefits, while the communal meal has close links to the Catholic Mass, but has also absorbed Shinto ceremonies involving feasting that were originally added as camouflage for Christian gatherings. The Kakure faith shares with Japanese religion a polytheistic and pluralistic nature, yet maintains a unique identity in which recognizable Christian elements are to be found. This study should have wide i

"Hymns are prayers in our pockets", writes Pam Rhodes, expressing how hymns help us to respond to God. Pam brings together reflections on some of her favourite hymns. Drawing on her experience of presenting Songs of Praise and sharing the stories of hymn writers past and present, she helps us to make use of their words in expressing our joys and sorrows to God, and finding hope and inspiration in them. Whatever our circumstances, these hymns turn us again to the God who created, knows and sustains us with that "love so amazing" described in the immortal words of hymn writer Isaac Watts.

The NIV Lucado Encouraging Word Bible is designed to encourage believers along their journey with the Lord. Max Lucado’s warm, conversational style ensures that the marginal notes, short articles, and various study tools meet you where you are, providing encouragement and insight. This Bible will strengthen you as you follow the included reading plan and incorporate this Bible into your daily devotional life. The 30-day study guide will help you jumpstart this practice. This Bible will help you as a believer, and with Pastor Lucado’s gentle yet powerful notes, it’s a beautiful gift for your non-believing friends and family who could use some encouragement with Scripture.

Features include:

• Fully redesigned and expanded Bible from Max Lucado (based on the Life Lessons Bible)
• 98 new “People of the Word” articles encourage believers through the lessons learned by people throughout the Bible
• 691 “For Your Journey” marginal notes mix masterful storytelling with biblical context to lead you into a deeper walk with the Lord
• 115 “Jesus Through the Bible,” and “Growing in Christ” articles provide both inspiration and practical lessons to build you up
• 30-day personal or group Bible study enriches your knowledge of the Bible
• “God Cares for You” and “Growing Up Spiritually” verses are subject-specific and provide another resource in your study of the Bible
• “Where to turn when . . . ” Scripture reference list means you can always find a biblical answer to the challenges you face
• Dotted margin space for journaling or taking notes
• Bible book introductions contain a brief outline of the book and an introduction written by Max Lucado
• Bible reading plan
• Full-color maps
• Clear and readable NIV Comfort Print® 9-point type size

Reflections, meditations, prayers and liturgies for Holy Week following the journey of Jesus from Palm Sunday to Easter Day. A book which affirms that, even in the darkness of betrayal and denial and death, we can rise up and live different lives: where the justice, peace and love poured out in Christ's life can be resurrected in our own. You stepped gently on the earth, O Christ of all; and you treat gently all those who come your way - Call us down into the world you love and put us to work. Call us down into the streets you walk and have our footsteps keep to yours. Call us down into the places where you are needed and make us your body.

Does the Bible sound dull when you hear it read in church?An auditory tidal wave cascades from our televisions, radios, media players, and the Internet. Today's distracted worshippers often feel spiritually shortchanged when the Scriptures are spoken without passion and power.This lively and encouraging book-and-DVD set, the collaboration of a gifted Bible narrator and an award-winning writer, shows how churches can train their laypeople to unleash the Word of God with enthusiasm, conviction, and passion.Straightforward and culturally relevant, with practical how-to graphics, this resource provides the necessary tools to teach you how to read the Bible aloud, in a way that communicates its life-changing power!

Just as babies slowly learn to communicate in more and more complex ways, so the new believer should move from simply crying out to God to a developed prayer life. The basic elements of prayer found in the Lord's Prayer are a helpful guide to Christians hoping to enrich their prayers. In "On Earth as It Is in Heaven," beloved teacher and writer Warren W. Wiersbe explains and applies the elements of the Lord's Prayer to everyday prayer so readers get excited about maturing in their personal prayer ministries. Any reader wanting to experience a more satisfying and effective prayer life will cherish this thoughtful book.

This study discusses early Christian texts dealing with food, eating and fasting. Modern day eating disorders often equate food with sin and see fasting as an attempt to regain purity, an attitude which can also be observed in early Chritian beliefs in the mortification of the flesh. Describing first the historical and social context of Judaism and the Graeco-Roman world, the author then proceeds to analyze Christian attitudes towards food. Thus, a particular Christian mode of fasting is elaborated which influences us to the present day: ascetic fasting for the suppression of the sexual urges of the body. The book should be of use to those interested in early Christianity, and to those searching for historical roots of modern attitudes.