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Books > Christianity > Christian Worship
Ideal for individuals or groups seeking a deeper understanding of
the Christmas story and its links with the Hebrew Bible, Pathway to
the Stable offers a twenty-first century introduction to the people
and places central to the story of the birth of Jesus, with
reference to the promises of the Old Testament and its setting in
the contemporary Jewish and Roman worlds. 'In this rich and
rewarding series of studies, Ivor Rees has taken us deep into the
biblical world in order to show us once more the glory of the
coming of Our Lord, the nativity and childhood of Jesus Christ.'
Revd. D. Densil Morgan, Professor of Theology, University of Wales
Trinity Saint David
This is the third edition of this popular guide book to the
biblical sites in both Israel and Jordan. It has been revised and
rewritten, with new pictures, illustrations, maps, and plans. The
Pilgrim Books team has conducted or accompanied more than forty
pilgrimage groups to the Holy Land and have produced a book that is
concise and informative. It contains a mine of practical
information on both countries and is profusely illustrated, so that
it becomes a colorful souvenir, the stimulant to a host of happy
memories for years after your return.
Prayer remains a vital part of Christian discipleship. Following
the success of the author's 80 Creative Prayer Ideas, this
ready-to-use resource book contains 80 further ideas on setting up
reflective and creative prayer stations or responses. Claire Daniel
shows us how to pray with our whole being - our senses as well as
our voice, our hearts as much as our minds. Tried and tested, these
ideas will enhance the praying of small groups, churches and
individuals.
The philosophical and theological study of aesthetics has a long
and rich history, stretching back to Platos identification of
ultimate goodness and beauty, together representing the eternal
form. Recent trends in aesthetic theory, however, characterised by
a focus on the beautiful at the expense of the good, have made it
an object of suspicion in the Orthodox Church. In its place, Greek
theologians have sought to emphasise philokalia as a truer
theological discipline. Seeking to reverse this trend, Chrysostomos
Stamoulis brings into conversation a plethora of voices, from
Church fathers to contemporary poets, and from a Marxist political
theorist to a literary critic. Out of this dialogue, Stamoulis
builds a model for the re-appropriation of Orthodoxys patristic and
Byzantine past that is no longer defined in antithesis to the
Western present. The openness he proposes allows us to perceive
afresh the world shot through with divinity, if only we can lift
our gaze to see it. Dismantling the false dichotomy, philokalia or
aesthetics, is the first step.
This is a substantially expanded and completely revised verision of Bradshaw's classic account, first published in 1993. Traditional liturgical scholarship has generally been marked by an attempt to fit together the various pieces of evidence for the practice of early Christian worship in such a way as to suggest that a single, coherent line of evolution can be traced from the apostolic age to the fourth century. Bradshaw examines this methodology in the light of recent developments in Jewish liturgical scholarship, of current trends in New Testament studies, and of the nature of the source-documents themselves, and especially the ancient church orders. In its place he offers a guide to Christian liturgical origins which adopts a much more cautious approach, recognizing the limitations of what can truly be known, and takes seriously the clues pointing to the esssentially variegated character of ancient Christian worship.
The Bible is meant to be read in the church, by the church, as the
church. Although the practice of reading Scripture has often become
separated from its ecclesial context, theologian Derek Taylor
argues that it rightly belongs to the disciplines of the community
of faith. He finds a leading example of this approach in the
theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who regarded the reading of
Scripture as an inherently communal exercise of discipleship. In
conversation with other theologians, including John Webster, Robert
Jenson, and Stanley Hauerwas, Taylor contends that Bonhoeffer's
approach to Scripture can engender the practices and habits of a
faithful hermeneutical community. Today, as in Bonhoeffer's time,
the church is called to take up and read. Featuring new monographs
with cutting-edge research, New Explorations in Theology provides a
platform for constructive, creative work in the areas of
systematic, historical, philosophical, biblical, and practical
theology.
William Law is best remembered today for his Serious Call to a
Devout and Holy Life. To those interested in his spirituality,
however, other works have greater impact, in particular The Spirit
of Prayer and The Spirit of Love, which are considered the finest
and most appealing. In the years in which they were written, his
vision had reached its fullest and most characteristic development,
and his literary power was at its height. It is in these books that
the profound influence of Jacob Boehme can be most clearly seen.
His great synthesis of the mystical outpourings and orthodox
Christian theology, provide an English spiritual classic. Law's
understanding and interpretation of mysticism was more original
than traditional, being dynamic and creative. He believed in the
life of God working from within, and the flame of divine love being
a link with and an understanding of God. He conceived that
mysticism was a matter of life, that relied on willing rather than
knowing, and that ultimately rested on trust in God. Despite
holding no official position he was widely regarded in his own time
and later as a spiritual guide, and his trilogy The Spirit of
Prayer, The Spirit of Love and The Way to Divine Knowledge was the
mature expression of his theology and religion.
There are many books available on the topic of worship today, but
few provide a comprehensive, practical method for worship design.
Constance M. Cherry, a worship professor and practitioner, provides
worship leaders with credible blueprint plans for successfully
designing worship services that foster meaningful conversation with
God and the gathered community. Readers will learn how to create
services that are faithful to Scripture, historically conscious,
relevant to God, Christ-centered, and engaging for worshipers of
all ages in the twenty-first century. The book sets forth basic
principles concerning worship design and demonstrates how these
principles are conducive to virtually any style of worship
practiced today in a myriad of Christian communities. It will also
work well as a guide for worship-planning teams in local churches
and provide insight for worship students, pastors, and church
leaders involved in congregational worship.
God cannot fill what's already filled with itself.
Are you struggling to hear God? Is it hard to find time in your busy
day for more than
a few minutes of prayer? Maybe it's time for a different approach.
Maybe it's time to set aside real blocks of time to be quiet before the
Lord.
In Quiet Prayer, Marie Chapian-a lifelong student of reflective
prayer-examines the
benefits of meaningful meditation, both ancient and modern.
Did you know the passionate, early followers of Jesus regularly
practiced meditation?
It was the building block and very basis of their faith. Many of them
chose to live
apart from society, in cloistered cells and caves as hermits and
recluses of the desert.
These men and women of God were called Abbas and Ammas-mothers and
fathers of
the faith-and were looked up to as spiritual guides, mentors, healers,
and deliverers
in their time. So, what can we learn from them?
You may not have the time or desire to live in the desert, but you can
learn how to
cultivate a quiet place in your soul. A place where your faith will be
grounded and
your mind can finally rest.
The Advent season is filled with rich themes that have fascinated
poets. In Run, Shepherds, Run, Bill Countryman presents a poem a
day for devotional reading during Advent and the twelve days of
Christmas. Readers will find classic poets they know and love,
including George Herbert, John Donne, Christina Rossetti, Emily
Dickinson, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson, as well as contemporary
poets, known and unknown. Run, Shepherds, Run includes helpful
hints for reading poetry, for those who have less experience
reading it than others, as well as useful annotations to help
readers with older language that may not have easily apparent
meanings for today's readers.
* Activities for celebrating secular and sacred seasons of the year
* For use in churches, schools, camps, at home Many of our
experiences in life happen when several generations are together-
at church, at home, in our communities. Holidays and family events
are times for celebration, learning, rituals, food, and fun. This
edition of Faithful Celebrations focuses on the months of January
and February, when secular holidays can become times to think about
how we live out the gospel message in celebrating national holidays
with more than a day off from school or sending a greeting card.
Each event to be celebrated includes key ideas; a cluster of
activities to experience the key ideas; a list of materials needed;
full instructions for implementation; background history and
information; music; art; recipes; and prayer resources to use in a
small, intimate, or large multi-generational group. For children,
youth, adults, or any combination of ages, any of these activities
can take place in any setting. Faithful Celebrations: Making Time
for God in Winter includes New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr.
Day, Super Bowl Sunday, Valentine's Day, and Snow days.
A simply written little book about prayer and Christian life, this
work beautifully conveys messages from a seventeenth-century
Carmelite monk to those who lived and worked around him. Written so
that each section of the book could stand on its own, the text has
much to say to the modern person trying to live a spiritual life in
the midst of a busy career or home. The book's brevity and
accessibility make this classic of Christian devotion a
particularly good selection with which to begin spiritual studies.
These five profound lectures look at the cosmic forces behind the
four great festivals of the year, providing a wealth of material
for fruitful thought and meditation. Steiner presents great
imaginative pictures that unite the heavens and the Earth through a
portrayal of the activities of the archangels Michael, Gabriel,
Raphael, and Uriel. In the course of the lectures, Rudolf Steiner
offers spiritual insight into subjects that include the alchemical
processes of sulfur, mercury, and salt in the cosmos; the realms of
humankind and plants; spiritual combustion processes; crystals;
clouds and meteors; the movements of elemental beings in nature;
and the conflicting efforts of Lucifer and Ahriman the two great
adversaries to divert Earth from its true purpose. The Four Seasons
and the Archangels includes five color plates of Rudolf Steiner s
blackboard drawings made during the lectures."
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