In a world that's difficult to make sense of, and a season that's so often overtaken by consumerism, here you'll find heart-stirring illustrations and thought-provoking meditations designed to show you the raw, powerfully sacred story of Christmas in a new light. Has the joy of the holiday season become painfully dissonant with the hard edges of life? Do you feel weary from the way Christmas has become a polished, predictable brand? You aren't alone. For too many of us, Christmas has lost its wonder. What if we stopped treating the Christmas story as something that happened a long time ago and started believing that it's a story that's still happening today? From celebrated artist and storyteller Scott Erickson comes Honest Advent, 25 days of illustrations and meditations that will help you rekindle the wonder of this season. Honest Advent creates a space for you to encounter the Incarnate Christ in unexpected places: like a pregnancy announcement in an era of political unrest and empirical bloodshed, the morning sickness of a Middle Eastern teenager, and the shocking biology of birth that goes far beyond the sanitized brand of Christmas as we know it today. Within the pages of Honest Advent, Erickson teaches us the valuable lessons he's learned about: Finding hope and light in the darkest winters What it means to embrace the unexpected How God uses everyday vulnerability to help us understand ourselves, and our faith, better Through powerful benedictions, prayers, and questions for honest reflection, you'll discover how the wonder of God-with-Us is still happening today: in your unexpected change of plans, your unaccomplished dreams, your overcrowded lodging, and your humble stories of new beginnings. Praise for Honest Advent: "Scott Erickson's beautifully crafted book helped me see God-with-Us with fresh eyes. Honest Advent is no shallow seasonal gift book; it's an invitation to explore the divine flourishes of everyday human vulnerabilities. A transformative read, regardless of the time of year." --Jonathan Merritt, author of Learning to Speak God from Scratch "Beautiful. Evocative. A wake-up call to the mystery of life." --John Mark Comer, author of The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

Jesus gave his followers seven key practices: The Lord's Supper Reconciliation Proclaiming the gospel Being with the "least of these" Being with children Fivefold ministry gifting Kingdom prayer When we practice these disciplines, God becomes faithfully present to us, and we in turn become God's faithful presence to the world. Pastor and professor David Fitch shows how these seven practices can revolutionize the church's presence in our neighborhoods, transform our way of life in the world, and advance the kingdom. Our communities can be changed when they see us practicing our faith. Go and do.

Describing a great variety of funeral ritual from major world religions and from local traditions, this book shows how cultures not only cope with corpses but also create an added value for living through the encouragement of afterlife beliefs. The explosion of interest in death in recent years reflects the key theme of this book - the rhetoric of death - the way cultures use the most potent weapon of words to bring new power to life. This new edition is one third longer than the original with new material on the death of Jesus, the most theorized death ever which offers a useful case study for students. There is also empirical material from contemporary/recent events such as the death of Diana and an expanded section on theories of grief which will make the book more attractive to death counsellors.

Bringing together prominent scholars in the sociology of religion, this collection of essays offers a framework for understanding the transition from the essentially penitential purposes of the medieval pilgrimage, to the rise of the varied spiritualities of contemporary religious tourism. Covering over 1,500 years of religious travel, these essays explore the forms of expression and experience which we must engage reflectively to better understand the idea of pilgrimage and religious tourism as an important aspect of religious affirmation. This unique volume sheds light on the transformation of the traditional religious pilgrimage into a tourist activity and examines the influence of modern culture, technology, and secularization on spiritually motivated travel.

The editors conclude that a sharp distinction between pilgrimage and religious tourism is historically unjustified. While the purposes of such travel have changed over time, they remain a part of a larger religio-cultural context, offering avenues for religious encounter, just as pilgrimage in earlier eras permitted the development of various secular dimensions. Covering such diverse topics as Pagan pilgrimage and Postmodern Traditionalism, medieval pilgrimage and disaster site visitation, the authors provide an interesting look at an often misunderstood phenomenon.

Small groups of couples can learn important skills and revitalize their marriages with this fun and unique approach. "You will love growing together while going out together." -John Gray Author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus Remember back to your dating days-the excitement you felt? Now you can reclaim that same spark, connection, and creativity in your marriage through ten intentional, memory-making dates. This proven approach to relationship growth is low-key, purposeful, effective, easy, and fun , and will help you * Communicate better * Put the sizzle back in sex * Process anger and resolve conflicts * Develop spiritual intimacy * Appreciate your differences * Balance busy lifestyles * And much more! Enjoy your dates alone as a couple or start your own 10 Great Dates group in your church or community. You probably already know 5-6 couples who could benefit from time-out to build their marriage and enrich their relationship with 10 Great Dates. See 10 Great Dates DVD Curriculum for everything you need to lead this effective, husband-friendly and fun program.

"Pastoral Care in Worship" draws on Christian heritage and illuminating psychological research to deepen and enrich the pastoral dimension of Sunday worship. There is an urgent need today to deepen and enrich the pastoral dimension of Sunday worship. This book attempts to meet that need. The practical guidance that is offered has its foundation in rigorous and comprehensive theological reflection. This reflection draws not only on the riches of the Christian heritage, but also on some wonderfully illuminating psychological research. The conversation between the two disciplines yields some very interesting and important new ideas on worship as pastoral care. Each chapter consists of a theoretical base and a number of practical suggestions and resources. Most of the prayers, litanies, and rituals are original; there are also references to other useful worship resources. This book will revolutionize the way you think about worship as pastoral care.

Traditional surveys of Christian worship have not only stressed the profound changes that occurred in the fragmenting Reformation churches of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but have also primarily focused on the theological understanding, rather than the practice, of worship. Contributors to this unique collection underline the complexity and diversity of late medieval and carly modern Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Reformed worship practices in Europe. They examine a range of rites (baptism, marriage, and the Eucharist), elements of worship (visual art, music, prayer texts, rituals), geographic locations (Spain, Geneva, England, Sweden, Germany), and settings (home, school, and church). To illustrate the experience of worship by medieval and early modern laity and clergy, each essay is preceded by selections from key primary source documents being discussed. Contributors reveal that, contrary to the artificial separation of these two time periods by the modern academy, there was actually a great deal of continuity between medieval and early modern liturgical practices. They also demonstrate that political and social pressures were as significant as theological or doctrinal rationales when it came to modifying or retaining traditional practices. Worship in Medieval and Early Modern Europe offers readers a chance to understand better the societal and confessional norms that motivated late medieval and early modern Christians to maintain or change traditional Catholic worship practices. Featuring some of the most outstanding scholars in the field, this volume will be invaluable to academics interested in the Reformation, early modern studies, theology, and liturgical studies,as well as to general readers who wish to learn how their worship life was shaped in the sixteenth century.