Steve Harper exhorts us not to have just a devotional time, but to have a devotional life. The seven weekly sessions in this workbook illustrate how John Wesley's devotional life can be applied to our own. The devotionals cover scripture, prayer, and fasting, among other topics.

Contemporary Muslims face a challenge: how should they define the relationship between normative Islamic jurisprudence-worked out by classical jurists over the course of centuries-and the reality that confronts them in their everyday lives. They have to reckon with how religion can regulate and serve the needs of a changing community. Is there a need for reformation in Islam? If so, where should it begin and how should it proceed? So far, these challenging questions have received little attention from Western scholars. Shi'ism Revisited will address this gap. In order to address pressing religious and social questions-on topics ranging from women's rights to bioethics and the challenges facing diasporic Muslims-legal scholars have sought to apply ijtihad, or independent reasoning. The lack of a central authority in Islam means the interpretations and edicts of scholars are frequently challenged, resulting in diversity and plurality in Islamic law. This makes Islamic law capacious, but also suggests the critical importance of examining not just the theory of law, but its application. Shi'ism Revisited moves beyond theoretical questions of reformation to address specific ways that Islamic law is being revisited by jurists. Tracing the origins and development of Shi'i jurisprudence and legal theory, Liyakat Takim analyzes how underlying epistemologies can be revised in order to create a moral and coherent legal system.

This incredible though little-known classic of Catholic spirituality presents before the reader the entire school of true Christian holiness and the means and exercises necessary to attain sanctity. As no one shall enter Heaven who is not perfect, then if we wish to attain to that perfection which will gain us entrance to eternal happiness with The Blessed Trinity, with Jesus, with Our Lady, St. Joseph and all the Saints and Angels, we need to start in earnest and with a sure method to correct every aspect of our lives. The Imitation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Fr. Peter Arnoudt, S.J. is just such a "sure method" that the soul needs as a guide to perfection. For it begins at the beginning and covers every means at our disposal as Catholics, which we have and which we need to perfect ourselves plus it covers every pitfall that we face in the daunting task of attaining holiness.

"Princess Stories" is the big sister to popular board book "My Princess Bible." "Princess Stories," appropriate for girls ages 4 to 8, is a collection of first-person narrative stories about 29 women in the Bible--and the 30th story is about the reader, who is God's princess too. In each four-page story, the reader gets a rhyming verse about the princess (addressed to "Mirror, mirror on the wall"), a first-person story of the featured Bible woman and the special quality her life reflects, a Bible verse from another passage of Scripture that summarizes/relates to the character trait, and Princess Ponderings--questions that help girls and their parents discuss the stories and relate the lessons to life.Through this book, girls will learn more in-depth stories of women of the Bible and how to apply Scripture to their own lives.

Expanded-language texts for references to God General softening of language to avoid masculine nouns and images in Psalms and other texts Can be used by clergy and lay people, across denominations, who are looking for a daily regimen of prayer and Bible reading Special appeal to women and men who are sensitive to issues of inclusive language Offers the full beauty of structured monastic prayer in the Anglican tradition Designed for use with the Bible, in a translation of personal choice Can also be used as a manual of devotion without Bible readings The rich tradition of monastic prayer, dating back to the earliest days of the desert hermits in the third century, has been the foundational daily prayer of the Church for most of its existence. Many individuals who are not members of religious communities cherish this tradition and use elements of it for their own daily prayer, and adapted breviaries have been popular sellers to targeted markets for more than a century. Over the past several years, the Order of Saint Helena, a community of women in the Episcopal Church, spent a great deal of time and energy in revising their office book. High on the list of priorities for the revision was the broadening of language to avoid masculine imagery when referring to God. This personal edition of The Saint Helena Breviary has been adapted for use by individual readers who set aside one or more times for prayer in the midst of their busy lives. CONTENTS Daily morning prayer, noonday prayer, evening prayer, and compline based on the Book of Common Prayer, with enrichments from the Order of Saint Helena All prayers for the days of the week and the church year, from the Book of Common Prayer, adapted for expansive language All daily and seasonal canticles (song texts), adapted for expansive language The complete Psalter (psalms), in an expansive language adaptation from the Book of Common Prayer translation (also published separately by CPI as The Saint Helena Psalter) Complete two-year schedule of Bible readings, with all major and minor holy days, from the Book of Common Prayer lectionary, designed for use with a Bible of reader's choice

You've just heard a diagnosis that shakes your world: It's cancer. And what you long for most is the hope that everything will be okay. You are not alone. As a longtime cancer survivor, Lynn Eib knows firsthand how that feels. And as a patient advocate helping thousands facing cancer, she also knows what gives people hope. In "50 Days of Hope," Lynn shares amazing, true stories of those who have been in your shoes and discovered that when God and cancer meet, hope is never far away. Whether you're a cancer patient or walking with a loved one on a cancer journey, you'll find "50 Days of Hope" packed with the daily dose of encouragement you need.

In the seventeenth century, English Baptists existed on the fringe of the nation's collective religious life. Today, Baptists have developed into one of the world's largest Protestant denominations. Despite this impressive transformation, those first English Baptists remain chronically misunderstood. In Orthodox Radicals, Matthew C. Bingham clarifies and analyzes the origins and identity of Baptists during the English Revolution, arguing that mid-seventeenth century Baptists did not, in fact, understand themselves to be a part of a larger, all-encompassing Baptist movement. Contrary to both the explicit statements of many historians and the tacit suggestion embedded in the very use of "Baptist" as an overarching historical category, the early modern men and women who rejected infant baptism would not have initially understood that single theological stance as being in itself constitutive of a new collective identity. Rather, the rejection of infant baptism was but one of a number of doctrinal revisions then taking place among English puritans eager to further their on-going project of godly reformation. Orthodox Radicals complicates our understanding of Baptist identity, setting the early English Baptists in the cultural, political, and theological context of the wider puritan milieu out of which they arose. The book also speaks to broader themes, including early modern debates on religious toleration, the mechanisms by which early modern actors established and defended their tenuous religious identities, and the perennial problem of anachronism in historical writing. Bingham also challenges the often too-hasty manner in which scholars have drawn lines of theological demarcation between early modern religious bodies, and reconsiders one of this period's most dynamic and influential religious minorities from a fresh and perhaps controversial perspective. By combining a provocative reinterpretation of Baptist identity with close readings of key theological and political texts, Orthodox Radicals offers the most original and stimulating analysis of mid-seventeenth-century Baptists in decades.

Miniature books, handwritten or printed books in the smallest format, have fascinated religious people, printers, publishers, collectors, and others through the centuries because of their unique physical features, and continue to captivate people today. The small lettering and the delicate pages, binding, and covers highlight the material form of texts and invite sensory engagement and appreciation. This volume addresses miniature books with a special focus on religious books in Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist traditions. The book presents various empirical contexts for how the smallest books have been produced, distributed, and used in different times and cultures and also provides theoretical reflections and comments that discuss the divergent formats and functions of books.

This study guide highlights Paula (TM)s message to the church in Ephesus. Topics discussed include trusting God, His church, and finding our identity in Christ.
a [ 12 weeks

An exploration of the inner life shared by many persons in nursing homes and retirement centers.

Landmark, Bestselling Book Now Revised and Updated Does God really speak through dreams? Are there such things today as visions? Absolutely, says author and pastor Jane Hamon. And what is more, God wants you to get the message! This concise guidebook unravels the scriptural meanings of dreams and visions, helping you discern when a dream is a prophetic direction for your life, what to do about a warning, how to recognize false messages--and much more. In this newly revised and updated edition of her popular book, readers are encouraged to look with new eyes at the biblical basis for this everyday language. It is not complicated, says Hamon. The voice of the Lord is speaking. Don't miss what he is saying.