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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Christian life & practice > General
What does God want to say and do in your worship service?As a
pastor or worship leader, planning a meaningful, relevant, and
theologically rich worship experience for your church is of the
upmost importance. How do you meet the demands of the modern
congregation without getting in the way of what God is doing
through worship?Created to Worship: God's Invitation to Become
Fully Human is a resource that provides a theology of worship in
the Wesleyan tradition. This book will help you plan for a worship
service in a discerning manner, while answering the question, 'What
does God want to say and do today?'
What does it mean to be a Christian citizen of the United States
today? This book challenges the argument that the United States is
a Christian nation, and that the American founding and the American
Constitution can be linked to a Christian understanding of the
state and society. Vincent Rougeau argues that the United States
has become an economic empire of consumer citizens, led by elites
who seek to secure American political and economic dominance around
the world. Freedom and democracy for the oppressed are the public
themes put forward to justify this dominance, but the driving force
behind American hegemony is the need to sustain economic growth and
maintain social peace in the United States.
This state of affairs raises important questions for Christians.
In recent times, religious voices in American politics have taken
on a moralistic stridency. Individual issues like abortion and
same-sex marriage have been used to "guilt" many Christians into
voting Republican or to discourage them from voting at all. Using
Catholic social teaching as a point of departure, Rougeau argues
that conservative American politics is driven by views of the
individual and the state that are inconsistent with mainstream
Catholic social thought. Without thinking more broadly about their
religious traditions and how those traditions should inform their
engagement with the modern world, it is unwise for Christians to
think that pressing single issues is an appropriate way to
actualize their faith commitments in the public realm.
Rougeau offers concerned Christians new tools for a critical
assessment of legal, political and social questions. He proceeds
from the fundamental Christian premise ofthe God-given dignity of
the human person, a dignity that can only be realized fully in
community with others. This means that the Christian cannot simply
focus on individual empowerment as 'freedom' but must also seek to
nurture community participation and solidarity for all citizens.
Rougeau demonstrates what happens when these ideas are applied to a
variety of specific contemporary issues involving the family,
economics, and race. He concludes by offering a new model of public
engagement for Christians in the American Empire.
An Unlikely Missionary Dispels the Myth That
Miracles Happen Only in Africa
Michele Perry may be an unlikely person to start a missionary
orphanage in war-torn Sudan. Born without her left hip and leg, she
is no stranger to overwhelming impossibility. She's learned from
childhood to rely fully on God, who constantly surprises her--and
she and her Sudanese children, more than one hundred of them, have
witnessed him moving in miraculous and wondrous ways again and
again.
Here she shares some of these amazing, inspiring stories. More than
that, she shows how readers can genuinely, fully experience God in
their everyday lives--whether in Africa or at home, wherever they
are. She helps them understand what he looks like, what it means to
hear his voice, what it's like to see a vision, and how to
recognize the holy in the ordinary. With these practical keys,
believers will be able to open the floodgates of life changing,
supernatural encounters with God.
Children's minds are always racing and ready for a game or challenge.
Why not use that to teach them about the Bible in a fun, educational
and exciting way?
Bible Story Activity Fun is packed with more than 30 exciting and
age-appropriate activities such as mazes, word searches, connect the
dots, and picture puzzles, to teach kids more about the Bible in an
enjoyable and informative way. The fun activities are based on
well-known stories from the Old and New Testaments, and will keep even
the most inquisitive minds interested and entertained for hours!
Bible Story Activity Fun is ideal for children to work on alone or with
an adult.
Suicide is the nation's tenth leading cause of death, and in 2018
nearly 50,000 people in the US died by suicide, with thousands more
attempting to take their own lives. Countless others experience
suicidal ideation due to depression, anxiety, addiction, and more,
living for years in silent misery. The sad truth is that someone
you know may be suffering. With great compassion and clear,
actionable strategies, So Much to Live For shows you what to do,
what to say, and how to intervene if you suspect a friend or loved
one is considering suicide. You'll learn the signs and symptoms,
understand the causes, and build the courage to step up and speak
out. God heals wounds and repairs brokenness, and he often does it
using people like you. You can be instrumental in saving the life
of a suicidal person you know. This book shows you how.
For those who have a friend that has been devastated by the loss of
a loved one. When others care enough to rub shoulders with grieving
friends and are willing to be inconvenienced. It requires someone
to care enough to put aside cliche condolences and stick close
through a long grieving process. An individual's grief can never be
'fixed'. But friends can wash a sink full of dishes, listen, go
along on a cemetery visit. Sharing another's grief is not about
'fixing-it'- it's about showing up.Harold Ivan Smith, popular
speaker and grief educator, guides others to respond with their
heart. He shows tangible, meaningful ways to make a significant
difference as one journeys through grief with someone they care
about.
For many of us, believing in Jesus feels like the first step on a
journey that can only get better and better with every step. Then
trials come and it can be hard to keep walking. When faced with
disappointment, disillusionment, doubt, and death, we may be
tempted to turn back. The road ahead seems too hard, too long, too
fraught with danger and difficulty. With great passion and deep
understanding of the struggles believers go through, Rashawn
Copeland encourages and inspires you to stay the course. In No
Turning Back he shares practical and productive ways you can
experience true and lasting growth based on the promises God makes
to those who follow him. He shows you how to apply the truths of
Scripture to be transformed by God's power, grow your identity in
Christ, renew your mind, free yourself from your past, and become
the person God has called you to be.
I Surrender All - Inspired by the themes of the feature film, The Forge
All To Him I Freely Give
From Priscilla Shirer comes this fervent appeal and invitation to
surrender everything to Jesus. To follow Him not just as your Savior
but as your priority, your first love, your Lord. To move beyond being
a believer to becoming His disciple.
Because there is a difference.
Salvation is a gift of God. It’s free. It’s grace. It’s the cross.
Discipleship comes at a high cost. It’s surrender. It’s effort. It’s a
daily choice to lay down your life and follow His. Few believers choose
this route, but the ones who do will experience the abundance that only
the surrendered life can offer. It’s the one choice standing between
you and the life of freedom and fulfillment, of peace and purpose
you’ve always wanted. I Surrender All is all about making that choice.
The choice that changes everything.
This book will be impossible to simply read because it beckons you to
make a decision about the kind of Christian you will be. Prepare to
engage, to write, to pray, and be called into a surrendered life. An
abundant life. A disciple’s life.
A heart-tugging tale of shattered trust, growing faith, and love
that endures . . . all in a romantic seaside setting. Samantha
Owens' estranged stepfather has died, leaving her his cottage in
Nantucket-a place she fled years ago, never planning to return. As
a single mom, Samantha can't afford to pass up a financial windfall
like ocean-front property. So she travels home to fix up the house
and sell it . . . never suspecting that Landon Reed still lives two
doors down. As their long-dormant romance begins to bud again,
Samantha must face a past that separated her from the God of her
childhood. And she must tell Landon why she fled the island in the
first place-a secret that could tear them apart. Is Landon's love
really as unconditional as he claims? And will Samantha finally
realize that the God she found all those years ago never abandoned
her? Full-length, standalone Clean romance Happily ever after
Praise for Surrender Bay: "No one can write a story that grips the
heart like Denise Hunter . . . If you like Karen Kingsbury or
Nicholas Sparks, this is an author you'll love." -Colleen Coble,
USA TODAY bestselling author
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