When Robin Oake's son, Special Branch officer Stephen, was killed by a terrorist while on duty, a press conference was called. A journalist asked, 'Mr Oake, what do you think about the man who killed your son?' and received a startling reply: 'I don't know the man or the circumstances but from my heart I forgive him.' Another journalist said, 'What? ' and our response may be the same. But in this powerful and moving book, Robin shares his story and the reasons for his amazing forgiveness. Using examples from his long experience in the police he explores the 'why' and 'how' of forgiveness - even in extreme circumstances.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. But in our private lives of devotion, have we been happy to simply read the words, rather than let them become flesh in our action and experience? GOD 360 DEGREES is a revolution in devotions. Read it and you may find yourself praying for your area from a multi-storey car park, or sharing your lawnmower with another family, or washing your friend's car as you follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Step into the story of God and take God's story into your present. Each of these 120 devotions contains biblical exegesis and an experience to give it a context or an active outworking. Knowing grows in the doing. If you actually get off the couch, Andy Flannagan guarantees that this book will change your life as it has changed his.

Most premarital counseling books have fun quizzes, games, and fill-in-the-blanks, but don't allow the couples to focus on serious issues.This book explores the art of conversation, and the process of good listening and counseling. Right From the Start: A Premarital Guide for Couples is full of real-life stories and advice to help couples prepare for and thrive in married life, not just to pass a test. Through story-telling, David and Lisa Frisbie open up the doors for couples to hash out their ideas, differences, and misunderstandings before anyone is hurt in the future. A little drama now is better than a lot of trauma later.Marriage is for life, and it's your duty as a couple to deal with the issues now before you find out it's too late.

As you proceed on your path to personal growth and want to gain insight into what prevents you from being the husband, wife, parent, or creative person you were born to be, benefit from this inspiring and easy-to-use workbook by T.D. Jakes, author of the "New York Times "bestseller "Let It Go: Forgive So You Can Be Forgiven. "
More than a companion piece to "Let It Go, "this is a guide through an "exhilarating journey that will enable you to finally reach the potential you know is inside you and take you to a level of personal success you may have only dreamed of until now," says Bishop Jakes. This workbook outlines the fundamentals of forgiveness and provides the spiritual and psychological tools to acknowledge and process feelings that may have held you back from fulfilling your greatest potential.
With this workbook learn how to:
- Sever the chains with which your past has held you captive, and launch yourself into a brighter future than you may have imagined.
- Break the powerful-but-invisible negative bonds that connect you in damaging ways to people who have hurt or offended you.
- Be set free to dream again and to pursue the vision you have for your life.
- Move beyond depression and bitterness and experience the freedom of forgiveness.

Everyone has gifts and talents, but do you know what

gift is the foundation of your God-given purpose

in life?

In Know Your Ministry: Spiritual Gifts for Every

Believer, renowned Bible teacher Marilyn Hickey presents

an enlightening overview of the seven foundational gifts

of the Holy Spirit from Romans 12 and shows you how to

discover your specific foundational gift.

Through Marilyn's personal and ministry examples,

biblical illustrations, and practical application, you will

discover the one gift that you identify with most closely

and through which you will obtain the most success.

That gift whether it is prophecy, serving, teaching,

exhortation, giving, organization, or mercy is your

foundational gift.

Once you have identified your core gift, you will see how

it relates to your other abilities and how it flows throughout

all your spiritual activity in the body of Christ.

Homosexuality, social drinking, and politics . . .Why is it so hard to talk about these topics and others like them in the church? What keeps us from having open and honest conversations about complex and controversial issues? The silence in the pews about these matters can be deafening. Often members say little, fearing disagreement and rebuttal, others strongly assert half-truths and biases. Nothing gets truly discussed, and many, especially the youth, become discouraged and leave.A Charitable Discourse insightfully explores why this happens, looking closely at the ways people avoid and prevent authentic dialog, from labeling and grandstanding to religious abuse. Seven controversial issues are discussed with understanding, sincerity, and compassion.

Find the freedom from regret, hurt, and fear that God wants for you while discovering joy, relief, and hope as you become the beautiful human he created you to be. We all carry regret, hurt, and fear. These are burdens that weigh us down and make us feel trapped. In twenty-five years of pastoral ministry, Scott Sauls has come alongside countless individuals and communities through weary seasons and circumstances. From his own seasons of regret, hurt, and fear--including battles with anxiety and depression--he knows what it's like to be unfinished and on the mend under Jesus' merciful, mighty healing hand. Beautiful People Don't Just Happen reads like a field guide that can help you: Find hope in how God is drawn toward you, not appalled by you, in your sin and sorrow. Practice emotional health with joy, gratitude, and lament. Quiet shaming, wearying thoughts with God's divine counter-voice. Discover how the defining feeling of faith is not strength but dependent weakness. Learn what the Bible calls "the secret of being content" in every circumstance. Dare to embrace the contentment, hope, and fullness God wants for you--offered to all who will receive it.

This companion workbook to The Wounded Heart will help you work through the complex issues of sexual abuse in a concrete way by leading you step-by-step through the process of change. It also includes specific sections for men, ideas for discussion-group facilitators, and reflective quotations from fellow strugglers with sexual abuse.

C. S. Lewis here offers wisdom and lessons that illuminate our private dialogue with God―prayer―in this collection drawn from the breadth of his writings.

The revered teacher and bestselling author of such classic Christian works as Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis here offers wisdom and lessons that illuminate our private dialogue with God―prayer―in this collection drawn from the breadth of his writings.

C. S. Lewis’s insights on Christianity and his reflections on Christian life continue to guide us more than fifty years after his death. How to Pray showcases Lewis’s enduring wisdom on prayer and its place in our daily lives.

Cultivated from his many essays, articles, and letters, as well as his classic works, How to Pray provides practical wisdom and instruction to help readers nurture their spiritual beliefs and embrace prayer in all its forms. While many people would like to speak to God, they often don’t know how to begin. Lewis guides them through the practice, illuminating the significance of prayer and why it is central to faith.

A welcome addition to the C. S. Lewis canon, How to Pray offers a deeper understanding of our personal tradition of prayer, our faith, and what is means to be a Christian.

Looking back on a happy lifetime spent as a Catholic priest, Kenneth Payne presents an inspired biographical work that discusses a fundamentally important element of human life; namely hospitality and how it has been, and continues to be, a central component of his life, work and faith. This continues as a central theme in the presentation of his travelogue, which describes, not without humour, his work with many different groups of people. Especially moving are the descriptions of his work amongst the most poverty stricken people in Jamaica, and his visit to the deprived peoples in Brazil where the open door and welcoming arms are the agents through which Christ's teachings are practised in today's world. At a time when criticism is often levelled at the institutionalised churches, this book comes as a breath of fresh air and is of interest to many who may not share the author's faith.

On Thursday as they ate the Passover meal with Jesus, the disciples believed that the kingdom was coming and they were on the front end of a revolution. Then came the tragedy of Friday and, somehow even worse, the silence of Saturday. They ran. They doubted. They despaired. Yet, within the grave, God's power was still flowing like a mighty river beneath the ice of winter. And then there was Sunday morning. Real, raw, and achingly honest, A Glorious Dark meets readers in the ambiguity, doubt, and uncertainty we feel when our beliefs about the world don't match up to reality. Tackling tough questions like Why is faith so hard? Why do I doubt? Why does God allow me to suffer? and Is God really with me in the midst of my pain? A. J. Swoboda puts into sharp focus a faith that is greater than our personal comfort or fulfilment. He invites readers to develop a faith that embraces the tension between what we believe and what we experience, showing that the very tension we seek to eliminate is where God meets us.

Veteran author James P. Gills takes readers on a path of discovery toward the realization that only a relinquished life can find true happiness in Christ. He acknowledges millions of Christians live without ever truly experiencing His joy in their lives, leaving a deep, emotional yearning and desperation to fill the void. Gills offers a point-by-point comparison of a God-centered and repentant spirit versus a religious spirit that is self-centered, proud, and overconfident.

This revised and updated edition provides an even better understanding of the essential characteristics of love. Readers will learn the five various types of love and read an explanation of love as many know it and as it should be. Dr. Gills provides an in-depth study on the hindrances of love, God's agape love, and love at its worst. The ultimate goal of this book is to receive love at its finest by accepting God's love for us, showing our love for God, and giving love to others.

The author of "The Gospel of" "Inclusion" continues to rouse organized religion as he raises controversial issues and provides enlightening answers to the deepest questions about God and faith.

What is God? Where is God? Who is the one true God? Questions such as these have driven a thousand human struggles, through war, terrorism, and oppression. Humanity has responded by branching off into multiple religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam--each one pitted against the other. But it doesn't have to be that way.
In "God Is Not a Christian, nor a Jew, Muslim, Hindu" . . ., the provocative and acclaimed Bishop Carlton Pearson follows up on his celebrated first book, "The Gospel of Inclusion," to tackle these questions and many more, exploring new ideas about God and faith and putting forth the stunning assertion that God belongs to no particular religion but is an ever-loving presence available to all. For these beliefs, Bishop Pearson lost his thriving Pentecostal ministry but was catapulted instead into a greater pulpit. His readership has grown through appearances on national television and an extensive speaking schedule. With the world in the midst of a holy war, there is no better time for the wisdom of Bishop Pearson to reach a global audience.
Bishop Pearson's many loyal fans, along with new readers, will surely welcome this provocative and eye-opening exploration of a deeper faith, one that goes far beyond any fundamentalist way of thinking, be it Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, etc. Simply put, Bishop Pearson dares to tell the truth so many others are too afraid to face.