This is not simply a book about having more discipline so you can live your dreams.

Rest & War is about pushing back the chaos and bringing about order to your life. It is about driving the evil dictator out of your heart and establishing the true King so you can:

• Overcome the deceptive strategies of sin aimed specifically at your weaknesses that bend your behaviors to broken ends
• Stop giving your heart to aimless affections and learn how to intentionally orient your life and loves around a God who cares for you
• Recognize that under your misdirected affections and motivations is a deep and good longing for God
• Discover methods of overcoming personal shortcomings that do not rely on shame-based motivation

The writer of Hebrews declares we are called to “cast off all that hinders” and “run the race marked out for us.” We are called into the action! In our race we must both flee some things and pursue others. It’s not about being free of all struggles. Rather, we have been empowered to struggle well.

Struggle well. Fight for progress. Know the One who has fought for you. The writer of Hebrews says that we are to "throw off everything that hinders" and run "the race marked out for us" (Hebrews 12:1). We are called to action and empowered to struggle well. And yet, as we navigate life, we realize there are difficulties without and discouragements within. Not only do we feel ill equipped to thrive . . . we don't even know how to survive. In this six-session study, Ben Stuart will give you practical strategies to help you war against the enemy of your soul and find the rest that God has promised for you. You will discover how to overcome deceptive strategies the enemy aims at you. How to move away from aimless affections and toward things that develop intimacy with God. How to make a place, a time, and a plan for communicating with God each day. And how to keep in step with the Spirit. Life is hard, but there are promises to grip. Strategies and tactics to employ. Progress to be made. Are you ready? This study guide has everything you need for a full Bible study experience, including: The study guide itself-with video notes, personal study and group discussion sections, and a guide to best practices for leading a group. An individual access code to stream all five video sessions online (you don't need to buy a DVD!). Sessions and video run times include: FREED TO FIGHT (20:30) AWAY AND TOWARD (17:30) DOWNSTREAM AND UPSTREAM (21:00) CONSISTENCY AND CREATIVITY (19:30) FOCUS AND UNITY (20:30) KEEP IN STEP (20:30) Watch on any device! Streaming video access code included. Access code subject to expiration after 12/31/2027. Code may be redeemed only by the recipient of this package. Code may not be transferred or sold separately from this package. Internet connection required. Void where prohibited, taxed, or restricted by law. Additional offer details inside.

Navigating the Four Critical Seasons of Relationship

The vast majority of young people will still pass through the key phases of singleness, dating, engagement, and marriage in their twenties. Yet they are delaying marriage longer than any generation in human history. Why?

For the first time in history, the average age for an American woman having her first child, 26, is younger than the average age of her first marriage, 27. More children than ever are growing up in fatherless homes, despite the overwhelming evidence that in every measurable way this is bad for the child. The Center for Disease Control also recently reported a dramatic rise in sexually transmitted disease nationwide. In Rhode Island alone, since the onset of online dating, reported cases of syphilis has risen 79%, and HIV has increased by 33%.

Ben Stuart felt the dual struggle in his youth of purposelessness and powerlessness. He wanted his life to have meaning, and he wanted to overcome his struggles, but the self-help books he read only left him feeling defeated and discouraged. Then, in college, he encountered professors and pastors who helped him see that his life, far from being a disjointed or isolated struggle, was part of a compelling story that God had written. He had been invited into an epic adventure! In this six-session video study, Ben shares how this knowledge led him to develop a practical strategy of resting in God's strength and warring against the enemy's attempts to keep him locked into patterns of sin. He helps group members to likewise develop strategies that will enable them to: (1) overcome the deceptive strategies of sin aimed at their weaknesses; (2) orient their lives and loves around a God who cares for them, (2) recognize that under their misdirected affections and motivations is a deep longing for God, and (2) discover methods of overcoming personal shortcomings that do not rely on shame-based motivation. Sessions and run times include: Freed to Fight (20:30) Away and Toward (17:30) Downstream and Upstream (21:00) Consistency and Creativity (20:00) Focus and Unity (19:30) Keep in Step (20:30) Designed for use with Rest and War Study Guide plus Streaming Video, sold separately.