Leaders administrate the new program, and members go on a raid. But picture a church where evangelism is just part of the culture. Leaders share their faith consistently and openly. Members follow, encouraging one another to make evangelism an ongoing way of life.Such is the way of evangelism presented by this brief and compelling book. No program here. Instead, it just might give your church a new way to live and share the gospel together.

    But, fear not, this is not another book that will pile on the guilt, simply saying pray better and more often. Instead, Michael Reeves shows us not only why prayer is so essential, but also how we can enjoy it too.

    The basic premise of the Daily Office is simple: We need to intentionally stop to be with God more than once a day so that practicing the presence of God becomes real in our lives.Each of the themes in this eight-week devotional is based on a chapter from the bestselling book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality—although you don’t have to have read that book to benefit from these devotions. Each day offers two devotional times—Morning/Midday and Midday/Evening—where each pause can last from five to twenty minutes.Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day also serves as a companion to the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (EHS) book and the EHS Course (a DVD curriculum).

    But this message also creates human beauty--beautiful relationships in our churches, making the glory of Christ visible in the world today.In this timely book, Pastor Ray Ortlund makes the case that gospel doctrine creates a gospel culture. In too many of our churches, it is the beauty of a gospel culture that is the missing piece of the puzzle. But when the gospel is allowed to exert its full power, a church becomes radiant with the glory of Christ.

    The New City Catechism is a modern-day resource aimed at reintroducing this ancient method of teaching to Christians today.This short book lays out 52 questions and answers related to God, human nature, sin, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and more. Whether used devotionally, recited orally, or memorized over the course of a year, families, churches, small groups, and Christian schools will treasure this as a valuable tool for teaching the core doctrines of the Christian faith to children and adults alike.

    In this new book, Rolheiser takes us on a journey through the dark night of the senses and of the spirit. Here, we experience the full gamut of human life, pleasure and fervor, disillusionment and boredom. But, as Rolheiser explains, when we embrace the struggle and yearning to know God we can experience too a profound re-understanding to our daily lives. "What lies beyond the essentials, the basics?" Rolheiser writes. "Where do we go once some of the basic questions in our lives have been answered, or at least brought to enough peace that our focus can shift away from ourselves to others? Where do we go once the basic questions in our lives are no longer the restless questions of youthful insecurity and loneliness? Who am I? Who loves me? How will my life turn out? Where do we go once the basic question in life becomes: How can I give my life away more purely, and more meaningfully? How do I live beyond my own heartaches, headaches, and obsessions so as to help make other peoples' lives more meaningful? The intent of this book is to try to address exactly those questions: How can we live less self- centered, more mature lives? What constitutes deep maturity and how do we reach that place? And, not unimportantly, what constitutes a more adult, Christian discipleship? What constitutes a truly mature following of Jesus?" As the poet Rainer Maria Rilke suggests, "Live the questions now." In "Sacred Fire," Rolheiser's deeply affecting prose urges us on in pursuit of the most holy of all passions--a deep and lasting intimacy with God.

    It takes unbelievable grace and humility to love others well. This book offers grace, ideas, practical help and a story of one broken mama fighting to live well with her children.

    D. Greear how to more fully experience the Holy Spirit within you. Jesus gave his disciples the audacious promise that the Spirit he would send to live inside them would be even better than if he himself remained beside them. Yet how many of us consider our connection to the Holy Spirit so strong that we would call his presence in us better than Jesus himself walking by our side?J. D. Greear was the pastor of a rapidly growing church who still felt like he didn't know how to relate to God personally. Though he knew a lot about God, he wasn't as sure about how to walk with God. Furthermore, he felt overwhelmed by the size of the mission Jesus had left for his church. In a world of so much need, what difference could he possibly make? Learning how God dwells in us and empowers us in the Holy Spirit redefined his life and ministry. Ministry became less about working for God and more about letting God work through him. Drudgery was replaced by delight; helplessness was replaced by empowerment.In Jesus, Continued... Greear explores--in clear and practical language--questions such as:What does it mean to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit?How can we tell when the Spirit is speaking to us?What do you do when God feels absent?If you are longing to know God in a vibrant way, Jesus, Continued... has good news for you: That's exactly what God wants for you too. His Spirit stands ready to guide you, empower you, and use you.

     Slaying Your Giants is a book that will change your life. It will teach you everything you need to know to have that mountain moving, giant tackling faith that God has always wanted from you. But prepare yourself for a total life makeover. Because radical faith creates radical changes.

    However, youth ministry expert Andrew Root explains that this focus is central to Bonhoeffer's story and thought. Root presents Bonhoeffer as the forefather and model of the growing theological turn in youth ministry. By linking contemporary youth workers with this epic theologian, the author shows the depth of youth ministry work and underscores its importance in the church. He also shows how Bonhoeffer's life and thought impact present-day youth ministry practice.

    With his unexpected passing in 2013, the world lost a brilliant mind. The wide breadth of his impact inspired friends, family, colleagues, students and leaders of the church to gather their reflections on this celebrated yet humble theologian and philosopher. Richard Foster, a friend for over forty years, writes of Dallas: "He possessed in his person a spiritual formation into Christlikeness that was simply astonishing to all who were around him. Profound character formation had transpired in his body and mind and spirit until love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control were at the very center of the deep habit-structures of his life. He exhibited a substantively transformed life. Dallas was simply soaked in the presence of the living Christ."Curated by Gary Moon, director of the Dallas Willard Center, this medley of Dallas's wise teaching and lived model of Christlikeness―as well as snapshots and "Dallas-isms"―will move and motivate readers. Whether influenced by him as a family member, close friend, advisor, professor, philosopher, minister or reformer, contributors bring refreshing insight into not only his ideas and what shaped him, but also to his contagious theology of grace and joy.Contributors include: Richard J. Foster Jane Willard J. P. Moreland John Ortberg James Bryan Smith Alan Fadling Ruth Haley Barton and dozens more

    And those who love the Lord will be driven to fulfill His will. So consider dedicating yourself to a life of total surrender –without which you’ll never fully understand or live out the will of God.In this book you'll learn how to determine God's will for your life. Never again will His will be difficult to understand, but always without fail you'll know what He requires of you. And you will discover a deeper more fulfilling relationship with Him as you learn how to more effectively communicate with Him.

    Love Letters from God is the first book of the series written by Glenys Nellist. Unique features include:18 letters from God, enclosed in an envelope your child can open, and personalization space to write your child’s name on each letterGorgeous bright illustrations by Sophie Allsopp9 stories from The Old Testament and 9 stories from The New TestamentThis picture book is perfect for ages 4-8 and is great for birthdays, Easter baskets, Valentine’s Day, holiday gift giving, or as an addition to your child’s home library.Check out other titles from this series, Love Letters from God: Bible Stories for a Girl’s Heart, Easter Love Letters from God: Bible Stories, and Christmas Love Letters from God: Bible Stories.

    Archbishop Averky addresses head on the question, “What is asceticism?” He counters the many false understandings that exist and shows that the practice of authentic asceticism is integral to the spiritual life and the path to blessed communion with God.

    – Psalm 62:5 The paragraphs of this little book are not supposed to be an argument. It was not my aim to convince an opponent but to assist a friend. How I have personally threaded the labyrinth of life thus far may be of helpful interest to some other soul who is in a maze. I hope that these pages will assist some true heart to say “he fought his doubts and gather’d strength.” Let no man’s heart fail him, for the prevalent skepticisms of today are but “spectres of the mind.” Face them, and they fly. About the Author Charles Haddon (C. H.) Spurgeon (1834-1892) was a British Baptist preacher. He started preaching at age 17 and quickly became famous. He is still known as the “Prince of Preachers” and frequently had more than 10,000 people present to hear him preach at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. His sermons were printed in newspapers, translated into many languages, and published in many books.

    The solutions presented are inspiring and highly practical. Best of all, the keys to fruitfulness shared are universal principles that work in the “real world.” These principles will help you multiply generations of disciples, wherever you find yourself!BECOME A REPRODUCER: • Don’t just make disciples. Learn to reproduce disciple-makers! • Gain an overview of the discipling process and how to move new believers to maturity and reproduction. • Grasp the keys to successful evangelism and multiplication in the context of a disciple-making team.

    You’re invited to step inside and have a look at the Christian faith from within. You’ll meet our guide, Jesus, who will take us through the house. We’ll explore the big issues: God, the world and ourselves. At the end we’ll sit down with a drink and you can ask your questions. How does that sound?Perhaps you’re already familiar with Christian beliefs or maybe they are completely new to you. Whatever the case, this is a fresh telling of the Christian story that assumes no prior knowledge. All you need is an open mind and a willingness to explore. If that’s you then let’s take the tour in 3, 2, 1…

    Two ordinary men with no formal education, spoke confidently in front of men of authority. What distinguished them was that "they had been with Jesus." Acts 4:13.Come join Pastor Edmund Chan as he guides you in the grand adventure of walking with Jesus and changing our world.

    We would change the world. The roadblock preventing us from stepping into our identities as sons and daughters of God is not lack of discipline, resources, or creative ideas. We have all of this… What’s missing? To discover who you are, first, you must know Who the Father is and what He’s like. "You can't read Prone to Love and not recall the goodness of God in your life." -- Shawn Ring, Executive Pastor, Gateway Church

    Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892), while only twenty-one years old, edited his Baptist Catechism for his own congregation and introduced it during a sermon entitled, "A Glorious Habitation." This book contains his 82 questions and answers, as well as the sermon which launched his timeless catechism.

     This book is filled with profound, inspirational truths that affirm our identity as beloved children of God and encourage us to go deeper with Him - trusting Him more radically, taking more risks in faith, and living life to the full. Every seventh day, a Come Closer entry summarises the week's thoughts and helps readers to engage with the truths they have learned and apply them to their own lives.

    But do we really do this? Emphasizing that God's love for us is the source of our love for him, Phil Ryken challenges us to take Jesus's words seriously and think carefully about where our affections truly lie.

    But what is Jesus Christ doing today? What is His present-day ministry?In Jesus Now, bestselling author Frank Viola gives us the first comprehensive treatment of what Jesus has been doing since His ascension until His second coming. In an easy-to-read format, Viola explores the seven aspects of Christ's ministry today and shows how each one benefits the saved and the unsaved. Open these pages and discover what the Lord Jesus Christ is doing now and how it will impact your life.--Frank Viola speaks and writes regularly about the deeper Christian life. His bestselling titles include God’s Favorite Place On Earth, Jesus: A Theography (with Leonard Sweet), Jesus Manifesto (with Leonard Sweet), From Eternity to Here, and Reimagining Church. Frankviola.org is one of the top ten Christian blogs on the web.

    A rich resource for renewing the practice of the sacraments in a way that encourages faithful discipleship in a hostile cultural environment.

    Growing in Christlike Love for God and Neighbor.

    In ten easy-to-read chapters, Patton introduces readers to the foundational teachings and life-giving practices of Christianity--from the doctrine of the Trinity to reading and understanding the Bible. Designed for individual use or small group discussion, this handbook on the Christian faith has the potential to become the go-to guide for new believers wanting to follow Jesus with their heads and their hands.

    The authors suggest a workable process for improving a local church’s leadership structure and making the transition to elder plurality. Stories of church leaders provide a narrative of how faithful elder leadership has strengthened their ministries in a variety of settings. Every local church can benefit from this useful resource for building a healthy leadership structure.

    This type of outreach is what Jesus modeled, is culturally relevant, and values people. The goal should be to invite people to take the next step from where they are.Friendship Community Church, led by Pastor Todd Stevens, has experienced tremendous growth through acts of kindness. The church’s most radical kindness project is Nashville Strip Church, founded by Erin Stevens. Erin’s life changed when God told her to “go feed the strippers.” With home-cooked meals and gift bags, Erin shows dancers that God loves them. How to Pick Up a Stripper and Other Acts of Kindness includes the story of a dancer who has come to know Christ, left the strip club industry through Erin’s ministry, and is now serving with Erin to reach other strippers.From feeding the homeless, to Easter egg hunts for special needs children, to ministering in a strip club, How to Pick Up a Stripper and Other Acts of Kindness provides exciting ideas for showing God’s love in practical ways.Features include:Stories from kindness outreach events, including Strip ChurchIdeas for showing God’s love in practical waysInspiration to step out of your comfort zone to serve people

    Taking familiar biblical stories from the Old and New Testaments and placing them side by side, children can see biblical typology jump off the page. Biblical typology is when a person or an event in the Old Testament foreshadows a person or an event in the New Testament. The Bible is full of these fascinating "types." Children can now discover similarities of types without any difficulty, and easily understand at an early age what St. Augustine meant when he said that the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is revealed in the New. Theodore Schluenderfritz (Illustrator)

    What does minimal human ethics look like? Can Christians really be followers of Jesus in the way they live today? In his own unique style, Randy Harris wrestles with these and other ethical issues facing Christians and all humanity.

    How can we be sure of what is true?  In this eye-opening study you’ll examine the Bible’s answers about death and what comes next. As you confront the inevitability of death in the context of the promise of heaven and the reality of hell, you will be challenged to examine your heart—and in doing so, find that, in grabbing hold of the hope of eternal life, the sting of death is replaced with peace. 40 minutes a week could change your life! The 40-Minute Bible Studies series from the teaching team at Precepts Ministries International tackles the topics that matter to you. These inductive study guides, designed to be completed in just six 40-minutes lessons with no homework required, help you discover for yourself what God says and how it applies to your life today. With the leader’s note and Bible passages included right in the book, each self-contained study is a powerful resource for personal growth and small-group discussion.

    And you do not have to add a big list of new activities to your life! Instead, it is the everyday ordinary things done with greater gospel-intentionality…slowly over time…that make all the difference.Biblical and super practical, Small is Big, Slow is Fast helps readers respond to Jesus’ call to each of us to be a missionary right where we live—in our own families and neighbourhoods. It shows you step by step the essential elements that create environments for organic kingdom growth and multiplication.Whether you’re looking to lead your own family or are taking first steps toward starting a church that has discipleship and mission at its core, you will discover the secret to starting out small and going (seemingly) slower—and not feeling guilty about it. And you’ll be encouraged to trust that when you lay the right foundations, multi-plication will occur and will always be “faster” and more successful in the long run.

    --1 Corinthians 13:13What are the pathways that lead us to God? This is a book about what happens when we find those pathways. You will discover the values and virtues that grow out of our experiences, and practices that encourage us to be with God in specific ways.Spiritual director Helen Cepero writes: I've seen that when I reflect on my own life experiences, when I am alert to God's presence, and alive to Christ's love, I grow as a Christ follower, and as a human being living in God's world. This book is an invitation for you not to follow me, but follow Jesus into the stories of your own life. You too, will need to wake up and be willing to walk . . . through your own life.We will follow the journey to God by beginning with three ways of love, then three ways of continuing in faith and lastly, three ways of living in hope. These nine pathways will lead you more deeply into life with Christ.

    We can walk alongside people and still stand out from them. Disciples cannot call other disciples to repentance and change if they are not themselves changed and changing. Churches cannot serve their divine purpose to call cities and systems to redemption and change if they are not themselves redeemed and redemptive.

    Love for self motivates us to follow our own agenda, vent our feelings, justify self, and blame someone else or something else for problems we face. This is not taught in the Bible. The main emphasis on self in the Bible is self-denial and self-sacrifice. This book examines the words and actions of Jesus Christ and will demonstrate that He was others-oriented; that he taught and modeled self-denial as opposed to self-love. A Christian cannot esteem himself and take up the cross at the same time.

    He wondered if God could ever be a part of his broken life. To his surprise, finding God was not that difficult. But, growing closer to Him was another story. Three weeks after giving his life to God, he relapsed, and almost over-dosed. He wanted to be closer to God, but he just had no idea how to get there. As a result, his faith eventually floundered. He didn't know what steps he should be taking to move closer to God. Embracing spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Bible study, healthy relationships, sharing his testimony, serving, and giving was a foreign concept to him; and therefore, out of reach. Shawn's hope is that Transit can keep people from losing faith in God today, the way he did then. Today, Shawn is the lead pastor of Red Rocks Church in Golden, Colorado, one of the fastest growing churches in the country according to Leadership Network. At Red Rocks, he regularly encounters people who (like him) have had mountaintop experiences with God, but then crashed and burned because they had no idea how to move closer to Him. Time and time again, he has seen that his post-conversion experience is not an anomaly. Shawn remembers what it was like to feel dazed and confused after a dramatic life transformation. He also knows how easy it is for long-time believers to fall into spiritual ruts where complacency, disillusionment, and frustration are the norm. In Transit, Shawn shares his personal journey in growing closer to God, uncovering disciplines that were critical to that journey, and invites each of us to ignite (or re-ignite) an authentic relationship with God, one that actually changes our lives today.

    Thirty lively lessons introduced by comic illustrations on "Laying a Foundation" to "Sharing the Gospel." Includes suggested answers for questions.

    But is a couple’s marriage really anyone’s business but their own? Of course. Marriage doesn’t affect just a husband and wife. It affects their kids, their community, even the health of the church—your church. When marriages are strong, attendance, tithing, volunteerism, even the quality of worship tends to go up. When marriages are weak, the opposite usually happens. In MARRIED PEOPLE: HOW YOUR CHURCH CAN BUILD MARRIAGES THAT LAST, Ted Lowe and Doug Fields show how the church is uniquely positioned, despite being overcommitted in time and resources, to be in the “business” of building marriages. For every ministry leader—pastor, age group minister, family minister, even the dedicated volunteer—this book offers a vision and a step-by-step strategy for empowering marriages and strengthening the church in the process.

    It answers questions that many people have about Bible study: How do I find time? Where do I start? How do I understand what it means? How do I apply it to my life? And what should I do if I get out of my devotional routine? This book contains practical answers to these questions and emphasizes relationship with Christ rather than religion. It also has thought-provoking questions at the end of each chapter, making it useful for both individual and group study. The last chapter gives several study plans on topics such as the attributes of God, the will of God, suffering, anxiety, and conflict. It is a great tool for new Christians or anyone who wants to freshen up their Bible study routine.

    But God cares about the answer. As author Mary Ann Froehlich points out, gentleness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit that is supposed to mark the words and actions of every Christian. And as Scripture clearly indicates, it is not an absence of strength or determination. Courageous Gentleness steers us to evaluate our lives through the lens of the Bible and consider practical ways that gentleness speaks to a watching world. Cultivating it in our lives can transform relationships with family members, neighbors, coworkers, and even enemies.

     Suffering is our constant companion as we make our way to that great city on the other side of this storm. Jonah is representative of all of us who tend to fear the unknown outcomes of life. I am thankful the LORD placed his story in our Bible. I hope you will be able to glean from this work, which is my feeble attempt to tell his story in a relevant way.

    Over the past two thousand years, however, some of these gifts have been neglected or set aside, and we've forgotten what we're capable of.Now, in Primal Fire, Neil Cole shares the surprising truth about the five gifts of Jesus--what they mean, how they reflect Christ, and the remarkable power and synergy that comes when we all work together to ignite the church's full potential and passion.Whether you're a church leader who wants to equip your members to grow spiritually, or someone who wants to better understand your own contribution to the body of Christ, it's time to reignite the Primal Fire and become the gifts that Christ intended for us to be.

    Whatever walls you may be up against, you don’t have to stay stuck behind them.Enlightening and encouraging, Walls Fall Down tells how Joshua and the Israelites followed God’s unusual plan to walk around the heavily fortified walls of Jericho for seven days. The Lord promised that at end of those seven days, He would cause the walls of the famed city to fall, allowing His people to take possession of the Promised Land. Seven spiritual principles are in this story, and they are available to you today.Join pastor Dudley Rutherford on a seven-day journey to discover how the foundation behind Joshua’s victory is the key to overcoming our stubborn hurdles and unsolvable issues. When we choose to do things God’s way, walls crumble, victory replaces defeat, and a blessed future unfolds. Discover how your personal Jericho is no match for the power of a great God.

    The cries of anguish and why are taken up into a new-found trust and joy. She draws us into the beauty and strength of a love which faces all the challenges and yet celebrates the wonder of Arthur's life and vocation. If you are someone grappling with the hard questions about God, life and things going wrong, this book is for you.' Deborah Ford, Hospital Chaplain at Cambridge University Hospitals

    The Bible calls them remnants. Today God continues to set apart men and women who will rise up, speak out, and lead. He is waiting for you.This is your moment. Time is running out and your voice is needed to transform the world with a message from the throne of God. Like Samuel, you must accept the mantle God has for you. Will you accept the call?