Critics hailed that book as an “astounding literary and spiritual feat” (Publishers Weekly) that is “destined to become a classic of both urban reportage and contemporary spirituality” (Los Angeles Times). Now, after the suc­cessful expansion of Homeboy Industries, Boyle returns with Barking to the Choir to reveal how com­passion is transforming the lives of gang members. In a nation deeply divided and plagued by poverty and violence, Barking to the Choir offers a snapshot into the challenges and joys of life on the margins. Sergio, arrested at nine, in a gang by twelve, and serving time shortly thereafter, now works with the substance-abuse team at Homeboy to help others find sobriety. Jamal, abandoned by his family when he tried to attend school at age seven, gradually finds forgive­ness for his schizophrenic mother. New father Cuco, who never knew his own dad, thinks of a daily adventure on which to take his four-year-old son. These former gang members uplift the soul and reveal how bright life can be when filled with unconditional love and kindness. This book is guaranteed to shake up our ideas about God and about people with a glimpse at a world defined by more compassion and fewer barriers. Gently and humorously, Barking to the Choir invites us to find kinship with one another and reconvinces us all of our own goodness.

    This one shift has the potential to radically alter how you relate to God, not as a doctrine, but as a relational being who responds to you in an elastic, back-and-forth way. In God Has a Name, John Mark Comer takes you line by line through Exodus 34:6-8--Yahweh's self-revelation on Mount Sinai, one of the most quoted passages in the Bible. Along the way, Comer addresses some of the most profound questions he came across as he studied these noted lines in Exodus, including:Why do we feel this gap between us and God?Could it be that a lot of what we think about God is wrong? Not all wrong, but wrong enough to mess up how we relate to him?What if our "God" is really a projection of our own identity, ideas, and desires?What if the real God is different, but far better than we could ever imagine?No matter where you are in your spiritual journey, the act of learning who God is just might surprise you--and change everything.

    As for the rest of us… While American church culture (and American culture at large) seems largely designed for the extroverted, it’s estimated that half of the American population is introverted, and they’re often left wondering how, even if, they fit in the kingdom of God. As one of them, popular radio host Brant Hansen brings news. It’s wonderful, refreshing, and never-been-said-this-way-before good news.In his unique style, Hansen looks to answer questions that millions of people carry with them each day:If I don’t relate to God as emotionally as others do, is something wrong with me?How does one approach God, and approach faith, when devoid of the “good feelings” that seem to drive so much of evangelical church culture?How does God interact with those who seem spiritually numb?Is the absence of faith-based emotion a sign of that God has moved on or was never there?What if we aren’t good at talking to people about our faith, or good at talking to people at all?What if I’m told I’m too analytical, that I “think too much”?Where does a person who suffers from depression fit in the kingdom? Is depression a sure sign of a lack of faith?This book is good news for people who are desperately looking for it. (And for their loved ones!)It’s also for those who want to believe in Jesus, but inwardly fear that they don’t belong, worry that don’t have the requisite emotion-based relationship with God, and are starving for good news.Blessed Are the Misfits is going to generate discussion, and lots of it. It’s simultaneously highly provocative and humbly personal. It’s also leavened with a distinct, dry, self-effacing humor that is a hallmark of Hansen’s on-air, writing, and public speaking style.

    Willie Parker grew up in the Deep South, lived in a Christian household, and converted to an even more fundamentalist form of Christianity as a young man. But upon reading an interpretation of the Good Samaritan in a sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he realized that in order to be a true Christian, he must show compassion for all women regardless of their needs. In 2009, he stopped practicing obstetrics to focus entirely on providing safe abortions for the women who need help the most—often women in poverty and women of color—and in the hot bed of the pro-choice debate: the South. He soon thereafter traded in his private practice and his penthouse apartment in Hawaii for the life of an itinerant abortion provider, focusing most recently on women in the Deep South. In Life’s Work, Dr. Willie Parker tells a deeply personal and thought-provoking narrative that illuminates the complex societal, political, religious, and personal realities of abortion in the United States from the unique perspective of someone who performs them and defends the right to do so every day. He also looks at how a new wave of anti-abortion activism, aimed at making incremental changes in laws and regulations state by state, are slowly chipping away at the rights of women to control their own lives. In revealing his daily battle against mandatory waiting periods and bogus rules governing the width of hallways, Dr. Parker uncovers the growing number of strings attached to the right to choose and makes a powerful Christian case for championing reproductive rights.

    I was not to carry any identification, and would have to leave my cell phone, audio recorder, watch, and purse at my hotel. . . ."For her whole life, Souad Mekhennet, a reporter for The Washington Post who was born and educated in Germany, has had to balance the two sides of her upbringing - Muslim and Western. She has also sought to provide a mediating voice between these cultures, which too often misunderstand each other.In this compelling and evocative memoir, we accompany Mekhennet as she journeys behind the lines of jihad, starting in the German neighborhoods where the 9/11 plotters were radicalized and the Iraqi neighborhoods where Sunnis and Shia turned against one another, and culminating on the Turkish/Syrian border region where ISIS is a daily presence. In her travels across the Middle East and North Africa, she documents her chilling run-ins with various intelligence services and shows why the Arab Spring never lived up to its promise. She then returns to Europe, first in London, where she uncovers the identity of the notorious ISIS executioner "Jihadi John," and then in France, Belgium, and her native Germany, where terror has come to the heart of Western civilization.Mekhennet's background has given her unique access to some of the world's most wanted men, who generally refuse to speak to Western journalists. She is not afraid to face personal danger to reach out to individuals in the inner circles of Al Qaeda, the Taliban, ISIS, and their affiliates; when she is told to come alone to an interview, she never knows what awaits at her destination.Souad Mekhennet is an ideal guide to introduce us to the human beings behind the ominous headlines, as she shares her transformative journey with us. Hers is a story you will not soon forget.

    He reveals an art of living in mindfulness that helps us answer life's deepest questions, experience the happiness and freedom we desire and face ageing and dying with curiosity and joy instead of fear.Stimulating and inspiring, this book teaches us the importance of looking inside ourselves and developing compassion, before we can turn to our relationships at home and in the wider world. Full of remarkable stories from Thich Nhat Hanh’s own experiences and mindful practices for engaging with life, this will be a book that will help us generate happiness, understanding and love so we can live deeply in each moment of our life, right where we are.

    “May I answer these questions,” she writes, “and any questions you may have, by posing a different question: Are you willing to engage in the wrestle? In an ongoing spiritual wrestle?” In Worth the Wrestle, Sheri examines the process of asking good questions—whether those questions be doctrinal, procedural, historical, or intensely personal—and learning how to get answers. She demonstrates how to live by faith while seeking greater light and knowledge. And she testifies of principles that are worth wrestling for and of understanding that can be gained in no other way.

    But joy often gave way to sorrow as she invested her heart fully in walking alongside people in the grip of poverty, addiction, desperation, and disease.After unexpected tragedy shook her family, for the first time Katie began to wonder, Is God really good? Does He really love us? When she turned to Him with her questions, God spoke truth to her heart and drew her even deeper into relationship with Him.Daring to Hope is an invitation to cling to the God of the impossible--the God who whispers His love to us in the quiet, in the mundane, when our prayers are not answered the way we want or the miracle doesn't come. It's about a mother discovering the extraordinary strength it takes to be ordinary. It's about choosing faith no matter the circumstance and about encountering God's goodness in the least expected places.Though your heartaches and dreams may take a different shape, you will find your own questions echoed in these pages. You'll be reminded of the gifts of joy in the midst of sorrow. And you'll hear God's whisper: Hold on to hope. I will meet you here.

    The question is what does He have to say to you? The New York Times bestselling author of The Circle Maker teaches readers how to listen to God. WINNER OF THE ECPA CHRISTIAN BOOK AWARD FOR CHRISTIAN LIVINGThe voice that spoke the cosmos into existence is the same voice that parted the Red Sea, and made the sun stand still in the midday sky. One day, this voice will make all things new, but it's also speaking to you now!That voice is God's voice, and what we've learned from Scripture is that He often speaks in a whisper. Not to make it difficult to hear Him, but to draw us close.Many people have a tough time believing God still speaks. Sure, in ancient times and in mysterious ways, God spoke to His people, but is He still speaking now?Mark Batterson certainly believes so. And he wants to introduce you to the seven love languages of God; each of them unique and entirely divine. Some of them you might suspect but others will surprise you.By learning to tune in to and decipher each language, you'll be able to hear His guidance in simple as well as life-altering choices. God is actively speaking through: Scripture, Desires, Doors, Dreams, People, Promptings, and Pain. Batterson gives you the tools you need to unlock each of these languages.God's whisper can answer your most burning questions, calm your deepest fears, and fulfill your loftiest dreams.Discover how simple it is to hear God's voice in every aspect of your life!He's speaking, make sure you know how to listen!

    

    To revise our actions, our assumptions and our beliefs so we can be transformed from within, as well as externally.It aims to help modern Muslims maintain a spiritual connection with Allah and to address the challenges facing believers today: the disunity in the Muslim community, terrorists acting in the name of Islam, and the disconnection with Allah.These challenges and more are tackled by Nouman Ali Khan, with his profound engagement with the Qur'an, in his trademark voice that is sought out by millions of Muslims on a daily basis.About the AuthorNouman Ali Khan is a Muslim speaker and the CEO and founder of Bayyinah Institute, an Arabic studies educational institution in the United States. Currently, he is recognized as one of the world's most influential Muslims, not only in the West. His deep and profound bond with the Qur'an, the Muslim holy book, is at the heart of his work and the focus of his teachings, which manage to reach out to millions of Muslims from many different countries.

    Blending personal storytelling with biblical teaching, they offer readers an inspiring, realistic vision of love, dating, marriage, and sex.Young people today enter adulthood with expectations of blissful dating followed by a romantic, fulfilling marriage only to discover they’ve been duped. They learned about love and sexuality from social media, their friends, Disney fairy tales, pornography, or even their own rocky past, and they have no idea what healthy, lifelong love is supposed to be like. The results are often disastrous, with this generation becoming one of the most relationally sick, sexually addicted, and divorce ridden in history.Looking to God’s design while drawing lessons from their own successes and failures, the Bethkes explode the fictions and falsehoods of our current moment. One by one, they peel back the lies, such as the belief that every person has only one soul mate, that marriage will complete you, or that pornography and hook-ups are harmless.

    And for Latter-day Saints, the Jesus Christ revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith is, in some very significant ways, a different kind of Christ than the Jesus of modern Christianity. The Christ of the restored gospel collaborated with Heavenly Parents for our salvation even before the foundation of the world, "does not anything" save it be for our benefit (2 Nephi 26:24), and is determined to patiently guide and nurture every one of God's children into an eternal heavenly family. Most significantly, this Christ does not rescue us from a condition of original sin or depravity. Rather, He is primarily a healer of the wounds incident to a long-planned sojourn, one intended to immerse us in the trials, pains, and soul-stretching of this mortal schoolroom. He is not only the most remarkable being in the history of religious thought; He is, in fact, The Christ Who Heals.

    But how can we know that is true? How can we gain a greater sense of the worth of every soul—including our own?In his latest book, Elder David A. Bednar offers a compelling look at a pattern the Lord uses to bless His people: He works with us on an individual basis, one by one. Demonstrating that pattern as it occurs throughout the scriptures, in the lives of many Church leaders, and in his own ministry, Elder Bednar opens our hearts to the Lord's love for us. He teaches that by ministering as the Savior does, one by one, we can be more powerful instruments in His hands to do His work.From a "guided tour" through scriptural illustrations to an array of touching personal accounts, this important new book offers hope and guidance for anyone who has ever wondered, "Do I matter to the Lord?"

    The Paradigm will reveal secrets and mysteries taking place all around you and show you what you never could have imagined. Jonathan Cahn, who caused an international stir with his New York Times best-selling book The Harbinger, will take you from the ancient Middle East to the news of the modern world on a journey you will never forget. As you open up The Paradigm, his most explosive book yet, you may never see your world the same way again.

    Using the same inspired, inquisitive approach, he now turns to our most sacred book, the Bible. What Is the Bible? provides insights and answers that make clear why the Bible is so revered and what makes it truly inspiring and essential to our lives.Rob takes us deep into actual passages to reveal the humanity behind the Scriptures. You cannot get to the holy without going through the human, Rob tells us. When considering a passage, we shouldn’t ask "Why did God say . . .?" To get to the heart of the Bible’s meaning, we should be asking: "What’s the story that’s unfolding here and why did people find it important to tell it? What was it that moved them to record these words? What was happening in the world at that time? What does this passage/story/poem/verse/book tell us about how people understood who they were and who God was at that time?" In asking these questions, Rob goes beyond the one-dimensional question of "is it true?" to reveal the Bible’s authentic transformative power.Rob addresses the concerns of all those who see the Bible as God’s Word but are troubled by the ethical dilemmas, errors, and inconsistencies in Scripture. With What Is the Bible?, he recaptures the Good Book’s magic and reaffirms its power and inspiration to shape and inspire our lives today.

    "Some of my gay friends—as well as some of the LDS friends—are a little surprised that I think it's possible to be a gay Mormon."In That We May Be One, Tom Christofferson shares perspectives gained from his life's journey as a gay man who left The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and then returned to it. After having asked to be excommunicated from the faith he was raised in, Tom spent two decades in a loving relationship with a committed partner. But gradually, the love of family, friends, and strangers and the Spirit of the Lord worked on him until he found himself one night sitting in his car in front of the bishop's house...This book is about the lessons Tom, his family, and his fellow Saints learned while trying to love as God loves. It is about the scope and strength of this circle of love and about how learning the truth of our relationship with God draws us to Him. For anyone who has wondered how to keep moving forward in the face of difficult decisions and feelings of ambiguity; for anyone who needs to better understand the redeeming power of our Savior, Jesus Christ; for anyone who seeks to love more fully; this book offers reassurance and testimony of God's love for all of His children.

    In this colorful, inviting format, more than 20 of his best-loved stories come together under five major themes: Principles of Flight, Lift, Guidance on the Journey, Weathering the Turbulence, and Our Eternal Destination.

    And those choices accumulate and eventually become our life story. What would your life look like if you became an expert at making those choices?In this inspiring guidebook, New York Times bestselling author Craig Groeschel shows how the choices that are in your power, if aligned with biblical principles, will lead to a life you've never imagined.Divine Direction will help you seek wisdom through seven principles. You'll consider:One thing to stop that's hindering youHow to start a new habit to re-direct your pathWhere you should stay committedAnd when you should go even if it's easier to stayThe book also includes criteria that will help you feel confident in the right choice, and encourages you with principles for trusting God with your decisions. What story do you want to tell about yourself? God is dedicated to the wonderful plan he's laid out for you. The achievable and powerful steps in Divine Direction take you there one step at a time, big or small.Spanish edition also available.

    Three centuries later, Brian Zahnd was both mesmerized and terrified by Edwards's wrathful God. Haunted by fear that crippled his relationship with God, Zahnd spent years praying for a divine experience of hell. What Zahnd experienced instead was the Father's love--revealed perfectly through Jesus Christ--for all prodigal sons and daughters. In Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God, Zahnd asks important questions like Is seeing God primarily as wrathful towards sinners true or biblical? Is fearing God a normal, expected behavior? And where might the natural implications of this theological framework lead us? Thoughtfully wrestling with subjects like Old Testament genocide, the crucifixion of Jesus, eternal punishment in hell, and the final judgment in Revelation, Zanhd maintains that the summit of divine revelation for sinners is not God is wrath, but God is love.

    In fact, relationships are a matter of life-and-death importance. So how you can train today for the relationship you want tomorrow? In Swipe Right, Levi Lusko shares with raw honesty from his own life experiences and God’s Word how toregret-proof your marriage bed and your deathbedresist settling for instant pleasure by discovering what your heart really longs forlearn how to avoid and treat sexual scars by careful living todayturn the clumsy “sex talk” with your child into dialogue that leads to wise choicestransform a stagnant marriage by trading predictable nearness for mind-blowing intimacy God’s dreams for your life are not intended to kill your joy but to enhance it. Whether you’re fed up with dating and hooking up as usual, tired of being single, numb because of porn and casual sex, or curious about how to improve your marriage, this book is for you. Praise for Swipe Right “It’s my hope that whoever reads this will have their thoughts of the heart as seriously provoked as mine have been.”—Ryan GoodProducer, writer, and entrepreneur “It’s a perspective I believe we need now more than ever.”—Steven FurtickPastor, Elevation Church, and New York Times bestselling author “One day, someday, there will be a day where you will need the down-to-earth wisdom in this book like you will oxygen.”—Joel HoustonSongwriter, Hillsong United, and pastor, Hillsong NYC “Swipe Right isn’t just another book of how-not-tos but an honest, gritty, and real-time approach to navigating dating, sex, and romance with our souls and sanity intact.” —Judah SmithLead pastor, The City Church, and New York Times bestselling author of Jesus Is _____. “Swipe Right is a timely, wonderful, prophetic, and needed message for our generation.”—Christine CaineFounder of the A21 Campaign and bestselling author of Unashamed “If you are wondering what God’s plans are for your love life, or leading those in search of his plan for theirs, you need this book.”—Louie GiglioPastor of Passion City Church, founder of Passion Conferences, and author of The Comeback “This is a good book. Study it, ponder it, and, if you know a fifteen-year-old, tell them to read it.”—Max LucadoNew York Times bestselling author “We need the Swipe Right message now more than ever before.”—Lysa TerKeurstNew York Times bestselling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries “This is more than just a book; it’s a life jacket!”—Chris TomlinGrammy Award–winning musician and author of Good Good Father “Levi shows that God will light our way, if we allow him to.”—Carl LentzPastor, Hillsong NYC “Funny and engaging, while simultaneously practical and hard-hitting.”—Craig GroeschelPastor of Life.Church and author of From This Day Forward

    It’s more than just a personal relationship with God or a source of moral teaching.Christianity is a picture of reality.It explains why the world is the way it is. When the pieces of this puzzle are properly assembled, we see the big picture clearly. Christianity is a true story of how the world began, why the world is the way it is, what role humans play in the drama, and how all the plotlines of the story are resolved in the end.In The Story of Reality, best-selling author and host of Stand to Reason, Gregory Koukl, explains the five words that form the narrative backbone of the Christian story. He identifies the most important things that happen in the story in the order they take place:GodManJesusCrossResurrectionOur story begins with God. He created everything, but something went terribly wrong. So God initiated a rescue plan and entered the world that he had made by becoming like us in Jesus Christ. Jesus saved us from the wrongness in ourselves and in the world through his death on a cross. And how people respond to what he did will determine what their future will be at the final event of history: the resurrection.If you are already a Christian, this is your story. Do you know it? If you are not a Christian, this is still your story, because it explains the world in a way that nothing else will. It is a true story—the real story behind every other story we hear.

      In September, 2014 Thich Nhat Hanh completed a profound and beautiful new English translation of the Prajñaparamita Heart Sutra, one of the most important and well-known sutras in Buddhism.   The Heart Sutra is recited daily in Mahayana temples and practice centers throughout the world. This new translation came about because Thich Nhat Hanh believes that the patriarch who originally compiled the Heart Sutra was not sufficiently skillful with his use of language to capture the intention of the Buddha's teachings—and has resulted in fundamental misunderstandings of the central tenets of Buddhism for almost 2,000 years.   In The Other Shore: A New Translation of the Heart Sutra with Commentaries, Thich Nhat Hanh provides the new translation with commentaries based on his interpretation. Revealing the Buddha's original intention and insight makes clear what it means to transcend duality and pairs of opposites, such as birth and death, and to touch the ultimate reality and the wisdom of nondiscrimination. By helping to demystify the term "emptiness," the Heart Sutra is made more accessible and understandable.   Prior to the publication of The Other Shore, Thich Nhat Hanh's translation and commentaries of the Heart Sutra, called The Heart of Understanding, sold more than 120,000 copies in various editions and is one of the most beloved commentaries of this critical teaching. This new book, The Other Shore, supersedes all prior translations.

    Christians throughout the centuries have used grace to describe God's favor, goodwill, and love. However, grace is more than a description of God's attributes. It is the help, power, and strength He offers as we choose to engage with Him in striving to attain those attributes. It is the help, power, and strength He offers as we choose to engage with Him in striving to attain those attributes. Grace is different from the Atonement. It is not Christ's suffering, death, and Resurrection. Rather, grace is the power that flows from those sacred moments. Grace is not a priesthood ordinance, but essential ordinances invite greater and greater endowments of grace into our lives. Grace is a divine gift, but like any gift, it must be received.

    Yet most of our lives is unwitnessed. We spend our days working, driving, parenting. We sometimes spend whole seasons feeling unnoticed and unappreciated.In Unseen, Sara Hagerty suggests that this is exactly what God intended. He is the only One who truly knows us. He is the only One who understands the value of the unseen in our lives. When this truth seeps into our souls, we realize that only when we hide ourselves in God can we give ourselves to others in true freedom--and know the joy of a deeper relationship with the God who sees us.Our culture applauds what we can produce, what we can show, what we can upload to social media. Only when we give all of ourselves to God--unedited, abandoned, apparently wasteful in its lack of productivity--can we live out who God created us to be. As Hagerty writes, "Maybe my seemingly unproductive, looking-up-at-Him life produces awe among the angels."Through an eloquent exploration of both personal and biblical story, Hagerty calls us to offer every unseen minute of our lives to God. God is in the secret places of our lives that no one else witnesses. But we've not been relegated to these places. We've been invited.We may be "wasting" ourselves in a hidden corner today: The cubicle on the fourth floor. The hospital bedside of an elderly parent. The laundry room. But these are the places God uses to meet us with a radical love. These are the places that produce the kind of unhinged love in us that gives everything at His feet, whether or not anyone else ever proclaims our name, whether or not anyone else ever sees.God's invitation is not just for a season or a day. It is the question of our lives: "When no one else applauds you, when it makes no sense, when you see no results--will you waste your love on Me?"

    Drawing on her own experiences and inspiration from the Word of God, Joyce makes the case that in every area of your life--spiritually, relationally, emotionally, financially--you can trust that God has your very best in store. With each new chapter, Joyce unveils a sovereign and trustworthy God who longs to be in a relationship with his people, and inspires you to tear down the walls of self-reliance. This book will both equip and encourage, as you learn how to "trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Regardless of your past pain, your present circumstances, or your future uncertainty, when you learn to trust God each day, you'll experience the joy-filled life Jesus came to give you. Others may have let you down . . . but God never will!

    And yet, the Bible assures us it doesn’t matter what happens politically, morally, socially, or economically in the world around us if we have Christ in us—if we have the kingdom of God within us—because His kingdom is Unshakeable.In this daily devotional, bestselling author, speaker and activist Christine Caine will take you on a year-long journey of building your faith in our Unshakeable God. Through inspiring personal stories and powerful scriptures, she will equip you to live boldly and courageously, fully trusting our faithful God. She will inspire you how to activate living your life on mission. Unstoppable. Undaunted. Unashamed. Unshakable.

    This short book explores the temple experience from three different vantage points: the why, drawing upon a fictional metaphor with parallels to the temple; the what, exploring the history of the endowment; and the how, applying the metaphor, Church history, and the endowment to us. This three-part approach allows readers to learn in a way that relates best to them individually and helps those who are new to the temple have a richer, deeper temple experience with room for continued growth. As illustrated by metaphor, history, and application, the Lord extends to each one of us a holy invitation: an invitation to enter His temple, to learn of Him and His ways, and to prepare to come back into His presence.

    From the very first page readers will walk down a spiritual path meant to remind each of us that God will meet us in the unexpected, bringing His goodness, giving us cause to trust, reminding us of His capacity. Filled with deeply personal stories about holding onto belief, daring to trust, and longing for understanding, Even This chronicles one woman's quest to find God in the everyday moments-with one of the most powerful experiences taking place as she searches for sea shells while walking on the beach-and provides many opportunities for individual introspection. "Yes, God is good and He can be trusted," Freeman concludes, "and it is the daily discovery of these truths that has the potential to become the greatest journey of a life and lead us closer to Him." Ultimately, the author hopes Even This will encourage and motivate readers to:Stop letting fear dictate the depth of your belief through simple daily reflections that will restore your confidence in God.Let go of your need to control by discovering what is holding you back from being completely vulnerable in your relationship with God.Diminish the power of doubt by coming to understand why the place of deepest asking is where the believing begins.Learn how to trust that God may have something entirely different in mind than you could ever anticipate--something better.

    This me-centered message affects every area of our lives--our friendships, our marriages, even our faith--and it breaks each one in different ways. The self-focused life robs our joy, shrinks our souls, and is the reason we never quite break free of insecurity. In this book, Sharon Hodde Miller invites us into a bigger, Jesus-centered vision--one that restores our freedom and inspires us to live for more. She helps readers - identify the secret source of insecurity - understand how self-focus sabotages seven areas of our lives- learn four practical steps for focusing on God and others- experience freedom from the burden of self-focus Anyone yearning for a purpose bigger than "project me" will cherish this paradigm-shifting message of true fulfillment.

    At the same time, Roy makes clear that what millions of Indians need is not merely formal democracy, but liberation from the oppression, shame, and poverty imposed on them by India’s archaic caste system.

    Why do we believe that God exists, that he became a man and came to save us, that what looks like a wafer of bread is actually his body? Why do we believe that he inspired a holy book and founded an infallible Church to teach us the one true way to live?Ever since he became Catholic, Trent Horn has spent a lot of time answering these questions, trying to explain to friends, family, and total strangers the reasons for his faithSome didn’t believe in God, or even in the existence of truth.Others said they were spiritual but didn’t think you needed religion to be happy.Some were Christians who thought Catholic doctrines over-complicated the pure gospel.And some were fellow Catholics who had a hard time understanding everything they professed to believe on Sunday.Why We’re Catholic assembles the clearest, friendliest, most helpful answers that Trent learned to give to all these people and more. Beginning with how we can know reality and ending with our hope of eternal life, it’s the perfect way to help skeptics and seekers (or Catholics who want to firm up their faith) understand the evidence that bolsters our belief—and brings us joy.

    The Christian worldview has not only been devalued and dismissed by modern culture, but its believers are openly ridiculed as irrelevant. In Jesus Among Secular Gods, Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale challenge the popular "isms" of the day, skillfully pointing out the fallacies in their claims and presenting compelling evidence for revealed absolute truth as found in Jesus. This book is fresh, insightful, and important, and faces head on today's most urgent challenges to Christian faith. It will help seekers to explore the claims of Christ and will provide Christians with the knowledge to articulate why they believe that Jesus stands tall above all other gods.

    But the problem for both Superman and us is there’s a kryptonite that steals our strength. Of course, both Superman and kryptonite are fictional. But spiritual kryptonite is not. This book offers answers to why so many of us are unable to experience the divine strength that was evident among first-century Christians. In Killing Kryptonite, John Bevere reveals what this kryptonite is, why it’s compromising our communities, and how to break free from its bondage. Not for the faint of heart, Killing Kryptonite is anything but a spiritual sugar high. This is serious truth for any Christ-follower who longs to embrace the challenging but rewarding path of transformation. Includes discussion questions for group study

    With topics including searching for the Savior, bringing the influence of the Lord into our families, and feeling God's grace in difficult times, Sister Marriott encourages readers with her warm, personable style and Southern charm.

    Lovingly illustrated by Ashley Mae Hoiland (One Hundred Birds Taught Me to Fly). Praise for Mother's Milk"In these brief and moving poems, Rachel Hunt Steenblik recalls and reimagines the relationship between the daughters of God and their hidden and distant mother. Using her own experience and revelation as well as her wide research, Rachel recreates the Heavenly Mother many dream of knowing, a woman not unlike our own mothers, one who shares our own experience of motherhood." -Claudia L. Bushman, author of Contemporary Mormonism"The warm, delicious, delicate and strong poems in Mother's Milk moved and delighted me. Without doubt this book is a major step toward filling the Mother-sized hole in our hearts. Boldly pulling back the curtain of patriarchy to show that "God" is not a boy's name and that we have never lived in a one-parent family, Rachel reminds us that our Mother has never ceased to nourish and love us." -Carol Lynn Pearson, author of Mother Wove the Morning, and The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy"Rachel Hunt Steenblik is Mormonism's most essential and necessary poet since Carol Lynn Pearson. Out of her hunger for a mother God, she has made food for us all. Out of her losses, she has made milk. It's what women's bodies know how to do, of course. But Rachel, oh honey, few of us do it so openly, so truthfully, so plainly, so well. Come, come, everyone-Mormon or not, brothers, sisters, kindred-and take these words. I am so proud that this book will teach the world what Mormon women know-perhaps uniquely-about God."-Joanna Brooks, author of Book of Mormon Girl.

    When he came back, he was changed forever.A successful airline pilot and businessman, Jim had it all—a loving family, substantial wealth, and all of the good things that come with it. But none of this was enough to satisfy the emptiness he felt in his heart. He always hungered for something more. And then one day, he died.Jim was never a religious man. When it came to matters of God and faith, he was ambivalent. But as he lay in the hospital bed, clinically dead for more than 11 hours, his consciousness was transported to the wonders of Heaven and the horrors of hell. When he returned to this world, he brought back the missing piece his soul had been longing for. Join Jim Woodford on this unforgettable journey into the afterlife! Awaken to the vivid sights, sounds and sensations that you can enjoy in Heaven forever. Be inspired by detailed descriptions of the “contrails of prayer” in Heaven’s skies, the “sticky love” of God, what it feels like to hug an angel, and more! Encounter the chilling realities of hell, and the sharp claws of destruction that threatened to pull Jim into eternal darkness. Take comfort in the “six simple words” that led Jim into the Presence of Christ Whether you need hope for tomorrow or strength for today, this story is your invitation to a radical transformation!

    He was the Ballarat boy with the film-star looks who studied at Oxford and rose through the ranks to become the Vatican's indispensable 'Treasurer'. As an outspoken defender of church orthodoxy, 'Big George's' ascendancy within the clergy was remarkable and seemingly unstoppable.The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse has brought to light horrific stories about sexual abuse of the most vulnerable and provoked public anger at the extent of the cover-up. George Pell has always portrayed himself as the first man in the Church to tackle the problem. But questions about what the Cardinal knew, and when, have persisted.The nation's most prominent Catholic is now the subject of a police investigation into allegations spanning decades that he too abused children. Louise Milligan is the only Australian journalist who has been privy to the most intimate stories of complainants.She pieces together a series of disturbing pictures of the Cardinal's knowledge and his actions, many of which are being told here for the first time.Conspiracy or cover-up? Cardinal uncovers uncomfortable truths about a culture of sexual entitlement, abuse of trust and how ambition can silence evil.

    Whether you're coping with loss, making a major decision, or facing a fear, 100 Days to Brave will give you courage and confidence to move forward. With honesty and relatable humor, New York Times bestselling author Annie F. Downs invites you to embrace the path and plan God has for you. Stop allowing your fears to hold you back. Face them head on with 100 Days to Brave as your devotional guide to walking the road to your most courageous self.Dare to spend the next 100 days discovering how to:Experience personal growth, navigate difficult transitions, and overcome anxietyConquer your fear so it doesn't hold you backEstablish daily habits to keep you mentally strongImpacting 400,000 individuals and families, 100 Days to Brave is for:Women (and men, too) of all agesIndividuals wanting to ignite hope in their lifeDevotions by yourself, with a small group, or a youth groupGifts of self-care and self-discoveryBirthday gifts, Mother's Day, National Best Friends Day, and holiday givingAs a society, we are going through a lot! With anxiety and loneliness at all-time highs, it's important that you take the next 100 days to discover that you are braver than you know and stronger than you thought possible.Look for additional inspirational books from Annie:Let's All Be BravePerfectly UniqueSpeak Love

    His statue watches over nearly every temple and has been depicted on the cover of millions of copies of the Book of Mormon in dozens of languages.In this book, best-selling author John Bytheway suggests that Moroni's last words were both intensely personal and universally applicable. In the closing chapters of the Book of Mormon we discover a wonderful formula for surviving today's turbulent times. Moroni's topics, and even the sequence in which he shared them, become a strategy for remaining steadfast and true in our day. John suggests that whatever latter-day challenges we face, we can successfully navigate them by "likening Moroni."

    The early Christians’ sometimes raw, astonished, and halting prose challenges the idea that the New Testament affirms the kind of people we are. Hart reminds us that they were a company of extremists, radical in their rejection of the values and priorities of society not only at its most degenerate, but often at its most reasonable and decent. “To live as the New Testament language requires,” he writes, “Christians would have to become strangers and sojourners on the earth, to have here no enduring city, to belong to a Kingdom truly not of this world. And we surely cannot do that, can we?”

    But the language of The Rule by Saint Benedict is medieval, and its most passionate advocates are cloistered monks and nuns. How then does this ancient wisdom translate into advice for ordinary people?With candor, humor, and a unique approach to classical art, Father Augustine, a high school teacher and coach, breaks down Saint Benedict's method into twelve pithy steps for finding inner peace in a way that can be applied to anyone's life.Drawing upon his own life experiences, both before and after becoming a Benedictine monk, the author explains every step, illustrating each chapter with color reproductions of sacred art that he has embellished with comic flourishes. The winsome combination is sure to keep readers from taking themselves too seriously—which is already a first step on the path to humility.

    Let's make a deal, you and me. Let's make promises to each other. I promise to tell you my story. The whole story. I'll tell you about a boy in love with Jesus who, at the fateful onset of puberty, realized his sexual attractions were persistently and exclusively for other guys. I'll tell you how I lay on my bed in the middle of the night and whispered to myself the words I've whispered a thousand times since: I'm gay. I'll show you the world through my eyes. I'll tell you what it's like to belong nowhere. To know that much of my Christian family will forever consider me unnatural, dangerous, because of something that feels as involuntary as my eye color. And to know that much of the LGBTQ community that shares my experience as a sexual minority will disagree with the way I've chosen to interpret the call of Jesus, believing I've bought into a tragic, archaic ritual of self-hatred. But I promise my story won't all be sadness and loneliness and struggle. I'll tell you good things too, hopeful things, funny things, like the time I accidentally came out to my best friend during his bachelor party. I'll tell you what it felt like the first time someone looked me in the eyes and said, You are not a mistake. I'll tell you that joy and sorrow are not opposites, that my life has never been more beautiful than when it was most brokenhearted. If you'll listen, I promise I'll tell you everything, and you can decide for yourself what you want to believe about me.

    One day she realized that she had somehow wandered away from the life that she had purposed to live a long time ago.Chrystal since discovered that this moment of awareness happens to lots of women at different seasons of their lives. Poor decisions, a lack of intentionality or planning, or a long-term denial of deep hopes and dreams can leave a woman, old or young, reeling from the realization that she is lost, disappointed, or simply numb.And she just needs encouragement.This woman simply needs someone to hold her hand, to cheer her on, and to believe with her that she is capable of still being the person she intended to be or discovering the girl she never knew was there in the first place.Chrystal uses her poignant story of an early and unexpected pregnancy, as well as other raw and vulnerable moments in her life, to let readers know she understands what it’s like to try and find your way after some missteps or decisions you didn’t plan on. In She’s Still There Chrystal emphasizes the importance of the personal process and the beauty of that path as it is shared authentically from one girlfriend to another. It’s a book of “me toos”, reminders of the hoped for, and challenges for the path ahead—to find direction, purpose, and true satisfaction.

    His unique approach makes the ancient hymn accessible, combined as it is with his trademark illustrations.Every time we experience negativity in the world and within ourselves, every time we encounter jealousy, rage and frustration, manifesting as violation and violence, we hear, or read, the Hanuman Chalisa. Composed over four hundred years ago by Tulsidas, its simple words in Awadhi, a dialect of Hindi and its simple metre, musically and very potently evoke the mythology, history and mystery of Hanuman, the much-loved Hindu deity, through whom Vedic wisdom reached the masses. As verse follows verse, our frightened, crumpled mind begins to expand with knowledge and insight and our faith in humanity, both within and without, is restored.

    David Jeremiah uncovers God’s strategy for change and challenges you to make nine important decisions that will transform your heart, your life, and your world.This life-changing book explores the nine qualities of character that carry us forward. Three of these have to do with our relationship with ourselves, three deal with interactions with other people, and three of them focus on our relationship with God.  Spiritual principles are true in any situation. But we must make a conscious decision to employ them in our daily lives.God has given us wisdom for these days.  A Life Beyond Amazing answers the questions that keep us up at night and shows that the way forward is a reminder of who we are in Christ and why it matters.

    Instead of motivating believers to action, today’s headlines appear to be paralyzing them. Standing in the Fire demonstrates the church triumphant through the lives of people who stood strong and didn’t run away in the face of overwhelming danger. These Middle Eastern heroes of faith fear God more than terrorist groups like ISIS. Supported by Tom Doyle’s commentary on events, the stories included show how these Christians are not living as victims, but victors in Christ.

    Messiah takes the reader on a new and unique journey through every book of the New Testament. Each part of Messiah begins with one of the Gospels, and together combine to provide the reader with enjoyable and impactful readings all centered on Jesus. The end result is a Bible developed for the purpose of being read and understood, not referred to. Messiah is a new way to interact with God’s Word.Messiah delivers Scripture to the reader as it was originally created: without chapter or verse breaks. While references are made available for ease of finding specific Scripture references, those references do not appear within the actual text of Scripture. This makes for uninterrupted reading of God’s Word. Created with the look and feel of a paperback book, and written using the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, the most readable translation available, Messiah enables you to easily read and understand the Bible.

    This is a book about how to get started.Providence College professor Anthony Esolen, blunt and prophetic, makes the case that the decay of Western civilization is alarmingly advanced.Our sickly, sub-pagan state resembles a bombed-out city. We have to assess the damage, but merely lamenting it does no good. There is work to be done. The first step is the restoration of truth. America's most powerful institutions - including the government - are mass producers of deceit. We have to recognize the lies and clear our minds of cant.Our culture produces only the drab or the garish. We must restore beauty in art, architecture, music, and worship. There are two things wrong with our schools everything our children don't learn in them, and everything they do learn. Public schools are beyond reform; we have to start over. Our universities are as bad as our schools. A few can be saved, but for the most part, we must build new ones. In fact, this is already being done. We have to support these efforts as if our children's souls depended on it.Repudiating the Sexual Revolution, that prodigious engine of misery, requires more than zipping up. The modern world has made itself ignorant about sex in particular that there are two of them and they're profoundly different. We must restore manhood and womanhood.In our servile economy, we raise bureaucrats not craftsmen. We must rediscover how to make things that are beautiful and lasting the products of human work. And we must dispense with the rent-seekers the proliferating middlemen whose own work contributes nothing. We have turned sports into a job for our children. Instead of playing we work out.A genuine civilization is based on celebration. We must restore play to human life, seeing all the other days of the week in light of the Sabbath. The gigantic scale of government has made us a nation of idiots, incapable of attending to public affairs and the common good. We must insist that the Constitution is not whatever judges say it is, complying with but not obeying their edicts while we reclaim our freedom of religion one outdoor procession, one public lecture, one parish picnic at a time. We must love this world, but we have here no abiding city. The great division is between those who place all their hope in the present life and those who know that we are pilgrims. There is no retreat, but take courage we have our map.Let us begin.

    But it's not cheap—true grace compels us to change.  That’s where holiness comes in.Beloved writer, speaker, and bestselling coauthor of Wild and Free Jess Connolly will be the first to admit that not long ago, like many women, she grasped grace but she had forgotten holiness. Dance, Stand, Run charts her discovery that holiness was never meant to be a shaming reminder of what we “should” be doing, but rather a profound privilege of becoming more like Christ. That’s when we start to change the world, rather than being changed by it.Dance, Stand, Run is an invitation to the daughters of God to step into the movements of abundant life: dancing in grace, standing firm in holiness, and running on mission. Through story and study, Jess casts a fresh vision for how to live into your identity as a holy daughter of God, how to break free of cheap grace and empty rule-keeping, and finally, how to live out your holy influence with confidence before a watching world. Spoiler alert: it’s a beautiful thing.For anyone longing to take their place in what God is doing in the world, Dance, Stand, Run will rally your strength, refresh your purpose, and energize your faith in a God who calls us to be like Him.

    

    You don’t have to pray the rosary all at once and you can pray it anywhere! Do you struggle with praying the rosary: finding time, fighting distractions, worrying about your mind wandering? In Praying the Rosary Like Never Before, Edward Sri offers practical suggestions that come from the rosary’s tradition and, most especially, St. John Paul II. These helpful tips will make the rosary a constant companions through the different seasons, moments, and challenges we all face. These tips serve as easy on-ramps for those who don’t pray the rosary regularly motivate avid devotees of the rosary to go deeper with the Lord. “Offering God a decade or two in the midst of my daily life gives him something beautiful, even if I give it without my full, relaxed, undivided attention,” says Sri. “I’m giving God some space in my day and filling it with words of praise for him.” You will find answers to common questions such as the significance of the Hail Mary, whether the attention given to Mary distracts us from God, the meaning of all the repetition, where the rosary came from, what to think about for each of the mysteries, and whether one should focus on the prayers or the mysteries. You will also find biblical reflections on the twenty mysteries of the rosary that provide practical insights to help you not only understand the twenty mysteries but also live them.

    Those writings comprise My Time With God, the 365-day devotional that shares powerful insight into Joyce's spiritual reflections and journey. Each daily entry guides readers through a narrative of meditations, an uplifting declaration, and relevant scripture to encourage greater intimacy with God. Including spiritual revelations experienced by one of the world's leading Bible teachers, this book will renew readers' minds, offering assurance of God's complete love and desire for closeness with them.

    The discourses, given by women both well known and obscure, represent just some of the many contributions of women to Latter-day Saint thought. In addition to being a scholarly history, At the Pulpit is intended as a resource for contemporary Latter-day Saints as they study, speak, teach, and lead. These discourses allow readers to hear the historical and contemporary voices of Latter-day Saint women--voices that resound with experience, wisdom, and authority.

    She was known by all as an achiever and an overcomer on the fast track to success. But in silencing her pain, she robbed herself of the opportunity to be healed. Maybe you’ve done the same. When life hurts hard, we often feel pressure—from others and ourselves—to keep it together, suck it up, or pray it away. But Scripture reveals a God who meets us where we are, not where we pretend to be.Esther's journey into healing began when she discovered that God has given us a real-world way to deal with our raw emotions and an alternative to the coping methods that end up causing more pain. It's called lament—the gut-level, honest prayer that God never ignores, never silences, and never wastes. “Lament," Esther says, "is a prayer woven throughout Scripture. But more than a prayer, it is the unexpected pathway to true intimacy with God.”No More Faking Fine is your permission to lament—to give voice to the hurt, frustration, and disappointment you’ve kept inside and silenced for too long. Drawing from deep reserves of biblical study and hard-won insight, Esther reveals how to use God’s own language to draw closer to him as he leads us through any darkness into His marvelous light. Like Esther, you'll soon find that when one person stops faking fine, it gives permission to everyone else to do the same.

    In this compelling new book—drawn from conversations with and narrated by award-winning Vatican journalist John L. Allen, Jr.—Barron, founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, proclaims in vivid language the goodness and truth of the Catholic tradition. Through Barron’s smart, practical, artistic, and theological observations as well as personal anecdotes—from engaging atheists on YouTube to discussing his days as a young diehard baseball fan from Chicago—To Light a Fire on the Earth covers prodigious ground. Touching on everything from Jesus to prayer, science, movies, atheism, the spiritual life, the fate of Church in modern times, beauty, art, and social media, Barron reveals why the Church matters today and how Catholics can intelligently engage a skeptical world.

    But honestly: who's got the time? So one night she whispered a dangerous prayer: God, show me the things that make for peace…In Shalom Sistas, Moore shares what she learned when she challenged herself to study peace in the Bible for forty days. Taking readers through the twelve points of the Shalom Sistas’ Manifesto, Moore experiments with practices of everyday peacemaking and invites readers to do the same. From dropping “love bombs” on a family vacation, to talking to the coach who called her son the n-word, to spreading shalom with a Swiffer, Moore offers bold steps for crossing lines between black and white, suburban and urban, rich and poor.What if a bunch of Jesus-following women catch a vision of a vibrant, whole, flourishing world? What happens when Shalom Sistas unite?Free downloadable study guide available here.

    The rejection stings. It leaves a mark. Yet this is exactly what the church has been saying to far too many people for far too long: "You're not welcome here. Find someplace else to sit." How can we extend unconditional welcome and acceptance in a world increasingly marked by bigotry, fear, and exclusion?Pastor John Pavlovitz invites readers to join him on the journey to find--or build--a church that is big enough for everyone. He speaks clearly into the heart of the issues the Christian community has been earnestly wrestling with: LGBT inclusion, gender equality, racial tensions, and global concerns. A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, Hopeful Spiritual Community asks if organized Christianity can find a new way of faithfully continuing the work Jesus began two thousand years ago, where everyone gets a seat.Pavlovitz shares moving personal stories and his careful observations as a pastor to set the table for a new, more loving conversation on these and other important matters of faith. He invites us to build the bigger table Jesus imagined, practicing radical hospitality, total authenticity, messy diversity, and agenda-free community.

    From Charles J. Chaput, author of Living the Catholic Faith and Render unto Caesar comes Strangers in a Strange Land, a fresh, urgent, and ultimately hopeful treatise on the state of Catholicism and Christianity in the United States. America today is different in kind, not just in degree, from the past. And this new reality is unlikely to be reversed. The reasons include, but aren't limited to, economic changes that widen the gulf between rich and poor; problems in the content and execution of the education system; the decline of traditional religious belief among young people; the shift from organized religion among adults to unbelief or individualized spiritualities; changes in legal theory and erosion in respect for civil and natural law; significant demographic shifts; profound new patterns in sexual behavior and identity; the growth of federal power and its disregard for religious rights; the growing isolation and elitism of the leadership classes; and the decline of a sustaining sense of family and community.

    He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings as something separate from the rest--a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness..." --Albert EinsteinWhen Rabbi Naomi Levy came across this poignant letter by Einstein it shook her to her core. His words perfectly captured what she has come to believe about the human condition: That we are intimately connected, and that we are blind to this truth. Levy wondered what had elicited such spiritual wisdom from a man of science? Thus began a three-year search into the mystery of Einstein's letter, and into the mystery of the human soul. What emerges is an inspiring, deeply affecting book for people of all faiths filled with universal truths that will help us reclaim our own souls and glimpse the unity that has been evading us. We all long to see more expansively, to live up to our gifts, to understand why we are here. Levy leads us on a breathtaking journey full of wisdom, empathy and humor, challenging us to wake up and heed the voice calling from within--a voice beckoning us to become who we were born be.

    Each day readers will enjoy a Scripture verse, a true first-person story told in an informal, conversational style, which shares the ways God speaks to us in the ordinary events of life, and a brief prayer to help focus the reader to apply the day’s message. For those who wish for more, “Digging Deeper” provides additional Bible references that relate to the day’s reading. Enjoy favorite writers like Debbie Macomber, Edward Grinnan, Elizabeth Sherrill, Patricia Lorenz, Julia Attaway, Karen Barber, Sabra Ciancanelli, Marion Bond West, Brian Doyle, and Rick Hamlin. In just five minutes a day, Daily Guideposts helps readers find the spiritual richness in their own lives and welcomes them into a remarkable family of over one million people brought together by a desire to grow every day of the year.

    It invites us to cultivate the gift of waking up to the beauty of reality in all its glorious ordinariness. With his signature blend of contemplation, theology and pastoral sensitivity, Fr Richard Rohr creates a spaciousness for the soul to grow into a kind of seeing – one that goes far beyond merely looking, to recognizing and thus appreciating. This is the heart of contemplation, the centerpiece of any inner dialogue that frees us from the traps of our perceptions and preoccupations. The contemplative mind does not tell us what to see; it teaches us how to see what we behold. Praise for Richard Rohr’s The Divine Dance:‘A beautiful choreography for a life well-lived.’Bono, U2

    John Paul II and St. Teresa of Avila as your guides, these pages will show you how to transform the rote recitation of prayer into a profound worship of Christ, drawing your hearts to bow in awe before the Triune God whom the Rosary reveals to us. You’ll learn how to place every moment of your life before His throne, seeing in them the mystery of the Incarnation.You’ll learn the difference between contemplation and meditation, and how these great saints approached the reading of sacred writings not as a mere intellectual exercise, but as a prayer. You’ll learn how to enrich your vocal prayer, and how the Rosary can unite vocal prayer and mental prayer in a way that can lift your heart to the heights of contemplation.To look upon the face of Christ is the task of every follower of Christ, and there is no better way to contemplate life of Christ than through the Rosary. Read these pages, and you’ll soon follow in the footsteps of St. Teresa of Ávila and Pope St. John Paul II, finding in the Rosary a meeting point with God that becomes your first taste of a deeper union with Him.

    There are twists and turns—and setbacks—on the path of repentance.Night Driving tells the story of a pastor and seminary professor whose moral failures destroyed his marriage and career, left his life in ruins, and sent him spiraling into a decade-long struggle against God. Forced to fight the demons of his past in the cab of the semi-truck he drove at night through the Texas oil fields, Chad Bird slowly began to limp toward grace and healing. Drawing on his expertise as an Old Testament scholar, Bird weaves together his own story, the biblical story, and the stories of fellow prodigals as he peels back the layers of denial, anger, addiction, and grief to help readers come face-to-face both with their own identities and with the God who alone can heal them.

    It unveils what most in the modern Church have never heard regarding how the story of the sin of the Watchers in 1 Enoch 6-16 helped frame the mission of Jesus, the messiah. Jews of the first century expected the messiah to reverse the impact of the Watchers transgression. For Jews of Jesus' day, the Watchers were part of the explanation for why the world was so profoundly depraved. The messiah would not just revoke the claim of Satan on human souls and estrangement from God, solving the predicament of the Fall. He would also not only bring the nations back into relationship with the true God by defeating the principalities and powers that governed them. Jews also believed that the messiah would rescue humanity from self-destruction, the catalyst for which was the sin of the Watchers and the influence of what they had taught humankind. The role of Enoch's retelling of Genesis 6:1-4 in how New Testament writers wrote of Jesus and the cross has been largely lost to a modern audience. Reversing Hermon rectifies that situation. Topics include: understanding Genesis 6:1-4 and the Sin of the Watchers in Their Original Context; how the ancient Mesopotamian story of the apkallu aligns with Gen 6:1-4, was preserved in 1 Enoch, and sets the stage for the theme of reversing the evil of the Watchers; how the theme of reversing the transgression of the Watchers colors the gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus, his genealogy, and his ministry; how the writings of Peter and Paul allude to the sin of the Watchers and present Jesus as overturning the disastrous effects of their sins against humanity; and how the descriptions of the antichrist, the end-times Day of the Lord, and the final judgment connect to Genesis 6 and the nephilim.

    Using engaging stories and personal experience, Edward Sri helps us understand the classical view of morality and equips us to engage relativism, appealing to both the head and the heart. Learn how Catholic morality is all about love, why making a judgment is not judging a person's soul, and why, in the words of Pope Francis, -relativism wounds people.- Topics include:- Real Freedom, Real Love- Sharing truth with compassion- Why -I disagree- doesn't mean -I hate you-

    His congregation was racially integrated, and he was a much-lauded leader in the contemporary civil rights movement. Eventually, Jones moved his church, Peoples Temple, to northern California. He became involved in electoral politics, and soon was a prominent Bay Area leader.In this riveting narrative, Jeff Guinn examines Jones’s life, from his extramarital affairs, drug use, and fraudulent faith healing to the fraught decision to move almost a thousand of his followers to a settlement in the jungles of Guyana in South America. Guinn provides stunning new details of the events leading to the fatal day in November, 1978 when more than nine hundred people died—including almost three hundred infants and children—after being ordered to swallow a cyanide-laced drink.Guinn examined thousands of pages of FBI files on the case, including material released during the course of his research. He traveled to Jones’s Indiana hometown, where he spoke to people never previously interviewed, and uncovered fresh information from Jonestown survivors. He even visited the Jonestown site with the same pilot who flew there the day that Congressman Leo Ryan was murdered on Jones’s orders. The Road to Jonestown is the definitive book about Jim Jones and the events that led to the tragedy at Jonestown.

    For so many, the dream of true equality has dissolved into a reality of prejudice, fear, and violence as a way of life.John M. Perkins has been there from the beginning. Raised by his sharecropping grandparents, Perkins fled Mississippi in 1947 after his brother was fatally shot by a police officer. He led voter registration efforts in 1964, worked for school desegregation in 1967, and was imprisoned and tortured in 1970. Through it all, he has remained determined to seek justice and reconciliation based in Christ's redemptive work."Justice is something that every generation has to strive for," he says. And despite the setbacks of recent years, Perkins finds hope in the young people he has met all across the nation who are hard at work, bringing about reconciliation in God's name and offering acceptance to all. Dream with Me is his look back at a life devoted to seeking justice for all God's people, as well as a look forward to what he sees as a potentially historic breakthrough for people of every race.

    If God is in control of everything, can we make free choices? If God is good and all–powerful, how can we account for natural disasters and moral atrocities? Answers to these questions are often filled with technical jargon and personal assumptions that don’t take into account the full scope of biblical truth.In None Other: Discovering the God of the Bible, Dr. John MacArthur shows that the best way to discover the one true God is not through philosophical discourse but a careful study of Scripture—the primary place where God has chosen to reveal Himself.

    . .Face it: it's not always easy to feel happy. With all of the worries and trials of day-to-day life, the cares of the world can seem overwhelming. But as popular speaker and author Hank Smith demonstrates, no matter your circumstances, you can be happy—the kind of happy that illuminates you from the inside out, a joy that does not depend on what happens to you but on what you do with what happens. With his characteristic humor, Hank offers readers a fresh perspective on finding joy in the journey with a collection of tools and strategies designed to inspire genuine happiness, such as: • Learning to develop an optimistic outlook• Understanding how to deal with feelings of depression<• Mastering ten simple tricks to jump-start your joy each dayFeaturing an inspiring collection of real-life examples, enlightening doctrinal direction, and motivating goals, Be Happy is the guide you need to start living a happier life, today!

    Nearly every household in America was tuned in to the election feeds, and every update pointed to a loss for the Republican Party. But when the map of the states flipped red in the final hour, there were a select few who weren't surprised. They had always known Trump was going to win. He was chosen for such a time as this. The prophecy had said so. This prophet, this reserved man of God, was retired firefighter Mark Taylor. The word given by the Holy Spirit was delivered on April 28, 2011 in the middle of the most debilitating sickness a man could ever experience. When the prophecy later fell into the hands of New York Times bestsellers Don and Mary Colbert, God used this new team of passionate individuals to lead the nation into a fervent prayer chain that would accomplish one of the most incredible miracles our country has ever seen. But Trump s victory was only the beginning... What is coming next for the most powerful nation on earth today? Mark Taylor has more to say. In THE TRUMP PROPHECIES readers will discover: *How the Lord can and will use anyone regardless of education, background, or health to communicate His message to the Church of Christ *What led to the miracle of the 2016 election, the role of we the people for the will of God in the future, and what the Body of Christ needs to do to keep His blessing on our nation *How the enemy has utilized techniques of distraction to keep the Body's focus off of God and onto internal, demoralizing disputes and how this can be overcome *Astounding, world-altering changes in our US government Mark sees on the horizon *The positive message of hope and encouragement that points to fresh methods of spreading the Gospel to the lost.

     As the world descends into chaos, Christians are thinking deeply about how to stem the tide. Many options and suggestions have been presented to deal with Christian persecution and cultural decadence, but none can hold a candle to The Marian Option. Dr. Carrie Gress provides a thoroughly researched bird’s eye view of the significant cultural and military events mediated through Mary on behalf of her spiritual children. From miraculous victories to the soaring heights of culture, you have never seen Mary like this before. Until now, books on the Virgin Mary have generally focused upon one apparition or various theological elements of this mysterious woman. But the scope of The Marian Option is far greater. Drawing from a vast array of dogmas, Vatican approved apparitions, and writings of the saints, Dr. Gress has pulled together the remarkable story of Mary’s overwhelming influence and intercession. Using history, sound theology, and a detective’s eye, Gress brings to light the fascinating details of Mary’s role in major geopolitical shifts. The reader will see how instrumental the Mother of God was in: Freeing Spain from Islamic occupation Igniting the largest mass conversion to Catholicism in history Leading an unassuming priest to bring down the world’s most powerful empire without firing a shot Stomping out heresies and false teachings from the Church Beyond the battlefield, The Marian Option also highlights the link between Marian devotion and high culture, showing how creativity and the arts—painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and literature—all flourish when devotion to her is strong. This enthralling chronicle of Mary’s intercession makes clear that Christ’s mother is indeed the most powerful woman in the world, and the answer for how we can save the world and bring us back into her Son’s heart. Not only is she keenly interested in assisting Christians, she has the ability to do so, even in the face of the gravest odds. We just have to ask. The Marian Option will leave you with a new perspective on the Blessed Mother and a renewed hope in the future of the Church and the world.

    Yet, recently, good conversations about faith have been increasingly squeezed out of the public sphere. Seeking to reopen the debate, Justin Brierley began to invite atheists and sceptics on to Premier Christian Radio to air arguments for and against the Christian faith. But how has ten years of discussion with atheists affected the presenter’s faith?Reflecting on conversations with Richard Dawkins, Derren Brown and many more, Justin explains why he still finds Christianity the most compelling explanation for life, the universe and everything. And why, regardless of belief or background, we should all welcome the conversation.

    While some see Acts as the story of the founding of the Christian church, Jennings argues that it is so much more, depicting revolutionlife in the disrupting presence of the Spirit of God. According to Jennings, Acts is like Genesis, revealing a God who is moving over the land, putting into place a holy repetition that speaks of the willingness of God to invade our every day and our every moment. He reminds us that Acts took place in a time of Empire, when the people were caught between diaspora Israel and the Empire of Rome. The spirit of God intervened, offering new life to both. Jennings shows that Acts teaches how people of faith can yield to the Spirit to overcome the divisions of our present world.

    That confrontation still reverberates in our lives today. Surely we can relate with the shame of the woman and her exposed sin. Unfortunately, we can also relate with the hypocritical crowd, reveling in the rejection of “the other.” But can we fully relate with Christ, the God who intervened to save her?  For those who’ve become wary of tired and sometimes even offensive Christian dogmatism, Carlos Rodríguez may be the spark that ignites the flames of faith in the true Jesus. He tells it like it is, with a desire to motivate those who feel ready to engage the world around them, not through political or religious agendas, but through grace and love. Drop the Stones invites followers of Jesus to drop their religious rocks, and, with open hands, engage in the rewarding lifestyle of a Jesus-styled love.

    I want to become that word. That is revelation’s ultimate purpose—for the Word to become flesh.”—James GollWhat is “prophetic revelation” from God? And what is the believer’s role in receiving and activating it? James Goll, author of the best seller The Seer, explains that although some believers are especially gifted as prophets, every follower of Jesus receives the gifts of revelation and discernment. And every believer needs to use them! In fact, without discernment and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, we cannot progress in our use of any of the gifts and callings. With clear explanations, scriptural illustrations, and real-life contemporary stories, Goll demonstrates how we can receive revelation through the natural senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste—and how to open ourselves up to the comparable supernatural senses through which God wants to speak. He also removes uncertainty about how to discern revelation and test the spirits, so that every believer can fulfill their ultimate purpose: extending Jesus’ powerful kingdom on earth. The Discerner is both a wonderful introduction to the prophetic lifestyle and a challenging call for those already immersed in prophetic revelation.

    Stone demonstrates how the Founding Fathers, deeply influenced by their philosophical forebears, saw traditional Christianity as an impediment to the pursuit of happiness and to the quest for human progress. Acutely aware of the need to separate politics from the divisive forces of religion, the Founding Fathers crafted a constitution that expressed the fundamental values of the Enlightenment.Although the Second Great Awakening later came to define America through the lens of evangelical Christianity, nineteenth-century Americans continued to view sex as a matter of private concern, so much so that sexual expression and information about contraception circulated freely, abortions before “quickening” remained legal, and prosecutions for sodomy were almost nonexistent.The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries reversed such tolerance, however, as charismatic spiritual leaders and barnstorming politicians rejected the values of our nation’s founders. Spurred on by Anthony Comstock, America’s most feared enforcer of morality, new laws were enacted banning pornography, contraception, and abortion, with Comstock proposing that the word “unclean” be branded on the foreheads of homosexuals. Women increasingly lost control of their bodies, and birth control advocates, like Margaret Sanger, were imprisoned for advocating their beliefs. In this new world, abortions were for the first time relegated to dank and dangerous back rooms.The twentieth century gradually saw the emergence of bitter divisions over issues of sexual “morality” and sexual freedom. Fiercely determined organizations and individuals on both the right and the left wrestled in the domains of politics, religion, public opinion, and the courts to win over the soul of the nation. With its stirring portrayals of Supreme Court justices, Sex and the Constitution reads like a dramatic gazette of the critical cases they decided, ranging from Griswold v. Connecticut (contraception), to Roe v. Wade (abortion), to Obergefell v. Hodges (gay marriage), with Stone providing vivid historical context to the decisions that have come to define who we are as a nation.Now, though, after the 2016 presidential election, we seem to have taken a huge step backward, with the progress of the last half century suddenly imperiled. No one can predict the extent to which constitutional decisions safeguarding our personal freedoms might soon be eroded, but Sex and the Constitution is more vital now than ever before.

    This book provides a detailed, updated exposition and defense of five of the historically most important (but in recent years largely neglected) philosophical proofs of God’s existence: the Aristotelian, the Neo-Platonic, the Augustinian, the Thomistic, and the Rationalist.It also offers a thorough treatment of each of the key divine attributes—unity, simplicity,  eternity, omnipotence, omniscience, perfect goodness, and so forth—showing that they  must be possessed by the God whose existence is demonstrated by the proofs.  Finally, it answers at length all of the objections that have been leveled against these proofs. This work provides as ambitious and complete a defense of traditional natural theology as is currently in print.  Its aim is to vindicate the view of the greatest philosophers of the past— thinkers like Aristotle, Plotinus, Augustine, Aquinas, Leibniz, and many others— that the existence of God can be established with certainty by way of purely rational arguments.  It thereby serves as a refutation both of atheism and of the fideism that gives aid and comfort to atheism.

    Politicians call for borders, not inclusion. Economic inequality strains cohesion. Religion breeds violence. And yet the need for unity has never been more urgent, for the crises facing humanity are, increasingly, global. How do we move forward?In this brief yet profound address to the entire world, His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet reveals that we all hold the seeds of world peace within us: “I see with ever greater clarity that our spiritual well-being depends,” the Nobel Peace Prize winner writes, “on our innate human nature, our natural affinity for goodness, compassion, and caring for others.”Already a major international bestseller, An Appeal to the World, the new book by one of the most revered spiritual leaders of our time, outlines both the inward and outward paths to peace, addressing a wide range of contemporary topics—from war, climate change, and materialism to meditation, universal ethics, and even neuroscience. Here is a small book that can truly change the world.

    Written in a style that is simple and engaging, it explores the history of Buddhism, its philosophies, and its relevance in today’s society. The book provides numerous meditative exercises that will allow you to experience the wondrous teachings of this ancient wisdom. Inside you will read about... ✓ A Brief History of Buddhism ✓ The Spread of Buddhism ✓ The Servant or the Master: Which One are You? ✓ Self-Identification with the Mind and Body ✓ Meditation ✓ The Presence of Mindfulness ✓ The Principle of Karma ✓ Dualistic versus Non-Dualistic Perspectives ✓ The Principle of Non-Substantiality ✓ One’s Life and the Environment ✓ Sentient and Non-Sentient Beings ✓ Attachment ✓ The Ten Worlds The author explains how Buddhism is more than a religion; it’s an internal science. Rather than relying on dogma or sacred texts, Buddhism teaches us to look inward and challenge our most deep-seated beliefs for the purpose liberating ourselves from our minds.

    Douglas Murray takes a step back and explores the deeper issues behind the continent's possible demise, from an atmosphere of mass terror attacks and a global refugee crisis to the steady erosion of our freedoms. He addresses the disappointing failure of multiculturalism, Angela Merkel’s U-turn on migration, and the Western fixation on guilt. Murray travels to Berlin, Paris, Scandinavia, and Greece to uncover the malaise at the very heart of the European culture, and to hear the stories of those who have arrived in Europe from far away.Declining birth rates, mass immigration, and cultivated self-distrust and self-hatred have come together to make Europeans unable to argue for themselves and incapable of resisting their own comprehensive alteration as a society and an eventual end. This sharp and incisive book ends up with two visions for a new Europe--one hopeful, one pessimistic--which paint a picture of Europe in crisis and offer a choice as to what, if anything, we can do next. But perhaps Spengler was right: "civilizations like humans are born, briefly flourish, decay, and die."

    It contains the most influential stories of mankind. Knowledge of those stories is essential to a deep understanding of Western culture, which is in turn vital to proper psychological health (as human beings are cultural animals) and societal stability. These stories are neither history, as we commonly conceive it, nor empirical science. Instead, they are investigations into the structure of Being itself and calls to action within that Being. They have deep psychological significance. This lecture series, starting with the very first book, will constitute an analysis of that significance.15-Part Lecture series by Dr. Jordan B. Peterson1. Introduction to the Idea of God2. Genesis: Chaos and Order3. God and the Hierarchy of Authority4. Adam and Eve – Self-Consciousness, Evil and Death5. Cain and Abel – The Hostile Brothers6. The Psychology of the Flood7. Walking with God: Noah and the Flood8. The Phenomenology of the Divine9. The Call to Abraham10. Abraham: Father of Nations11. Sodom and Gomorrah12. The Great Sacrifice13. Jacob’s Ladder: Pt. 114. Jacob’s Ladder: Pt. 215. Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors

    Granby Presbyterian is a weary congregation without a pastor, overwhelmed by the prospect of finding someone who actually wants to be a pastor—not a manager, coach, or CEO. When Granby's pastoral search committee and Jonas connect through handwritten letters passed back and forth, something sparks between them—something so real and refreshing that even after Jonas and his family move to Granby, he continues the regular practice of writing letters to his congregation. Spanning seven years of his ministry at Granby Presbyterian, Jonas's letters ruminate on everything from fly-fishing to the Nicene Creed. They reveal the earthy spirituality woven into the joys and sorrows of the people of Granby, the community of the church, and Jonas's own unfolding story. Readers will discover what it means for a pastor and a church to do the slow work of ministry in community—anchored by a common place and buoyed by a life of faith that is meaningful, rooted, and true.

    His own faith was flagging, but Beck still believed the promise of Matthew 25, that when we visit the prisoner, we visit Jesus. And sure enough, God met him in prison.

    Praying consistently seems almost impossible. Too often and too easily, prayer becomes a burden: one more item on an already overcrowded to-do list. Failing to pray becomes a source of guilt and stress as we must once again admit our inconstancy and procrastination to our father confessor. Yet, our Lord said, “Come to me, all of you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. My burden is easy and my yoke is light” (Matt. 11:30). The purpose of this book, then, is not to add to the burden, but to ease it by distilling the advice and experience of those who pray.

    As Christians, we know some day we will leave our familiar country and be united with God in heaven. And yet many of us know very little about this place called heaven. In this enlightening book, bestselling author Dr. Robert Jeffress opens the Scriptures to unpack ten surprising truths about heaven and explain who we will see there and how we can prepare to go there someday. Perfect for believers or skeptics who are curious about heaven.

    In the Gospels there are few people who understand love for Jesus as well as Mary Magdalene, which is the reason she is a prophetess of eucharistic love.This work is an extended meditation on the life of Saint Mary Magdalene, known as the "Apostle to the Apostles" because the Risen Christ appeared to her first and then sent her to announce the Resurrection to the apostles. Based on the biblical texts traditionally associated with Mary Magdalene, this book helps readers to learn from her inspiring example and to enter more deeply into adoration of Jesus Christ truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.In telling the story of Mary Magdalene's profound conversion after the Lord had to expel seven demons from her soul, this book shows how she is a shining witness to the transforming power of an encounter with Jesus Christ. Mary Magdalene is the perfect model for those who have experienced the redeeming love of Christ and who seek to deepen their devotion to him and to the Eucharist.

    We're good at faking it around others, but we're exhausted by the ruse. Andi Andrew wants women to break free of their self-imposed prisons and live the lives that are rightly theirs in Christ.Sharing her own intentional journey of finding true freedom by surrendering control of her heart and life to the God who welcomed her with open arms, Andrew encourages women to give their pain and brokenness to Jesus. She shows them how to purposefully take captive the lies they have believed and replace them with God's truth. Compassionate and biblically based, She Is Free is an invitation to women to step fully into the love that sets them free.

    Now, in his early twenties, his heart is broken and he’s lost his way. Hitting the road again, he lands in a monastery in Dharamsala, where he meets Sonam, a displaced Tibetan. To help his friend, Jaimal makes a cockamamie attempt to reunite him with his family in Tibet by way of America. Though he does not succeed, witnessing Sonam’s spirit in the face of failure offers Jaimal a deeper understanding of faith. When the two friends part, he cannot fathom the unlikely circumstances that will reunite them. All Our Waves Are Water follows Jaimal’s trek from the Himalayas to Indonesia; to a Franciscan Friary in New York City to the dusty streets of Jerusalem; and finally to San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. Along his journey, Jaimal prays and surfs; mourning a lost love and seeking something that keeps eluding him.The poet Rumi wrote, "We are not a drop in the ocean. We are the ocean in a drop." All Our Waves Are Water is Jaimal’s "attempt to understand the ocean in a drop, to find that one moon shining in the water everywhere"—to find the mystery that unites us.

    Amidst such chaos and confusion, we long to hear God's voice with greater clarity.God wants to put things in order. He wants to rearrange our priorities. If we let him, we will be happier than we ever thought possible in this lifetime, and finally then we will come to know the peace for which we all yearn, but so few of us ever find. Our Catholic spirituality is constantly inviting us to establish the deep roots of order in our lives, and one of the best ways I know to do that is by praying the Rosary.The Rosary works. It's a very powerful way to pray. There is just something about it that settles our hearts and minds. It puts everything in perspective and allows us to see things as they really are. It reaches deep down into our souls and puts us at ease, creating a peace that is rare and beautiful.When I pray the Rosary, I am a bette

    Inspired by the theologies of Irenaeus, Thomas Aquinas, and John Henry Newman, and rooted in a post-Vatican II context, Fr. Thomas Joseph White presents major doctrines of the Christian faith in a way that is comprehensible for non-specialists: knowledge of God, the mystery of the Trinity, the Incarnation and the atonement, the sacraments and the moral life, eschatology and prayer."Thomas Joseph White is one of the brightest and most articulate theologians writing today. This book is an intelligent and spiritually alert introduction to the principal themes of Catholic theology. Both beginners and serious academics will find much to savor in its pages" -- Bishop Robert Barron

    In a world where religion is being pushed to the margins of society, we find loyalty to scriptural teachings, adherence to time-honored values, and belief in absolute truths in short supply.When respected religious educator and author Robert L. Millet talks with those who are troubled by newly public historical information, anti-Mormon propaganda, the Church's position on marriage, family, and gender issues, or other concerns, he’s empathetic and wants to help. He pleads, “When did we lose our believing hearts and confidence in the Lord’s servants? Whatever happened to faith?”From the author of Living in the Eleventh Hour and Grace Works, this timely book is all about faith—what it is, what is isn’t, how it is developed, and how we may remain solid and steadfast in our beliefs and convictions. His is a call to pay little heed to the way society is moving and an invitation to be a part of a counter culture of faith and devotion. Therein is safety and peace.

     *This is the 2nd edition of the Amazon Best Seller, with a brand new design and completely reformatted interior. **Note: This is a SMALL paperback book that fits in your pocket for easy take along use.

    God released grace upon Anna to fast and pray unto the revelation of Jesus to the earth the first time. God is releasing a similar grace upon a whole generation of women who will operate in a similar anointing as Anna’s unto the revelation of Jesus to the earth in His second coming. This book will be the catalyst for a prayer movement spreading all over the earth to usher in the greatest revival the planet has ever seen.

    Rabbi K. A. Schneider decodes the Book of Revelation, showing how the end-time events prophesied in the New Testament book correspond with the teachings of the Torah and the Hebrew prophets. You will discover how the Passover foreshadows the great tribulation, and what the Hebrew prophets reveal about the anti-Messiah, Armageddon, hell, the return of the Messiah, the millennial kingdom, heaven, and much more. As the world grows darker and darker, many people have a sense of impending doom. This book will teach you what to expect during the last days and how to stand firm in Christ even in the face of opposition.

    A populist rebellion against the established churches, it became the dominant religious force in the country.During the nineteenth century white evangelicals split apart dramatically, first North versus South, and then at the end of the century, modernist versus fundamentalist. After World War II, Billy Graham, the revivalist preacher, attracted enormous crowds and tried to gather all Protestants under his big tent, but the civil rights movement and the social revolution of the sixties drove them apart again. By the 1980s Jerry Falwell and other southern televangelists, such as Pat Robertson, had formed the Christian right. Protesting abortion and gay rights, they led the South into the Republican Party, and for thirty-five years they were the sole voice of evangelicals to be heard nationally. Eventually a younger generation of leaders protested the Christian right’s close ties with the Republican Party and proposed a broader agenda of issues, such as climate change, gender equality, and immigration reform.Evangelicals have in many ways defined the nation. They have shaped our culture and our politics. Frances FitzGerald’s narrative of this distinctively American movement is a major work of history, piecing together the centuries-long story for the first time. Evangelicals now constitute twenty-five percent of the American population, but they are no longer monolithic in their politics. They range from Tea Party supporters to social reformers. Still, with the decline of religious faith generally, FitzGerald suggests that evangelical churches must embrace ethnic minorities if they are to survive.

    If you live in divine health and prosperity, you won’t need a miracle to get healed or to pay your bills. If you can’t see the difference between the two, that may be one reason you only visit God’s best instead of truly living in it.Most Christians live in a place where it’s just a matter of time before there’s a crisis in their lives and they need a miracle. You might think it would be wonderful to go from miracle to miracle, but that means you’d also be going from crisis to crisis! Miracles are great when you need one, but you weren’t meant to continually get by on them. God wants to change where you live. Let Andrew show you how to live in God’s best today!

    Now he’s God’s man, and he’s got a lot of cleaning up to do. But where does an absentee father start in the quest to get to know the children he abandoned? Will they give him a chance to make up for lost time? Stanley has missed out on his chance with his son. But his three daughters, Yolanda, Kim, and Sabrina, are in for a surprise when their long lost father comes strolling back into their lives. Stanley’s presence is met with three different responses, not to mention the reactions from his children’s mothers. Stanley is doing his best to win the girls’ hearts, but how many times can one man apologize before giving up again? Bestselling author duo CaSandra McLaughlin and Michelle Stimpson had their editor crying with this one! Join this journey of life, love, and forgiveness as Stanley and his daughters walk through touch territory in a storyline that rings true for so many people. Grow with Stanley and his daughters as they all grow to know the Best Father ever!

    It’s a critical one, and its absence has led to weak believers, disintegrating families, ineffective churches, and a decaying culture. Without it, we lack what we need to fully live as heaven’s representatives on earth. That missing force is discipleship. In Kingdom Disciples, Tony Evans outlines a simple, actionable definition of discipleship to help the church fulfill its calling. Readers will learn:What a disciple isWhat a disciple cares aboutHow to be a disciple and make disciplesWhat discipleship looks like in communityWhat the impact of discipleship on the world can beKingdom disciples are in short supply, and the result is a legion of powerless Christians attending powerless churches, having a powerless presence in the world. The power, authority, abundance, victory, and impact God has promised will only come about when we understand and align ourselves with His definition of discipleship.Kingdom Disciples calls believers and churches back to our primary, divinely ordained responsibility to be disciples and make disciples. Only when we take seriously this assignment will the world see heaven at work on earth.Will you accept the assignment? Kingdom Disciples isuseful as base material for a course on discipleship.

    Depending on where you live, you might be able to find a coven or circle where you can meet fellow Wiccans and ask questions, but most newcomers to Wicca find themselves traveling solo.Luckily, there is no shortage of information about the "Old Religion" in print and online. Yet with all of the diverse and often conflicting perspectives out there, it can be hard to know where to begin. That's why best-selling author Lisa Chamberlain created the Wicca Starter Kit, bringing together 3 of her top guides-Finding Your Path, Magical Deities, and Living a Magical Life-to get your journey well underway.Finding Your Path: A Guide to Wiccan Traditions, Solitary Practitioners, Eclectic Witches, Covens and CirclesOne of Wicca's greatest strengths as a spiritual practice is the variety of paths one can choose from. Perhaps you want to join a coven within an established tradition, or maybe a more individualized practice is your calling. In Finding Your Path, you'll learn about the wide spectrum of contemporary Wiccan practice, from traditional "orthodox" covens to looser, more "eclectic" covens and circles, as well as the more recent phenomenon of solitary practice, which has appeal for both traditional and eclectic Wiccans alike.Lisa covers everything you need to know about covens and circles, including their history, their structures, and how to find your Wiccan community. You'll also be introduced to the main Wiccan traditions: Gardnerian, Alexandrian, and Dianic, as well as other less common traditions. If you don't already have a sense of the amazing diversity of this innovative religion, you certainly will after reading this book!Magical Deities: A Guide to the Wiccan God and Goddess, and Choosing a Deity to Work Magic WithMagical Deities provides an orientation to the concept of divinity within the Wiccan belief system. You'll learn about the Wiccan Goddess and God-the ageless, timeless manifestations of the feminine and masculine energies at work in our world-and their various names, forms, and representations found in contemporary Wiccan practice. As with so many elements of Wicca, beliefs about divinity are varied, with some emphasizing traditional duotheism and others taking a polytheistic approach.You'll learn about the difference between these two spiritual orientations, and find advice for developing your own unique connection with the divine masculine and feminine. You'll also be introduced to sixteen ancient deities who often function as "aspects" of the God and Goddess within Wiccan practices, drawn from ancient civilizations that have influenced modern Wicca: the Egyptians, the Greeks and Romans, and the Celts. Finally, you'll find ideas for honoring and working with these deities in your magical practice.Living a Magical Life: A Guide to Initiation and Navigating Your Journey in the CraftNew Wiccans will encounter two essential questions: 1) should you formalize your practice of the Craft with an initiation ritual? and 2) how do you integrate your new beliefs into your day-to-day life?In Living a Magical Life, Lisa addresses questions regarding coven initiation and solitary self-dedication, as well as less often-discussed topics like navigating common obstacles along your spiritual path, leaving behind old beliefs that no longer serve you, and developing and strengthening your inner psychic guidance system. There's also a step-by-step solitary initiation ritual you can p