Yet most of us try desperately to be sufficient on our own, and we resent our limitations and our needs.Renowned theologian and Bible teacher J. I. Packer reflects on his experience of weakness--having been hit by a bread truck at a young age and now facing the realities of aging--in order to teach us the importance of embracing our own frailty, and also to help us look to Christ for strength, affirmation, and contentment. Find here a path from discouragement to freedom in light of our all-sufficient God.

    Part of the bestselling Emotionally Healthy Spirituality book collection, this 40-day devotional by Peter Scazzero will help you nurture the kind of healthy relationships you long for.Emotionally Healthy Relationships Day by Day--just like its sister devotional, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day--is your invitation into the ancient yet powerful discipline of the Daily Office, the practice of pausing morning and evening to reflect on God's work in your life.Each devotional will reflect on emotionally healthy relational themes, such as:Clarifying expectationsDeep listeningClean fightingAnd moreYou'll will be ushered into a transformational practice that will deepen your daily walk with Jesus, and along the way, you'll discover the spiritual nourishment, joy, and peace that comes from meeting with him every day.Emotionally Healthy Relationships Day by Day is also available in Spanish, Relaciones emocionalmente sanas Día a día.

    We move through the week breathless and bustling, just trying to keep up while longing to slow down. But real life happens in the small moments, the kind we find on Tuesday, the most ordinary day of the week. Tuesday carries moments we want to hold onto--as well as ones we'd rather leave behind. It hold secrets we can't see in a hurry--secrets not just for our schedules but for our souls. It offers us a simple bench on which to sit, observe, and share our stories. For those being pulled under by the strong current of expectation, comparison, and hurry, relief is found more in our small moments than in our fast movements. In "Simply Tuesday," Emily P. Freeman helps readers - stop dreading small beginnings and embrace today's work- find contentment in the now--even when the now is frustrating or discouraging- replace competition with compassion- learn to breathe in a breathless world Jesus lived small moments well, slow moments fully, and all moments free. He lives with us still, on all our ordinary days, creating and redeeming the world both in us and through us, one small moment at a time. It's time to take back Tuesday, to release our obsession with building a life, and believe in the life Christ is building in us--every day.

    The familiar gravity of familiar places. But the trajectory of our faith should be one that’s continually cycling outward, fueled by a mission and message that God first brought within reach of us . . . so that we can now join with Him in taking it within reach of others.   Authors Daniel L. Akin and Bruce Riley Ashford are calling today’s church members to lives of going—whether going around the world or to people right where they live—going out with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Between the two of them, Akin and Ashford have trained thousands of men and women in both the mandates and methods for going to every nation. Now they have created a resource for individuals and churches to use together in calling even more to go. Readers will:Learn the mission of GodUnderstand the centrality of the church to going on mission with GodBe challenged to go to the nations with the gospel of Jesus ChristBe challenged to go to their own neighborhoods with the gospel of Jesus ChristLearn to use their jobs as vehicles for the gospelBe challenged to commit to go anywhere on mission with God

    Yet, perhaps only rarely do they grasp the implications of the theology embedded in these practices or in the liturgies of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, which has shaped Episcopalians in this country with its emphasis on baptismal spirituality and the centrality of the Eucharist. Julia Gatta wants to change that with her book, Life in Christ.Applying her years of experience as pastor and spiritual director combined with her study of the spiritual wisdom of the past, she explores common Christian practices and their underlying theology through an Episcopal lens. In the tradition of Esther de Waal, Martin Smith, and Martin Thornton, with particular reference to scripture, The Book of Common Prayer, and the wisdom of the Christian spiritual tradition, she illuminates methods readers may already be practicing and provides insight and guidance to ones that may be new to them.

    The hypocrisy, the politics, the gargantuan building budgets, the scandals--church culture seemed so far removed from Jesus. Yet, despite her cynicism and misgivings, something kept drawing her back to Church. And so she set out on a journey to understand Church and to find her place in it.Centered around seven sacraments, Evans' quest takes readers through a liturgical year with stories about baptism, communion, confirmation, confession, marriage, vocation, and death that are funny, heartbreaking, and sharply honest.A memoir about making do and taking risks, about the messiness of community and the power of grace, Searching for Sunday is about overcoming cynicism to find hope and, somewhere in between, Church.

    The message blew up on social-media, triggering an avalanche of responses running the gamut from encouraged to enraged.In Jesus > Religion, Bethke unpacks similar contrasts that he drew in the poem—highlighting the difference between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair and hope. With refreshing candor he delves into the motivation behind his message, beginning with the unvarnished tale of his own plunge from the pinnacle of a works-based, fake-smile existence that sapped his strength and led him down a path of destructive behavior.Bethke is quick to acknowledge that he’s not a pastor or theologian, but simply a regular, twenty-something who cried out for a life greater than the one for which he had settled. Along his journey, Bethke discovered the real Jesus, who beckoned him beyond the props of false religion.

    As believers, we have Christ and never need to be afraid. Yet it’s also true that we are not immune to the effects of evil. Christ has conquered sin and death, but in his infinite wisdom—for reasons that are often difficult for us to understand—evil is still permitted to exist. Even if we’re saved and trust in Christ, we may still find areas in which we just can’t get victory. Maybe it’s a sin we’ve confessed again and again or a constant struggle with depression, anger, or lust. These long-imbedded patterns of shameful living continue to entangle us day after day, month after month, and even year after year.Although evil is real and Christians can be oppressed by it, we have the promise that the one who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Jesus saves us, trains us to resist the power of evil, and delivers us from anything that holds us back. With Jesus, we can be truly free forever.

    Relationships between women can be especially enriching, but when conflict arises, they also can be especially damaging. Too many women approach conflict as if they were unbelievers-with gossip, spiteful actions, bitterness, and even hatred. In Peacemaking Women, Tara Klena Barthel and Judy Dabler offer a meaningful, lasting message to lead women out of conflict to a state of peace where they can live as representatives of Christ to one another and well as unbelievers. With advice that is firmly rooted in Scripture, the authors bring sound, practical help for women who want to know what the Bible says about conflict resolution and how to achieve peace in their relationships with God, self, and others.

    Billy Graham says, "Angels have a much more important place in the Bible than the devil and his demons." In this classic, Dr. Graham combines the fascinating experiences of those who are certain they have been attended by angels with what the Bible says about angels from on high. Here is ringing assurance to all Christians that through angels God is present for His People. We can take comfort in the fact that, with the host of angels at God's call, we are not alone. Be encouraged by this book on God's Secret Agents.

    If the church is to speak meaningfully to youth and in turn reap the many benefits that young people have to offer, then its ministry must be predicated on passion — the Passion of Christ, the passion of youth, and the passionate faith that results when these two things come together. The uniqueness of Practicing Passion lies in its relocating youth ministry in practical theology rather than in educational theory or psychological or social development. While youth ministry has routinely capitalized on the passions of adolescents, little attention has been given to the theological mooring that youth need to connect with the church and hold firm amid the growing demands of popular culture. Focusing on the theological resonance between the Passion of Christ and adolescents’ experience of passion, Dean develops a framework for youth ministry that draws on the historic practices of the Christian community as a “curriculum of passion.” Offering a compelling new model for reaching, discipling, and empowering today’s young adults, Practicing Passion is a vital resource for anyone already engaged in or preparing for youth ministry.