By the mid-19th century, however, spurred by science's progress, many began to question the existence of an afterlife. Materialist doctrine--which sees consciousness as a creation of the brain--began to spread. Now, armed with scientific evidence, Chris Carter challenges materialist arguments against consciousness surviving death & shows how near-death experiences (NDEs) may provide glimpses of an afterlife. Using evidence from scientific studies, quantum mechanics & consciousness research, he reveals how consciousness doesn't depend on the brain & may survive bodily death. Examining ancient & modern accounts of NDEs from sources including China, India & tribal societies such as the Native American & the Maori, he explains how NDEs provide evidence of consciousness surviving death. He looks at many psychological & physiological explanations for NDEs raised by skeptics--such as stress, birth memories or oxygen starvation--& shows why each of them fails to explain the NDE. Exploring the similarities between NDEs & visions experienced during actual death & the intersection of physics & consciousness, he uncovers truths about mind, matter & life after death.

    Dr. Ian Stevenson, the founder of this work, has always written for a scientific audience. Now, in this provocative and fascinating book, Dr. Jim B. Tucker, a child psychiatrist who currently directs the research, shares these studies with the general public. Life Before Life is a landmark work—one that has the potential to challenge and ultimately change our understandings about life and death.Children who report past-life memories typically begin talking spontaneously about a previous life when they are two to three years old. Some talk about the life of a deceased family member, while others describe the life of a stranger. They may recount details about previous family members, events in the previous life, or the way they died in that life. The children tend to show a strong emotional involvement with the apparent memories and often cry to be taken to the previous family. In many cases, parents have taken their children to the places they named, where they found that an individual had died whose life matched the details given by the child. During the visits, some children have recognized family members or friends from that individual’s life. Many children have had birthmarks that matched wounds on the body of the deceased individual. Researchers have studied more than 2500 such cases, and their careful investigations have produced an impressive body of work. JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, stated in a review of one of Dr. Stevenson’s scientific books that, “in regard to reincarnation he has painstakingly and unemotionally collected a detailed series of cases . . . in which the evidence is difficult to explain on any other grounds.”Life Before Life explores the various features of this world-wide phenomenon, describing numerous cases along the way. We meet a boy in Michigan who, after being born with three birthmarks that matched wounds on his deceased brother, begins talking about events from the brother’s life; a boy in Turkey who gives a number of accurate details, including the name, of a man who lived 500 miles away and died fifty years before the boy was born; and a girl in Sri Lanka who is able to recognize the family members of a deceased stranger as they are presented to her one by one, giving specifics about their lives that she could not have known from their appearance.Dr. Tucker presents this material in a straightforward way, relating extraordinary stories that have been amassed with a scientific approach. He then considers how best to interpret the evidence, and he lets readers reach their own conclusions—which, for many, will be profound.

    Take your faith-walk from a “going through the motions” or “have to” mindset to the stimulating, fresh “want to” experience of enjoying God’s presence—24/7.  Weems encourages you to surrender fully, to discover the right kind of fuel for the journey, and to learn a new way to pray and fast. This lifestyle is not based on rules or religion, but on a deep, satisfying, motivating relationship with God. Included in Awakening is a 21-Day Plan that will guide you through the principles that ensure a lasting, fresh relationship with God—even in a world where everything quickly becomes stale.   “It’s time to wake up and put an end to spiritual sluggishness! I promise this year will be the best of your life if it is your best year spiritually.” – Stovall Weems

    That’s one way to describe Peter. Here’s another: poor, uneducated, quick-tempered, and full of doubts and fears. Doesn’t even sound like the same man. And that’s the point of Simon Peter, a new book and six-week adult Bible study by Adam Hamilton. Peter was just an ordinary guy who heard and followed God’s extraordinary call. Discover how you, too, have special gifts, talents, and abilities that God can use to make a difference today. In addition to the Leader Guide and DVD components for adult studies, corresponding youth and children’s resources, sold separately, can be used to create a churchwide study.Chapters Include: The Call of the Fisherman Walking with Jesus in the Storm Bedrock or Stumbling Block? “I Will Not Deny You” From Cowardice to Courage The Rest of the Story

    In Nothing Wasted, counselor and teacher Kasey Van Norman's vulnerability invites you to discover God's personal and purposeful design for your future--not in spite of your story, but through it.What if the pain and mistakes of your past are exactly what God wants to use to redeem your future?A difficult childhood, public infidelity, and a fight with cancer--Kasey Van Norman has walked a rocky road of regret and loss. Shockingly, God would take her back to move her forward, uprooting her undealt-with wounds, secret shame, and intimacy-sabotaging patterns of behavior. No longer running from her past, but instead, allowing herself to be defined by it, Kasey discovered a God more intentional and loving than she'd ever believed him to be.In this book, she shares the truth that no part of our life story is wasted--but purposefully designed and used by God to shape who we are meant to be. With vulnerability, sound doctrine, and humor, Kasey unfolds the brokenness in her own life to:Remind you that a holy, sovereign God lovingly works through your past mistakesHelp you look at your own past to embrace it as the necessary setup for your futurePoint to the God who can weave together a beautiful story of redemption in your lifeNo experience or relationship has been a mistake. You are no mere byproduct of random events, and you do not need a do-over! Because with God, nothing is wasted.Also available: video study and study guide.

    A new and different look at near-death experiences (NDEs) is presented in this book. It considers NDEs in light of LDS doctrine revealed truth. Rich with scripture and the words of modern prophets, this book offers informed comment on afterlife conditions, shows where LDS doctrine seems to support NDE reports.

    In Lessons neardeath expert Kenneth Ring extracts the pure gold of the NDE and with a beautiful balance of sound research and human insight reveals the practical wisdom held within these experiences. As Stanley Krippner states, "In this remarkable book, Ring presents evidence that merely learning about the neardeath experience has similar positive effects to those reported by people who actually have had neardeath experiences. Kenneth Ring is one of the few authors whose gifts include the capacity to transform their readers' lives."

    

    This book offers readers a wonderful opportunity to spend time each day getting to know God more intimately. This insightful guide to the names of God provides 366 life-changing, personal devotions for new Christians and longtime believers. As readers explore 122 names and attributes of God, they will discover something special about who God is, who they are, and how they relate to others. Includes a Scripture and name index for easy navigation to favorite verses. Now in paper.

    Pretending Jesus is less than He is resulted in someone I wasn't compelled to worship. So I began a journey to discover the whole Jesus--including the seemingly rough and wild parts--revealed in the Bible. And I found Him to be bigger and better than I ever dreamed.--Lisa HarperThrough a powerful blend of storytelling and biblical insights, Lisa Harper invites you to engage with the Jesus of the gospels, a person so provocative that no one left an encounter with Him unchanged. Pharisees fumed, paralytics turned cartwheels, and pariahs found love and acceptance.Come meet the Jesus who is both safe and strong--and learn how this radical Redeemer can liberate you to live and love with abandon.Includes questions for group discussion or personal reflection.

    He returned from his near-death experience with new eyes to see the kingdom of heaven in this life. Now he wants to help you experience heaven on earth today. For years Steve Musick kept his amazing story to himself, afraid no one would believe or understand it. A major allergic reaction had stopped his heart, hurling him into a five-week coma and powerful experience of heaven. After returning to life, he couldn't forget the memory of that vibrant place--and, most of all, the loving words and touch of Jesus. But that was only the beginning. An amazing series of miracles, dreams, and other supernatural events had been set in motion, showing Steve that heaven was close, even in this life. God was calling him to discover echoes of heaven in the here and now--echoes that can happen at any moment, to anyone--that bring overwhelming joy. At last Steve is ready to tell the story of his journey of a lifetime--two lifetimes. In it you'll learn the secret of bringing heaven to earth in your everyday world, and how to nurture a relationship with God so real and intimate that you'll feel his nearness as strongly as Steven did. Experience one man's incredible vision of heaven--and learn how to live in God's presence and power in your own life now.

    Sometimes, when the cold winds of life blow and we cry out to God, he's silent, and we wonder if he still cares about us--or ever cared. Drawing on the Psalms, Ken Gire climbs the mountainous terrain of God's seeming indifference and helps us learn how to hold on to hope, despite our circumstances. He also calls us to become good "climbing partners" for other people who need help and encouragement along the way.

    But our friends back home live an existence under the weight and awareness of times; a place we are slowly escaping; a world growing fainter by the hour and the mile."Day 13: "It feels again that we are leaving who we were, moving on into the people we will become, hopefully, people with some kind of answers, some kind of thing to believe tht makes sense of beauty, of romance. Something that would explain the red glow against Paul's face, the red glow that seems to be coming off the console . . . 'Did you notice the engine light is lit, bud?' I ask . . ."Day 83: "I sit in the van, waiting for her to come out when I notice a window in one of the classrooms open, and a backpack comes falling out, spilling a few books onto the lawn. After the backpack comes Elida, falling atop the pack and laying low, peeking back into the window to see if the teacher noticed. She gathers her books, reaches into the classroom and closes the window, then runs toward the van as though this were a prison break."As you read Through Painted Deserts, you'll soon realize this is not just one man's account of finding light, God, and beauty on the open road. Rather, this book maps the journey you're already traveling . . . or soon will be.

    As she shares her story, coauthor Rabbi Jason Sobel, a messianic Jewish rabbi, provides fascinating background details that make the story of the New Testament come alive. Kathie Lee and Rabbi Sobel will take you and your group beyond the typical "Sunday school" teaching to examine the true texts of the Bible.Something profound happens when we follow along the ancient paths in the actual places where Jesus taught, healed, lived, died, was resurrected, and ascended into heaven. As Kathie Lee and Rabbi Sobel reveal in this study, Jesus is indeed the Rock and the Rabbi whom we follow along this Road in life. And when we are introduced to the mysteries of the Word by teachers who are trained in the ancient rabbinical way, radical transformation begins to renew our hearts and minds.The Rock, the Road, and the Rabbi Study Guide includes video discussion questions, Bible exploration, and personal study and reflection materials for in-between sessions.Sessions include:Bethlehem: Where It All BeganNazareth: The Early YearsCapernaum: Ministry HeadquartersGalilee: Ministry GroundsMount of Olives: The Triumphal EntryJerusalem: Crucifixion and ResurrectionDesigned for use with The Rock, the Road, and the Rabbi Video Study 9780310095033 (sold separately).

    But what if a respected scientist challenged them to make contact with the beyond under controlled laboratory conditions? What if the results not only stunned a skeptical scientist but also offered astonishing answers to a timeless question: Is there life after death? THE AFTERLIFE EXPERIMENTS Risking his academic reputation, Dr. Gary E. Schwartz asked well-known mediums to become part of a series of experiments to prove, or disprove, the existence of an afterlife. This riveting narrative, with electrifying transcripts, documents stringently monitored experiments in which mediums attempted to contact dead friends and relatives of "sitters" who were masked from view and never spoke, depriving the mediums of any cues. Here are the results that awed sitters and researchers alike: a revelation about a son's suicide, what a deceased father wanted to say about his last days in a coma, the transformation of a man's lifelong doubts about the afterlife, and, most amazing of all, a forecast of a beloved spouse's death. Forced by data to abandon skepticism, Schwartz presents this amazing account of his groundbreaking work, compelling from first page to last.