Christians, the church and the Bible seem to be out of step with modern attitudes towards homosexuality. And there is growing hostility towards those who hold a different view. So is God homophobic? And what do we say, and how do we relate to to both Christians and non Christians who experience same-sex attraction.In this short, simple book, Sam Allberry wants to help confused Christians understand what God has said about these questions in the scriptures, and offers a positive and liberating way forward through the debate.

    In this collection of true stories, Kurt Bubna, a self-confessed "recovering idiot," chronicles his own honest, heartfelt, and often hilarious missteps along the path to grace. You'll discover what it means to experience the unconditional love of God, regardless of how often you stumble, and you'll gain a fresh view of how to find God's purpose for your life. Learn from Kurt's trials and triumphs that God is indeed the God of second chances--and His epic grace can transform even the most imperfect life into something priceless.

    Tim is a man of integrity and a man committed to making an impact for Christ in his world." — Stu Weber, pastor and author------------------In a world that's growing more hostile to the gospel, what can Christians do? How can we communicate with our unbelieving friends and coworkers in a way that won't seem pushy, intolerant, or judgmental? In a world that's heard it all before and no longer seems to care, where do we begin?By sowing.In Finding Common Ground, Tim Downs reminds us of the forgotten biblical art of sowing and shows us practical and effective ways to:Bring up spiritual subjects with busy and distracted peopleUse secular movies and books to talk about biblical ideasOvercome prejudice and stereotypes in our listenersKeep open doors of communication with even hostile opponentsMove everyone we meet a step closer to the gospel

    It's a starving animal, circling the empty cupboards, blank-eyed and vacant. It's a face frozen in a rictus grin, mouthing lies. "I'm fine," it says. "Everything is under control." "I have always felt hungry," says Emma Scrivener. "Not just for food, but for everything: from money to recognition. I'm a human chasm, a vortex of insatiable longing." Rescued from a disorder that nearly killed her, Emma is now passionate about warning others about the dark and hidden world she inhabited for too long. Harrowing, heart-breaking, human, and humourous, this book will grip you from start to finish.

    You never have been, and you never will be. While it may not always feel like it, God desires for you to have a relationally healthy, emotionally engaged, and spiritually mature husband with whom you can share your days.In Loving Him Well, Gary Thomas builds on concepts from his bestselling book Sacred Marriage to reveal the inner workings of a man’s heart and mind. He delves into Scriptures that help women gain biblical insight to influence their husbands. Exploring the research of neuroscientists, trained counselors, and abuse victim advocates, Gary also interviews dozens of wives to find what has worked and what hasn’t as they’ve sought to build the best marriage possible. In this newly updated version of Sacred Influence, Gary Thomas outlines practical applications you can begin using today.  Thomas desires to “encourage women who are in good marriages that could get even better; and offer hope and a new path forward to women who feel invisible or marginalized in their marriage.” You’ll discover the influence you can gain and the peace of mind you can build when you go first to God for your worth, validation, protection, and provision and then learn how to use that platform to help your husband draw closer to you and closer to God.After decades of marriage ministry, ministering to couples of various walks of life in one of the largest cities in America, and gaining a new sensitivity for many of the issues facing contemporary women, Gary has rewritten this book, adding new stories and fresh illustrations to help wives understand, love, and influence their husbands. Loving Him Well offers encouragement and biblically based support for the transformation of your marriage, drawing you and your husband closer together, the way God intended.

    They are living, complex things that grow and change. Sometimes they fly so high we scrape the top of heaven. Sometimes they barely make it off the ground. Sometimes they feel buried under the ground. What hope do we have of understanding ourselves when we are so changeable? And what hope do we have for lasting change when our response to life is so different from one day to the next? But God designed our hearts to be both varied and varying, and he delights in his craftsmanship. He made our hearts to respond to life in a wide, beautiful spectrum of thought, desire, and choice. This spectrum bends, adapts, expands, and contracts as it dynamically responds to changing situations. The goal of change is not to flatten this variety, but to guide our responses so they reflect who we are in Christ. Jesus perfectly lived his humanity out as a dynamic being. Now as our risen Savior, he redeems all of human experience for his purposes. Without a holistic understanding of people, our approach to those in need of help will be lopsided, focusing on just one aspect of human experienceperhaps simply trying to correct faulty thinking, to stir different emotions, or to correct wrong actions. Focusing on one of these aspects of human experience to the exclusion of the others does not do justice to Gods design. Jeremy Pierre, in this ground-breaking book, lays out a holistic understanding of who we are and how we change through a dynamic relationship with Christ. Every day our dynamic hearts need help from our dynamic Savior. As Dr. Pierre connects the realities of our changing and complex thoughts, desires, emotions, and actions to who we are in Christ, readers will gain a more complete understanding of who we are, who God is, and how change happens in

    We all desire this--but how do we do it?

    This study booklet consists of selected chapters from Francis Frangipane's book "The Three Battlegrounds."

    Through their stories, discover how God uses the lives of ordinary people for His glory and the good of His people. Strengthen your faith as you walk alongside these larger-than-life figures who all chose to obey God no matter the circumstances.Features:Leader helps to guide questions and discussions within small groupsPersonal study segments to complete between 5 weeks of group sessionsFive interactive teaching videos, approximately 25-70 minutes per session, available for purchase or rentBenefits:Preview full-length studies from best-selling LifeWay Women authors.Engage in Bible study during busy seasons with these stand-alone sessions.Dive deep into Old Testament character studies.Find encouragement to live a bold, faithful life in obedience to God.Motivate yourself to further study stories from the Old Testament.

    

    During the supernatural encounter, God explained the meaning of life, revealed the mysterious truths behind the writings of the Bible, unveiled the secrets of the afterlife and, most importantly, dramatically altered the spiritual course of one young man's life. This odd, irreverent spiritual memoir chronicles Josh's journey with blunt comic undertones, undercutting the lofty gravitas typically associated with the "heaven tourism" genre (including best-sellers like Heaven is for Real, To Heaven and Back and Proof of Heaven). While making no claims regarding "proof" of God, heaven or any particular theological truth, this true story is an entertaining and thought-provoking journey into the psychology of religion and the existence of God.

    This is perhaps the strongest aspect of van Deurzen s approach - an ability to understand social development and its often profoundly disturbing effects on the psychology of the individual and to remind us of what is really important in living' - "Counsellingbooks.com "There is a lot to be said for the existential approach in counselling and therapy, and the honesty, intelligence and experience that Emmy van Deurzen brings to her account say it very persuasively. This, thankfully, is not a book setting out a system or founding a school of therapy, but one the reader can engage with constructively to elaborate his or her own position on some very fundamental issues' "- David Smail"Existential Counselling in Practice was without doubt one of the classic texts in this field, and of considerable significance for the wider landscape of therapy too. Existential Counselling & Psychotherapy in Practice is bound to ensure that van Deurzen's practical wisdom continues to influence the future development of existential psychotherapy and counselling for many more years to come' "- Simon du Plock, Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis"'Van Deurzen's introduction to existential counselling is "outstanding" and almost entirely devoid of the linguistic contortions which characterize some of the philosophical literature underpinning the field. For those with an interest in the practical side of existential approaches to counselling and psychotherapy - emphasising the challenges of living in the world rather than focusing on personal psychopathology - I can recommend none better' -" CounsellingResource.com"Existential Counselling & Psychotherapy in Practice is the Second Edition of the bestselling text, which offers a concrete framework and practical methods for working from an existential perspective. Central to the book is the belief that many of our problems and concerns arise out of the essential paradoxes of human existence, rather than from personal pathology. From this perspective, the purpose of counselling and psychotherapy is not viewed as problem-solving or skill-building, but as a means of enabling people to come to terms with living life as it is, with all its inherent contradictions.Emmy van Deurzen, a leading existential philosopher and therapist, presents a practical method of working, using systematic observation, clarification and reflection to help clients rediscover their inner strengths. She shows how personal assumptions, values and talents, once acknowledged, can be turned to constructive use. Using wide-ranging case examples the author also demonstrates the effectiveness of the existential approach in many different situations - from crisis work to dealing with chronic unhappiness.The existential approach is a well-respected form of psychotherapy, but most writing on the subject tends to be heavily theoretical. This book offers a practical and accessible alternative, which will be invaluable to those in training as well as to more experienced practitioners.

    Since that time, Brennan Manning has been dazzingly faithful in preaching and writing variations on that singular theme Yes, Abba is very fond of you! But today the crowds are gone and the lights are dim, the patches on his knees have faded. If he ever was a ragamuffin, truly it is now. In this his final book, Brennan roves back his past, honoring the lives of the people closest to him, family and friends who ve known the saint and the sinner, the boy and the man. Far from some chronological timeline, these memories are witness to the truth of life by one who has lived it "All Is Grace.""

    While serving as mentors, counselors, advisors, and even cheerleaders, women carry numerous responsibilities. Lori Wilhite and Brandi Wilson know about this first-hand as the wives of two well-known pastors in America. Everyone has an image in their mind of what they think a pastor's wife should be. The trouble with this picture is that it has never been and never will be accurate. Ministry wives and female ministry leaders face the same real-life struggles as their church members, but have the added stress of sharing in everyone's burdens as well. They are held to impossible standards by those they serve, and the more this ideal of women in leadership is expected, the more we turn up the intensity in the pressure cooker that is life in ministry. In Leading and Loving It, Lori Wilhite and Brandi Wilson offer a support system to help women make connections to get the encouragement that sustains them and become equipped for the ministry God has called them to pursue. They give readers tools for understanding that external pressures and expectations are only important if they fall in line with what God intends for your life and ministry and they give answers for how to deal with criticism, isolation, finding your personal calling, and what happens when you reach a place of burn-out, and more.

    Its name is shame.Whether we realize it or not, shame affects every aspect of our personal lives and vocational endeavors. It seeks to destroy our identity in Christ, replacing it with a damaged version of ourselves that results in unhealed pain and brokenness. But God is telling a different story for your life.Psychiatrist Curt Thompson unpacks the soul of shame, revealing its ubiquitous nature and neurobiological roots. He also provides the theological and practical tools necessary to dismantle shame, based on years of researching its damaging effects and counseling people to overcome those wounds.Thompson's expertise and compassion will help you identify your own pains and struggles and find freedom from the lifelong negative messages that bind you. Rewrite the story of your life and embrace healing and wholeness as you discover and defeat shame's insidious agenda.