Prayer is simple. Prayer seems like it should be so simple. Yet when it comes to actually praying, it often feels awkward and complicated.I mean, what should you actually pray about? What do you say? Is there anything you should or shouldn't say? Do you have to speak out loud? Where do you even start?To make matters worse, we've heard about prayer for so long that we feel awkward asking about it. It's like having to ask a person's name after knowing them for years. We're embarrassed to ask because we really should know their name by now.Then comes the reality and craziness of life. Between work, parenting, walking the dog, a full inbox, keeping up on social media--who has time to pray?The truth is, prayer is simple. It's like talking; talking with a good friend. Here's the best part: No matter where we are in life, God can't wait to talk with us.What does it look like to pray in the midst of your life? What do you say when you don't know how to pray? I'm asking the same questions. Let's talk.

    They listened attentively in Sunday school, made friends, and seemed committed. But one day, they quit. What happened? The Bible says we love God because he first loved us. So if we are not primarily teaching our kids about Gods love for us in Christ, we may miss our opportunity to capture their hearts. But what does it look like to teach a gospel-centered lesson? Show Them Jesus is an instruction manual for teachers of kids and teens written by a lay Bible teacher with 30 years experience

    These forty-six daily meditations on the life and ministry of Jesus drawn from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are a spiritual solvent to help remove the layers of lacquer comprised of political and cultural assumptions that prevent us from seeing just how challenging and compelling Jesus of Nazareth really is. The Unvarnished Jesus is a forty-six day project to restore the incomparable image of Christ.

    The Laus apparitions, approved in 2008, were the first Marian apparitions approved by the Church in the 21st century.Let Mary's prophetic messages bring comfort and hope to your life in this thorough and compelling presentation of the extraordinary visits of the Mother of God to her children around the world.

    6:6).Today we see a culture that is increasingly hostile to Christians, and Christians are increasingly aware that they need to form strong communities to do for them what the culture no longer can. This is a good thing, but it will only work if like Nehemiah and his men we are committed to resisting the dictates of our culture. If we are at all afraid of looking like the crazy fundamentalists that our culture loves to hate, then our communities will be as easily led by the culture as anybody else.In this short book, Pastor Douglas Wilson describes some of the most important ways to create and maintain counter-cultural Christian communities. Whether he is talking about the need for kids to get calluses or for love and loyalty within churches, Douglas Wilson brings decades of on-the-ground wisdom and experience to the topic.A city without walls is not really a city; neither is a city without a church at the center. Get busy. Build the walls, fight sin, love your family and church, and live out the Gospel.

      And for all those who know what it’s like to long for a father’s blessing: his approval, affection and attention. It’s for anyone who’s ever longed to hear your dad say, “I love you. I’m so proud of you.”   You may already know what it’s like to live in the rays of such a blessing, to flourish in the marvelous light of a father’s love. Yet, in this “fatherless generation,” it’s also likely you’ve never known the blessing of your earthly dad. The possibility of hearing the words, “I love you, I’m proud of you,” may be gone—washed away by your dad’s death or distance or divorce or disinterest. Your father’s blessing may be mired in a pit of regret, pain or abandonment.   But here’s the good news— regardless of how amazing or absent, invested or disinterested, empowering or deflating your earthly father was or is — you do have a perfect Father.   We see all throughout Scripture that God wants us to know Him as Father and wants us to live under the waterfall of His blessing.   In Not Forsaken, Pastor Louie Giglio invites us to reframe our view of fatherhood, by understanding that God is not simply the bigger version of our earthly dads, He is the perfect version of our earthly dads. And, He’s inviting us to walk in freedom as loved sons and daughters of the King.   God is not the reflection of your earthly father; He is the perfection of your earthly father.

      But is love really all we need?    The love that the world tells us to pursue is all about self, about following your heart’s desires. But what is the Christian worldview on love? When we follow Jesus, we realize that he invites us to reorient the focus of our lives, so instead of chasing love primarily for our own happiness, we are first and foremost to give love—to God and to others.    In Chasing Love, Sean McDowell will invite readers into Jesus’ radical, upside-down approach to love, and in doing so, he’ll answer some of the toughest questions we’re asking about love today:  How does Jesus speak to singleness?What does the gospel say about LGBTQ issues?Can sexual sin truly be forgiven?What if I’m not happy in my marriage?

    From the pen of one of our greatest living theologians, here is a fresh and compelling introduction to the foundation story of the Christian faith.Full of illuminating theological insights, and with questions for discussion or personal reflection at the end of each chapter, this is the perfect book for all those who want to deepen their understanding and appreciation of the heart of the gospel.

    But to befriend an enemy, we first have to acknowledge their existence, understand who they are, and recognize the ways they are acting in opposition to God’s good news. In How to Have an Enemy: Righteous Anger and the Work of Peace, Melissa Florer-Bixler looks closely at what the Bible says about enemies—who they are, what they do, and how Jesus and his followers responded to them. The result is a theology that allows us to name our enemies as a form of truth-telling about ourselves, our communities, and the histories in which our lives are embedded. Only then can we grapple with the power of the acts of destruction carried out by our enemies, and invite them to lay down their enmity, opening a path for healing, reconciliation, and unity. ​ Jesus named and confronted his enemies as an essential part to loving them. In this provocative book, Florer-Bixler calls us to do the same.

    

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    WILD AT HEART DVD-BASED STUDY SESSIONSWILD AT HEART DVD-BASED STUDY SESSIONS

    Traditionally, femininity has been a role women play, a role defined by culture and simplistic sermons. The author encourages women to look at the feminine roles or boxes that pinch their souls: mother, fashion devotee, working wife, intellectual. Does God treat femininity as a role, a curse, or a gift? And when Jesus redeemed women, what was it exactly that he redeemed?Even after Eden, Fincher points out, God planned to redeem both men and women. But for centuries, women have been taught to devalue the very aspects of their souls that are unique and irreplaceable. Femininity itself runs deeper than aprons, frills, or romance. It begins with feminine souls who are living cameos of the triune God.In Ruby Slippers, Fincher takes a fresh, direct look at the challenges she faced on her search for the feminine soul. She goes step by step through what it means to be a woman and how to cultivate her soul, choosing not to shy away from psychology, theology or personal transparency. In her journey she discovers an understanding of femininity that is timeless and groundbreaking. The roles melt away into something like Dorothy’s ruby slippers, something women have always had—the souls to walk today with freedom and femininity.

    Know the Faith is an attempt to present Orthodox Christianity in a way Western Christians can understand, grounding each point in Scripture and patristic theology, with comparisons to what Catholics and Protestants believe.Whether you are an Orthodox Christian seeking to explain your faith to others or an inquirer into this ancient faith, Know the Faith will help you understand and communicate the Orthodox faith as never before.

    Full of captivating illustrated "emblems" meant to symbolize key facets of Christian doctrine, this unique book seeks to bring theological truths from words to life. The creative design combined with rich theology will challenge young readers to search God's Word for important answers to big questions about themselves, God, and the gospel.