Understand the anticipation and waiting the Old Testament world endured, the joy and new life signaled by the coming of Christ, and the way Advent points to the glory of God still to come. (5 sessions)Features: Beautiful, full-color designed pages to ready participants for the Christmas seasonPersonal study segments to complete between 5 weeks of group sessionsWeekly activities for adults, teens, and kidsTips to guide discussion within small groupsBenefits: Fuel your worship of Christ with a deeper understanding of Advent.Grasp God's character and His work on behalf of His people, in the past and present, as a catalyst to a more intimate relationship with Him.Learn how to practically extend joy, hope, peace, and love to others during the holiday season.

    Some may look down at their iPhones when we mention God, motion for the check when we bring up church, or casually change the subject when we talk about prayer. In a world full of people whose indifference is greater than their desire to know Christ, how can we dream of growing the church?In "Contagious Disciple Making," David Watson and Paul Watson map out a simple method that has sparked an explosion of homegrown churches in the United States and around the world. A companion to Cityteam's two previous books, "Miraculous Movements" and "The Father Glorified," "Contagious Disciple Making" details the method used by Cityteam disciple-makers. This distinctive process focuses on equipping spiritual leaders in communities where churches are planted. Unlike many evangelism and church-growth products that focus on quick results, contagious disciple-making takes time to cultivate spiritual leadership, resulting in lasting disciple-making movements. Through "Contagious Disciple Making" readers will come to understand that a strong and equipped leader will continue to grow the church long after church planters move on to the next church.Features include:Glossary of terms Engagement tools for use in the field Practical techniques to equip others to make disciples

    Drawn from a rich heritage, "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life" will guide you through a carefully selected array of disciplines, including:Scripture readingPrayerWorshipScripture meditationEvangelismServingStewardship of time and moneyScripture applicationFastingSilence and solitudeJournalingLearningBy illustrating why the disciplines are important, showing how each one will help you grow in godliness, and offering practical suggestions for cultivating them, "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life" will provide you with a refreshing opportunity to become more like Christ and grow in character and maturity.

    After spending over six hard years doing relief work in Somalia, and experiencing life where it looked like God had turned away completely and He was clueless about the tragedies of life, the couple had a crisis of faith and left Africa asking God, "Does the gospel work anywhere when it is really a hard place?  It sure didn't work in Somalia. Nik recalls that, “God had always been so real to me, to Ruth, and to our boys. But was He enough, for the utter weariness of soul I experienced at that time, in that place, under those circumstances?” It is a question that many have asked and one that, if answered, can lead us to a whole new world of faith. How does faith survive, let alone flourish in a place like the Middle East? How can good truly overcome such evil? How do you maintain hope when all is darkness around you? How can we say “greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world” when it may not be visibly true in that place at that time? How does anyone live an abundant, victorious Christian life in our world’s toughest places? Can Christianity even work outside of Western, dressed-up, ordered nations? If so, how?The Insanity of God tells a story—a remarkable and unique story to be sure, yet at heart a very human story—of the Ripkens’ own spiritual and emotional odyssey. The gripping, narrative account of a personal pilgrimage into some of the toughest places on earth, combined with sobering and insightful stories of the remarkable people of faith Nik and Ruth encountered on their journeys, will serve as a powerful course of revelation, growth, and challenge for anyone who wants to know whether God truly is enough.

    T. Wright, are the very echoes of a voice we dimly perceive but deeply long to hear. In fact, these questions take us to the heart of who God is and what He wants from us.For two thousand years, Christianity has claimed to solve these mysteries, and this renowned biblical scholar and Anglican bishop shows that it still can today. Not since C. S. Lewis's classic summary of the faith, Mere Christianity, has such a wise and thorough scholar taken the time to explain to anyone who wants to know what Christianity really is and how it is practiced. Wright makes the case for Christian faith from the ground up, assuming that the reader has no knowledge of (and perhaps even some aversion to) religion in general and Christianity in particular.Simply Christian walks the reader through the Christian faith step by step and question by question. With simple yet exciting and accessible prose, Wright challenges skeptics by offering explanations for even the toughest doubt-filled dilemmas, leaving believers with a reason for renewed faith. For anyone who wants to travel beyond the controversies that can obscure what the Christian faith really stands for, this simple book is the perfect vehicle for that journey.

    We have to get it right in all areas of life--work, home, family, and faith--because our children's futures hinge on our ability to perfectly orchestrate the present.But those impossible standards leave us oscillating between worry, fear, anger, and shame. They threaten to steal all the wonder from parenting, life, and our personal relationship with God.In this 7-session study, discover how the gospel message can empower you to parent in the freedom of God's sovereignty. So that you can breathe deeper, walk lighter, and enjoy your children--and the parenting journey--more than ever before.Benefits: Thrive in what God has asked you to carry by abandoning all He hasn't asked of you.Embrace your significance in your children's lives in light of God's sovereignty.Trust God with the children He has entrusted to you.Receive the Lord's grace, so you can reflect that grace to your children.Learn to stop trying so hard, and allow yourself to simply enjoy your kids.Features: Leader tips to guide questions and discussions within small groupsPersonal study segments with homework to complete between 7 weeks of group sessionsOptional teaching videos, approximately 5-8 minutes in length per session, in digital download format to help start group sessions

    Many wonder at the justice (or injustice) of it all, feeling confounded by a God who deems it necessary to send the majority of humanity to burn there forever. Seventy percent of Americans believe in hell, as do ninety-two percent of those who attend church every week. Clearly, it's a hot topic. Baker offers readers a safe space to contemplate tough issues as they rethink traditional views of hell. In her candid and inviting style Baker explores and ultimately refutes many traditional views of hell, presenting instead theologically sound ways of thinking that are more consistent with the image of God as a loving creator who desires to liberate us from sin and evil. This is an excellent selection for general readers, students, pastors, professors, and grief counselors, and will provide clarity for those with questions about hell, God's judgment, and what happens to us when we die.

    Yet at its core, this movement reflects our need for community. Our longing for intimacy, connection, and a place to belong has never been a secret, but social networking offers us a new perspective on the way we engage our community. How do these networks impact our relationships? In what ways are they shaping the way we think of ourselves? And how might this phenomenon subtly reflect a God who longs to connect with each one of us? The Church of Facebook explores these ideas and much more, offering a revealing look at the wildly popular world of online social networking.

    Challenges readers to understand God's act of salvation so that they may fully grasp the glory of being saved.

    Are you a people pleaser? Are you addicted to “approval” from others, and would do just about anything to get that approval? Biblical counselor Lou Priolo exposes all the prideful manifestations of this problem and, as always, offers solid, systematic Biblical solutions! Even readers who feel that they do not have this problem should read this helpful book, because what you don’t know can and will hurt you and others.

    Hughes, author of the Word Writers Bible study series, has been there, yet she's found a peace that runs deeper than her circumstances. In Deeper Waters, she invites you to...learn to hear God's voice through the pages of His Worddiscover a joy you never thought possible when reading the Biblemake connections in Scripture that transform your way of thinking and livingYou don't have to be in seminary to be a serious student of the Bible. God's Word is for everyone. Dive in and experience the joy that awaits in deeper waters.

    They are for today. For everyone. Chicagoland pastor Robby Dawkins sees this again and again in his ministry to hurting people and even to gang members. Everyday people are seeing God's power unleashed through simple faith in God's Word; they are healing the sick, routing demons, and making a dynamic impact for the Kingdom of God.But many other believers are missing out, unaware that they have far more power and authority than they realize.Dawkins shares dynamic, real-life instruction and amazing stories from the front lines of ministry, showing that believers carry the authority of the Son of God and the power of the Holy Spirit wherever they are. When we walk in the presence and authority of God, we will do what Jesus did.

    Are you ready for a new way to develop leaders that doesn’t add to your busy schedule? Leadership expert, Dr. Keith E. Webb, presents a radically different approach to developing leaders. Coaching allows you to develop both skills and character in other people, while doing ministry. Rather than giving advice, asking powerful questions will draw out what the Holy Spirit has put in. In this book, you will learn practical ways to develop the people around you and multiply your ministry impact through coaching. You will learn:• How to reach ministry goals and develop other people along the way.• How to be free of the pressure of having all the answers.• How to know when to mentor and when to coach.• How to ask powerful questions that lead to change.• How to move people into action with one simple question.Based on first-hand experience and taught around the world, this book will give you the tools you need to move forward. It is possible to develop leaders and have greater ministry impact — while also having more margin in your life.

    "Servant evangelism" enables every Christian to become an effective evangelist by means of unassuming acts of kindness, which convince people of the love of God more persuasively than words. This tenth-anniversary edition contains the author's new epilogue, in which he describes the impact servant evangelism has had throughout the world over the past ten years.

    According to pastor and ministry leader Hugh Halter, only the incarnational power of Jesus satisfies what we truly crave, and once we taste it, we’re never the same. God understands how hard it is to be human, and the incarnation—God with us—enables us to be fully alive. With refreshing, raw candor, Flesh reveals the faith we all long to experience—one based on the power of Christ in the daily grind of work, home, school, and life. For anyone burned out, disenchanted, or seeking a fresh honest-to-God encounter, Flesh will invigorate your faith.