But it's not cheap—true grace compels us to change. That’s where holiness comes in.Beloved writer, speaker, and bestselling coauthor of Wild and Free Jess Connolly will be the first to admit that not long ago, like many women, she grasped grace but she had forgotten holiness. Dance, Stand, Run charts her discovery that holiness was never meant to be a shaming reminder of what we “should” be doing, but rather a profound privilege of becoming more like Christ. That’s when we start to change the world, rather than being changed by it.Dance, Stand, Run is an invitation to the daughters of God to step into the movements of abundant life: dancing in grace, standing firm in holiness, and running on mission. Through story and study, Jess casts a fresh vision for how to live into your identity as a holy daughter of God, how to break free of cheap grace and empty rule-keeping, and finally, how to live out your holy influence with confidence before a watching world. Spoiler alert: it’s a beautiful thing.For anyone longing to take their place in what God is doing in the world, Dance, Stand, Run will rally your strength, refresh your purpose, and energize your faith in a God who calls us to be like Him.

    In this introductory volume, perfect for Protestant new member and confirmation classes, acclaimed theologian and writer Tom Wright explains in clear and vivid style the background of the Last Supper, the ways in which Christians have interpreted this event over the centuries, and what it all means for us today.

    He demonstrates that behind the thirty to forty-five minutes we see and hear on a Sunday morning are many hours of mental, spiritual and practical labour. Like all pastoral labour, it involves head, heart and hand.Murray breaks up the sermon preparation process into a clear and simple stepby-step method, covering topics such as how to choose a text, how to introduce a sermon, how to explain a text, and how to apply it. It will provide an excellent refresher for experienced preachers and a reliable guide for those just starting out. It will also be extremely helpful to Bible class teachers, Bible Study leaders, or anyone who has to prepare a Bible message.Above all, however, it is the author s desire that this book will also be read by those who do not preach. He wants to give non-preachers an insider s look at sermon preparation. By taking readers behind the scenes and asking, How do they do that? Murray wants to supply answers that will increase respect for pastors and their preaching.

    How do you moderate meetings, manage a church budget, and counsel struggling congregants, all while preparing sermons every week? The new pastor’s time is also inundated with something else—advice! Too much of it! Where do you begin? What you need during your make-or-break first year is practical, realistic preparation for ministry. Drawing from more than three decades of his own experience, Pastor Wingard gives essential help for navigating the principal duties of the minister. Find the tools you need to get established in your ministry and lead with confidence.

    Based on seven proven, easy-to-grasp laws any teacher can apply, Howard Hendricks's classic teaching manual is a must-read for anyone who wants to teach with power and passion, excitement and excellence.

    It sets forth workable principles for dynamic, cross-centered leadership. Now available in paperback.

    Craig Barnes contends that the true calling of a pastor is to help others become fully alive in Christ, to be what he calls a "minor poet," or a poet of the soul. As such, pastors are to read the major poets of Scripture and history in light of the dust and grit of daily parish life." The Pastor as Minor Poet eloquently calls pastors to search for a deeper understanding of what they see -- both in the text of Scripture and in the text of their parishioners' lives. A critical part of this poetic vision involves discerning key subtext beneath these texts, which allows pastors to preach the heart of the Word and to understand the hearts of their people.

    Dietterich, Darrell L. Guder, George R. Hunsberger, Alan J. Roxburgh, and Craig Van Gelder. The result of a three-year research project undertaken by The Gospel and Our Culture Network, this book issues a firm challenge for the church to recover its missional call right here in North America, while also offering the tools to help it do so. The authors examine North America’s secular culture and the church’s loss of dominance in today’s society. They then present a biblically based theology that takes seriously the church’s missional vocation and draw out the consequences of this theology for the structure and institutions of the church.

    Sure, they play in huge games where tens of thousands of dollars can move in the blink of an eye. But that's not the only difference. Elite players play and think about the game in a completely different way from everyone else. If you want to raise your game to their level, it's not just a matter of getting a little better at what you already do. The honest truth is that the way 99% of poker players approach the game is fundamentally flawed. You will never be able to crack the top 1% until you know what they know. There's one big secret to the game that nearly every elite player knows, yet almost no one else understands. It's an open secret-no one is hiding it. Elite players talk about it sometimes in videos and articles. Nevertheless, top players have known this secret for years, yet still almost no one else does. Poker's 1% seeks to change that. It bridges that gap between the elite players and everyone else. It promises that as long as you are willing to put in the work, you too have a shot to reach the top. Poker's 1% teaches a way of thinking about how you play, a way to unify every hand you've ever played and ever will play into one single, overarching strategy. The goal is that you will have one big "aha" moment, the moment where you finally "get" this game. After that, it's just fine tuning. The more you fine tune your strategy, the more you win, and the higher you can go. Poker's 1% gives you a unique window into the secrets of the world's best players. It shows you what you've been doing wrong and how to fix it. And, most importantly, it guides you in a straightforward way along the path from average player to elite.

    For some, it’s a warm-up for the sermon. For others, it’s a “me-and-Jesus” moment. What is the biblically informed way to view corporate worship?In this book, Matt Merker shows that corporate worship is the gathering of God’s people by his grace, for his glory, for their good, and before a watching world. He offers biblical insights and practical suggestions for making worship what it truly is meant to be: a foretaste of God’s people worshiping together for eternity in the new creation.

    Forthrightly but humbly, he shows how pastors and churches can end up distorting scriptural truths because of their preconceptions.Opening up the Scriptures freshly, Steve examines typical problems such asLeaving out half of the truth: “Becoming a Christian means having your sins forgiven.” (We also are made alive!)Using “shorthand” that promotes an unbiblical view: “Our sins are under the blood of Jesus.” (Far better, they’ve been taken away!)Confusing our role with God’s: “Salvation is giving your life to Christ.” (More important, He gives His life to us!)Readers will see that God’s undiluted truth is always best…and brings a fulfilling, close relationship with Him.

    In Growing in Prayer he combines his biblical study with his extensive experience on the topic to give you the tools you need to develop a stronger prayer life through a passionate commitment to your relationship with God. Start today! God is waiting to hear from you. He doesn't just love you, He really likes you and enjoys listening to you when you pray even in your weaknesses. You can be confident that your prayers are valuable to God and will make a difference in your world.

    It's not enough to simply know what to believe (theology) or, on the other hand, how to do ministry (methodology)—they need something in between. They need help thinking about ministry in a culture that no longer believes Christianity is a force for good, let alone the source of ultimate revealed truth in the person of Christ. Center Church, a collection of twelve essays by Timothy Keller, outlines a theological vision for ministry that is organized around three core commitments:*Gospel-centered: The gospel of grace in Jesus Christ changes everything, from our hearts to our community to the world. It completely reshapes the content, tone and strategy of all that we do.*City-centered: With a positive approach toward our culture, we learn to affirm that cities are wonderful, strategic and underserved places for gospel ministry.*Movement-centered: Instead of building our own tribe, we seek the prosperity and peace of our community as we are led by the Holy Spirit.

    Now The Forgotten Ways Handbook moves beyond theory to practice, offering ways for any missionally minded person to apply the ideas contained in The Forgotten Ways to their life and ministry.This intensely practical handbook includes many helpful tools: summary sections encapsulating the ideas contained in each chapter in a popular way; suggested practices to help readers embed missional paradigms concretely; and adult learning-based techniques and examples from other churches and organizations that enable readers to process and assimilate the ideas in a group context. EXCERPTMake no mistake about it; the scope of the change that is required to shift to the kind of movement described in The Forgotten Ways is nothing less than paradigmatic. Every element of mDNA poses a direct challenge to the prevailing ways of doing church and mission. When taken together, all six elements of Apostolic Genius make the task seem enormous. But we don't think it is actually as difficult as it seems. And it is certainly not impossible. The Chinese church proves that a highly institutionalized form of Christianity can become a remarkable movement given the right circumstances. And we don't believe that we have to have persecution to activate Apostolic Genius. Less intense forms of adaptive challenges can, and do, force the church to respond. What we are witnessing in our own day indicates that. Because the church carries the gospel as well as the full coding of Apostolic Genius in her, the potential for world transformation is always present in us. We can always draw upon latent resources and instincts. God is able and very willing to stir his church up. In fact we see this as one of the very special works of the Holy Spirit--to awaken God's people to their calling and destiny as a movement that can and will change the world.

    This book focuses readers on the essentials of God-honoring worship, combining biblical foundations with practical application in a way that works in the real world. The author, a pastor and noted songwriter, skillfully instructs pastors, musicians, and church leaders so that they can root their congregational worship in unchanging scriptural principles, not divisive cultural trends. Bob Kauflin covers a variety of topics such as the devastating effects of worshiping the wrong things, how to base our worship on God's self-revelation rather than our assumptions, the fuel of worship, the community of worship, and the ways that eternity's worship should affect our earthly worship.Appropriate for Christians from varied backgrounds and for various denominations, this book will bring a vital perspective to what readers think they understand about praising God.