This book unlocks each season's God-given purpose and shows you how to thrive within it.In a society where everyone is supposedly more connected, why do people feel so lonely? Even as marriage rates decline, recent studies find the overwhelming majority of single adults still hope to get married. But how can we navigate life and love in this disconnected culture? Has social media eroded the institutions that brought us together--and the deeper emotional intimacy they provided?Pastor and bestselling author Ben Stuart will help you navigate through the four stages of a relational life and show you how to look at the truths and intentions God has established for each.As you embark on this journey, you will discover how to:Use singleness to make an impact for the kingdom of GodPursue dating with clarity and purityUse the season of engagement wisely to prepare for marriageMaximize your life as a married couple for shared ministryContinually seek God and His will throughout each stageDiscover how to embrace God's design, invest your life in what matters most, and find meaning in whatever season of life you're in.

    Hell, judgment, and holy war are hot topics for the Christian faith that have a way of igniting fierce debate far and wide. These hard questions leave many wondering whether God is really good and can truly be trusted."The Skeletons in God's Closet" confronts our popular caricatures of these difficult topics with the beauty and power of the real thing. Josh Butler reveals that these subjects are consistent with, rather than contradictory to, the goodness of God. He explores Scripture to reveal the plotlines that make sense of these tough topics in light of God's goodness. From fresh angles, Josh deals powerfully with such difficult passages as:* The Lake of Fire* Lazarus and the Rich Man* The Slaughter of Canaanites in the Old TestamentUltimately, "The Skeletons in God's Closet" uses our toughest questions to provoke paradigm shifts in how we understand our faith as a whole. It pulls the "skeletons out of God's closet" to reveal they were never really skeletons at all.

    Great leaders don't buy it. Great leaders lead with or without the authority and learn to unleash their influence wherever they are.With practical wisdom and humor, Clay Scroggins will help you nurture your vision and cultivate influence, even when you lack authority in your organization. And he will free you to become the great leader you want to be so you can make a difference right where you are. Even when you're not in charge.

    We worry that our students will be "behind," that they won't score well on the SAT, get into a good college, or read enough of the Great Books. Our souls are restless, anxiously wondering if something else out there might be just a little bit better—if maybe there is another way or another curriculum that might prove to be superior to what we are doing now. God doesn't call us to this work and then turn away to tend to other, more important matters. He promises to stay with us. He assures us that if we rely on Him alone, then He will provide all that we need. What that means on a practical level is that we have to stop fretting over every little detail. We need to stop comparing. We've got to drop the self-inflated view that we are the be-all-end-all of whether the education we are offering our students is going to be as successful as we hope it is. After all, our job is not to be successful—success itself is entirely beside the point. It's faithfulness that He wants. Teaching from Rest offers inspiration, insight, and practical help for the homeschooling mom. Take a deep breath homeschooling mama; He's got this.

    However, popular Bible teacher Jen Wilkin is concerned that sometimes we let our emotions rule our study of Scripture and forget that the Bible is primarily about God, not us. Challenging hungry women to go deeper in their study of Scripture, this book will help you refocus your efforts on feeding your mind first and foremost. Whether you're young or old, married or single, this accessible volume will energize and equip you for Bible study aimed at transforming both the heart and mind.

    Parents have a deep desire to pass on their faith, but fear that today's increasingly skeptical and hostile world will eventually lead their kids to reject the truth of Christianity. That leaves many parents feeling overwhelmed--uncertain of what they can do to help their children, given the difficulty and extent of the faith challenges they will face.This practical and timely resource gives parents the confidence of knowing what to discuss with their children and how to discuss it in order to facilitate impactful conversations that will form the basis of a lifelong faith. In a friendly, parent-to-parent voice, Natasha Crain identifies 30 specific conversations about God that parents must have with their children, organizing them under the categories of- the existence of God- science and God- the nature of God- believing in God- the difference God makesChapters are sequenced in a curriculum-oriented way to provide a cumulative learning experience, making this book a flexible resource for use in multiple settings: homes, church classes, youth groups, small groups, private Christian schools, and homeschools. Every chapter has a step-by-step conversation guide with discussion questions and tips, and content is readily adaptable for use with kids of any age (elementary through high school).Endorsements: "My prayer is that God will use this book to both motivate and equip you to help your kids develop convictions about their faith."--From the foreword by Sean McDowell, PhD, Biola University professor, speaker, and author of more than eighteen books, including A New Kind of Apologist"I can't think of a more relevant or more needed book for parents raising kids in today's culture. This book on apologetics will lead parents in critical conversations that will help grow and guide kids to be lifelong followers of Christ."--Kristen Welch, author of Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World"Hey parents: Do you want to reduce the chances that your child will follow the crowd to the point of rejecting Christ and the values and truths you hold so dearly? Then you need to have the conversations that Natasha Crain so brilliantly describes in this book. Prevent heartbreak later by reading and heeding this book now!"--Frank Turek, PhD, president of CrossExamined Ministries and author of I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist and Stealing from God"May this book lead to thousands more Moms and Dads engaging with their kids through an intelligent faith. And may there be tens of thousands more kids who feel loved because the adults in their lives take their questions seriously."--Jeff Myers, PhD, president, Summit Ministries

    So it's important that we are neither bewitched by it buying into everything it tells us or bewildered by it, lashing out in judgment or retreating into a Christian bubble. Daniel Strange encourages Christians to engage with everything they watch, read and play in a positive and discerning way. He also teaches Christians how to think and speak about culture in a way that plugs into a bigger and better reality, the story of King Jesus, and his cosmic plan for the world.It's possible to watch TV and read novels and play video games in a way that actually feeds our faith, rather than withers it. It's even possible for you,yes, you, to be that person who starts off talking to a mate about last night's football and ends up talking about Jesus.So be equipped to engage with culture and use it for God.

    This author and teacher who's opened the riches of Scripture to millions has longed for you to be free as well. To know the Love and Presence that are better than life--and the power of God's Word that defies all darkness.Her journey out of the pit has been heart-rending. But from this and the poetic expressions of Psalm 40 has come the reward: a new song for her soul--given by her Savior and offered to you here, friend to friend. It is Beth's most stirring message yet of the sheer hope, utter deliverance . . . and complete and glorious freedom of God: "I waited patiently for the Lord""He turned to me and heard my cry""He lifted me out of the slimy pit""He set my feet on a rock""He put a new song in my mouth"""It is a story, a song--a salvation--that you can know too.

    Jackie grew up fatherless, experienced gender confusion, and embraced both masculinity and homosexuality with every fiber of her being. She knew that Christians had a lot to say about all of the above. But was she supposed to change herself? How was she supposed to stop loving women, when homosexuality felt more natural to her than heterosexuality ever could?At age nineteen, Jackie came face-to-face with what it meant to be made new. And not in a church, or through contact with Christians. God broke in and turned her heart toward Him right in her own bedroom in light of His gospel.Read in order to understand. Read in order to hope. Or read in order, like Jackie, to be made new.

    In this classic, J. Oswald Sanders illustrates biblical leadership principles through the lives of David, Moses, Nehemiah, the Apostle Paul, David Livingston, and Charles Spurgeon.This world needs more leaders who are guided by God and devoted to Christ. Christianity needs to put forth a powerful voice to be heard above the cacophony of immorality and deception in much of today's leadership. Spiritual Leadership will encourage you to place your talents and powers at His disposal so you can become a leader used for His glory.This timeless classic will equip leaders of all generations to press on in service for Jesus Christ. Spiritual Leadership has easy-to-understand modern language and a study guide to assist each leader as they grow and successfully apply the principles in this book. Prepare to be stretched, challenged, and motivated to apply the leadership principles of character, passion, and especially godliness. Spiritual Leadership is a necessary tool for today's leaders.

    They read spirituality books but find themselves in carpools and coaching soccer, not in monasteries. Dave Goetz, a former pastor, shows that the suburbs are a real world, but a spiritually corrosive one. The land of SUVs and soccer leagues can truly be toxic to the soul. Suburbanites need to understand how the environment affects them and what spiritual disciplines are needed for their faith to survive and thrive. Goetz identifies eight toxins in the suburban life, such as hyper–competition and the "transactional" friendship, and suggests eight corresponding disciplines to keep the spiritual life authentic. Goetz weaves sociology studies, his own experiences, current events, wisdom of the spiritual masters, and a little humor to equip spiritual suburbanites for how to relate to God amidst Starbucks, strip–malls, and perfect lawns.

    A beach body by summer. A trip to Disneyland around the corner. A promotion on the horizon. Everyone wants to believe that they are headed toward good, better, best. But what happens when the life you hoped for is put on hold indefinitely?Kate Bowler believed that life was a series of unlimited choices, until she discovered, at age 35, that her body was wracked with cancer. In No Cure for Being Human, she searches for a way forward as she mines the wisdom (and absurdity) of today's "best life now" advice industry, which insists on exhausting positivity and on trying to convince us that we can out-eat, out-learn, and out-perform our humanness. We are, she finds, as fragile as the day we were born.With dry wit and unflinching honesty, Kate Bowler grapples with her diagnosis, her ambition, and her faith as she tries to come to terms with her limitations in a culture that says anything is possible. She finds that we need one another if we're going to tell the truth: Life is beautiful and terrible, full of hope and despair and everything in between--and there's no cure for being human.

    Christians are now often seen as the bad guys, losing both respect and influence.In our post-Christian culture, how do we offer the gospel to those around us who view it as not only wrong but possibly dangerous? And how do we ensure that the secular worldview does not entice us away with its constant barrage, online and elsewhere, of messages about self-determinism?Author Stephen McAlpine offers an analysis of how our culture ended up this way and explains key points of tension between biblical Christianity and secular culture. He encourages Christians not to be ashamed of the gospel as it is more liberating, fulfilling and joyful than anything the world has to offer. He also offers strategies for coping in this world, with its opposing values, and for reaching out to others wisely with the truth.

    Andrew Murray calls this "our true nobility" and "thedistinguishing feature of discipleship." With insightful, penetrating clarity, Murray calls all Christians to turn from pride, empty themselves, and study the character of Christ to be filled with His grace. Often called the best work on humility ever written, this edition has been edited for today's reader.

    When Theodore Roosevelt taught Sunday school for a time, a boy showed up one Sunday with a black eye. He admitted he had been fighting and on a Sunday too. He told the future president that a bigger boy had been pinching his sister, and so he fought him. TR told him that he had done perfectly right and gave him a dollar. The stodgy vestrymen thought this was a bit much, and so they let their exuberant Sunday school teacher go. What a loss. Unbelief cannot look past surfaces. Unbelief squashes; faith teaches. Faith takes a boy aside and tells him that this part of what he did was good, while the other part of what he did got in the way. "And this is how to do it better next time." As we look to Scripture for patterns of masculinity for our sons, we find them manifested perfectly in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who set the ultimate pattern for friendship, for courage, for faithfulness, and integrity.