Richard Coles, led a pilgrimage to all the major historic sites of the Holy Land: from Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee in the North, via Jericho and the Jordan River, to Bethlehem and, finally, Jerusalem. All of the pilgrims in his care were practising Christians, except one: the writer Kevin Jackson, a diffident and sympathetic atheist intrigued by the chance to take part in this modern-day version of an ancient act of piety, and to learn some more about his old friend, the media clergyman.Coles to Jerusalem is Kevin Jackson’s light-hearted diary of that pilgrimage, and a close-up portrait of Richard Coles both as priest and as man. As the journey proceeds, Coles reminisces at length about his past life as a rock star and radical gay agitator, his new life as a spiritual leader and a popular broadcaster on BBC radio and television, and the strange, unpredictable path that led him from self-destructive debauchery to faith and vocation.With a lively supporting cast of fellow pilgrims, Coles to Jerusalem ranges among the magnificence of ancient monuments and the banalities of the guided tour, the grim political background of contemporary Israel and the comedy of a group of idiosyncratic English folk abroad, the intensity of worship and the lightness of banter. It will be irresistible to all admirers of Richard Coles, who has contributed a foreword; and a revelation to those who have never encountered his wisdom and warmth.

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

    Using the simple device of telling the Christmas story backwards, Stephen Cottrell helps us encounter it as if for the first time.

    'Welcome to Islam' is a step-by-step guide to help people who have just accepted Islam. It teaches them the absolute basics of Islam that they should learn within their first month of being a Muslim. This work is not another introductory book on Islam but rather a step-by-step instruction manual that allows you to start practicing what you learn immediately. It also contains valuable advice on some common challenges that new Muslims often face.

    That's what it means to be steadfast. But in a world where so much can undermine our faith or pull us off track, steadfastness is often a rare and elusive trait. James longs for his readers to be steadfast. His letter meets us in our suffering and sickness, our trials and temptations, our wealth and poverty, our ups and downs. He confronts our sin, our speech, and our pride. He encourages believers to have a more resilient and concrete faith: not just to hear the word, but to do it. He calls us to persevere in truth in a world of lies, to see that God's steadfast love is ultimately the source of our steadfast faith.This 8-week study of James provides:5 days of study each week-observing, interpreting, and applying the textDevotional commentary with space to journal your thoughtsMemory verse each weekSmall group discussion questionsKeynote Teaching Videos from the TGC's 2020 Women's Conference In a fickle and wayward age, we need biblical wisdom if we are to stay the course and be steadfast saints. The book of James provides this wisdom, and Steadfast will help you apply it.

    Francis of Assisi. This story has been told many times before, but Fr. Larranaga tells it with a new spirit, seamlessly combining a modern spirit with the freshness and sense of wonder of the Fioretti. When Francis Bernardone was held as a prisoner of war at the age of 20, he never dreamed that he would become a knight in the service of Lady Poverty. By the time he died 25 years later, he had become the Poor Man of God, the living image of the Crucified Savior.

    Three books in one, bringing you closer to the Savior. In Come Thirsty, Max Lucado encourages you to visit the well and drink deeply, to receive Christ's work on the cross, the energy of his Spirit, and his lordship over your life, and his unending, unfailing love.Using the illustration of weary travelers in Traveling Light, Lucado invites us to release the burdens of our excess baggage that we were never intended to bear--with the Twenty-third Psalm as our guide.In Next Door Savior, master storyteller Max Lucado presents the life of Jesus Christ in stunning contrast, revealing the irresistible human qualities and the undeniably divine characteristics of Jesus. Lucado describes, as only he can, a Savior who is as approachable as a next-door neighbor, yet mighty enough to save humanity.

    

    In this easy to read booklet, you'll find 37 one-minute teachings on how to explain and defend Catholic teaching.

    Thérèse of Lisieux, Teresa of Avila, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, and Mother Teresa—who wouldn't want these women as friends and guides? Lively, determined, devout but never passive, they were all straight-shooters with an abundance of common sense. They were also deeply in love with God, clinging to him with a tenacity that freed them to do the impossible. Using the Great Commandment as her guide, Gina Loehr focuses on how each of these women lived out one particular aspect of the command to love God with heart, mind, and soul and neighbor as self. Practical tips offer suggestions on how to be like the Teresas and points for reflection drive the lessons home. These friends of God will help you become, as they were, expert in living out Christ's perfect law of loveThe audio edition of this book can be downloaded via Audible.

     The evolution of church culture has been something that has needed to happen for a long time. Culture, traditions, oral laws, and the status quo can be a good thing... but it can also be a bad thing. Do you remember what was happening in Israel around the time that Christ came on to the scene? Israel started to live by their own set of oral laws and traditions, or what we might refer to today as "culture." The "culture" in Israel when Christ showed up was one of the most judgmental and hypocritical cultures the world had ever seen. It was a very isolated and unaccepting culture. But Christ showed up and cast a net over all types of people. The Greeks, the Romans, the Samaritans, and every other nation across the globe. His net covered even the worst of repentant sinners. The only people that were excluded or "damned" were the unrepentant elite, the "scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites" who "strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel" (Matthew 23:23-24). Christ took the existing covenants and commandments and simplified them. He brought an evolution of love, empathy, and compassion. He built a culture that was geared toward the lowly of heart and revolted against those who spent their lives pointing out the flaws in others. "For ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness" (Matthew 23:27). The bulk of Israel was living according to their culture and their superstition instead of their religion. This has been the bane of each and every covenant society, which caused Joseph Smith to say, "What many people call sin is not sin; I do many things to break down superstition, and I will break it down." The doctrine of the LDS church doesn't lose people. It's the culture and superstition that causes unnecessary strife. This book, The Cultural Evolution Inside of Mormonism addresses the changing culture, the unprecedented changes that are taking place in the church, and the historical transparency. The Table of Contents explains where this book will take you: 1. More Extended Hands 2. Fewer Wrecking Balls 3. The Cultural Evolution 4. Not Customizing Christ 5. The Three Types of Mormons 6. A Place Where Doubters Are Welcome 7. The Kindness of Christ 8. Embracing Intellectuals and Scholars 9. Change in The Church Comes Slowly For A Reason 10. The Humble Few 11. Millennial Mormons 12. Making Rash Decisions 13. Giving Volunteers A Break 14. Logical Evidence For The Church Is Mounting 15. From Which All Others Are Derived 16. Temple Workers Galore 17. No Other Religion Provides A Better Hope 18. People Throwing The Book of Mormon Out The Window 19. The Bible That Needed To Be Rescued 20. Looking For Just One Reason To Believe 21. Liberal Conservatives 22. Pageantry In The Church 23. Peeling Back Polygamy 24. Looking At Tithing A Little Differently 25. Not Judging Others Sabbath Day Worship 26. The Place For Gays Inside The Church 27. What I Really Believe 28. Why I Love The Church

    Paul O'Sullivan provides a wonderful little handbook of easy ways to bypass Purgatory so that we can go straight to Heaven when we die. This book forms a perfect companion to Fr. O'Sullivan's famous Read Me or Rue It, on helping the Holy Souls in Purgatory and receiving from them in return signal favors.The author maintains it is God's holy Will that everyone avoid Purgatory, for nobody goes there except for faults which he could have avoided. Moreover, he shows that if we just aim for Purgatory, we may unfortunately find ourselves in Hell; whereas, the best way to avoid Hell is to aim to be perfectly prepared for Heaven when we die. And Fr. O'Sullivan shows how to achieve this.He maintains that every day most people blindly pass by all sorts of opportunities to earn "gold for Heaven." But rather than calling for heroic measures, he tells us: If we are afraid to do much, let us do many little things. And he gives numerous examples and suggestions.Although very brief and easy to read, How to Avoid Purgatory is actually a treasure map showing us how to gain the most from this life and at the same time obtain the greatest possible rewards in Heaven.

    Brown was an atheist from an early age and proud of it. Yet, by his own account, God became an undeniable presence in his life. Now a faithful Latter-day Saint, this practicing research physician narrates some of the waypoints on his journey into believing and belonging. Some are dramatic—his wife’s cancer diagnosis or working in a hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic—while many are simple yet profound: being mistaken for a homeless person while a student at Harvard, growing to like little children and opera, and learning to bake cookies for others. With gentle, self-critical humor and a generous regard for those who have accompanied him on his way, Brown’s book is an offer to walk with you a while on your own journey of faith.

    Obviously. Matt Woodcock's frank, funny real-life diaries reveal what it was like for him to train as a vicar while struggling against all odds to become a father. In them he lays bare his joys and struggles as he attempts to reconcile his calling as a vicar with his life as a party-loving journalist, footie-freak and incorrigible extrovert. Becoming Reverend is a compelling and original account of how faith can work in the midst of a messy life, combining family, fertility, faith and friendship with the story of a divine - but unlikely - calling.

    But he also brings a message of courage and comfort--a call to return to God with all our hearts and to fulfill God's purposes for us as His beloved children.