CurrySometimes it takes disruption and loss to break us open and call us home to God. It's not surprising that a global pandemic and once-in-a-generation reckoning with white supremacy--on top of decades of systemic decline--have spurred Christians everywhere to ask who we are, why God placed us here and what difference that makes to the world.In this critical yet loving book, the author explores the American story and the Episcopal story in order to find out how communities steeped in racism, establishment, and privilege can at last fall in love with Jesus, walk humbly with the most vulnerable and embody beloved community in our own broken but beautiful way.The Church Cracked Open invites us to surrender privilege and redefine church, not just for the sake of others, but for our own salvation and liberation.

    Often the age-old customs, whose relevance is lost to modern times, are dismissed as meaningless superstitions. The truth, however, is that these practices reveal the philosophical and scientific approach to life that has characterized Hindu thought since ancient times; it is important to revive their original meanings today. This handy book tells the fascinating stories and explains the science behind the Hindu rites and rituals that we sometimes follow blindly. It is essential reading for anyone interested in India's cultural tradition.

    And its defenders too often fail to ponder it deeply enough to respond effectively to such criticisms.But, as author Bob Bennett writes, “For anyone truly interested in the Church and its claims, a thorough examination of the Book of Mormon as a possible forgery is a requirement. Instead of being just a footnote in an overall review of current Church activities, discussion of the book should be a primary focal point of the investigation.” with that in mind, he brings to bear his own fascinating experiences with the world of forgery in this careful examination of the Book of Mormon and its claims.In his role at billionaire Howard Hughes's company, Bennett had opportunities to help disprove two significant attempts at forgery: Clifford Irving's supposedly authorized biography of Hughes and later the fake Hughes “will.” In the process, he became acquainted with several tests commonly used to help identify a forgery. Leap of Faith chronicles the discoveries he made as he applied those tests to the Book of Mormon.Though Bennett concludes that “no final answer can be drawn about the authorship of the Book of Mormon on the basis of analysis alone,” his exploration of the book and explanation of its contents will be invaluable to anyone interested in understanding it more clearly. His own leap of faith provides a springboard for meaningful discussion by people of all faiths.This compellingly written work offers a unique perspective about a book beloved by tens of millions. It is made even more interesting by the author’s experiences working for the reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, the victim of more than one attempted forgery.

    Jonathan and Wynter Pitts did. Until the reality of married life spilled into their expectations.Jonathan and Wynter invite you on a journey to explore a different approach to your happily-ever-after marriage. Join them for an honest look at the lessons learned as they navigated the ups and downs of early marriage while raising four daughters.Here you will...be encouraged to remove the pressure of a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses marriagelearn to let go of assumptions and embrace your role as servant-leader to your spouseexperience how God can pour His purpose, passion, and fullness into your relationshipEmptied is a way of life. It’s not about trying harder, it’s about thinking differently. Only when you are emptied of your own self-focused motivations can God pour new life into you for the abundant marriage and satisfying relationship you long for. Are you ready to approach your marriage poured out, ready to be filled up?

    First, that many of our problems have arisen because we have not really understood our own traditions, especially in the case of Luther; and second, that there is still a lot of help for us in someone like Luther if we take the trouble to probe beneath the surface. It is an attempt to interpret Luther's theology for our own day.The fundamental theme of the book is the down-to-earth character of Luther's theology. In using this theme, Forde points out that we have failed to understand the basic thrust or direction of Luther's theology and that this failure has caused and is still causing us grief. Modern scholarship has demonstrated that Luther simply did not share the views on the nature of faith and salvation that subsequent generations have foisted upon him and used to interpret his thinking. This book attempts to bring the results of some of that scholarship to light and make it more accessible to those who are searching for answers today.The central questions of Christianity are examined in this fresh restatement of Luther's thoughtthe God-man relationship, the cross, the sacraments, this world and the next, and the role of the church. The author presents the down-to-earth character of Luther's theology in the hope that it will help individual Christians today to be both faithful to God and true to their human and social responsibilities.

    

    Whether you’re a “good girl” who constantly strives to put on a perfect front or the “never good enough girl” who finally decides that if she can’t be perfect, she might as well be good at being bad, the impossible quest for perfection inevitably results in stress that impacts everything you do. Because what you believe determines how you think and feel, Carroll identifies common misunderstandings about others, ourselves, and God and counters these misconceptions with affirming biblical truths that redefine the source of your worth and help you gain confidence and new ways to think about yourself. In doing so, she helps you rework your thought patterns so that misconceptions like “God expects me to live up to His standards perfectly” can be replaced with truths like “God understands our imperfections and loves us unconditionally.” In this relatable book, Amy shares biblical teachings, personal anecdotes, and transformation exercises that are easy to apply to your daily life. Breaking Up with Perfection will give you the tools you need to break the perpetual cycle of stress that chasing perfection induces, so you can live a life filled with happiness, success, and spiritual fulfillment.

    Not long thereafter, he received a priceless spiritual teaching that revealed the source of lasting joy and fulfillment from a spiritual master whose name he would never disclose, not even after he himself became the most renowned Kabbalist of the 20th century. The young scholar's name was Rav Yehuda Ashlag, and though his letters and writings offer tantalizing hints of the wisdom that was given to him, the pieces of the puzzle have never been fully assembled until now. Here Michael Berg, himself the descendant of great Kabbalists, shares the result of years spent studying Rav Ashlag's life and work. In this book, Berg shows how the secret offers life-changing power. Drawing on stories and insights from Ashlag and other noted mystics, Berg explains how to discover one’s true purpose in the world and thereby find lasting peace and joy.

    Louis de Montfort's Act of Total Consecration give a beautiful expression to the fundamental thrust of his spirituality: Christianity that is fully alive is nothing less than a radical act of total self-surrender and self-gift to the Lord Jesus Christ who, in his redemptive Incarnation, has first given himself totally over to us, and for us.Recognizing that the Lord has first consecrated, completely given, himself to us, Fr. de Montfort rightly recognizes that one truly receives this gift in its fullness only by fully giving, that is consecrating, himself to its saving power. The great Apostle of Our Lady proposed on his masterwork, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, an outline of a process by means of which one might prepare himself to make just such a total self-gift to Jesus through Mary.This book, which has been prepared by the Company of Mary, the religious community founded by Fr. de Montfort himself, is both an introduction to his spirituality of total consecration and a guide for those who would prepare themselves to make his Act of Total Consecration to Jesus Christ through Mary. It is also the fruit of this same Act of Total Consecration lived out in years of missionary service of Our Lord and Our Lady in the Roman Catholic Church which we joyfully make available to the people of God.

    Everyone has a worldview, even atheists and skeptics, but only the Christian worldview is not self-contradictory.The Absurdity of Unbelief demonstrates why every possible reason for unbelief is irrational and ultimately meaningless by exposing the various self-refuting systems of thought in which these objections are rooted. 3 Cheers for The Absurdity of Unbelief! "Agnostics and atheists have been making a lot of noise in recent years, in spite of the fact that their belief systems are so obviously flawed. To counter their propaganda we need a flow of books exposing just how flimsy their arguments are. Jeffrey Johnson has chosen the word 'absurdity' to characterise these, and he has chosen well. Chapter by chapter he strips unbelief of any vestige of credibility, then shows with crystal clarity why the biblical case for God stands supreme when contrasted with all other philosophical and religious belief systems. I predict that this book will be as great a help to many of its readers as it has been to me, and I commend it warmly." —John Blanchard “A major strength of Jeffrey Johnson’s Absurdity of Unbelief is its step-by-step systematic approach. He explains what faith is (and is not), what factors drive us to adopt our beliefs, how to test them, fatal difficulties on all systems of thought not built on the foundation of Christ, grounds for holding to Christian theism, and a passionate call to faith in Jesus. Along the way he examines Christian and non-Christian thinkers and movements both ancient and contemporary, demonstrating that the principles underlying a biblical apologetic equally apply to all forms of unbelief. I plan on coming back to this book again and again.” —Joseph E. Torres "As Christians struggle to hold onto a semblance of sanity in the midst of the collapse of Western morality and thought, a sound foundation upon which to stand in explaining our unwillingness to bow the knee to Caesar is a must. In The Absurdity of Unbelief, Jeffrey Johnson provides a clear and compelling case for the Christian faith, readable and usable for believer and unbeliever alike." —James R. White The Absurdity of Unbelief will strengthen your understanding in the logic behind the Christian faith and arm you... ...by its exposure of the weak arguments held by non-Christian worldviews; ...in its clear and logical presentation, providing tools to bolster your witness as you contend earnestly for the faith in the midst of an unbelieving world; ...with thorough documentation, copiously citing books, notes, quotes and references for the most studious of believer in Christ’s Kingdom; ...yet, written with a pastor’s heart so every false philosophy exposed and every Biblical truth illuminated is easily accessed and applied to encourage and educate fellow believers as a textbook for Bible study or used simply as a ready reference to bolster your Christian witness. Grab Your Copy Today Available in trade paperback and Kindle eBook

    Here's the Bible that shows you how.My Daily Catholic Bible, Revised NAB Edition offers a reading plan that divides all of Sacred Scripture into 365 segments, one for each day of the year; features two small, manageable readings for each day, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament; offers an insightful quote from a saint for every day.There's never been an easier way to read the Bible. You don't have to start on January 1. Begin reading on any calendar date and twelve months later you'll have made your way through all seventy-three books of the biblical canon. And a place for a check mark next to each entry makes it simple to keep track of your progress. Plus, you'll know exactly where to start in again if you miss a day or two!

    In his next book, Jim takes the reader along into the wide open spaces of exploring and experiencing God beyond religion. Jim writes, "It is no secret that God can be lost beneath the waving banner of religion. Divine Nobodies is my story of how this happened to me. Sometimes you have to disentangle God from religion, even Christ from Christianity, to find the truth. With the help of some unsuspecting nobodies, I uncovered a new starting line with God. As I've put one foot in front of another, I've experienced God in ways that are deeply transforming."Each chapter revolves around a central question related to knowing God on fresh terms: Is God a belief system? Is the Bible a landing strip or launching pad? Can what we're feeling inside be God? Are we too religiously minded to be any earthly good?Brian McLaren wrote, "I am tempted to say that Jim Palmer could well be the next Don Miller, but what they have in common, along with an honest spirituality and extraordinary skill as storytellers, is a unique voice."The Library Reviews said of him, "Jim Palmer's casual, yet compelling writing style cuts through the religious rhetoric and gets to the real issues…readers will love this author! His sense of humor is alternately mixed with shocking sentences and poignant moments. Laced throughout is a refreshing honesty that ties his ideas together with a ribbon of reality…each turn of the page strips away a little more of the contrived mystery of Christianity until the simplicity and sincerity of it stands in realistic splendor."More and more people seek a deeper spirituality beyond status-quo religion. Others are left empty and weary from a shallow and narrow pop-Christianity. Palmer says that God's kingdom of love, peace, and freedom can be a present reality in any person's life. He proclaims that God is indeed in the process of birthing something deep and wide among unlikely people in unconventional ways, which is changing the world...one "nobody" at a time.

    We profess it in our creed. We're taught that to bury and pray for the dead are corporal and spiritual works of mercy. We honor the dead in our Liturgy through the Rite of Christian burial. We do all of this, and more, because when Jesus Christ took on flesh for the salvation of our souls he also bestowed great dignity on our bodies. In Hope to Die: The Christian Meaning of Death and the Resurrection of the Body, Scott Hahn explores the significance of death and burial from a Catholic perspective. The promise of the bodily resurrection brings into focus the need for the dignified care of our bodies at the hour of death. Unpacking both Scripture and Catholic teaching, Hope to Die reminds us that we are destined for glorification on the last day.Our bodies have been made by a God who loves us. Even in death, those bodies point to the mystery of our salvation.

    Little did they know the unimaginable cruelty they'd endure within its walls.Years later, Frances would face her demons in court, bringing to account those who so viciously stole her youth. SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN is a gripping and moving story of one child's spirit of survival.

    Culture tells us that in order to be liked we must masquerade as someone other than who we are. So, we lacquer ourselves with credit cards and plastic surgery and status updates hoping no one will see the person underneath. This "veneer" allows us to silence our real selves as it gives voice to the alter ego we'd like others to see. But, is this all there is to life or have we been duped? Does material success equal significance? Is our only identity the one we steal from Hollywood? God's idea of humanity is altogether different from the world's. There is a way to live that sees beauty in our imperfection and, as Tim and Jason put it, once we realize this we can strip our veneers and live an unveneered life of freedom, honesty, and beauty.