. ." So begins the first book in the Book of Mormon, as the prophet Nephi brings us through the wilderness to a promised land where his family fractures rather than flourishes. But in spite of that tragedy, Nephi points us to the hope he found in his father's inspired dream for the future. Driven by his father's fears and faith, he sought and received his own revelations about how his people might someday find redemption and might ultimately help bring about the redemption of Israel and the entire human family.In this brief theological introduction, philosopher and theologian Joseph M. Spencer investigates the central themes and purposes of a book he calls a "theological masterpiece." What was Nephi trying to accomplish with his writings? How can readers today make better sense of Nephi's words? What can an ancient seer offer readers in the twenty-first century?

    By universal acclaim, this biography by G. K. Chesterton is considered the best appreciation of Francis's life--the one that gets to the heart of the matter.For Chesterton, Francis is a great paradoxical figure, a man who loved women but vowed himself to chastity; an artist who loved the pleasures of the natural world as few have loved them, but vowed himself to the most austere poverty, stripping himself naked in the public square so all could see that he had renounced his worldly goods; a clown who stood on his head in order to see the world aright. Chesterton gives us Francis in his world-the riotously colorful world of the High Middle Ages, a world with more pageantry and romance than we have seen before or since. Here is the Francis who tried to end the Crusades by talking to the Saracens, and who interceded with the emperor on behalf of the birds. Here is the Francis who inspired a revolution in art that began with Giotto and a revolution in poetry that began with Dante. Here is the Francis who prayed and danced with pagan abandon, who talked to animals, who invented the creche.

    

    We know how it all turns out. But imagine if you were the people living it. If you didn't know He was coming back. If you were Mary and Martha after Lazarus died, you would have thought He came too late. If you were Peter, you would have been appalled that the Master would lower Himself into your mess to wash your feet. If you stood at the foot of the cross and heard it was finished, you would have believed it was.What shifted? What allowed them to discover hope within the hopelessness? The witness of their change in perspective teaches us of an unexpected Christ. One who shows up, turning defeat into victory, and despair into deliverance.If He did it for them, He will do it for you. The story of Easter teaches us the truth of Jesus in every unexpected season. Through Him, you can expect hope in unlikely places.

    And then we're faced with a choice--retreat to spiritual security and the community that comes with it, or strike out into the unknown. With his trademark humor and down-home wisdom, Philip Gulley serves as just the spiritual director a wayward pilgrim could warm to, inviting readers into his own sometimes rollicking, sometimes daunting journey of spiritual discovery. He writes about being raised by a Catholic mother and a Baptist father across the street from a family of Jehovah's Witnesses--all three camps convinced the others are doomed. To nearly everyone's consternation, Philip grows up to be a Quaker and a pastor. In Unlearning God, Gulley showcases his well-loved gift as a storyteller and his acute sensibilities as a public theologian in conversations that will charm, provoke, encourage, and inspire.

    Expect interactive material to work through during the week from this study guide and journal, but not specific daily homework. The world is obsessed with telling secrets for the sake of sensationalism. But not all hidden things are poisonous and dark. Some secrets are forgiven, some are covered, and some are kept between you and God. Join Beth Moore for a Living Proof Live experience taped at the Greensboro, North Carolina event as she explores the power of secrets in our lives. Find out what happens when we let God teach us "wisdom in the secret heart" (Psalm 51:6, ESV). Features: Biblically rooted and gospel-centered content; Leader material (guides to questions and discussion with small group); Personal study segments in study journal interactive material to work through during the week, but not specific daily homework.; 6 session study journal with group and personal component

    He explains Matthew's challenge to let go of the conventional wisdom that comes with contemporary American culture. Each of seven talks brings us closer to the heart of the Sermon. Rohr contrasts conventional wisdom with the wisdom of Christ and draws the listener into the Kingdom of God, the end of the world and the experience of enlightenment. He explains that each generation lives in end times, that the Kingdom is for those willing to let go of all cultural idolatry (past and present) and that those who live in reality travel a path of life which unfolds into freedom. This series is a powerful call to follow Jesus Christ in the commandments of the New Testament. Talk 1: Awakening the Heart: Recognizing Cultural Idolatry Talk 2: Voices of the World: Social Institutions Talk 3: Table Fellowship: Alfalfa Sprouts and Gravy Talk 4: Matthew's Gospel: Charter for a New World Order Talk 5: Transformation: Jumping Off the Tower Talk 6: The Sermon and Conventional Wisdom Talk 7: Love and Power, Power and Love

    Catholic homeschooler Cari Donaldson here relates how her friend’s newborn baby, a portrait of the Virgin Mary, and the words of the Miraculous Medal called her forth from a selfish, small way of life into the welcoming arms of the Church.

    It is a reflection of the profound spiritual experience and elevated theological reflection of its author, St. John of Kronstadt. Appropriate both for beginners in the spiritual life and for those more experienced, no one can come away from reading this work without profit. This is the kind of book you will return to time and time again. Appropriate, relevant, and edifying reading for all Christians.

    With its biblical and practical approach to discipleship, this bestselling topical Bible study will help you develop a closer relationship with God, a keener sense of priorities, and a renewed concern for nonChristian friends.Part of the Revised 2:7 series.• Personal study between meetings• 11 sessions

    But the historic landfall of October 1492 was only a secondary event of the year. The preceding January, they had accepted the surrender of Muslim Granada, ending centuries of Islamic rule in their peninsula. And later that year, they had ordered the expulsion or forced baptism of Spain's Jewish minority, a cruel crusade undertaken in an excess of zeal for their Catholic faith. Europe, in the century of Ferdinand and Isabella, was also awakening to the glories of a new age, the Renaissance, and the Spain of the "Catholic Kings" - as Ferdinand and Isabella came to be known - was not untouched by this brilliant revival of learning. Here, from the noted historian Malveena McKendrick, is their remarkable story.

    Growing up, there was my mutated national identity to deal with--my not-quite-American, not-quite-Indonesian soul, restless in both countries. Later, when I came out as a celibate gay Christian, I found I didn't fit into the church as easily as I used to. I've often wondered what it means to belong to others even when I can't manage to blend in with them. The way Jesus tells it, if we give up on belonging in order to follow him, we'll find ourselves belonging anyway. We might not belong the way other people do, with normal homes and normal families and normal ways of fitting in. But we'll belong in a way that's a hundred times better. We'll be fully in place because we know we are out of place. We'll belong like aliens. Maybe you're caught in the same tension as me, wanting to fit somewhere even as you're permanently out of place. Maybe you feel like an alien. If so, let's be aliens together.

    Or another definition of success.

    Midway is where these feelings of frustration and impatience are most commonly felt. It's also where our hidden doubts find their voice.  Where most beginnings start with energy and expectation for all that is ahead, and endings bring the joy of completion as you arrive at your desired destination, the middle is very different. This midpoint can too quickly become a low point, as energy is lacking and enthusiasm wanes. Yet how well you handle the middle reveals what is in the middle of you. The disciples found—in the middle of a lake—a revelation of Jesus that they had never seen on the shore. In the middle is where new navigational skills are found. It's also where some of the most significant lessons are learned.  Join Charlotte Gambill in this compelling, story-driven message that shows through biblical teaching and life application how those who persist through the middle will find that miracles await them on the other side.