Drawing on his experience as a pastor and church planter, Jeff Vanderstelt wants us to see that there's more--much more--to the normal Christian life than merely sitting in a pew and listening to a sermon once a week. Rather, God has called his people to something bigger: a view of the Christian life that encompasses the ordinary, the extraordinary, and everything in between.

    Even at that young age, the power of friendships between girlfriends was undeniable.When The Friendships of Women debuted in 1987, it struck a chord within women worldwide. At last, a book addressed the unique power—and occasional pain—of women's friendships. Updated for women who face increasing challenges today, Dee continues to explore the depths and heights of women's friendships and shows you how to nurture your friendships to new levels of intimacy and trust.Join her as she looks at three biblical models of women's friendships. You'll soon discover how to increase the power and reduce the pain in your closest, most meaningful relationships.

    

    Yet, while we hear these pleas, we're already functioning with existing beliefs—even if they are beliefs by default. So how do we choose what to believe—especially in the area of faith? Do we need to choose? In "Choosing Your Faith, " Mark Mittelberg encourages us, as Socrates does, not to lead an unexamined life. He invites us to examine why we believe what we believe. This examination will resonate with Christians and seekers alike.

    Brown, is written in response to Strange Fire, written by Dr. John MacArthur. It is with good reason that pastors and leaders who differ with Dr. MacArthur on the issue of the Charismatic Movement do so with deference and respect, since his very substantial and beneficial contribution to the Church in this generation is undeniable. If we had more leaders like John MacArthur, the Church and the world would be in much better shape. But Pastor MacArthur’s criticisms of the Charismatic Movement are inaccurate, unhelpful, often harshly judgmental, sometimes without scriptural support, and frequently divisive in the negative sense of the word. When he damns millions of godly believers, demeans the real work of the Spirit, accuses true worshipers of blaspheming the Spirit, and calls for an all-out war against the Charismatic Movement, a strong corrective is needed, along with a positive statement of the truth of the matter. Authentic Fire is not meant to be a rebuttal of Strange Fire at every point. Instead, while interacting at times with material from the book and conference, and while correcting what the author believes to be serious errors and misstatements, the book is more of a positive response to Strange Fire. Authentic Fire will serve a lasting, worthwhile purpose even for those who will never read Strange Fire. Michael L. Brown holds a PhD from New York University in Near Eastern languages and literatures and is recognized as one of the leading Messianic Jewish scholars in the world today. He is the founder and president of FIRE School of Ministry, host of the nationally syndicated daily talk radio show The Line of Fire, and the author of more than twenty books. He is a contributor to The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion and other scholarly publications.

    In the minds of many, he is perceived as an ivory-tower theologian who was harsh and unreasonable, the driving force behind a dangerous theological system. In this volume, Burk Parsons and eighteen other leading Reformed pastors and scholars authoritatively reveal the truth about Calvin and his teaching - that he was humble, caring, pious, Scripture-saturated, and, above all, passionate about upholding the glory of God. Published in conjunction with the five-hundredth anniversary of Calvin's birth (2009), John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology offers a highly readable partrait of a man whose example and teaching remain vitally relevant even in the twenty-first century.

    Some church music is dull. But here’s the thing: If Jesus had been boring, the disciples wouldn’t have followed him and the Pharisees wouldn’t have killed him. So if you’re bored, don’t waste another minute. If your church service feels like a failed pep rally that never leads to the actual game, then it’s time for you to follow Jesus onto the field where the opposition is real and the stakes are extraordinary. It will get messy. It won’t always be comfortable. But you’ll make a difference. And you’ll discover that nobody’s bored out there. Nobody.

    He describes seven culture-shaping areas of influence over each society—media, government, education, economy, family, religion, and celebration (arts and entertainment)—that are the keys to taking a nation for the kingdom of God. The purpose of this book is to draw the church’s attention to these areas; help each individual determine his or her specific assignment in this mission; and then to offer insight into the nature of the battles involved in this “spiritual tsunami,” as the author calls it.Many Christians do not grasp that God’s favor for us to succeed is already upon us and is part of His end-time strategy to establish Jesus as Ruler of the Nations before His return. Readers will come to understand that this favor is divinely strategic and corresponds to the place of each person’s ministry assignment. Many have a spiritual poverty vision and poor eschatology, two factors that have robbed us of our blessing and caused us to fail to reclaim cultural influences for Christ.The book is laid out to address these two misunderstandings, with the first several chapters specifically aimed at correcting lack of vision and misguided understanding of the end times. Each chapter that follows provides intensive, detailed study of each “mountain” of influence, how it will be taken and by whom, and what resistance will be encountered by individuals assigned to claim this mountain.

    It should be obvious, but this distinction helps remind us that when God becomes Man and that Man speaks—it’s probably something we cannot afford to miss.So why doesn’t the church take these “ red letters” to heart? Why aren’t we doing more to be Christ’s hands and feet to the poor, the disenfranchised, the weary, the ill, the fatherless, the prisoners? It’s all there—in red letters. Why has the Church shirked its responsibilities, leaving the work to be done by governments, rock stars, and celebrities?The Gospel wasn’t only meant to be read—it was meant to be lived. From the HIV crisis in Africa to a single abused and lonely child in Russia, the Church must seize the opportunity to serve with a radical, reckless abandon. Author Tom Davis offers both challenge and encouragement to get involved in an increasingly interconnected, desperate modern world.

    These inspirational thoughts will carry you throughout the day and open your eyes of faith to the blessings of God that surround you in every area of life.Start every day declaring God's promises over your life. God has great things in store for you and He desires that you reach your full potential.Today is your day of victory. As you spend time in His Word, you will soon begin to experience a life of abundance and discover the champion in you.

    Our pace is too frenetic to be in union with God, and we don't know how to quiet our hearts and minds to be present. Our emotions are unhealthy and compartmentalized. We feel unable to love well or live differently from the rest of the world--to live as people of the good news.New York pastor Rich Villodas says we must restore balance, focus, and meaning for our souls. The Deeply Formed Life lays out a fresh vision for spiritual breakthrough following five key values:- Monastic Value: unplug from this noisy world to care for your soul- Emotional Health Value: why deep love can't come from shallow wells- Healthy Sexuality Value: how our bodies connect with our spirituality- Multiracial Value: a spiritual, internal approach to pursuing racial justice- Missional Value: how to be the hands and feet of Jesus in a consumerist worldThe Deeply Formed Life is a roadmap to live in the richly rooted place we all yearn for: a place of communion with God, a place where we find our purpose.

    So missions is duty, right? Wrong. If you do missions purely from a sense of duty you will not honor those you are reaching out to, nor will you truly honor God. Duty is the wrong place to look, so where do we find the answer to why we do missions? We turn, according to John Piper, to worship. // In our worship of God we encounter God's glory. The overflow from our worship is a desire to share God's glory with others (the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever), and we naturally become missional. When Jesus was asked what the kingdom of God was like, he compared it to a pearl so valuable that one would sell all they owned simply to possess it. Does that seem like duty to you? Instead, Jesus calls us to a new mindset, which flows from the mindset that worship creates in us. Thus, according to Piper, does worship become the goal of missions and the fuel which makes missions possible. // Worship as the fuel for missions makes sense to a lot of people, but worship as the goal of missions? Piper reminds us that the true reason we share God with others is to make them worshipers (and sharers) as well. He feels that the true goal of missions is "the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God." If it is true, (as Piper states) that "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him," then increasing the number of people who are satisfied in God will bring God more glory. And missions is the way we can do that. // Missions must be seen as more than simply saving people from sin, though that is a very important aspect. And missions is not just about getting people into heaven, although that is important as well. Instead, through missions we should always seek to make as many people as possible into true worshipers, into those fully satisfied with the greatness of God. // With that mindset, missions becomes a joyous experience, as we joyfully share the life-changing presence of God in our lives with those who don't know God. When we have made worship both the fuel and goal of all our missionary endeavors, we realize that "missions is not a recruitment project for God's labor force. It is a liberation project from the heavy burdens and hard yokes of other gods." Missions is never a burden, because it comes out of our overwhelming joy in God's grace and mercy, and we just want to share that joy. So make God the center of your missions work, and joyfully share what He has graciously given to you.

    This is because many Christians do not live lives which reflect their faiths due to misunderstandings about what it really means to live a life of intimacy with God.Using his own life-experiences as examples, Edmund Chan pays special attention to dispelling the myths and obstacles that are hindering the spiritual growth of a Christian and provides the guidance that is needed to overcome them. He also touches upon some pitfalls that many Christian fall into such as serving without joy and shows us what we can do even when we are struggling to understand the will of God. The author used his personal life experiences to illustrate his points on christian growth. One of the book's main topic is intimacy with God. The book discussed several myths that people believe about intimacy with God. Here are the 4 myths:> Intimacy is the key to blessing> Intimacy is a prize> Intimacy with God is optional> Intimacy is experienced the same way by everyoneRev. Edmund Chan stated 4 truths to contradict the 4 myths. The 4 truths are:> God delights in intimacy with us and invited us to it> Intimacy is a God-given birthright for all> Intimacy takes trust and not just time> Intimacy with God results in redemptive acts of love

    When these crises hit, who do you call? Who do you lean on? Anne Marie Miller found herself in one of these valleys on the floor of a hotel bathroom while on a business trip. Months of stress accumulated and took its toll. In a moment of desperation, she picked up the phone and called a friend for guidance. That simple phone call was the first step in a transforming journey of evaluating what community truly meant and looked like in her life.We live in a world and a generation where the word “community” is often discussed. But how genuine and authentic are your relationships really? Anne Marie noticed an important tension all of us must recognize in order to have life-giving friendships: “We desperately want to belong yet at the same time, we yearn for independence.”In Lean On Me, Anne Marie Miller takes us along as she sets out to dig below the superficial and explore what choices are necessary to find intentional, vulnerable, and consistent community. Jesus was passionate about truth-speaking relationships. And with Anne Marie’s narrative and practical insights interwoven together, you will feel more equipped in your quest for these types of relationships as you seek people to lean on and as you pour love into those around you.

    With great insight, Chambers discusses the myths of self-sufficiency and eternal optimism, revealing their inadequacy when faced with the destruction of all the humankind values.