But are those a Christian’s only options? The Voting Booth presents a third path for a new generation of Christians seeking to love both God and their neighbor. Written as a fictional dialogue between Christian, a confused voter, and three spirits of cultural engagement—Exodus, Exile, and Incarnation—The Voting Booth addresses many of the questions being asked by those struggling to follow Christ in our post-Christian age like: -How do I respond to those who view Christian faith as oppressive? -Why has Christianity become so political? -What role does fear have in Christian cultural engagement? -How should I interact with neighbors of other faiths? -Have Christians lost the “Culture War”? -How should I think about voting as a Christian? -What is the role of the Church in the culture? With engaging writing and surprising twists, The Voting Booth will challenge your assumptions and leave you with a new way of imagining your place in the culture. What others are saying about "The Voting Booth" "As an immigrant-turned-citizen facing only my second chance to vote in a presidential election, I am troubled by the options presented. Opinions from Christians abound, complete with blogs and Bible verses, but no clear path emerges. Skye’s allegory tale succinctly— if also slightly simplistically— represents the two dominant paradigms of Christian response: the call to escape, and the call to engage. He then offers a third perspective rooted in the incarnation. While the tale stops short of instruction, it is abounding in wisdom. This is an accessible read that provides a thoughtful way to name and evaluate the subconscious grids that undergird our approach to political engagement or disengagement. Best of all, it offers us a way to reflect on our perspective, posture, and purpose in a Christ-shaped way." -Glenn Packiam, Pastor at New Life Downtown "Skye Jethani is one of the most clear-headed, sober voices writing on faith and culture today. The Voting Booth raises questions many Christians wrestle with and provides answers that challenge and delight. In a time of political unrest and cultural upheaval, we can't afford to ignore what this book has to say." - Jonathan Merritt, author of Jesus is Better Than You Imagined; contributing writer for The Atlantic “In a creative and compelling way, Skye Jethani has written yet another book that pushes the American church in the right direction. His uncanny ability to put his finger up to the wind and chart the right direction forward is a huge help to our community as we navigate the increasingly treacherous waters of the secular west.” - John Mark Comer, pastor for teaching and vision at Bridgetown Church and author of Loveology. "In The Voting Booth, Skye Jethani beautifully crafts a dialogue between ‘Christian' and three personified postures we can take toward our culture. Eye-opening and thought provoking, Skye clearly illuminates the dominant but destructive attitudes that have dominated the American church for the last 100 years, and then shines a light on a better way. Highly recommended!” - Phil Vischer, creator of VeggieTales, What’s In The Bible, and The Phil Vischer Podcast.

    It is a meditation on the infinite love of God and the infinite value of the human individual. Not only are we in God's hands, says Desmond Tutu, our names are engraved on the palms of God's hands. Throughout an often turbulent life, Archbishop Tutu has fought for justice and against oppression and prejudice. As we learn in this book, what has driven him forward is an unshakeable belief that human beings are created in the image of God and are infinitely valuable. Each one of us is a God-carrier, a tabernacle, a sanctuary of the Divine Trinity. God loves us not because we are loveable but because he first loved us. And this turns our values upside down. In this sense, the Gospel is the most radical thing imaginable.It is extremely moving that in this book Archbishop Tutu returns to something so simple and so profound after a life in which he has been involved in political, social, and ethical issues that have seemed to be so very complex.

    Many people who visit communities for retreats and quiet days look for help in integrating into their daily lives some of the things they see and experience. This handbook will help people follow the Rule of Benedict as it explains the essential elements of Benedictine spirituality. It provides information on the spread of the Benedictine movement, its outstanding figures, and the main branches of the Benedictine family today. It also includes a simple version of the Daily Office and a collection of Benedictine devotions. It is a member's handbook" that deepens the sense of belonging among those who seek regular contact with a Benedictine community.The Benedictine Handbook will appeal to a broad range of readers who may or may not be familiar with Benedictine literature. The contributors to The Benedictine Handbook come from Benedictine backgrounds in the United States and Europe.Chapters and contributors include in Part One: Tools of Benedictine Spirituality *The Work of God, - by Demetrius Dumm; *Lectio Divina, - by Michal Casey; *Prayer, - by Mary Forman; *Work, - by Lauren McTaggart; *Perseverance, - by Kym Harris; *The Vows, - by Richard Yeo; and *Hospitality, - by Kathleen Norris. Part Two: The Benedictine Experience of God includes *A Simple Daily Office, - by Fr. Oswald; *Benedictine Prayers, - by Fr. Anthony; *A Benedictine Who's Who, - by Robert Atwell; and *Benedictine Holy Places, - by ColmanO'Clabaigh. Part Three: Living the Rule includes *In Community, - by Columba Stewart; *In Solitude, - by Maria Boulding; *As Oblates, - by Patrick Phelan; and *In the World, - by Esther de Wall. Part Four: The Benedictine Family includes *A Short History, - by Joe Rippinger; *Benedictine Orders, - by Dominic Milroy; and *The Cistercian Tradition, - by Nivard Kinsella. The contributors to Part Five: A Glossary of Benedictine Terms are Terrence Kardong and Jill Maria Murdy. A Benedictine Handbook also includes *Preface to the Rule, - by Patrick Barry; and *The Rule (Patrick Barry's Version). -"

    She, having lived through great loss, taught on God’s grace in the midst of hardship, as well as teaching wives and mothers to fulfill the high calling of Titus 2. In her final book, Elisabeth Elliot describes how it is often through the deepest suffering that God teaches us the deepest lessons. As we trust Him through our trials, we come to a greater assurance of His love and sovereignty—even as He works all things together for the good of those who love Him.

    

    Te second goal is to provide practical instruction that will help parents understand both the principles of biblical training and their application. Third, we desire to instill confidence in each and every parent who participates. Our fourth goal is to help families look positively toward the teen years. Finally, we desire to capture the hearts and minds of the next generation. Generally, it takes two generations to affect change. Establishing a biblical worldview for parenting, one that can be passed on from generation to generation, is our fifth priority.

    This book is contemporary and tackles an issue that is at the heart of true Christianity. A book on this topic is refreshing and challenging, and deserves a twenty-first century treatment.

    Hughes, author of the Word Writers Bible study series, has been there, yet she's found a peace that runs deeper than her circumstances. In Deeper Waters, she invites you to...learn to hear God's voice through the pages of His Worddiscover a joy you never thought possible when reading the Biblemake connections in Scripture that transform your way of thinking and livingYou don't have to be in seminary to be a serious student of the Bible. God's Word is for everyone. Dive in and experience the joy that awaits in deeper waters.

    Lewis can be a little difficult and confusing at times. Not so with The Screwtape Letters Study Guide! This comprehensive Bible study workbook breaks down each of the thirty one letters into easy-to-understand segments helping you understand and be able to confidently share with others.The Screwtape Letters is a brilliant and satirical look at spiritual warfare and the dynamics of temptation. Screwtape, a senior demon in the bureaucracy of Hell, writes letters to his incompetent nephew Wormwood, a junior devil. The younger demon's assignment is to corrupt a young man living in London during the tumultuous days of World War II.Using Scripture references, discussion questions, and related commentary, The Screwtape Letters Study Guide examines each letter through a Christian lens of morality, temptation, and good and evil. This complete Bible study experience is perfect for book clubs, church groups, and independent study.Detailed character sketches and an easy-to-read book summary provide deep insights into each character and letter of the book. To help with those more difficult discussion questions, a complete Answer Guide and Scripture Reference Guide is available for free online. The Screwtape Letters Study Guide includes: Twelve sessions of study with multi-week options included Comprehensive Bible study workbook with studies for each week Complete character sketches and summaries to go deeper Bible study questions that are ideal for group discussion Answer Guide for all questions and Scripture Reference Guide available for free online Perfect for book clubs, small groups, or individual Bible study Available in print or e-book formats Explore every shocking and amusing detail of this iconic classic to better understand Christianity and the foolish war raging against it. There's no better tool for making that happen than with The Screwtape Letters Study Guide! Frequently Asked Questions: Do I also need the actual book The Screwtape Letters to do the study? Yes. The study guide includes discussion questions, character sketches, commentary, and more, but you will need the book to read corresponding chapters that go with each weekly lesson. How long is the study? The study is twelve weeks covering two-three chapters per week. However, the study can easily be formatted to an eight or ten week study based on your schedule. Does each person in the study need their own study guide? Yes. It’s most helpful for learning purposes if each person has their own study guide to answer questions and to make notes. However, couples might find it convenient to share the C.S. Lewis book for reading purposes. Can anyone lead the study? Absolutely! The study is created in a discussion based format allowing any leader to simply guide participants through each study question at weekly meetings. Can I get access to the answers for each discussion question? Yes. The answers for each discussion question are available for free online! In addition, we provide a Scripture Reference sheet for each Bible passage to save valuable class time.

    The more we interact online, the more we crave intimacy. The more filtered our lives become, the harder it is to be real.It’s time to refresh and rediscover what it means to be “like Jesus” and find true authenticity, a healthy self-image, and compassion for others in an age when we relate to each other so differently than ever before. Groeschel taps into some of the most leading-edge studies on the effects of social media on our emotions and friendships. He offers real-life examples of how we struggle with screens and likes, how these things mask our struggles with who we really are, and how we can reclaim a Christ-centered life.Packed with helpful topics like the “10 Commandments of Using Social Media to Strengthen Your Faith” and “Creating Safeguards for Your Digital Devices,” readers from ages sixteen to sixty will find Liking Jesus to be just the guide to bring balance and real-world engagement to everyday life.

    "...Therefore, the most important and most profound question of the Christian faith must be, how and from where did death arise, and why has it become stronger than life? Why has death become so powerful that the world itself has become a kind of global cemetery, a place where a collection of people condemned to death live either in fear or terror, or, in their efforts to forget about death, find themselves rushing around one great big burial plot?"- Alexander Schmemann, Radio Liberty Broadcast In this brief collection, Father Alexander Schmemann does not have the luxury for platitudes and pleasantries on the most difficult of life's ultimate questions. Taking us to the heart of Christian revelation and anthropology, he leads us unequivocally and directly, as only he can, to discole why the apostle Paul calls death the "last enemy" (1 Cor. 15:26) and Christ's decisive answer to this enemy. Father Alexander Schmemann (†1983) was a prolific writer, brilliant lecturer, and dedicated pastor.I: I Believe...

    So we put on a mask to hide our identity. Feelings of embarrassment and shame make us hide from the One who truly loves us. Author Brennan Manning encourages you to let go of this stressful, unreal impostor lifestyle and freely accept your identity as a child of God. Find the rest that you long for as you grow in character and accept His lordship. Includes discussion questions.

    Benedict was not interested in fame, power, or legacy. He was only interested in living the Christian life to the fullest and helping those around him to do the same. The rest is history—and the work of Providence. St. Benedict is regarded as the Father of the Benedictine Order of both religious men and women that follow his Rule, a key principle of which is ora et labora—pray and work. Today, many people wear holy medals of St. Benedict, invoking his intercession for protection against the powers of evil. Not only consecrated religious but also many lay people find inspiration in his call to balance, discipline, and prayer. Historically, St. Benedict helped bridge the early Church with the medieval period by standing on the shoulders of the fathers of the monastic tradition and bringing that tradition solidly into a new era.

    Similarly American Christianity has devolved into its own mindless, diversionary, and celebrity-driven superficiality. Because humans are created in God's image with spiritual, intellectual, creative, moral, and relational capacities, we long for more, yet the true seeker faces the lose-lose alternatives of a soul-numbing culture and a vacuous Christianity-lite. The renaissance we need in both faith and culture will originate in a deep spiritual renewal that restores God's image in us and creates a new breed of culturally savvy, thoughtful creatives who rekindle the spiritual, intellectual, and creative legacy of Christians as enrichers of culture.

    Restoration is a riveting argument for a return to that original biblical expression of faith in Jesus. Discover for yourself the profound beauty of Torah life, the celebration of the biblical Sabbath, and the application of God's holy feast days. Your eyes will be opened to another dimension of the faith that is beginning to reemerge among Christians worldwide. Lancaster answers common theological objections to the Torah, while demonstrating that Christians are already keeping more of God's Law than they realize. This thought provoking, theological boat-rocker is a fun-to-read inspiring journey into the world of the Bible.