Lettie Cowman (who published under the name: Mrs. Charles E. Cowman) worked alongside her husband as missionary in Japan. In the years leading up to the death of her husband in 1924, the Lord gave her the “streams in her desert”. Its strength lies in its nature: it is a compilation of the devotional insights from some of the most spiritual people of the last 400 years. This feature makes the book both timeless and up-to-date, both challenging and comforting, both inspiring and convicting. In one word, by God’s grace, the prayerful reading of this book will be life-changing! The book is not an easy read. If you are looking for excitement or superficial encouragement, look elsewhere! But if you desire to follow the lamb wherever he goes (Rev 14:4), then you will find comfort, strength and joy in feasting on these pages. May the Lord meet with you daily as you use this book!

    It's sad but true: The American church is shrinking...fast.  God-loving people are leaving in droves, and everything that attracted them in the past simply doesn't work anymore.  Is there anything the church can do to turn the tide?Why Nobody Wants to Go to Church Anymore reveals the truth about this steep decline, along with innovative ideas for changing the way people think about church.  Through startling statistics, compelling stories, and a surprising Jesus-based approach, you'll be stretched to redefine the way you do church.It all begins by embracing four simple acts of love: Radical hospitality Fearless conversation Genuine humility Divine anticipation  Far from theoretical musings, these practical acts show Jesus' love to people who crave it.  You'll see why they really work, how they're taking root in hundreds of communities around the country, and how you can help bring people back into a relationship with God.The time for changing the church is now.  And the one who can change it is you.

    In learning more about grace, you also will learn about God's character, His forgiveness, and the Holy Spirit.

    The result of Murray's passionate exploration of the issue of surrender: why it's seemingly impossible and yet completely necessary.

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    Pastor and author Erwin Raphael McManus invites readers to choose a life of blazing urgency.Are you willing to risk failure? Are you ready to get in the game? You may stumble, but you will find yourself falling forward, propelled toward the God-inspired adventure He intends you to live. Using the biblical characters of Saul and Jonathan during Israel’s war with the Philistines (1 Samuel 13 and 14), Chasing Daylight (formerly titled Seizing Your Divine Moment) demonstrates the difference between living a life of purpose and adventure and living one of apathy and missed opportunity. While Saul rested beneath a pomegranate tree, Jonathan seized the divine moment and redirected the future of Israel. McManus uses Jonathan’s example to artfully illustrates the eight characteristics of an adventurer’s heart, what he calls “the Jonathan factor”:Taking initiativeAccepting uncertaintyStewarding influenceEmbracing riskContinuing to advanceCreating impactMoving in obedienceAwakening potentialWe have but one life. We are given one opportunity to pursue our dreams and fulfill our divine purpose. Every moment counts, and we must engage them with fierceness and zeal. In Chasing Daylight, Erwin Raphael McManus offers the tools to put an end to passive observation and start seizing the raw, untapped potential of your life with God.

    Today terms like neighbor, family, and congregation are being redefined. People are searching to belong in new places and experiences. The church needs to adapt its interpretations, definitions, and language to make sense in the changing culture. This book equips congregations and church leaders with tools to: • Discern the key ingredients people look for in community • Understand the use of space as a key element for experiencing belonging and community • Develop the “chemical compound” that produces an environment for community to spontaneously emerge • Discover how language promotes specific spatial belonging and then use this knowledge to build an effective vocabulary for community development • Create an assessment tool for evaluating organizational and personal community health

    This insightful book by N.T. Wright explores both the meaning and the results of worship.Part 1, "The God Who is Worthy of Praise," focuses on God and on what worshiping God actually means. Part 2, "Reflecting God's Image in the World," addresses a range of church-related issues that arise from the activity of worship.Based firmly on sensitive and creative readings of the biblical text, "For All God's Worth" is an inspiring call for renewal in the worship and witness of today's church.

    Christian communities are no exception. Why do so many of our relationships suffer from alienation, indifference, and even hostility?Author Sam Crabtree believes that often at the heart of these breakdowns is a lack of affirmation. He observes in Scripture that God grants mercy to those who refresh others, and in life that people tend to be influenced by those who praise them. Crabtree shows how a robust "God-centered affirmation ratio" refreshes others and honors God.Practicing Affirmation sounds a call to recognize and affirm the character of Christ in others. When done well, affirmation does not fuel pride in the person, but refreshes them and honors God. All who are discouraged in relationships will find wisdom and practical insight in this book.

    What a gift!”—John Ortberg, bestselling author Every church is driven by something. Tradition, finances, programs, personalities, events, seekers, and even buildings can each be the controlling force in a church. But Rick Warren believes that in order for a church to be healthy it must become a purpose-driven church, built around the five New Testament purposes given to the church by Jesus. “The issue is church health, not church growth!” declares Warren. “If your church is healthy, growth will occur naturally. Healthy, consistent growth is the result of balancing the five biblical purposes of the church.” Rick Warren shares a proven five-part strategy that will enable your church to grow • warmer through fellowship • deeper through discipleship • stronger through worship • broader through ministry • larger through evangelism The Purpose Driven® Church shifts the focus away from church building programs to emphasizing a people-building process. Warren says, “If you will concentrate on building people, God will build the church.”

    Too many church leaders perceive of themselves as a "board of directors" when the Bible is clear that they are to know, feed, lead, and protect the flock entrusted to their care.

    In this practice the spirit of prayer was regarded as of first importance and the best form of prayer, for living prayer is the characteristic of genuine spirituality. Yet prayer is also vocal and may therefore on occasions be written. Consequently in the Puritan tradition there are many written prayers and meditations which constitute an important corpus of inspiring devotional literature. Too often ex tempore prayer lacks variety, order and definiteness. The reason for this lies partly in a neglect of due preparation. It is here that the care and scriptural thoroughness which others found necessary in their approach to God may be of help. This book has been prepared not to 'supply' prayers but to prompt and encourage the Christian as he treads the path on which others have gone before.

    NOW UPDATED. ideal route to discipleship--a place where the rubber of biblical truth meets the road of human relationships. leaders so that Willow Creek could build a church of small groups. Now he is committed to creating tools that will help church leaders pursue the same goal--to provide a place in community for everyone in their congregation. In Leading Life-Changing Small Groups, Donahue and his team share in depth the practical insights that have made Willow Creek's small group ministry so effective. ready-reference format of this book gives small group leaders, pastors, church leaders, educators, and counselors a commanding grasp of: * Group formation and values * Leadership requirements and responsibilities * The philosophy and structure of small groups * Meeting preparation and participation * Discipleship within the group * Leadership training ... and much more From an individual group to an entire small group ministry, Leading Life-Changing Small Groups gives you the comprehensive guidance you need to cultivate life-changing small groups ... and growing, fruitful followers of Christ.

    One of the most important theologians of the twentieth century illuminates the relationship between ourselves and the teachings of Jesus in this classic text on ethics, humanism, and civic duty.What can the call to discipleship, the adherence to the word of Jesus, mean today to the businessman, the soldier, the laborer, or the aristocrat? What did Jesus mean to say to us? What is his will for us today? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a seminal reading of the dichotomy between "cheap grace" and "costly grace." "Cheap grace," Bonhoeffer wrote, "is the grace we bestow on ourselves...grace without discipleship....Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the girl which must be asked for, the door at which a man must know....It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."The Cost of Discipleship is a compelling statement of the demands of sacrifice and ethical consistency from a man whose life and thought were exemplary articulations of a new type of leadership inspired by the Gospel, and imbued with the spirit of Christian humanism and a creative sense of civic duty.

    How can churches best equip families to disciple their children?Family ministry expert Dr. Timothy Paul Jones gives church leaders a practical plan to equip parents to be the primary faith trainers in their children's lives, moving beyond mere programming into genuine spiritual transformation.This resource is for leaders in the trenches--those who: •see parents disengaging from their children's spiritual development, •see too many students leave for college and drop out of church, or •are frustrated with programmed ministries that fail to produce results.Based on solid research, this field guide unpacks how real-life churches can narrow the gap between present reality and the biblical ideal of faith-nurturing families.