We search for our calling in careers, hobbies, and even ministries, but Christians actually know their calling from birth. We are all called into God's community and onto his mission. There is no greater calling. Once we are in Christ, we are no longer orphans. Everyone has a place in the people of God. But how do you live out that calling? What does it look like to be God's new community? How can we fulfill our role in his mission? In Called Together, Jonathan Dodson and Brad Watson help us discover what it means to be a people made for community and mission. Through reflection on the foundational concepts of gospel, community, and mission, it will help you form healthy missional communities. Filled with practical guidance for leaders and everyday people, it will guide you into a deeper and more deliberate experience of being the church together.

    Over the next several years, she befriended women around the globe who had survived sex trafficking, female genital mutilation, and violence so extreme Meghan wondered at the woman's survival. Through listening to their stories, Meghan started to notice a pattern that pointed to systems of injustice that held women back--systems that her childhood church had taught and in which she was complicit. She was changed. Returning to the United States, Meghan became keenly aware of how the teachings and messaging surrounding women in her own upbringing were part of the problem. In the process, she began to find her voice, one that spoke out against injustice and moved her into tension with her Christian community. Women Rising is Meghan Tschanz's personal journey of transformation. But it's also a Christian blueprint for anyone wanting to confront injustice against women while pointing to a biblical standard for gender equality. With humility and grit, Meghan calls Christian women to amplify their voices for righteousness--and she calls the church to listen.

    A mutual friend steps in to mediate between the two of them. Can there be healing in such a scarred relationship? In the face of such a daunting breach, is reconciliation (not to what was, but to what God designed) even possible? This is the situation faced in the book of Philemon. From this short New Testament letter, pastor and author Dhati Lewis (Among Wolves) unpacks key principles that Paul applied to being an advocate in the midst of division. The divisions of our day don’t look the same as Paul’s, but the principles are timeless. In 2 Corinthians 5, God commissioned us to be his ambassadors and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. Whether we’re engaging in issues of politics, ethnicity, or religious beliefs, our heart posture should be one of an advocate set on reconciliation. The problem is, too many of us approach difficult conversations with the heart of an aggravator. Aggravators sometimes look like they are pursuing good things, but their heart is not toward reconciliation. Any motive less than reconciliation falls short of the desires of God’s heart. We need godly advocates in every sphere of life. This book will specifically apply these principles to issues of ethnic division. Are you willing to call any division caused by discrimination, prejudice, or racism a sin? Do you want to grow in your ability to navigate tense and emotional conversations about ethnic divisions? Are you ready to become an advocate?

    Along the way you'll experience intrigue, alarm, challenge, insight, and hope. You'll get a fresh and provocative vision of Jesus and his teachings. And you'll see how his core message can infuse us with purpose and passion to address the economic, environmental, military, political, and social dysfunctions that have overtaken our world.Jesus' message is more than a ticket to heaven or a formula for personal prosperity. It is an invitation to personal and global transformation. It is a radical challenge to the underlying stories that drive our suicidal systems-social, economic, and political. It invites us to imagine what would happen-if people of faith moved beyond political polarization and a few hot-button issues to the deeper questions nobody is asking.-if the world's leading nations spent less on weapons and more on peace-making, poverty-alleviation, and creation-care.-if a renewed understanding of Jesus and his message sparked a profound spiritual awakening in a global movement of faith, hope, and love.-if we believed that God's will really could be done on earth and not just in heaven.If you are hungry for a fresh vision of what it means to be a person of faith, "Everything Must Change "applies the good news of Jesus to a world in need, igniting a revolution of hope that can change everything. Beginning with you. Beginning now."

    Dr. Willimon feels that a new book on this topic would be timely and of great interest to Christians. He takes an unflinching look at the meaning and substance of sin. Study questions by Dr. Willimon are included. The "felt need" is an increasing dissatisfaction with shallow, feel-good Christianity which does not attempt to grapple with our propensity, visible around us and in our own lives, to do evil.

    Tim is a man of integrity and a man committed to making an impact for Christ in his world." — Stu Weber, pastor and author------------------In a world that's growing more hostile to the gospel, what can Christians do? How can we communicate with our unbelieving friends and coworkers in a way that won't seem pushy, intolerant, or judgmental? In a world that's heard it all before and no longer seems to care, where do we begin?By sowing.In Finding Common Ground, Tim Downs reminds us of the forgotten biblical art of sowing and shows us practical and effective ways to:Bring up spiritual subjects with busy and distracted peopleUse secular movies and books to talk about biblical ideasOvercome prejudice and stereotypes in our listenersKeep open doors of communication with even hostile opponentsMove everyone we meet a step closer to the gospel

    The Holy Spirit is not just about speaking in tongues, spiritual gifts or “fruits”—but also about our deepest breath and our highest human aspirations. Popular teacher Jack Levison brings a scholar’s knowledge of this complicated biblical topic to a wide audience that crosses all denominational boundaries. His new book aims to do nothing less than clarify 2,000 years of confusion on the topic of who the Holy Spirit is, and why it matters. Provocative and life-changing, Fresh Air combines moving personal anecdotes, rich biblical studies, and practical strategies for experiencing the daily presence of the Holy Spirit. In brief chapters, the book finds the presence of the Holy Spirit where we least expect it—in human breathing, in social transformation, in community, in hostile situations, and in serious learning. Fresh Air will unsettle and invigorate readers poised for a fresh experience of an ancient, confusing topic.

    Glenn Packiam wants to empower readers to find great joy, purpose, and passion in their daily living. While bread may be one of the most common items on our dinner tables, Jesus chose to take it at the Last Supper and invest deep, wonderful, and transcendent meaning in it. Like the bread that was blessed, broken, and given; readers will see how God uses ordinary experiences to cultivate their mission and their brokenness to bring healing to the world. The ordinary is not the enemy; it is the means by which God accomplishes the miraculous. Through clear biblical teaching and practical steps, Packiam leads the reader into a more purposeful, directed, hopeful future.

    It is an ache for the homecoming. The Greeks called it nostalgia.  Post-modern man, homeless almost by definition, cannot understand nostalgia. If he is a progressive, dreaming of a utopia to come, he dismisses it contemptuously, eager to bury a past he despises. If he is a reactionary, he sentimentalizes it, dreaming of a lost golden age. In this profound reflection, Anthony Esolen explores the true meaning of nostalgia and its place in the human heart. Drawing on the great works of Western literature from the Odyssey to Flannery O'Connor, he traces the development of this fundamental longing from the pagan's desire for his earthly home, which most famously inspired Odysseys' heroic return to Ithaca, to its transformation under Christianity. The doctrine of the fall of man forestalls sentimental traditionalism by insisting that there has been no Eden since Eden. And the revelation of heaven as our true and final home, directing man's longing to the next world, paradoxically strengthens and ennobles the pilgrim's devotion to his home in this world. In our own day, Christian nostalgia stands in frank opposition to the secular usurpation of this longing. Looking for a city that does not exist, the progressive treats original sin, which afflicts everyone, as mere political error, which afflicts only his opponents. To him, history is a long tale of misery with nothing to teach us. Despising his fathers, he lives in a world without piety. Only the future, which no one can know, is real to him. It is an idol that justifies all manner of evil and folly. Nostalgia rightly understood is not an invitation to repeat the sins of the past or to repudiate what experience and reflection have taught us, but to hear the call of sanity and sweetness again. Perhaps we will shake our heads as if awaking from a bad and feverish dream and, coming to ourselves, resolve, like the Prodigal, to "arise and go to my father's house."

    James For You makes clear its teaching and applies its challenges to the experiences of everyday Christians as Sam Allberry brings his clarity, wisdom and humor to every page. You can read through this book as a normal book]] work through it as part of your daily Bible-reading routine]] or use it to help you teach this letter, whether in small groups or from the pulpit.

    How do we, like Mary, create "pauses" in our days to hear what the Savior has to say to us? How do we make time for the things that ultimately matter? Ken Gire unlocks the door to change by introducing us to a centuries-old tradition--reflective living.

    To understand these two words as they are used in Scripture is to understand the gospel. This book focuses on nine of the most important appearances of this key phrase, drawing in numerous other passages of Scripture and in the process unfolding the magnificent drama of God's sovereign grace-from his mercy on Noah to our security in a resurrected Savior. Taken together, this collection of brief Bible expositions provides a big-picture overview of the consistent way in which God has chosen to save sinners. It has always been by his might, his power, his grace, and his initiative. James Montgomery Boice wrote that "If you understand those two words-'but God'-they will save your soul. If you recall them daily and live by them, they will transform your life completely."

    None of us is immune to these attacks. Jesus came to destroy fear and set the captives free.Speaking as one whom Jesus Christ set free from the devil's grip, John Ramirez, once a satanic high priest, exposes the tormenting weapons of fear of our number one spiritual enemy, the devil, and equips and arms believers with the weapons of our warfare that God has given us through his Son, Jesus Christ, to abort the enemy's mission. In this book, Destroying Fear, you will learn how to get back your peace and purpose and walk fearless into your destiny by dismantling every stronghold and stopping the enemy's attacks once and for all, for a life of freedom!

    We worry that our faith isn't strong enough. We struggle through the continuing presence of sin in our lives. All this steals the joy of our salvation and can lead us into a life characterized by legalism, perfectionism, and works righteousness--the very life Jesus freed us from at the cross!But Greg Gilbert has a message for the anxious believer--be assured. Assured that your salvation experience was real. Assured that your sins--past, present, and future--are forgiven. Assured that everyone stumbles. Assured that Jesus is not your judge but your advocate. With deep compassion, Gilbert comforts readers, encouraging them to release their guilt, shame, and anxiety to rejoice in and follow hard after the One who set them free.

    One of today's most popular spiritual writers and commentators interweaves the Old and New Testament Scripture with prayers of hope and repentance, offering ancient ways of seeing Christ that will feel new to readers of all denominational backgrounds.