Political turmoil during the life of Jesus affected his ministry and caused him deep concern that he was not reaching the people with God’s message of love. Leaders in Palestine had been corrupted with Greek and Roman influence, causing a growing divide between the rich and the poor. Pharisees were fighting the trend by demanding a harsh adherence to Mosaic law laid down in Leviticus, which caused a greater burden on the poor, who could not follow the law of sacrifices for atonement. The people were desperately hoping for the messiah. After Herod Antipas had John the Baptist beheaded, Jesus knew of the real dangers he faced by those in power and by the Pharisees who saw thousands following him as a loss of their influence. After the second year of his ministry, Jesus knew that there were plots to have him killed. As a result, he shifted his ministry into areas away from Galilee and Judea, and he pleaded with people not to call him the messiah, the savior the people had been hoping for. The Last Shepherd is a story of how politics during the life and ministry of Jesus influenced his mission. But the gospels give only two of the events recorded in Luke 13:1–5. This novel records them all.

    Although he is an Englischer Naomi can’t help the way she feels about Marcus. He’s generous and kind and makes her heart skip a beat every time he smiles in her direction. But her parents have no idea about Naomi’s infatuation with the Englischer. Instead, they are worried that she will become a spinster since at the age of twenty-four she is yet to start courting. They devise a plan to match Naomi and Elmer Fischer without her knowledge. Even as Naomi wades through uncertain waters while courted by Elmer and still in love with Marcus, she doesn’t notice Levi Hauptfleisch. As her best friend’s brother, Levi has always been there but Naomi’s has never taken a second look. When certain events take place that makes Naomi realize how brittle life can be and how quickly things can change, it’s time for her to look into her heart and face what she finds. Will Marcus be able to compete with the Amish boys vying for Naomi’s heart? Can Elmer make Naomi see that he is the better man? Will Levi always remain in the shadows? Find out in this clean Amish romance and let your heart be taken on a wild ride of romance, deceit, and loss.

    Even though Quentin gave Chloe twenty million dollars to leave quietly, she longs for love and hopes that a move to Washington DC will expand her options to a new elite crowd. When Chloe meets ex-NFL star, Dustin McArthur, she thinks she's finally met the man of her dreams. He's sinfully handsome, lives in an exclusive neighborhood in Georgetown and knows how to show Chloe a great time, all while being the perfect gentleman. Chloe is sure she's struck the jackpot with Dustin, and hesitates to tell him about her past gold digger ways. But while Dustin seems like the whole package, there are a few chinks in his knight's armor. A wild past has left him with four children by four women, his finances are in disarray, and the A-list life he leads is merely smoke and mirrors provided by his NFL friends and Chi Kappa Psi Fraternity brothers. When Chloe and Dustin's secrets are revealed, will there be enough love to cover their multitude of sins? Or will Chloe's replacement fall short of the original? This is a novella.

    See, the older we get the more that we’re supposed to recognize that God moves on his own time, but it gets hard. Honestly, I didn’t have a clue whatsoever that I would have to go through something in life so harsh as this. On the days that I felt lonely and like the walls were closing in on me, I just called on God. Some days I wake up in the morning and decide that I’m not praying anymore or I’m just tired. God would instantly tap me on the shoulder and whisper… “Just a little bit of faith, Annabelle. That’s all you need. Keep going.” “But God you said…” “Keep going, Annabelle.” Many nights I’ve cried in my prison cell while studying my Bible, tear drops blurring out my passage. I often wondered what my life would’ve been like if I wouldn’t have ever met him. I wondered what it would’ve been like if I wouldn’t have ever gone to that church. What it would’ve been like if my Mama would have never died and left me out here all alone? What it would’ve been like if I… Then God tapped me on my shoulder again, and I turned around looking for him. The small dark cell is where I was sitting as tears still poured from my eyes. I can still hear Him say. “Now imagine what it be like if you would have never accepted me as your Lord and savior. I know what I’m doing, Annabelle. I don’t make mistakes. Come here and let me show what I’m talking about…”

    Growing up in a religiously strict home caused Dallas to do whatever it took to please her parents – even if that meant marrying her high school sweetheart, Seth, right after they graduated. Dallas and Seth had a genuine connection, but she didn’t think he was the man she was supposed to spend her life with. Still, she married him to make sure they didn’t have sex and start a family without making vows before God. After almost twelve years of hell on earth, Dallas is tired of the happily married First Lady façade that has been forced upon her. Just when she thinks she’s about to break free, tragedy strikes, and Seth’s evil deeds and enemies become her own. Silver lining? Ra Jake. When Ra Jake returns home, he has only two priorities – fix things with his ex, Cree, and successfully protect the Pastor’s wife. Under different circumstances, Ra would have turned down the job. Losing his last client has caused pain to plague Ra in a way that he never thought was possible. Had it not been for a favor being owed to an old friend, Ra would have never taken on the responsibility of guarding another human being’s life. Upon first meeting, Dallas and Ra would rather be anywhere than with each other. As time progresses, they create a genuine bond so deep it’s hard for anyone, Seth and Cree included, to be able to reach. But the old saying is… all good things must come to an end. Unfortunately, this rings true for Dallas and Ra, and they will have to fight for their hearts and their lives before Seth’s horrible decisions rob them of both.

    The fallen angel chronicles a life of heavenly bliss and rebellion, human creation and salvation, and God's relentless pursuit of mankind.

    71 pages of summaries and analysis on Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. This study guide includes the following sections: Plot Summary, Chapter Summaries & Analysis, Characters, Objects/Places, Themes, Style, Quotes, and Topics for Discussion.

    Enter a stranger with a ready grin, who says that his name is Micah and claims to have known Ava’s ex back in high school. Micah is currently “in between” jobs, and Ava feels led to offer him work doing odd jobs around her home. Little does she know that her simple act of kindness will challenge her faith, threaten the lives of the people she loves, and have her running for her life. Ava hopes that somehow she will be saved, but in the end, she may be forced to make a devastating choice in order to survive. Read the novella He Said His Name Was Micah today.

    They have a well-meaning but shallow church. What Sherry doesn't know is that Doug has a shameful struggle with his thought life. When an exotic dancer's life intersects theirs, this suburban couple has to make a hard choice: do they risk their convenience and security for her sake, or do they cross to the other side of the road? The dark forces will not easily give up their most important pawn. But Ronnie must come out of the darkness, for only she can unravel a plot of devastating destruction.

    Paul relishes his job and is good at it. He is determined to expose underground religion—flush it out, expose it, and kill it—until his life is turned upside down and he is forced to look at life in a different way. As Paul begins to unravel the truth about what he has found, events taking place around the world start to make sense. Something big is coming—something that can't be stopped. And it is coming soon.

     After the global economic collapse, Nikki and her husband Reg find themselves leading a ragtag group of survivors, those who managed to escape the cities…and the Neos. The Neo Geo Task Force is the new government. The new world order. They were supposed to be the law of the land, the peacekeepers. They were anything but. Some of the survivors had an idea of what was to come. They were Christians, followers of The Way. Scripture had warned of the end times and the signs were definitely there…the bad had become good, and the good, bad. The survivors were the good. The Neos were the bad...very, very bad. Things were only going to get worse. A lot worse. And then the followers would no longer be fighting just to survive; they would be fighting the worst enemy ever known to mankind. They were going to have to storm the gates of Hell. ​If you like apocalyptic end times survival fiction, you'll love The End Series...All books are Christian based.

    At that point, doubts begin to intrude on his previously untroubled existence.Dr. Abby Davis is tired of her family practice and at odds with God. Dealing with critically ill and dying patients has crushed her spirit to the point she’s ready to quit. But she soon realizes that there’s more to healing than ministering to the physical body.Scott Anderson was the oldest graduate of his seminary class. Then again, most of them hadn’t turned away from a medical practice, hoping to atone for past mistakes (including his wife’s death) by ministering to men’s souls. Now he hopes he hasn’t made a colossal mistake in switching careers. Each of these individuals becomes linked to the other, and each finds that God has a purpose for them—but, as it often does, the lesson comes with discomfort.

    Noelle sat motionless in the street, barely able to breathe. His little body was too still. Too broken."Noelle's world shattered that night, like the pieces of headlights scattered across the dark street. There was no rebuilding her life around the grave of her child.Adrift in her grief, Noelle finds herself drawn to an old house as rundown and weary as her spirit. She might not be able to mend her own brokenness, but maybe she can restore this abandoned structure to its former beauty. Determined, she throws herself into a renovation project with the unexpected help of a local. But she soon learns that her new home comes with a blood-stained history and a chilling reputation.When she stumbles across a diary written by a child with a disturbing life, and a teenage girl vanishes from the village, clues leave Noelle wondering if her house might somehow be connected. Someone -- or something -- wants her gone, but she has no intention of leaving without discovering the truth.

     Using the four horsemen of the Apocalypse to symbolize the four Gospels, four transcendentals, and four forces of the universe (air, water, earth, and fire), Sweet and Wagner weave a fast-paced, end-times tale of good vs. evil and the promise of a new dawn for humanity. Set in 2048, when planet Earth is suffering from the damaging effects of years of misuse and abuse, cultural history professor Paul Binder receives a mysterious letter that leads him to examine a lost 2nd-century Diatessaron manuscript. Ancient prophecies, cryptic letters, and strange events set him on a course to uncover the missing clues that could lead humanity into a new age. Each character embodies elements of the four horsemen in a race to save the world from total destruction. Layered with forgotten symbolism from the ancient, Jewish, and Christian traditions, the novel is a type of engaged fiction in which the main character's lost journal serves as a guide to the reader in interpreting clues and understanding the novel's conclusion.

    No need to turn off the lights.When a crisis sweeps an entire high-tech planet back to the age before electricity, the Branning family has life-or-death decisions to make. Will they hoard their possessions to survive---or trust God to provide as they offer their resources to others? Their little community will stand or fall together. And trust doesn't come easily...particularly when one of them is a killer. No electricity. No running water. No luxuries. No law.No turning back.With the country shaken to the core after a global crisis shuts down banks, businesses, and all electronics, the Brannings struggle to survive. The discovery of four children living alone in a filthy apartment, stealing to stay alive, prompts them to stretch their already-thin resources and take them into their home. The search for the children's mother uncovers a trail of desperation and murder ... and for the Brannings, a powerful new purpose that can transform their entire community -- and above all, themselves.