Outlining the financial, social, and familial situations that affect many young adults today, she describes how churches can provide a safe, supportive place for young adults to nurture relationships and foster spiritual growth. There are few places left in society that allow for real intergenerational connections to be made, yet these connections are vital for any church that seeks to reflect the fullness of the body of Christ. Carol Howard Merritt, a pastor in her mid-thirties, suggests a different way for churches to be able to approach young adults on their own terms. Outlining the financial, social, and familial situations that affect many young adults today, she describes how churches can provide a safe, supportive place for young adults to nurture relationships and foster spiritual growth. There are few places left in society that allow for real intergenerational connections to be made, yet these connections are vital for any church that seeks to reflect the fullness of the body of Christ. Using the metaphor of a tribe to describe the close bonds that form when people of all ages decide to walk together on their spiritual journeys, Merritt casts a vision of the church that embraces the gifts of all members while reaching out to those who might otherwise feel unwelcome or unneeded. Mainline churches have much to offer young adults, as well as much to learn from them. By breaking down artificial age barriers and building up intentional relationships, congregations can provide a space for all people to connect with God, each other, and the world.

    All four of these good things are guaranteed to happen if you but promise to go onto your porch tomorrow with your pad or other device, light your pipe, and Tolle Lege.

    We fast to encounter God more and to change the world! Done in the right spirit, fasting increases our receptivity to God's voice and His Word. Jesus called His disciples to fast so as to encounter Him as the Bridegroom God (Mt. 9:15).This book explores the rewards and delights that come to those who fast, and is designed to equip believers to embrace the discipline, grace, and joy of fasting, that they might more fully encounter Jesus as their heavenly Bridegroom.

    I loved it!" Howard Rosenberg -- Pulitzer Prize winning former Los Angeles Times columnist and author.Brooke Jones, Breast Cancer Warrior, Political Satirist, and former star of San Francisco and Los Angeles radio died...but her death was short-lived. 8 minutes passed here on Earth while she was busy being dead, but she wasn't on Earth -- she was at Heaven's Front Door, having a Question and Answer Session with God!"What is the meaning of life?" "What religion is God?" "Is God male or female?" Brooke asked every question she could think of, and God provided the answers. The first thing she learned was that God has a sense of humor! (Well of course God has a sense of humor -- have you ever seen a Platypus?)Was she returned to the Land Of The Living because of the startling final question she asked? Did all that she experienced really happen, or was it just the hallucination of a dying brain? She didn't know, until...she was given proof - absolute proof - proof she could not possibly deny!'Why Are There Monkeys? (and other questions for God)" is the absolutely TRUE, INSPIRATIONAL, laugh-out-loud FUNNY story of one woman's Near-Death Question and Answer Session with God. "By God, Brooke Jones is a hell of a writer!" Ben Fong-Torres -- former Editor of Rolling Stone Magazine."Delightful, insightful, spiritual, and startlingly funny! It left me, an atheist, more of a believer than I was before. I loved every minute of it!" Ray Richmond -- former columnist with The Hollywood Reporter, Daily Variety, Orange County Register, LA Herald-Examiner.

    As he recently emphasized in his first encyclical, he talks a lot about the meaning of love, the love of God and of neighbor; as well as the importance of a lived faith as a witness for our age and striving to bring faith in line with the present age.

    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.

    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.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    He worked as a police reporter, racing the cops to robberies and shootings. He interviewed and wrote about mass murders and serial killers. He wrote dark, sexually graphic, and violent films like "Basic Instinct," "Jagged Edge," and "Jade."Eszterhas knew a lot about darkness. Then, on a hellishly hot day in 2001, desperately battling to survive throat cancer and his addictions to alcohol and cigarettes, Joe Eszterhas found God. Or God found him.And he came from darkness into light."Crossbearer" is the powerful, poignant, and sometimes wryly humorous account of a streetwise and cynical man's newfound faith, and of how he discovers God in the most intimate and routine moments of life: a family game of baseball, a child's photograph of a cloud, a dying mother's dying roses.It is also the inspiring story of a man who must overcome his addictions to stay alive--and can't by himself. He realizes that he needs the love of his wife, his children, and especially his new friend, God, to do it.Eszterhas is a master memoirist--his "Hollywood Animal "was called "powerful and affecting" ("The New York Times"), "absolutely first-rate" ("Los Angeles Times Book""Review") and "heartbreaking, funny and outrageous" ("Houston Chronicle")--and with "Crossbearer" he reveals a fresh and completely unexpected new chapter of his life. With surprising tenderness and a willingness to bare even weaknesses and mistakes, Joe Eszterhas has written a startling personal story about faith, values, family and love.

    That's when it begins. Based on a series of contagiously enthusiastic blog posts Casey wrote while he was in formation, Called: What Happens After Saying Yes to God reflects on realities that are common to anyone who is serious about living a sincere Christian life and trying to follow the message of Jesus in the Gospels. All Christians must discern God’s call for them. All Christians struggle at times knowing how to pray. All Christians work to be in intimate relationships with others. All Christians are challenged to give of themselves so to rely more on God. All Christians have a mission of building up the kingdom. And all Christians, like it or not, fail along the way. In his own path of discernment and discipleship, Casey has found a life that brings him amazement and wonder, sorrow and joy, encouragement and challenges, and he’s eager to share it all with everyone he can. Called offers inspiration and guidance to all those pursuing a life in Christ, in whatever form that may take. What you wonder, what you struggle with, what you experience in your daily life—you’re not alone.

    Rather than being real with each other, we present a carefully crafted persona that hides our faults and magnifies our good qualities. But inside we long to be loved, warts and all. We long to stop hiding from each other--and especially from God. With candor and clarity, pastor Rick Bezet calls readers to a life built on authenticity, showing that the way to true freedom lies through reclaiming our hearts, reviving our souls, and renewing our minds in light of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. Through biblical stories and (often funny) personal examples, Bezet encourages readers to live with passion, integrity, and perseverance. He releases readers from the spiritual death that comes with pretending and leads them into a new life characterized by transparency rather than fear.

    But Jesus commands it. Paul practiced it. And churches benefit from it. Why practice church discipline? It shows love for the individual caught in sin, love for the whole church, love for non-Christian neighbors, and love for the glory of Christ. In the Church Basics Series, trusted church experts write practical, trustworthy resources on issues like Church Discipline, the Lord's Supper, and Baptism that every pastor can hand every church member.

    . . some. We pray to stay sober, centered, or solvent. When the lump is deemed malignant. When the money runs out. When the marriage is falling apart. But wouldn’t we like to pray . . . more? Better? Stronger? With more fire, faith, and fervency?In this four-session video-based study (DVD/digital video sold separately), bestselling author Max Lucado reveals his struggles with prayer and how he discovered that it is not a privilege for the pious or the art of a chosen few but a simple tool everyone has been given to have a conversation with God. He shows you how to let go of uncertainties about prayer, trust that God hears you, and embrace a prayer life that brings peace and rest.Join Max Lucado on a journey to the very heart of biblical prayer and the power unleashed with five simple sentences: “Father, you are good. I need help. They need help. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, amen.” This study guide includes leader helps, discussion questions, conversation starters, and between-session activities to enhance your understanding and application of Max’s teaching.Sessions include:Father, You Are GoodI Need HelpThey Need HelpThank YouDesigned for use with Before Amen Video Study 9780529123428 (sold separately).

    In Thirty Steps, Archimandrite Vassilios interprets the Ladder for the ordinary Christian without sacrificing any of its beauty and power. Now you too can accept the challenge offered by St. John Climacus to ascend closer to God with each passing day.

    Now, that hands-on help is here–in two practical workbooks that will make God’s Word, and the stories of your biblical sisters, come alive for you! Discover what Bathsheba, Herodias, Tamar the Widow, and five other biblical Bad Girls can teach us about themselves, about us, and about the God who created us all in the Really Bad Girls of the Bible Workbook. ALSO AVAILABLE: THE BAD GIRLS OF THE BIBLE WORKBOOK.