In this book, Shawn Bolz reveals a fascinating message from Heaven that will pentrate the deep places of your heart. His stories and wisdom will guide you to a more noble place.

    Gordon alone survived. And forgave. He said of the bombers, ' I have lost my daughter, but I bear no grudge . . . I shall pray, tonight and every night, that God will forgive them.' His words caught the media's ears — and out of one man's grief, the world got a glimpse of grace. Grace is the church's great distinctive. It's the one thing the world cannot duplicate, and the one thing it craves above all else — for only grace can bring hope and transformation to a jaded world. In What's So Amazing About Grace? award-winning author Philip Yancey explores grace at street level. If grace is God's love for the undeserving, he asks, then what does it look like in action? And if Christians are its sole dispensers, then how are we doing at lavishing grace on a world that knows far more of cruelty and unforgiveness than it does of mercy? Yancey sets grace in the midst of life's stark images, tests its mettle against horrific 'ungrace.' Can grace survive in the midst of such atrocities as the Nazi holocaust? Can it triumph over the brutality of the Ku Klux Klan? Should any grace at all be shown to the likes of Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed and cannibalized seventeen young men? Grace does not excuse sin, says Yancey, but it treasures the sinner. True grace is shocking, scandalous. It shakes our conventions with its insistence on getting close to sinners and touching them with mercy and hope. It forgives the unfaithful spouse, the racist, the child abuser. It loves today's AIDS-ridden addict as much as the tax collector of Jesus' day. In his most personal and provocative book ever, Yancey offers compelling, true portraits of grace's life-changing power. He searches for its presence in his own life and in the church. He asks, How can Christians contend graciously with moral issues that threaten all they hold dear? And he challenges us to become living answers to a world that desperately wants to know, What's So Amazing About Grace?

    Can you hear him? If you're longing to become more attentive to God--to listen to him, know his voice and experience his love, spiritual direction can point the way. In Seeking God Together, experienced spiritual director Alice Fryling offers a unique introduction specifically for group spiritual direction: a place where individuals can experience what it means to be listened to and loved by others, so that they can learn to listen more attentively to God in their daily lives and be used by God. Out of her years of being both director and directee, Fryling offers practical, step-by-step guidance for those who would like to start, lead or participate in group spiritual direction. Her book will help you know what to expect and fully equip you for the different aspects of the group experience, including learning to listen to God, using Scripture in a group, navigating different personalities, setting group expectations and asking life-giving questions. She also provides an appendix with opening exercises for use in your meetings together. The intentional goal of group spiritual direction, Alice writes, is to help each participant become more aware of God in their lives, for the sake of others. Spiritual direction leads you to an awakening of the soul. The Spirit is speaking to you and to others. Here is a book to help you and a group of soul friends listen for and with each other as you seek God together.

    This book will help you to see the person you are and the person you can become. Open your heart and mind, and your life will change gracefully.

    It is inspirational. It is practical. And it has the potential to revolutionize your life.” Mark Batterson—Lead Pastor, National Community ChurchA movement is rumbling through the body of Christ—a revolutionary army of people giving hope to a hurting world through practical, personal acts of service.In Servolution, Dino Rizzo shares the story of his relentless pursuit of ways to bless the lost, poor, and hurting people of his community in Jesus’ name. You’ll be amazed and inspired by the incredible ways God has used Healing Place Church to meet the needs of thousands of people. Each chapter includes practical suggestions and resources for use in any church. Be encouraged by the testimony of how God’s Spirit can use a simple passion to serve to revolutionize your approach to ministry. Wherever you are and whatever your gifts, you can play a vital role in this revolution through serving.

    During a series of complicated operations, weeks in critical condition, and months in slow recovery, he was brought face to face with his own mortality. As he lay dying and, as it turned out, recovering, he found that despite his faith he had been quite unprepared for the experience. This book traces his efforts to understand his own reactions and those of his friends and family, and explores how we as a culture understand and deal with death. As I Lay Dying testifies that dying is-and is not-part of living. We can and should live our dying. Neuhaus interweaves his own story with thoughtful inquiry, circling through philosophy, psychology, literature, theology, and his own experiences to create provocative meditations that explore the many aspects of dying: the private and public experience, the separation of the soul from the body, grief, surrender, and mourning. The result is a book that shakes the foundations of our being-and yet is oddly and convincingly tranquil.

    Perhaps that’s because it is so hard to experience lasting happiness.In The Saints’ Guide to Happiness, Robert Ellsberg suggests that some of the best people to show us are holy men and women throughout history—from St. Augustine to Flannery O’Connor, Thomas Merton to St. Theresa of Avila and Mother Theresa.These people weren’t saints because of the way they died or their visions or wondrous deeds. They were saints because of their extraordinary capacity for goodness and love, which—in the end—makes us happy.

    Sharing her own story of God's life-changing answers to bold prayers--a miraculous journey through infertility, miscarriages, and giving birth to triplets--Julia challenges you to take God at His Word and see Him move like never before. Humorous, practical, and filled with biblical insights, this book will give you the courage to pray big things and watch expectantly for God's even bigger answers.

    I was surprised and, in fact, a little terrified when I found myself in the middle of a feminist spiritual reawakening.Sue Monk was a "conventionally religious, churchgoing woman, a traditional wife and mother" with a thriving career as a Christian writer until she began to question her role as a woman in her culture, her family, and her church. From a jarring encounter with sexism in a suburban drugstore to monastery retreats and rituals in the caves of Crete, Kidd takes readers through the fear, anger, healing, and transformation of her awakening. Retaining a meaningful connection "with the deep song of Christianity," she opens the door for traditional Christian women to discover a spirituality that speaks directly to them and provides inspiring wisdom for all who struggle to embrace their full humanity.

    The New Testament is commonly divided into the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, Paul’s epistles, the general epistles, and the book of Revelation. The four Gospels—the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—are accounts of the life of Christ. The book of Acts records the history of the Church and the Apostles, especially Paul’s missionary travels, after Christ’s death. Paul’s letters give instruction to Church leaders and members. The other letters were written by other Apostles and give additional counsel to the early Saints. The book of Revelation, which was written by the Apostle John, contains mostly prophecies pertaining to the last days.

    Because of the cultural distance between the biblical world and our contemporary setting, we often bring modern Western biases to the text. For example:When Western readers hear Paul exhorting women to "dress modestly," we automatically think in terms of sexual modesty. But most women in that culture would never wear racy clothing. The context suggests that Paul is likely more concerned about economic modesty--that Christian women not flaunt their wealth through expensive clothes, braided hair and gold jewelry.Some readers might assume that Moses married "below himself" because his wife was a dark-skinned Cushite. Actually, Hebrews were the slave race, not the Cushites, who were highly respected. Aaron and Miriam probably thought Moses was being presumptuous by marrying "above himselfWestern individualism leads us to assume that Mary and Joseph traveled alone to Bethlehem. What went without saying was that they were likely accompanied by a large entourage of extended family.Biblical scholars Brandon O'Brien and Randy Richards shed light on the ways that Western readers often misunderstand the cultural dynamics of the Bible. They identify nine key areas where modern Westerners have significantly different assumptions about what might be going on in a text. Drawing on their own crosscultural experience in global mission, O'Brien and Richards show how better self-awareness and understanding of cultural differences in language, time and social mores allow us to see the Bible in fresh and unexpected ways. Getting beyond our own cultural assumptions is increasingly important for being Christians in our interconnected and globalized world. Learn to read Scripture as a member of the global body of Christ.

    Therefore, Discover Your God-Given Gifts is fun as well as revealing. Don and Katie Fortune explain how the seven motivational gifts listed in Romans 12:6-8 are actually the key to understanding the very motivating forces of our lives, the forces God created within us to help us serve Him more fully. The authors provide extensive and insightful "self-help" forms that help you recognize your gifts. You'll see why you act and think the way you do. Using your motivational gifts will bring you the greatest joy you have ever known. Take some time now to Discover Your God-Given Gifts.

    Sandra Richter gives an overview of the Old Testament, organizing our disorderly knowledge of the Old Testament people, facts and stories into a memorable and manageable story of redemption that climaxes in the New Testament.

    Blessed. How can those two words possibly go together? Considering just how shattering life’s blows can be, can we honestly believe God will bring good out of our most heartbreaking crises? “It’s difficult to discern the blessing in the midst of brokenness,” says Dr. Charles Stanley. “Certain circumstances in life hurt, at times so intensely that we think we will never heal.” The catalysts for brokenness all possess a wrenching pain and the power to forever alter our life. But they also possess one thing more: the potential for discovering a richness in living we otherwise never would know. Perhaps you’ve already experienced circumstances so shattering you may wonder today whether it’s even possible to pick up the pieces. And maybe you can’t. But God can. “After brokenness, we can experience God’s greatest blessings.” In Finding God’s Blessings in Brokenness, Dr. Stanley will carry you through the hard times and show you how God’s glory is consistent throughout and always available. A gentle, encouraging way to explore God’s purpose and power as only experienced through the darkest times of life, this book will encourage you as you journey through the dry seasons.Set amidst beautiful photography and a timeless design, Dr. Stanley’s words of encouragement and hope will guide you to growth and the joy of the Lord. Finding God’s Blessings in Brokenness is a thoughtful and inspiring gift to encourage anyone struggling through a dark season, as well as a thoughtful gift for anyone going through loss.

    Well over half of young adults raised in the Church have dropped out with many having a strong anti-Church stance, many even believing the Church does more harm than good.Fr. Josh Johnson was one of these people. In Broken and Blessed he tackles the harsh realities facing the Church in the 21st century. With charity and courage he speaks to his own generation of Catholic “Millennials,” who often feel their needs and concerns are not being addressed by the Church, or who simply do not believe the Catholic Faith has any relevance to their lives. Using his own experiences, both as a former struggling young Catholic and as a priest, Fr. Josh offers an inspiring witness of how he came to know God, rather than just knowing about him—and presents practical ways for us to truly know God as well. Broken and Blessed: ● Addresses head-on Millennials’ most pressing issues with the Catholic Faith ● Presents powerful and inspiring stories from Fr. Josh’s own faith journey ● Shows how one can truly encounter Jesus in a personal way ● Offers practical insights on how to overcome habitual sins ● Discusses the nature of prayer, as well as the challenges to prayer and how to overcome them