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Grace Without God: The Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging in a Secular Age
by Katherine OzmentMeet “the Nones”—In this thought-provoking exploration of secular America, celebrated journalist Katherine Ozment takes readers on a quest to understand the trends and ramifications of a nation in flight from organized religion.Studies show that religion makes us happier, healthier and more giving, connecting us to our past and creating tight communal bonds. Most Americans are raised in a religious tradition, but in recent decades many have begun to leave religion, and with it their ancient rituals, mythic narratives, and sense of belonging.So how do the nonreligious fill the need for ritual, story, community, and, above all, purpose and meaning without the one-stop shop of religion? What do they do with the space left after religion? With Nones swelling to one-fourth of American adults, and more than one-third of those under thirty, these questions have never been more urgent.Writer, journalist, and secular mother of three Katherine Ozment came face-to-face with the fundamental issue of the Nones when her son asked her the simplest of questions: “what are we?” Unsettled by her reply—“Nothing”—she set out on a journey to find a better answer. She traversed the frontier of American secular life, sought guidance in science and the humanities, talked with noted scholars, and wrestled with her own family’s attempts to find meaning and connection after religion.Insightful, surprising, and compelling, Grace Without God is both a personal and critical exploration of the many ways nonreligious Americans create their own meaning and purpose in an increasingly secular age.
Grace Will Lead Me Home
by Katherine ValentineFollowing "A Miracle for St. Cecilia's" and "A Gathering of Angels," this third endearing installment in the St. Cecelia Church series captures the everyday miracles of a small-town Catholic parish. Through the fictional New England town of Dorsetville, Katherine Valentine has created a world where the dilemmas of modern life are met with timeless grace and wit--a cause for celebration among the author's growing fan base. Doubleday
The Grace Walk Experience
by Steve McveyFor years, Steve McVey's Grace Walk has inspired Christians to leave behind a performance and fear-based faith to embrace a faith lived in abundance and grace. The Grace Walk Experience helps readers move that message of hope from their heads to their hearts as they explore eight truths that have changed lives worldwide daily, interactive studies that reveal grace as much more than a doctrine ways to quit "doing" for God so that He can live through them, illustrations of the wonder and miracle of faith as God intended God's Word, salvation, and evangelism with new perspective This excellent tool for church classes, small group discussion, and individual study will lead believers to understand their identity in Christ, let go of legalism, and make room for the overflowing love, mercy, and purpose of life lived wholly in God's grace.
Grace Untamed
by David C Cook Elyse FitzpatrickGod's grace liberates us. When we live under grace, we are free to risk and dream and love. But most of us still define our identity by what we do rather than who we are as sons and daughters of the King. Containing 60 daily devotions written by some of the leading Christian voices of our day, Grace Untamed will challenge and equip you to live in the scandalous freedom of God's grace. Prepare to drink deep from the wellspring of God's untamed and unending grace.
Grace Under Pressure
by Dandi Daley MackallGracie wants to lure her absentee mother home for Thanksgiving with a front page feature in the school's newspaper, only to find getting the interview is a lot harder than she thought.
Grace Under Pressure (Faithgirlz / Blog On! #5)
by Dandi Daley MackallGracie’s always been good at handling everything herself, but pressures at school and personal disappointments prove almost more than she can bear in this fifth book in the Blog On series. Will she learn to share her burdens with God and with her friends before she cracks?
Grace Under Glass: Reflections, meditations, and stories about real people living for God in a real way in the real world
by Gene JacksonFrom the book: This little book is written specifically with Christian workers in mind. I love ministers, teachers, board members, and other leaders in the church. The great demonstration of the grace of God is seen in the lives of those who serve Him. This message of Grace is not intended to be a theory for learned debate, it is meant to be lived out by real people in real life. Here is a little collection of stories, essays, and opinions based on more than a half century involved in full time ministerial service to our Lord and His Church. There is not much here for the faint of heart, although I hope you will find much encouragement in these pages. Most of what I know I learned in the school of experience. Hard knocks will teach you things they never thought to write in the Seminary or Bible College textbooks. If you are looking for generics where a writer or preacher almost says something, you'd better move on. This is straight as a gun barrel and hot as a morning cup of coffee.
Grace Under Fire: Letters of Faith in Times of War
by Andrew CarrollWords of wisdom, hope, humor, and strength from those who have been tested by fire and maintained their faith. The first book of its kind, Grace Under Fire is an inspiring and spiritual collection of letters and e-mails by U.S. troops and their families from the American Revolution through the War on Terrorism. Andrew Carroll, editor of the bestselling War Letters, went through his massive archive of seventy-five-thousand previously unpublished wartime correspondence to pick out the most intimate, dramatic, historic, and insightful letters and e-mails ever written about God, religion, and spirituality. The fifty best of these are featured in this incredible book, and they emphasize how extremely important faith has been, and continues to be, in the lives of U.S. troops and their families. What is especially remarkable about Grace Under Fire is the sheer diversity of the collection, which includes several extraordinary letters by two brothers who fought on opposing sides of the Civil War; a prophetic letter by Rabbi David Goode, one of the famed Immortal Chaplains who gave his life for his fellow soldiers; a lighthearted letter by a World War II nurse who met the Pope; and a profound and impassioned reply to the timeless question, "Where is God in wartime?" by a doctor serving in Iraq. Warfare can reveal the worst in human nature, but it can also bring out the best, and these correspondences are a testament to the heroism, compassion, grace, intelligence, and inherent goodness of American troops and their families. And although the letters and e-mails featured in this book were written in times of armed conflict, they transcend the subject of war. They are about determination, hope, patriotism, fighting for something greater than one's self, and, of course, the enduring value of faith. Regardless of whether we have served in the military or not, we can all find inspiration and courage in these powerful and insightful words.
Grace to Grow: Creating a Healthy Church in Unhealthy Times
by John K. Jenkins Sr.Most pastors pray for a healthy and vibrant church, a prosperous organization and transformative change among those they disciple, but many find themselves frustrated because they lack direction and feel as though they are spinning their wheels. They struggle to correct unhealthy patterns or do not have fresh vision for their ministry.John K. Jenkins can relate. The first church he attended is best described as a shack with a bell and a steeple. The restroom facilities? An outhouse. When he accepted his first senior pastoral role, he ministered to 35 people on a good Sunday.Today, Pastor Jenkins welcomes more than 11,000 worshipers to Sunday services, and thousands more participate virtually. And he has learned what it takes to help an organization function wisely and efficiently, no matter its size.Grace to Grow reveals the lessons Jenkins has learned along the way. It is a guide to help pastors move their ministries from merely surviving to fully thriving, despite the challenging road ahead. He gives insight into his own journey as a young pastor and identifies biblical principles, strategies, and techniques that made the difference in the life of his church and his personal discipleship for almost four decades.
The Grace That Leads Us Home
by Kim Vogel SawyerThey were supposed to spend the rest of their lives together... In the wake of her husband's death, Alice Deaton will do anything to hold her family together. But with life handing her challenge after challenge, will her faith crack under the strain? Or will a kind stranger be able to offer refuge that Alice and her two small children so desperately need?
Grace Revolution: Experience the Power to Live Above Defeat
by Joseph PrinceFrom New York Times bestselling author Joseph Prince comes a book about living above defeat and experiencing breakthroughs in every area of life. GRACE REVOLUTION is about living above defeat and experiencing lasting breakthroughs in every area of life. It's about the explosive, inside-out transformation that occurs in the innermost sanctum of the human heart when a person meets Jesus personally. To help the reader live out this new perspective, the author gives five practical and powerful keys that, if understood and internalized, will become highly effective principles of success and living a victorious life.
A Grace Revealed: How God Redeems the Story of Your Life
by Jerry SittserTwenty years ago, Jerry Sittser lost his daughter, wife, and mother in a car accident. He chronicled that tragic experience in A Grace Disguised, a book that has become a classic on the topic of grief and loss.Now he asks: How do we live meaningfully, even fruitfully, in this world and at the same time long for heaven? How do we respond to the paradox of being a new creature in Christ even though we don’t always feel or act like one? How can we trust God is involved in our story when our circumstances seem to say he isn’t?While A Grace Disguised explored how the soul grows through loss, A Grace Revealed brings the story of Sittser’s family full circle, revealing God’s redeeming work in the midst of circumstances that could easily have destroyed them. As Sittser reminds us, our lives tell a good story after all. A Grace Revealed will helps us understand and trust that God is writing a beautiful story in our own lives.
Grace, Period.: Living in the Amazing Reality of Jesus' Finished Work
by Robert MorrisBestselling author and megachurch pastor Robert Morris unpacks the full meaning and significance of the grace of God, revealing for Christians a freedom from shame, guilt, and striving that few believers have begun to grasp. In life, we often look for fulfillment in our performance. We try to earn our way to happiness by achieving goals and meeting obligations. We try everything we can to earn favor with God. But what we find instead is disappointment, fear, and weariness. In Grace, Period., Pastor Robert Morris shows that we don&’t need to live this way. What we truly want has already been given to us—we simply need to receive it! Looking in-depth at the life and teachings of Jesus, Pastor Morris reveals the beauty and perfection of God&’s amazing grace. He uncovers its sheer abundance, lavishness, and extravagance, and explains what happens in our day-to-day lives when we fully accept it. Exploring the blessings we have now—access to God&’s love, favor, and approval—Pastor Morris teaches us how to find rest, gratitude, fruitfulness, confidence, joy, and the list goes on. In other words, Grace, Period. is a clear and compelling roadmap for arriving at an end to striving and shame. It&’s a guide for finding and enjoying the abundant life God sent Jesus to purchase for us. A life given to us by grace—only grace.A Study Guide is also available for purchase.
Grace Participant's Guide: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine
by Max LucadoGrace.We talk as though we understand the term. The bank gives us a grace period. The seedy politician falls from grace. Musicians speak of a grace note. We describe an actress as gracious, a dancer as graceful. We use the word for hospitals, baby girls, kings, and premeal prayers. We talk as though we know what grace means.But do we really understand it? Have we settled for wimpy grace? It politely occupies a phrase in a hymn, fits nicely on a church sign. Never causes trouble or demands a response. When asked, "Do you believe in grace?" who could say no?Max Lucado asks a deeper question: Have you been changed by grace? Shaped by grace? Strengthened by grace? Emboldened by grace? Softened by grace? Snatched by the nape of your neck and shaken to your senses by grace? God's grace has a drenching about it. A wildness about it. A white-water, riptide, turn-you-upside-downness about it. Grace comes after you. It rewires you. From insecure to God secure. From regret riddled to better-because-of-it. From afraid to die to ready to fly. Grace is the voice that calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off. Let's make certain grace gets you.
The Grace Outpouring: Blessing Others through Prayer
by Dave Roberts Roy GodwinAn inspiration for the creation of houses of prayer around the world, The Grace Outpouring is a captivating account of spiritual renewal on a Welsh hillside. When Roy Godwin turned his back on a lucrative consulting job to lead the quiet retreat center Ffald-y-Brenin in West Wales, he wasn't sure what was next. Then God showed up. In the years since the Godwins welcomed their first surprise guests to Ffald-y-Brenin, God has drawn thousands of seekers to this converted hill-farm with a tangible presence of healing and power. Along with its accompanying study guide, The Grace Outpouring offers fascinating stories of God's work on a remote hillside as well as inspiring insight into how God can work in readers' own communities.
The Grace of the Italian Renaissance
by Ita Mac CarthyHow grace shaped the Renaissance in Italy"Grace" emerges as a keyword in the culture and society of sixteenth-century Italy. The Grace of the Italian Renaissance explores how it conveys and connects the most pressing ethical, social and aesthetic concerns of an age concerned with the reactivation of ancient ideas in a changing world. The book reassesses artists such as Francesco del Cossa, Raphael and Michelangelo and explores anew writers like Castiglione, Ariosto, Tullia d'Aragona and Vittoria Colonna. It shows how these artists and writers put grace at the heart of their work.Grace, Ita Mac Carthy argues, came to be as contested as it was prized across a range of Renaissance Italian contexts. It characterised emerging styles in literature and the visual arts, shaped ideas about how best to behave at court and sparked controversy about social harmony and human salvation. For all these reasons, grace abounded in the Italian Renaissance, yet it remained hard to define. Mac Carthy explores what grace meant to theologians, artists, writers and philosophers, showing how it influenced their thinking about themselves, each other and the world.Ambitiously conceived and elegantly written, this book portrays grace not as a stable formula of expression but as a web of interventions in culture and society.
The Grace of Les Miserables Youth Study Book (The Grace of Le Miserables)
by Matt RawleVictor Hugo’s Les Misérables is a truly epic story. Whether you’ve tackled the 1,400-page 19thcentury novel, witnessed the Broadway musical (and memorized its soundtrack), or seen the several screen adaptations of it, you already know the power of its story. In the six-week Lenten study The Grace of Les Misérables, author and pastor Matt Rawle dives into six ideals found in the story—grace, justice, poverty, revolution, love, and hope—each represented by a character in Hugo’s story. As these imperfect and relatable characters interact, we can see how these ideals work together (perhaps even in spite of each other) out in the world. In keeping with his previous works, Matt Rawle brings us to the intersection of Church and Pop Culture by drawing parallels between the iconic story and musical and our Christian calling, inspiring us to both understand our faith and live it out in the world. This Youth Study Book takes the ideas presented in Matt Rawle’s book and interprets them for young people grades 6-12.
The Grace of Les Miserables Leader Guide (The Grace of Le Miserables)
by Matt RawleVictor Hugo’s Les Misérables is a truly epic story. Whether you’ve tackled the 1,400-page 19thcentury novel, witnessed the Broadway musical (and memorized its soundtrack), or seen the several screen adaptations of it, you already know the power of its story. In the six-week Lenten study The Grace of Les Misérables, author and pastor Matt Rawle dives into six ideals found in the story—grace, justice, poverty, revolution, love, and hope—each represented by a character in Hugo’s story. As these imperfect and relatable characters interact, we can see how these ideals work together (perhaps even in spite of each other) out in the world. In keeping with his previous works, Matt Rawle brings us to the intersection of Church and Pop Culture by drawing parallels between the iconic story and musical and our Christian calling, inspiring us to both understand our faith and live it out in the world. The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the six-week study including session plans, activities, and discussion questions, as well as multiple format options.
The Grace of Les Miserables (The Grace of Le Miserables)
by Matt RawleVictor Hugo’s Les Misérables is a truly epic story. Whether you’ve tackled the 1,400-page 19thcentury novel, witnessed the Broadway musical (and memorized its soundtrack), or seen the several screen adaptations of it, you already know the power of its story. In the six-week study The Grace of Les Misérables, author and pastor Matt Rawle dives into six ideals found in the story—grace, justice, poverty, revolution, love, and hope—each represented by a character in Hugo’s story. As these imperfect and relatable characters interact, we can see how these ideals work together (perhaps even in spite of each other) out in the world. In keeping with his previous works, Matt Rawle brings us to the intersection of Church and Pop Culture by drawing parallels between the iconic story and musical and our Christian calling, inspiring us to both understand our faith and live it out in the world. A DVD, Leader Guide, youth resources, and Worship Resource Flash Drive are also available for a six-week study.
The Grace of God (Tony Evans Speaks Out On...)
by Tony EvansSalvation and grace are instrumental to Christian life and thought. Do we really understand what has been done for us in Christ? A debt that we could not pay has been paid in full! What freedom! In the personable style of this great preacher/teacher, this study focuses on truths about grace.
The Grace of God (Tony Evans Speaks Out On...)
by Tony EvansSalvation and grace are instrumental to Christian life and thought. Do we really understand what has been done for us in Christ? A debt that we could not pay has been paid in full! What freedom! In the personable style of this great preacher/teacher, this study focuses on truths about grace.
The Grace of God
by Andy StanleyôGrace. ItÆs what we crave most when our guilt is exposed. ItÆs the very thing we are hesitant to extend when we are confronted with the guilt of othersùespecially when their guilt has robbed us of something we consider valuable. Therein is the struggle, the struggle for grace. ItÆs this struggle that makes grace more story than doctrine. ItÆs the struggle that reminds us that grace is bigger than compassion or forgiveness. That struggle is the context for both. When we are on the receiving end, grace is refreshing. When it is required of us, it is often disturbing. But when correctly applied, it seems to solve just about everything. This struggle is not new; it has been going on since the beginning.ö ùAndy Stanley We find in the pages of Scripture that the stories found there often mirror our own stories, and that we too need the very thing we do not deserve: the grace of God. From the beginning, the church has had an uneasy relationship with grace. The gravitational pull is always toward graceless religion. The odd thing is that when you read the New Testament, the only thing Jesus stood against consistently was graceless religion. The only group he attacked relentlessly was graceless religious leaders. Even now as you think about grace, there might be a little voice in your head whispering, ôIt canÆt be that easy!ö ôWhat about obedience?ö ôWhat about disobedience?ö ôWhat about repeated misbehavior?ö ôWhat about bad habits?ö ôWhat about justice?ö ôWhat about repentance?ö ItÆs this tension that makes grace so slippery. But thatÆs the beauty and the truth of grace. We donÆt deserve it. We canÆt earn it. It canÆt be qualified. But God gives it to us anyway because he loves us unconditionally. The story of grace is your story. And as you are about to discover grace plays a larger role than you imagine.
The Grace of God
by Andy Stanley"Grace. It's what we crave most when our guilt is exposed. It's the very thing we are hesitant to extend when we are confronted with the guilt of others--especially when their guilt has robbed us of something we consider valuable. Therein is the struggle, the struggle for grace. It's this struggle that makes grace more story than doctrine. It's the struggle that reminds us that grace is bigger than compassion or forgiveness. That struggle is the context for both. When we are on the receiving end, grace is refreshing. When it is required of us, it is often disturbing. But when correctly applied, it seems to solve just about everything. This struggle is not new; it has been going on since the beginning." --Andy Stanley We find in the pages of Scripture that the stories found there often mirror our own stories, and that we too need the very thing we do not deserve: the grace of God. From the beginning, the church has had an uneasy relationship with grace. The gravitational pull is always toward graceless religion. The odd thing is that when you read the New Testament, the only thing Jesus stood against consistently was graceless religion. The only group he attacked relentlessly was graceless religious leaders. Even now as you think about grace, there might be a little voice in your head whispering, "It can't be that easy!" "What about obedience?" "What about disobedience?" "What about repeated misbehavior?" "What about bad habits?" "What about justice?" "What about repentance?" It's this tension that makes grace so slippery. But that's the beauty and the truth of grace. We don't deserve it. We can't earn it. It can't be qualified. But God gives it to us anyway because he loves us unconditionally. The story of grace is your story. And as you are about to discover grace plays a larger role than you imagine.
The Grace of Giving
by Robert SchnaseSince the publication of Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, these five practices have helped hundreds of congregations understand their mission, renew ministries, and stretch toward fruitfulness and excellence for the purpose of Christ. Now, each of the five practices has been broken out into 4-week small group studies called The Fruitful Living Series that provide an honest, practical, and winsome guide to the spiritual journey. In The Grace of Giving: The Practice of Extravagant Generosity we offer our material resources in a manner that supports the causes that transform life and relieve suffering and that enlarges the soul and sustains the spirit. We give back.
The Grace of Everyday Saints: How a Band of Believers Lost Their Church and Found Their Faith
by Julian GuthrieIncluding interviews with dozens of parishioners, this story of the battle for St. Brigid is “a dramatic David vs. Goliath account of a church under siege” (Kirkus Reviews).St. Brigid Church was one of San Francisco’s great landmarks in the early 1990s. The church itself had weathered depressions and natural disasters, epic earthquakes and a massive fire. Its loyal congregation was active, vibrant, and growing. But in 1993, without warning, the Catholic archdiocese mysteriously ordered its doors to be closed.The Grace of Everyday Saints is the story of how a ragtag group of believers came together in a crusade to save their church. What they discovered would be devastating: that around the country, parishes like theirs were threatened by the higher echelons of the Church, all to hide a terrible secret. Soon there were near-daily headlines that shocked the world. But still this unlikely group of heroes—led by a renegade lawyer, a reformed Catholic, and an antiestablishment priest—continued to meet weekly, to fight, to prove that their beloved St. Brigid was worth saving.A dramatic narrative that takes readers from the streets of San Francisco to the halls of the Vatican, The Grace of Everyday Saints is about injustice and betrayal, redemption and grace.“A gripping story.” —Publishers Weekly