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First Buddhist Women: Poems and Stories of Awakening
by Susan MurcottFirst Buddhist Women is a readable, contemporary translation of and commentary on the enlightenment verses of the first female disciples of the Buddha. The book explores Buddhism's relatively liberal attitude towards women since its founding nearly 2,600 years ago, through the study of the Therigatham, the earliest know collection of women's religious poetry. Through commentary and storytelling, author Susan Murcott traces the journey of the wives, mothers, teachers, courtesan, prostitutes, and wanderers who became leaders in the Buddhist community, roles that even today are rarely filled by women in other patriarchal religions. Their poetry beautifully expresses their search for spiritual attainment and their struggles in society.
First Chaplain of the Confederacy: Father Darius Hubert, S.J.
by Katherine Bentley JeffreyDarius Hubert (1823‒1893), a French-born Jesuit, made his home in Louisiana in the 1840s and served churches and schools in Grand Coteau, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans. In 1861, he pronounced a blessing at the Louisiana Secession Convention and became the first chaplain of any denomination appointed to Confederate service. Hubert served with the First Louisiana Infantry in Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia for the entirety of the war, afterward returning to New Orleans, where he continued his ministry among veterans as a trusted pastor and comrade. One of just three full-time Catholic chaplains in Lee’s army, only Hubert returned permanently to the South after surrender. In postwar New Orleans, he was unanimously elected chaplain of the veterans of the eastern campaign and became well-known for his eloquent public prayers at memorial events, funerals of prominent figures such as Jefferson Davis, and dedications of Confederate monuments. In this first-ever biography of Hubert, Katherine Bentley Jeffrey offers a far-reaching account of his extraordinary life. Born in revolutionary France, Hubert entered the Society of Jesus as a young man and left his homeland with fellow Jesuits to join the New Orleans mission. In antebellum Louisiana, he interacted with slaves and free people of color, felt the effects of anti-Catholic and anti-Jesuit propaganda, experienced disputes and dysfunction with the trustees of his Baton Rouge church, and survived a near-fatal encounter with Know-Nothing vigilantism. As a chaplain with the Army of Northern Virginia, Hubert witnessed harrowing battles and their equally traumatic aftermath in surgeons’ tents and hospitals. After the war, he was a spiritual director, friend, mentor, and intermediary in the fractious and politically divided Crescent City, where he both honored Confederate memory and promoted reconciliation and social harmony. Hubert’s complicated and tumultuous life is notable both for its connection to the most compelling events of the era and its illumination of the complex and unexpected ways religion intersected with politics, war, and war’s repercussions.
First Christmas on Huckleberry Hill
by Jennifer BeckstrandBefore irrepressible eighty-somethings Anna and Felty Helmuth became Huckleberry Hill, Wisconsin&’s most-beloved matchmakers, they were mismatched young lovers facing seemingly impossible obstacles . . . She can&’t cook, sew, sing, or clean. And no matter how hard young Anna Yoder tries, she&’d much rather help people in trouble than be a well-behaved pretty face and properly perfect Amish maidel. So she instantly reaches out to her old schoolmate, Felty Helmuth, when their Amish town ostracizes him for his Korean War army service. He's still the only one who's ever understood Anna—and liked everything from her green Jello carrot salads to her love of books. And this holiday season, she can't help hoping that somehow she and Felty can find a way to be the perfect match . . . Felty sensed he was called by Gotte to serve his country, though it went against his community&’s peaceful ways. Troubled by his wartime experiences, he is resigned to being an outsider avoided by most eligible Amish girls. But lively, intelligent Anna has grown into a warm-hearted generous woman who accepts Felty for who he is. And in the face of family and community opposition, he and Anna will take a leap of faith to prove they are made for each other—and a lifetime of happiness. &“Beckstrand&’s books continue to deliver stories that entertain and inspire.&”—Beth Wiseman, author of A Picture of Love
First Church of the Higher Elevations: Mountains, Prayer and Presence
by Peter AndersonThese contemplative essays, written for seekers and wanderers, explore the complexity of the scripture of place, the geography of the heart, the landscape of imagination, and the topography of memory. Thoughtful and rich in spirit, the book discusses a personal relationship to place and prayer. Dark, serious, joyful, and funny, it is a perfect companion on a trek through the woods or in the comfort of your own home.
First Comes Love, Then Comes Money: A Couple's Guide to Financial Communication
by Scott Palmer Bethany PalmerHappy Couples Know How to Talk About MoneyThe number one cause for divorce is financial infidelity. Now "The Money Couple" reveals the missing ingredient needed before any financial program or plan can work: healthy financial communication. This book tells you how to:Diagnose your level of financial infidelityIdentify your individual Money PersonalityMaster the Money Huddle and the Money DumpAchieve financial goals once and for all
First Comes Love: Finding Your Family in the Church and the Trinity
by Scott HahnArgues that our only hope of regaining happiness and wholeness lies in recovering an understanding of the family as the heart of God's plan for creation.
First Comes Marriage: My Not-So-Typical American Love Story
by Huda Al-MarashiA candid, heartfelt love story set in contemporary California that challenges the idea of what it means to be American, liberated, and in loveWhen Huda meets Hadi, the boy she will ultimately marry, she is six years old. Both are the American-born children of Iraqi immigrants, who grew up on opposite ends of California. Hadi considers Huda his childhood sweetheart, the first and only girl he's ever loved, but Huda needs proof that she is more than just the girl Hadi's mother has chosen for her son. She wants what many other American girls have--the entertainment culture's almost singular tale of chance meetings, defying the odds, and falling in love. She wants stolen kisses, romantic dates, and a surprise proposal. As long as she has a grand love story, Huda believes no one will question if her marriage has been arranged. But when Huda and Hadi's conservative Muslim families forbid them to go out alone before their wedding, Huda must navigate her way through the despair of unmet expectations and dashed happily-ever-after ideals. Eventually she comes to understand the toll of straddling two cultures in a marriage and the importance of reconciling what you dreamed of with the life you eventually live. Tender, honest and irresistibly compelling, First Comes Marriage is the first Muslim-American memoir dedicated to the themes of love and sexuality. Huda and Hadi's story brilliantly circles around a series of firsts, chronicling two virgins moving through their first everything: first hand holding, first kiss, and first sexual encounter. First Comes Marriage is an almost unbearably humanizing tale that tucks into our hearts and lingers in our imagination, while also challenging long-standing taboos within the Muslim community and the romantic stereotypes we unknowingly carry within us that sabotage some of our best chances for finding true love.
First Communion: Ritual, Church and Popular Religious Identity (Liturgy, Worship and Society Series)
by Peter McGrailOne of the most carefully prepared liturgies of any Roman Catholic parish's year is the celebration of 'First Communion'. This is the ritual by which seven- or eight -year-old children are admitted to the Eucharist for the first time. It attracts the largest congregations of any parish liturgy, and yet is frequently marked by tension and dissent within the parish community. The same ritual holds very different meanings for the various parties involved - clergy, parish schools, regularly communicating parishioners, and the first communicants and their families. The tensions arise from dissonance between the parties on such key issues as expected patterns of Church attendance, Catholic identity, dress and expenditure, and family formation. The relationships and discontinuities between popular and 'official' religion is at the heart of these tensions. They touch upon deep-seated anxieties concerning the future viability of the very structures and patterns of parish life during the current period of falling Church attendance and parish closures. For those within the Church who are concerned to understand and address the issues in its structural decline, this book will make sometimes uncomfortable but always stimulating reading. Peter McGrail examines the relationship between Church structures and popular religious identity, viewed through the lens of the first communion event. Drawing out hitherto unrecognised connections and significances for the future of the Catholic Church at local level, the insights into the decline of the parish as an institution present challenges to all with an interest in and concern for the future of the Church in the English-speaking world. Bringing to the fore the relationship and tensions between liturgy and Church structures, both historically and at the present time, this book offers academics and students alike extensive material for reflection and future development..
First Confession: A Sort of Memoir
by Chris PattenChris Patten was a cradle Catholic (hence First Confession), became on the most prominent Tory 'Wets' of the 1980s and 1990s, and went on to hold a series of prominent public offices - Chairman of the Conservative Party, the last Governor of Hong Kong, European Commissioner for External Affairs, Chancellor of Oxford University, Chairman of the BBC, advisor to the Pope - as he self-deprecatingly puts it 'a Grand Poo-bah, the Lord High Everything Else'. He writes with wry humour about his time in all these offices, taking us behind the scenes and showing us unexpected sides of many of the great figures of the day. No political writer is so purely enjoyable as Chris Patten.
First Corinthians
by Bruce N. FiskIn First Corinthians, Paul writes to a troubled church at Corinth, urging its members to live a life distinct from the ways of others, governed by the law of love, and affirming of the tenets of the faith. His direct responses to their shortcomings provide us a window into daily church life in the first century. But this letter also paints a vivid picture of what any church can become by the grace of God. Interpretation Bible Studies (IBS) offers solid biblical content in a creative study format. Forged in the tradition of the celebrated Interpretation commentary series, IBS makes the same depth of biblical insight available in a dynamic, flexible, and user-friendly resource. Designed for adults and older youth, Interpretation Bible Studies can be used in small groups, in church school classes, in large group presentations, or in personal study.
First Corinthians - Women's Bible Study Leader Guide: Living Love When We Disagree (First Corinthians)
by Melissa SpoelstraRelationships are messy. We're all different and imperfect, and we can struggle to get along--especially with those who disagree with us. Often we find ourselves divided--even as Christians. How can we work out our differences and disagreements with humility and grace, always showing the love of Christ, while still remaining true to what we believe?The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians living in Corinth about this very thing. The cultural backdrop of Corinth was even more overtly sinful than our culture today, yet Paul boldly encouraged the Corinthian Christians not to ridicule one another or outsiders but to work together to show the love of Christ. In this six-week study we will explore Paul's first letter to the Corinthians to learn how we as Christians are to deal with differences and divisions--whether in the workplace, neighborhood, school, home, social media community, or church. We'll discover that the answer is living and sharing the radical love of Jesus Christ, and we'll unpack what this means and how we can live it out day by day.The Leader Guide, to be used along with the study's workbook and DVD, contains six session plan outlines, complete with discussion points and questions, activities, prayers, and more—plus leader helps for facilitating a group.Other components for the Bible study, available separately, include a Participant Workbook, DVD with six 25-30 minute sessions, and boxed Leader Kit (an all-inclusive box containing one copy of each of the Bible study’s components).
First Corinthians - Women's Bible Study Participant Book: Living Love When We Disagree (First Corinthians)
by Melissa SpoelstraRelationships are messy. We're all different and imperfect, and we can struggle to get along--especially with those who disagree with us. Often we find ourselves divided--even as Christians. How can we work out our differences and disagreements with humility and grace, always showing the love of Christ, while still remaining true to what we believe?The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians living in Corinth about this very thing. The cultural backdrop of Corinth was even more overtly sinful than our culture today, yet Paul boldly encouraged the Corinthian Christians not to ridicule one another or outsiders but to work together to show the love of Christ. In this six-week study we will explore Paul's first letter to the Corinthians to learn how we as Christians are to deal with differences and divisions--whether in the workplace, neighborhood, school, home, social media community, or church. We'll discover that the answer is living and sharing the radical love of Jesus Christ, and we'll unpack what this means and how we can live it out day by day.The Participant Book includes five days of lessons for each week, combining study of Scripture with personal reflection, application, and prayer.Other components for the Bible study, available separately, include a Leader Guide, DVD with six 25-30 minute sessions, and boxed Leader Kit (an all-inclusive box containing one copy of each of the Bible study’s components).
First Corinthians Leader Guide: Searching the Depths of God (1 Corinthians)
by Jaime Clark-Soles1 Corinthians is one of the most gripping books in the Bible. In this letter, Paul, the complicated, layered apostle, writes to the people trying a wild new social experiment known as a Christian community. Not unlike the church today, this community dealt with factions, sexual immorality, gender issues, money issues, theological questions, lawsuits, problems in worship, and problems in leadership.In 1 Corinthians: Searching the Depths of God, Jaime Clark-Soles explores these topics and the awe inspiring, breathtaking world of the first-century church. Examining the teachings of Paul, she addresses church history, the logic of the cross, spiritual gifts, death, afterlife and the resurrection, human sexuality, and the joys and challenges of living in community. Participants will learn to look at 1 Corinthians from a variety of viewpoints and apply its lessons to their own faith.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.
First Corinthians-Teach Yourself the Bible Series: Order in the Church (Teach Yourself the Bible)
by Keith L. BrooksThe Teach Yourself the Bible Series is one of the best New Testament studies you will find anywhere. Each book in the series is packed full of valuable questions on individual chapters of the Bible, check-ups to test your grasp of scriptural truths, and usable suggestions for group study.Grow in your knowledge of God through each New Testament book, then go on to study six aspects of Christianity essential for all believers: doctrine, prayer, eternal life, prophecy, Christian character, and Bible study.The Corinthian church was predominately Gentile, its members both rich and poor, educated and ignorant. Loose habits of paganism clung to many. Paul in 1 Corinthians appeals to them to remember their high position in Christ and the reality of their union with Him. His exhortation to bring their spiritual state into conformity with their standing in Christ is relevant to all generations.Strengthen your relationship with the living God with all twenty-five books of the Teach Yourself the Bible Series. Each volume is a timeless, yet practical, study of the Word of God.
First Corinthians: A Somewhat Traditional Interpretation Plus Contemporary Application
by B. Ward PowersIn most areas of this Epistle, B. Ward Powers has come to share the interpretation of Paul's meaning held by the Early Church Fathers; although he explains and expounds those views. <p><p> This is particularly the case in relation to chapters 12 through 14 where, in keeping with the Early Church Fathers, the Reformers, most Scripture expositors until recent times, and many present-day exegetes, Powers expounds the interpretation that "tongues" refers to human languages spoken on earth. <p><p> The one major area where Powers parts company with the Fathers of the first Christian centuries is in relation to matters of sex and marriage, divorce and remarriage, and attitudes to women generally. Here Powers explains that Paul is more affirming of sex, marriage and remarriage, and women than many early writers (and some modern writers) have understood him to be. <p><p> "We need at times to take considerable care," he writes, "to understand the meaning of what Paul says to the Corinthians, and in coming to terms with how this teaching is to apply to us in today's world. But when we have arrived at our understanding of these things, then there is no question: this is the Word of God to us, and we must take it very seriously indeed. We cannot just dismiss it offhandedly and simply say, 'Well, that is just Paul's opinion, and we can take it or leave it.' Not at all: Paul has explained clearly that what he writes comes with the inspiration and authority of the Holy Spirit of God."
First Corinthians: Searching the Depths of God (1 Corinthians)
by Jaime Clark-Soles1 Corinthians is one of the most gripping books in the Bible. In this letter, Paul, the complicated, layered apostle, writes to the people trying a wild new social experiment known as a Christian community. Not unlike the church today, this community dealt with factions, sexual immorality, gender issues, money issues, theological questions, lawsuits, problems in worship, and problems in leadership.In 1 Corinthians: Searching the Depths of God, Jaime Clark-Soles explores these topics and the awe inspiring, breathtaking world of the first-century church. Examining the teachings of Paul, she addresses church history, the logic of the cross, spiritual gifts, death, afterlife and the resurrection, human sexuality, and the joys and challenges of living in community. Participants will learn to look at 1 Corinthians from a variety of viewpoints and apply its lessons to their own faith.Additional components for a six-week study include a DVD featuring Jaime Clark-Soles and a comprehensive Leader Guide.
First Date
by Krista McgeeThe last thing Addy Davidson wants is to be on a reality TV show where the prize is a prom date with the President's son.She's focused on her schoolwork so she can get a scholarship to an Ivy League college, uncomfortable in the spotlight, never been on a date, and didn't even audition for it.But she got selected anyway.So she does her best to get eliminated on the very first show. Right before she realizes that the President's son is possibly the most attractive guy she has ever seen in person, surprisingly nice, and seemingly unimpressed by the 99 other girls who are throwing themselves at him.Addy's totally out of her comfort zone but that may be right where God can show her all that she was meant to be.
First Fruits: Giving God Your Best 365 Days of the Year (Morgan James Faith)
by Susan ButlerFor those seeking to develop a relationship with God, or who want to work on the discipline of a daily walk with God, First Fruits offers opportunities for better understanding His heart and why He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. It allows readers to reflect on how this knowledge can positively impact their lives. First Fruits is full of comfort, challenges, and inspiration for living life God&’s way.
First Grade Elves: (First Grade Is the Best! Series)
by Joanne RyderIt's the holiday season! Mrs. Lee's first graders decide to become secret elves and do something nice for their classmates. Robin's secret elf finds her lost mitten and leaves a snowflake as a sign. Meg's elf gives her some stickers--and a snowflake. And someone is doing nice things for Matt. But is it the work of his secret elf? Or is it just holiday magic? At Christmas, anything is possible--especially in the first grade! This story expresses the fun and excitement of secret giving and receiving
First Hired, Last Fired: How to Become Irreplaceable in Any Job Market
by Anita Agers-BrooksUnemployment is a daunting concern for people all across the nation. Layoffs and corporate downsizing threatens jobs now more than ever. FIRST HIRED, LAST FIRED shows how to discover simple secrets from an ancient text that can make anyone irreplaceable.Today's employees face terror and stress at the prospect of losing their jobs, and finding new ones. The global climate reeks of confusion, fear, anxiety, and competition while people clamber for jobs. Layoffs and shrinking markets choke confidence from qualified workers.FIRST HIRED, LAST FIRED shows readers how to use the valuable wisdom found in the ancient text of the Bible to avoid becoming disposable in this challenging marketplace. Through timeless wisdom, simple solutions, and easy-to-apply principles, readers will find meaning in their work lives, and deep satisfaction from committing to a job well done. Through practice, the reader will learn to look deeper into the Bible for relevant help with current issues.
First Impressions: An Amish Tale of Pride and Prejudice (The Amish Classics #1)
by Sarah PriceWill pride and prejudice keep the Blank sisters from finding love? With five daughters and no sons, Daed and Maem Blank are anxious to find their girls suitors who might eventually take over their family farm. When news arrives that Charles Beachey, the son of a prominent Amish farmer, will be returning from Ohio with his cousin Frederick, they are hopeful that the young men might be good matches for their daughters. The oldest daughter, Jane, starts courting Charles, a well-mannered and very respectful young man, but her younger sister Lizzie is not interested in either courtship or Frederick. In fact, she wants nothing to do with him, finding him full of pride and disdain for her family’s way of life. But in a community and culture where pride is scorned, Lizzie must learn that first impressions can be dangerous and people are not always who they seem to be. This Amish retelling of the popular Jane Austen classic Pride and Prejudice is a beautiful take on the power of love to overcome class boundaries and prejudices that will win your heart.
First Impressions: Off Screen Conversations with a Bachelor on Race, Family, and Forgiveness
by Matt JamesMatt James, the first Black bachelor on ABC&’s beloved television show, The Bachelor, shares his views on the controversial topics that defined his season and confronts matters of race, opportunity, and his biracial identity head on. When The Bachelor franchise announced Matt James as the first Black lead, it was celebrated as long-overdue progress on the primetime show. America fell in love with Matt—the Christian, former NFL athlete, and nonprofit CEO—who charmed millions of viewers each week. But the off-screen conversations around the show revealed the realities and inescapable challenges of being Black in America and the depth of racism that still exists. On the show, Matt could only go so far in sharing his own story with America. In First Impressions, Matt shares his views on controversial topics like race and opportunity that defined his season on The Bachelor. Matt lives at the intersection of these important issues and shares the wisdom his experience has granted him. Matt describes the joys and difficulties of being the youngest of two Black sons, raised by a single, working-class, white mother in Raleigh, North Carolina. He elaborates on the spiritual closeness and sense of duty he felt for his mother, but also the complex relationships he had with the many male figures in his life: his prejudiced, Italian grandfather, who had trouble accepting Matt as his own; his father, whose womanizing and petty crime put strain on the family; and his older brother, who was Matt&’s protector in youth, but who struggled with the long shadow of their father&’s legacy. Simultaneously inspirational and informative, First Impressions will leave readers with a deeper understanding of the life experiences that prepared Matt for such a divisive moment in television history.
First Isaiah and the Disappearance of the Gods (Critical Studies in the Hebrew Bible #12)
by Matthew J. LynchIsaiah 1–39 uses the unique term אלילים—usually translated as "idols"— more than anywhere else in the Hebrew Bible. Using this linguistic phenomenon as a point of departure, Matthew J. Lynch reexamines the rhetorical strategies of First Isaiah, revealing a stronger monotheizing rhetoric than previously recognized.Standard accounts of Israelite religion frequently insist that monotheism reached its apex during the exile, and especially in Deutero-Isaiah. By contrast, Lynch’s study brings to light an equally potent mode of monotheizing in First Isaiah. Lynch identifies three related rhetorical tendencies that emphasize yhwh’s supreme uniqueness: a rhetoric of avoidance, referring to other deities as idols (אלילים) to avoid conferring on them the status of gods (אלוהים); a rhetoric of exaltation, emphasizing yhwh’s truly exalted status in opposition to all that which exalted itself; and a rhetoric of abasement, fully subjugating all other claimants to absolute power—whether human or divine—before the divine king.Succinctly and persuasively argued, Lynch’s book will change how biblical scholars understand the nature and development of Israelite monotheism.
First Isaiah and the Disappearance of the Gods (Critical Studies in the Hebrew Bible)
by Matthew J. LynchIsaiah 1–39 uses the unique term אלילים—usually translated as “idols”— more than anywhere else in the Hebrew Bible. Using this linguistic phenomenon as a point of departure, Matthew J. Lynch reexamines the rhetorical strategies of First Isaiah, revealing a stronger monotheizing rhetoric than previously recognized.Standard accounts of Israelite religion frequently insist that monotheism reached its apex during the exile, and especially in Deutero-Isaiah. By contrast, Lynch’s study brings to light an equally potent mode of monotheizing in First Isaiah. Lynch identifies three related rhetorical tendencies that emphasize yhwh’s supreme uniqueness: a rhetoric of avoidance, referring to other deities as idols (אלילים) to avoid conferring on them the status of gods (אלוהים); a rhetoric of exaltation, emphasizing yhwh’s truly exalted status in opposition to all that which exalted itself; and a rhetoric of abasement, fully subjugating all other claimants to absolute power—whether human or divine—before the divine king.Succinctly and persuasively argued, Lynch’s book will change how biblical scholars understand the nature and development of Israelite monotheism.
First Light (The A.D. Chronicles, Book #1)
by Bodie Thoene Brock ThoeneSpiritual and political darkness shroud the world's holiest and most turbulent city. Ruled by Rome and manipulated by religious rulers with only selfish interests in mind, the people of Jerusalem wonder if their Deliverer will ever come. Susanna and Manaen desperately search for hope and meaning - in a world where their love is forbidden. Others pray and wait for light, the True Light of Messiah, to dawn. Peniel the beggar, Marcus the Roman Centurion, Zadok the Chief Shepherd of Israel, and his three adopted orphan boys - all long for a vision of hope. Now a healer named Yeshua walks the streets of Jerusalem. Is he the true Messiah? Or only another imposter, like so many before him?