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Genesis to Revelation: A Comprehensive Verse-by-Verse Exploration of the Bible (Genesis to Revelation series)
by C. M. Kempton HewittStudy the entire Book of Revelation starting with John's theology that teaches that Jesus, the exalted Christ, is the center of faith. Some of the major ideas explored are: personal religious experience; the living voice of God in the church today; advocating for what is right; distinguishing between good and evil; God's grace seeks to redeem; and covenant with God.More than 3.5 million copies of the series have been sold.This revision of the Abingdon classic Genesis to Revelation Series is a comprehensive, verse-by-verse, book-by-book study of the Bible based on the NIV. These studies help readers strengthen their understandingand appreciation of the Bible by enabling them to engage the Scripture on three levels: What does the Bible say? Questions to consider while reading the passage for each session. What does the passage mean? Unpacks key verses in the selected passage. How does the Scripture relate to my life? Provides three major ideas that have meaning for our lives today.The meaning of the selected passages are made clear by considering such aspects as ancient customs, locations of places, and the meanings of words. The simple format makes the study easy to use.Updates will include: New cover designs. New interior designs. Leader Guide per matching Participant Book (rather than multiple volumes in one book). Updated to 2011 revision of the New International Version Translation (NIV). Updated references to New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible. Include biblical chapters on the contents page beside session lesson titles for at-a-glance overview of biblical structure.The simple format makes the study easy to use. Each volume is 13 sessions and has a separate leader guide.
Make a Difference Leader Guide: Following Your Passion and Finding Your Place to Serve (Make a Difference)
by James A. HarnishIn Make a Difference, author James A. Harnish helps United Methodists answer the questions "How can I contribute to God’s healing work in this world?" and "How can I find my place to serve and make a difference?" Drawing upon biblical wisdom and real stories of real people who have found their place to serve, he provides practical guidance to help every disciple make a difference as a participant in God’s transformation of the world.The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the six-week study including session plans and discussion questions, as well as multiple format options.
Get Their Name: Grow Your Church by Building New Relationships (Get Their Name)
by Doug Anderson Bob Farr Kay KotanChange your church culture. Create an outwardly focused environment where hospitality and invitation happen Sunday and every day of the week. This book offers five steps to help congregations go public with their faith—from service projects to sharing the faith with persons who want to know more about Christ and thw church. This book offers tactics to increase individual and church competency with relational evangelism with friends, neighbors, and even strangers. Learn how to start up a conversation, follow up with contacts, and navigate unfamiliar settings. Learn what works and what doesn’t.We may think that just because we invite someone on our church property, they’ll come back. Often we don’t reach out to help people cross the faith line, because we’re uncomfortable with "evangelism" or just plain scared. Gain the confidence to share the good news boldly. After all, we know the name of the One who loves us all and who holds all power over heaven and earth.
The Lord Is Our Salvation [Large Print]: A Lenten Study Based on the Revised Common Lectionary (Scriptures For The Church Seasons Ser.)
by Katie Z. DawsonThe Lord Is Our Salvation invites us to explore God’s saving and redeeming love through a study of the scripture readings for Lent and Easter. Author Katie Z. Dawson invites us to a deeper understanding of the salvation Christ offers by exploring the various ways God restores us and our world to wholeness. Through each week of Lent, Dawson opens the Scriptures to show God’s redemption at work in the men, women, and communities of the Bible. In her personal and insightful reflections, readers will hear a call to embrace Christ’s salvation in their lives and in the world around them. Based upon the Revised Common Lectionary scriptures for year B of the church year, a three-year cycle of Bible readings. The study includes commentary and reflection on readings from the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the Epistles. It offers the opportunity to explore these key Bible readings in a seven-session study. It will help participants understand, appreciate, and engage in meaningful and life-changing spiritual practices and to offer gratitude for God’s salvation through Jesus Christ. The study book includes a leader guide with information about the season of Lent, suggestions for starting and leading small groups, Bible background, and discussion activities.
Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect
by Richard H. SchneiderLong, long ago, in a land far away, lived a perfect little tree named Small Pine. Small Pine hoped to maintain its perfect form and be selected by the Queen as her Christmas tree. But as the warm-hearted little tree gave shelter to birds, rabbits, and deer in the forest, its branches became damaged. Fortunately, the Queen had a different idea of perfection...Young readers will want to read and reread the story of how Small Pine's love and charity for its friends helps make it the most "perfect" Christmas Tree of all.This magnificently illustrated story of a warm-hearted Christmas tree will surely become one of the most beloved classics of future generations. Schneider's storytelling will enthrall children and adults alike.
The Abingdon African American Preaching Library: Volume 1 (Abingdon African American Preaching Library)
by Kirk Byron JonesGod’s people need to hear “a word from the Lord,” to know their God is with them, and to transcend this world and be taken to the very feet of Jesus. The preacher is charged with assisting in this mission. While there may be different theological perspectives and different methods of sermon preparation and delivery, one thing remains constant—the need for quality preaching resources. Drawing upon the rich and powerful tradition of the black church, The Abingdon African American Preaching Library offers a wealth of thoughtful, biblically grounded preaching aids, including special days in the Black Church tradition. To read the Introduction to the book click here
The New Interpreter's® Handbook of Preaching
by Bob ClelandThe New Interpreter’s Handbook of Preaching is a major reference tool for preaching, with articles on every facet of Christian sermon preparation and delivery. This resource is both scholarly and practical. It focuses on the most distinctive feature and greatest strength of homiletics as a discipline: It is rooted in interdisciplinary scholarship and it develops theory geared to practice. Its theory arises out of the study of both excellent preaching past and present and actual sermon preparation and composition. When theory and practice critique each other, it is possible to produce guidelines that assist greater excellence and economy in preaching the gospel. Excellence in standards is an area in which homiletics needs to grow, and this project will be both a means to encourage and develop it. A guiding question throughout will be, Will it preach? The answers will be offered in the sense that “here is something that works well,” rather than “here is something to try.”Preachers will turn to this resource with the expectation that they will find scholarly treatment of topics, brief bibliographies of relevant key books and articles, along with practical methodological suggestions for preachers to employ. The contributors are homileticians, preachers, and writers in various disciplines who are committed to the pulpit through practice.
Genesis to Revelation: A Comprehensive Verse-by-Verse Exploration of the Bible (Genesis to Revelation series)
by Prof. John C. HolbertThe Book of Psalms study begins with a look at the hymns of praise and ends with the Psalms of confidence. Some of the major ideas explored are: God is the Creator of all, what does the Lord require of me, the diversity of the Psalms, responses to crisis, and the use of Psalms in worship.More than 3.5 million copies of the series have been sold.This revision of the Abingdon classic Genesis to Revelation Series is a comprehensive, verse-by-verse, book-by-book study of the Bible based on the NIV. These studies help readers strengthen their understanding and appreciation of the Bible by enabling them to engage the Scripture on three levels: What does the Bible say? Questions to consider while reading the passage for each session. What does the passage mean? Unpacks key verses in the selected passage. How does the Scripture relate to my life? Provides three major ideas that have meaning for our lives today. The meaning of the selected passages are made clear by considering such aspects as ancient customs, locations of places, and the meanings of words.The meaning of the selected passages are made clear by considering such aspects as ancient customs, locations of places, and the meanings of words. The simple format makes the study easy to use. Includes maps and glossary with key pronunciation helps.Updates will include: New cover designs. New interior designs. Leader Guide per matching Participant Book (rather than multiple volumes in one book). Updated to 2011 revision of the New International Version Translation (NIV). Updated references to New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible. Include biblical chapters on the contents page beside session lesson titles for at-a-glance overview of biblical structure. Include larger divisions within the contents page to reflect macro-structure of each biblical book. Ex: Genesis 1-11; Genesis 12-50; Exodus 1-15; Exodus 16-40; Isaiah 1-39; Isaiah 40-66.The simple format makes the study easy to use. Each volume is 13 sessions and has a separate leader guide.
When You Pray Revised Edition: Daily Practices for Prayerful Living (When You Pray)
by Rueben P. JobPrayer is one of the most important areas of a Christian's life. Written in 2010 by spiritual formation leader, Bishop Rueben P. Job, When You Pray has reached over 20,000 readers since its publication.This daily prayer guide offers a full year of readings and scripture and is an excellent tool to use in daily prayer time. Each four-page weekly segment includes daily office of scripture, prayer, offering of self and blessing plus a brief essay from the author and collection of quotes from well-known voices in spiritual formation. The new edition will include the same weekly scripture suggestions and essays with refreshed quotes and additional material and prayers. In addition, readers will find helps in the back of the book offer ways to explore prayer as a group or as a family.
Solve It! The Only Speedsolving Guide for Blind Cubers
by Paul MartzYou're blind. You interact with a sighted world by touch. Everything you do requires memory, agility, and concentration. Despite new challenges each day, you persevere and succeed. You're a problem solver. <P><P> If that's you, then you already possess the skills to solve the tactile Rubik's Cube™. <P><P> Solve It! is written for you—the blind cuber, solving a tactile cube by touch. It contains no illustrations or diagrams. Whether you read it with screen reading software or a braille display, Solve It! explains every step with 100% accessible plain text. <P><P> If you're new to the cube, this book features a solution that is easy to learn and master. But Solve It! goes beyond basic information. It includes a speedcubing method that will dramatically reduce your solution time. After you read this book, you'll be ready to solve competitively—something most blind cubers never attempt.
Dark Brilliance
by Clennell AnthonyDark Brilliance is a book of short stories. Each story has its moment that shines, though there is a darkness that persists, light shines through the flame of somber sadness, tortured occurrences, and hope threads through that lifts the darkness and turns it to brilliance. The stories are grouped by the moment captured by the author. For example, "Endurance" focuses on the life of a home: the wars that were fought around it, the neglect it withstood, and how it waits for someone to come along and rebuild its grandeur. Dark Brilliance contains stories that exhibit moments of love, life, sensuality, power, hope, and fulfillment. Come join in the journey this book of short stories will take you on.
Adapt to Thrive: How Your Church Must Identify Itself As A Unique Species, Modify Its Dysfunctional Behaviors, And Multiply Its Transformational Influence In Your Community
by John Flowers Karen VannoyThrough stories from real churches and real people, Adapt to Thrive offers an engaging metaphor for the adaptive development of God's creation. This call to action reveals how your church must identify itself as a unique species, modify its dysfunctional behaviors, and multiply its transformational influence in the community.
Beginning With Christ: Timeless Wisdom for Complicated Times
by E. Stanley JonesWorld-changers do not appear out of a vacuum. They follow the path lit by those who walk before them. E. Stanley Jones was a man who spent his life lighting the path. A missionary evangelist to India, Jones became friends with Mahatma Gandhi. Upon the assassination of Gandhi, Jones penned biography on his life. It is this biography that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr credited with having inspired his non-violent resistance philosophy that would change the course of United States history, placing E. Stanley Jones as the link between these 20th century world-changers.E. Stanley Jones lived in and wrote for a complicated time. The 20th century saw not only the death, destruction, and horror of wars but also saw good resisting evil and the dignity of people standing together. In these complicated times of our own, these words still resonate with today. Perhaps these words can once again light the path for the world-changers of the 21st century.Abingdon Press is releasing a new compilation of E. Stanley Jones writings. Beginning with Christ: Timeless Wisdom for Complicated Times features selections from Jones's writings complied by his granddaughter Anne Mathews-Younes. With a foreword from Adam Hamilton, this book offers you the companionship of the man who shared the table of fellowship with Gandhi and inspired world-changers such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Billy Graham. This collection is timely because these reflections are timeless.Beginning with Christ offers you the opportunity to discover these writings for the first time or sit again at the feet of E. Stanley Jones.
Christianity's Family Tree Participant's Guide: What Other Christians Believe and Why
by Adam HamiltonThis book is excellent for individual reading or can be used as the small group study book for the Christianity's Family Tree DVD based study.Adam Hamilton is, in my opinion, a national treasure. He embodies the kind of generous orthodoxy so many of us have been dreaming of and praying for. This book provides something truly unique—a kind of orientation to Christianity in its wide array of forms that not only educates but inspires. It’s one of the few books I wish every single Christian would read and share with their friends. - Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of ChristianIn this wise and practical book, Adam Hamilton serves as a trusted guide to some of the rich diversity of Christian belief and practice. It is a rare feat to acknowledge differences and distinctiveness appreciatively, and Hamilton does it with exceptional grace and insight. - L. Gregory Jones, Dean and Professor of Theology, Duke Divinity SchoolI love this book. Adam Hamilton teaches us that we are far richer than we know, because the beauty and the fullness of the whole church is ours. Read, learn, and be happy. - John Ortberg, author of God Is Closer Than You ThinkIn this book, Adam Hamilton presents a welcoming, inspiring vision of eight Christian denominations and faith traditions. Comparing the Christian family to our own extended families, he contends that each denomination has a unique, valuable perspective to offer on the Christian faith. The traditions he examines are Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Lutheranism, Presbyterianism, Anglicanism, Baptists, Pentecostalism, and Methodism. For each group, Hamilton gives a brief history, outlines major beliefs, and describes some things we can learn from that tradition to strengthen our own Christian faith. Also available is the planning kit for this video-based small-group study Christianity’s Family Tree: What Other Christians Believe and Why.Adam Hamilton is pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, one of the fastest growing, most highly visible churches in the country. Named by PBS’s Religion and Ethics Newsweekly as one of the top "Ten People to Watch," Hamilton is the author of numerous video based small group studies and books from Abingdon Press.
The Call: The Life and Message of the Apostle Paul (The Call)
by Adam HamiltonWith Adam Hamilton, we have traced the life of Jesus from his birth The Journey, through his ministry The Way, to his death and resurrection 24 Hours That Changed the World. What happened next? Follow the journeys of Paul, beginning with his dramatic conversion, as he spread the Gospel through modern-day Greece and Turkey. Travel to the early church sites and explore Paul’s conversations with the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians. In this six-week study, you are invited to experience faith through Christ’s greatest teacher and missionary.?Endorsements"Adam Hamilton has proven to be a faithful guide to applying the Bible to modern life in a sane and balanced way, and I trust him as an interpreter of the Apostle Paul for today."-Philip Yancey, author of Vanishing Grace and The Jesus I Never Knew"Pastor and teacher Adam Hamilton succeeds brilliantly in introducing the life and ministry of Paul. Adam’s interweaving of personal testimony and ministry insights provide important lessons for Christian disciples today—something Paul himself would have readily welcomed."- Dr. Mark Wilson, Asia Minor Research Center, Antalya, Turkey"Adam Hamilton demonstrates theologically and spiritually how indispensable the apostle Paul is to both the early Christian and 21st century church. This book is a wonderful gift for the church, and I recommend it with utmost Christian enthusiasm."- Dr. Israel Kamudzandu, Associate Professor of New Testament and Biblical Interpretation, Saint Paul School of Theology"I regularly lead groups of seminary students, alums, clergy, and laity on immersion trips to Greece and Turkey. This book will certainly be on my reading list."- Jaime Clark-Soles, Associate Professor of New Testament, Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor, Perkins School of Theology
The Misfit Mission: How to Change the World with Surprises, Interruptions, and All the Wrong People
by Scott ChrostekMany church leaders and other people of faith feel constrained bytime-worn strategies, tactics, and attitudes. Unwritten rules of how todo church seem to force us into neat and tidy patterns. But new ideasand methods are bubbling up in all corners of the Church, and newleaders are taking risks, creating opportunities, and rewriting theircommunities’ definition of church. One such leader is author ScottChrostek. In The Misfit Mission, Chrostek describes what itlooks like for us to do the right thing in ministry, even when logic or‘rules’ say it’s the wrong thing. He shows how we really can do morethan we might ask or imagine, when we remember God’s call and thepromises of scripture—when we live each day with the expectation of holysurprise. Chrostek shares inspiring stories from all sorts ofpeople, and often funny, poignant tales from his ministry as churchplanter and campus pastor of The Church of the Resurrection Downtown, inurban Kansas City. He illustrates how people can uncover their innatepassion for knowing and serving Christ, and how a church can become anintegral part of the community. The misfit mission is God’s owncreative, surprising, crazy-beautiful way, and this book proves how wecan be a part of it!
Get Their Name: Grow Your Church by Building New Relationships (Get Their Name)
by Bob Farr Kay KotanThe Coordinator’s Guide is twofold, helping the pastor (or otherleader) to implement worship/sermons, and a congregational studyexperience. It contains worship helps for each week of the series,including sermon plans and instructions for using the videoillustrations. It also includes instructions for implementing theall-congregation study, along with tips for next steps—ways to follow upafter the month-long experience has ended. Church leaders and members should all read the original Get Their Name book during the month of this church-wide experience.
Overflow: Increase Worship Attendance & Bear More Fruit
by Tom Berlin Lovett H. Weems JR.At the heart of why any church exists is to glorify God and to share God as revealed in Jesus Christ; thus worship is at the center of the congregation’s life. The church, of course, is more than worship, but without vital worship attendance, it is unlikely that members are growing and new disciples are being brought to faith. Worship attendance is also the one factor where improvement tends to help every other aspect of the church’s ministry.There is another reason for focusing on worship attendance. After relatively strong attendance in the 1990s and a rise in attendance for five Sundays after the tragedy of Sept 11, 2001, attendance has been more likely to decrease instead of increase for most U.S. churches since 2002.Churches that grow connect people with God, and compelling and inspiring worship is a primary means of connection.
Incarnation: Rediscovering the Significance of Christmas (Incarnation)
by Adam HamiltonBe Transformed this Advent Season!His parents gave him the name Jesus. But the prophets, the shepherds, the wise men, and the angels addressed him by other names. They called him Lord, Messiah, Savior, Emmanuel, Light of the World, and Word Made Flesh.In Incarnation: Rediscovering the Significance of Christmas, best-selling author Adam Hamilton examines the names of Christ used by the gospel writers, exploring the historical and personal significance of his birth.This Advent season church families will come together to remember what’s important. In the face of uncertainty and conflict, Christians reclaim the Christ Child who brings us together, heals our hearts, and calls us to bring light into the darkness.Now more than ever, we invite you to reflect upon the significance of the Christ-child for our lives and world today!Incarnation is a standalone book, but works beautifully as a four-week Bible study experience perfect for all age groups during the Advent season. Additional components include a comprehensive Leader Guide, a DVD with short teaching videos featuring Adam Hamilton, as well as resources for children and youth.
Coming Together Around What Matters Most: A Six-Week Devotional Journey (What Are We Fighting For?)
by Thomas J. BickertonWith all the issues facing The United Methodist Church today, there are plenty of theories and opinions about what we should do. Frankly, many of us are weary of the relentless bickering associated with all the rhetoric. What are we fighting for? This question not only points us to the futility of our disunity but also compels us to consider what we are fighting for—what deserves our greatest intensity and effort as we seek to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ.Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton offers a way to move beyond all the discord to a hope-filled future by exploring how we can come together around what matters most so that the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes a vibrant part of our lives and witness. He says that fights, feuds, and uncertainties can distract us, leaving us ineffective and mired in mediocrity and decline; but focusing on what matters most causes our ministries to flourish and the church to become a relevant and vital presence in the community and world. With a warm and practical approach, he leads us on a journey of discernment, inviting us to explore: the spiritual problem at the heart of the issues we’re facing, three foundational reminders guidelines for determining the essentials necessary to make disciples, a motto for working together in the midst of disagreement, and thoughts about the ultimate essential, love.This companion volume to What Are We Fighting For? functions beautifully on its own or as part of a group study. It offers six weeks of devotions on what matters most as we seek to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ. Includes Scriptures, reflections, personal stories and insights, daily challenges, and prayers.
Christian Believer Leader Guide: Knowing God with Heart and Mind (Disciple Ser.)
by VariousThe leader guide provides two kinds of information: (1) suggestions for weekly group sessions; (2) information to enhance leadership skills, to support group building and maintenance, and to make effective use of the CHRISTIAN BELIEVER components.A one-page session plan for each of the thirty weeks follows a set procedure with an amount of time indicated for each step. Each session plan provides guidance for group activities that make use of the daily preparation members have made, and questions for discussion. Group activities are designed to focus on content and help persons connect Scripture, doctrine, believing, and living.The leader guide assumes that: The leader makes the same preparation for the weekly group session as the other members of the group. Study and discussion in the weekly session is done mainly in small groups. The leader both guides the process and participates with other group members in the small-group study and discussion. The leader is not an information-giver or lecturer. The leader and the group members have access to the same content for study and discussion—the assigned Scripture, selections from the book of Readings, the study manual, and the video presentations. A study of CHRISTIAN BELIEVER can renew lives and congregations.
Cryptomnesia: How a Forgotten Memory Could Save the Church
by Christine A. ChakoianHow can we Christians move forward, when our very existence seems imperiled? We already know the way, for we've been through this before. But we have forgotten; we have cryptomnesia. Cryptomnesia is the reappearance of a suppressed or forgotten memory which is mistaken for a new experience. (Collins English Dictionary). The world is changing, and it is changing fast. Social media friendships, global commerce, online education, populist uprisings, e-books, and smartphones are just a sample of the Internet’s growing impact on our lives. Americans are rapidly becoming more mobile, worldly, and secular—all while it feels like the church we know is being left behind. Growing numbers of "spiritual but not religious" show disinterest in church, and mainline churches fear imminent demise. How do we find a way forward? Ironically, by looking backward. We are not the first to experience globalization. In fact, the early church emerged in an age of globalization—the product of the Greco-Roman Empire and its mammoth road-building efforts on three continents. People were connected in ways they had never experienced: Roman citizens were bombarded with new cultures, new commerce, new foods, new ideas, new philosophies, new religions. It was an era of massive dislocation, and at the same time, exactly the right environment for Christianity to emerge and thrive."What makes this book so worth reading and discussing is the way our current religious reality in post-Christendom America is a repeat of what the earliest Christians experienced in the Roman Empire. Relearning our past not only gives us courage; it gives us tools for confronting the present and living into a new future. …We have a hidden memory we desperately need to rediscover. I believe the Holy Spirit is at work in our recovery from biblical, theological and historical amnesia." –Bishop Mike Lowry, Fort Worth Episcopal Area, The United Methodist Church
The Wesley Challenge Youth Study Book: 21 Days to a More Authentic Faith (The Wesley Challenge)
by Chris FolmsbeeHow can we introduce younger lay people to the practical and accessible Wesley? In The Wesley Challenge small groups or whole churches will spend three weeks working through 21 questions that will engage their physical, spiritual and emotional lives and their relationship with God and others.With fast-paced emphasis on graphics and short content bits, the challenge will inspire us to a new kind of commitment—one that is more authentic, vulnerable and soul shaping resulting in thousands of people who have a renewed passion to discover deeper levels of commitment to God and others.This Youth Study Book takes the ideas presented in the 21 Day Challenge and interprets them for young people grades 6-12. Can be used with the adult-level DVD.
The Christmas Pageant
by Christy Colby HenoAnyone who has ever been in a Christmas pageant or in charge of one will want to add this delightful book to their collection. Readers will laugh out loud as they read the entertaining story of a Christmas pageant turned to chaos by the four simple words, “I might throw up.” In a heartwarming twist, Mary and Joseph remind us all of what is truly important, making this a holiday favorite for all ages.
The Letters of Dr. Thomas Coke
by John A. VickersFor forty years on either side of the death of John Wesley in 1791, Thomas Coke was a key figure in the development of Methodism on both sides of the Atlantic. His surviving correspondence is the most personal evidence he has left us of a man who “wore his heart on his sleeve.” Coke's letters also give us contemporary insight into some of the events which began the transformation of an evangelical movement into a worldwide communion of Churches. This critical edition gives a comparison to earlier editions, as well as references to names and locations for historical study.