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Ready to Live, Prepared to Die: A Provocative Guide to the Rest of Your Life
by Amy HarwellA Provocative Guide to the Rest of Your Life
Ready to Protect (Rocky Mountain K-9 Unit #2)
by Valerie HansenFrom USA TODAY bestselling author Valerie Hansen A K-9 must safeguard a witness and her baby at all costs After witnessing a congresswoman&’s murder, wildlife photographer and mother-to-be Jamie London is forced into the protective custody of K-9 cop Ben Sawyer and police dog Shadow. Ben&’s Wyoming cattle ranch is the perfect place to hide and wait for the trial to start—until they&’re tracked down by the assassin. Are Ben and Shadow enough to guarantee Jamie will make it to the hearing alive?From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.Rocky Mountain K-9 Unit
Ready to Return
by Ken Ham Britt Beemer Jeff KinleyHaving grown up in church, an alarming percentage of people have now traded in the timeless beliefs of Scripture for a more comfortable, postmodern faith or secular worldview. They have waded so deep into the culture that the current has swept them away with the pluralism of biblical compromise and secular indoctrination. Ready to Return explores: Why this is happening, and more importantly, what can be done about it to help bring back a godly generation New persuasive research that clearly reveals shocking details about views on the Church and faith by people in their 20s, known as millennials Conclusive evidence we cannot ignore, showing a lack of effective biblical apologetics in homes and churches, compromise with secular beliefs, secular education, and failures on the part of previous generations, contributes greatly to this dilemma. Within these pages is more than just a clinical diagnosis of the Church's current condition and how we got here. It's a simple and powerful call to return to the Church's fundamental mission to reach the world! If we are to bring back this lost generation, we need a proven strategy and willingness to present truth, a biblical battle plan, and spiritual soldiers.
Ready to Rise: Own Your Voice, Gather Your Community, Step into Your Influence
by Jo SaxtonA powerful call to step into your full potential that biblically affirms the need for women to rise up and work together to make a better world. "Jo is one of my most trusted voices in Christian leadership. . . . She leads auditoriums full of people, and she leads me one-on-one."—Jen Hatmaker Have you ever questioned the roles you find yourself in, wondering if you were made for more but unsure of the rocky path before you? Have you had a clear vision for your life, but along the way, insecurity and fear weighted your dreams and silenced the voice within you? You&’re not alone. Many amazing women like you have experienced the same struggles. Whether you&’re moving into leadership, discovering your calling, fighting for change, or doing all three, leadership coach and speaker Jo Saxton affirms that God designed women for influence and impact. But are you living up to your full potential? Ready to Rise tackles the real-life issues—from harassment and sexism to self-doubt and loneliness—that can discourage and derail women from leading in the areas God has called them to. With insights from her own journey and powerful biblical examples, Jo offers practical advice to empower and equip women to transform their communities. If you&’ve ever longed to uncover your true potential, own your voice, and boldly advance God&’s goodness in the world, now is the time to start. Get ready to rise!
Ready to Trust (Hearts of Oklahoma #2)
by Tina RadcliffeProving he’s a changed man could be his biggest challenge yet. Rancher Reece Rainbolt’s shocked to learn he’s inherited half of Claire Ballard’s family farm—and that he’s a father. Now Claire’s determined to break ties with the man who once left her behind. But Reece will buy her half only on one condition: she must stay in town to help with the harvest…and let him get to know his little girl.
Ready to Wed (Tales from Grace Chapel Inn #39)
by Melody CarlsonIt's a cold May in Acorn Hill. Jane is putting pansies in the front garden for a splash of spring cheer when a big pink Cadillac parks in front of the inn. Out jumps Belle from Georgia looking for a room. Within minutes, she divulges the reason for her trip. "God gave me a dream that I would meet the man I am meant to marry right here in Acorn Hill. We will be married the first weekend of June. " Jane and her sisters teeter between disbelief and awe as Belle sets off to meet all the eligible bachelors in beautiful Cascade Mountains. Will it be Pastor Kenneth? Wilhelm, owner of Time for Tea? Don and Ron, the twins staying at the Inn? Then Jane gets a letter from Justin, her ex-husband, asking if he can visit. What could he want after all this time? As Jane faces the mistakes of her past, the whole town helps Belle prepare for her wedding . . . but to whom?
Ready, Set, Change!
by Darold A. ReinerStudy and leader's notes on a Biblical study of change in one's life and family
Ready, Set, Find Bible Stories: 22 Look and Find Stories (Ready, Set, Find)
by ZondervanGet ready to read through 22 of the most famous Bible stories in the Ready, Set, Find Storybook Bible, the next book in the beloved Ready, Set, Find brand. Children will be immersed and engaged in each story as they look for more than 190 different objects to be found in this exciting book. Featuring classic stories including the Creation Story, Noah and the Ark, the birth of Jesus, and more, this lively and colorfully illustrated Bible is sure to be a favorite for young readers to ready, set, find!
Ready, Set, Find David and Goliath (Ready, Set, Find)
by ZondervanDavid is only a young boy, but he is about to fight a giant! Even though Goliath the giant is big, strong, and scary, David isn&’t afraid. He knows God is on his side. And guess what? You can help David too! See if you can spot the 48 hidden items in this book—like a slingshot and stones—so David can defeat Goliath.Ready, Set, Find as you read the story of David and Goliath in this interactive book for young readers.
Ready, Set, Find Noah's Ark (Ready, Set, Find)
by ZondervanA faithful retelling and exploration of the story of Noah and the Ark for young children, Ready, Set Find Noah&’s Ark follows Noah as he does an important job for God. Noah has an important job. He needs to build a huge ark and fill it with animals too. Now there are things and animals along the way he needs your help to find, like the hammer, the hen, and the hedgehog. Are you ready to help Noah? If so, on your mark, Ready, Set, Find! Read the classic story of Noah&’s Ark in this engaging look-and-find book for young children.Ready, Set Find Noah&’s Ark:Perfect for families to share in the storytelling processIncludes Scripture references for further readingChildren will love the interactive component of finding the hidden objects
Ready, Set, Lead! - eBook [ePub]: The New Pastor's Guide to Starting Ministry
by Lynda C. Ward Steven P. BreyChurch LeadershipPacked with practical tips, reproducible pages, checklists, and suggested resources, this ready-to-use resource will help first-time pastors or those new to an established church get started the first day and the first Sunday. This book leads the new pastor through creative ideas and concrete suggestions for getting started in church ministry by providing worksheets for planning and organizing worship, weddings, and funerals; questions to ask during pastoral visits to help both the pastor and parishioner feel at ease; suggestions for managing conflict; and ways to create opportunities for fellowship, study, outreach, and mission in the church--and much more."Ward and Brey address the questions a new pastor may not even have thought to ask: 'How do I plan a wedding?' 'How hard can I push for change?' or simply, 'Should I phone first or just stop by to talk?' Their guidance is simple and useful, allowing for a diversity of ministerial styles. The book will be a gift to anyone anxious about starting a pastorate."The Reverend Glenn Schwerdtfeger, Pastor, Maynard Avenue United Methodist Church, Columbus, Ohio"I wish I’d had this resource when I began pastoral ministry over twenty-five years ago. It would have shortened the learning curve considerably. This book cuts across denominational lines as well as different faith perspectives. Like a good constitution it provides a strong framework; in this case, a framework for caring and enduring ministries in the name of Jesus Christ." Frank Ramirez, Pastor of the Everett (PA) Church of the Brethren, Everett, Pennsylvania "Emphasizing self-awareness and purposeful action, Ward and Brey have compiled a helpful set of advice, direction, checklists, and resources. Refreshingly practical, this beginners' book offers detailed insight to successfully working in partnership with a congregation."Mary L Hubbard, Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Portage, Indiana"Ready, Set, Lead is packed with practical advice on how to get a good start in ministry with a congregation. It raises the right questions for a new pastor to consider. I commend this book as a primer for ministers of every denomination."Richard L. Hamm, Church Consultant/Coach and former General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Steven P. Brey is pastor of Spring Lake United Methodist Church in Spring Lake, North Carolina.Lynda C. Ward is a freelance writer, and holds an M.Div. from Duke Divinity School and a certification in Spiritual Direction from Neumann College.
Ready-Made Family (Wings of Refuge #3)
by Cheryl WyattAmelia North needs refuge, and finds it-in Refuge, Illinois. Stranded there after a car wreck, the single mother expects to be cold-shouldered. After all, she's already been rejected by her parents, her church and her daughter's father. Instead, she finds a town full of people with open hands and open hearts...including pararescue jumper Ben Dillinger. Ben wants to help Amelia and her daughter find safety and stability. Instead, he finds himself free-falling-right into love with the ready-made family.
Ready-to-Go Devotions for Mission and Service
by Mark RayReady-to-Go Devotions for Mission and Service is a toolkit of daily devotionals for youth mission trips. The devotions in this book address every aspect of the mission experience, from leaving home and sleeping on the floor to dealing with language barriers and grumpy teammates. Each devotion includes a relevant Bible story, a commentary that connects that story to the mission experience, and a section that challenges the reader to take specific actions on the trip, back home, or both. The book includes devotions in preparation for, during, and after the mission trip or service project. The ready-to-go format allows the youth worker to quickly assemble a customized devotional journal for participants, matching each day’s selection to what’s likely to happen that day. The devotions could also be used in a group setting, which would allow the youth worker to pick devotions based on what has happened during the trip or event. Either way, the devotions point to the larger biblical and personal significance of mission trip or service project happenings . What if you held a mission trip and nobody changed? It’s a haunting, daunting question, one that youth workers and researchers across America are beginning to ask. Short-term mission trips (STM) have exploded in popularity since the mid-1990s, thanks in part to the Internet, which makes connecting with mission agencies and mission recipients easier than ever. Sociologist Kurt Ver Beek estimates that the number of North American short-term missionaries grew from 125,000 in 1989 to as many as four million in 2003. Many of those short-termers are teenagers. According to Christianity Today, more than two million American teens enter the mission field every year. Pollster George Barna reports that 15 percent of U.S. Christian teens have done a short-term mission trip, while the National Study of Youth and Religion found that 29 percent of all teens had participated in a short-term mission trip or religious service project. Unfortunately, the impact of short-term mission trips may be short-term as well, both for those who go on mission trips and for those who receive mission teams. Ver Beek recently surveyed North Americans who worked in Honduras after a 1998 hurricane, as well as those who were served by them. He found that the North American work teams had "little or no lasting impact" on the communities they served and that missionaries reported only "a small, positive, lasting change" in their own lives. The situation isn’t hopeless, however, according to Robert Priest, associate professor ofmission and intercultural studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. "In research with Ph.D. students at Trinity," he wrote in Christianity Today, "I’ve been impressed that while STM may not always or automatically produce desired results, the right sorts of STM, carried out in the right sorts of ways, and accompanied by the right sorts of reflections, have potential for good." Unfortunately, youth workers don’t always build "the right sorts of reflections" into their mission trips. At best, they allot time in the daily schedule for reflection or debriefing. At worst, they just hope and pray that their students will somehow be transformed by the mission experience. The existing literature isn’t much help. Books on mission-trip planning offer plenty of advice on selecting a mission agency, raising money, coordinating transportation, handling emergencies, entering closed countries, and re-entering the "normal" world, but they offer precious little advice on using the mission experience to impact the participants’ lives. The handful of available mission-focused devotional guides offer some assistance, but they typically take a one-size-fits-all approach. Usually presented as mission journals, these guides assume trips will be a certain length or include certain elements, such as dealing with non-English speakers. Ready-to-Go Devotions for Mission and Service fills the void, offering targeted, topical devotionals that can help
Ready-to-Go Fundraisers
by Todd OutcaltReady-MadeFundraising Packages . . . Just Add Youth Group FULLY LOADED All Youth Fundraising Activity Options, Extras, and Side Items IncludedThese ready-made fundraising packages are completely accessorized with everything you need to easily prepare and smoothly execute youth ministry fundraising activities that utilize youth participation. You can spend less time on planning activity details, and more time directly involving your teens.These plans cover every detail for you. Think of the convenience. Think of all the up-front prep time you can save.The unique benefit of the Ready-to-Go series is that these activity materials go beyond merely offering ideas. Ready-to-Go resources, instead, provide fully developed activity and event plans. These allow the youth leader to host youth activities of substance and quality, with a minimal up-front time investment. It's like offering a baked cake, instead of a cake recipe and ingredients. Or offering a fully-assembled ready-to-use playground set, instead of loose components in a box, with assembly instructions. Ready-to-Go Fundraisers provides youth ministers with a variety of fun and effective fundraising ideas, including - . . . old standards and digital-age alternatives. . . from embarrassingly simple to exhaustingly complex. . . projects that foster fellowship and community to projects that have a global impactThis resource includes a chapter on grant-writing, by longtime Abingdon writer Todd Outcalt, and a CD-ROM loaded with spreadsheets, fliers, forms, and other useful resources.Just add youth.
Ready-to-Go Retreats & Lock-Ins
by Beth MillerReady-Made Event Packages ...Just Add Youth Group FULLY LOADED All Youth Event Options, Extras, and Side items IncludedThese ready-made event packages are completely accessorized with everything you need to easilyprepare and smoothly execute fun and instructive retreats & lock-ins. You can spend less time on planning event details, and more time directly engaging your teens.These plans cover every detail, even laying out hour-by-hour schedules for you. Think of the convenience. Think of all the up-front prep time you can save. The unique benefit of the Ready-To-Go series is that these activity materials go beyond merely offering ideas. Ready to Go resources instead provide fully developed activity & event plans. These allow the youth leader to host youth events of substance & quality, with a minimal up-front time investment. It's like offering a baked cake instead of a cake recipe & ingredients. Or, offering a fully-assembled ready-to-use playground set...instead of loose components in a box with assembly instructions.Ready-to-Go Retreats & Lock-Ins provides 16 complete guides for retreats and lock-ins.The first section focuses on planning retreats and lock-ins, including -- Creating a schedule Finding a facility Safety guidelines Transportation Food Registration and Publicity Recruiting counselors Insurance issues Get acquainted games The second section covers strategies for successfully executing retreats and lock-ins, including -- Behavior covenants, expectations and guidelines Creating rituals Assembling resources How to combine junior and senior highs on a retreat Resources for games and music Room and van assignments Each Retreat includes two individual morning meditations, detailed program notes for small groups with three to four sessions per retreat, ideas for a worship service and evening devotional, and fun, group-building activities. Provided meditations, counselor notes, handouts, and worship flyers are photocopiable.Each Lock-In is theme-based and has games, small group time, worship ideas, and sleep time.Includes reproducible handouts, preparation lists, and bonus material on CD-ROM.Ready-To-Go resources are equipped with event themes that target contemporary issues teens face in the real world. These relevant messages are delivered with impact, through coordinated devotional plans, discussion frameworks, and captivating activities. All the event accessories you need, down to publicity fliers and parental forms are included. Just add youth.
Ready-to-Go School's Out: Youth Ministry Ideas for School Breaks and Summer Vacation
by Todd OutcaltOne of the biggest challenges in youth ministry is finding effective ways to minister to teenagers during school breaks and summer vacations—those times when the usual routines of education and structure aren’t there. Families are vacationing. Youth groups get smaller. And very often youth ministry takes a noticeable dip in attendance and excitement.Ready-to-Go School’s Out!: Youth Ministry Ideas for School Breaks and Summer Vacation by Todd Outcalt is a book that can help. Here youth workers can find support and practical ideas that can help them minister to teens during the “down times” such as:· Fall & Spring Breaks· Summer Vacation· Christmas Break· Special Days such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, and Thanksgiving· New Years EveReady-to-Go School’s Out! will be a welcome addition to the youth leader’s arsenal of resources. It includes learning activities, outings, games, worship services, and suggestions for the busy youth worker—in addition to renewal activities for tired youth leaders—all collected in one resource.
Ready-to-Go Service Projects
by Susan Ragsdale Ann SaylorThis ready-to-go tool will help youth groups find meaningful ways to connect and make a difference in their communities through service-learning. Practical and interactive activities will help youth consider the connection between faith and service, discover the ways they are uniquely designed to serve, and explore service project ideas. It also profiles activities and conversation starters to help you tap into the power of service-learning for building character, challenging perceptions, and shaping leaders. It's easy for a youth leader to scan and it's flexible enough to use with diverse groups from middle school to college. Part One: The Basics What you need to know about service-learning - the definition, the benefits, the process, and how to make the move from volunteer service to service-learning. Part Two: Readying Your Hands 17 easy-to-use activity plans to help youth realize the value of service, discover what scripture says about serving others, identify what gifts each person brings to the group, and begin to explore the community. Part Three: Hands in Action 17 topical issues that include sample service project ideas, reflection questions, prayers, scriptures, stories about youth in service, and resources for further study. Find our more about the book, the authors, and training opportunities at www.theassetedge.net.
Ready-to-Go Youth Group Activities: 101 Games, Puzzles, Quizzes, and Ideas for Busy Leaders
by Todd OutcaltReady-Made Event Packages...Just Add Youth GroupFULLY LOADEDAll Options, Extras & Side Items IncludedThese ready-made event packages are completely accessorized with everything you need to easilyprepare and smoothly execute fun and instructive youth activities. You can spend less time on planning event details, and more time directly engaging your teens.These plans cover every detail, even laying out hour-by-hour schedules for you.Think of the convenience. Think of all the up-front prep time you can save. The unique benefit of the Ready-To-Go series is that these activity materials go beyond merely offering ideas. Ready to Go resources instead provide fully developed activity & event plans. These allow the youth leader to host youth events of substance & quality, with a minimal up-front time investment. It’s like offering a baked cake instead of a cake recipe & ingredients. Or, offering a fully-assembled ready-to-use playground set…instead of loose components in a box with assembly instructions. This book features 101 ready-to-go lessons that Youth Leaders can use in a Sunday School setting, in youth meetings, or retreats. It also contains meeting ideas and lessons that can be utilized quickly and effectively when the need arises. Ready-to-Go Youth Group Activities includes --Meeting startersShort Bible studiesTest worksheetsFliersParable studies with skitsGamesSmall events with little or no prep timeMeeting closersA scripture index. All materials are reproducible.Ready-To-Go resources are equipped with event themes that target contemporary issues teens face in the real world. These relevant messages are delivered with impact, through coordinated devotional plans, discussion frameworks, and captivating activities. All the event accessories you need, down to publicity fliers and parental forms are included. Just add youth.
Reagan's Gun-Toting Nuns: The Catholic Conflict over Cold War Human Rights Policy in Central America
by Theresa KeeleyIn Reagan's Gun-Toting Nuns, Theresa Keeley analyzes the role of intra-Catholic conflict within the framework of U.S. foreign policy formulation and execution during the Reagan administration. She challenges the preponderance of scholarship on the administration that stresses the influence of evangelical Protestants on foreign policy toward Latin America. Especially in the case of U.S. engagement in El Salvador and Nicaragua, Keeley argues, the bitter debate between U.S. and Central American Catholics over the direction of the Catholic Church shaped President Reagan's foreign policy. The flash point for these intra-Catholic disputes was the December 1980 political murder of four American Catholic missionaries in El Salvador. Liberal Catholics described nuns and priests in Central America who worked to combat structural inequality as human rights advocates living out the Gospel's spirit. Conservative Catholics saw them as agents of class conflict who furthered the so-called Gospel according to Karl Marx. The debate was an old one among Catholics, but, as Reagan's Gun-Toting Nuns contends, it intensified as conservative, anticommunist Catholics played instrumental roles in crafting U.S. policy to fund the Salvadoran government and the Nicaraguan Contras.Reagan's Gun-Toting Nuns describes the religious actors as human rights advocates and, against prevailing understandings of the fundamentally secular activism related to human rights, highlights religion-inspired activism during the Cold War. In charting the rightward development of American Catholicism, Keeley provides a new chapter in the history of U.S. diplomacy and shows how domestic issues such as contraception and abortion joined with foreign policy matters to shift Catholic laity toward Republican principles at home and abroad.
Reagan’s Mythical America
by Jan HanskaAmerican Storyverse introduces narratology as a relevant approach to the study of any US President, but especially Ronald Reagan. While initially much of the research conducted into the Reagan presidency was highly critical, many of the books written lately have been more like hagiographies. Reagan has been subjected to almost a worshipful attitude in the past two decades (see e. g. D'Souza 1997, Kengor 2006, Wallison 2003), and only recently more level-headed and objective studies have begun to emerge (see e. g. Wilentz 2008). There is a need to keep researching Reagan, but by taking new stances and original approaches. Hanska introduces a new interpretation of Reagan's success that goes beyond explaining his rhetoric. He takes a more comprehensive view by arguing that Reagan's political leadership focused on the use of stories as factual tools of policymaking. Reagan was a man fond of stories and his tendency to illustrate even the most confounding political challenges in short anecdotes and parables are an example of his ability as a storyteller. But that was not the whole scope of his narrative-based policies. The main argument is that with the aid of multiple stories about America, the American Way of Life and especially the American Dream Reagan narrated into existence a mythical America, which could be characterized as America where all its highest aspirations and ideals were manifested. This was not the world Americans lived in, but with aid of the ability of stories to create alternative realities or storyworlds (Herman 2004) of their own Reagan managed to alter the perception of people about the country they lived in. Instead of the mere storyworld that is built in the narrates interaction with the story Hanska introduce a concept of 'storyverse' to illustrate how such a complex and multifaceted storytelling as Reagan's was able to knit storylines into a 'storyweb' where common-sensical, ideological, cultural, political, mythical and even religious beliefs worked as snares to draw the audience into accepting one storyline and by following it deeper into the narrative superstructure were enticed to accept more and more beliefs without even consciously noticing their influence. Reagan's mythical America was not the United States of America that exists with clear boundaries on the map, but rather an imagined community that people were happy to inhabit. It was a place of everyday heroism and good deeds, love within families and communities, a land where indeed there always was a 'new morning for America. ' The skillful storytelling created an entire storyverse of belief of what it meant to be an American and a part of this mythical community and by maneuvering people in and out of different storyworlds within the entire metanarrative Reagan was able to immerse the citizenry in his storyverse and exclude politically disadvantageous factors almost completely. Of course, just as in every story, the audience needs to accept it as worth listening to, and this requires belief. This explains why Reagan was simultaneously loved and hated by the citizens. There was no middle ground. If one chose not to accept Reagan's political vision of America as fundamentally 'true, ' they were strongly opposed to all Reagan stood for.
Real Chances: An Alaskan Dream Come True
by Katrina WilterdingA once in a lifetime chance. Sometimes we are given a shot, a chance to change the entire course of our lives. The strong take those chances and run with them, the fearful let them pass, afraid to face change. Chance or opportunity. However you decide to view it, these once in a lifetime events don't happen everyday. When one comes knocking will you take it? Real Chances displays the effect that opportunity has on not only the person taking that chance, but others in their life as well. We may not always be aware of the far reaching effects of our choices. Is not knowing a good reason to stay where we are? To decide to just not decide? Life is in a constant state of change, without which we become boring, unable to grow. Let Real Chances show you how change works in your life to create something beautiful.
Real Characters
by J. Vernon McgeeJ Vernon McGee discusses some outstanding characters of the Bible.
Real Christian: Bearing the Marks of Authentic Faith
by Todd A. WilsonThe evangelical church is home to many who claim to follow Christ but who show little evidence of a truly transformed life. Todd Wilson's Real Christian: Bearing the Marks of Authentic Faith biblically defines what it means to be a true Christian, calling readers to look at their own lives and diagnose where they aren't living authentically for God. With a prophetic voice, Wilson looks at how we deceive ourselves into thinking we are really living for God through believing the right things or doing lots of spiritual activities. In contrast, real Christians are marked by five key qualities: broken-hearted joy, a humble disposition, a readiness to acknowledge sin, an ability to live balanced and avoid legalism, and a deep spiritual hunger that drives growth. All of these qualities culminate in the single defining mark of a real Christian-love. To help in distinguishing genuine faith from counterfeit spirituality, Wilson draws upon the gospels, the writings of Paul, and the insights of theologian Jonathan Edwards to help readers understand the necessary marks of an authentic, transformed life, marks that show evidence of a new heart and bear spiritual fruit through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Real Christian: Bearing the Marks of Authentic Faith
by Todd WilsonThe evangelical church is home to many who claim to follow Christ but who show little evidence of a truly transformed life. Todd Wilson's Real Christian: Bearing the Marks of Authentic Faith biblically defines what it means to be a true Christian, calling readers to look at their own lives and diagnose where they aren’t living authentically for God. With a prophetic voice, Wilson looks at how we deceive ourselves into thinking we are really living for God through believing the right things or doing lots of spiritual activities. In contrast, real Christians are marked by five key qualities: broken-hearted joy, a humble disposition, a readiness to acknowledge sin, an ability to live balanced and avoid legalism, and a deep spiritual hunger that drives growth. All of these qualities culminate in the single defining mark of a real Christian—love. To help in distinguishing genuine faith from counterfeit spirituality, Wilson draws upon the gospels, the writings of Paul, and the insights of theologian Jonathan Edwards to help readers understand the necessary marks of an authentic, transformed life, marks that show evidence of a new heart and bear spiritual fruit through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Real Church in a Social Network World: From Facebook to Face-to-Face Faith
by Leonard SweetWe need more than status updates--we need relationships. Learning about God's Heart from the TGIF (Twitter, Google, iPhone, Facebook) Generation The explosion in social networking is perhaps the most visible expression of the human longing to know others and to be known. Is there a parallel in contemporary Christianity? The church posts a welcome sign outside, but has Christianity lost sight of reaching the current generation with the heart of the gospel? Drawing from years of Leonard Sweet's paradigm-shifting analyses, Real Church in a Social-Network World delivers ahead-of-the-curve observations and insights into the intersection of the gospel and richer relationships in an ever-changing culture of TGIFers (those who connect using Twitter, Google, the iPhone, and Facebook). · Find out how to recover the gospel's unique emphasis on real relationship · Experience the promise and reward of relationship and reconciliation in everyday life · Learn how the driving desire for connection, understanding, and belonging give evidence of the deepest longings of the human soul This provocative eBook offers practical guidance to leaders and followers, believers and seekers, and anyone who is ready to explore the human longing for relationship.