- Table View
- List View
This Beautiful Mess
by Rick MckinleyAlready Not Yet When Jesus announced, "the kingdom of God is at hand," what did He mean? Uncover the reality of the kingdom of God and what it might look like if followers of Christ practiced its in-breaking presence. What happens when we view life through the lens of the kingdom? How does the beauty of Jesus' reign break into the mess of our broken lives and world? What if we lived as though a world other than this one was here today?This Beautiful Messlaunches a paradigm-shifting journey inviting us to experience the kingdom of God in the ordinary miracle of our everyday lives. "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, hehellip; sold all he had and bought that field. " -Matthew 13:44 Jesus' sayings about the kingdom of God just might be the most overlooked of his teachings. Yet the Good News of the kingdom-a treasure beyond price-was what he came to preach. It's time to ask: What is the kingdom Jesus talked about? Could it be already here, hidden from sight? If so, where is it? How can I be a part of it? A new generation is tuning in to the teachings of Jesus and to their revolutionary implications. Could it be that living under Christ's reign is not merely a future vision but a present reality? Rick McKinley's exploration is fresh, accessible, and timely. With careful attention to historical texts, he unveils new understandings of authentic personal and social transformation. The time is now. Your opportunity is here. In the mess of everyday life, you can live in the beautiful presence of the kingdom. Story Behind the Book "When we started Imago Dei Community, it was with a passion to be people who live in love with Jesus and live out the values of His kingdom in our city. But we had no idea how to do that. God let us stumble into grace and discover the wide-open plains of His kingdom. This has ruined us in the best way possible. Because once you taste untamed life in the kingdom, you will never go back to the sterile hallways of religion. The beautiful, transforming grace of Christ shows up in the messiness of life and the kingdom breaks in as a beautiful mess. "-Rick McKinley From the Trade Paperback edition.
This Beautiful Mess: Practicing the Presence of the Kingdom of God
by Donald Miller Rick MckinleyAlready Not Yet When Jesus announced, "the kingdom of God is at hand," what did He mean? Uncover the reality of the kingdom of God and what it might look like if followers of Christ practiced its in-breaking presence. What happens when we view life through the lens of the kingdom? How does the beauty of Jesus' reign break into the mess of our broken lives and world? What if we lived as though a world other than this one was here today? This Beautiful Mess launches a paradigm-shifting journey inviting us to experience the kingdom of God in the ordinary miracle of our everyday lives. "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he...sold all he had and bought that field." --Matthew 13:44 Jesus' sayings about the kingdom of God just might be the most overlooked of his teachings. Yet the Good News of the kingdom--a treasure beyond price--was what he came to preach. It's time to ask: -What is the kingdom Jesus talked about? -Could it be already here, hidden from sight? If so, where is it? -How can I be a part of it? A new generation is tuning in to the teachings of Jesus and to their revolutionary implications. Could it be that living under Christ's reign is not merely a future vision but a present reality? Rick McKinley's exploration is fresh, accessible, and timely. With careful attention to historical texts, he unveils new understandings of authentic personal and social transformation. The time is now. Your opportunity is here. In the mess of everyday life, you can live in the beautiful presence of the kingdom. Story Behind the Book"When we started Imago Dei Community, it was with a passion to be people who live in love with Jesus and live out the values of His kingdom in our city. But we had no idea how to do that. God let us stumble into grace and discover the wide-open plains of His kingdom. This has ruined us in the best way possible. Because once you taste untamed life in the kingdom, you will never go back to the sterile hallways of religion. The beautiful, transforming grace of Christ shows up in the messiness of life and the kingdom breaks in as a beautiful mess."--Rick McKinley
This Book Will Make You Mindful
by Jessamy Hibberd Jo UsmarWe live increasingly busy lives, and while some of us have no trouble juggling multiple responsibilities, others struggle to deal with the mounting pressures we feel from external sources, and, most importantly, from ourselves. It's not uncommon to feel buried under the weight of responsibilities and constantly feel like you're running out of time--with days, weeks, and years passing by in a blur. But don't let this discourage you--help is on its way.This compact and accessible volume will arm you with techniques that can help you change your perspective and get the most out of every moment of your life. Dr Jessamy Hibberd and Jo Usmar use the latest mindfulness techniques to teach you how to stop worrying about the future or dwelling on the past and get the most of the life you're living right now. Understanding the way your brain works will help you learn how to cope with the negatives while fully appreciating the good things in life. The result? A happier, more confident, and more productive you!
This Boy's Faith: Notes from a Southern Baptist Upbringing
by Hamilton CainAn unforgettable memoir about growing up Southern, grappling with faith, and confronting a childhood colored by religion, Bible Belt culture, and a mother who minces words better than a food processor. A child stumbles upon a vintage photograph and glimpses salvation. A young girl vanishes in a famous cavern when she runs away from her tour group. A hijacked plane circles overhead, its passengers' lives in jeopardy. A mystical stranger, a refugee from the Holocaust, seals off her secrets behind an elusive smile. From simple blessings to historical tragedies to random twists of fate, This Boy's Faith plumbs the uncanny mysteries and surprising revelations at the heart of a Southern Baptist childhood. Hamilton Cain came to Jesus on a trampoline, or as his devout parents described it, "He just jumped and bounced his way to the Lord." Growing up in Tennessee in the 1970s and '80s, he set himself on the path to becoming the best Baptist boy he could be. The veil between the concrete and the magical shimmered all around him, nourishing his soul. Religion was a map to help him navigate his life, to steer away from the reefs of temptation. Yet as he grew older, Hamilton began to notice fractures and cracks in a world that had once promised sanctuary and transcendence, perils threatening to shatter the protective shell of family and community. Like an escape artist, he cut himself free from his evangelical milieu, and eventually gravitated north, to cosmopolitan New York. Twenty years later, the smooth flow of Hamilton's life reversed itself yet again when his first child was born with a grave genetic disease. Thrown into a chasm of confusion and despair, he found the primal voices of his original culture reaching out to him. He picked up that faded, half-forgotten script to see what values, if any, could steady him in the here and now. The result is a story of growing up Baptist, and then growing up. Haunting, evocative, and gorgeously written, Hamilton Cain's debut will resonate with fans of poignant personal memoir, readers interested in faith and spirituality, and anyone who has known what it's like to engage the complexities and contradictions of one's past.
This Brother of Yours (The Hawk & The Dove Series 2 #1)
by Penelope WilcoxOnce again Penelope Wilcox has invited her readers to experience monastic life as lived at St. Alcuins just after the Plague. Time has passed since the last book: William left monastic life, married Madeleine, and has now become a widower. Abbot John encourages him to return, to renew his vows as a monk. Although the monks welcome William back, there are many problems—William is still mourning, plus he still has unresolved issues from his past and a troubling relationship with many of the monks. But William needs security. This book is not so much a story as it is a lesson in growth, acceptance, humility, and fraternal love.
This Changes Everything: Unleashing the Power of the Resurrection in Your Life
by Ray JohnstonHe is risen! Now what? How does the resurrection of Jesus impact my everyday life, and why should I care? Ray Johnston has written a key resource that every church and Christian can give their friends and family to help them grow in faith. This book explores thirty practical ways the Resurrection changed the lives of early believers and can transform us today. This resource has been given to thousands of new Christians at Bayside Church where the author is the founding pastor. Now you and your church can equip yourself and those you love. While not primarily an apologetics text, This Changes Everything provides helpful apologetics resources while speaking practically about the impact of the resurrection of Jesus in ordinary life.
This Changes Everything: A Surprisingly Funny Story About Race, Cancer, Faith, and Other Things We Don't Talk About
by Tyler MerrittA cancer diagnosis caused Tyler Merritt—beloved author of I Take My Coffee Black—to realize that there was no time for anger, unforgiveness, foolishness, or lost friendships. None of us have any time to waste. When Tyler Merritt was diagnosed with cancer, everything he thought he knew about what mattered in life changed. Though he made it through a highly invasive surgery and thought he was in the clear, Tyler soon realized that the cancer had other plans. It wasn&’t a question of if the tumor would come back for an encore, his doctors told him. It was a question of when. The clock was ticking.This Changes Everything is a humorous and optimistic love letter to this beautiful life. As Tyler counts down the days until his next scan, he begins to understand that none of us have time for anger, for being unforgiving, for foolishness, for letting relationships drift, or for letting friendships to be lost. It&’s a clear-eyed reckoning with the reality that our time on this earth is limited and a hopeful vision of how each of us can make the most of the time we have left. Laced with Tyler&’s trademark humor, love of pop culture, and arguably too many musical theater references, This Changes Everything is a story about how wrestling with the idea of death can birth a whole new outlook on life, how we live it, and the urgency that comes when you grasp that time is a precious commodity.
This Child of Mine & His Answered Prayer
by Lois RicherSweet stories of second chances by Lois RicherThis Child of MineFrom the moment she left her hometown, Darcy Simms vowed to prove she was more than just a troubled girl. When a tragedy finally brings her back, Luke Lassiter helps the single mom pick up the pieces. But can he finally shut the door on Darcy's troubled past?His Answered PrayerBlair Delaney's world is her young son-a son pining for the father who knows nothing about him. Now, six years later, tycoon Gabriel Sloan wants them to be a family. Yet first he has to open his heart to love....
This Cool Green Earth: A Novel
by Don McBurneyThis Cool Green Earth is a Christian story of redemption, showing how God chooses an unlikely person to help advance His kingdom. After touring the state, Gil and his wife purchase a large ranch and provide safe shelter for disadvantaged boys from locations across America and middle Eastern refugees who have been displaced because of religious persecution. Israel’s re-establishment as a nation-state in 1948 began the final count-down to judgment and the arrival of extinction-level events, most notably an asteroid that threatens to impact Earth. This Cool Green Earth shows readers humanity’s depravity, issues a call to repentance, presents the twin realities of a loving, merciful God who is not a “tame lion”, and the imminent arrival of cataclysmic judgment. By reading Gil’s story, readers learn to take advantage of their opportunity while Earth is still cool and green, before it turns hot and dry. This Cool Green Earth is unique in that it presents a future that is catastrophic without being dystopian.
This Dangerous Book: How the Bible Has Shaped Our World and Why It Still Matters Today
by Rick Warren Jackie Green Bill High Steve GreenIt is the top selling book in history. It brings social upheaval, international arguments, and political controversy. It has been used to justify both love and war. And for generations, it has found its way into the hearts of millions, offering comfort, direction, and life-changing truths.How could one book have such power? In This Dangerous Book, Steve and Jackie Green explore the incredible history and impact of the Bible. As the founders and visionaries of the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C., the Greens have a unique perspective on the Bible’s journey—from its ancient beginnings, to its effect on the moral fiber of nations, to its transformative influence in individual hearts.The Greens share the challenges they have faced in acquiring biblical artifacts from around the world and why generations—in every time period and in every geographical location—have risked their lives to preserve this precious book.Exploring ancient tablets, medieval commentaries, and modern translations, This Dangerous Book offers fascinating insight into the miracles and martyrdoms that have led to the Scriptures we read today. The Greens explore how cutting-edge technology gives new insight into the authenticity of the Bible, including the work of fifty scholars who recently uncovered hidden details about thirteen unpublished Dead Sea Scroll fragments. This Dangerous Book also looks at the link between the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, what we can learn from how the Bible was passed down to us, and why God’s Word is foundational to America’s past and crucial for its future.The Bible is a world-changer and a heart-changer. Whether you have read the Bible for years or are simply curious about its influence, This Dangerous Book could change your heart as well.
This Day Is The Lord's
by Corrie Ten BoomA daily devotional containing 366 short reflections, relevant Scripture, and personal prayers to help readers start their day.
This Day (Regular Edition): A Wesleyan Way of Prayer
by Laurence Hull StookeyDr. Laurence Stookey of Wesley Seminary has created this resource to serve as a daily prayer book for the home and personal use. The book is also designed for use by individuals participating in a Wesleyan class meeting in conjunction with the Sunday morning experience or a week-day meeting. The unique aspect of this program lies in its incorporation of the practice of daily prayer and accountability within the Sunday morning adult education program . In addition to activities conducted on Sunday, class members will participate in ordered daily prayer within the Wesleyan spirit. This Day contains thirty-one forms of prayer, one for each day of the month drawn from: John Wesley's 1738 Forms of Prayer for Every Day of the Week, The 1784 Order for Morning Prayer, The United Methodist Book of Worship, The Book of Common Prayer, The IONA and Taize Communities, the Benedictine tradition, the Eastern Orthodox tradition, and contemporary sources. This resource is not UM specific and is based on the revised common lectionary and the daily lectionary of the Book of Common Prayer. Deluxe edition, is a great gift idea!Read the Circuit Rider review here
This Day with the Master: 365 Daily Meditations (Discovery Devotional Ser.)
by Dennis F. KinlawIn This Day with the Master, author Dennis Kinlaw brings a unique perspective, rich with life experiences to the stories of Abraham and Sarah, Moses and Joshua, King David and King Solomon, and others who have looked for God in times of quiet solitude. Through their successes and failures we learn how to spend each one of our days with the Lord.
This Dream Is Not for You: Learn to Live by Letting Go
by Wade JoyeChristian speaker and Bible teacher Wade Joye pushes back against the dominant self-help teaching of the day—to follow your dreams—and encourages us to let go and surrender our lives to God in order to truly live. &“Follow your dreams&” is the self-help message of our day. In our schools and universities, media, and culture, and even in church, we are taught to dream big, work hard, and find true happiness in living our dreams. And so we spend our lives chasing. But as we chase our dreams, we can be met with exhaustion, anxiety, and disappointment. Our circumstances may put our dreams in jeopardy, or even deny them—and we&’re heartbroken. Or we achieve them and just want more. Wade Joye offers here a different way. Release your grip on your dreams and trust God with your whole life. Joye shows that by letting go we are freed from the pressure to secure some ideal, unattainable life, and instead become open to God and his plans. Living a life of daily surrender to God&’s purpose we begin to see glimpses of God in our present circumstance, as he shows us that he, more than anyone, can be trusted. With deep wisdom, frank teaching, and a pastor&’s heart, Wade guides readers step-by-step to the place of letting go, the place where we find real life.
This Earthly Frame: The Making of American Secularism
by David SehatAn award-winning scholar&’s sweeping history of American secularism, from Jefferson to Trump &“An essential book for understanding today&’s culture wars. Sehat&’s clear-eyed and elegant narrative will change how you think about our supposedly secular age.&”—Molly Worthen, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill In This Earthly Frame, David Sehat narrates the making of American secularism through its most prominent proponents and most significant detractors. He shows how its foundations were laid in the U.S. Constitution and how it fully emerged only in the twentieth century. Religious and nonreligious Jews, liberal Protestants, apocalyptic sects like the Jehovah&’s Witnesses, and antireligious activists all used the courts and the constitutional language of the First Amendment to create the secular order. Then, over the past fifty years, many religious conservatives turned against that order, emphasizing their religious freedom. Avoiding both polemic and lament, Sehat offers a powerful reinterpretation of American secularism and a clear framework for understanding the religiously infused conflict of the present.
This Extraordinary Moment: Moving Beyond the Mind to Embrace the Miracle of What Is
by John Astin AdyashantiAnyone who attempts to describe what is ultimately indescribable faces the same challenge—how does one use words to explain something that transcends language? Many writers fall into the trap of using more words to do the job that most words aren’t even particularly suited for, the ideas growing ever more allusive and abstract as the verbiage piles up. But in trying to unmoor the essence of lived experience from the concepts and stories we use to construct it, author and spiritual teacher John Astin takes a different approach—using fewer words instead of more, and grounding them with exercises designed to evoke the actual experience of what he’s describing. <p><p> Evoking the true nature of experience in words is a tricky proposition: perceptual reality has no beginning and no end, making it impossible to delineate, and what arises internally as thoughts and feelings are equally limitless, indeterminate, and unresolvable. While we have countless ways to categorize, conceptualize, and label things, the truth of whatever is being felt, seen, tasted, touched, or heard is infinitely more complex and multidimensional than our conceptual or linguistic structures would have us believe. By becoming more intimate with experience itself—rather than trying to narrate, avoid, or escape it—we can begin to discover that our experiences cannot possibly limit us in the ways we’ve imagined, owing to their radically open-ended and ultimately indefinable nature. <p><p> This Extraordinary Moment invites you on a journey of boundless inquiry, which becomes a liberating free-fall into the mysteries that lie just beyond our understanding of lived reality—which words can never quite describe. Built entirely around personal experience and exploration, this book provides activities, dialogues, exercises, and meditations to help you unlearn the basic misapprehensions about the nature of moment-to-moment experience, and shows you how to gain distance from the stories you tell about what you’re experiencing, so as to better focus on what’s actually happening in the present moment. <p><p> With ultrashort chapters grounded in experiential practices, and without the use of the usual spiritual jargon, this fast-moving, highly readable book makes the esoteric accessible to all—from anyone interested in stress management, well-being, or positive psychology to the devoted spiritual seeker.
This Far: Poems (Paraclete Poetry)
by Kathleen O'TooleThis collection offers a rich harvest taken from one season in the poet's creative life. Like movements in a musical composition, these poems share leitmotifs ? grief and the desire to honor those "saints" who have passed on; the sacramental power of nature; and, how works of art illuminate and console as they do. They point to the tension between the practice of monastic silence and the urge to bear witness, interrogating faith in the light of crises facing the earth and our human community. At the same time, the poet celebrates encounters that offer blessings of hope, inviting us to join her in a pilgrimage that leads us, with her, "this far," and gestures to what lies beyond.
This Far By Faith
by Stacy Hawkins Adams Kendra Norman-Bellamy Linda Hudson-SmithLaShun Tillman's many blessings haven't eased her pain at being abandoned as a baby. Fate has given her an opportunity to reveal to the world that her birth mother, former supermodel Sariah Langston, has an ugly past. But revenge is never simple--and neither is the truth.Aspiring actress Jessica Drake lands a bit part in Broadway diva Diana Edmonds's latest show, only to find that her idol has feet of clay--plus a monumental ego. But their strained relationship is changed utterly when a reporter discovers that Jessica is really the daughter Diana thought had died long ago.Beautiful Sienna St. James has spent her life being pushed into beauty pageants by her domineering, controlling mother, Sable. Now her blossoming relationship with a thoughtful young doctor has inspired her to live her life as she sees fit, even if it means losing everything she's known.
This Far by Faith: Tradition and Change in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania
by David R. ContostaThe history of the Diocese of Pennsylvania is in many ways a history of the Episcopal Church at large. It remains one of the largest and most influential dioceses in the national church. Its story has paralleled and illustrated the challenges and accomplishments of the wider denomination—and of issues that concern the American people as a whole. In This Far by Faith, ten professional historians provide the first complete history of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. It will become essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the history and significance of the Episcopal Church and of its evolution in the Greater Philadelphia area.Aside from the editor, the contributors are Charles Cashdollar, Marie Conn, William W. Cutler III, Deborah Mathias Gough, Ann Greene, Sheldon Hackney, Emma J. Lapsansky-Werner, William Pencak, and Thomas F. Rzeznik.
This Far by Faith: Tradition and Change in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania
by David R. ContostaThe history of the Diocese of Pennsylvania is in many ways a history of the Episcopal Church at large. It remains one of the largest and most influential dioceses in the national church. Its story has paralleled and illustrated the challenges and accomplishments of the wider denomination—and of issues that concern the American people as a whole. In This Far by Faith, ten professional historians provide the first complete history of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. It will become essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the history and significance of the Episcopal Church and of its evolution in the Greater Philadelphia area.Aside from the editor, the contributors are Charles Cashdollar, Marie Conn, William W. Cutler III, Deborah Mathias Gough, Ann Greene, Sheldon Hackney, Emma J. Lapsansky-Werner, William Pencak, and Thomas F. Rzeznik.
This Female Man of God: Women and Spiritual Power in the Patristic Age, 350-450 AD
by Gillian ClokeThis book is a study of the contribution of women to the development of the newly legitimate Christian church in the twilight of the Western Roman Empire. There are many women noted for the example of their life in this period, regarded amongst the luminaries of the day; but while their male mentors, the patristic authors have retained their fame, the women who surrounded and influenced them have all but disappeared from sight. The women themselves are partly to blame for this, for in order to be pious it made sense to disguise one's sex sometimes literally: Dr Cloke gives examples of those whose sex was discovered only after their death - they sought to become androgynous, a third sex before God. This book looks at a multitude of examples in some detail and takes an overview of the role of Christian women at this time. It should appeal not only to historians, classicists and theologians, but also to anyone who takes a general interest in the changing status of women over the the centuries.
This First Christmas Night
by Laura GodwinElegant, simple text and luminous art make this picture book an almost hymn-like meditation on the meaning of Christmas and the Nativity story.See this small gray donkey,this long, dusty road,this promising star.See this man, Joseph,this woman, Mary.Feel the frost onthis clear Bethlehem night."Wonderful for bedtime and lapsit storytimes, this book is a gentle retelling of the Nativity for very young readers who are learning about Jesus for the first time."--School Library Journal"Godwin directly addresses readers, beckoning them to witness the sights and sounds of the first Christmas through their senses... It’s a lyrical and understated account of the Nativity that will leave readers feeling as though they are witnessing something momentous."--Publishers Weekly
This Flawless Place Between
by Bruno PortierHurtling over the edge of the precipice, Anne embraces the moment, relishing the cool air streaming through her hair, the setting sun's shimmering light, the freedom of release from the earth before gravity comes back to claim her. She takes the time to enjoy it. It will be over soon.For all those who loved The Alchemist, Siddhartha, and Jonathan Livingston Seagull, This Flawless Place Between is a mesmerising and uplifting story about death and dying. Interweaving the key themes of The Tibetan Book of the Dead, one of the world's most influential and treasured spiritual texts, Portier gently explores our deepest questions about life, love, and death with a refreshing openness and delicacy.Anne and Evan are vacationing in the Tibetan mountains when on an isolated stretch of road they lose control of their motorbike. Bike and riders spin over the edge, plunging into a ravine. Evan's leg is broken; Anne isn't moving. A Tibetan peasant hurries to help them, but while Evan tries in vain to save Anne's life, the stranger focuses on guiding her spirit along the new path it must take to the next one. So begins a cathartic voyage that carries Anne away from her broken body and back through the traumas and ecstasies of her life. Once again, she is a child mourning a dead pet, a young woman embracing her lover, the radiant hostess of an art exhibition, a distraught mother hearing that her young daughter has been critically injured. As she revisits her past, and the futures of those she will leave behind, Anne begins to accept not only her death but also her life - and that what happens next will be up to her.
This Flowing Toward Me: A Story Of God Arriving In Strangers
by Marilyn LaceyWhat began in 1979 as a response to a random bulletin board posting would ultimately change Sister Marilyn Lacey's life--and the lives of countless refugees. In vivid prose, Sister Lacey narrates her twenty-five year spiritual journey of work with those displaced by conflict and disaster. In the spirit of "Dead Man Walking," she invites us to solidarity with some of the world's most vulnerable. Timely and engaging, "This Flowing Toward Me" offers fresh, personal insights into the world of refugees and international immigrants. More importantly, it stirs our hearts to remember the gospel mandate to welcome the stranger.
This Hallelujah Banquet: How the End of What We Were Reveals Who We Can Be
by Eugene H. PetersonIn this powerful new interpretation of the book of Revelation, the late, revered author and translator of The Message Bible offers timely insights into how we can lean into growth, not in spite of challenging times, but because of them. &“Insightful and inviting . . . This is Eugene at his pastoral best.&”—Rev. Dr. Glenn Packiam, associate senior pastor at New Life Church and author of Blessed Broken Given The book of Revelation is filled with angels and dragons, fantastic beasts and golden cities, bottomless pits and mysterious numbers. It&’s dramatic, sure—but what exactly does that have to do with the tests we face today? Actually, a lot. When the apostle John penned the book of Revelation, believers lived in a time of deception and injustice. But his message doesn&’t just reflect their cries for things to be made right; it reveals heaven&’s perspective of the bigger picture. In this never-before-published work, Eugene H. Peterson traces the dramatic symbolism found in John&’s letters to the seven churches, uncovering Christ&’s instructions to these ancient communities. Along the way, encounter seven key tests, of our love, suffering, truth, holiness, reality, witness, and commitment, tests from Christ that can deepen our faith and even shape our future. This Hallelujah Banquet is your personal invitation to grow deep and begin living now in a generous, abundant, and hopeful reality in Christ.