Download or read book Sealed written by Katie Langston and published by Thornbush Press. This book was released on 2021-04-06 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Katie Langston is an unlikely convert to Christianity. She grew up in a devout, conservative Mormon family in Utah, served a proselytizing mission to Bulgaria when she was 21, married for "time and all eternity" in the Mormon temple when she was 23. From the outside, she had a typical Mormon life. Inside, she was coming apart at the seams. From childhood, she battled "The Questions"—obsessive-compulsive disorder, though she didn't have a diagnosis for it until much later—and lived inside a complex maze of anxiety and fear. This was compounded by Mormonism's emphasis on "worthiness," a designation of acceptability in Mormon practice, that brought her to the edge of despair as a young mother. Then, almost by accident, she had an encounter with the grace of Jesus Christ—and her world changed. In candid but not sensationalized ways, Langston explores little-understood Mormon practices and teachings while grappling with universal human questions such as the nature of faith, the complexity of family, the process of healing, and what it means to truly belong. This book is intended to be a bridge-builder, a way to help non-Mormons understand Mormonism and Mormons orthodox Christianity through the power of personal narrative. Most of all, it is a testimony of Jesus Christ, in the hopes that those who read it—Mormon, Christian, or neither—will catch a glimpse of the spectacular, life-changing grace of God.

Download or read book The Names of God Women s Bible Study Participant Workbook written by Melissa Spoelstra and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2020-08-04 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Know God better through a study of His names. Today’s culture and others’ views, even those of other Christians, can present a distorted view of God. Some suggest God exudes qualities He does not possess such as being unloving or apathetic toward His creation. In a world where we find people creating God in their own image, studying God’s names can remind us that we are created in His. In fact, one of the best ways to know God’s true character and grow closer to Him is to study His names. In The Names of God, Melissa Spoelstra leads women on an exploration of the many names of our triune God—from El and Elohim to Yahweh and its many combinations to names such as Abba, Jesus, and Holy Spirit...and many others. As women study the names of God, their ideas about God will become more grounded in what His names tell them, and thus more personal, allowing a greater trust in Him to share the details of their lives. Whether having walked with God for many years or just starting out in a relationship with Him, by the end of this study women will not only know more about God but will know Him better—because through the discovery of God’s names, they will discover Him! Components for this six-week Bible study, each available separately, include a Participant Workbook, a Leader Guide, DVD with six 25-minute segments (with closed captioning), and a boxed Leader Kit containing one of each component. This Bible Study Includes: - A six-week study of the names of God. - Inspires women to have a more personal and trusting relationship with God. - DVD features dynamic, engaging teaching in six 25-minute segments. - Strong, solid Bible study from popular Bible teacher and speaker Melissa Spoelstra.

Download or read book Economy of Grace written by Kathryn Tanner and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are there any fair and viable alternatives to global capitalism? University of Chicago theologian Kathryn Tanner offers here a serious and creative proposal for evaluating economic theory and behavior through a theological lens.

Download or read book Queerly Lutheran written by Megan Rohrer and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2016-05-12 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique combination of sermons, essays and storytelling, Queerly Lutheran provocatively examines the roots of Lutheran tradition and delivers Good News to Lutherans of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Using the sex life of Martin Luther as a model, Queerly Lutheran invites readers and the contemporary church to reexamine our past and work towards a more welcoming future. This text includes an Extraordinary Prayer Calendar for congregations and individuals who would like to include queer saints (past and present) to their prayer life.

Download or read book Future Church written by Will Mancini and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2020-12-01 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Church growth models have often been long on promises and short on disciple-making. We continue to watch consistent church attendance shrink, and our desire to reach the lost is infected with a need for self-validation by growing our numbers at any cost. If we believe that God wants his church to grow, where do we go from here? What is the future of the church? Drawing from his 20 years and 15,000 hours of consulting, author Will Mancini shares with pastors and ministry leaders the single most important insight he has learned about church growth. With plenty of salient stories and based solidly on the disciple-making methods found in Scripture, Future Church exposes the church's greatest challenge today, and offers 7 transforming laws of real church growth so that we can faithfully and joyfully fulfill Jesus's Great Commission.

Download or read book Dear Church written by Lenny Duncan and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2019-07-02 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lenny Duncan is the unlikeliest of pastors. Formerly incarcerated, he is now a black preacher in the whitest denomination in the United States: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Shifting demographics and shrinking congregations make all the headlines, but Duncan sees something else at work--drawing a direct line between the church's lack of diversity and the church's lack of vitality. The problems the ELCA faces are theological, not sociological. But so are the answers. Part manifesto, part confession, and all love letter, Dear Church offers a bold new vision for the future of Duncan's denomination and the broader mainline Christian community of faith. Dear Church rejects the narrative of church decline and calls everyone--leaders and laity alike--to the front lines of the church's renewal through racial equality and justice. It is time for the church to rise up, dust itself off, and take on forces of this world that act against God: whiteness, misogyny, nationalism, homophobia, and economic injustice. Duncan gives a blueprint for the way forward and urges us to follow in the revolutionary path of Jesus. Dear Church also features a discussion guide at the back--perfect for church groups, book clubs, and other group discussion.

Download or read book History of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church Carroll Street of the City of Westminster MD from 1868 to 1894 written by Park Hays Miller and published by . This book was released on 1894 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book A Story of God and All of Us written by Roma Downey and published by FaithWords. This book was released on 2013-02-26 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scripture's greatest stories and most compelling characters come to life in this sweeping new novel by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett. Beginning with the creation of man and ending with the revelation of a new world, readers will revel in this epic saga of warriors, rebels, poets, and kings, all called upon by God to reveal His enduring love for mankind. Ultimately, God's plan is fulfilled in the story of Jesus the Messiah, whose life, death and resurrection brings salvation to one and all. A STORY OF GOD AND ALL OF US is a companion to The Bible, the epic ten-hour mini-series produced by the authors and televised around the world.

Download or read book A Journey of Grace written by Herbert W. Chilstrom and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The memoir of the Rev. Dr. Herbert W. Chilstrom, the first presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It is the story of his life as it intertwines with the church from baptism to the present day. The book begins with a reflective account of his family roots, childhood, education, pastoral and teaching career. Subsequent chapters include his life as a synod bishop, his role in the formation of the ELCA and his ministry as the first presiding bishop of that church. Although central to the narrative is his focus on leadership, it is done in the context of the larger scene, bringing into focus the major historical events that were happening at the time. Embedded in his story are deeply personal accounts of his family experience, including the role of his wife Corinne, the trauma of the death of their son Andrew, and the impact of his handicapped brother David.

Download or read book Costly Grace written by Rob Schenck and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2018-06-05 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A leading American evangelical minister—whom public figures long turned to for guidance in faith and politics—recounts his three conversions, from childhood Jewish roots to Christianity, from a pure faith to a highly politicized one, and from the religious right to the simplicity of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Rob Schenck’s extraordinary life has been at the center of the intersection between evangelical Christianity and modern politics. Attacked by partisans on both sides of the aisle, he has been called a "right-wing hate monger," the "ultimate D.C. power-broker," a "traitor" and "turncoat." Now, this influential spiritual adviser to America’s political class chronicles his controversial, sometimes troubling career in this revelatory and often shocking memoir. As a teenager in the 1970s, Schenck converted from Judaism to Christianity and found his calling in public ministry. In the 1980s, he, like his twin brother, became a radical activist leader of the anti-abortion movement. In the wake of his hero Ronald Reagan’s rise to the White House, Schenck became a leading figure in the religious right inside the Beltway. Emboldened by his authority and access to the highest reaches of government, Schenck was a zealous warrior, brazenly mixing ministry with Republican political activism—even confronting President Bill Clinton during a midnight Christmas Eve service at Washington’s National Cathedral. But in the past few years Schenck has undergone another conversion—his most meaningful transition yet. Increasingly troubled by the part he played in the corruption of religion by politics, this man of faith has returned to the purity of the gospel. Like Paul on the Road to Damascus, he had an epiphany: revisiting the lessons of love that Jesus imparted, Schenck realized he had strayed from his deepest convictions. Reaffirming his core spiritual beliefs, Schenck today works to liberate the evangelical community from the oppression of the narrowest interpretation of the gospel, and to urge Washington conservatives to move beyond partisan battles and forsake the politics of hate, fear, and violence. As a preacher, he continues to spread the word of the Lord with humility and a deep awareness of his past transgressions. In this moving and inspiring memoir, he reflects on his path to God, his unconscious abandonment of his principles, and his return to the convictions that guide him. Costly Grace is a fascinating and ultimately redemptive account of one man’s life in politics and faith.

Download or read book One Coin Found written by Emmy Kegler and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2019-04-02 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The stories of Scripture are for everyone. No exceptions. Emmy Kegler has a complicated relationship with the Bible. As a queer woman who grew up in both conservative Evangelical and progressive Protestant churches, she knows too well how Scripture can be used to wound and exclude. And yet, the stories of Scripture continue to captivate and inspire her--both as a person of faith and as a pastor to a congregation. So she set out to fall in love with the Bible, wrestling with the stories inside, where she met a God who continues to seek us out--appearing again and again as a voice, a presence, and a promise. Whenever we are pushed to the edges, our voices silenced, or our stories dismissed, God goes out after us--seeking us until we are found again. And God is seeking out those whose voices we too quickly silence and dismiss, too. Because God's story is a story of welcome and acceptance for everyone--no exceptions. Kegler shows us that even when we feel like lost and dusty coins--rusted from others' indifference, misspent and misused--God picks up a broom and sweeps every corner of creation to find us.

Download or read book Christians in Society written by William Henry Lazareth and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2001-01-01 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This user-friendly, informative historical theology also challenges contemporary Christians at affirm common biblical ground for theological ethics and to facilitate more public social witness."--BOOK JACKET.

Download or read book Dignity and Grace written by Janet L. Ramsey and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2018-08 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discovering how to live with dementia"I'm a stranger in a strange land," sighed the dignified gentleman Janet L. Ramsey met walking down the care-center hallway. Those words, her first glimpse of the confusion that comes with dementia, led her into a lifetime of work with older adults.If you have been diagnosed with dementia or you are accompanying someone with this illness, you may find yourself on a journey that began with a sudden diagnosis and an acute sense of panic. Or perhaps your journey started gradually, as you noticed changes in yourself or in your partner or parent. Whether sudden or gradual, the impact of a diagnosis of dementia reorganizes a family's entire life.Drawing on her own experience as a pastor, teacher, therapist, and family caregiver, as well as on interviews with eight family and professional caregivers, Janet L. Ramsey helps caregivers and those with impaired memories learn as they listen to each other. She also shows them how the Holy Spirit can awaken their imagination and understanding while they discover how to live with dementia.

Download or read book Shameless written by Nadia Bolz-Weber and published by Convergent Books. This book was released on 2019-01-29 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Raw, intimate, and timely—a no-holds-barred celebration of our bodies that flies in the face of antiquated ideas about sex and gender. “A triumph.”—Glennon Doyle • “One of the most important, life-changing books I’ve ever read.”—Rachel Held Evans, author of Searching for Sunday and Inspired Negative messages about sex come from all corners of society: from the church, from the media, from our own families. As a result, countless people have suffered pain, guilt, and judgment. In this instant bestseller, Nadia Bolz-Weber unleashes her critical eye and her vulnerable yet hopeful soul on the harmful conversations about sex that have fed our shame. Bolz-Weber offers no simple amendments or polite compromises. Instead, this modern-day reverend calls for an inclusivity that empowers us to be loyal to people and, perhaps most important, ourselves. “Christianity is not a program for avoiding mistakes,” she writes. “It is a faith of the guilty.” With an alternative understanding of Scripture passages that have been weaponized against Christians for decades, Bolz-Weber reminds us that sexual flourishing can and should be for all genders, all bodies, and all humans. She shares stories, poetry, and Scripture that wage war on perpetual anxiety around sex by celebrating sexuality in all its forms and recognizing it for the gift that it is. If you’ve been mistreated, confused, angered, and/or wounded by shaming sexual messages, this one is for you.

Download or read book Holy Bible NIV written by Various Authors, and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2008-09-02 with total page 6637 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.

Download or read book The Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church written by Heinrich Schmid and published by . This book was released on 1876 with total page 716 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Evangelical Lutheran Worship written by Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 1211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: