Download or read book From Death to Life written by Scott W. Block and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2009-09-03 with total page 55 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Death to Life examines what happens when people die. Have you ever wondered or are you curious about end of life moments? Is there actually a splitting of the body and soul at the time of death, or is there something else? What happens to the survivors after their loved one dies, and how are they comforted in their time of sorrow and grief? In this book the words of the Holy Bible, and others like Martin Luther, will speak to you, tell you the truth, and give you words of comfort, so that you too can have the sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.

Download or read book Centering Jesus written by Derek Vreeland and published by NavPress. This book was released on 2023-08-22 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What happens when Jesus becomes obscured from our point of view? With all the hostility boiling just under the surface of our world, we need a renewed vision of Jesus as the Lamb of God who can lead us in the peaceable ways of the Kingdom. When we fail to keep Jesus at the center of our lives, we lean into the desires of our hearts more than the desires God has for us. As a result, our entire spirituality becomes driven by the self and for the self. We need renewed practices of centering Jesus in our hearts and minds. In Centering Jesus, Derek Vreeland invites you to imagine what it looks like to keep Jesus as the Lamb of God at the center of three key areas of our lives--our spiritual formation, our moral lives, and our common life together. With the deep divide in American culture and the polarization that continues to grow, we need a renewed focus on the Lamb so that we might blaze a path forward into civility and kindness. Learn how to identify the problems that occur when Jesus is obscured from our view; walk through some of the key biblical descriptions of the Lamb; describe a Lamb-shaped and Jesus-centered approach to the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and love, the foundation of our moral lives; and experience the Lamb at the center of common life together, specifically worship life, participation in acts of justice, and political life.

Download or read book Do I Stay Christian written by Brian D. McLaren and published by St. Martin's Essentials. This book was released on 2022-05-24 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dubbed "a heroic gate-crasher" by New York Times bestselling author Glennon Doyle, Brian D. McLaren explores reasons to leave or stay within the church and if so how... "Brian's new book on remaining Christian knocks it out of the ballpark in terms of framing and naming the questions. I cannot stop reading it. Thank you, Brian!" —Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation, author of The Universal Christ "Any thoughtful Christian has been asking the questions McLaren tackles here, but many of us are afraid to voice them aloud. In Do I Stay Christian? we’re gifted a gentle guide who opens ideas and voices the questions we cannot, naming our frustration, fear, and hesitant hope." —Rev. Dr. Amy Butler, former Senior Minister, The Riverside Church; Founder, Invested Faith Do I Stay Christian? addresses in public the powerful question that surprising numbers of people—including pastors, priests, and other religious leaders—are asking in private. Picking up where Faith After Doubt leaves off, Do I Stay Christian? is not McLaren's attempt to persuade Christians to dig in their heels or run for the exit. Instead, he combines his own experience with that of thousands of people who have confided in him over the years to help readers make a responsible, honest, ethical decision about their religious identity. There is a way to say both yes and no to the question of staying Christian, McLaren says, by shifting the focus from whether we stay Christian to how we stay human. If Do I Stay Christian? is the question you're asking—or if it's a question that someone you love is asking—this is the book you've been waiting for.

Download or read book Celtic Christianity Yesterday Today and for the Future written by Paul Arblaster and published by Virtualbookworm Publishing. This book was released on 2002-04 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: FROM THE AUTHOROn the surface the recent interest in things Celtic by modern Christians might be seen as following another fleeting, fashion rehash. It certainly seems contemporary culture is grabbing the Celtic Tiger by the tail; Celtic anything is in. The strides of this economic tiger in the late 20th Century Ireland astounded international onlookers almost as much as the deft steppers of Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, etc., so one can expect all manner of strange causes to jump onto the Celtic bandwagon. That accusation might well be leveled at the theme of this book, Celtic Christianity Yesterday, Today, and for the Future: Gleaning Wisdom from the Primitive Protestants. Some may understandably query, What in the world has Celtic Christianity to do with Protestantism? My unabashed answer to this is simply, In relating to the world everything. After studying the history of the faith one could even go so far as to claim that the ancient Celtic church was quite Protestant to its core, as I intend to show.Thomas Cahills widely successful, How the Irish Saved Civilization (Doubleday, N.Y. 1995), did much to raise popular consciousness about the contributions of the Irish. That tome was valuable; it covers the period from the fall of Rome to the rise of Medieval Europe, but I do not intend to limit my scope to that period alone, nor to the role of just the Irish, important as they were to Celtic Christianity. Though it is mentioned nowhere in Cahills title, let us make no mistake that it was the Celtic Church of the British Isles and Ireland, and not a secular culture, that deserves credit for, as he puts it, saving civilization. Might there be anything we moderns can glean from such an ancient approach to the faith and the world as that held by the Celtic saints? It is not only getting later on the prophetic clock; this could also be our last, best chance for renewal before a new Dark Age issues in The Beast or the Man of Lawlessness. The Gospel must go forth worldwide first, which involves us all. 1 John 2:18 begins, Little children, it is the last time; and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come so diligence and vigilance are essential. We have much to gain by studying both the milestones and reverses experienced by our primitive Protestant Celtic brethren. The church today, as it is, seems ill prepared to meet the threats and challenges of the 21st Century.Be warned that the writer has not excised occasional, strong, (yet eschatologically and Biblically sound) metaphors like adultery and harlotry in reference to aspects of the church, be they Protestant or Catholic. Touching on sensitive religious and historical ground, we wish to affirm our love for sincere people who happen to be of these persuasions. Many may be friends or family. It is not they, but their church hierarchies that have much to answer for, especially when those churches are hyper-hierarchical. We also admire those who question the anti-Biblical practices in their denominations. After all, who would not respect St. Francis (a protester with a budding Celtic-lifestyle if ever there was one). It is my hope that Roman Catholic (western papal) people become more catholic (small c) and less Roman. For that matter, it wouldnt be a bad idea if Greek Orthodox (eastern patriarchal catholic) Christians took scripture above tradition as the yardstick of true orthodoxy. The Irish especially, as they discover the facts, might even reclaim their native ecclesiastic heritage that latecomer-Rome usurped. Perhaps then all sides in Patricks adoptive land might assist centuries of hate to abate.The subject of Celtic Church history and spirituality, therefore, is more than just antiquarian whimsy or speculation. It has everything to do with the future vitality of evangelism. To put it in epic Churchillian language, our last, best hope for renewal as we enter what looks like, a new Dark Age, made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. If we do not heed the lessons of the Celtic path and Church history, we run the risk of becoming as socially relevant and spiritually potent as Shakerism, which has become anachronistic, if not extinct. We will never be taken seriously if we are not shaken out of our lethargy and start to live lives worthy of the glorious Gospel we espouse. Celtic Christianity might be the means through which a latter-day Reformation may blossom, a magnetic force to be reckoned with into the New Millennium. As with any mixture so potent as Celtic Christianity and Evangelicalism, there is potential for great dynamic revival, and misuse. It is precisely because of these real opportunities and pitfalls that I believe a specialized book on this subject, mainly with Protestants in mind, is essential at this time. Trends sadly indicate that the god of this World has been very successful in subverting Christians and converting them to his way of life.The first section of this book gives us an overview of the early rise of the Celtic Church from what may appear at times to be just misty speculation. This should come as no surprise though, when one considers the millennia that have passed. Many great oral and written records, extensive and reliable, (referred to in extant sources, and thus known at one time to exist) have been lost. Often it was sad misfortune, but sometimes it was through the calumnious mischief of parties whose later claims of primacy would be totally destabilized if those records were allowed to survive! Enough exists or is now coming to light, however, from which we can form a true picture of probable events and persons. The writer is prepared to find that he has exposed himself to the charge of deficiency in literary precision, but considers that to be a matter of relatively small importance. He offers his entire work of compilation and comment simply, commending it to the kind judgment of the reader.The second section offers a critique of our modern culture and our predicament as Christians in bondage to it. If one intends to deal with a serious affliction, one must first identify it as precisely as possible through its symptoms, and seek appropriate treatment. May the diagnosis appear thorough enough without sounding like a digression or worse still, a diatribe. Surely, God considers our sickness to be quite serious; may His Spirit convict us of our chronic condition. The Celtic way can offer a potent Christian antidote.In final sections I reveal more Celtic Christianity history and practice that is certain to inspire and challenge us. These vital history lessons can greatly profit us today that their loss might be our gain that the same mistakes be not repeated by our modern church on into the 21st Century.Some treasures of the Celtic Way of Christianity are detailed and put into clearer perspective. Not all that the Celts did would be sensible or even advisable to us today, but we can still employ much and gain inspiration from their example. While remaining on our guard against Pantheism, we can benefit from the Celtic Christian philosophical perspective, for example. There is great potential for misunderstanding when speaking of joining creation in worshipping God. Celtic Christians were not at one with the creation worshipping it as if it were the Creator. They were ardent Trinitarian Monotheists who sang with creation in declaring Gods handiwork. They werent afraid of it, or abusers of it, or disconnected from it in the way many of us tend to be. Why are we so alarmed at the thought of feeling at one with the earth (Gods created system) and forget what Jesus warned us about, which was being at one with the world (mans created system). This worldly oneness is something we are hardly aware of, yet a growing sense of spiritual poverty in the midst of material abundance is keenly felt. We moderns are desperately in need of the help of our ancient brothers for a deepening of

Download or read book Negotiating Work Family and Identity among Long Haul Christian Truck Drivers written by Rebecca L. Upton and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2016-08-12 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book draws upon ethnographic and qualitative research in the United States to demonstrate the means through which long-haul truck drivers navigate work and family tensions in ways that resonate across categories of race, class, gender and religion. It examines how Christianity and constructions of masculinity are significant in the lives of long-haul drivers and how truckers work to construct narratives of their lives as ‘good, moral’ individuals in contrast to competing cultural narratives which suggest images of romantic, rule-free, renegade lives on the open road. Based upon ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, observations of long-haul truckers, and participation in a CDL school, this rich ethnography highlights how Christian trucking opportunities provide avenues through which balance is struck between work and family, masculinity and other identities. Embedded in larger social discourse about the meaning of masculinity and similar to evangelical perspectives such as those of the Promise Keepers, Christian truckers often draw upon older ideas about responsible, breadwinning fatherhood in their discourse about being good “fathers” while on the road. This discourse is in some conflict with the lived experiences of Christian truckers who simultaneously find themselves confronted by more contemporary cultural narratives of “the work-family balance” and expectations of what it means to be a good “worker” or a good “trucker.” The book offers new insight in the field of work and family studies and an extremely relevant voice in the broader contemporary discourse in the United States on the meaning of fatherhood and religion in the 21st century.

Download or read book GRIT 4 LIFE written by David Douglas and published by Alpha Book Publisher. This book was released on with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book is a daily devotion for those who wish to “change the relationship they have with their life.” It was originally designed for use within an addiction recovery facility. We found that many others were improving the quality of their life through these God inspired devotions. They are simply written and easy to understand, therefore easily applied to your life. If we allow God into our lives, He will help us with our Relationships. Living in God’s will for our lives gives us the Integrity to walk through life with our head held high. And last, but not least, we need to find the Truth. We must put in the work to find the Truth and stop accepting what the world tells us. We can use this G.R.I.T. FILTER to help us on the journey of changing the relationship we have with our lives. By asking four simple questions, we can avoid many of the “potholes” of life. Those four questions are: Have I invited God into my decision process? How will my decision affect my Relationships? What will my decision do to my Integrity? Have I done the research and found the Truth before I react? Living a life with G.R.I.T. will give you joy as you “Transform the relationship you have with your life.” If you believe you have a terrible life, it will be terrible. If you work to change your outlook and become grateful for what you have, every day becomes a blessing. It is my sincere hope that these devotional messages will be a blessing to you as you start to live with G.R.I.T.. GETCHASOME! David Douglas

Download or read book Fingerprints Of Jesus written by Jennifer Cheshire and published by Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.. This book was released on 2024-05-15 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fingerprints of Jesus is a journey through a woman's life who knew the pain of abuse and great loss at a very young age. As a small child, fear gripped most of her days. However, in the midst of the darkness was her precious grandmother, who was her only light. Her grandmother's love, memories, and teachings live in the quiet, safe places in her mind and heart. The constant struggle with anxiety, fear, and worthlessness paved the way for difficulties to come. The damaging scars carried into teen and adulthood for this woman are shown in vivid color. Through the winding pathways of life, stumbling over mistakes and disappointments, she finds true hope. When all seemed lost, and the bottom couldn't be any further down, somehow there's hope. This hope is only found in Jesus Christ. Could the prayers her sweet widowed grandmother prayed over her live on in heaven forever? Come and see how Jesus intervenes in the life of brokenness she has found herself. Still carrying the scars from a painful childhood, she's desperately trying to be a good wife and mother. With certain failure and the pain of a broken marriage gripping her soul, God has other plans. See how God can transform lives and change the entire trajectory of her family. Through every twist and turn, see God's perfect timing working for the good of all. Watch the bonds of unforgiveness break as the love of Jesus is felt in the heart and soul of this woman. Though the walk was not easy, she could face the morning because Jesus was by her side. Step by step, see how the beautiful truths told in the Bible come to life in the lives of this family. As you read, you too will see the "fingerprints of Jesus."

Download or read book I Love Jesus But I Want to Die written by Sarah J. Robinson and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2021-05-11 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

Download or read book Wild Truth Bible Lessons Dares from Jesus written by Jeannie Oestreicher and published by HarperChristian Resources. This book was released on 2010-05-11 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Weekly studies to reinforce what junior highers are learning from their Wild Truth JournalThese Bible lessons send students straight to the words of Jesus to discover the truth, then dare them to live that truth today. Includes games, activities, sketches, handouts, and reproducible worksheets.

Download or read book In the Shadow of the Towers written by Douglas Lain and published by Skyhorse. This book was released on 2015-09-01 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the Shadow of the Towers compiles nearly twenty works of speculative fiction responding to and inspired by the events of 9/11, from writers seeking to confront, rebuild, and carry on, even in the face of overwhelming emotion. Writer and editor Douglas Lain presents a thought-provoking anthology featuring a variety of award-winning and best-selling authors, from Jeff VanderMeer (Annihilation) and Cory Doctorow (Little Brother) to Susan Palwick (Flying in Place) and James Morrow (Towing Jehovah). Touching on themes as wide-ranging as politics, morality, and even heartfelt nostalgia, today’s speculative fiction writers prove that the rubric of the fantastic offers an incomparable view into how we respond to tragedy. Each contributor, in his or her own way, contemplates the same question: How can we continue dreaming in the shadow of the towers? Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

Download or read book The Adventure Bible NIV Book of Devotions written by Robin Schmitt and published by Zonderkidz. This book was released on 2010-07-06 with total page 759 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Grab your spyglass and compass and set sail for adventure! Like a map that leads to great treasure, The NIV Adventure Bible Book of Devotions takes kids on a thrilling, enriching quest. This yearlong devotional is filled with exciting fictional stories about kids finding adventure in the real world. Boys and girls will learn more about God and the Bible, and be inspired to live a life of faith—the greatest adventure of all. Companion to the Adventure Bible, the #1 bestselling Bible for kids.

Download or read book Adventure Bible Book of Devotions NIV written by Robin Schmitt and published by Zonderkidz. This book was released on 2013-09-24 with total page 784 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Grab your spyglass and compass and set sail for adventure! Like a map that leads to great treasure, this revised edition of the NIV Adventure Bible Book of Devotions takes kids on a thrilling, enriching quest. This yearlong devotional is filled with exciting fictional stories about kids finding adventure in the real world. Boys and girls will learn more about God and the Bible, and be inspired to live a life of faith—the greatest adventure of all. Companion to the Adventure Bible, the #1 bestselling Bible for kids.

Download or read book How Do Monster Trucks Work written by Buffy Silverman and published by Lerner Publications (Tm). This book was released on 2016 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Monster trucks are huge and strong. How do their tires help them bounce? And how do people drive these giant vehicles? Find out how monster trucks work, the special equipment they need, and how they crush puny cars under their enormous tires. From the engine to the cabin to the oversize rims, this book delivers details that will captivate monster truck fans.

Download or read book Before All Hell Breaks Loose written by Ken Hutcherson and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2011-05-11 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pastor Ken Hutcherson is a candid commentator on the state of the modern church. He says we're living in the midst of the Seven Churches of Revelation right now. The real question for believers today is not, "What does the church think about Jesus?" but rather, "What does Jesus think about His Church?" What does He think about the passion, purity, and priorities of today's believers? Is He pleased? Grieved? Angry? Hutcherson shows how the message contained in Revelation, chapters two and three, is as up-to-date as today's headlines. This dynamic follow-up to Here Comes the Bride is the timely "wake-up call" every church -- and individual -- needs today.

Download or read book Words We Don t Say written by K. J. Reilly and published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2018-10-04 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Joel Higgins has 901 unsent text messages saved on his phone. Ever since the thing that happened, there are certain people he hasn't been able to talk to in person. Sure, he shows up at school, does his mandatory volunteer hours at the soup kitchen, and spends pretty much every moment thinking about Eli, the most amazing girl in the world. But that doesn't mean he's keeping it together, or even that he has any friends. So instead of hanging out with people in real life, he drafts text messages. But he never presses send. As dismal as sophomore year was for Joel, he doesn't see how junior year will be any better. For starters, Eli doesn't know how he feels about her, his best friend Andy's gone, and he basically bombed the SATs. But as Joel spends more time at the soup kitchen with Eli and Benj, the new kid whose mouth seems to be unconnected to his brain, he forms bonds with the people they serve there-including a veteran they call Rooster-and begins to understand that the world is bigger than his own pain. In this dazzling, hilarious, and heartbreaking debut, Joel grapples with the aftermath of a tragic loss as he tries to make sense of the problems he's sees all around him with the help of banned books, Winnie-the-Pooh, a field of asparagus, and many pairs of socks.

Download or read book Devoted written by Amber Kennedy and published by Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.. This book was released on 2019-06-05 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Devoted is a thirty-day devotional written especially for mothers. Within the pages of this devotional, women will be encouraged on their journey of motherhood. Included are stories that Amber shares from her own experience as a mother, reflections on life from a heavenly minded perspective, and God-breathed scripture references from the Bible. Use this devotional as a part of your daily quiet time with Jesus, and experience his love and presence in the midst of mothering.

Download or read book Wait Listen Record written by Jessie Schlaser and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2012-04-19 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jessie Schlaser exemplifies Jesuss words in Matthew 25, Then the King will say to those on His right. Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. Caring for the least of these has been Jessies life. Now she shares that life with you in words of wisdom and encouragement she received from God in some of her darkest hours of personal pain and in testimonies of Gods power manifest in her life and through her in the lives of others. Walk with Jessie as well through visions of the garden of God and heed the warnings of the troubles of our times. This book gives a chronological look at the walk with God of an everyday follower of Jesus Christ, someone just like you and me. Jessies purpose in sharing with you is that you might be encouraged, uplifted, and inspired in your own daily life, whatever stage of life you are in and whatever you are going through.