Download or read book When the Church was a Family written by Joseph H. Hellerman and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2009 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A study of the early Christian church in the Mediterranean region and its emphasis on collective good over individual desire clarifies much about what is wrong with the American church today.

Download or read book How Your Church Family Works written by Peter L. Steinke and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2006-11-20 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on the work of Bowen and Friedman, and on his own many years of counseling experience, Peter Steinke shows how to recognize and deal with the emotional roots of such issues as church conflict, leadership roles, congregational change, irresponsible behavior, and the effects of family of origin on current relationships.

Download or read book A Place to Belong written by Megan Hill and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2020-04-16 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christians know church is important, but sometimes it doesn't seem worth it. An eclectic assortment of people with differing personalities, political views, and parenting styles can make for awkward interactions and difficult connections. What’s the point of putting in the tough work to build relationships? But the Bible says God’s people ought to be bound together. It uses words like beloved, brothers and sisters, saints, and fellow laborers to describe their mutual relationship in the church. In this book, Megan Hill answers a common question of churchgoers: What’s so great about the church? With rich theology, practical direction, and study questions for group use, Hill encourages and equips both first-time visitors and regular members to delight in being a part of the local church—no matter how messy and ordinary it seems today. It is only when God’s people begin to see one another as the Lord sees them that they will truly find a place to belong.

Download or read book Praying Together written by Megan Hill and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2016-04-14 with total page 111 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nearly all Christians would affirm the centrality of prayer for a healthy Christian life. And yet, for many, prayer is often a challenge, requiring intense personal commitment and self-discipline. However, as Megan Hill points out in Praying Together, our normal approach to prayer leaves out a crucial component: other people. While personal prayer is important, God designed the church to be a community of believers who regularly pray together. Exploring the Bible's rich teaching on what it means to gather at God's throne with one voice, Hill lays a theological foundation for corporate prayer and offers practical guidance for making it a reality—in our families, churches, and communities.

Download or read book Big Picture Parents written by Harriet Connor and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2017-01-20 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Being a parent in the modern world is tough. We are often overwhelmed with fear about damaging our children, guilt about our imperfections, and confusion about our role. Harriet Connor knows these feelings well. But hers is not just another parenting book full of "shoulds and shouldn'ts" to make you feel worse. Rather, she invites you to step back and consider the bigger picture: What is the purpose of life and parenthood? What are our human limitations? How can we cope with our guilt and fear? What are our family's values and how do we pass them on? What is our family's structure and place within the wider community? When she was desperate for answers, Harriet Connor turned to the ancient wisdom of her ancestors--the Bible. She went looking for little pieces of grandmotherly advice, but what she found was a grand vision--a big picture--that made sense of both life and parenthood. Whether you are new to the Bible or have read it before, you will not regret taking time to reflect on its message, which has given comfort and guidance to generations of parents just like you.

Download or read book Family Ministry Field Guide written by Timothy Paul Jones and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Scripture calls parents to train their children in the faith and to nurture their children's souls. Yet few parents actively engage in their children's spiritual development. How can churches best equip families to engage in their divine calling to disciple their children? Family ministry expert Dr. Timothy Paul Jones guides church leaders to develop a ministry system that equips parents to be the primary faith-trainers in their children's lives, moving beyond mere programming into a deeper spiritual life at home, within the church, and beyond. This resource is for leaders in the trenches--those who: see parents disengaging from their children's spiritual development; see too many students leave for college and drop out of church; have heard of 'family ministry, ' and just want to know more; or are frustrated with programmed ministries that fail to produce results. Based on solid research, this field guide unpacks how real-life churches can narrow the gap between present reality and the biblical ideal of faith-nurturing families"--Publisher description.

Download or read book The Good Dad written by Jim Daly and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2014-04-22 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It’s never too late to be a better father Jim Daly, president and CEO of Focus on the Family, is an expert in fatherhood—in part because his own "fathers" failed him so badly. His biological dad was an alcoholic. His stepfather deserted him. His foster father accused Jim of trying to kill him. All were out of Jim's life by the time he turned 13. Isn’t it odd—and reminiscent of the hand of God—that the director of the leading organization on family turned out to be a guy whose own background as a kid and son were pretty messed up? Or could it be that successful parenting is discovered not in the perfect, peaceful household but in the midst of battles and messy situations, where God must constantly be called to the scene? That is the mystery unraveled in this book. Using his own expertise, humor, and inexhaustible wealth of stories, Jim will show you that God can make you a good dad, a great dad, in spite of the way you’ve grown up and in spite of the mistakes you’ve made. Maybe even because of them. It’s not about becoming a perfect father. It’s about trying to become a better father, each and every day. It's about building relationships with your children through love, grace, patience, and fun—and helping them grow into the men and women they’re meant to be.

Download or read book Why Church Matters written by Joshua Harris and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2011-08-16 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Christians belong in churches--the only places where we can thrive and grow spiritually. In Why Church Matters, Joshua Harris makes this case with wisdom, clarity, and graciousness." --Charles W. Colson Church isn't where we go. It's who we are. We were never meant to live our faith in isolation. The church is the place God uses to grow us, encourage us, and use our gifts for His glory. In this honest, personal, and practical book, Joshua Harris shows you why it's time to say yes to church and how to find the right one for you--the place where you can fall in love with the family of God. Includes: What you miss when you miss church Ten questions to ask before you join How to get more out of the best day of the week What Readers are Saying: "This book shows the place of great honor that church holds in Christ's heart and encourages us to value what He values. I've bought multiple copies to give away." --Mike Neglia; Cork, Ireland "Josh Harris does an excellent job of addressing our impulse to church hop." --Garrett Watkins; Atlanta, Georgia "When our family was in the midst of a transition, Why Church Matters helped us find the right local church. It will do the same for you." --Andrew Hall; Ilderton, Ontario Previously published as Stop Dating the Church

Download or read book The Family at Church written by Scott Brown and published by . This book was released on 2020-10-05 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, I help parents navigate local church life through the ordinary means of grace in preaching, singing, praying, fellowship, and even in the hardships and trials.Tour Guides of Everlasting JoyParents are tour guides at the gates of everlasting joy. Don't miss the treasures. As a great tour guide, you need to help your children see the opportunities there. Help them experience the beautiful things God has in store for families who prioritize gathering with the redeemed in local churches. What is in store is better than what your children could gain from their sports or hobbies or camping.Give your children 10,000 reasons to believe that Jesus Christ is the only Savior, and His Word is the sole authority. Do it now. Do it through full engagement in local church life.Local churches offer dozens of opportunities to orient your family around the knowledge of the graces of the Lord Jesus Christ.The earlier you get going on this, the sweeter life will be. Now is the time to strengthen your family and your church. Table of Contents:The Onramp to This BookA Family Field GuideThe Power of Church and Family LifeTwenty Days to Transform Your Local Church ExperienceA Vision of HopeChapter 1, Tour Guides for Everlasting JoyChapter 2, Your Golden OpportunityChapter 3, The Church Needs Strong Families Chapter 4, Love the Church Chapter 5, Show Them the TreasuresChapter 6, Joined and Knit TogetherChapter 7, Face to Face RelationshipsChapter 8, The Day of RestChapter 9, Delightful CelebrationChapter 10, The Family Together in ChurchChapter 11, Keeping Children in Worship ServicesChapter 12, Distracted Children Chapter 13, Fellowship of Gladness and Sincerity of HeartChapter 14, Joyful SingingChapter 15, Teaching Children to SingChapter 16, Listening to SermonsChapter 17, Applying Sermons Chapter 18, Prayer MeetingsChapter 19, The Ordinances of the Lord's Supper and BaptismChapter 20, At the Gates of Everlasting Joy

Download or read book Center Church written by Timothy Keller and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2012-09-04 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Practical and Gospel-centered thoughts on how to have a fruitful ministry by one of America's leading and most beloved pastor. Many church leaders are struggling to adapt to a culture that values individuality above loyalty to a group or institution. There have been so many "church growth" and "effective ministry" books in the past few decades that it's hard to know where to start or which ones will provide useful and honest insight. Based on over twenty years of ministry in New York City, Timothy Keller takes a unique approach that measures a ministry's success neither by numbers nor purely by the faithfulness of its leaders, but on the biblical grounds of fruitfulness. Center Church outlines a balanced theological vision for ministry organized around three core commitments: Gospel-centered: The gospel of grace in Jesus Christ changes everything, from our hearts to our community to the world. It completely reshapes the content, tone, and strategy of all that we do. City-centered: With a positive approach toward our culture, we learn to affirm that cities are wonderful, strategic, and under-served places for gospel ministry. Movement-centered: Instead of building our own tribe, we seek the prosperity and peace of our community as we are led by the Holy Spirit. "Between a pastor's doctrinal beliefs and ministry practices should be a well-conceived vision for how to bring the gospel to bear on the particular cultural setting and historical moment. This is something more practical than just doctrine but much more theological than "how-to steps" for carrying out a ministry. Once this vision is in place, it leads church leaders to make good decisions on how to worship, disciple, evangelize, serve, and engage culture in their field of ministry—whether in a city, suburb, or small town." — Tim Keller, Core Church

Download or read book The Prayer Saturated Church written by Cheryl Sacks and published by Tyndale House. This book was released on 2014-02-27 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Prayer-Saturated Church provides step-by-step, practical help for mobilizing, organizing, and motivating believers to make their church a house of prayer. Written by a veteran prayer leader with hands-on experience in local church prayer, The Prayer-Saturated Church will enable any church to take prayer to the next level.

Download or read book Love Thy Body written by Nancy R. Pearcey and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2018-01-02 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why the call to Love Thy Body? To counter a pervasive hostility toward the body and biology that drives today's headline stories: Transgenderism: Activists detach gender from biology. Kids down to kindergarten are being taught their bodies are irrelevant. Is this affirming--or does it demean the body? Homosexuality: Advocates disconnect sexuality from biological identity. Is this liberating--or does it denigrate biology? Abortion: Supporters deny the fetus is a person, though it is biologically human. Does this mean equality for women--or does it threaten the intrinsic value of all humans? Euthanasia: Those who lack certain cognitive abilities are said to be no longer persons. Is this compassionate--or does it ultimately put everyone at risk? In Love Thy Body, bestselling author Nancy Pearcey goes beyond politically correct slogans with a riveting exposé of the dehumanizing worldview that shapes current watershed moral issues. Pearcey then turns the tables on media boilerplate that misportrays Christianity as harsh or hateful. A former agnostic, she makes a surprising and persuasive case that Christianity is holistic, sustaining the dignity of the body and biology. Throughout she entrances readers with compassionate stories of people wrestling with hard questions in their own lives--their pain, their struggles, their triumphs. "Liberal secularist ideology rests on a mistake and Nancy Pearcey in her terrific new book puts her finger right on it. In embracing abortion, euthanasia, homosexual conduct and relationships, transgenderism, and the like, liberal secularism . . . is philosophically as well as theologically untenable."--Robert P. George, Princeton University "Wonderful guide."--Sam Allberry, author, Is God Anti-Gay? "A must-read."--Rosaria Butterfield, former professor, Syracuse University; author, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert "An astute but accessible analysis of the intellectual roots of the most important moral ills facing us today: abortion, euthanasia, and redefining the family."--Richard Weikart, California State University, Stanislaus "Highly readable, insightful, and informative."--Mary Poplin, Claremont Graduate University; author, Is Reality Secular? "Unmasks the far-reaching practical consequences of mind-body dualism better than anyone I have ever seen."--Jennifer Roback Morse, founder and president, The Ruth Institute "Love Thy Body richly enhances the treasure box that is Pearcey's collective work."--Glenn T. Stanton, Focus on the Family "Essential reading . . . Love Thy Body brings clarity and understanding to the multitude of complex and confusing views in discussions about love and sexuality."--Becky Norton Dunlop, Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow, The Heritage Foundation "Pearcey gets straight to the issue of our day: What makes humans valuable in the first place? You must get this book. Don't just read it. Master it."--Scott Klusendorf, president, Life Training Institute

Download or read book Stop Dating The Church written by Joshua Harris and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2004 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: God designed us to build our lives around a local church. Bestselling Joshua Harris reveals how and why to fall in love with, and stay committed to, the church.

Download or read book Total Church written by Tim Chester and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2008-08-21 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Church is not a meeting you attend or a place you enter," write pastors Tim Chester and Steve Timmis. "It's an identity that is ours in Christ. An identity that shapes the whole of life so that life and mission become 'total church.'" With that as their premise, they emphasize two overarching principles to govern the practice of church and mission: being gospel-centered and being community-centered. When these principles take precedence, say the authors, the truth of the Word is upheld, the mission of the gospel is carried out, and the priority of relationships is practiced in radical ways. The church becomes not just another commitment to juggle but a 24/7 lifestyle where programs, big events, and teaching from one person take a backseat to sharing lives, reaching out, and learning about God together. In Total Church, Chester and Timmis first outline the biblical case for making gospel and community central and then apply this dual focus to evangelism, social involvement, church planting, world missions, discipleship, pastoral care, spirituality, theology, apologetics, youth and children's work. As this insightful book calls the body of Christ to rethink its perspective and practice of church, it charts a middle path between the emerging church movement and conservative evangelicalism that all believers will find helpful.

Download or read book Our Church and Our Children written by Sophie Koulomzin and published by St Vladimir's Seminary Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a re-release of a classic by a distinguished Orthodox Christian religious educator and a foundational read for Christian parents and educators. Koulomzin, who taught Religious Education at St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary from 1954 to 1973, writes as a laywoman, teacher, mother, and grandmother about the task of Christian education. The work is a remarkable compendium of her wisdom. The contents of the book comprise a deep understanding of children, a wise appropriation of educational and developmental theory, a lived knowledge of the Orthodox faith tradition, and a keen sense of Orthodox church life in America. The book is peppered with engaging anecdotes from her half-century of experience working with children in the Church. For Koulomzin, recognizing that children are full members of the Church was of utmost importance, and her life's vocation was encouraging others to see this. Among the key topics addressed in Our Church and Our Children are: the task of Christian education, developmental stages of children, Christian education in the family, the challenges and opportunities of the church school, and a vision and goals for the Christian teacher. It makes an excellent book for either group or personal study. Included in the re-release are a foreword, which gives a glimpse into her incredible personal life, a bibliography, and a chapter-by-chapter study guide.

Download or read book PRACTICAL FAMILY MINISTRY A COLLECTION OF IDEAS FOR YOUR CHURCH written by TIMOTHY PAUL JONES; JOHN DAVID TRENTHAM. and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Church Friendly Family written by Randy Booth and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: