Download or read book Born Again This Way written by Rachel Gilson and published by . This book was released on 2020-03 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Addresses some of the questions raised by Christians with same-sex attraction. As a Christian who experiences same-sex attraction, is it possible to live a life that's both faithful and fulfiling? Rachel Gilson wants to show you that it is and that it's not just a case of limping to the finish line, it's possible to run the race with joy. In this powerful and personal book, she describes her own unexpected journey of coming out and coming to faith... and what came next. As she does so, she addresses many of the questions that Christians living with same-sex attraction are wrestling with: Am I consigned to a life of loneliness? How do I navigate my friendships? Will my desires ever change? Is there some greater purpose to all this? What comes next, and next, and next? Drawing on insights from the Bible and the experiences of others, Born Again This Way provides assurance and encouragement for Christians with same-sex attraction, and paints a compelling picture of discipleship for every believer. Whatever your sexuality, this book is an inspiring testimony of how a life submitted to Jesus will be fulfilling and fruitful, but not always in the ways we might expect.

Download or read book Making Disciples Making Leaders Participant Workbook Updated Second Edition written by Steven P. Eason and published by Presbyterian Publishing Corp. This book was released on 2022-03-15 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Updated 2022 EditionThe second edition of the widely-used Making Disciples, Making Leaders is a comprehensive guide for creating effective spiritual leaders in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A). With almost two decades of combined experience in training church leaders, Eason and Clemans have designed resources that can be customized to fit your church's unique needs. The book introduces biblical principles for leadership before describing the important task of the nominating committee. Pastors then receive a step-by-step curriculum for a four-session leadership training course. With updates for the revised Form of Government, Making Disciples, Making Leadersâ€"Participant Workbook includes worship aids, handouts, worksheets, quizzes, and study guides.

Download or read book Unashamed written by Amber Cantorna-Wylde and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2019-03-12 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On a daily basis, author and LGBTQ advocate Amber Cantorna receives emails asking the same question: How does one reconcile their sexuality with their faith? Depression, despair, and thoughts of suicide often haunt LGBTQ Christians as they feel unable to imagine the possibility of living a happy, fulfilling life as an LGBTQ person of faith. As the gay daughter of a thirty-plus-year executive of conservative Christian organization Focus on the Family, Amber lost everything when she came out as gay in 2012. However, her journey to embrace her authenticity brought her fulfillment and wisdom to share. Unashamed serves as a guide for Christians considering coming out, tackling tough subject matters such as demolishing internalized homophobia, finding an affirming faith community, reestablishing your worth as a child of God, navigating difficult family conversations (especially in cases where family is involved in church leadership/ministry), and healing from the pain of rejection. Unashamed encourages LGBTQ Christians to embrace their unique identities and to celebrate the diversity placed inside them by God.

Download or read book The Bible s Yes to Same Sex Marriage New Edition with Study Guide written by Mark Achtemeier and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2015-08-28 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early 2000's, Mark Achtemeier embarked on a personal journey with the Bible that led him from being a conservative, evangelical opponent of gay rights to an outspoken activist for gay marriage and a fully inclusive church. In The Bible's Yes to Same-Sex Marriage, Achtemeier shares what led to his change of heart: the problems with excluding groups of people and the insights into the Bible's message that led him to recognize the fullness of God's love and support for LGBT persons. Readers will discover how reading snippets of Scripture out of context has led to false and misleading interpretations of the Bible's message for gay people. Achtemeier shows how a careful reading of the whole Scripture reveals God's good news about love, marriage, and sexuality for gay and straight people alike. This new edition includes a study guide and a new introduction from the author that reflects on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling and changes within the church. Perfect for groups or self-reflection, the study guide directs readers over four sessions to explore both Achtemeier's book and the Bible.

Download or read book Not Yet Married written by Marshall Segal and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2017-06-20 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Life Is Never Mainly About Love and Marriage. So Learn to Live and Date for More. Many of you grew up assuming that marriage would meet all of your needs and unlock God's purposes for you. But God has far more planned for you than your future marriage. Not Yet Married is not about waiting quietly in the corner of the world for God to bring you "the one," but about inspiring you to live and date for more now. If you follow Jesus, the search for a spouse is no longer a pursuit of the perfect person, but a pursuit of more of God. He will likely write a love story for you different than the one you would write for yourself, but that's because he loves you and knows how to write a better story. This book was written to help you find real hope, happiness, and purpose in your not-yet-married life.

Download or read book The Outrageous Idea of the Missional Professor written by Paul M. Gould and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2014-11-03 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The outrageous idea of this book is that God wants to use professors as professors to reach others, transform the academy, and meet the needs of the world. God is on a mission to redeem and restore this fallen world, and as members of one of the most influential institutions in society, Christian professors in the university play an important role in that mission. Becoming a missional professor will require a clear vision of God's heart for the lost as well as humankind's purpose and calling under the banner of Christ, an understanding of the significance of the university as a cultural shaping institution and mission field, and a desire for Christian wholeness in a fragmented world. This idea is outrageous because many Christian professors struggle to live missionally and need a clear vision of such a life as well as role models to lead the way. Many professors already living missional lives need encouragement to "excel still more" (1 Thess 4:10). We all need God's grace and mercy as we try to faithfully follow Christ within the university.

Download or read book Behavioral Covenants in Congregations written by Gil Rendle and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 1998-07-01 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This down-to-earth workbook gets to the heart of modern congregational life: how to live creatively together despite differences of age, race, culture, opinion, gender, theological or political position. Alban Senior Consultant Gil Rendle explains how to grow by valuing our differences rather than trying to ignore or blend them. He describes a method of establishing behavioral covenants that includes leadership instruction, training tools, resources (visual models, examples of specific covenants), small-group exercises, plans for meetings and retreats.

Download or read book The Faithful Preacher Foreword by John Piper written by Thabiti M. Anyabwile and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2007-03-02 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The cliché is that those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them. But Thabiti Anyabwile contends that it is not the mistakes we must study; it is the people who have overcome them. So he presents three of the most influential African-American pastors in American history who can teach us what faithful ministry entails. Lemuel Haynes (1753-1833) reminds pastors that eternity must shape our ministry. Daniel A. Payne (1811-1893) stresses the importance of character and preparation to faithful shepherding. And Francis J. Grimké (1850-1937) provides a vision for engaging the world with the gospel. While they are from the African-American tradition, they, like all true saints, belong to all Christians of every background and era. Distinctive for its use of rare and out-of-print messages, Anaybwile's work is valuable as a reference as well as a devotional resource.

Download or read book The Big Idea Companion for Preaching and Teaching written by Matthew D. Kim and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2021-04-20 with total page 612 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Preaching 2022 Book of the Year Haddon Robinson's widely used and influential text, Biblical Preaching, has influenced generations of students and preachers. In The Big Idea Companion for Preaching and Teaching, trusted leading evangelical homileticians, teachers of preaching, and experienced pastors demonstrate that Robinson's "big idea" approach to expository preaching still works in today's diverse cultures and fast-paced world. This accessible resource offers an insider's view on figuring out the big idea of each book of the Bible, helping preachers and teachers check their interpretation of particular biblical books and passages. The contributors offer tips on how to divide each book of the Bible into preaching and teaching passages, guidance on difficult passages and verses, cultural perspectives for faithful application, and suggested resources for interpreting, preaching, and teaching. Pastors, teachers, Bible study leaders, small groups, and college and seminary students and professors will find a wealth of valuable information in this resource.

Download or read book Together for a Season Advent Christmas and Epiphany written by Gillian Ambrose and published by Church House Publishing. This book was released on 2006-09 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers a rich array of creative all-age material designed to bring to life the Common Worship liturgy for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany.

Download or read book A Study of Ephesians written by Shante Grossett and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2020-10-14 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Join me for an in-depth four week study of the book of Ephesians where we'll break down the truths about our identity in Christ and learn how to live each and every day in light of it. Let's take a deeper look at the foundation of the gospel and how it establishes our identity and empowers us to live the Christian life God called us to.

Download or read book Rediscovering Faithfulness written by Kenneth W. M. Wozniak and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2024-07-09 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does faithfulness mean for modern Christians who find themselves immersed in a social and moral context two millennia removed from that of Jesus? As a notion endorsed by Christians universally, irrespective of church tradition, geographic location, economic and political milieu, or spiritual experience, faithfulness is essential to mature Christian living. Yet many in the modern church have lost—or perhaps forgotten—the true nature of faithfulness, and thus have wandered from that which God envisages for believers. Rediscovering what faithfulness entails, however, is altogether possible. Theological ethicist Kenneth W. M. Wozniak takes the reader on a journey of encounter, looking to the earliest Christians and their understanding of fidelity to the way of Jesus as a model for believers today, and as the means by which the essence of faithfulness—rooted not in adherence to a performance standard but rather in personal cultivation of the divine character—the Jesus way not only can be discovered, but also embraced and enjoyed by the one who aspires to align with the very being of God.

Download or read book The Rabbi as a Surrogate Priest written by Stuart Dauermann and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2009-05-01 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "There are many aspects to this task of rabbinic training, but four closely related questions rise to the surface as requiring primary attention. The first is a question of description: What ought to be the functions performed by a messianic Jewish rabbi? The second is a question of legitimacy: What similarities exist between the functions performed by messianic Jewish rabbis and rabbis in the wider Jewish context such that the rabbinate in both contexts may legitimately be seen to be variations on the same theme, and the messianic Jewish rabbinate therefore legitimately a rabbinate? The third is a question of differentiation: How and why are the functions performed by a messianic Jewish rabbi contextually particularistic and therefore different from those performed byChristian clergy? In other words, how is a messianic rabbi more than just a Protestant Pastor with switched labels? The fourth is a question of biblicity: Is there biblical justification or precedent for the proposed paradigm of the rabbi as a surrogate priest? Each of these questions emerges from messianic Judaism's interaction with different but overlapping audiences. The question of description is addressed primarily to the messianic Jewish context. The question of legitimacy is addressed primarily to the wider Jewish world. The question of differentiation is addressed primarily to the church world. The question of biblicity is addressed both to the messianic Jewish context and the church world. And in all cases, looking over our shoulder is the general public." --from the Prologue

Download or read book Faithful Families written by Traci Smith and published by Chalice Press. This book was released on 2017-03-07 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new and expanded version of Seamless Faith, now with more than a dozen new spiritual practices and additional resources for parents, kids, grandparents, and communities that care about families! Add family faith moments to your daily routine with little or no prep, and share meaningful spiritual experiences with your children! Traci Smith, a pastor and mother of three, offers ways to discover and develop new spiritual practices as a family, whether you're a new seeker or a lifelong follower. Faithful Families is brimming with easy, do-it-yourself ideas for transforming your family's everyday moments into sacred moments! Faithful Families helps you: connect faith to your family's everyday life; add family faith moments into your daily routine; learn new spiritual practices alongside your children; teach your children to appreciate religious diversity with time-tested non-Christian and Christian spiritual practices; respond to life's everyday challenges and opportunities with meaningful practices Faithful Families is the perfect gift for Parents, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles; Baptisms; Baby Showers; New Families; Christian educators and those they serve; Preschool Classes; and Godparents Faithful Families is part of The Young Clergy Women Project

Download or read book Your Marriage Made in Heaven written by Thomas E. Elkin Ph.D. and published by WestBow Press. This book was released on 2019-03-06 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dr. Elkin presents a much-needed definition of marriage with practical information for both young married couples and couples seeking marriage renewal. He addresses not only the spiritual but the practical sides of marriage within the framework of his unique definition of marriage. In addition to the definition of marriage, Dr. Elkin gives twenty-seven weeks of devotions for the married couple to encourage scripture reading and praying together in the union.

Download or read book A MISSIONARY LOOKS AT 12 STEPS TO OVERCOME ADDICTION AND SIN written by Richard Lehman and published by Richard Lehman. This book was released on 2023-02-28 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Christian based 12-step process helps us to overcome addiction by attaching to the faithful love of the Savior, enabling healthy relationships with other people. And so a missionary, Richard Lehman, looks at the 12-step process, and prayerfully applies the wisdom of the scriptures to it. And in doing so he has also found this process helpful in providing insights into how to work with different individuals to bring them to Christ. Richard spends much time training hundreds of other ministers. And in addition to helping those addicted, this 12 step process has become a key resource for training gospel workers who help those that are addicted. Experience has proved that everyone "wrestles" with deep hurts of some kind. There is a deep empty hole in the heart of the soul - and it must be filled somehow. How we fill that hole, or comfort ourselves within that empty space, will determine what sin we become addicted to. It is sin (someone else's, or ours) that ultimately first creates a void in the heart of the individual. Unfaithfulness is the sin of betrayal. Someone trusted another with their heart, and then that same person broke their heart. It happens to children in their relationship with their parents, or relatives, or trusted others. It happens often within many marriage relationships. And it happens within everyone's life at some point, by how their own sin betrays the faithful love of the Savior. And so people go through life hiding the pain of betrayal. Instead of seeking for healing through a loving Savior, they resort to other things. And in doing so they become addicted to some substance, some sin, or both. And they often don't know where to start to find a way out. This book seeks to help them not only start down the right path, but to also find complete healing through the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. So throughout this 12 step process, you will see that the book is addressed to two audiences at the same time. Those who need help over addictions, and those that are trying to help them. And there is an important reason for this. Because people who need help to overcome addictions, need to completely trust those that are working with them. And so if you are using this process to help them, these people also want transparency and understanding as to what they are being asked to do, and why. There can be no hidden agendas in helping people! Jesus came so that relationships can be healed. He also sent the comforter of the Holy Spirit, so that every pain that sinful mankind could bring against us, could still be comforted and healed in this life. "If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." (John 14:15-18)

Download or read book Tiny Beautiful Things written by Cheryl Strayed and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2012-07-10 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Soon to be a Hulu Original series • The internationally acclaimed author of Wild collects the best of The Rumpus's Dear Sugar advice columns plus never-before-published pieces. Rich with humor and insight—and absolute honesty—this "wise and compassionate" (New York Times Book Review) book is a balm for everything life throws our way. Life can be hard: your lover cheats on you; you lose a family member; you can’t pay the bills—and it can be great: you’ve had the hottest sex of your life; you get that plum job; you muster the courage to write your novel. Sugar—the once-anonymous online columnist at The Rumpus, now revealed as Cheryl Strayed, author of the bestselling memoir Wild—is the person thousands turn to for advice.