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Showing 1 - 20 of 710 items
By Mary Scifres, David L. Bone. 2024
A weekly worship planning book for United Methodist pastors and musicians – Refreshed!New with the 2024-2025 edition! The Music &…
Worship Planner includes both the CEB and NRSVue translations in one planner, along with added space for notes.An all-in-one resource that helps both the music director and pastor plan the worship services for each Sunday and holy day of the year, The United Methodist Music and Worship Planner 2024-2025 is lectionary-based and places at your fingertips:- Weekly pages in a spiral-bound format that help you plan the entire worship year from September through August.- Eight or more suggested hymns for each service keyed to United Methodist worship resources: The United Methodist Hymnal, The Faith We Sing, Worship & Song, The United Methodist Book of Worship, and The Africana Hymnal.- Complete lectionary text of the Old Testament, Psalm, Epistle, and Gospel readings using the Common English Bible translation.- Reproducible worship planning forms.- Resources for holidays and special days.- Suggestions for prayers, solos, anthems, visuals, and much more.In addition, you will find more:- Emphasis on Methodist/Wesleyan theology, worship practices, and historical roots- Consistent Worship elements- Content for contemporary worship services- More innovative worship elementsBy Joel M. Hoffman. 2014
The Bible you usually read is not the complete story. Some holy writings were left out for political or theological…
reasons, others simply because of the physical restrictions of ancient bookmaking technology. At times, the compilers of the Bible skipped information that they assumed everyone knew. Some passages were even omitted by accident.In The Bible's Cutting Room Floor, acclaimed author and translator Dr. Joel M. Hoffman gives us the stories and other texts that didn't make it into the Bible even though they offer penetrating insight into the Bible and its teachings.The Book of Genesis tells us about Adam and Eve's time in the Garden of Eden, but not their saga after they get kicked out or the lessons they have for us about good and evil. The Bible introduces us to Abraham, but it doesn't include the troubling story of his early life, which explains how he came to reject idolatry to become the father of monotheism. And while there are only 150 Psalms in today's Bible, there used to be many more.Dr. Hoffman deftly brings these and other ancient scriptural texts to life, exploring how they offer new answers to some of the most fundamental and universal questions people ask about their lives. An impressive blend of history, linguistics, and religious scholarship, The Bible's Cutting Room Floor reveals what's missing from your Bible, who left it out, and why it is so important.By John J. Fialka. 2003
Sisters is the first major history of the pivotal role played by nuns in the building of American society. Nuns…
were the first feminists, argues Fialka. They became the nation's first cadre of independent, professional women. Some nursed, some taught, and many created and managed new charitable organizations, including large hospitals and colleges. In the 1800s nuns moved west with the frontier, often starting the first hospitals and schools in immigrant communities. They provided aid and service in the Chicago fire, cared for orphans and prostitutes in the California Gold Rush and brought professional nursing skills to field hospitals run by both armies in the Civil War. Their work was often done in the face of intimidation from such groups as the Know Nothings and the Ku Klux Klan.In the 1900s they built the nation's largest private school and hospital systems and brought the Catholic Church into the civil rights movement. As their numbers began to decline in the 1970s, many sisters were forced to take professional jobs as lawyers, probation workers, managers and hospital executives because their salaries were needed to support older nuns, many of whom lacked a pension system. Currently there are about 75,000 sisters in America, down from 204,000 in 1968. Their median age is sixty-nine. In Sisters, Fialka reveals the strength of the spiritual capital and the unprecedented reach of the caring institutions that religious women created in America.By Virginia Rounding. 2017
Smithfield, settled on the fringes of Roman London, was once a place of revelry. Jesters and crowds flocked for the…
medieval St Bartholomew's Day celebrations, tournaments were plentiful and it became the location of London's most famous meat market. Yet in Tudor England, Smithfield had another, more sinister use: the public execution of heretics.The Burning Time is a vivid insight into an era in which what was orthodoxy one year might be dangerous heresy the next. The first martyrs were Catholics, who cleaved to Rome in defiance of Henry VIII's break with the papacy. But with the accession of Henry's daughter Mary - soon to be nicknamed 'Bloody Mary' - the charge of heresy was leveled against devout Protestants, who chose to burn rather than recant.At the center of Virginia Rounding's vivid account of this extraordinary period are two very different characters. The first is Richard Rich, Thomas Cromwell's protégé, who, almost uniquely, remained in a position of great power, influence and wealth under three Tudor monarchs, and who helped send many devout men and women to their deaths. The second is John Deane, Rector of St Bartholomew's, who was able, somehow, to navigate the treacherous waters of changing dogma and help others to survive.The Burning Time is their story, but it is also the story of the hundreds of men and women who were put to the fire for their faith.By Gerald Arbuckle. 2024
Conspiracy Theorizing explore how should individuals with the Christian faith should react to conspiracy theories, their untruths, and their dangers.…
This book outlines the way that conspiracy theories are the fundamental basis for this stigmatization and scapegoating. It goes further to explain that scapegoating is fostering extreme divisions within in societies and between nations with each side often demonizing the other.This book states how conspiracy theories satisfy people’s needs for certainty, security, and a positive self-image in a world they feel is disintegrating. Uncovering deeper, when the comforting securities of cultures crumble, paranoia makes sense. This book demonstrates that an inability to live with uncertainty and ambiguity draws people to conspiracy theories when they validate their apprehensions. The commentary in this book also validates that since conspiracy theories can never be verified by objective research and truths they are one of the most problematic subjects to expose.This book aims to answer these questions: What are conspiracy theories? Why do they arise, especially in times of cultural upheavals? Are they harmful? What do the Christian Scriptures say about them? Readers that are interested in religion, Christianity and conspiracy theories would enjoy this book.By Edward Engelbrecht. 2014
Tap into the treasures of God's Word with the Lutheran Bible Companion, the first-ever comprehensive guide to the Bible featuring…
commentary that reflects Lutheran theology. Inside Volume 1, readers find new understanding for personal meditation or preaching in the expansive timeline of the Old Testament. Fascinating insights on the Bible's themes provide additional depth: Theological topics and literary features found in each book Significant events, people, and places found in detailed outlines and maps Biblical reflections from Martin Luther and Johann Gerhard Color photography and art illustrating stories, daily life, and landscapes (600+)Does the current celibate, semi-monastic, and all-male seminary formation contribute to the persistence of clerical sexual abuse in the Roman…
Catholic Church?Applying sociological theories on socialization, total institutions, and social resistance as the primary conceptual framework, and drawing on secondary literature, media reports, the author’s experience, interviews, and Church documents, this book argues that the Catholic Church’s institution of the celibate seminary formation as the only mode of clerical training for Catholic priests has resulted in negative unintended consequences to human formation such as the suspension of normal human socialization in society, psychosexual immaturity, and weak social control against clerical sexual abuse. The author thus contends that celibate training, while suitable for those who do live in religious or monastic communities, is inappropriate for those who are obliged to live alone and work in parishes. As such, an alternative model for diocesan clerical formation is advanced.A fresh look at the aptness – and effects – of celibate formation for diocesan clergy, this volume is the first to relate the persistence of Catholic clerical sexual abuse to celibate seminary formation, exploring the structural links between the two using sociological arguments and proposing an apprenticeship-based model of formation, which has numerous advantages as a form of clerical training. It will therefore appeal to scholars and students of religion, sociology, and theology, as well as those involved with seminary formation.Since at least the high point of the civil rights movement, African American Christianity has been widely recognized as a…
potent force for social change. Most attention to the political significance of Black churches, however, focuses on domestic protest and electoral politics. Yet some Black churches take a deep interest in the global issue of Israel and Palestine. Why would African American Christians get involved—and even take sides—in Palestine and Israel, and what does that reveal about the political significance of “the Black Church” today?This book examines African American Christian involvement in Israel and Palestine to show how competing visions of “the Black Church” are changing through transnational political engagement. Considering cases ranging from African American Christian Zionists to Palestinian solidarity activists, Roger Baumann traces how Black religious politics transcend domestic arenas and enter global spaces. These cases, he argues, illuminate how the meaning of the ostensibly singular and unifying category of “the Black Church”—spanning its history, identity, culture, and mission—is deeply contested at every turn. Black Visions of the Holy Land offers new insights into how Black churches understand their political role and social significance; the ways race, religion, and politics both converge and diverge; and why the meaning of overlapping racial and religious identities shifts when moving from national to global contexts.By Scott Ashmon. 2020
¿ Cuá l es mi propó sito en la vida? ¿ Có mo debo vivir? Este libro te invita a…
explorar tu identidad a travé s de tus llamados, a imaginar vivir virtuosamente para los demá s, y a descubrir un profundo significado y satisfacció n en la vida. Verá s muchas vocaciones que los jó venes tienen o tendrá n má s tarde en la vida. Entre los llamados abordados está n el ser estudiante, ciudadano, vecino, trabajador, cuidador de la naturaleza, esposo, esposa, novio, novia, padre o madre, hijo, hermano, santo y sacerdote, y amigo. Los capí tulos sobre estos llamados examinan la naturaleza y las responsabilidades de estos roles a la luz de la sabidurí a humana y divina que se halla en la tradició n de las artes liberales y en la Biblia.Tambié n considerará s el rol que desempeñ an los pasatiempos en la vida y la manera en que estas entusiastas actividades pueden renovarte y capacitarte. Cada capí tulo contiene ejercicios para reflexió n y discusió n que se pueden desarrollar de manera personal, con un compañ ero o en grupo.By Allison Key Bemiss. 2024
Teach preschoolers their ABCs and faith using the hands-on, sensory experiences and projects in this creative activity devotional that explores…
living for Jesus with curiosity and excitement.Written by a mom, teacher, and expert in STEAM activities and early childhood education, this activity devotional is packed with opportunities for little ones to grow, learn, and have fun in God's great, exciting world. This book includes ...26 devotions for each letter that focus on curiosity and inquiry and include biblically-rooted "I Am" affirmations;short, easy-to-understand Bible verses and prayers that speak to a young child's sweet and joyful heart;active projects, crafts, recipes, games, and songs for hands-on sensory learning;an introduction for families overviewing the research-based design and strategies embedded in the projects; andaccess to a downloadable alphabet coloring book.God Made Me from A to Z is designed fortoddlers and preschoolers ages 2 to 5high-energy children, neurodivergent children, and children with special needsSunday school classes, preschool lessons, and homeschool familiesa New Year's or summer family project, starting a new school year, and gifts for birthdays, Easter baskets, and ChristmasYoung children are natural explorers. Help them discover God's world and how wonderfully God created them while encouraging their hearts with scriptural truths and gifting them special family memories.By Sarah Jakes Roberts. 2024
Unleash the superpower of being yourself. Sarah Jakes Roberts, bestselling author of Woman Evolve, will help you craft a language toward…
your issues with intentionality.Stripping our minds of the expectations that inundate our world has never been more difficult. One quick scroll of our phones and we're consumed by other people's projections of how we should be feeling or responding.The ability to determine your truth without judgment is the beginning of harnessing authentic power in Christ. When we do the work of embracing where we are, we create space for God's love to meet us in our most raw form and then polish us to shine like never before. Power does not lie in success, achievement, or performance. Power rests in humility, honesty, and the commitment to continuous growth.Power Moves will help you to qualify whether you're living life authentically or if you've found a way to maintain status quo. It will reveal the principles required to tap into the most powerful version of who you are, then lead you in how to introduce your authentic self to the world around you. Sarah will help yougive language to your changing needs,acknowledge and applaud your growth,refuse to bear the weight all at once or all alone, andrelease your power. Open your eyes to the way that God sees you and awaken your boldness to effect change in the world by living out the truth of who God says you are with confidence.These sensational fictional accounts of a near conquest of Japan by a kind of mythical Kirishitan, who used money and…
magic to gain converts in their attempt to take over Japan, are studied in the context of the publication trends of the time they were produced, as well as of the cultural and political attitudes toward Christianity that prevailed when they were written. Leuchtenberger also analyzes the representations of Japan and the Kirishitan that appear in these texts in the context of contemporary discourses on the world and Japan's place in it. New maps and information brought by the missionaries and traders to Japan reflected a world that looked very different from the traditional Sino-centric one. These anti-Kirishitan popular narratives meet the challenge of this new world by expelling it and reasserting the conventional three-realms world order, in which Japan plays an influential role. This is done most obviously in the expulsion of the Kirishitan that is narrated in the texts, but it is also achieved on another level by the representation of the Kirishitan as uncouth and very common villains. Conquering Demons features a new look at anti-Kirishitan works from a literary perspective, examining them in the context of developments in the publishing industry and in the broader discourses on Japan and many Others in the world. It is of interest most broadly to scholars and teachers of Japanese history and literature, but also to those dealing with questions of identity and Othering, issues of "mapping" Japan and the world, and the role of manuscript culture in Edo-period literature. The translations provide an entertaining and relatively rare look at some Japanese representations of Westerners and would be useful in undergraduate classes on Japanese history, culture, and literature.By Tom Berlin, Mark A. Miller. 2023
On the third day, he rose again.In The Third Day: Living the Resurrection, Tom Berlin uses his gifts of storytelling…
and understanding the Scriptures to connect the reader to the experiences of several individuals around Jesus in his final days, focusing on new life and redemption rather than loss.Join Peter, Mary Magdalene, and Thomas as they feel the despair of losing Jesus and the surprise and joy that awaits them in the resurrection. This study traces events around these characters, along with Paul and the disciples at Emmaus, and how the resurrection transforms their lives.The book can be read alone or used for a six-week group study and church-wide Lenten program. Components include a comprehensive Leader Guide and video teaching sessions featuring Tom (with closed captioning).By Magrey DeVega, Sam McGlothlin, Jevon Caldwell-Gross, Susan Robb. 2023
Be part of something more.We are hungry for a sense of purpose, direction, and calling in our lives. That’s as…
basic an ingredient to the human experience as they come. We want to be part of something bigger than ourselves. We want to participate in something that has eternal merit and lasting impact. We do not want to live a shallow, hollow existence. We yearn for deeper meaning, for deeper purpose within our lives. We want to be more than we are.In On Purpose: Finding God’s Voice in Your Passion, authors Magrey deVega, Sam McGlothlin, Jevon Caldwell-Gross, and Susan Robb help us see God's purpose for our lives, how to open ourselves to God's voice, and how to take the first or next step to follow God's call. Reading this book and exploring life choices alongside others, individuals will learn how to channel their passions, hear God’s voice, and live the life they were meant to live.To support reading in a group, resources including a full leader’s guide and DVD with four teaching sessions are also available.By Josh Scott. 2023
Read the Bible for the first time – again. In Bible Stories for Grown-Ups: Reading Scripture with New Eyes pastor…
Josh Scott looks at familiar Bible stories and reveals new details and interpretations for an adult audience. This six-week Bible study will consider stories many read as children including Noah's Ark, the binding of Isaac, Jonah and the big fish, Jesus and Zacchaeus, Jesus healing a blind man, and the parable of the talents. Scott reimagines these stories and opens new visions for readers to understand well known pieces of Scripture in our current cultural environment.The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the six-week study, including session plans, activities, discussion questions, and multiple format options. Additional components include the book, Bible Stories for Grown-Up, and video teaching sessions featuring Josch Scott, making this perfect as a group study throughout the year.By Charley Reeb. 2023
The local pastor’s go-to resource for weekly sermon planning.The Abingdon Preaching Annual 2024 is lectionary-based and follows the calendar year…
(January - December). It includes special days like Maundy Thursday and Ash Wednesday, and indexes for scriptures and themes, to assist preachers with non-lectionary sermons.Each entry begins with a preacher-to-preacher prayer for preparation, then moves to the key feature: a commentary on one or more texts for the week, exploring themes and storylines, theological reflections, and thoughts about how the text and topic relate to our lives today. Also included are ideas for bringing the text to life--stories, illustrations, ideas for further reading, questions the preacher might pose to the congregation, and suggestions for a ‘call to action’ in response to the message.Finally, for the preacher’s ongoing enrichment, the Annual includes excerpts from new books on preaching and homiletics. This helpful resource is written by every-week preachers who aim to come alongside you, offering a reliable starting point for your sermonic planning, writing, and delivery.By Mark. K. Olson. 1998
John Wesley’s Doctrine of Justification provides updated scholarship on this pivotal doctrine of Methodism, providing a deeper understanding of a…
major tenet of the Christian faith. Mark Olson offers a comprehensive treatment of the development and exposition of Wesley’s doctrine of justification and how it changed throughout Wesley’s life, including his early views rooted in Anglican heritage, the significant developments in Wesley’s career, and contributions from notable figures like John Fletcher to his doctrine of general justification.The doctrine of justification was pivotal to John Wesley’s understanding of a person’s relationship with God. In Wesley’s view, it defined one of the two general parts of salvation. It touched every aspect of the spiritual journey from birth (general justification) to conversion (present justification) to final judgment and glory (final justification). To properly understand Wesley’s via salutis and theology, one needs to grasp the particulars of his doctrine of justification. The best way to do this is to tell the story of how he came to understand the doctrine over the course of his life. It is a complex story, with many twists and turns, that deserves to be fully told.By Sue Mink. 2023
Grow your faith. Transform your life.Cultivate a deeper relationship with God through Adult Bible Studies. This resource, endorsed by the…
Curriculum Resources Committee of The United Methodist Church, offers a year-round, weekly Bible study plan for Sunday school classes and other small groups.Each weekly lesson offers background and focal Scriptures, key verses, and doctrinallysound and relevant biblical interpretation and application in a readable font size.Annual plans provide comprehensive coverage of the Bible, special lessons during the church seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter, and suggestions for developingspiritual practices such as prayer, worship, community, and service, among manyothers. Adult Bible Studies is a reliable companion and guide for learning and growing in Christian faith.With the help of the Adult Bibles Studies Student Book, and DVD, your group will embrace that it’s not just about learning - it’s about living out biblical teachings.Summer 2024 Theme: Finding BalanceThis summer, our Bible lessons follow the theme “Finding Balance.” They look at the concepts of work, rest, and celebration from a theological and biblical perspective and challenge us to find a balance among the three. The teacher book writer is Greg Weeks.Visit AdultBibleStudies.com and sign up for the weekly newsletter to automatically receive the FREE Current Events Supplement and other information about these resources and more!By Matt Miofsky. 2023
Daily prayer the Wesleyan wayPrayer is a spiritual practice, and daily prayer uses the repetition of forms and words to…
cultivate a deep, meaningful ritual, drawing the individual into an ever-closer relationship with God. This book is organized by liturgical season, but is undated, so the individual is free to begin using it at any point during the year. The book is concise and easy to use and includes the words of scripture and other necessary text. It is a simple, frictionless tool for spiritual health. The Methodist Book of Daily Prayer provides complete texts for Morning Prayers and Evening Prayers, with a new set of texts for each week of the year. Each week is anchored in its liturgical season: Advent, Christmastide, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Eastertide, Pentecost, Sow & Rest (Ordinary Time), and Harvest & Create (Ordinary Time).Each set of prayers centers on a scripture passage, with an emphasis on the Psalms. The prayers draw from familiar historic, classic, and ancient Christian texts, and from Methodism’s rich hymnody. They also feature fresh, original words from new writers. This book facilitates deep daily connection with God--a method for spiritual sustenance.By Susan Robb. 2023
Remember the God who remembers us.God’s covenants throughout the Old Testament show the character of God’s promises to the people…
of Israel. In this book, Susan Robb leads readers through the covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David, followed by the new covenant established on Maundy Thursday. The Lenten story culminates with an examination of the cross as another example of God’s promise for a new world.Susan Robb teaches readers the basic lessons of the covenants through a mixture of biblical history and personal stories. Her pastoral character and warm tone provide a basis for understanding God’s promises through history and the role of Jesus’s passion and crucifixion in the history of the covenants.Remember can be read alone or used for a six-week group study and church wide Lenten program. Components include a comprehensive Leader Guide and video teaching sessions featuring Susan (with closed captioning).