Denominational Concerns
Showing 151–200 of 523 results
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Why We Live In Community
$8.00Add to cartIn this time-honored manifesto, Arnold and Merton add their voices to the vital discussion of what real community is all about: love, joy, unity, and the great adventure of faith shared with others along the way. Neither writer describes (or prescribes) community here, but they do provide a vision to guide our search.”
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In Season And Out Of Season
$32.00Add to cartA wise and practical guide to preaching in the Anglican tradition, illustrated with examples, that will inspire confidence and hone skills. It explores key aspects of preaching including: the importance of Scripture, the use of story, preaching at rites of passage, preaching through the liturgical year, and engagement with the wider world.
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How Great A Flame
$10.00Add to cartIn How Great a Flame, James C. Logan connects John Wesley’s passion to reach people with the good news of Jesus Christ with the current realities of the church. As he shows how grace and the concepts of Wesley’s societies invited people into deeper relationships with God, Logan offers practical advice for healthy congregational ministries of outreach and evangelism. Each chapter also offers questions for reflection and small-group discussion.
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Anglican Way : A Guidebook
$19.95Add to cartBorn of a passionate lifetime devotion, McKenzie’s illuminating guide will light the way for those new to Anglicanism and deepen the knowledge of longtime practitioners. His thorough exploration of the history, theology, distinctives, prayers, liturgies, and intricacies of the ancient tradition make this a practical and informative introduction to the Anglican way.
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Peoples History Of Christianity One Volume Student Edition (Student/Study Guide)
$49.00Add to cartOn its release, the seven volume A People’s History of Christianity was lauded for its commitment to raising awareness of the ways in which ordinary Christians have lived throughout more than twenty centuries of Christian history. Now, the essential material from that important project is available for classroom use.
This one volume edition contains careful selections and abridgements of the original content and covers the entire scope of church history. It provides a valuable overview on such topics as birth and death, marriage and family life, baptism rites, food, power, heresy, and more. Students are both informed and inspired by seeing the importance of ordinary Christians in shaping Christianity across time.
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From The Reformation To The 21st Century Student Edition (Student/Study Guide)
$39.00Add to cartOn its release, the seven volume A People’s History of Christianity was lauded for its commitment to raising awareness of the ways in which ordinary Christians have lived throughout more than twenty centuries of Christian History. Now, the essential material from that important project is available for classroom use.
This volume contains careful selections and abridgements of the original content organized to fit ideally into a course in Christian history. It provides a valuable overview on such topics as birth and death, baptism rites, food, power, heresy, and more. Students are both informed and inspired by seeing the importance of ordinary Christians in shaping Christianity across time.
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From The Early Church To The Reformation Student Edition (Student/Study Guide)
$49.00Add to cartOn its release, the seven volume A People’s History of Christianity was lauded for its commitment to raising awareness of the ways in which ordinary Christians have lived throughout more than twenty centuries of Christian History. Now, the essential material from that important project is available for classroom use.
This volume contains careful selections and abridgements of the original content organized to fit ideally into a course in Christian history. It provides a valuable overview on such topics as birth and death, baptism rites, food, power, heresy, and more. Students are both informed and inspired by seeing the importance of ordinary Christians in shaping Christianity across time.
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United Methodist Deacon
$18.99Add to cartA Deacon Is Called And Sent
A Deacon Is Connectional
A Deacon Is Missional
A Deacon Is Examined And Equipped
The Meaning Of Ordination
A Deacon Is Appointed
Deacons Lead The Church
Epilogue: A Snapshot Of Deacons And Their MinistryAdditional Info
The United Methodist order of deacon represents the ever-evolving understanding of ordained ministry. But because of the continual changes, there is confusion about the call, roll, identity, and tasks of deacons. With vivid examples, this book gives a clear understanding of the order of deacon, beginning with a discussion of how its unique call sets apart persons for ordained ministry. -
Shepherds Of The Empire
$49.00Add to cartThe late nineteenth century was a time of rapid industrialization, mass politicization, and modern philosophy. The resulting political and cultural upheaval confronted the German Protestant church with deep questions of identity.
On the one side sat an educated academic guild whose explorations of history, philology, and emerging social scientific disciplines gave rise to serious questions about the Christian faith and its meaning for today.
On the other sat parish clergy faced with the complexities of daily life and leadership in common communities. For these parish clergy the pressure was great to support and bolster people not only in their life as Christians, but in their life as Germans.
Shepherds of the Empire engages timeless questions of identity and faith through the time-bound work of four key thinkers who attempted, and ultimately failed, to carve a middle way for the German parish clergy in that environment.
The volume focuses on the life and work of Adolf Stoecker (1835-1909), Martin Kahler (1835-1912), Adolf Schlatter (1852-1938), and Christoph Blumhardt (1842-1919).
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Lay Servant Ministries Basic Course Leaders Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$12.00Add to cartThe Lay Servant Ministries Basic Course-Leader’s Guide is an introductory course designed to equip new church leaders and renew current leaders in The United Methodist Church. It can be used with adults and youth and is the foundational course for other leadership training courses.
This course covers the 3 three core categories of Lay Servant Ministries: Leading, Caring, and Communicating; it also emphasizes ministry in daily life and sharing faith stories. The plans in this Leader’s Guide are designed to be taught in 5 two-hour sessions. They can also be used over a weekend.
NOTE: This guide replaces the Lay Speaking Ministries Basic Course Leader’s Guide, DR551. If you have taught the Basic Course before, you will need to adjust your teaching plans to emphasize the core categories described above.
Session topics include
Ministry of the Baptized
priesthood of all believers
spiritual gifts
the need for a response to God’s call
the role of laity in ministryLeading
servant leadership
important roles in leadership
what it means to be a spiritual leader
Christian conferencingCaring
biblical basis for caring ministry
acts of compassion and justice
caring for creationCommunication
guidelines for respectful communication
listening skills
sharing faith storiesInto the World
understanding leaders’ role in fulfilling the Great Commission
importance of continued study and spiritual growth
role of hospitality
Appreciative Inquiry and Asset-Based Community DevelopmentAppendixes include two letters to participants (depending on whether the course is taught in 5 sessions or over a weekend), a sample format for Christian conferencing, evaluation forms for communication session, and resources (scripture, song, and meditation) for each session.
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Feasting On The Word Worship Companion Year A 2
$42.00Add to cartBased on the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 2 provides liturgical pieces used in preparing for worship. Written and compiled by an ecumenical team of 11 seasoned liturgy writers, this resource offers a multitude of poetic prayers and responsive readings for all parts of worship and is meant to complement existing denominational resources. In addition, the weekly entries include questions for reflection and household prayers for morning and evening that are drawn from the lectionary, allowing churches to include them in their bulletin for parishioners to use throughout the week.
During times of the year when two different tracks of Old Testament texts are offered by the RCL, this resource offers an entire set of materials for each track. Also, a CD-ROM is included with each volume that enables planners to easily cut and paste relevant readings, prayers, and questions into worship bulletins.
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Lay Servant Ministries Basic Course Participants Book (Student/Study Guide)
$12.00Add to cart“God calls you to a life of servanthood as a disciple of Jesus Christ. . Lay Servant Ministries is the first step for many laypersons toward their faith journey as they strive for a closer relationship with the Lord,” the authors write in the introduction.
The Lay Servant Ministries Basic Course is a foundational course designed to equip new church leaders and renew current leaders in The United Methodist Church. It explores
personal spiritual gifts
servant leadership
each leader’s role in developing future leaders
the importance of consistent spiritual practices
the core ministries of Leading, Caring, and Communicating
and much more.The Basic Course can be used for both adults and youth. Consisting of five two-hour sessions, it may serve as a short-term study for small groups, Sunday school classes, and new member classes.
NOTE: This book replaces the Lay Speaking Ministries Basic Course, DR551.
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Against The Church
$15.00Add to cartPastor Doug Wilson takes a hammer to some of our very favorite graven images, and (surprise, surprise) we’ve set up display cases for most of them in our churches: Liturgy, Tradition, Systematics, infant Baptism, and that crafty old Baal Doctrine.
Alongside a critique of philosophical assumptions about human nature, dualism, and grace, Wilson stresses the unavoidable and absolute necessity of individual hearts being born again. He concludes by laying out the case for the church. This isn’t contradictory, though — the only way to be effectually for the church is to master the case against it. After all, God Himself is the ultimate iconoclast.
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Leading Worship : Learning And Leading
$10.00Add to cartThis advanced course in Lay Servant Ministries focuses on the ministry of the Lay Servant who either regularly or occasionally leads a group, class, organization, or the congregation in worship. The course is grounded in the classic patterns of Christian worship and the practices of leading worship. Participants will come to understand more about Christian worship in order to lead worship with more confidence. They will practice leading worship in a variety of formats throughout the course.
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Liturgical Spirituality : Anglican Reflections On The Churchs Prayer
$29.95Add to cartOf particular interest to scholars and practitioners across the Anglican Communion
with contributions from a wide breadth of scholarsLiturgical Spirituality is a collection of Anglican reflections on the spirituality of the liturgy,
inviting readers into the Church’s patterns of prayer, seasons of the year, and sacramental
action. With contributions from all over the world, from the North Atlantic to Australia,
the collection helps develop a comprehensive understanding of contemporary Anglican
spirituality. -
Introducing Eastern Orthodox Theology
$23.00Add to cartPreface
By Way Of Introduction: Who Are The Eastern Orthodox?
1. Thinking And Doing, Being And Praying: Where Do We Start?
2. Who Is God? The Doctrine Of The Holy Trinity
3. The Doctrine Of Creation
4. Who Is Christ?
5. Sin, Death And Repentance
6. Being Human–Being In The Image Of God
7. Icons And Sacraments: The Place Of Matter In The Divine Economy
8. Time And The Liturgy
9. Where Are We Going? The Last Things And Eternal Life
Guide To Further ReadingAdditional Info
With an estimated 250 million adherents, the Orthodox Church is the second largest Christian body in the world. This absorbing account of the essential elements of Eastern Orthodox thought deals with the Trinity, Christ, sin, humanity, and creation as well as praying, icons, the sacraments and liturgy. -
Feasting On The Word Year A 2
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Feasting On The Word Year A 1
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this new lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Feasting On The Word Year C 2
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Feasting On The Word Year C 4
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Feasting On The Word Year B 4
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Feasting On The Word Year B 1
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Living Tradition : Critical Recovery And Reconstruction Of Wesleyan Heritag
$45.99Add to cartWhat our Wesleyan legacy means for today’s living.This book engages in a critical recovery and reconstruction of the Wesleyan theological legacy in relation to current theological concepts and Christian practices with the intent to present opportunities for future directions. The contributors address urgent questions from the contexts in which people now live, particularly questions regarding social holiness and Christian practices. To that end, the authors focus on historical figures (John Wesley, Susanna Wesley, Harry Hoosier and Richard Allen); historical developments (such as the ways in which African Americans appropriated Methodism); and theological themes (such as holistic healing, work and vocation, and prophetic grace). The purpose is not to provide a comprehensive historical and theological coverage of the tradition, but to exemplify approaches to historical recovery and reconstruction that follow appropriately the mentorship of John Wesley and the living tradition that has emerged from his witness. Contributors: W. Stephen Gunter, Richard P. Heitzenrater, Diane Leclerc, William B. McClain, Randy L. Maddox, Rebekah L. Miles, Mary Elizabeth Mullino Moore, Amy G. Oden, and Elaine A. Robinson.
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Feasting On The Word Worship Companion Year A 1
$42.00Add to cartBased on the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 1 is an invaluable aid that provides liturgical pieces needed in preparing for worship each week. Written and compiled by a team of eleven ecumenical and seasoned liturgy writers under the creative leadership of Kimberly Bracken Long, this resource offers a multitude of poetic prayers and responsive readings for all parts of worship and is meant to complement existing denominational resources. In addition, the weekly entries include questions for reflection and household prayers for morning and evening that are drawn from the lectionary, allowing churches to include them in their bulletin for parishioners to use throughout the week.
During times of the year when two different tracks of Old Testament texts are offered by the RCL, this resource offers an entire set of materials for each track. A CD-ROM is also included with each volume that enables planners to easily cut and paste relevant readings, prayers, and questions into worship bulletins.
Liturgy Writers include:
Kimberly L. Clayton, Director of Contextual Education, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
David Gambrell, Associate for Worship in the Office of Theology and Worship, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Louisville, Kentucky; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Daniel M. Geslin, Pastor, Sixth Avenue United Church of Christ, Denver, Colorado; United Church of Christ
Kimberly Bracken Long, Assistant Professor of Worship, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
L. Edward Phillips, Associate Professor of Worship and Liturgical Theology, Candler School of Theology, Atlanta, Georgia; United Methodist Church
Melinda Quivik, Liturgical Scholar, Houghton, Michigan; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Carol L. Wade, Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Lexington, Kentucky; Episcopal Church -
Feasting On The Word Year C 1
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Wesley And The People Called Methodists (Reprinted)
$45.99Add to cartThis second edition of Richard P. Heitzenrater’s groundbreaking survey of the Wesleyan movement is the story of the many people who contributed to the theology, organization, and mission of Methodism. This updated version addresses recent research from the past twenty years; includes an extensive bibliography; and fleshes out such topics as the means of grace; Conference: “Large” Minutes: Charles Wesley: Wesley and America; ordination; prison ministry; apostolic church; music; children; Susanna and Samuel Wesley; the Christian library; itinerancy; connectionalism; doctrinal standards; and John Wesley as historian, Oxford don, and preacher.
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Here I Stand
$22.99Add to cartThe Reformation of the sixteenth century was a vast and complicated movement. It involved kings and peasants, cardinals and country priests, monks and merchants. It spread from one end of Europe to the other, and manifested itself in widely differing forms. Yet in spite of its diverse and complex character, to start to understand the Reformation you need know only one name: Martin Luther. Roland Bainton’s Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther remains the definitive introduction to the great Reformer and is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand this towering historical figure.
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Generous Ecclesiology : Church World And The Kingdom Of God
$35.99Add to cartGenerous Ecclesiology seeks to present a positive theological contribution to Anglican ecclesiology and missiology. It aims to do this by responding to issues raised by For the Parish and mission-shaped church in particular. This is because the editors are aware that the debate generated by these publications risks becoming polarised – with the dangers of either traditional practices/missionary innovation not being taken seriously. The book would respond to a theological need within the church; and open up a generous space for future reflection and practice. It would be rooted in the Anglican tradition and its imaginative response to context.
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Effective Practice Of Ministry
$25.00Add to cartFew people have made a larger contribution to the ongoing life and health of Churches of Christ around the world than Charles Siburt. During his twenty-four years at Abilene Christian University, Siburt oversaw some fifty DMin theses- a capstone experience designed to recount best practices in congregational life.
Rooted in Dr. Siburt’s conviction that good theology makes a difference in the lives of people, The Effective Practice of Ministry is a collection of thirteen of those research projects, covering the most critical topics facing churches today: spiritual formation, leadership development, catechesis, preaching, and missional initiatives in the larger community.
In honor of Dr. Siburt, this anthology is meant to inspire and encourage effective, embodied praxis in the ministry of the church.
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Liturgical Sense : The Logic Of Rite
$21.95Add to cart* A premier Anglican liturgical theologian reviews the history of the liturgical movement
in North America and anticipates next steps in liturgical “sensibility”Louis Weil looks back on his work shaping the liturgical life of the Episcopal Church
through his involvement with the development of The 1979 Book of Common Prayer-
and looks forward to the future of the church and its liturgical life. Through stories and
first-person anecdotes, Weil does “narrative theology” as only he can.Although most points of reference are to the 1979 BCP, the book is aiming at a more
fundamental level-not just Episcopal or even Anglican liturgy, but liturgical rites as
such: how do they “do what they do”?-or NOT do when they are done badly! “Liturgical
Sense” is two dimensional: both the “common sense” of liturgical rites and also their
“aesthetic sense.”It is Dr. Weil’s contention that in American culture we have an inherent inability to “think
symbolically.” Dr. Weil seeks to encourage a return to “liturgical sense” across the church. -
Feasting On The Word Worship Companion Year C 2
$42.00Add to cartBased on the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year C, Volume 2 is an invaluable aid that provides liturgical pieces needed in preparing for worship each week. Written and compiled by a team of eleven ecumenical and seasoned liturgy writers under the creative leadership of Kimberly Bracken Long, this resource offers a multitude of poetic prayers and responsive readings for all parts of worship and is meant to complement existing denominational resources. In addition, the weekly entries include questions for reflection and household prayers for morning and evening that are drawn from the lectionary, allowing churches to include them in their bulletin for parishioners to use throughout the week.
During times of the year when two different tracks of Old Testament texts are offered by the RCL, this resource offers an entire set of materials for each track. Also, a CD-ROM is included with each volume that enables planners to easily cut and paste relevant readings, prayers, and questions into worship bulletins.
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For A Church To Come
$21.99Add to cartTaking a cue from one of the most (in)famous postmodern thinkers, Friedrich Nietzsche, the essays in this book put forth “experiments” in thought rather than arguments for fixed conclusions. Blum brings John Howard Yoder to the same table with Nietzsche, Michel Foucault, and Jacques Derrida, and provides a provocative glimpse of what the resulting conversation might look like.
As Anne Lamott and others have recently insisted, faith is not the opposite of doubt, but of certainty. Blum’s essays explore some of our commonly held ways of talking about knowledge, meaning, commitment, and action. He suggests that some postmodern theoretical work, often dismissed or assumed to be anti-Christian, is well worth bringing into contemporary Anabaptist-Mennonite conversations about discipleship and corporate life.
Part of the Polyglossia series, this book is intended for conversation among academics, ministers, and laypersons regarding knowledge, beliefs, and practices of the Christian faith.
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Trust In God
$20.00Add to cartIn this accessible book, David Johnson examines the Christian spiritual life using the Book of Confessions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as a guide. He demonstrates how the Book of Confessions can help us understand what it means to be a Christian and how one goes about living a Christian life. Johnson uses the rubrics of faith, love, and hope to ground our understanding of spirituality and help us develop disciplines for our spiritual lives. These disciplines include listening and speaking, worship and Sabbath, giving and stewardship, patience and planning, and reconciling. Three appendices give concrete guidelines for engaging in Bible reading and prayer-the two central spiritual disciplines of the Reformed tradition. Johnson’s helpful book invites laity and clergy to participate in the blessings and joys of a Reformed vision of the spiritual life.
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Give Up Something Bad For Lent (Student/Study Guide)
$13.99Add to cartInvites readers to focus on, with God’s help, eliminating habits or attitudes that may be destructive in their lives, such as envy, self-pity, procrastination, gossip, resentment, or negative thinking.
Seven sessions, one for each Sunday in Lent and Easter Sunday
Each session features a Scripture reference, a personal reading, questions for personal reflection or group study, and closing prayer -
Prayers At Nights Approaching
$21.95Add to cartSeekers and church members today are rediscovering the power of many of Christianity’s ancient traditions, such as Evening Prayer. For many years now, in England, they have turned to the writing of Jim Cotter. In fact, the New Zealand Prayer Book’s Evening Prayer section comes largely from Prayer at Night’s Approaching.
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Being United Methodist
$16.99Add to cartIn Being United Methodist, popular and beloved author J. Ellsworth Kalas uses his inimitable style to address a topic that sometimes is complicated even to those who have practiced it for years. Kalas explores questions such as:
Who are these people called Methodists?
Where have they come from, and where are they going?
Why do so few of them really know what it means to be Methodist?
What makes them tick, and in a forever changing world, what keeps them ticking? -
Wesley And The People Called Methodists (Revised)
$34.99Add to cartThis second edition of Richard P Heitzenrater’s grounbreaking survey of the Wesleyan movement is the story of the many people who contributed to the theology, organization, and mission of Methodism. This updated version addresses recent research from the past twenty years, including an extensive bibliography; and fleshes out such topics as the means of grace, Conference; “Large” Minutes; Charles Wesley; Welsey and America, ordination: prison ministry; apostolic church; music; children; Susanna and Samuel Wesley, the Christian library; itinerancy; connectionalsim; doctrinal standards; and John Wesley as historian, Oxford don, and preacher.
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Users Guide To The Book Of Common Prayer
$20.99Add to cartChurch House Publishing
This short and timely book introduces and explains the Book of Common Prayer in a new way to a new audience, and in a style of language that is accessible and informative without being techincal or assuming prior knowledge. It is intended as a basic, beginners’ guide for those from a non-liturgical/non-traditional background, for whom the tradition of prayer represented in the Prayer Book may be alien.
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Sustainable Presbyterian Future
$18.00Add to cartA timely exploration of the present state and possible future of the Presbyterian church.
“With some hope and openness we can review our current situation and imagine our future prospects.” from the preface
In this study of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Louis Weeks examines the present state of the denomination and how congregations can grow in faith through the current time of transition in the church. He considers markers of Presbyterian identity, new ways of connecting and faith development, and defining qualities of the church. Recognizing that many congregations are changing in different ways, Weeks includes case studies of congregations and interviews with leaders of local congregations and denominational leaders to explore aspects of Presbyterian faith and life that are viable and necessary for the future.
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Works Of John Wesley 12
$77.99Add to cartThe first of three theological volumes, this volume is devoted to four of John Wesley’s foundational treatises on soteriology.
These treatises include, first, Wesley’s extract from the Homilies of the Church of England, which he published to convince his fellow Anglican clergy that the ‘evangelical’ emphasis on believers experiencing a conscious assurance of God’s pardoning love was consistent with this standard of Anglican doctrine. Next comes Wesley’s extract of Richard Baxter’s Aphorisms of Justification, aimed more at those who shared his evangelical emphasis, invoking this honored moderate Puritan to challenge antinomian conceptions of the doctrine of justification by faith. This is followed by Wesley’s abridgement of the Shorter Catechism issued by the Westminster Assembly in his Christian Library, where he affirms broad areas of agreement with this standard of Reformed doctrine-while quietly removing items with which he disagreed. The fourth item is Wesley’s extended response to the Dissenter John Taylor on the doctrine of original sin, which highlights differences within the broad ‘Arminian’ camp, with Wesley resisting a drift toward naively optimistic views of human nature that he discerned in Taylor.
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Words For Worship
$12.99Add to cartChurch House Publishing
Words for Worship brings together the most cherished prayers in the Church of England’s liturgy, both in Common Worship and the Book of Common Prayer. From modern collects to prayers that have been learned by heart over generations, here are the words that today create a common identity among Anglican worshippers.
Texts include the Lord’s Prayer, the Gloria, Sanctus, Prayers of Confession, the Creeds, the Magnificat, Nunc Dimittis, Benedictus, the Agnus Dei, the Grace, and many more. Each prayer is accompanied by a short commentary on its history and meaning, opening it up for those new to Anglican worship and those seeking a deeper understanding of familiar words.
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God Truly Worshipped
$40.00Add to cartArchbishop Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) played a critical, formative role in the creation and development of the Church of England, from his sudden and dramatic appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1532, through his granting of Henry VIII’s divorce from Queen Katharine, his emergence under Edward VI as a determined reformer in the mould of his European contemporaries, and to his memorable death under Mary Tudor in 1556. He is best remembered as the prime editor and creator of the two Books of Common Prayer of 1549 and 1552, and these indeed stand at the head of Anglican liturgical identity and tradition. Their influence and importance cannot be overstated. This book seeks to offer a survey of his growth and development as theologian and leader of the church through the lens of his written work: not only liturgy, but also homilies, correspondence and official doctrinal statements. This volume introduces Cranmer as a churchman, theologian and liturgist whose original contribution to Anglican spirituality in its earlie
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Focus : The Real Challenges That Face The United Methodists Church
$14.99Add to cartFew would argue that many challenges face The United Methodist Church. But what are the core issues and concerns, the ones that must be addressed if the church is to follow God’s leading into the future? Laying aside what can be merely tweaked or adjusted, what must the UMC “reset” about itself? Lovett Weems, one of the most highly-respected interpreters of contemporary United Methodism, suggests that we start with the following:
– What will happen now that the increased giving that United Methodists have enjoyed (despite declining membership numbers) has reached a plateau and begun to decline?
– Why, with 34,000 congregations and $6.5 billion in annual giving, can’t United Methodists add a net increase of even 1 new disciple of Jesus Christ in a given year?
– Why are United Methodist clergy less concerned with reaching young adults than are laity? Why are laity unwilling to make the changes to worship and budgets required to attract these same young adults?
– If the percentage of married couples with young children has declined by half since the 1950s, why is that still the group we focus on reaching?
– Why are so many mid-sized churches on their way to becoming small-membership congregations?With insight, conviction, and calm resolve, Lovett Weems challenges United Methodists not only to ask these hard questions, but to face up to the difficult decisions they require of us as we continue to seek God’s will for our lives together.
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Beauty Of Holiness
$40.00Add to cartThe Beauty of Holiness: The Caroline Divines and Their Writings offers an expansive and detailed portrait of the continued maturation of Anglican theology and devotion in the central half of the seventeenth century. The Caroline Divines have long been hailed as the patrons of an Anglican golden age. Their emphasis upon liturgical renewal and development, like their emphases upon learning and piety, have had a pervasive influence on the Anglican ethos that extends down to our own day. aaThe Beauty of Holiness includes selections from key figures such as Lancelot Andrewes, John Cosin, and Jeremy Taylor, but also expands the canon of Caroline divinity to include lay writings, some of which were published posthumously. Traditional topics such as sacramental theology and private devotion are complimented by readings on poetry as a spiritual discipline, natural theology, and the importance of family prayers. Chapters survey diverse facets of Anglican orthodoxy such as liturgical practice, the cult of King Charles the Martyr,
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Friends Of The Law
$41.99Add to cartCharges of forgery, heresy, legalism, and immorality turn on the question of whether Martin Luther taught a third use of the Law for the Christian life. For the past sixty years, well-meaning scholars believed they settled the question-with dire consequences.
Friends of the Law sets forth a completely new body of evidence that shows how little Luther’s teaching was understood. This new book looks at the doctrine of the Law and invites a new consensus that could change the way Christians view the Reformation and even their daily walk with God.
Contains
*data tables
*translations of passages not available in English
*appendices
*bibliography on Law and Gospel -
Welcome To The Christian Faith
$20.95Add to cartImportant new addition to the strong-selling “Welcome To” series
Well known author is already part of the series
A foundational volume for seekers in formation programs and a “refresher” study volume for individuals and congregational study groups.We live in a world increasingly separated from the Christian tradition and the basic understanding of the faith that previous ages might have taken for granted. The voices of faith seem increasingly strident and off-putting to many. There is a need for a calmer, basic introduction to faith that recognizes the value of doubt and the questions raised in a secular society.
A systematic introduction to Christianity for newcomers needs to begin with a discussion of faith itself, which this new book does. It then moves on to a discussion of such Christian basics as God, Trinity, Church, sin, atonement, prayer, and Christian living.
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Child By Child
$17.95Add to cartA how-to-guide to integrate children and youth with special needs into church programs and activities, including worship.
Includes how to train volunteers and staff for hands-on work with children and youth who have special needs.
Provides a theological grounding for the inclusion of people with learning differences and disabilities in the life of a congregation.
Integrating children and teens with learning differences into church programs is a growing priority for nearly all congregations, large and small, yet many feel ill-equipped to “manage” those with special needs in their classrooms, programs and worship.
This new guidebook for churches is designed to help integrate children and teens with learning differences – and their families – into the fabric of everyday church life. A useable on-the-ground resource for church leaders with specific suggestions, samples, and processes for adapting curricula, training volunteers, and supporting parents and caregivers, this guide is grounded in theological principles for the inclusion of people with disabilities in the life of a congregation. It begins by focusing on human relationships instead of programs. Expanding the church’s awareness and understanding of inclusion is done with respect and achieved by extending the gospel of welcome to all. An extensive annotated bibliography of support materials is included.
