Pastoral Helps
Showing 2201–2250 of 2396 results
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Godly Play : An Imaginative Approach To Religious Education
$19.00Add to cart1. Playing And Reality
2. An Adult At Play
3. Children At Play
4. The Spoken Lesson
5. The Unspoken Lesson
6. The Imagination And Godly Play
7. The Theology Of ChildhoodAdditional Info
Meaningful, lasting learning comes from childlike curiosity and play. The approach of this book is to make relgious instruction fun, spontaneous and deeply spiritual. Godly Play is a practical yet innovative approach to religious education–becoming childlike in order to teach children. -
Lift Up Your Heads
$12.95Add to cartAs the year 2000 draws closer the second coming of Christ will get more and more attention by Christians and non-Christians alike. If the past is any indication, speculative notions will be widespread, many of which will contribute to feelings of fear and anxiety at the prospect of an end to our world.
This book aims to help Christians evaluate the many conflicting ideas about the second coming by examining what the Bible actually says about it.
Important reading any time of year, these four chapters especially lend themselves to an Advent bible study for adult classes. Study questions for each chapter are provided at the back of the book.
Pastors will also find it a helpful sermon resource for Advent preaching.
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Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit Cycle A
$15.95Add to cartStorytelling is the way much of the Gospel is presented to us. Many or most of today’s dynamic preachers make wide use of narratives in their preaching. This book provides 56 stories that enhance the preacher’s ability to drive home the message of the scripture texts. It is a valuable addition to every lectionary preacher’s resource library.
*Two boys decide to paint their old car. They think it will be an easy task until their father teaches them that “preparation is the most important part of the job.”
*A tenant farmer collects scrap farm machinery to be sold for the production of war weapons …
*A grandfather teaches his grandson about the virtue of patience in waiting for a garden to grow.These themes and many others become skillfully woven word pictures. They keep listeners in rapt attention and enable the preacher to impress the meaning of the scripture texts on their minds.
Chapter titles include:
*Invitation From A Jogger
*The Credit Line
*The Bible Class
*Better Than The Lottery
*Even Junkyard Dogs Need Forgiveness
*New Life On A Dead Mountain -
Whispering The Lyrics Cycle A
$14.95Add to cartBased on texts from the Revised Common and Catholic lectionaries, Thomas Long provides inspirational messages to motivate and help preachers through their most difficult preaching time of the year, the seasons of Lent and Easter.
The road to Easter takes us through the most sacred stretch of the Gospel story, and the narratives simply overwhelm us … Congregations who blithely assume that their pastor eagerly relishes the chance to preach the passion and resurrection of Jesus are, for the most part, mistaken. To be sure the pews are more crowded as Easter approaches, the choirs are well-rehearsed and in full voice, and an electric charge courses through the sanctuary, but the preacher stands there with the obligation to proclaim the truths of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and it seems, at one and the same time, to be a set of claims too little to go on in a secular and cynical age and a range of mysteries too profound to speak. (from author’s foreword)
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God In Flesh Made Manifest Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartThe old saw, that the preacher’s task is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, proclaims a profound theological truth. For when we are afflicted, that is when God comforts us. If we are comfortable, God must first penetrate our false security. Only then can the news of the Messiah’s coming strike our ears as a word of comfort. From sermon for the second Sunday in Advent.
Mark Radecke has the ability to do both — comfort and afflict — through his provocative treatment of the lectionary texts for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany and the Transfiguration. His illustrations are often electrifying in their capturing of the Gospel kerygma.
Sermon titles include:
Come, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come!
Would We Rather Be Comfortable Or Comforted
Holy Love And Herod’s Love
Light In Darkness, Speech From Silence
Jesus’ Counter-cultural Sermon
Don’t Sweat The Numbers
Main Features And Coming Attractions -
Empowered By The Light
$13.95Add to cartEach of the 17 sermon topics in this book consists of a charge or a command. We might even call them messianic imperatives. Since Christ has come, will come and is coming, how shall we live? The messages are eminently practical, but they do not constitute a self-help book. On the contrary, the call to be alert, to enlarge our horizons, to live together in harmony, to judge others charitably simply cannot be done in our human strength. The focus centers always on the Son. In a word, we are Empowered By The Light. (from the author’s introduction)
Sermon titles include:
Learn To Wait Creatively — James 5:7-10
Follow The Man With The Plan — Ephesians 1:3-14
Be Charitable In Your Judgment — 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 -
Hope Beneath The Surface Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartOn these pages one encounters the moving image of the holy God with Isaiah in the temple, the powerful call to justice through the thundering voice of Amos, the depth of despair in the heart of Jeremiah and the struggle for faithfulness in the prophetic work of Hosca, Elijah and others.
Underlying every page is the presence of Jesus of Nazareth, who is constantly uppermost as each sermon unfolds. Robinson’s writing. Like his preaching, reveals a person who is in close touch with the common ventures of life, More significantly he is in touch with the common people of the working, playing and suffering worlds. And he is in touch with the verities of the Christian faith.
Reverend Vernon Bigler
Buffalo, New YorkThe gripping illustrations in this book are worth the price alone.
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Critique Of Modern Youth Ministry
$7.00Add to cartThe church today does not expect what it ought to from children and their parents, and this can be attributed in large part to a flawed concept of youth ministry. This booklet discusses the reasons behind this problem and presents biblical solutions.
The intent of this booklet is to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.
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Words For Worship
$18.99Add to cartThis collection by Arlene M. Mark is a ready resource for pastors and leaders to enrich and deepen worship together. When offered in bulletins, these words can become congregational statements that unify believers and nourish faith and discipleship. Responsive readings come from all ages of the church- our common Christian legacy.
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Wrinkled Wrappings
$12.95Add to cartWrinkled Wrappings is a series of pulpit messages for Advent and Christmas carved from the pen and emanating from the heart of a distinguished preacher whose messages inspire hope in the hearts of believers. Brokhoff is especially skilled at relating biblical stories to modern life. The flowing style of these sermons is peppered with gripping illustrations that catch us where we are and carry us along as he shines the light of God’s Word into our lives.
Sermons are based on texts from Mark, Luke, John, and Isaiah.
Sermon titles include:
You’re Going To Have A Baby
Good News For Bad Times
God With A Human Face
Happy Next Year? -
Who Me Do A Program 1
$17.95Add to cartThe title of this book is a cry often heard by leaders of organizations. This resource is a response to that cry. Designed to be a 12-month guide, there are programs for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, the Christmas season, Lent and more.
The programs are designed for easy implementation at women’s meetings, youth gatherings and congregational events. Leader’s helps are provided to indicate what props, songs and readers are needed. This collection of 15 programs is reflective, at times humorous, and includes skits, meditations and other suggestions to fit particular seasons.Programs for various months include:
* February — A Heart Filled With Love
* March — From Slavery To Sainthood
* May — A Humorous Look At Some Hopeful Women
* July — God’s Picnic Basket
* August — The Armor Of God
* October — In Pursuit Of The Right Spirit
* November — The Exodus Murmurs
* … and eight more -
Preaching The Parables Series 2 Cycle A
$20.95Add to cartParables provide insights and lessons which are timeless. When they are employed in preaching the hearer receives images which are easy to remember. Preaching the Parables provides a means of communicating the teachings of Jesus for modern Christians.
With each parable Keeney includes:
Scripture Text -so readers don’t have to refer to the Bible
Theme
Context:
of the church year
of the passage or verse
of the other lections for the day
of the scriptures
of the pericope
Contemplation
Homily Hints
“Point of Contact”
“Points to Ponder”
Illustrative Materials -
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 5 Cycle A
$42.95Add to cartBigger, stronger, better! Russell Anderson has taken the most original and successful lectionary resource in history and improved on it. He has kept all of the traditional features that have made it a classic, such as: overviews of each liturgical season, commentaries compatible with the Revised Common and Roman Catholic lectionaries (plus Lutheran and Episcopal lections for those gradually converting to the Revised Common Lectionary), an introduction to the featured Gospel narrator (Matthew, in Cycle A), theological reflections for exploring the relationships between the texts, wide margins for note-taking and a stay-flat binding.
Instead of stopping there, though, he has added: a 7″ x 10″ one-size-fits-all format, a suggested sermon title for each week, a Sermon Angle which briefly explicates the theological theme for the day (sometimes providing two or three of them) and two to four illustrative stories per chapter.
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Invitations To The Light Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartThe fascination of story telling is felt in these eleven sermons for the Pentecost season. Vibrantly illustrated, they powerfully communicate the good news of God’s love. Wolkenhauer writes, “The use of story in preaching can be a memorable way to proclaim the Gospel. In these sermons I have sought a variety of examples for the use of story in sermons.
Included here are sermons for the final third of the Season after Pentecost, Christ the King Sunday, All Saints’ Sunday, Thanksgiving, and Reformation Sunday.
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Good News For The Hard Of Hearing Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartJesus spoke to people whose “hearts have grown dull, and their ears hard of hearing” — like today’s churchgoers who think they know what the preacher is going to say before the sermon begins. These sermons use parable and paradox, narrative and humor, imagination and solid biblical scholarship to tell the good news people don’t expect to hear.
I hear best what I want to hear and I shut out the things I don’t want to hear. I hear, “Great sermon, Pastor!” better than I hear, “I notice your hair is getting thinner” … I have no problem at all hearing the good news that I am forgiven. I have a really hard time hearing a parable that tells me I will suffer the tortures of the damned until I forgive. These sermons have been influenced by preachers who have gotten through to me despite my spiritual hearing impairment. Craddock, Buechner and Lowry … David Buttrick … Harry Emerson Fosdick … (from author’s preface)
Sermons in this book are based on lections for the middle third of the Season after Pentecost.
Sermon titles include:
Prayer and Compassion Fatigue — Matthew 14:13-21
Love Without Limits — Matthew 15:10-28
Good News: Life Is Not Fair — Matthew 20:1-16
Why Do We Ignore Warning Signs? — Matthew 21:33-46 -
Veiled Glimpses Of Gods Glory
$12.95Add to cartThis volume makes clear why Robert Grilley has won awards and wide acclaim for his preaching. These messages bring the reality of God to contemporary life.
He listens as we sometimes speak of how difficult it is to find God and how we receive only veiled glimpses of His glory. These sermons allow us to discover that the Almighty is actually trying to find us … as the love of One searching for absent sheep, crying aloud through the night in a familiar voice and reaching down steep ravines with his shepherd’s crook. It is the love of One waiting wistfully at the gate where the road winds in from a far country, tenderly whispering a name through choked tears and hoping that some day the silhouette of a long lost child will again appear on the horizon. -
Tenders Of The Sacred Fire Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartThese sermons are based on First Lesson lectionary texts for the first third of the Season after Pentecost, Cycle A.
[Bob Cueni’s] preaching meets the unspoken criteria most pew residents bring to a church sanctuary: 1) biblically rooted, 2) easy to understand, 3) tells me something about myself that I feel God wants me to know, and 4) encourages me to believe that I can apply this truth to my life…. His communication style evokes the highest praise pulpit residents can give their peers: “That will preach!”
Herb Miller Lubbock, TexasSermon titles include:
The Risky Business Of Faith — Genesis 12:1-9
When Life Doesn’t Go According To Plan — Genesis 21:8-21
Don’t Sell Your Inheritance For Cabbage Soup — Genesis 25:19-34 -
Jesus Epilogue To The Sermon On The Mount
$12.95Add to cartCharles Link takes the unique approach that the Lord’s Prayer is a further interpretation of Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount, summarizing the major themes of his teachings and providing a means for “signing on” to their morally demanding and culture countering ethics.
Designed with two six-chapter sections, its frequent references to the Lord’s Prayer make this book a useful companion to the Lord’s Prayer sermon series, A New Hearing Of An Old Prayer, by Thomas C. Short (CSS Publishing Co. 1995). In the first half of the book Link explores the realm of God. In the second half he outlines our role in that realm. Readers will particularly enjoy the author’s questions and group participation suggestions to stimulate their learning and growth. This book will give the Lord’s Prayer new meaning.
Chapter titles include:
Jesus As Teacher Of The Realm Of God
Trusting Our Parent-God
Forgiven Forgivers
An “Amen” People -
Mothers Of The Bible
$12.95Add to cartWe often hear of the lack of and the need for, strong role models in our society. This worship service, about 10 biblical women who overcame seemingly impossible situations by being faithful to God, provides just such role models, The traumatic experiences and depths of faith of these women, though poignant, are rarely considered in today’s society.
These 10 women came from various levels of society and had different types of problems. Yet, they all knew God as their only hope and refuge. An excellent resource for Mother’s Day, it is also great for other special occasions.
Characters included are:
* Hagar
* Sarah
* Moses’ mother
* Rahab
* Deborah
* Naomi and Ruth
* Hannah
* Esther
* Elizabeth -
1001 Humorous Illustrations For Public Speaking
$24.99Add to cartYou have something important to say. Are you sure your audience is listening? Clocks start ticking in the minds of your listeners the minute you begin your presentation. These clocks measure the amount of time you have to interest them before their attention wanders elsewhere. Could be three minutes. Could be thirty seconds. But make your audience laugh and they forget about their clocks. They are too busy listening. Make them laugh and they will listen. Humor is one of your most powerful tools as a speaker, and 1001 Humorous Illustrations for Public Speaking lets you wield it with power. Michael Hodgin has compiled hundreds of humorous anecdotes on dozens of topics and brought them together in one book. From “Ability” and “Accidents” to “Work” and “Worship,” Hodgin’s illustrations are arranged according to topic and indexed to help you quickly find the perfect anecdote. The book also provides space to record the times and places you use each illustration, so no one will hear you tell the same joke twice. Ideal for preachers, teachers, executives, and anyone else who speaks publicly, 1001 Humorous Illustrations for Public Speaking will keep your audience laughing — and listening to every word you say.
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Healers Harmed And Harmful
$21.00Add to cart“At a time when clergy misconduct is broadly reported, Conrad Weiser offers a straightforward, theoretically orthodox, and practical way of both understanding and addressing the issues. Leadership, laity, and clergy would be served well by reading and reflecting on Weiser’s wisdom.”
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I Come Away Stronger A Print On Demand Title
$39.99Add to cartMillions of Americans are joining small groups. Among the religious, prayer fellowships, accountability groups, house churches, Bible-study groups, and covenant groups are being touted as the wave of the future. But are small groups delivering what they promise? Are members really finding the support, encouragement, and deepening spirituality they seek? Or are the answers ambiguous?
I Come Away Stronger, the complement to Robert Wuthnow’s Sharing the Journey, presents fourteen case studies of small groups – from a women’s Bible study, to a peace fellowship, to a group for senior citizens. What small groups are like nationally and how their members understand spirituality can be gauged from the results of a national survey presented in the appendix.
This survey is given life and flesh in the extended portraits of each of the groups. These portraits are powerful and highly personal because they tell the stories, both collective and personal, of each group, revealing agreement and dissension, closeness and alienation, growth and stagnation. The result is an intimate inside look at the dynamics of small groups.
In a concluding chapter, Wuthnow places the small group movement in the changing context of American religion and society, showing why is has emerged and where it is headed, raising crucial questions that religious leaders and group members need to ponder as the movement continues to grow.
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Guide To Retreat For All Gods Shepherds
$23.99Add to cartA Guide To Retreat is designed to assist you in a time of reflection, prayer, and renewal. The resources included are intended to help you turn more fully towards God, to drink more deeply of God, and to prepare you for faithful ministry.
The author examines facing the desert times in our lives, explores personal identity and its meaning in ministry, and much more. A book for conducting one’s own ministerial/spiritual retreat, facing such concerns as “When All I Hear is Silence,” “The Tension Between Doing and Being,” and “Who Really Calls and Sends?”
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Giving Birth
$40.00Add to cartThe birth of a child is important in the lives of women, families, and communities. But as a metaphor for pastoral practice, it is a sadly underdeveloped theme in theology and ministry. The author offers a remedy for this lack with this unique work, urging the incorporation into worship of Scripture with allusions to birthing–which would enliven the church’s theology.
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Out Of The Cults And Into The Church
$17.99Add to cart10 Chapters
222 PagesAdditional Info
There are plenty of books that tell you what a particular cult believes. “Out Of The Cults And Into The Church” shows you the turmoil and adjustments that former cult members experience as they grow in Christian faith and come to terms with bilical truth. Drawing upon the composite experiences of former cult members from Mormonism, the Unification Church, Hare Krishnas, and her own experience, Janis Hutchinson provides a one-of-a-kind counseling tool for pastors, counselors, and friends seeking to understand and help both former cult members and active cult members who are “investigating” evangelical Christianity. “Out Of The Cults And Into The Church” answers the difficult questions faced by all who have left cults and those who counsel them. -
Using Scripture In Pastoral Counseling
$20.99Add to cartDrawing on narrative biblical criticism and the psychology of narrative, the book suggests a model for pastoral counseling using Scripture to explore and release human possiblities. Detailed case studies are presented to depict the way the Bible can be used with counselees. Particular attention is given to pastoral counseling with individuals, marital couples, and families who bring to pastoral counseling a history of employing Scripture to bring order and meaning to their lives. Often, however, the biblical story seems to be secondary in their lives, and a more dominant and unhealthy story is primary. The method of using Scripture suggested in this book illuminates how the Bible story challenges and transforms unhealthy dominant stories that people bring to counseling.
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Community Of Joy
$22.99Add to cartIf congregations are to reach new generations of people, they must explore new styles of worship. Timothy Wright stikes a balance between liturgical worhip and worship that seeks to meet the needs of the unchurched and those who have a “hi-tech”, baby-boomer mentality. Written by a pastor in a vital and growing congregation, A COMMUNITY OF JOY suggests practical, innovative, and nontraditional forms of worship, enabling churches to minister more effectively.
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Sharing Faith With Children
$24.95Add to cartWhat kind language and images should we use to communicate faith to children? How can we translate theological abstractions into concrete realities that make sense to children? This book provides insight into the stages of children’s mental and spiritual development in order to enable us to share faith with them in appropriate ways. Juengst gives special attention to the meaning of worship and how children participate in it, the role and purpose of the children’s sermon, the psychological and theological development processes of young children, the use of language and symbolism with children, and the use of appropriate methodologies that help in efforts to share faith with children through sermon.
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Spurgeons Sermons On The Cross Of Christ
$17.99Add to cart1. The Crown Of Thorns
2. Christ Made A Curse For Us
3. Christ Made A Sin
4. Christ Lifted Up
5. Christ Crucified
6. Christ Crucified
7. Christ Set Forth As A Propitiation
8. The Bitterness Of The Cross
9. Up From The Country And Pressed Into Service
10. Unparalleled Suffering
11. Christ’s Connection With Sinners
12. Christopathy
13. Cries From The Cross P. 155Additional Info
In this volume Kregel Publications has brought together a new collection of Spurgeon’s sermons on the Cross and its meaning, signifigance, and power in the life of the believer. These sermons represent Spurgeon at his best-expounding the Word of God with passion and evangelistic appeal. Pastors will find ample “seed thoughts” to help in their own sermon preparation, and Christian readers will appreciate the biblical insight and practical application of Spurgeon’s sermons. -
Shared Wisdom : A Guide To Case Study Reflection In Ministry
$22.99Add to cartUsing case study analysis, the authors evaluate events in ministry. They outline the case process – preparing, presenting, and discussing a case – and discuss the implications of the process. Each chapter offers a biblical image which connects the case process with the dynamic Christian tradition. Readers will learn techniques in writing case studies and how to use imagination and analogy to stimulate theological reflection.
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Calvary Chapel Distinctives
$11.99Add to cartWhat makes Calvary Chapel Distinctive? It’s always good to have a grasp of the distinctive work that God has done in our fellowship. If Calvary Chapel is exactly like the church across the street it would be better to simply merge the two. But, if there are qualities that make us different, then we have a unique and special place in the plan of God. Certainly there are churches that share many of our beliefs and practices. But God has done a wonderful work of balance in the Calvary Chapel movement that does make us different. Some churches believe in the gifts and ministry of the Holy Spirit, but don’t have a strong emphasis on Biblical teaching. Others place a strong emphasis on teaching the Word of God, but don’t believe the gifts of the Spirit are available and valid today. In Calvary Chapel we value the teaching of the Word, and posses an open heart to the work of the Holy Spirit. This balance makes Calvary Chapel a distinct and uniquely blessed movement of God. And so, it’s important to understand the Biblical principles that explain why God has allowed us to exist and grow.
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56 Lectionary Stories For Preaching Cycle B
$14.95Add to cart“Emilio Lopez received a surprise phone call from his bishop one day. “Would you be interested in a call to a white congregation in a neighborhood that is becoming Hispanic? I think you’re just the kind of pastor they need in these days of transition.””
— from the Advent 1 story
Here are 56 short stories for use in preaching. Each is a contemporary adaptation of a biblical theme.
“56 Lectionary Stories for Preaching” offers one story for each Sunday in the church year plus stories for Christmas Eve/Day and Ash Wednesday.
The collection is based upon the Revised Common Lectionary, Cycle B. Authors represent clergy storytellers from five denominations from across the United States and Canada.
Most of the stories are based on gospel texts. Some stem from first or second lesson scriptures. The collection offers a well-rounded selection of themes. Stories often offer surprise endings that catch listeners’ attention. Stories in this collection strengthen believers’ faith. -
Lectionary Worship Aids Series 3 Cycle B
$16.95Add to cart“Hear the good news! The victory that defeats the world is our faith, for who is victor over evil, but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Friends, believe the good news!”
— Declaration of God’s Forgiveness for Easter 2
“Lectionary Worship Aids,” Series III, Cycle B, follows in the CSS tradition of providing creative worship resources for congregations.
Series III is based on the Revised Common Lectionary and New Revised Standard Version.
Each Sunday offers:
– Listing of the four lectionary texts for the day
– Call to Worship
– Prayer of Confession
– Declaration of God’s Forgiveness
– Exhortation
– Prayer of the Day
– Prayer of Thanksgiving
– Prayer of Dedication
– Psalm (congregational reading) -
Traditional Flower Chart
$7.99Add to cartThis attractive chart is used for recording the names of persons presenting altar flowers. Each month includes six ruled lines for easy writing, with beautiful full-color flower designs over the name of each month, and words Date and Presented By under name of month, ‘- 15 x 31 inches- Mylar reinforced
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PastorPower
$22.99Add to cartPower is a persistent topic of conversation in circles both sacred and secular. Yet, how are those who follow a crucified Christ, one “whose strength was made perfect in weakness,” to think about power?
Martha Ellen Stortz presents an important volume for all those who lead or would lead in the ministry of the church. She lays an ecumenical groundwork for understanding ministry and authority, then systematically examines the different dimensions of power inherent in both: power over — or coercive power; power within — or charismatic power; and power with — or coactive power. Through case studies and in-depth discussions, Stortz offers guidance for balancing these three dimensions of power in one’s own ministry, enabling readers to recognize their own gifts or liabilities and shape their leadership styles to reflect the image of Christ.
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Hidden Keys To A Loving Lasting Marriage
$19.99Add to cart28 Chapters
Additional Info
Fulfilling Marriages Don’t just happen.In fact, truly joyful marriages are a lot of work! In Hidden Keys of a Loving Lasting Marriage, best-selling author Gary Smalley shares the principles of strong marriages. He points out the common problems between husbands and wives. And he shows how to turn those troubles into teamwork.
Hidden Keys of a Loving, Lasting Marriage explores:
Two reasons why marriages fail
How to meet the needs of your spouse
How a husband’s lack of affection weakens a marriage
Crucial differences between men and women
How to motivate your spouse to listen to youThis book is a combination of Smalley’s earlier published works, If Only He Knew and For Better or For Best. The first half of the book discusses the husband’s part in building a successful relationship. The second half of the book shows how wives can nurture their marriages.
Good marriages don’t just happen. They take both husband and wife working together to understand, appreciate, and honor one another. This books shows couples how to do just that.
