The Seasons of Hope


Book Description

Life contains a rhythm when we see it from beginning to end. Our personal existence is not a series of individual episodes taking place as 'points in time.' Rather, life itself bears us along in a common pilgrimage. At any given time, we are part of a community where birth and death, joy and sorrow, pain and pleasure, as well as sowing and harvesting are taking place. This communal sharing of life replicates all the 'seasons of life.' For each time in our lives there is a corresponding season in the life of the human family. We empower faith by practicing hope every day of our lives.




REASON FOR HOPE


Book Description

I was stirred to write this because I believe in my heart that there are many who are losing hope. With all the uncertainties and calamities going on in the world and our own personal lives I can understand this to some reason. But the main reason people are losing hope is that we are focused on the wrong things. We are looking at the wrong direction, listening to the wrong people, and getting all the wrong answers and promises from those who lie and deceive. Below is the first few paragraphs to my book which will give more insight: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” (Proverbs 13:12) I have this word “Hope” burning in my spirit in this season. I believe that there are many out there, although they may appear all right on the surface, are disappointed in their dreams, are fearful and worried, do not see a future, and are very troubled in both heart and mind. The lack of hope or seemingly not having hope at all is very disturbing and will bring you to great depression which will kill any ambition. I am here to say and to tell you and assure you that all is not lost. I want to assure you that hope is real and we all have a reason for hope no matter how dark your circumstances are and no matter how bleak your future appears. Our verse above tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick. Deferred means to be delayed or to be postponed temporarily. I hope that you have grasped our first point. Our first point being that what you are hoping for is not gone or lost and not within your grasp and your future. It is just delayed and just temporarily postponed. If deferred hope makes the hearts sick, what does the lack of or the perception of no hope do to a person. Do not believe the lie that there is never any hope! There is always hope! That thing that you are expecting and dreaming about will eventually and assuredly happen and come to pass. Even if your at the end of your rope, hang on, push in, and press forward, there is always hope.




The Seed of Faith


Book Description

Planting a Seed of Faith in the hearts of our children is much like sowing a seed in a young, fertile garden. If nurtured and cared for, will take root and become their foundation to grow strong in the Lord. What greater gift could we possibly give? It is Christmas Eve, and the small foothill Village of Shiloh was suffering from a severe drought. Aside from not having water for their crops, the people had no Christmas trees. A father retells the story to his young daughter that took place forty years ago. A story that no one in the Village of Shiloh will ever forget. So begins author Dan Petronelli's eloquent parable of faith, chronicling the spiritual journey of a group of young boys. The boys hatched a plan to secretly climb over the mountain in search of a beautiful, living Christmas tree. They did not know that a fearsome blizzard was on its way. Dan Petronelli expertly weaves a timeless tale of the joy and the blessings of faith, of having courage in the most challenging moments in life, knowing that God is by your side, will provide families and young readers a story that will endure for many Christmases to come.




Gotta Have It!


Book Description

Gotta Have It! is every grown-up’s guide for taming the inner two-year-old. Too many people spend so much time trying to get what they want that they have no energy left to get what they need. Dr. Gregg Jantz calls this phenomenon excessity—when excess becomes a “necessity.” Excessities—whether they are activities, behaviors, or objects—promise protection in a difficult world. Yet they never satisfy. In Gotta Have It!, readers are invited to discover the truth about themselves that is hiding behind their secret desires. With real-life stories and guided sections for self-reflection, Gotta Have It will help readers see life as never before—and delight in the way God longs to fulfill true needs.




The Keys of Faith and Hope


Book Description

Living a Christian life is not the same as being a Christian. Knowing the difference stems from the fact most Christians don't know what to do about it because religion doesn't have the answers. The answer abides in knowing God and His will for you and applying your faith to it. In The Keys of Faith and Hope, authors Robert and Kathy Kelsey provide a guide to help you apply your faith and get you from where you are with God now, to where God wants you to be. It helps answer important questions: What is faith? What is the God kind of faith? How do we get faith? How do we use our faith? How do we make faith grow? What is the relationship between faith and hope? The Keys of Faith and Hope demonstrates that these questions need to be answered in every Christian's mind because without faith it is impossible to please God. To have faith in God you must know God, not just know about Him. To understand God you must understand the keys to His kingdom. Unlock the mystery of God's will and achieve what He has planned for you.




Watermelon Seeds


Book Description

On a mission trip to Haiti in 2014, one of my many tasks was to distribute to local farmers some very special watermelon seeds. I was inspired and moved by the great desire and appreciation these subsistence Haitian farmers had for this meager allotment of seeds. These seeds were life! These seeds were hope! These seeds would bring food to their families, stability to their personal economy, meaning and purpose to their toil. And you better believe that they had prepared their soil. They had plowed the way for the seed to take root and be fruitful. How does the parable of the sower, seed, and soil from Matthew 13 speak to us today? God is the sower of all good seed but partners with us to help farm for the kingdom. I submit that the sowers of God's word could include those who share the word of God with humility and gratitude. They give witness to God's love and the truth of Jesus Christ with compassion, reason, confidence, and courage! They scatter seeds of the gospel and also help cultivate the soil that is our souls. They are not perfect but are genuine. They are those family members, friends, colleagues, strangers, ancestors, and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, who have had a serendipitous part to play in our spiritual formation. I pray that Watermelon Seeds, in some modest way, will perhaps enlighten a deeper understanding, appreciation, and recognition for all those seed scatterers that come into our lives!




Hope for Creation


Book Description

In this interactive companion to the Hope for Creation DVD, Dr. Matthew Sleeth provides personal questions, practical applications, and additional content to help Christ's followers dig deeper into the creation care lessons of Sessions 1-6.




The Colors of Hope


Book Description

The Christian life, says Richard Dahlstrom, should be guided by the intentional goal of blessing the lives of the friends, loved ones, and strangers in our midst. We are called to impact a culture that, for all the rhetoric about hope, is overwhelmingly preoccupied with personal peace, prosperity, protection, and survival. Christians should be artists who paint with the colors of hope in a broken world, embodying Christ's redemptive presence in our personal lives, our work, and our relationships. This inspiring and practical book offers tools for living out this vision in daily life, with special attention given to the challenges we face in staying focused on the mission of imparting hope to others even while dealing with our own personal issues. Anyone who wishes they could have an impact on the world will cherish this unique book.




Seed Sown


Book Description

Seed Sown is a practical and reproducible resource book for anyone who seeks to break openO the Word of God: from those who preach every week to those who plan and lead Scripture courses and discussion groups based on the Sunday lectionary. Includes brief commentary for every Sunday and solemnity in the three-year lectionary.