The Family at Church


Book Description

In this book, I help parents navigate local church life through the ordinary means of grace in preaching, singing, praying, fellowship, and even in the hardships and trials.Tour Guides of Everlasting JoyParents are tour guides at the gates of everlasting joy. Don't miss the treasures. As a great tour guide, you need to help your children see the opportunities there. Help them experience the beautiful things God has in store for families who prioritize gathering with the redeemed in local churches. What is in store is better than what your children could gain from their sports or hobbies or camping.Give your children 10,000 reasons to believe that Jesus Christ is the only Savior, and His Word is the sole authority. Do it now. Do it through full engagement in local church life.Local churches offer dozens of opportunities to orient your family around the knowledge of the graces of the Lord Jesus Christ.The earlier you get going on this, the sweeter life will be. Now is the time to strengthen your family and your church. Table of Contents:The Onramp to This BookA Family Field GuideThe Power of Church and Family LifeTwenty Days to Transform Your Local Church ExperienceA Vision of HopeChapter 1, Tour Guides for Everlasting JoyChapter 2, Your Golden OpportunityChapter 3, The Church Needs Strong Families Chapter 4, Love the Church Chapter 5, Show Them the TreasuresChapter 6, Joined and Knit TogetherChapter 7, Face to Face RelationshipsChapter 8, The Day of RestChapter 9, Delightful CelebrationChapter 10, The Family Together in ChurchChapter 11, Keeping Children in Worship ServicesChapter 12, Distracted Children Chapter 13, Fellowship of Gladness and Sincerity of HeartChapter 14, Joyful SingingChapter 15, Teaching Children to SingChapter 16, Listening to SermonsChapter 17, Applying Sermons Chapter 18, Prayer MeetingsChapter 19, The Ordinances of the Lord's Supper and BaptismChapter 20, At the Gates of Everlasting Joy




When the Church was a Family


Book Description

A study of the early Christian church in the Mediterranean region and its emphasis on collective good over individual desire clarifies much about what is wrong with the American church today.




Why Church Matters


Book Description

"Christians belong in churches--the only places where we can thrive and grow spiritually. In Why Church Matters, Joshua Harris makes this case with wisdom, clarity, and graciousness." --Charles W. Colson Church isn't where we go. It's who we are. We were never meant to live our faith in isolation. The church is the place God uses to grow us, encourage us, and use our gifts for His glory. In this honest, personal, and practical book, Joshua Harris shows you why it's time to say yes to church and how to find the right one for you--the place where you can fall in love with the family of God. Includes: What you miss when you miss church Ten questions to ask before you join How to get more out of the best day of the week What Readers are Saying: "This book shows the place of great honor that church holds in Christ's heart and encourages us to value what He values. I've bought multiple copies to give away." --Mike Neglia; Cork, Ireland "Josh Harris does an excellent job of addressing our impulse to church hop." --Garrett Watkins; Atlanta, Georgia "When our family was in the midst of a transition, Why Church Matters helped us find the right local church. It will do the same for you." --Andrew Hall; Ilderton, Ontario Previously published as Stop Dating the Church




The Complete Handbook for Family Life Ministry in the Church


Book Description

Here is a practical step-by-step resource based upon years of experience as well as a sound educational and biblical base.It is written for churches which are considering developing a family ministry as well as those seeking to strenghten an already existing program.




Sing!


Book Description

Sing! has grown from Keith and Kristyn Getty’s passion for congregational singing; it’s been formed by their traveling and playing and listening and discussing and learning and teaching all over the world. And in writing it, they have five key aims: • to discover why we sing and the overwhelming joy and holy privilege that comes with singing • to consider how singing impacts our hearts and minds and all of our lives • to cultivate a culture of family singing in our daily home life • to equip our churches for wholeheartedly singing to the Lord and one another as an expression of unity • to inspire us to see congregational singing as a radical witness to the world They have also added a few “bonus tracks” at the end with some more practical suggestions for different groups who are more deeply involved with church singing. God intends for this compelling vision of His people singing—a people joyfully joining together in song with brothers and sisters around the world and around his heavenly throne—to include you. He wants you,he wants us, to sing.




Planting a Family-Integrated Church


Book Description

How do you plant a church that is family-integrated? How do you start a work that will keep the focus on God and His glory without dividing up the family at the front door? Where do you start if all you have is a deep desire and a tug at your heart and a confidence that God is calling you to do something different and new...and scary? This book is written to answer some of your questions and to confirm your deepest desires to be part of a family-integrated church that is healthy. Planting a Family-Integrated Church picks up where J. Mark Fox's first book, Family-Integrated Church left off, and gives you a workbook for change...everything from finding others with the same vision, to training elders, to choosing a name and a location, to keeping the Great Commission, to getting the word out, to dealing with buildings and bank accounts. May God get the glory as He builds His church! J. Mark Fox is the pastor of Antioch Community Church and has taught communications classes at Elon University for 17 years. He writes a weekly column for the Times-News of Burlington, NC, which has won three Amy Awards, a national recognition for "thought-provoking, skillful presentation of biblical truth, reinforced with scripture in a mainstream, non-religious publication." Mark is the author of four books, Who's Afraid of Public Speaking?, (1998) Family-Integrated Church (2006), Real Life Moments: A Dad's Devotional. (2008) and You Can Write! (2008). Mark and Cindy celebrated 26 years of marriage in June of 2008, and have seven children and one step-daughter: Micah (and Kari), Caleb, Hannah, Luke, Jesse, Judah and Susanna, ages 23 to 9. Mark's passion is preaching and writing, and he is developing a love for competing in triathlons.




Church, State, and Family


Book Description

Presents a robust defence of the essential place of stable marital families in modern liberal societies.




Family, Government, and Church


Book Description

Western governments are growing increasingly hostile to both the family and the church. This creates an urgent need to equip parents, church leaders, and individual believers with biblical answers to three vital questions: • What should a believer’s attitude and perspective be toward human government? • How can we know when we are supposed to submit to government (Romans 13:1) and when we must “obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29)? • How can we know when governments have exceeded the limits of their divinely ordained jurisdiction and intruded on authority which God has given exclusively to the church or to the family? In his careful exposition of Romans 13 and other key passages, Pastor Bret Laird provides readers with biblical principles and a decision-making paradigm which they can use to navigate our increasingly complex socio-political landscape.




Messy Church


Book Description

When you look at the church today, what do you see? A corporation with a CEO at the helm? A social organization that does good things for the community? Pastor Ross Parsley believes that neither of those pictures is God’s desire. Instead, God wants His church to function as a family—a group of real people who love each other and care for one another’s needs, no matter how messy. Our culture is dying for the kind of community that only the church can provide—if we are living as God intended: as a family, protecting one another, extending grace, and loving unconditionally. We are not called to be consumers who ask what the church can offer us. We are called to love deeply, fight fairly, and bring hope to a generation of people starving to belong to something greater than themselves. Welcome to the family. You belong here.




Family Ministry and the Church


Book Description

Chris Shirley and his contributors provide a guide to establish a theological and practical framework for family ministry both inside and outside the church. Dr. Shirley helps the reader discover the role of the church in strengthening families and equipping them for ministry. The writers open a window showing practical steps to provide comprehensive spiritual development for every family member at any life stage. Families today face tremendous cultural and spiritual challenges. This call for vigilance among the body of Christ and its leaders to build a solid discipleship framework.




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