Worship Any Time or Place


Book Description

Be prepared at a moment’s notice This book equips the Methodist pastor, worship leader, or layperson to create meaningful worship moments for any group of people, any time, any place. It includes liturgies and prayers suitable for traditional settings such as worship services, funeral services, and administration of the sacraments. It includes words to use during hospital visits, retreats, church meetings, and other conventional settings. It provides words of blessing for departing members. It also provides language for other spaces and places, like home blessings, blessings for foster care families, words for times of transition, liturgies for fresh expressions of the church, prayers before the beginning of work, language for protests and vigils, ritual moments for difficult conversations, and prayers for interreligious and ecumenical events. It offers words of lament to use after violent events and natural disasters. From pulpits to pews, from altar tables to dinner tables, from sanctuaries to streets, the Compact Guide can be used by all ministers—clergy and laity—to employ worshipful words as the Spirit leads.




Worship


Book Description

Nothing is more important than worship. It is the theme of Scripture, the theme of eternity, and the theme of redemptive history— to worship the true and living and glorious God is the purpose of all creation. So why do we treat it as only what is sung or played in church on Sunday morning? Pastor John MacArthur leads you through Scripture texts about true worship. You will learn that worship is any essential expression of service rendered unto God by a soul that loves and extols Him for who He is. Worship is the nonstop role of believers, not merely part of a church service. So get ready to alter your priorities, aiming higher than entertaining worshipers on Sunday mornings. Worship shows that your ultimate priority must always be to worship the true and living God, with a radically different type of living.




Ephesians


Book Description

A new commentary for today's world, The Story of God Bible Commentary explains and illuminates each passage of Scripture in light of the Bible's grand story. The first commentary series to do so, SGBC offers a clear and compelling exposition of biblical texts, guiding everyday readers in how to creatively and faithfully live out the Bible in their own contexts. Its story-centric approach is ideal for pastors, students, Sunday school teachers, and laypeople alike. Each volume employs three main, easy-to-use sections designed to help readers live out God's story: LISTEN to the Story: Includes complete NIV text with references to other texts at work in each passage, encouraging the reader to hear it within the Bible's grand story. EXPLAIN the Story: Explores and illuminates each text as embedded in its canonical and historical setting. LIVE the Story: Reflects on how each text can be lived today and includes contemporary stories and illustrations to aid preachers, teachers, and students. —Ephesians— Like all of Paul's letters, Ephesians is centered in the gospel and its implications. It tells the story of what God has done in Christ and spells out the ethical implications of this story. But the letter to the Ephesians is unique among Paul's letters in many ways, including in how it tells of the story of God, beginning "before the creation of the world" and ending in eternity. Edited by Scot McKnight and Tremper Longman III, and written by a number of top-notch theologians, The Story of God Bible Commentary series will bring relevant, balanced, and clear-minded theological insight to any biblical education or ministry.




Do Hard Things


Book Description

ECPA BESTSELLER • Discover a movement of Christian young people who are rebelling against the low expectations of their culture by choosing to “do hard things” for the glory of God. Foreword by Chuck Norris • “One of the most life-changing, family-changing, church-changing, and culture-changing books of this generation.”—Randy Alcorn, bestselling author of Heaven Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, Alex and Brett Harris weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life and map a clear trajectory for long-term fulfillment and eternal impact. Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of revolution already in progress challenges you to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today. Now featuring a conversation guide, 100 real-life examples of hard things tackled by other young people, and stories of young men and women who have taken the book’s charge to heart, Do Hard Things will inspire a new generation of rebelutionaries.




Leap Over a Wall


Book Description

Of all the characters in the Bible, it is David who is most human. His life is lived on the "rough-edged actuality" of real life, and his relationship with God is an energetic one. Through the passions, the trials, and the lyrical poetry of this beloved figure, we gain powerful insights into the role of God in our own lives. In this inspirational volume, Professor Eugene H. Peterson, translator of The Message, uses stories from David's epic life as vivid lessons in everyday faith and spirituality. Exploring David's experiences of friendship, grief, love, sin, and suffering, as well as sanctuary, beauty, and wilderness, he reawakens us to the enduring truths behind these beloved stories.




Love Riot


Book Description

Young people are walking away from the church and those still in the church often struggle with indifference about their faith. But it doesn't have to be this way. It's time for a revolution, a holy uprising. A riot. With passion and authenticity, teen author Sara Barratt calls on her generation to reject apathy and embrace a daring, costly faith. Not content with safe religion that demands nothing of us, Sara shows teens how they can stop giving in to the status quo and devote themselves fully to Christ, following him no matter what their friends do or the culture around them does. She challenges them to give everything over--their comfort zones, their time, their loyalties, their pride--and discover that in losing control they are gaining the life that was meant for them all along. Love Riot is a battle cry from one teen to another to embrace a life of wholehearted commitment and relentless abandon for Christ . . . no matter the cost.




The Better Mom


Book Description

Mothering is messy. Our joy and hope in raising children doesn’t change the reality that being a mom can be frustrating, stressful, and tiring. But just as God is using us to shape our children, God is using our children and motherhood to shape us. In The Better Mom, author Ruth Schwenk, herself a mother of four children, encourages us with the good news that there is more to being a mom than the extremes of striving for perfection or simply embracing the mess. We don’t need to settle for surviving our kids’ childhood. We can grow through it. With refreshing and heartfelt honesty Ruth emboldens moms to: Find freedom and walk confidently in purpose Create a God-honoring home environment Overcome unhealthy and destructive emotions such as anger, anxiety, and more Avoid glorifying the mess of mom-ing or idolizing perfection Cultivate life-giving friendships At the heart of The Better Mom is the message that Jesus calls us to live not a weary life, but a worthy life. We don’t have to settle for either being apathetic or struggling to be perfect. Both visions of motherhood go too far. Ruth offers a better option. She says, “It’s okay to come as we are, but what we’re called to do and be is far too important to stay there! The way to becoming a better mom starts not with what we are doing, but with who God is inviting us to become."




Unceasing Worship


Book Description

Harold M. Best casts a holistic vision for worship that transcends narrow discussions of musical style or congregational preference, corrects errors in how Christians have viewed the arts and misunderstandings about the use of music, and offers instead a more biblically consistent approach to artistic action.




8 Habits for Growth


Book Description

Don’t just do the right actions. Build habits—and watch your life be transformed. Many books try to help you do the right actions. But the real key to life transformation—for yourself and then for others—is building habits that become part of your life. Because habits don’t just dictate what you do. They reflect who you are. In 8 Habits for Growth, Darryl Dash wants to show you the eight long-term practices—all very doable—that will lead to permanent growth if you incorporate them into your life. You’ll learn why it’s important to: Make time Rest Read or listen to the Bible Pray Pursue worship and community in a church Care for your body Simplify your spiritual life Build a rule of life Personal growth doesn’t happen overnight. But it does happen, slowly, as you build God’s habits into your life. So what are you waiting for? Start your new habits today and let God transform who you are . . . and who you can become.




Worship Like Jesus


Book Description

Worship in local churches has changed dramatically over the past fifty years, not only in North America but in many places on every continent. Have these widespread and varying shifts left us with vague or even false impressions of what the weekly worship event is all about? Do followers of Jesus Christ grasp the importance of their role in worship? Do they know how to become fully engaged participants? Do they realize Jesus himself is our best guide and model for worship? Worship Like Jesus guides Christ-followers through the essential features of Christian worship, transforming the reader’s understanding and experience of worship. This leads people—even entire congregations—to experience worship in exciting and profound ways as never before. This type of worship also leads people into deeper and more committed discipleship. Imagine a community of fully engaged, deeply committed disciples! Revered author and scholar Constance Cherry offers this practical and foundational resource for ministry leaders and their worship communities. Each chapter follows the same helpful structure: Introduction Description of the chapter topic and its importance Discovery of Jesus’s own practice Deliberation or reflection on how Jesus’s model makes a difference Determination—readers consider how their worship will be shaped as a result of this chapter; includes questions for reflection Prayer At the end of each chapter, an exercise is suggested to help people take a practical step toward greater participation and engagement. A Leader Guide is included as an Appendix. This equips pastors, worship leaders and others to facilitate group study of the book. It is a powerful tool for transforming leadership teams and entire congregations.