In this heartwarming story of love and family, a community comes together to help a young girl find the courage to lift her mighty voice. Sundays are June’s favorite days because she gets to spend it with Mommy, Daddy, and her brother, Troy. Next Sunday is more special than most, because she will be leading the youth choir in front of her entire church. June loves to sing. She sings loud, silly songs with Daddy, she sings to herself in front of the bedroom mirror, but performing in front of the entire congregation is another thing altogether. As her special moment approaches, June leans on the support of her whole community to conquer her fear of singing in front of the congregation.
Working to bridge opposing sides in the various "worship wars", Marva Dawn here writes to help local parishes and denominations think more profoundly about both worship and culture.
Whether we realize it or not, our churches are full of those who have experienced and are living with the aftereffects of horror and trauma, whether as survivors, carers, or perpetrators. The central question of this book is simple: How can our churches become open to the Trinity such that they are trauma-safe environments for everyone? How can we join the triune God to become trauma-safe churches? While the reality is bleak, the church can dare to hope for healing because of the reality of God and the body of Christ. Using the metaphor of the dawn of Sunday, the authors propose a double witness to trauma that straddles the boundary between the deadly silence of Holy Saturday and the joy of Easter Sunday. While witnessing loss and lament we can also be open to the possibility of new life through God’s trinitarian works of safety and recovery in the church. This involves adopting some basic principles and practices of trauma safety that every pastor, congregation, and layperson can begin using today. Creating trauma-safe churches is possible through God the Trinity.
Highly respected New Testament scholar Craig Keener is known for his meticulous and comprehensive research. This commentary on Acts, his magnum opus, may be the largest and most thoroughly documented Acts commentary available. Useful not only for the study of Acts but also early Christianity, this work sets Acts in its first-century context. In this volume, the third of four, Keener continues his detailed exegesis of Acts, utilizing an unparalleled range of ancient sources and offering a wealth of fresh insights. This magisterial commentary will be an invaluable resource for New Testament professors and students, pastors, Acts scholars, and libraries.
Elsie McKee, "Calvin and His Colleagues as Pastors: Some New Insights into the Collegial Ministry of Word and Sacraments"; Jeffrey R. Watt, "Childhood and Youth in the Geneva Consistory Minutes"; Christoph Strohm, "Methodology in Discussion of 'Calvin and Calvinism'"; Max Engammare, "D’une forme l’autre: Commentaires et sermons de Calvin sur la Genèse "; Cornelis Augustijn / Christoph Burger / Frans P. van Stam, "Calvin in the Light of the Early Letters" ; Christian Link, "Die Finalität des Menschen Zur Perspektive der Anthropologie Calvins"; Robert M. Kingdon, "Calvin’s last years"; Victor E. d’Assonville jr., "Dogma und Doctrina Bei Calvin in einer begrifflichen wechselwirkung: Ein Seminarbericht "; Wim Janse, "Calvin, a Lasco und Beza: Eine gemeinsame Abendmahlserklärung (Mai 1556)? Bericht eines Forschungsseminars mit offenem Ausgang"; A.N.S. Lane, "Calvin and Article 5 of the Regensburg Colloquy"; Jae Sung Kim, "Prayer in Calvin’s soteriology "; Barbara Pitkin: "Redefining Repentance: Calvin and Melanchthon"; Wilhelmus H.Th. Moehn, "Abraham – 'père de l’église de Dieu'. A Comparison of Calvin’s Commentary and Sermons on Acts 7:1-6 287"; Christian Grosse, "’En esprit et en vérité’? La part du rituel dans la culture religieuse réformée (Genève, XVIe siècle)"; Mihály Márkus, "Calvin und Polen. Gedankenfragmente in Verbindung mit einer Empfehlung"; Dr. E.A. de Boer, "Calvin and Colleagues. Propositions and Disputations in the Context of the Congrégations in Geneva"; Irena Backus, "Calvin’s knowledge of Greek language and philosophy"; Randall C. Zachman, "Crying To God on the Brink of Despair: The Assurance of Faith Revisited ".
Some guests were not invited….. The authors of Santa Monica once again illuminate the dark truths of life in sunny California in this twisty and atmospheric psychological thriller about a 50th birthday celebration on a remote mountainside in Topanga Canyon, where things go terrifyingly wrong. For Los Angeleno Dani Sanders, turning 50 seems like one more disappointment. Her career has stalled, her nineteen-year-old daughter with developmental issues is regressing, and Dani’s ex-husband Craig, a fertility doctor worshipped by Hollywood’s elite, is forever upending her life. Though she doesn’t feel much like celebrating, she can’t say no when her best friend Mia Markle, a flamboyant and strong-willed actress, insists on planning a “creative” birthday weekend in the wild, wealthy bohemian enclave of Topanga Canyon. On the weekend of the Summer Solstice, Dani and her six closest friends gather in the hills above the canyon at “Celestial Ranch,” 18-acres of rugged, wooded mountainside where they’ll spend three glorious days hiking, practicing meditation and reiki, and enjoying lavish catered cuisine. They will also indulge in a little DMT, a short-acting psychedelic drug meant to open their senses and transport them to a higher plain. But as the weekend unfolds, long-buried tensions, unresolved grievances, and old secrets emerge, leaving Dani desperate for clarity about her life. Dani and her friends take the drug late at night on an open hillside beneath the glittering stars. When Dani returns from her intense and revelatory "trip," she learns that one of her friends has gone missing. Then another disappears. And soon, Dani finds herself alone on the dark mountainside, seemingly abandoned by the people who are supposed to love her most. Or have they somehow been taken from her? What could Dani have possibly done to deserve a devastating birthday night like this—and how will she make it to the morning alone?
