Living Faithfully Revised and Updated
Living Faithfully Revised and Updated

Author: Dave Barnhart

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Published: 2019-09-17

Total Pages: 125

ISBN-13: 1791001688

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There is deep disagreement about what The United Methodist Church should teach about homosexuality, same gender marriage, and the ordination of LGBTQ persons. In 2019, a special session of General Conference was held to consider these issues and how they will be addressed by The United Methodist Church in the future. Yet many have felt that the outcome of the special session did not lead to resolution, but to increased tension and deepening division. Living Faithfully is designed to help you understand the shape of this debate and what it means for the present and the future. Each chapter includes background on the Bible, Christian theology, history, stories from diverse viewpoints, and United Methodist structure and practice to guide reflection and conversation. You’ll also find definitions of key terms and information about upcoming events. The four chapters are: 1. Is the Practice of Homosexuality Incompatible with Christian Teaching? 2. Is Same-gender Marriage Compatible with Christian Teaching? 3. Is Ordaining Practicing Homosexuals Compatible with Christian Teaching? 4. Where Are We Now? This revised four-week study contains an updated fourth chapter that describes the outcome of the 2019 General Conference and the ongoing debates and responses to it. It will help you understand and grapple with various views about the ministry and teaching of The United Methodist Church around issues of human sexuality. It will lead you to have honest, well-informed, and grace-filled conversations with others about these matters and the calls for change. And it will help you discern, in prayer and conversation, how you can respond faithfully in love of God and neighbor. A Leader Guide is included with lesson plans to help facilitate a four-session small group study. From the Faultlines collection, resources intended to inform conversations around human sexuality and the church.

Living Faithfully
Living Faithfully

Author: Dave Barnhart

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Published: 2017-08-15

Total Pages: 124

ISBN-13: 1501859781

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There is deep disagreement about what The United Methodist Church should teach about homosexuality, same gender marriage, and the ordination of LGBTQ persons. In 2019, a special session of General Conference will be held to consider these issues and how they will be addressed by The United Methodist Church in the future. Living Faithfully is designed to help you understand the shape of this debate and what it means for the present and the future. Each chapter includes background on the Bible, Christian theology, history, stories from diverse viewpoints, and United Methodist structure and practice to guide reflection and conversation. You’ll also find definitions of key terms and information about upcoming events. The four chapters are: 1. Is the Practice of Homosexuality Incompatible with Christian Teaching? 2. Is Same-gender Marriage Compatible with Christian Teaching? 3. Is Ordaining Practicing Homosexuals Compatible with Christian Teaching? 4. Where Are We Now? This four-week study will help you understand and grapple with various views about the ministry and teaching of The United Methodist Church around issues of human sexuality. It will lead you to have honest, well-informed, and grace-filled conversations with others about these matters and the calls for change. And it will help you discern, in prayer and conversation, how you can respond faithfully in love of God and neighbor. A Leader Guide is included with lesson plans to help facilitate a four-session small group study. From the Faultlines collection, resources intended to inform conversations around human sexuality and the church.

Faithful Living, Faithful Dying
Faithful Living, Faithful Dying

Author: End of Life Task Force of the Standing Commission on National Concerns

Publisher: Church Publishing, Inc.

Published: 2000-03-01

Total Pages: 175

ISBN-13: 081922524X

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An important examination of the theological, spiritual, and ethical issues surrounding death. At the end of a life of faithfulness comes our dying. To approach it as faithfully as we have our living calls for some serious forethought. Because one of the simplest facts of life—that we all die—seems like the most complicated thing we do. Not only have advances in medical technology saved lives, but they also have prolonged death, and raise a number ethical, moral, social, and theological issues. How far should we go to sustain life? Is it right to withdraw artificial feeding from the dying? Is it wrong to end the lives of those in pain? No matter who we are, dealing with these sorts of choices near the end of life is difficult to do on our own.Faithful Living, Faithful Dying: Anglican Reflections on End of Life Care brings together the wisdom of a task force created by the 72nd General Convention of the Episcopal Church to study what faithful living and faithful dying mean today. The task force’s reflections, published for the first time in this book, assist individuals, congregations, and the Church as a whole to disentangle the thicket of ethical, theological, pastoral, and policy concerns.

Living Faithfully in a Fragmented World
Living Faithfully in a Fragmented World

Author: Jonathan R Wilson

Publisher: Lutterworth Press

Published: 2011-05-26

Total Pages: 102

ISBN-13: 0718842952

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The first edition of Living Faithfully in a Fragmented World became one of the founding and guiding texts for new monastic communities. In this revised edition, Jonathan Wilson focuses more directly on lessons for these communities from Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue. In the midst of the unsettling cultural shifts from modernity to postmodernity, a new monastic movement is arising that strives to be a faithful witness to the gospel. These new monastic communities seek to participate in Christ's life in the world and bear witness by learning to live intentionally as the church in Western culture. This movement is about finding the church's center in Christ in the midst of a fragmented world, overcoming the failure of the Enlightenment project and our complicity with it, resisting the temptation to Nietzschean power, and building communities of disciples. This new edition is greatly enlarged from the original volume. It includes responses to critics of the new monasticism such as D. A. Carson, an entirely new chapter on the Nietzschean temptation, an afterword on properly understanding the new monastic movement, the dangers it faces, and the work yet to be done, as well as an appendix on the supposed post-modern agenda of Jonathan Wilson and Brian McLaren. For those striving to understand the path the church should take in this fragmented world, this book is essential reading.

James and Galatians
James and Galatians

Author: Scot McKnight

Publisher: HarperChristian Resources

Published: 2022-02-22

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 0310129567

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Become a daily Bible reader, attentive to the mind of God. In the New Testament Everyday Bible Study Series, widely respected biblical scholar Scot McKnight reveals the newness and activeness of God's Word as it works in our everyday lives. His unique approach to Bible study combines sound theology with relevant pastoral wisdom. Each volume of this series provides: Original Meaning: Brief, precise expositions of the biblical text and offers a clear focus for the central message of each passage. Fresh Interpretation: Brings the passage alive with fresh images and what it means to follow King Jesus. Practical Application: Biblical connections and questions for reflection and application for each passage. Ideal for personal reflection or group study, James and Galatians will help you see God in the biblical context so you can hear from God in your context. The letters of James and Galatians both speak words of life to believers in the first century and in the twenty-first century: James offers us practical and relevant wisdom about the speech we use (especially considering modern means of communication), the trials we face, and the specific dangers of wealth. Galatians reminds us of the total sufficiency of Jesus in securing our salvation, and of the leadership of the Holy Spirit for living out our faith. Exploring the links between the time these words were written and our own times, Scot McKnight uncovers the enduring relevance and importance of these two letters for our lives today. He'll walk you and your group through both letters with Scripture passages (sometimes translated from the original by McKnight himself), reflection questions, pastoral insights, and ideas for putting God's words into action.

Happiness and the Christian Moral Life
Happiness and the Christian Moral Life

Author: Paul J. Wadell

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Published: 2012-02-16

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 1442209747

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Happiness and the Christian Moral Life introduces students to Christian Ethics looking at ethics as a path to the "good life" and happiness, rather than a strict set of rules or regulations. Revised and updated throughout, the second edition maintains the book's distinctive focus on happiness. Each chapter now features a list of suggested readings to point students and instructors towards further resources. Other changes to the second edition include a more fully developed account of Augustine's understanding of happiness, new discussions of how technology shapes relationships and happiness, and consideration of the relationship between the natural law and the virtues.

Finding God Faithful - Bible Study Book
Finding God Faithful - Bible Study Book

Author: Kelly Minter

Publisher: Lifeway Church Resources

Published: 2019-08

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781535935951

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Trace the path of Joseph's life in the Book of Genesis to observe how God's sovereignty reigns, even in our darkest moments. Learn to recognize when God is working during periods of waiting, trust God's plan when life doesn't make sense, and rest in the sufficiency of His presence in every circumstance. His provision is enough, His presence is constant, and His purpose is unstoppable. (8 sessions) Features: Leader helps to guide questions and discussions within small groups Personal study segments to complete between 8 weeks of group sessions Teaching videos, approximately 35 minutes per session, available for purchase or rent Benefits: Place your hope in the God who is with you. Learn to trust God's purposes when life doesn't make sense. Recognize how God is working in your waiting. Rest in the sufficiency of God's presence in every circumstance.

Living as United Methodist Christians
Living as United Methodist Christians

Author: Sally Langford

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Published: 2010-09-01

Total Pages: 140

ISBN-13: 142672666X

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Pastors Andy and Sally Langford take a unique approach in this six-session study by looking at how United Methodists claim and live their faith as individuals and as a denomination. Through the study, you will gain insight into the history of The United Methodist Church, its beliefs and faith practices. Living as United Methodist Christians is ideal for small groups, new member classes, and disciple training classes and includes: An introduction that sets the stage for exploring the belief and practices of United Methodist Christians Six chapters that will help learners hear and claim for themselves the Christian story, particular emphases and beliefs of United Methodists, and ways to live as a United Methodist Christian Leader and learner helps such as reflection questions placed near main text material to which they refer. These helps will stimulate discussion about the reflections or insights participants gain from the material

Organic Church
Organic Church

Author: Neil Cole

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2007-06-15

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 0787997846

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Churches have tried all kinds of ways to attract new and younger members - revised vision statements, hipper worship, contemporary music, livelier sermons, bigger and better auditoriums. But there are still so many people who aren't being reached, who don't want to come to church. And the truth is that attendance at church on Sundays does not necessarily transform lives; God's presence in our hearts is what changes us. Leaders and laypeople everywhere are realizing that they need new and more powerful ways to help them spread God's Word. According to international church starter and pastor Neil Cole, if we want to connect with young people and those who are not coming to church, we must go where people congregate. Cole shows readers how to plant the seeds of the Kingdom of God in the places where life happens and where culture is formed - restaurants, bars, coffeehouses, parks, locker rooms,and neighborhoods. Organic Church offers a hands-on guide for demystifying this new model of church and shows the practical aspects of implementing it.

The Priesthood of All Believers in the Twenty-First Century
The Priesthood of All Believers in the Twenty-First Century

Author: Robert A. Muthiah

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2009-05-01

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 1630879975

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Robert Muthiah believes a deepened theology of the priesthood of all believers is essential for answering the crucial questions of what shape the church should take in the twenty-first century, and how this theological query relates to the lived experiences of congregations. Emerging churches, which tend to develop vibrant practices of the priesthood of all believers, need to develop more fully their ecclesiological underpinnings, while historic churches, with a well-developed theology of the priesthood of all believers, need a renewed vigor to allow this theology to shape their congregational lives. With recourse to relevant New Testament texts and theological conversations, The Priesthood of All Believers in the Twenty-First Cenutry argues for a fresh understanding and embodiment of the priesthood of all believers by setting ecclesiology, postmodern culture, and congregational practices in dialogue. Elements of the discussion include ecumenical and Free church perspectives, Trinitarian correspondence, postmodern social structures, the relevance of Alasdair McIntyre's social practices for congregations, and forms of congregational leadership.