In this six-session small group Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), Andrew Marin leads you in peaceful and productive ways to engage the theological, political and social disconnects between the Christian community and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. Today’s culture often defines ‘bridge building’ and reconciliation as a one-way street that leads to full theological, political and social agreement. Yet Christ demonstrated a different path of religious and cultural engagement to establish his kingdom here on earth. In light of such countercultural principles, the Christian community needs a new view on the issues that divide conservative believers and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities. Andrew Marin uses practical applications he’s learned over the last decade of living and working in the LGBT neighborhood of Chicago (Boystown), as well as his international speaking and consulting ministry, to offer a variety of practical teaching, insights, and life-lessons on reaching the LGBT community. Rather than avoiding the topic of homosexuality, Love Is an Orientation aims to equip the Christian community to bridge the gap between LGBT and religious communities. Instead of discussing how to “fix” gay people, this small group Bible study is all about getting to know them, engage them, and love them like Jesus does. After this study, you, your small group and your church will know what it means to peacefully and productively build bridges with the LGBT community. This Participant Guide is filled with insights, questions for discussion, and applications that will equip you with tools to reach out to the LGBT community in love and understanding. Sessions include: Love Is Our Orientation Building Bridges Theology of Bridge Builders Answering Tough Questions Adolescents and Sexuality Living in the Tension Designed for use with the Love Is an Orientation Video Study (sold separately).
In this six-session small group Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), Andrew Marin leads you in peaceful and productive ways to engage the theological, political and social disconnects between the Christian community and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. Today's culture often defines 'bridge building' and reconciliation as a one-way street that leads to full theological, political and social agreement. Yet Christ demonstrated a different path of religious and cultural engagement to establish his kingdom here on earth. In light of such countercultural principles, the Christian community needs a new view on the issues that divide conservative believers and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities. Andrew Marin uses practical applications he's learned over the last decade of living and working in the LGBT neighborhood of Chicago (Boystown), as well as his international speaking and consulting ministry, to offer a variety of practical teaching, insights, and life-lessons on reaching the LGBT community. Rather than avoiding the topic of homosexuality, Love Is an Orientation aims to equip the Christian community to bridge the gap between LGBT and religious communities. Instead of discussing how to "fix" gay people, this small group Bible study is all about getting to know them, engage them, and love them like Jesus does. After this study, you, your small group and your church will know what it means to peacefully and productively build bridges with the LGBT community. This Participant Guide is filled with insights, questions for discussion, and applications that will equip you with tools to reach out to the LGBT community in love and understanding. Sessions include: Love Is Our Orientation Building Bridges Theology of Bridge Builders Answering Tough Questions Adolescents and Sexuality Living in the Tension Designed for use with the Love Is an Orientation Video Study (sold separately).
When three of Andrew Marin's friends came out to him in the span of three months, he was confronted head-on with the question of how to reconcile his friends with his faith. Love Is an Orientation is the result of years of wrestling with this issue. In the book, Marin speaks out with compassion and conviction, elevating the conversation between Christianity and the GLBT community so that the focus is moved from genetics to gospel, where it really belongs.
The Miracle Moment Participant's Guideis a six-session workbook designed for use with the companion DVD experience (sold separately). Based on the new book The Miracle Momentby popular speaker Nicole Unice, this is a great resource for anyone wanting to transform their relationships at home, in love, or at work! Designed for group or individual use, The Miracle Moment Participant's Guideis a six-week journey in discovering the practical tools to Learn to respect and respond to your emotions without letting them control you Speak words that help--rather than hurt--the likelihood of your getting what you need Identify and keep yourself safe from toxic people Become comfortable setting and holding boundaries Be your best self even when you're tempted to shut up, blow up, or give up (Don't miss the companion Miracle Moment DVD Experience!)
Covenant Bible Study guides small groups through a comprehensive, in-depth study of the whole Bible over twenty-four sessions broken into three eight-session modules. Unlike the learning participants may have experienced in other groups, this study emphasizes the biblical concept of covenant as a unifying theme through both the Old and New Testaments. It underscores the unique relationship that God chooses to have with us as God’s people. This relationship is grounded in the faithfulness of God’s love and on our ongoing commitment to stay in relationship with God while sharing signs of God's love with others. The Leader Guide contains comprehensive and detailed direction for the group leader to use in each 90- minute group experience. Direction is provided for each component of the group meeting with options that allow leaders to adapt to the group's unique characteristics. Components of the group meeting experience include: Gathering Together - Opening questions designed to prompt conversation that connects to the main theme of the episode. Reflecting Together - Sharing what participants learned from the week’s scripture readings with questions that tie their discoveries into a central theme. Video Segment - Playing of the video for the current episode. Discovering Together - Building on the insights of the biblical scholar, analyzing a single passage from the week’s readings, going deeper into the way they explore the Bible’s meaning. Centering Together - Engaging in meditation, which is a devotional way to read the Bible. Serving Together - Reading together the “Signs of Faithful Love' provided.
The Christian Orientation Bible Study Guide has an emphasis on old wives' tales, which makes it imperative for us to have a good understanding. If you have recently accepted Jesus (became a new Christian), this Bible study guide will place you on the right path of Christ thoughts and not the world's thinking. Have you ever asked yourself where God came from, pastors and their lifestyles, tithes and offerings, your adversaries, blessings, and Christians in general? Well, this Bible study guide provides some helpful biblical information. If you have loved ones such: as family or friends that you have been trying to witness to well, this Bible study guide is great to witness to anyone about Jesus. In addition, this Bible study guide is powerful and engaging, with an ease of simplicity for all to understand. In addition, this Bible study guide can be used as a church new member's orientation, Sunday school Bible study, prison ministry Bible study, seminary studies, weekly Bible study, personal Bible study, and home Bible study worldwide.
You are what you love. But you might not love what you think. In this book, award-winning author James K. A. Smith shows that who and what we worship fundamentally shape our hearts. And while we desire to shape culture, we are not often aware of how culture shapes us. We might not realize the ways our hearts are being taught to love rival gods instead of the One for whom we were made. Smith helps readers recognize the formative power of culture and the transformative possibilities of Christian practices. He explains that worship is the "imagination station" that incubates our loves and longings so that our cultural endeavors are indexed toward God and his kingdom. This is why the church and worshiping in a local community of believers should be the hub and heart of Christian formation and discipleship. Following the publication of his influential work Desiring the Kingdom, Smith received numerous requests from pastors and leaders for a more accessible version of that book's content. No mere abridgment, this new book draws on years of Smith's popular presentations on the ideas in Desiring the Kingdom to offer a fresh, bottom-up rearticulation. The author creatively uses film, literature, and music illustrations to engage readers and includes new material on marriage, family, youth ministry, and faith and work. He also suggests individual and communal practices for shaping the Christian life.
This Covenant experience will guide participants in a comprehensive, in-depth study of the Bible over twenty-four weeks. Unlike the learning participants may have experienced in other groups, this in-depth study of the whole Bible emphasizes the biblical concept of covenant as a unifying pattern through all the books in the Old and New Testaments. It underscores the unique relationship that God chooses to have with us as God’s people. This relationship is grounded in the faithfulness of God’s love and on our ongoing commitment to stay in love with God while we share signs of that love with others. The Leader Guide contains comprehensive and detailed direction for each meeting experience. While each group’s chemistry will vary, the Leader Guide contains the following elements: •The Group Meeting Experience—Each Covenant Bible Study episode follows the same essential structure by balancing conversational teaching from biblical experts with engaging discussion among the participants. Covenant is designed so that the meaning of the Bible isn’t found in just listening to a biblical scholar or listening to one’s own inner voice. Only through conversation in community, in the Covenant Group Meeting Experience, can we discover the Bible’s transformative power. During some weeks the group might be so full of energy and questions that conversation leaves less time for the video. That’s okay. The spiritual energy that wakes up and transforms a life is the most important result from this kind of Bible study. •Gathering Together (10 min)—The opening questions of this segment in each episode are designed to prompt conversation on a general topic that connects to the main theme of the episode. Begin by reading the scriptures in the Covenant Prayer section for Episode 1. Have one person say the phrase, “For those who . . .” and then the whole group responds by reading the scripture passage aloud (Neh 8:8 and then 8:10). •Reflecting Together (10 min) —This segment guides participants to share what they learned from the week’s scripture readings with questions that tie their discoveries into a central theme. The study also encourages participants to memorize and share verses from the readings that they found particularly meaningful. •Video Segment (25 min) —Play the orientation video for Episode 1. The cohosts for this opening conversation are Reverend Shane Stanford, senior pastor at Christ United Methodist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, and Reverend Christine Chakoian, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Lake Forest, Illinois. They will meet with a different biblical scholar in each video episode. •Discovering Together (15 min) —This segment in the following episodes builds on the insights of the biblical scholar and analyzes a single passage from the week’s readings. The questions in the Group Meeting Experience section of the participant guide encourage a comprehensive look at the form, style, and central meaning of the scripture text. This segment will teach participants how to “go deeper” in the way they explore the Bible’s meaning. If you handed out the participant guides before the first meeting, or if individuals downloaded the participant guides to their mobile devices, assign a single Bible passage (Deuteronomy 10) to be read before the meeting, as well. It will be discussed briefly at the first meeting during this segment. •Centering Together (10 min) —This segment provides a meditation, which is a devotional way to read the Bible. This is a critical part of the experience because it ensures the study experience is not only informative for the mind, but also formative for the heart. It will teach participants how to use imagination, prayer, and listening while reading scripture. These spiritual practices can strengthen their relationship with God. You may choose to have willing participants report on this experience (always located on Day 6 in the participant guide) if they are trying it at home. As an alternative, the leader guide includes this as a weekly group practice every week because some individuals are unfamiliar with this kind of meditation. Decide the best fit for your group; try it both ways, as individuals and as a group. •Serving Together (5 min) —Read together the “Signs of Faithful Love” at the end of this episode. Then remind them that they are committing to a twenty-four-week Covenant experience together where they will: • read the Bible daily and write responses in their participant guides; • pray for other members of the group each day; • meet with the group every week; • listen for God speaking through the Bible and each other; and • invite the Holy Spirit to change their lives through exposure to the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ encountered in the scriptures. Participants are encouraged to conceive and share tangible ways that each week’s readings will alter their priorities and perspectives and shape their behavior. More Questions? Visit http://covenantbiblestudy.com/ for more information. Numerous helps for leaders are available, including group calendars, daily emailed Bible readings, video training tips, bonus videos, and supplemental Bible resources. Every Covenant leader will want a copy of the CEB Study Bible.
This book is excellent for individual reading or can be used as the small group study book for the Christianity's Family Tree DVD based study. Adam Hamilton is, in my opinion, a national treasure. He embodies the kind of generous orthodoxy so many of us have been dreaming of and praying for. This book provides something truly unique—a kind of orientation to Christianity in its wide array of forms that not only educates but inspires. It’s one of the few books I wish every single Christian would read and share with their friends. - Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christian In this wise and practical book, Adam Hamilton serves as a trusted guide to some of the rich diversity of Christian belief and practice. It is a rare feat to acknowledge differences and distinctiveness appreciatively, and Hamilton does it with exceptional grace and insight. - L. Gregory Jones, Dean and Professor of Theology, Duke Divinity School I love this book. Adam Hamilton teaches us that we are far richer than we know, because the beauty and the fullness of the whole church is ours. Read, learn, and be happy. - John Ortberg, author of God Is Closer Than You Think In this book, Adam Hamilton presents a welcoming, inspiring vision of eight Christian denominations and faith traditions. Comparing the Christian family to our own extended families, he contends that each denomination has a unique, valuable perspective to offer on the Christian faith. The traditions he examines are Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Lutheranism, Presbyterianism, Anglicanism, Baptists, Pentecostalism, and Methodism. For each group, Hamilton gives a brief history, outlines major beliefs, and describes some things we can learn from that tradition to strengthen our own Christian faith. Also available is the planning kit for this video-based small-group study Christianity’s Family Tree: What Other Christians Believe and Why. Adam Hamilton is pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, one of the fastest growing, most highly visible churches in the country. Named by PBS’s Religion and Ethics Newsweekly as one of the top “Ten People to Watch,” Hamilton is the author of numerous video based small group studies and books from Abingdon Press.
