Have you ever had a crisis in your faith? Have you ever been angry with God? Have you asked, Lord, why me? Have you ever felt like you just cant go on any more? Have you ever felt abandoned by God? Well, these are all questions that millions of Christians face on a day-to-day basis. However, God has an answer for all of these situations in your life. He is in the restoration business of bringing back peace, joy, happiness, and stability in your life. This book will give you insight to help you heal and thrive again in your faith!
If you’ve been part of a church, you have probably suffered a “church hurt”—or know someone who has. Maybe the pastor had an affair or the congregation fought over money or the leaders were disguising gossip as “prayer.” Stephen Mansfield knows how it feels. Though he is now a New York Times bestselling author, he was a pastor for more than 20 years, and he loved it—until he learned how much a church can hurt. Yet he also learned how to dig out of that hurt, break through the bitterness and anger, stop making excuses, and get back to where he ought to be with God and his people. If you’re ready to choose the tough path to healing, Mansfield will walk you through it with brotherly love, showing you how you can be better than ever on the other side of this mess—if you’re willing to start Healing Your Church Hurt. Previously published as ReChurch.
The Christian life is built on three seemingly unremarkable practices: reading the Bible, prayer, and fellowship with other believers. However, according to David Mathis, such “habits of grace” are the God-designed channels through which his glorious grace flows—making them life-giving practices for all Christians. Whether it’s hearing God’s voice (the Word), having his ear (prayer), or participating in his body (fellowship), such spiritual rhythms of the Christian life have the power to awaken our souls to God’s glory and stir our hearts for lifelong service in his name. What’s more, these seemingly simple practices grant us access to a host of spiritual blessings that we can only begin to imagine this side of eternity—and the incredible joy that such blessings bring to God’s children today.
In this thoughtful book Schimmel guides readers through the meanings of justice, forgiveness, repentance, and reconciliation. In doing so, he probes to the core of the human encounter with evil, drawing on religious traditions, psychology, philosophy, and the personal experiences of both perpetrators and of victims.
Religion and the Constitution, Fifth Edition, is a casebook unparalleled in how it synthesizes judicial decisions and legal doctrines together with materials from history, the study of religion, and other related disciplines. The purchase of this ebook edition does not entitle you to receive access to the Connected eBook on CasebookConnect. You will need to purchase a new print book to get access to the full experience including: lifetime access to the online ebook with highlight, annotation, and search capabilities, plus an outline tool and other helpful resources. Religion and the Constitution, Fifth Edition, written by a team of well-known Constitutional Law scholars, thoughtfully examines the relationship between government and religion within the framework of the U.S. Constitution. This proven casebook is suitable for courses or seminars in Religious Liberty, Religion and the Constitution, or Religious Institutions and the Law. The Fifth Edition has been updated with discussions of the Supreme Court’s many recent religious liberty cases, decided against the tumultuous backdrop of pandemic restrictions and intensifying “culture wars.” New to the Fifth Edition: Recent decisions on COVID-related restrictions of religious worship and the meaning of the requirement that laws burdening religion be “neutral and generally applicable.” Recent decisions on the clash between sexual-orientation nondiscrimination laws and religious objectors: Masterpiece Cakeshop and Fulton v. Philadelphia. Recent decisions forbidding exclusion of religious entities from generally available government funding programs: Trinity Lutheran v. Comer and Espinoza v. Dept. of Revenue. The recent decision presumptively validating longstanding government displays with religious content, namely American Legion v. American Humanist Assn. Professors and students will benefit from: A casebook structured to stress three recurring themes that contextualize current debate regarding matters of church-and-state: Free exercise of religion in the face of government regulation. Government financial assistance to religious institutions. The role of religion in government institutions, such as schools. Notes and questions that connect older controversies with modern constitutional disputes. Problems that enable students to understand the legal materials on their own terms and apply them to new issues. A thorough examination and explanation of the various interrelations between the free exercise and establishment clauses. Historical and other background materials that are sufficiently scholarly and authoritative that the United States Supreme Court recently cited the book in its decision in Espinoza v. Dep’t of Revenue (2020)
She's seen slave dungeons in Ghana. Genocide in Rwanda. Systemic sexual abuse in Brazil. Child abuse and domestic violence in the US. After forty years of counseling abuse survivors around the world, Dr. Diane Langberg, a world renowned trauma expert, remains certain that what trauma destroys, Christ can and does restore. This book will convince you, too, of the healing heart of God. But it's not a fast process, instead much patience is required from family, friends, and counselors as they wisely and respectfully help victims unpack their traumatic suffering through talking, tears, and time. And it's not a process that can be separated from the work of God in both a counselor and counselee. Dr. Langberg calls all of those who wish to help sufferers to model Jesus's sacrificial love and care in how they listen, love, and guide. The heart of God is revealed to sufferers as they grow to understand the cross of Christ and how their God came to this earth and experienced such severe suffering that he too is "well-acquainted with grief." The cross of Christ is the lens that transforms and redeems traumatic suffering and its aftermath, not only for the sufferer, but it also transforms those who walk with the suffering. This book will be a great help to anyone who loves, listens to, and seeks to help someone impacted by trauma and abuse. There is no quick fix, but there is the hope for healing through the love of God in Christ.
This New York Times bestseller (more than 200,000 hardcover copies sold) provides a path-breaking lifestyle handbook that shows how to add spirituality, depth, and meaning to modern-day life by nurturing the soul.
J. Brian Bransfield presents in this book the struggle of internet pornography in the context of the encounter of Jesus with the Woman of Samaria. Many today find themselves in a similar place. They are hungry for Jesus, but continually fall short. Men in particular experience the pain of internet pornography. Overcoming Pornography Addiction presents the practical way in which the teaching of the church can move us from sin to grace, from pain to healing, through an honest appraisal of the pain of internet pornography and the wonderful beauty of grace and virtue. Unique to this title is its emphasis on Pope John Paul's theology of the body in regard to the freedom from internet pornography. This work also places the treatment of the topic in the context of a familiar gospel story of Jesus with the woman of Samaria, who herself has suffered much at the hands of many men. Using familiar images, popular teaching, and incorporating an understanding of addiction and human sexuality, this work appreciates the struggle of persons suffering from internet pornography use and recognizes their human dignity and worth. +
True faith is hard. More than mere sentimentalism, faith often calls for a deep and resilient trust in God—especially when the going gets tough and the road is dark. In Things Not Seen, author Jon Bloom encourages readers with 35 imaginative retellings of stories from the Bible that illustrate the importance of living by faith. A follow-up to the author's previous book, Not by Sight: A Fresh Look at Old Stories of Walking by Faith, this inspiring volume explores the lives of Abraham, Moses, Saul, John the Baptist, and more—helping readers remember God's promises, rely on his grace, and follow his leading regardless of the circumstances. The book includes a foreword by popular author and blogger Ann Voskamp.
The Christian Athlete is a gospel-centered guide that assists athletes who identify as Christians and are seeking to understand how to practically apply their faith to their sport. Athletes desire—and deserve—a more substantive expression of the Christian faith in the context of sport, but they don’t know what it looks like or where to turn to learn more. Author Brian Smith shares his story as an athlete and coach, and his experience working with high-level athletes in the last decade to help readers better understand how to integrate faith and sport by: Assisting those who want a wide-angled understanding of how to live the Christian faith in the context of sports Walking through the many questions Christian athletes ask about winning, losing, injuries, practice, and everything in between Moving Christian athletes from simply having clichéd spiritual sayings decorating their bodies or t-shirts to actually living out their faith through all the opportunities their sport offers them The Christian Athlete will show readers how to live out a biblical perspective on athletics and urge them to engage in the gifts they are given to glorify God whether they are the team MVP or riding the bench.
