'Sports Fun for Messy Churches' is a great way to enhance your Messy Church experience by providing fun-filled games and sports activities for families to enjoy together. This little book provides a wealth of simple, interactive games and family-friendly sports ideas for Messy Church leaders to use in their sessions.
Explores a variety of growing churches to identify what is making the difference between them and churches which are static or declining. In addition to numerical growth, it asks how we measure spiritual growth and identifies the signs of spiritual vitality, laying a practical and theological foundation for continued growth into the future.
You are invited to make a journey of exploration through an exciting landscape of life and faith. Let the chemistry of urban life surprise and inspire you. Let it challenge your deepest sense of self knowledge and belief. Experience the best of humanity where you expect not to find it and share the pain that defiles the beauty of unique human beings. Join us as we explore pathways to wholeness and healing for people and communities and learn never to lose hope. We believe in the art of the possible, the value of instant improvisation, and that out of the mistakes we will make, we can produce something beautiful. Learn to go beyond horizons of our own making and discover more than we can ask or think. Take time to savour the art, which offers fresh insight into time-honoured stories of courage and faith in desperate situations; of joy and celebration; of compassion, perseverance, and dogged determination; deep contentment at the fulfilment of endeavour. Encounter the fragrance of generosity of spirit; and the love which embraces injustice and suffering, transforming them beyond all we can imagine. Join me on this journey that has no end but just gets better. As we walk together, we may discover pearls of great price, and not a little humour on the way. “Greasy Chip Butty is a textured, local authentic history in a very real and rapidly changing place. Those stories deserve to be studied and celebrated and the wisdom garnered from them needs to be widely shared.” – Steven Croft, Bishop of Oxford. “What a great read! A moving and wonderful example of doing narrative theology on the hoof ... reflecting on change, risk taking and adventure.” – John Thomson, Bishop of Selby “I read Greasy Chip Butty with delight and new learning. A kaleidoscopic and impressionistic narrative which, through the lens of music and art, shows how God has been at work in one specific neighbourhood of Sheffield.” – Pete Wilcox, Bishop of Sheffield.
Over the past few years, John Pavlovitz's blog, Stuff That Needs To Be Said, has become a virtual hub for millions of people from all over the world, drawn there by his clear, compelling words on compassion, equity, love, and justice. This expansive, like-hearted community transcends race, orientation, gender, religious tradition, political affiliation, and nation of origin--and finds its affinity in the deeper place of our shared humanity, which is the True North of his writing. This collection lovingly pulls together some of John's most widely-read and most beloved essays on faith, politics, grief, and the elemental parts of being human. It is an encouraging, inspiring, challenging storehouse of "stuff that needs to be said."
This 365-day devotional can bring out the messes. Some touch on issues not brought up in churches. The significant part about this book is we can start anytime! Day one to 365! I prayed and wrote to get to the deepest parts of us. We realize we are a mess, then surrender it. We allow His Spirit to release the bondages. We become less of a mess. Whose mess are you? Remember, we can choose to be God’s messes. In His hands, struggles turn into something amazing! I pray this devotional will be a great tool for all of us as we draw closer to the Lord we love.
Every pastor's wife is a faithful servant and leader in her own right. She has great influence on her church, her community, her family, and her husband, and she finds joy in seeing God move in the lives of others. Yet she also faces unique challenges that too often go unnoticed and unaddressed. At times, a pastor's wife may feel she can't talk about her struggles even with those who are closest to her, which can leave her feeling alone, depleted, and misunderstood. She may settle for this way of living, but that's not God's desire for her. Christine Hoover knows firsthand the unique struggles and opportunities afforded a pastor's wife--she's been filling that role for more than 20 years. Coming alongside as an understanding friend, she offers encouragement and guidance to the struggling pastor's wife, showing her how to make meaningful personal relationships with God, her husband, her children, her church community, and other women--relationships that will sustain her and help her thrive.
The lives of the Saints are one of the most powerful ways God draws people to himself, showing us the love and the joy we can find in him. But so often, these Saints seem distant—impossibly holy or dull or unlike us in race and age and state in life. In Saints Around the World, you’ll meet over one-hundred Saints from more than sixty countries, including Saints with different disabilities, strengths, and struggles. The beautiful illustrations and captivating storytelling will introduce you and your children to new heavenly friends while also helping you fall more in love with Jesus. Each story in this book is written not only to capture the imagination but also to speak about God’s tremendous love and our call to be saints. There are stories in Saints Around the World for when you feel like life isn’t fair, when people are being unkind to you, when you’ve made a terrible mistake, when you’re struggling at school, when prayer is hard. And there are stories of shouting down Nazis, of fleeing a murderous villain, of making scientific discoveries, of smoking a cigar while enemy soldiers amputate your leg. There are scared Saints, brilliant Saints, weak Saints, adventurous Saints, abused Saints, overjoyed Saints, disabled Saints—and the point of every one of them is the love of God. Whether you’re checking the map to find Saints who look like you or perusing the extensive indices to find Saints with your skills or struggles, you’ll find countless stories in this book that remind you how very possible holiness is.
“Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” These words from Psalm 90, prayed by Moses, reflect an eternal truth: we need God's help to number our days, and to capture every moment, so that we can live it with wisdom. Capture the Moment is a 365-day devotional that will help you do just that. For those who get bogged down in the mundane, distracted by the noise, and lost in the busyness, pastor and author Gregg Matte has written these daily devotions to point us back to what matters most. Begin or end each day with a short snippet of Scripture and a helpful devotional thought so that you can capture each moment, rather than letting it slip away.
The modern day youth sports environment has taken the enjoyment out of athletics for our children. Currently, 70% of kids drop out of organized sports by the age of 13, which has given rise to a generation of overweight, unhealthy young adults. There is a solution. John O’Sullivan shares the secrets of the coaches and parents who have not only raised elite athletes, but have done so by creating an environment that promotes positive core values and teaches life lessons instead of focusing on wins and losses, scholarships, and professional aspirations. Changing the Game gives adults a new paradigm and a game plan for raising happy, high performing children, and provides a national call to action to return youth sports to our kids.