James Bryan Smith believes we have bought into false notions of happiness and success. In this Good and Beautiful Series book, Smith traces through the Sermon on the Mount and helps us replace our false beliefs with Jesus' narratives about life in the kingdom of God.
Turning to the Gospels, James Bryan Smith invites you to compare your ideas about God with what Jesus himself reveals about his Father. In this Good and Beautiful Series book, Smith leads you through a process of spiritual formation that includes activities aimed at making these new narratives real in your body and soul as well as your mind.
In this Good and Beautiful Series book, James Bryan Smith helps you to live in relationship with others as apprentices of Jesus. He shows how to bring spiritual formation and community engagement together, and he offers spiritual practices that root new, true narratives about God and the world in your soul.
A gripping story of grace, faith, and triumph for a woman whose world shattered hours after her husband's suicide. Becky Powell faced the unthinkable on May 16, 2013. Her husband Mark called and said, "I've done something terrible." Within hours, she learned that he had taken his own life and, over a period of several years, millions of dollars from friends and colleagues. Everything she believed to be true, the very fiber of her marriage, was called into question. Within a week, rather than planning carpool runs and volunteer fundraisers, she owed almost one hundred creditors millions of dollars and had her own team of ten lawyers. She was also the subject of open FBI, SEC and DOJ investigations--and faced potential criminal charges. And, although she instantly denounced every cent of Mark's $15M in life insurance and promised to repay every penny taken, her lawyers knew that in reality she faced years of court battles and lawsuits, and possible jail time. Yet from that first horrific moment, God was there. He showed up in His Word, in Becky's friends, in her lawyers and in the generosity of those around her. He worked miracles. CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and others covered the first moment, but what about the last? What about the story in which God gives your next breath because you can't find it on your own? What about the story of a mom and three kids trying to make sense of their pasts, present and future while living under a microscope? Awful Beautiful Life is Becky's journey through the two years surrounding Mark's death and how she overcame. It came down to a loving God who surrounded her, a present and dedicated family, and friends, who made her life, offered her sanctuary and showed up for her and her kids in tangible ways. This is a story of remarkable grit, strength, and what the Body of Christ in action looks like.
James Bryan Smith believes the gospel is about change in our lives today, not just our eternal destiny. In The Good and Beautiful Series he aims to help Christians develop a robust discipleship by helping them understand who God is, what it means to be a Christian and what it means to live in community as a part of God's kingdom. Throughout the series, which includes The Good and Beautiful God, The Good and Beautful Life and The Good and Beautiful Community, Smith encourages you to read, journal, pray, discuss and participate in weekly spiritual exercises to help you engage with the text. As you work through the books individually (or more ideally in a group setting) you'll discover your heart being shaped by the truth of Christ—and your life being changed. Get to know the God Jesus knew and the Kingdom he proclaimed. The transformation you seek will come as a direct result of spending focused time with him and his people. A Renovaré Resource.
In this unique introduction to the hidden life in Christ, James Bryan Smith walks readers through a thirty-day immersion in Colossians 3:1-17. Each of the thirty short chapters hones in on a single word or phrase from this life-changing passage, followed by a simple daily practice, a prompt for reflection and small group follow-up questions.
ECPA BESTSELLER • An invitation to love like Jesus and step beyond distraction and division into the joy we long to experience—from the author of The Deeply Formed Life, winner of the Christianity Today Book Award “A stunning book with power to reshape our world . . . if we let it.”—Glenn Packiam, pastor and author of Blessed Broken Given We long for a good life, a beautiful life, a kind life. But clearly that’s not the world we live in. We carry the stress of our fractured world in our bodies and relationships. Families that once gathered around tables have converted those tables into walls. Hostility, rage, and offense is the language of our culture. How did we lose goodness, kindness, and beauty? And more important, how do we get them back into our lives? These are the two questions crying out in our streets, homes, churches, and from deep within our souls. Pastor and author Rich Villodas is convinced that only Jesus offers a way of being human that is both strong and tender enough to tear down the walls of hostility we experience daily. In Good and Beautiful and Kind, he reveals how… • These three essentials are stolen by sin, powers and principalities, and trauma. • We can get goodness, beauty, and kindness back through contemplative prayer, humility, and the cultivation of calm presence. • The traits of healthy conflict, forgiveness, and justice lead to wholeness, healing, and a new collective future—when rooted in the ancient way of Jesus. Filled with fresh energy, classic truth, and practical solutions, this is your road map for stepping beyond distraction and division to love like Jesus. Doing so will change the atmosphere within you…and around you!
The book, A Beautiful Life, is meant for people of all ages and across all stages or roles of one's life, whether one is a man or woman, son or daughter, brother or sister, husband or wife, grandfather or grandmother, maternal grandfather or grandmother, among others. As its name suggests, this book teaches the art of living. True to its title, this book will inspire people to live life to the fullest. This book is important for all people, be it a child learning the nuances of life and living or a person entering their twilight years.
Christian faith is about more than belief and practices—it is also about the kind of people we become. This Good and Beautiful Series book addresses the toxic self-narratives that hinder spiritual growth, reminding us how Scripture reveals the beauty of our own souls and serving as a companion as you discover who you truly are in Christ.
What Will You Do with This Beautiful Day God Is Giving You? Each new day presents opportunities to grow your faith, manage your work and your goals, and make good use of the time God gives you. But making the right choices moment by moment isn't easy. And the first decisions of your day can affect the next 16 hours—for better or for worse. Elizabeth George, acclaimed Bible teacher, helps you navigate the options you might encounter today so you can... get up and power up for a great day establish your priorities make the most of your time choose good, better, and best options pour yourself into the people in your life Prepare to create a more beautiful and productive life and make each day more meaningful. God's best awaits you when you choose to live His way!