Offers guidance from biblical characters about relationships and character, defeat and failure, insight on obedience and rebellion, and sacrifice and selfishness.
Looking for a novel approach to the children's sermon -- something more creative than a simple story or object lesson? This collection of 40 dramatic sketches in readers' theater format will teach your young people about the events of Jesus' life -- while also actively involving your members in the worship service. Each scene vividly relates a story from the gospels in easy-to-read dialogue that can be performed with minimal rehearsal by teenagers or adults -- providing a memorable illustration that's certain to captivate the attention of everyone in your congregation. Discussion questions accompany each skit, so you can maximize the educational value by focusing youngsters' attention on the main themes. Ideal for use during the "children's moment" in Sunday morning worship, these brief pieces are also a perfect resource for children's church, Vacation Bible School, youth meetings, and many other settings. Sketches include: - Jesus And The Shepherds Of Bethlehem - Jesus And The Devil - Jesus Preaches In Nazareth - Jesus' Parable Of The Prodigal Son - Jesus And The Rich Young Man - Jesus Predicts Things To Come - Jesus In The Upper Room - Jesus On The Road To Emmaus ... and many more! Robert E. Lakey is a retired pastor who served Presbyterian congregations in Michigan during more than four decades of active ministry. For more than 25 years, Lakey led drama conferences and traveled throughout the country with groups of high school performers. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Princeton Theological Seminary.
Every day, major headlines tell the story of how Christianity is attempting to influence American culture and politics. But statistics show that young Americans are disenchanted with a faith that has become culturally antagonistic and too closely aligned with partisan politics. In this personal yet practical work, Jonathan Merritt uncovers the changing face of American Christianity by uniquely examining the coming of age of a new generation of Christians. Jonathan Merritt illuminates the spiritual ethos of this new generation of believers who engage the world with Christ-centered faith but an un-polarized political perspective. Through personal stories and biblically rooted commentary this scion of a leading evangelical family takes a close, thoughtful look at the changing religious and political environment, addressing such divisive issues as abortion, gay marriage, environmental use and care, race, war, poverty, and the imbalance of world wealth. Through Scripture, the examples of Jesus, and personal defining faith experiences, he distills the essential truths at the core of a Christian faith that is now just coming of age.
Amy Miranda's boldly shares her story of how she journeyed from a life as an exotic dancer and prostitute to a new life, rooted in Christ's teachings. Her motivational story sets people free to accept their God-given, authentic selves, and to embrace a new life of confidence, joy and love.
Hello Stars is book one in the Faithgirlz series Lena in the Spotlight, written by Alena Pitts, star of The War Room and tween blogger of For Girls Like You, and cowritten with her mother, editor and author Wynter Pitts. This fiction story will appeal to young girls who have big dreams, and is a reflection of Alena’s own life experiences as she reaches for the stars and keeps faith, family, and friends in balance. Hello Stars is: perfect for young fans of realistic fiction for readers ages 8-12 suited for summer reading, as a birthday or Christmas gift, or as inspirational reading In Hello Stars, eleven-year-old Lena Daniels never thought she’d get the chance to star in a movie. Headstrong and determined, she has her life planned out to the minute. But when her best friends Savannah and Emma tell her about an audition, she knows there’s nothing else in the world she’d rather do. And now that she’s gotten her wish, Lena finds that being in the spotlight is harder than it sounds. Lena tackles tough choices, learns the value of perseverance, and keeps her hopes high. And she knows her faith and family will keep her feet on the ground and her eyes on the stars. If you enjoy Hello Stars, check out the other books in the Lena in the Spotlight series: Day Dreams and Movie Screens Shining Night
Shining Night is book three in the Faithgirlz series Lena in the Spotlight, written by Alena Pitts, star of The War Room and tween blogger of For Girls Like You, and co-written with her mother, editor and author Wynter Pitts. In this fiction story that will appeal to young girls who have big dreams, Lena’s story continues as she must determine how to best use her fame for the greater good. Shining Night is: perfect for young fans of realistic fiction for readers ages 8-12 suited for summer reading, as a birthday or Christmas gift, or as inspirational reading In Shining Night, Lena’s overnight fame as an actress continues to pull her into the spotlight, while teaching her what it means to shine for God. Now she’s faced with her biggest challenge yet. When Lena’s favorite music artist, Mallory Winston, sends her a gift box filled with photos and memories of their time on tour together, Lena finds out that the hospital they visited is closing and many of the children and friends she met there may not receive the ongoing care they need. How will Lena and her besties help the children at the hospital face their challenges? If you enjoy Shining Night, check out the first two books in the Lena in the Spotlight series: Hello Stars Day Dreams and Movie Screens
Religious freedom is so often presented as a timeless American ideal and an inalienable right, appearing fully formed at the founding of the United States. That is simply not so, Tisa Wenger contends in this sweeping and brilliantly argued book. Instead, American ideas about religious freedom were continually reinvented through a vibrant national discourse--Wenger calls it "religious freedom talk--that cannot possibly be separated from the evolving politics of race and empire. More often than not, Wenger demonstrates, religious freedom talk worked to privilege the dominant white Christian population. At the same time, a diverse array of minority groups at home and colonized people abroad invoked and reinterpreted this ideal to defend themselves and their ways of life. In so doing they posed sharp challenges to the racial and religious exclusions of American life. People of almost every religious stripe have argued, debated, negotiated, and brought into being an ideal called American religious freedom, subtly transforming their own identities and traditions in the process. In a post-9/11 world, Wenger reflects, public attention to religious freedom and its implications is as consequential as it has ever been.
When Jennifer Tracey discovers that her new parish priest has harmed her two sons, she encounters the Coalitiona secret church organization tasked with the responsibility of taking care of these types of incidents quickly and quietly and by any means necessary. Jennifer decides to file a lawsuit against the priest and the church and seeks out an attorney, Zachary Blake, who handled her late husbands industrial death case. However, through an unfortunate series of events, Zachary has gone from the penthouse to the poorhouse, working out of a dingy one-room office, handling traffic cases. Although Jennifer has misgivings, she reluctantly retains him, and they call a press conference to announce their lawsuit. Zack hires an investigator, the infamous Micah Love, who travels to Ohio, where he discovers that two families have disappeared after an encounter with the same priestand the one person who may provide some answers has died under mysterious circumstances. Religion, law, betrayal, mystery, intrigue, faith, and love converge in Michigan for the trial of the century. Will Zachary resurrect his troubled career and obtain the justice Jennifer seeks for her kids? Or will the church and the Coalition and its mysterious leader prevail in covering up the decadent acts of the priest and circumvent justice once again?