Ideal for showing children how to be effective stewards of the world around them This leader's resource helps plan six sessions that will help children: • Learn what it means to care for the world and God’s people • Consider the ways to do good things for their families, their church, their community, and the world • Discover the value of spiritual disciplines and how to practice them The three simple rules of "Do No Harm," "Do Good," and "Stay in Love with God" are easy enough for children to understand and profound enough to begin a lifelong journey of faith.
This small-group study by Jeanne Torrence Finley is based on Rueben P. Job's book Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living. Six sessions provide extended reflection for adults on three principles of Christian life: do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God. Each rule has a session to help you understand the rule and a session to help you explore ways to practice the rule. The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the 6-week study, including session plans, discussion questions, and other useful information for organizing, leading, and publicizing your study group.
Three Simple Rules for Christian Living by Jeanne Torrence Finley and Rueben P. Job This small-group study by Jeanne Torrence Finley is based on Rueben P. Job's book Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living. Six sessions provide extended reflection for adults on three principles of Christian life: do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God. Each rule has a session to help you understand the rule and a session to help you explore ways to practice the rule. Three Simple Rules for Christian Living includes a DVD that contains excerpts from an interview with Bishop Rueben Job and a CD ROM that contains a Leader Guide for the study sessions and other useful information for organizing, leading, and publicizing study groups. Your church can do a church-wide study of the three simple rules by using the youth resource, Three Simple Rules 24/7, and the children’s resource, Three Simple Rules for Following Jesus, along with this book. A leader guide and DVD for adult study groups are available. Parents who would like to discuss the three simple rules with their children can download a free list of suggested questions at Cokesbury.com (click below). Jeanne Torrence Finley is a clergy member of the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church, co-chair of the Virginia Conference Board of Church and Society, and director of Collegial Communications. She has worked as a campus minister, pastor, college English teacher, workshop leader, and communications consultant. Finley writes regularly for FaithLink. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Presbyterian History, Worship, The Mennonite, Christian Science Monitor, the Virginia Advocate, and Christian Social Action. For a free online copy of Three Simple Rules A Conversation Guide for Parents click here!
The 10-Second Rule empowers readers to take simple -baby steps- of obedience, as God directs them to do the next thing they are reasonably certain Jesus wants them to do ' and to do it quickly before they change their minds. The simple rule is this: Just do the next thing you're reasonably certain Jesus wants you to do-and do it within the next 10 seconds. This is a memorable, simple way to be attentive and courageously obedient to the voice of God. The power of this concept is in its simplicity-and yet it gets straight to the heart of what it means to actually follow Jesus. The 10-Second Rule relates stories of ordinary men and women who are living by The Rule and how it has shaped and transformed their lives. It also shares practical tips for discerning God's will, recognizing his voice, and studying Scripture. Living by The Rule is a call to rediscover the revolutionary power of the simple message of Jesus.
In Three Simple Rules, Rueben Job offers an interpretation of John Wesley's General Rules for today's readers. For individual reading or group study, this insightful work calls us to mutual respect, unity and a deeper daily relationship with God. This simple but challenging look at three commands, "do no harm, do good, stay in love with God," calls us to mutual respect, unity, and a deeper relationship with God. “Every year I review the three general rules of the United Methodist Church with those who are being ordained. Now I have a wonderful ordination gift to give them in Bishop Job’s, Three Simple Rules, to start and deepen the conversation as they enter a new relationship with the church. Bishop Job has described “by attending upon all the ordinances of God” to be to “stay in love with God.” It’s a fresh language that speaks especially to long-time Christians and United Methodists.” Sally Dyck, Resident Bishop, Minnesota Area “Three Simple Rules is a new catechism for everyone wanting to follow Jesus Christ. These practices for holy living should replace the membership vows in every church! Don’t let the title fool you. Bishop Job writes, ‘The rules are simple, but the way is not easy. Only those with great courage will attempt it, and only those with great faith will be able to walk this exciting and demanding way.’” John Hopkins, Resident Bishop, East Ohio Area Table of Contents: Introduction The World In Which We Live First Do No Harm Do All the Good You Can Stay in Love with God A Guide for Daily Prayer
John Wesley gave the Methodist movement (and all Christians in general) a discipleship pathway to follow. Wesley began with Three Simple Rules (or “General Rules”), and followed this instruction a year later with the Five Marks of a Methodist (or “Character of a Methodist”). Wesley observed the need for continuous renewal of relationships with God and others, so he established a recurring annual process for God’s people to make One Faithful Promise: The Wesleyan Covenant for Renewal. The study by Heath turns to the practices at the center of Wesley’s understanding of spiritual growth: the means of grace. This book/study guides readers through the five means of grace that John Wesley called “instituted,” meaning these are spiritual practices in which Jesus himself participated and which he encouraged his followers to do. One of the beautiful aspects of Wesley’s theology is that spiritual practices are seamlessly integrated with practices of loving our neighbors well. This is why Wesley said there is no holiness but social holiness. A life of genuine prayer inevitably leads to a life of hospitality, mercy, and justice. Through this book/study participants will consider how each of the five means of grace help us as communities of faith to pray more deeply and live more missionally as followers of Jesus Christ. These means are the ordinary channels that God uses to draw us into a fruitful relationship. These five means or channels are: 1. Prayer 2. Searching Scripture 3. Receiving the Lord’s Supper 4. Fasting 5. Conferencing (communion, fellowship)
Find God’s vision for your job. Reclaim God’s vision for your life. Many Christians fall victim to one of two main problems when it comes to work: either they are idle in their work, or they have made an idol of it. Both of these mindsets are deadly misunderstandings of how God intends for us to think about our employment. In The Gospel at Work, Sebastian Traeger and Greg Gilbert unpack the powerful ways in which the gospel can transform how we do what we do, releasing us from the cultural pressures of both an all-consuming devotion and a punch-in, punch-out mentality—in order to find the freedom of a work ethic rooted in serving Christ. You’ll find answers to some of the tough questions that Christians in the workplace often ask: What factors should matter most in choosing a job? What gospel principles should shape my thinking about how to treat my boss, my co-workers, and my employees? Is full-time Christian work more valuable than my job? Is it okay to be motivated by money? How do you prioritize—or balance—work, family and church responsibilities? Solidly grounded in the gospel, The Gospel at Work confronts both our idleness at work and our idolatry of work with a challenge of its own—to remember that whom we work for is infinitely more important than what we do.
Abandon dead, dry, religious rule-keeping and embrace the promise of being truly known and deeply loved. Jefferson Bethke burst into the cultural conversation with a passionate, provocative poem titled "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus." The 4-minute video became an overnight sensation, with 7 million YouTube views in its first 48 hours (and 23+ million in a year). Bethke's message clearly struck a chord with believers and nonbelievers alike, triggering an avalanche of responses running the gamut from encouraged to enraged. In his New York Times bestseller Jesus > Religion, Bethke unpacks similar contrasts that he drew in the poem--highlighting the difference between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair, and hope. With refreshing candor, he delves into the motivation behind his message, beginning with the unvarnished tale of his own plunge from the pinnacle of a works-based, fake-smile existence that sapped his strength and led him down a path of destructive behavior. Along the way, Bethke gives you the tools you need to: Humbly and prayerfully open your mind Understand Jesus for all that he is View the church from a brand-new perspective Bethke is quick to acknowledge that he's not a pastor or theologian, but simply an ordinary, twenty-something who cried out for a life greater than the one for which he had settled. On this journey, Bethke discovered the real Jesus, who beckoned him with love beyond the props of false religion. Praise for Jesus > Religion: "Jeff's book will make you stop and listen to a voice in your heart that may have been drowned out by the noise of religion. Listen to that voice, then follow it--right to the feet of Jesus." --Bob Goff, author of New York Times bestsellers Love Does and Everybody, Always "The book you hold in your hands is Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz meets C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity meets Augustine's Confessions. This book is going to awaken an entire generation to Jesus and His grace." --Derwin L. Gray, lead pastor of Transformation Church, author of Limitless Life: Breaking Free from the Labels That Hold You Back
Five marks confirm our identity as genuine and fruitful followers of Christ: 1. A Methodist Loves God 2. A Methodist Rejoices in God 3. A Methodist Gives Thanks 4. A Methodist Prays Constantly 5. A Methodist Loves Others This brief book, suitable for sharing with others, provides a meditation on each of these characteristics. Prayerfully apply them to your journey with Jesus. If you are part of the worldwide Methodist or Wesleyan family, these five marks will grant a greater knowledge and appreciation for why and how you follow Jesus. If you are located in another part of the body of Christ, you can emerge with a solid foundation to keep your spiritual house standing strong. Christians marked by these five habits, when taken together, have character. Each chapter ends with questions for reflection or discussion. “Steve Harper goes to the very heart of faithfulness as he describes and then calls upon all those who follow Wesley to live. It is lives of integrity that are the result of following these marks. Harper rightly says this will give the ring of truth to our daily living. He then goes on to identify the “marks” or “practices” that when followed will result in a life of righteousness, goodness, peace, and joy. It is a way of living in God’s gracious presence that he encourages for everyone, and it is a way of living I choose for myself.” —Rueben P. Job, author of Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living
