In this book “God Uses Unqualified, Messed Up People”, you will encounter a few of those unqualified & messed up people, just like you and I, that God decided to use for His plan, purpose and glory. They required no skills, they were not perfect. Only obligation, is to obey
Who you think you are is not as important as who God says you are... Many of us wrestle with the gap between our weaknesses and our dreams, between who we are and who God says we are meant to be. We feel unqualified to do God’s work or to live out the calling we imagine. But God has a way of using our weaknesses for good. In fact, God loves unqualified people. In (Un)Qualified, Pastor Steven Furtick helps you peel back the assumptions you’ve made about yourself and see yourself as God sees you. Because true peace and confidence come not from worldly perfection but from acceptance: God’s acceptance of you, your acceptance of yourself, and your acceptance of God’s process of change. This is a book about understanding your identity in light of who God is. It’s a book about coming to terms with the good, the bad, and the unmentionable in your life and learning to let God use you. It’s about charging into the gap between your present and your hopes and meeting God there. After all, God can’t bless who you pretend to be. But he longs to bless who you really are; a flawed and broken person. Good thing for us that God is in the business of using broken people to do big things. Being unqualified is God's favorite qualification... Our culture tells us that the answer to our failures is to fix them. The solution to our weaknesses is to hide them. The secret to our success is to appear as flawless as possible. But God’s qualifying system is different than the world’s. So is his view of our weaknesses, our purpose, and our true selves. In (Un)Qualified, Steven Furtick explores who God is as the great “I AM,” and then helps us discover our own identity. Delving into the story of Jacob, Furtick invites us to acknowledge our weaknesses and ask God to work through them. The truth is, God has created us to be more, to accomplish more, and to love life more than we ever thought possible. But to become who he has called us to be, we must embrace who we are right now. (Un)Qualified equips us to face obstacles and failures without losing a sense of purpose. We can have a thriving sense of hope that God is working in us and through us, not in spite of our weaknesses but often as a direct result of them.
The issue is church health, not church growth—if your church is healthy, growth will occur naturally. So how do we make healthy churches, driven by purpose? In order for any church to thrive, it must be built around the five New Testament purposes given to the church by Jesus Christ. In this classic of Christian church stability, pastor and bestselling author of The Purpose Driven Life Rick Warren unpacks this proven five-part strategy that will enable your church to grow: Warmer through fellowship. Deeper through discipleship. Stronger through worship. Broader through ministry. Larger through evangelism. Every church is driven by something. Tradition, finances, programs, personalities, events, seekers, and even buildings can each be the controlling force in a church. But Warren will show you how to concentrate on building people and let God build the church. In other words, healthy, consistent growth is the result of balancing the five biblical purposes of the church. And The Purpose Driven Church will show you how to do that. “The Purpose Driven Church has brought focus and direction to more pastors and church leaders than you can count. What a gift!”—John Ortberg, bestselling author.
You don't have to be perfect to do God's work. Look no further than the twelve disciples, whose many weaknesses are forever preserved throughout the pages of the New Testament. Join bestselling author John MacArthur in Twelve Ordinary Men as he draws principles from Christ's careful, hands-on training of the original disciples for today's modern disciple, you! Jesus chose ordinary men--fishermen, tax collectors, political zealots--and turned their weakness into strength, producing greatness from people who were otherwise unremarkable. The twelve disciples weren't the stained-glass saints we imagine. On the contrary, they were truly human, all too prone to mistakes, misstatements, wrong attitudes, lapses of faith, and bitter failure. Simply put, they were flawed people, just like us. But under Jesus' teaching and touch, they became a force that forever changed the world. MacArthur takes you into the inner circle of the disciples--their selection, their training, their personalities, and their incredible impact. As MacArthur took a closer look at the lives of the twelve disciples, he found himself asking difficult questions along the way, including: Why did Jesus pick each of the twelve disciples? How did Jesus teach them everything he could in just eighteen short months? Can the lessons that Jesus taught the disciples can still influence our faith today? In Twelve Ordinary Men, you'll learn that disciples are living proof that God's strength is made perfect in weakness. As you get to know the men who walked with Jesus, you'll see that if he can accomplish his purposes through them, he can do the same through you.
Discover and fulfill your God-given purpose by joining the more than thirty-five million others who have embarked on a spiritual journey that started with this #1 New York Times bestselling book by Pastor Rick Warren. Before you were born, God knew what your life had in store for you. His hope for you is to discover the life he created just for you--both here on earth, and forever in eternity. Let Rick Warren guide you as you learn to live out your true purpose. The Purpose Driven Life is more than a book; it's a road map for your spiritual journey. Combining thoughtful verses from Scripture with timely stories and perspectives from Warren's own life, The Purpose Driven Life will help you discover the answer to one of life's most important questions: What on earth am I here for? Throughout The Purpose Driven Life, Warren will teach you to spend time getting to know yourself and your creator in order to live your life to the fullest. Unlocking your true purpose will also reduce your stress, simplify your decisions, increase your satisfaction, and, most importantly, prepare you for eternity. Designed to be read over the course of forty-two days, The Purpose Driven Life will help you see the big picture, giving you a fresh perspective on the way that the pieces of your life fit together. Every chapter of The Purpose Driven Life provides a daily meditation and practical steps to help you uncover and live out your purpose, starting with exploring three essential questions: The Question of Existence: Why am I alive? The Question of Significance: Does my life matter? The Question of Purpose: What on earth am I here for? Each copy of The Purpose Driven Life also includes thoughtful discussion questions, audio Bible studies that go along with every chapter, and access to a supportive online community, giving you the opportunity to dive even deeper into each life-changing lesson.
Trusting Jesus is hard. It requires following the unseen into an unknown, and believing Jesus's words over and against the threats we see or the fears we feel. Through the imaginative retelling of 35 Bible stories, Not by Sight gives us glimpses of what it means to walk by faith and counsel for how to trust God's promises more than our perceptions and to find rest in the faithfulness of God.
The secret to parenting success is out! Children need love, parents need respect. It's as simple and complex as that. Bestselling author Dr. Emerson Eggerichs has studied family dynamics for more than 30 years, earning a Ph.D. in Child and Family Ecology. As a senior pastor for nearly two decades, he builds on a foundation of strong biblical principles, walking the reader through an entirely new way to approach the family dynamic. When frustrated with an unresponsive child, a parent doesn’t declare, “You don’t love me.” Instead, the parent asserts, “You are being disrespectful right now.” A parent needs to feel respected, especially during conflicts. When upset a child does not whine, “You don’t respect me.” Instead, a child pouts, “You don’t love me.” A child needs to feel loved, especially during disputes. But here’s the rub: An unloved child or teen negatively reacts in a way that feels disrespectful to a parent. A disrespected parent negatively reacts in a way that feels unloving to the child. This dynamic gives birth to the FAMILY CRAZY CYCLE. This book teaches you to: See love and respect as basic family needs Stop the Family Crazy Cycle of conflict Parent in six biblical ways that energize your children Discipline defiance and overlook childishness Be the mature one since parenting is for adults only Become a loving parent in God's eyes, regardless of a child's response Based on what the Bible says about parenting, this book focuses on achieving healthy family dynamics. Dr. Eggerichs offers unprecedented transparency from his wife and three adult children, who share wisdom gained from the good, the bad, and the ugly of their family life. It's all here in this eye-opening exploration of the biblical principles on parenting that can help make families function as God intended.
Pastor and cofounder of the Bethel School of Ministry Kris Vallotton walks Christians through the profound process of discovering their true identity and experiencing the wonder of their kingdom purposes. Christians are often told that they were born with a purpose that reaches beyond their human strivings, but most are not sure how to break past the daily struggles holding them back, much less how to fully step into their callings. As a pastor and the cofounder of the Bethel School of Ministry, Kris Vallotton has been teaching Christians all over the world how to walk in wholeness and purpose for more than seventeen years. In Destined to Win, he passes on the lessons that will help readers discover who they really are, overcome destructive behaviors, and become equipped for their kingdom purposes. Confronting the challenges that limit Christians—such as living shackled by past pain, fear, and unforgiveness—Vallotton offers practical solutions to the often-complex problems that undermine their destinies and derail their purposes. With personal stories and biblical teaching, Destined to Win combines practical wisdom and profound revelation to unlock the latent potential present in each person.
Does God suffer? Does God experience emotions? Does God change? This Spectrum Multiview volume brings together four theologians who make a case for their own view—ranging from a traditional affirmation of divine impassibility (the idea that God does not suffer) to the position that God is necessarily and intimately affected by creation—and then each contributor responds to the others' views.