This helpful one-volume commentary resource provides brief preaching commentaries and prayers for worship for the first Sunday in Advent through Epiphany of the Lord (Years A, B, and C). This book includes: lectionary readings for each Sunday and Holy Day in the season; three sermon briefs for each Sunday in Advent and the Sunday after Christmas; sermon briefs for Christmas, Christmas Eve, and the Day of Epiphany; creative prayers for each Sunday and Holy Day in the season; scripture index.
Church Leadership Packed with practical tips, reproducible pages, checklists, and suggested resources, this ready-to-use resource will help first-time pastors or those new to an established church get started the first day and the first Sunday. This book leads the new pastor through creative ideas and concrete suggestions for getting started in church ministry by providing worksheets for planning and organizing worship, weddings, and funerals; questions to ask during pastoral visits to help both the pastor and parishioner feel at ease; suggestions for managing conflict; and ways to create opportunities for fellowship, study, outreach, and mission in the church--and much more. "Ward and Brey address the questions a new pastor may not even have thought to ask: 'How do I plan a wedding?' 'How hard can I push for change?' or simply, 'Should I phone first or just stop by to talk?' Their guidance is simple and useful, allowing for a diversity of ministerial styles. The book will be a gift to anyone anxious about starting a pastorate." The Reverend Glenn Schwerdtfeger, Pastor, Maynard Avenue United Methodist Church, Columbus, Ohio "I wish I’d had this resource when I began pastoral ministry over twenty-five years ago. It would have shortened the learning curve considerably. This book cuts across denominational lines as well as different faith perspectives. Like a good constitution it provides a strong framework; in this case, a framework for caring and enduring ministries in the name of Jesus Christ." Frank Ramirez, Pastor of the Everett (PA) Church of the Brethren, Everett, Pennsylvania "Emphasizing self-awareness and purposeful action, Ward and Brey have compiled a helpful set of advice, direction, checklists, and resources. Refreshingly practical, this beginners' book offers detailed insight to successfully working in partnership with a congregation." Mary L Hubbard, Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Portage, Indiana "Ready, Set, Lead is packed with practical advice on how to get a good start in ministry with a congregation. It raises the right questions for a new pastor to consider. I commend this book as a primer for ministers of every denomination." Richard L. Hamm, Church Consultant/Coach and former General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Steven P. Brey is pastor of Spring Lake United Methodist Church in Spring Lake, North Carolina. Lynda C. Ward is a freelance writer, and holds an M.Div. from Duke Divinity School and a certification in Spiritual Direction from Neumann College.
The 1928 Book of Common Prayer is a treasured resource for traditional Anglicans and others who appreciate the majesty of King James-style language. This classic edition features a Presentation section containing certificates for the rites of Baptism, Confirmation, and Marriage. The elegant burgundy hardcover binding is embossed with a simple gold cross, making it an ideal choice for both personal study and gift-giving. The 1928 Book of Common Prayer combines Oxford's reputation for quality construction and scholarship with a modest price - a beautiful prayer book and an excellent value.
For every day from Advent Sunday to Christmas Day and beyond, the bestselling poet Malcolm Guite chooses a favourite poem from across the Christian spiritual and English literary traditions and offers incisive seasonal reflections on it. A scholar of poetry as well as a renowned poet himself, his knowledge is deep and wide and he offers readers a soul-food feast for Advent. Among the classic writers he includes are: George Herbert, John Donne, Milton, Tennyson,and Christina Rossetti,as well as contemporary poets like Scott Cairns, Luci Shaw, and Grevel Lindop. He also includes a selection of his own highly praised work.
A Travel Guide to Christian Faith has three components. The Before You Go booklet gives first-time seekers an easy-to-understand synopsis of the Christian faith. If they wish to learn more, The Traveler's Edition serves as a student workbook, while the Tour Leader is used by the instructor. Before You Go is an ideal book for adults with little or no church background. This introductory study offers interactive learning with internet and other media connections. It also leads the reader to the next guide in the series, A Travel Guide to Christian Faith: Traveler's Edition.
In Good News Darrin Snyder Belousek explores the meaning of salvation in the Gospel of Luke. Through biblical reflections on the stories and songs of Luke's telling of the coming of Jesus the Messiah, this book explains the manifold message of "good news." Fully accessible to lay persons yet substantially informed by biblical scholarship, keenly aware of spiritual concerns and passionately engaged with social issues, this book offers a vision of salvation that is grounded in grace and nurtured by prayer, relevant to both the spiritual and the social, and inseparable from doing justice and seeking peace.
Framed by her most famous poems ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ and ‘Love Came Down at Christmas’, this daily devotional explores Advent and Christmas through the poetry of Christina Rossetti. For each day there is a poem with a reflection that draws on Rossetti’s writings, encompassing a rich variety of themes:
Biblical reflections helping you to have faith and to trust God in hard times. Life doesn’t always go the way we hoped, and sometimes God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we’d like. Challenging circumstances, especially ones with no immediate end in sight, can cause us to question God’s character, his purpose and his ways. Each of these 20 biblical reflections examines a truth about God and shows how it provides an anchor for the soul in hard times. Author Katie Faris writes with warmth and compassion, weaving in stories of her own family’s struggles with complex medical conditions. She encourages readers to entrust their confusing circumstances and unanswered questions to the Lord and place their hope in his promises. In so doing, they will be sustained in their suffering and enabled to live joyfully and fruitfully, loving and serving God and others, in the midst of their struggles. This beautiful hardback book will help you if you are going through hard times, or walking alongside those who are. It is also a great gift for a brother or sister in Christ who is struggling.
One of today’s most popular and respected Catholic writers presents the first guide to the new Stations of the Cross, reflecting the revisions made by Pope John Paul II. A traditional devotion for Catholics for more than four hundred years, the Stations of the Cross commemorates the route Jesus traveled from being sentenced to death, crucified, and then buried in a borrowed tomb on the outskirts of Jerusalem. In the past, the devotion included a number of stations based on popular stories of piety and devotion, but not mentioned in the Gospels. Over the past eight years, however, Pope John Paul II has made substantial changes to the devotion in his Good Friday celebrations of the stations, removing those not found in the Bible and replacing them with stations that more accurately follow scriptural accounts of Christ’s passion. The revised Stations of the Cross focuses on the condemned Jesus and on the community walking the way with him to the cross. Unrelieved by stories like Veronica’s wiping blood off the face of Jesus and his meeting with his mother; this is a story of an execution. The new stations deal directly with the pain, suffering, betrayal, and injustice to which Jesus was subjected. In explaining his reasons for revising the stations, the Pope has said that the alterations are intended to serve as a model for other devotions and to encourage the return to the Scriptures as the source of and inspiration for contemporary worship. In this helpful, authoritative guide, Megan McKenna presents the fourteen new stations with the scriptural passages that Pope John Paul II uses on Good Friday. She also provides a basic introduction to the practices and reflections on the importance of the devotion for present-day Catholics and Episcopalians.
