The general title "Ultimate Encounter" refers to man's inevitable and unique experience of meeting with God, first after his death (end of his time on earth) and second at the Universal Judgment after the Great Tribulation and the End of Times. Finally the human creature will face his Maker. As man was born alone, and died alone, so he will interact for the first time alone with the most awesome Personality ever. No one could ever capture the feelings and atmosphere of similar encounter, because nobody was ever allowed to come back from the grave and tell the story. This private and personal encounter (particular judgment), according to Christian doctrine, will determine his eternal destiny, which consists of either eternal salvation or eternal damnation. In conclusion, this is the meager knowledge we possess of the most defining moment in the existence of a human being.
"Playing a role-playing game is a delicate dance. If everything runs smoothly, it feels like you and your friends are able to maneuver effortlessly through dramatic, epic, and uproariously silly scenes where everyone gets a chance to shine. And yet, other times it just doesn't come together. Combat slows to a repetitive grind, the Game Master runs out of good Non-Player Character (NPC) ideas, or after twenty-six rounds maybe even the most beautifully designed encounter just gets a bit stale. Sure, you could prep an absolute powerhouse of an all-killer-no filler role-playing session. Spend time getting fun character voices ready for every NPC. But that sounds like way too much work. This is the book you turn to for help. It's a big book of ideas designed to slot right into your existing campaign, organized into neat little tables. If you salivate at chaos magic effect tables and daydream about wild, unexpected die results, you already know it can also be fun to throw caution to the wind and let randomness determine as much as possible. Even the most organized GMs and the tightest adventure modules benefit from a little spice!"--
For many tabletop RPG players, the joy of an in-depth game is that anything can happen. Typical adventure modules include a map of the adventure’s primary location, but every other location?whether it's a woodland clearing, a random apothecary or the depths of a temple players elect to explore?has to be improvised on the fly by the Game Master. As every GM knows, no matter how many story hooks, maps or NPCs you painstakingly create during session prep, your best-laid plans are often foiled by your players' whims, extreme skill check successes (or critical fails) or their playful refusal to stay on task. In a game packed with infinite possibilities, what are GMs supposed to do when their players choose those for which they're not prepared? The Game Master’s Book of Random Encounters provides an unbeatable solution. This massive tome is divided into location categories, each of which can stand alone as a small stop as part of a larger campaign. As an example, the “Taverns, Inns, Shops & Guild Halls” section includes maps for 19 unique spaces, as well as multiple encounter tables designed to help GMs fill in the sights, sounds, smells and proprietors of a given location, allowing for each location in the book to be augmented and populated on the fly while still ensuring memorable moments for all your players. Each map is presented at scale on grid, enabling GMs to determine exactly where all of the characters are in relation to one another and anyone (or anything) else in the space, critical information should any combat or other movement-based action occur. Perhaps more useful than its nearly 100 maps, the book's one-shot generator features all the story hooks necessary for GMs to use these maps as part of an interconnected and contained adventure. Featuring eight unique campaign drivers that lead players through several of the book's provided maps, the random tables associated with each stage in the adventure allow for nearly three million different outcomes, making The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters an incredible investment for any would-be GM. The book also includes a Random NPC Generator to help you create intriguing characters your players will love (or love to hate), as well as a Party Makeup Maker for establishing connections among your PCs so you can weave together a disparate group of adventurers with just a few dice rolls. Locations include taverns, temples, inns, animal/creature lairs, gatehouses, courts, ships, laboratories and more, with adventure hooks that run the gamut from frantic rooftop chases to deep cellar dungeon-crawls, with a total of 97 maps, more than 150 tables and millions of possible adventures. No matter where your players end up, they'll have someone or something to persuade or deceive, impress or destroy. As always, the choice is theirs. But no matter what they choose, with The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters, you'll be ready.
“Great storytelling from Steve Arterburn! Read The Encounter and learn things about yourself that you never knew were there.”—Andy Andrews, New York Times best-selling author, The Traveler’s Gift and The Noticer The past can be a dark and haunting place - full of secrets and mysteries too deep, too painful to confess. For Jonathan Rush, a wealthy and famous entrepreneur, this is an agonizing and startling reality — one he never knew existed in his life until now. On a mission to Fairbanks, Alaska, to uncover the truth behind his mother’s abandonment when he was only four years old, Jonathan comes face-to-face with his unresolved bitterness as well as a mysterious woman named Mercy who holds the key to unlocking the secrets of his past. Somehow he must convince Mercy to confide in him, learn how to forgive his mother, and — even more painful — learn how to forgive himself. The Encounter, from best-selling author, counselor, and speaker Stephen Arterburn, artfully reveals the power of your story, the fierce need for acceptance, and the true hope of healing. Discover in its pages the radical joys of forgiveness both toward others as well as from the ultimate healer and forgiver: Jesus Christ. Through the truth and hope revealed in this gripping parable, learn to step out from the darkness of a painful past and into the healing light of a forgiven future.
Four hundred scenarios from all of the bestselling books in the series—with dozens of new entries—from being kicked by a zebra to breakup texts. With over 10 million copies sold worldwide, the Worst-Case Scenario series has been preparing readers for dangers of all kinds for more than a decade. This handsome compendium is truly the ultimate guide for handling life’s inevitable Worst-Case Scenarios, collecting—for the first time—hundreds of the best and most crucial scenarios from across the entire 26-book series, along with dozens of all new and expanded scenarios, charts, and expert tips. Topical, tabloid-style pages explore more than 100 subjects, from storms to stampedes to technology failures and beyond, with special sections highlighting critical information on starting fires, animal encounters, emergency signals, “Can I eat that?” questions, and more. Packed with expert advice and sturdy enough to stop a tiger bite, this gifty tome will keep longtime fans and new initiates safe and entertained in equal measure. Praise for the Worst-Case Scenario Survival series “What this book lacks in spiritual enlightenment, it more than makes up for with the practical advice you thought you’d never need. Yet it’s only when you read about how to deliver a baby in the back of a taxi, surviving quicksand and mastering awkward lift silences that you realize just how handy a book like this could come in. Some day.” —The Irish Times “There is something for everyone. It has a wide range of scenarios from dangerous to just downright irritating . . . It is fun, witty, entertaining and you learn something along the way too.” —Quill Quotes
The most vital questions about Judaism—present and future—are prefigured, says Marc Ellis in the work of Elie Wiesel, Martin Buber, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Hannah Arendt, and Emmanuel Levinas. Ellis encounters each thinker to contemplate biblical, theological, and philosophical insights so to foster Jewish empowerment and to ensure a Jewish future.
Celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind with this fully authorized behind-the-scenes book exploring the creation, production, and legacy of this iconic film. Created in conjunction with Sony Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Visual History details the complete creative journey behind the making of the film and examines its cultural impact. Featuring rare and never-before-seen imagery from the archives, the book brings together a stunning collection of on-set photography, concept art, storyboards, and more to create a visual narrative of the film’s journey to the big screen. It also features a wealth of insightful commentary from every key player involved in the film, from the acclaimed director himself to the film’s stars and the key department heads who brought Spielberg’s vision to life. Special inserts and interactive elements include script pages, call lists, concept sketches, and more. Comprehensive, compelling, and filled with unseen treasures, Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Ultimate Visual History is a fitting tribute to one of history’s most iconic films.
2020 Catholic Press Association second place award for English translation edition Is the Christian hope for resurrection still alive or has it become tired? How can we talk about the Resurrection today? Gerhard Lohfink takes up the question of death and resurrection in this new book. He argues against the dazzling array of today's ideas and expectations and seeks his answers in Scripture, the Christian tradition, and human reason. With his characteristically gentle but clear language, he reveals the power of Christian resurrection, showing it is not about events that lie in the distant future but rather occurrences incomprehensively close to us. They were long since begun and they will embrace us fully in our own death..
This book began when the author realised that, when people said they were fascinated by particular biblical passages, they were usually ones that presented dramatic encounters between people and between God and people. Such are the passages interpreted in this book. They usually set a vivid scene that heightens the dramatic nature of the encounter, and animated dialogue often directly ad- dresses the reader. There is also animated action that is vividly striking and often sudden and unexpected. These features involve the readers themselves and may question them about what they expect. Indeed the dramatic encounters provocatively lead to unex- pected new life in the future.
