Blessed

How have millions of American Christians come to measure spiritual progress in terms of their financial status and physical well-being? How has the movement variously called Word of Faith, Health and Wealth, Name It and Claim It, or simply prosperity gospel come to dominate much of our contemporary religious landscape? Kate Bowler's Blessed is the first book to fully explore the origins, unifying themes, and major figures of a burgeoning movement that now claims millions of followers in America. Bowler traces the roots of the prosperity gospel: from the touring mesmerists, metaphysical sages, pentecostal healers, business oracles, and princely prophets of the early 20th century; through mid-century positive thinkers like Norman Vincent Peale and revivalists like Oral Roberts and Kenneth Hagin; to today's hugely successful prosperity preachers. Bowler focuses on such contemporary figures as Creflo Dollar, pastor of Atlanta's 30,000-member World Changers Church International; Joel Osteen, known as "the smiling preacher," with a weekly audience of seven million; T. D. Jakes, named by Time magazine one of America's most influential new religious leaders; Joyce Meyer, evangelist and women's empowerment guru; and many others. At almost any moment, day or night, the American public can tune in to these preachers-on TV, radio, podcasts, and in their megachurches-to hear the message that God desires to bless them with wealth and health. Bowler offers an interpretive framework for scholars and general readers alike to understand the diverse expressions of Christian abundance as a cohesive movement bound by shared understandings and common goals.

An Understandable and Reliable Guide to Revelation Over 12 chapters, Blessed covers the full text of the book of Revelation, exploring its call to patient endurance as God's sovereign plans for judgment and salvation are worked out in the world. In this book, Guthrie shows how Revelation is less about when Jesus will return and more about who we are to be, what we are to do, and what we can expect to endure as we wait for Jesus to return to establish his kingdom in the new creation. With a friendly and engaging tone, Blessed takes the fear, intimidation, and confusion away from studying Revelation, providing a solid and accessible resource that individuals and small groups can use to study this important yet often avoided book. Understand the Book of Revelation: Helps readers make sense of Revelation's unique apocalyptic symbolism, visual imagery, and Old Testament allusions Transformative Personal Application: Every chapter asks and answers the question, What does it mean to hear and keep this part of Revelation and thereby experience its promised blessing? A Focus on What Is Clear and Uncontroversial: Highlights Revelation's call for a costly allegiance to Christ and a refusal to compromise with the world rather than focusing on interpretive approaches and disputes

Only 2 in 10 Americans under 30 believe attending a church is important or worthwhile. Well over half of young adults raised in the Church have dropped out with many having a strong anti-Church stance, many even believing the Church does more harm than good.Fr. Josh Johnson was one of these people. In Broken and Blessed he tackles the harsh realities facing the Church in the 21st century. With charity and courage he speaks to his own generation of Catholic “Millennials,” who often feel their needs and concerns are not being addressed by the Church, or who simply do not believe the Catholic Faith has any relevance to their lives. Using his own experiences, both as a former struggling young Catholic and as a priest, Fr. Josh offers an inspiring witness of how he came to know God, rather than just knowing about him—and presents practical ways for us to truly know God as well. Broken and Blessed: Addresses head-on Millennials’ most pressing issues with the Catholic Faith Presents powerful and inspiring stories from Fr. Josh’s own faith journey Shows how one can truly encounter Jesus in a personal way Offers practical insights on how to overcome habitual sins Discusses the nature of prayer, as well as the challenges to prayer and how to overcome them

It is very important for Christians to know why they believe that the Bible is God's inspired, preserved Word. In Our Blessed Book, some of the interesting things we will study is how God wrote the Bible, various proofs of Divine inspiration, the process of preservation, the history of the King James Bible and why it is the Word of God for English-speaking people, and the fallacies and corruptions in new translations of Scripture.Our Blessed Book is not a book of criticism but a book of truth. The Bible is something we must protect and defend. Therefore, in order to know right from wrong, we must examine how the right is different from the wrong. We must understand why the wrong will never be right, and why it should never be allowed or accepted. This book is not intended to be derogatory but to be helpful; encouraging believers to know the infallibility of their Bible and to know that the King James Bible is the inspired, preserved Word of God for the English-speaking people.

What If You Could Change the World without Changing Your Daily Routine? When you’ve been transformed by God’s love, you can’t help but want others to experience the same grace and freedom. But how do you share it without scaring them away or offending them? For most Christians, “evangelism” is an intimidating word that suggests handing out tracts to strangers or doing other awkward things. But what if there was a more organic, more authentic way to share your faith with your friends, neighbors, and coworkers? Dave and Jon Ferguson have found five simple, straightforward practices that will allow any believer to do just that. And by consistently living them out, you can affect not just individual lives but your entire neighborhood and community—one person at a time.

Through vivid and powerful storytelling, Blessed Youth: Breaking the Silence about Mental Illness with Children and Teens will remove the barriers of stigma and shame associated with mental illness in children and teens. Readers will know they are not alone and be reminded of God’s grace and loving presence in the midst of the heartache and struggle of mental illness. In addition to stories of children and youth experiencing mental health challenges, Blessed Youth includes practical resources such as prayers and a guide for having age-appropriate talks with children about warning signs and how to get help for themselves and friends. Ultimately, this important resource offers hope and help for everyone who loves a child or youth with mental health challenges. Also available is Blessed Youth Survival Guide, a pocket-size companion guide for youth.

Minor earthquakes every day; that's what they say. Lucy feels the tremors like a needle sensitized to respond to the slightest movement. She feels the push, the blind thrust of the earth's elastic body, pushing out, pulling in, behaving unpredictably. She lies awake at night, staring into the darkness, thinking of the tectonic plates moving against one another, building up tension, until something has to give. On an isolated island in Lake Ontario live twins Lucy and Levi and their father, Daniel. While Daniel desperately mourns for his dead wife, Levi and Lucy grow up ever more entwined in their enchanted childhood of fairy tales and rhymes. But when a fissure in the fragile cocoon of the family explodes into a chasm, each of the three is hurled in a different direction. Soon, there emerges a geographical triangle - Vancouver, Montreal, the island - that also maps out the terrain of love and the territory of family. Part Egyptian myth, part Alice in Wonderland, How the Blessed Live is an ethereally quiet, unexpected debut from a novelist to be watched.

At the peak of Rome's might, a dragon is born among eagles, an heir to a line both blessed and cursed by the Gods for ages. Emperor Septimius Severus’ war against the Caledonians has ended with a peace treaty. Rome has won. As a reward for the blood they have shed, many of Rome’s warriors have been granted a reprieve from duty, including Lucius Metellus Anguis, prefect of the now famous Sarmatian cavalry. The Gods seem finally to have granted Lucius a peaceful life as he builds a new home for his family upon an ancient hillfort in the south of Britannia. Lucius now finds that, after years of war and brutality, the most elusive peace, the peace within, is finally within his grasp. But heroes are never without enemies, and Lucius, Rome’s famed Dragon, has many. After an argument with traitorous local politicians, and a quest in which he is confronted by a dark goddess, Lucius realizes that his pastoral idyll is at an end. When war erupts in Caledonia once more, he is called away only to be assaulted on all fronts by his most deadly enemy. The choices presented to Lucius by the Gods, his allies, and his friends are clear and terrifying. He can hand victory and power over to the wickedest men in the Empire, or he can fight for his life to create the world he believes in. Will Lucius’ enemies and the powers of darkness overwhelm and destroy him? Or will he find the strength to survive the trials he faces and protect the people he loves? This time, not even the Gods know... Isle of the Blessed is the fourth book in Adam Alexander Haviaras’ #1 bestselling Eagles and Dragons historical fantasy series. Fans of Marion Zimmer Bradley, David Gemmell, and Bernard Cornwell will love this ground-breaking series that combines accurate historical detail with ancient religion and elements of fantasy. Step into the world of the Roman Empire today!