Learning To Speak Of God

In a rapidly changing culture, many of us struggle to talk about faith. We can no longer assume our friends understand words such as grace or gospel. Others, like lost and sin, have become so negative they are nearly conversation-enders. Jonathan Merritt knows this frustration well. After moving from the Bible Belt to New York City, he discovered that the sacred terms he used to describe his spiritual life didn’t connect as they had in the past. This launched him into an exploration of an increasing American reluctance to talk about faith—and the data he uncovered revealed a quiet crisis of affecting millions. In this groundbreaking book, Jonathan revives ancient expressions through incisive cultural commentary, vulnerable personal narratives, and surprising biblical insights. Both provocative and liberating, Learning to Speak God from Scratch will breathe new life into your spiritual conversations and invite you into the embrace of the God who inhabits them.

What difference does the virtue of patience make for our ability to engage deeply in the practice of patience? And how does patience help us grasp the something more that is at the heart of preaching excellence? Learning to Speak of God argues that the virtue of patience is vital to our faithful and deep preaching practice; that patience is a homiletical virtue. In doing so, this volume asks us to consider the role of character in preaching and the work of specific virtues as we go about our preaching practice. Along the way, it names the importance of patience as a long-acknowledged Christian virtue and considers anew how this virtue shapes and empowers the practice of those who desire to preach in ways that participate in God’s transforming work. For those who study, practice, or care about preaching, this volume identifies how any notion of what it means to preach well calls for those whose practice is infused with the virtue of patience.

Sometimes our walk with God seems so difficult. We struggle to find the time to pray, the words to say, and the way to pray them. Are we making prayer more complicated than it needs to be? Charlie Dawes is a pastor and professor who understands both the desires and the challenges of deepening our prayer lives. He has identified simple, biblical prayers that will help you unlock the mystery of conversing with God by paring our words down to their most elemental level. By focusing our prayers, we can open up a new way of relating with God that we have never before experienced. Simple prayer is far from simplistic. Instead, it will help you connect with God at a heart level that cannot be mastered with words alone.

Are you looking for a fresh approach to family Bible time? The first book in the Learning to Speak Life(tm) series - Fruit of the Spirit - may just be what you are looking for! This fun new 9-week family Bible study is geared for families with young children ages 3-9. It examines the fruit of the Spirit according to Galatians 5:22-23 - teaching children how to speak God's life-giving words in place of words that tear down and destroy. Each chapter includes: Primary Scripture What is...? Confessions Copywork Role Play {Inspiration} Silly Sayings Short Story Family Discussion Time Family Project Prayer Digging Deeper

A New York Times Notable Book A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2012 A bold approach to understanding the American evangelical experience from an anthropological and psychological perspective by one of the country's most prominent anthropologists. Through a series of intimate, illuminating interviews with various members of the Vineyard, an evangelical church with hundreds of congregations across the country, Tanya Luhrmann leaps into the heart of evangelical faith. Combined with scientific research that studies the effect that intensely practiced prayer can have on the mind, When God Talks Back examines how normal, sensible people—from college students to accountants to housewives, all functioning perfectly well within our society—can attest to having the signs and wonders of the supernatural become as quotidian and as ordinary as laundry. Astute, sensitive, and extraordinarily measured in its approach to the interface between science and religion, Luhrmann's book is sure to generate as much conversation as it will praise.

In the hustle and bustle of today's busy world, sometimes it's hard enough to hear yourself think, much less take a minute to stop and listen for the voice of God. But learning to recognize God's voice and the many ways in which He speaks is vital for following His plan. In How to Hear from God, Joyce Meyer shows readers that God reaches out to people every day, seeking a partnership with them to offer guidance and love. She reveals the ways in which God delivers His word and the benefits of asking God for the sensitivity to hear His voice. Joyce asks the question, "Are you listening?" and shares how to do just that.

Do you feel that the ability to hear God's voice is for other people and not for you? Is it only for people who lived in Biblical times? Not at all! The God who loved you enough to die for you loves you enough to talk to you. And wherever you are in your spiritual walk, God will find a way to speak to you in a way you will understand. Become acquainted with the Voice that has spoken from a fire and a cloud; with visible signs and an invisible Spirit; through a burning bush and burning hearts. Hear from some of the most well-known Christians in history about how God speaks to them—and discover for yourself how you can discern the voice of God.