Living Hope

On October 26, 2019 I was dead! I suffered a massive cardiac arrest. My heart stopped beating, my breathing ceased, and the medics couldn't revive me. I was clinically dead for more than thirty minutes. And then, miraculously, the paramedics detected a heartbeat. As I lay in my bed in the ICU, I wrestled with a big question that went around and around in my mind: "Why am I still alive?" The answer, I believe, was divinely inspired. God wanted me to share with you the treasures He had given me in the darkness, during a period of unbelievable catastrophic suffering. God brought me back from the dead to tell you about the mystery of His ways through suffering and His purpose for my life. This was my inspiration for Living Hope, and I pray it will inspire you in your life. From what I have experienced over the last sixty years-the highs and the lows- I am going to tell you how God prepared me for my purpose and, as shrouded in mystery as it is, I pray my story will help you in your own life, to discover your purpose. From the depths of my soul, after all I have journeyed through, I pray that you will be inspired and encouraged. May the treasures and insights in Living Hope help awaken faith, peace, and purpose in all you are journeying through. Gerard is a professor of life and death, having experienced a blessed life, followed by the darkest valley of suffering after the suicide of his beloved youngest son, the near break up of his marriage and the unbelievable death of his beautiful daughter. As if this wasn't enough pain, in the same eight-year period, his beloved sister and brother also died, as did a nephew! Rising from the ashes, he faced financial ruin after the betrayal of a 'friend' and exceptional medical bills following his cardiac arrest and his beautiful wife's bladder cancer! Gerard has walked with God through his unbelievable journey and, in Living Hope, he shares the treasures he discovered in the darkness. Gerard lives with his beloved wife Jeannie in Malibu, California.

Because everyone needs hope, this book offers comfort by revealing that God is a God of living hope and his hope never disappoints. (Christian Religion)

Our inheritance through Christ is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. In 1 Peter, a man of faith and flaws and eyewitness to the life of Christ challenges us to look beyond our current circumstances to a future inheritance. He shares his concerns on big picture issues for the early church, describes believers' true identity in Christ, and ultimately helps readers discover what it means to experience the Living Hope they have in Christ. Key themes of humility, submission, and identity in Christ guide the study of 1 Peter as participants are challenged to read the book in its entirety each week. Teaching videos are key to the understanding of this study. (9 sessions) Features: Personal study segments to complete between group sessions 9-session study with 8 weeks of homework Verse-by-verse approach to complete a book study Teaching videos that build upon and tie together the personal study available for purchase or rent (30 to 35 minutes per session) Benefits Expand your understanding of 1 Peter for personal spiritual growth by reading the book in its entirety throughout each week of study Follow a verse-by-verse approach to complete a book study Discover the gospel of Christ as learners seek to conform fully to the Scriptures Dig deeper into Scripture individually and alongside other women--both those new to Bible study and those more familiar with Scriptures--with this widely-applicable study Author: Jen Wilkin is a writer, teacher, and blogger at JenWilkin.net. She is the managing editor of The Village Church blog and leads the Flower Mound Women's Bible Study, an interdenominational Bible study with about 700 members representing 68 different churches. She earned a B.A. in English and a Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M. Jen wrote Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds and has a 9-week DVD Bible study on The Sermon on the Mount.Jen grew up in Texas and came to saving faith in elementary school. Her childhood was marked by time spent in seven different denominations - a range of experience that left her with the conviction that knowing the Word was the only sure means of discerning truth from error. Jen's passion is to see women become articulate and committed followers of Christ, with a clear understanding of why they believe what they believe and grounded in the Word of God. She sees women as most frequently appealed to through their emotions. Because of that, she advocates for women to have Bible literacy, love God with their minds, and have their voices and giftings fully leveraged in the church.

In these refreshingly unconventional meditations, scientist John Polkinghorne connects the perspectives of science and religion in honest and thoughtful reflections for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. Giving new meaning to the penitence of Advent and the hope of the Christian faith, he considers God's ultimate purposes along with scientific knowledge of the fate of the universe. Complete with Scriptural references and prayers,Living With Hopeencourages Christians to think about the beginning and end of the world and to come to discover what it means to truly affirm God's purpose in creation.

Though the shadow side of aging is a reality, author Missy Buchanan brings spiritual light and nourishment to people in the later years of life. Older adults struggle with chronic pain and diminished physical abilities. They contend with losses that pile up like the dry bones in the prophet Ezekiel's vision--the loss of loved ones and friends, the loss of their home and belongings, the loss of independence, and the loss of purpose. In a culture that values youth more than age, older adults often feel forgotten and without purpose. Each chapter of From Dry Bones to Living Hope opens with an intimate, prayerful lament to God from the perspective of the older adult who longs for spiritual renewal and purpose. The authentic voice of lament establishes credibility with older readers who yearn for others to empathize with their struggles. The second part of each chapter, Cultivating Hope, guides them to God's perspective on aging and specific actions they can take that lead to hope and joy.

We are living in a world desperately in need of hope. Do you yearn to live into a future filled with hope as a beloved child of God? Rooted in this great gift of God, Living Hope explores life in an inclusive vision of the future. This book offers you an opportunity to reflect on the witness of hope, the legacy about hope, the reason for hope, and helps you to engage in the practice of hope. Living Hope celebrates the possibility of restored hope in the church and the world and invites you to become a bearer of hope to others in our time.

"Eschatology," the theological name for the study of the endtime, often conjures up frightening concepts of the rapture, the final judgment, heaven and hell, Armageddon, and the anti-Christ. Author David Jensen's theological approach offers a brighter perspective on the end-time as a time of hope when Christians will see the full glory of the Kingdom of God, the resurrection of the body, and Christ's promised return.