Reaching For The Invisible God Study Guide

"How do I relate to a God who is invisible when I’m never quite sure he’s there?"--Philip Yancey Life with God doesn’t always work like we thought. High expectations slam against the reality of personal weaknesses and unwelcome surprises. And the God who we’ve been told longs for our company may seem remote, emotionally unavailable. Is God playing games? What can we count on him for? This relationship with a God we can’t see, hear, or touch--how does it really work? The Reaching for the Invisible God Study Guide gives you a path in your personal quest for answers. Dovetailing with Philip Yancey’s book Reaching for the Invisible God, the twelve sessions are your opportunity to journey toward insights that affirm and dignify your most pressing questions--even the ones you may have found it hard to ask. Get ready to experience the challenges and rewards of relating to God as he is, not as you’ve thought he is. Yancey shifts your focus from questions to the One who offers himself in answer: the God who invites you to reach for him--and find. Includes: * Bible readings * Discussion questions * Personal reflections and applications * Tips for group leaders * Summary excerpts from Reaching for the Invisible God

Why does God feel so distant so often, and how do I bridge the gap? Does your hunger for God often seem more frustrating than satisfying? Have you sensed a disturbing disparity between God's promises and life's realities? Have you seen God's promises work, but you've stumbled and want to believe again? Award-winning author Philip Yancey articulates the fundamental questions that confront us all: "How do I relate to a God who is invisible when I'm never quite sure he's there?" Reaching for the Invisible God?offers deep, satisfying insights to the questions you’re sometimes afraid to ask. Honest and deeply personal, here is straight talk on Christian living for the reader who wants more than pat answers to life's imponderables. Ultimately, Yancey shifts the focus from your questions to the One who offers himself in answer. "A brilliant book. It is both profound and simple, the best blend, in my view. Simple is neither shallow, nor simplistic. The sections on doubt and God's 'absence' are classics." — Rick Warren, pastor and author,?The Purpose Driven Life

Philip Yancey offers an honest and insightful book to help readers explore their need to find spiritual connection and community.

“Why does the church stir up such negative feelings?” Philip Yancey has been asking this all his life as a journalist. His perennial question is more relevant now than ever: research shows that favorable opinions of Christianity have plummeted drastically—and opinions of Evangelicals have taken even deeper dives. Yet while opinions about Christianity are dropping, interest in spirituality is rising. Why the disconnect? Why are so many asking, “What’s so good about the Good News?” In Vanishing Grace, Yancey shows the desperate need our world has for grace, and how Christians can truly make the gospel good news again. In this video-based small group Bible study, participants will explore what kind of news is good to a culture that thinks it has rejected the Christian version. Wading deep into the transformative power of grace, they will hear illuminating stories of how faith can be expressed in ways that disarm even the most cynical. Sessions include: We've Got Problems What Can We Do About It? Who Are the Grace Dispensers? Is It Really Good News? Holy Subversives Designed for use with the Vanishing Grace Video Study 9780310825500 (sold separately).

The story of the Bible starts with the simple statement, "In the beginning, God created . . ." From that first sentence of Genesis, the story of salvation unfolds in strange and wonderful mingling of the commonplace and the miraculous, the human and the transcendent. But if you were born after the baby boom, chances are the Bible seems more like an item of passing interest than a book of depth and meaning for the twenty-first century. If you're not familiar with the Bible, it can be difficult to put into perspective the puzzle of kings and prophets, giants and seven-headed dragons, shepherd boys and itinerant preachers, Old Testament law and New Testament grace. Meet the Bible introduces you to the full, epic sweep of the Bible -- the characters, the places, the times, the stories, and the meanings of this Book of books -- and shows you that even the most obscure passage can hold relevance for your life once you understand what to look for. Award-winning writer Philip Yancey and author Brenda Quinn are your guides on this one-year reading tour of the Bible. Each day's reading includes Scripture, contemporary commentary, and questions for contemplation -- all designed to offer insight into how the passage fits into the overall story of the Bible, and how it can speak to your life today. Meet the Bible takes you through the twists and turns of the Bible's many narratives, the high points and the low points, the good characters and the bad, as well as the eternal thoughts and descriptions of God and his Son, Jesus Christ. Here are stories to remember, images of real people and circumstances closer to your own life than you've ever imagined. By the time you've finished the year's worth of reading, you'll have gained a panoramic view of the whole Bible and a firm understanding of its ideas and teachings. If you've never read the Bible, or hardly know the Bible, or would just like to read the Bible in a fresh new way, Meet the Bible offers an inspiring mix of timeless wisdom and contemporary insight that will cause faith to ignite within you. Direct excerpts from Scripture give readers a panoramic tour of the Bible’s key passages, personalities, events, and ideas as the Old Testament sweeps into the New Testament. Culturally relevant commentary from Quinn and Yancey sheds light on each day’s passage, examining the twists and turns of the Bible’s many narratives, the high points and the low points, the good characters and the bad, as well as the eternal thoughts and descriptions of God and his Son. Reflections every five days provide life application for the week’s Scripture readings.

"Is God listening? "Can he be trusted?" In this book, Yancey tackles the questions caused by a God who doesn't always do what we think he's supposed to do.

Mysterious, intricate, pulsing with energy...The human body is an endlessly fascinating repository of secrets. The miracle of the skin, the strength and structure of the bones, the dynamic balance of the muscles . . .your physical being is knit according to a pattern of incredible purpose. In Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, renowned surgeon Dr. Paul Brand and best-selling writer Philip Yancey explore the human body. Join them in a remarkable journey through inner space -- a spellbinding world of cells, systems, and chemistry that bears the impress of a still deeper, unseen reality. This Gold medallion Award-winning book uncovers eternal statements that God has made in the very structure of our bodies, presenting captivating insights into the Body of Christ.

A WORLD WITHOUT PAIN? Can such a place exist? It not only can---it does. But it's no utopia. It's a colony for leprosy patients: a world where people literally feel no pain, and reap horrifying consequences. His work with leprosy patients in India and the United States convinced Dr. Paul Brand that pain truly is one of God's great gifts to us. In this inspiring story of his fifty-year career as a healer, Dr. Brand probes the mystery of pain and reveals its importance. As an indicator that lets us know something is wrong, pain has a value that becomes clearest in its absence. The Gift of Pain looks at what pain is and why we need it. Together, the renowned surgeon and award-winning writer Philip Yancey shed fresh light on a gift that none of us want and none of us can do without.