Salvation With A Smile

Joel Osteen, the smiling preacher, has quickly emerged as one of the most recognizable Protestant leaders in the country. His megachurch, the Houston based Lakewood Church, hosts an average of over 40,000 worshipers each week. Osteen is the best-selling author of numerous books, and his sermons and inspirational talks appear regularly on mainstream cable and satellite radio. How did Joel Osteen become Joel Osteen? How did Lakewood become the largest megachurch in the U. S.? Salvation with a Smile, the first book devoted to Lakewood Church and Joel Osteen, offers a critical history of the congregation by linking its origins to post-World War II neopentecostalism, and connecting it to the exceptionally popular prosperity gospel movement and the enduring attraction of televangelism. In this richly documented book, historian Phillip Luke Sinitiere carefully excavates the life and times of Lakewood’s founder, John Osteen, to explain how his son Joel expanded his legacy and fashioned the congregation into America’s largest megachurch. As a popular preacher, Joel Osteen’s ministry has been a source of existential strength for many, but also the routine target of religious critics who vociferously contend that his teachings are theologically suspect and spiritually shallow. Sinitiere’s keen analysis shows how Osteen’s rebuttals have expressed a piety of resistance that demonstrates evangelicalism’s fractured, but persistent presence. Salvation with a Smile situates Lakewood Church in the context of American religious history and illuminates how Osteen has parlayed an understanding of American religious and political culture into vast popularity and success.

Adrian works through the alphabet, combining one-line definitions with more thoughtful pieces - a laugh-out-loud book on Christians and Christian culture. What are the two most important things in the universe? Bacon sandwiches and salvation, according to Adrian Plass. In this book, he combines one-line definitions with more thoughtful pieces, producing a volume that will make you laugh, cry - and reflect. Despite the fact that someone once offered him five million pounds never to write another word for publication (one hilarious story recounted here) this is a glorious book. Vintage Plass. 'Doubt: more or less frequent visitor who should be allowed in when he knocks at the door and sat firmly down in a corner. As long as he is neither fed nor entertained he will usually get bored after a while and go away.' 'Ineffable: (1) cannot be expressed in words (2) cannot be sworn at. 'Oblivion: nothing to worry about.' 'Go in peace: (1) injunction to the congregation at the end of communion (2) something that is only possible for those blessed with an en-suite bathroom and toilet.' 'Pillar of the church: big thick thing that holds everything up and restricts vision.' "Healing, life-affirming and full of hope." Rob Frost "Subversive but not destructive, cutting but never unkind, the man helps me to want to remain a Christian. Brilliant, fun, laugh-out-loud stuff." Jeff Lucas, author, speaker, broadcaster Adrian Plass is one of today's most successful Christian authors. He has written over twenty books in the last eighteen years, including The Son of God is Dancing.

When Jesus said, “Let the little ones come to me,” He truly meant it! This life–changing book about God’s everlasting love and the power of prayer from beloved writer Stormie Omartian reassures children that their prayers are meaningful to God and that He always listens to them. Reassuring little ones that God’s love is a forever love, Stormie shows kids how to give thanks for family and friends, give their wants and needs to their heavenly Father, and trust Him to do what is right for their lives. She then explains what it means to pray the best prayer of all—asking Jesus to come into your heart. As children learn about the great gift of salvation and the wonder of living forever with God, they’ll be assured that, as one of God’s special kids, Jesus will stay right beside them today—and they’ll be inspired to reach out to others and tell them how awesome it is to be a child of God.

Humanity’s complex relationship with technology spirals out of control in this first book of an all-new series from “the owner of the most powerful imagination in science fiction” (Ken Follett). “How far ‘space opera’ has come! The Old Masters of sci-fi would admire the scope and sweep of Salvation.”—The Wall Street Journal In the year 2204, humanity is expanding into the wider galaxy in leaps and bounds. Cutting-edge technology of linked jump gates has rendered most forms of transportation—including starships—virtually obsolete. Every place on Earth, every distant planet humankind has settled, is now merely a step away from any other. All seems wonderful—until a crashed alien spaceship of unknown origin is found on a newly located world eighty-nine light-years from Earth, carrying a cargo as strange as it is horrifying. To assess the potential of the threat, a high-powered team is dispatched to investigate. But one of them may not be all they seem. . . . Bursting with tension and big ideas, Peter F. Hamilton’s Salvation is the first book of an all-new series that highlights the inventiveness of an author at the top of his game. Praise for Salvation “[A] vast, intricate sci-fi showstopper . . . The journey grips just as hard as the reveal.”—Daily Mail (U.K.) “Exciting, wildly imaginative and quite possibly Hamilton’s best book to date.”—SFX “Dynamic, multifaceted characters, strong mind-expanding concepts, and impressive flair for language [make Salvation a] rare celestial event. . . . One of Britain’s bestselling sci-fi authors has launched an addictive new book as the initial stage of what is sure to be an intriguing new series called the Salvation Sequence.”—SyFyWire “Peter Hamilton just keeps getting better and better with each book, more assured and more craftsmanly adroit, and more inventive. [Salvation is] a bravura performance from start to finish. . . . Hamilton is juggling chainsaws while simultaneously doing needlepoint over a shark tank. It’s a virtuoso treat, and I for one can hardly wait for Salvation Lost.”—Paul Di Filippo, Locus “Peter F. Hamilton is known as one of the world’s greatest sci-fi writers for a reason. . . . Salvation is well worth the effort and a great introduction to some good old-fashioned space opera.”—Fantasy Book Review

Christians know that God loves them, but can easily feel that he is perpetually disappointed and frustrated, maybe even close to giving up on them. As a result, they focus a lot—and rightly so—on what Jesus has done to appease God’s wrath for sin. But how does Jesus Christ actually feel about his people amid all their sins and failures? This book draws us to Matthew 11, where Jesus describes himself as “gentle and lowly in heart,” longing for his people to find rest in him. The gospel flows from God’s deepest heart for his people, a heart of tender love for the sinful and suffering. These chapters take readers into the depths of Christ’s very heart for sinners, diving deep into Bible passages that speak of who Christ is and encouraging readers with the affections of Christ for his people. His longing heart for sinners comforts and sustains readers in their up-and-down lives.

Nothing seems to be going right today for Erik. But instead of getting mad, Erik finds that he can turn the bad into things that make God smile—and this makes Erik smile too.

Karen Ann Kennedy's earliest experience in church is going to a Catholic mass with a childhood friend. She doesn't understand why church has to be so imposing and frightening. It isn't until much later that she realizes that there are other types of believers in other types of churches. Feeling that something is missing from her own life, Kennedy spends many years searching. But she doesn't even know what she is looking for until she is guided to a little church on the beach. Her first Sunday at Ocean City Baptist Church changes her life forever. As a child, Karen Ann Kennedy wanted to be a stand-up comedian, and her comedic skill certainly shows in Salvation by the Sea. Her writing is sometimes gentle, sometimes bold, but always funny. She is ready to take new Christians by the hand and let them know that "we're in this together." Kennedy offers advice and words of encouragement for other new believers as they start their Christian lives. Her salvation story is triumphant and her guidance comforting to anyone who knows, or wants to know, what it is like to be forever changed by the Word of God.

For Conrad, moving to Overton was the promise of a fresh start, a way to escape the pain and ridicule, and leave behind the hateful words that reminded him every day he was a monster. He would not make the same mistake again. He would keep his other-self hidden, his heart shielded. Or that had been his intention. The moment his gaze met Ashley's, his resolve faltered. With a single, disarming glance, she became all he could think about; an infatuation he knew must be shed. But she was human, incompatible with his kind. To love her would be to one day watch her burn. He had thought wrestling with his heart was his biggest concern, but his new friends harbour a secret. They hold the answers to one of the most burning questions of their time. But how much is Conrad willing to sacrifice to get those answers? This book contains graphic sex and is not suitable for readers under the age of 18.