Shaping The Christian Life

This insightful book explores how worship practices can transform and renew the lives of those who worship. Emphasizing how religious affections provide us with orientation in the world, Kendra Hotz and Matthew Mathews show how worship can shape our religious affections so that we can live to the glory of God and in a harmonious relationship with God's creation.

Elisabeth Elliot is one of the most loved and respected communicators of present-day Christianity. In this repackaged edition of The Shaping of a Christian Family, Elliot tells the story of her childhood to share valuable insights on raising godly children. She talks candidly on parental expectations, emphasizes daily Bible reading and prayer, and shows the benefits of practicing such scriptural principles as trust, discipline, courtesy, and teaching by example. Complete with eight pages of treasured Elliot family photos, The Shaping of a Christian Family is a wonderful book of ideas and inspiration for new parents, experienced parents, and all who have come to trust Elliot's wisdom.

Resurrecting Excellence aims to rekindle and encourage among Christian leaders an unselfish ambition for the gospel that shuns both competition and mediocrity and rightly focuses on the beauty, power, and excellence of living as faithful disciples of the crucified and risen Christ. Drawing on ancient traditions and on contemporary voices, L. Gregory Jones offer both a theology of excellence and portraits of pastors, lay leaders, and congregations that embody "a more excellent way."--Publisher's description.

Senior year is a pivotal moment in the life of teens, a time when young men and women are shaping their goals and hopes for the future and seeking spiritual guidance. Creating a Christian Lifestyle, a comprehensive one-semester course, addresses significant issues teens will face as they choose among the many life paths they may travel--single or married life, religious life, or ordained ministry. The text examines themes common to all those paths: identity and autonomy, love, communication, sexuality, friendship, creativity and learning, work, money and possessions, and suffering and healing. Thought-provoking stories, poems, and personal examples lead students into discussion; engaging activities invite reflection, discussion, and journal writing. The full-color lively design and over 50 original artworks by students stimulate students' interest.

How can one live an authentically Christian life? Although many books and articles delineate the content of the Gospel message, the form or shape of an existence based on faith has not been studied as thoroughly. To use a language correctly, it is not enough to know the vocabulary; one must have a good grasp of its grammar. This book attempts to deepen our knowledge of the grammar of the Christian life starting from the notion of metanoia. Generally translated as "repentance" or "conversion," the word has in fact a much richer significance: it describes a total reorientation and transformation of our being, never accomplished once and for all, through the action of the Spirit of the risen Christ. Metanoia takes us out of our self-centered outlook and our limited and self-interested actions and brings us into God's today, where we become witnesses to a real Presence, that of the universal Body of Christ.

Drawn from a rich heritage, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life will guide you through a carefully selected array of disciplines. By illustrating why the disciplines are important, showing how each one will help you grow in godliness, and offering practical suggestions for cultivating them, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life will provide you with a refreshing opportunity to become more like Christ and grow in character and maturity. Now updated and revised to equip a new generation of readers, this anniversary edition features in-depth discussions on each of the key disciplines.

As Christians, we have real hope in Jesus that we have been called to share with others. But how we share that hope makes a difference. In a world that rejects everything we believe, we face a dilemma: how do we walk closely with God without caving in to pressure or alienating those we want to reach? In this six-session video Bible study, Chris Hodges looks at the lives of both Daniel and Jesus, showing how we can stand for our biblical beliefs without being hostile or insulting to others. We can stand up for God's truth in a morally corrupt culture–while still loving others–because the goal is never about winning the argument but about winning hearts. As Jesus demonstrated, when we connect with others before we correct them, we can handle the hard questions without compromising God's grace or truth. Chris offers fresh insights and practical ideas to encourage Christians struggling with their cultural reality to hold God's standards high and to keep his grace deep–just as Jesus did, and just as his followers today are called to do. The Daniel Dilemma Study Guide includes video discussion questions, Bible exploration, and personal study and reflection materials for in-between sessions. Sessions include: In the World but Not of It Identity Theft You Are What You Worship Who's the Boss? Divided, Distracted, and Disturbed What the World Needs Now Designed for use with the Daniel Dilemma Video Study (sold separately).

This book gets at the heart of the Christian life by considering some of the great truths of God's existence. Christopher Holmes, an expert in contemporary theology, engages with the church fathers along with Augustine and Aquinas to offer a rich, accessible account of the triune God and the divine perfections. Holmes shows how we share in the life of God through imitation and participation and how the doctrines of the triune God and the divine attributes shape our understanding of the Christian life. Throughout, Holmes demonstrates the importance of theology for Christian faith and practice.