Welcome To The One Great Story

The Bible is not easy to figure out! Churches are filled with adults who are too embarrassed to admit their sketchy knowledge, and jumbled impressions, of biblical material. Even seminary-trained pastors struggle to get a handle on the flow of the Scriptures from beginning to end. No wonder so many people give up on the Bible—and even the church. This book claims that what gives the Bible its overarching integrity and lasting value is a narrative, a storyline. Readers who approach the Bible with narrative in mind will discover from Genesis to Revelation a story that begins at a certain point, establishes a theme; develops, continues, and adapts that theme; and reaches a resolution (of sorts!). Rather than a book-by-book treatment of the Bible, this book identifies and traces a Story that stretches across the corpus of the canon, a Story in which divine promise and human response constantly define each episode. Text boxes, reflection questions, chapter questions, and activities encourage the reader to engage with content at more than one level all along the way. Engaging with the Bible can become exhilarating and gratifying!

Stephen Nichols wants to help readers experience the Bible more fully. He writes: "We have been given a book that is unlike any other book in human history, a book that transcends all human wisdom, insight, and expertise. We have been given the Word of God, the words of eternal life. And we, all of us, are invited to take up and read these words." Welcome to the Story teaches believers not only how to read the Bible, but how to read it in such a way that it permeates their lives—reading, loving, and living God's Word. Discussion includes an explanation of the four "chapters" of the biblical narrative—creation, fall, redemption, and restoration—guidelines on how to interpret Scripture, why we're to love God's Word, and how we're to live and proclaim the story in word, deed, and mission. This practical guide to reading the Bible is a great resource for young and new believers and those wanting to get more out of God's Word.

Defines both genres, tells how to write a successful story, and where to find markets to get published.

Ruth the bunny is excited to share the smelly springtime smells of spring with Bruce! But what will Bruce think of all that stink? Little Bruce Book

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the Booker Prize–winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo and Tenth of December comes a literary master class on what makes great stories work and what they can tell us about ourselves—and our world today. LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/DIAMONSTEIN-SPIELVOGEL AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR, Time, San Francisco Chronicle, Esquire, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Town & Country, The Rumpus, Electric Lit, Thrillist, BookPage • “[A] worship song to writers and readers.”—Oprah Daily For the last twenty years, George Saunders has been teaching a class on the Russian short story to his MFA students at Syracuse University. In A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, he shares a version of that class with us, offering some of what he and his students have discovered together over the years. Paired with iconic short stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol, the seven essays in this book are intended for anyone interested in how fiction works and why it’s more relevant than ever in these turbulent times. In his introduction, Saunders writes, “We’re going to enter seven fastidiously constructed scale models of the world, made for a specific purpose that our time maybe doesn’t fully endorse but that these writers accepted implicitly as the aim of art—namely, to ask the big questions, questions like, How are we supposed to be living down here? What were we put here to accomplish? What should we value? What is truth, anyway, and how might we recognize it?” He approaches the stories technically yet accessibly, and through them explains how narrative functions; why we stay immersed in a story and why we resist it; and the bedrock virtues a writer must foster. The process of writing, Saunders reminds us, is a technical craft, but also a way of training oneself to see the world with new openness and curiosity. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is a deep exploration not just of how great writing works but of how the mind itself works while reading, and of how the reading and writing of stories make genuine connection possible.

Drawing on the resources of five other volumes in the series, Transforming Vestries creates a single source designed specifically for this governing body. The chapters highlight the nature - and the needs - of vestry membership: stewardship, leadership, evangelism, discipleship, and vital congregational life.

Since birth, author Emrayel A’a Ra iry a’a has been blessed with psychic ability, and she was encouraged by her family to pursue that calling. Her skills came to a head when the angels took over and trained her to new levels. She began not only to hear the angels but to also see them. Those angels have become her friends. In The Angelus Transcripts, she shares a journal of the messages delivered by the angels for two years beginning in 2013. Enlightening and inspiring, the messages and visions encourage people to grow in mind and soul. The visions show how much more there is to the universe, and the messages help you grow outside the box of normal life. A mixture of humor, wisdom, lessons, and growth, the messages communicate love and inspiration from the angels and beyond. The Angelus Transcripts guides you on your journey to your destiny, ensuring you take the correct steps in life.

If he had been with me everything would have been different... I wasn't with Finn on that August night. But I should've been. It was raining, of course. And he and Sylvie were arguing as he drove down the slick road. No one ever says what they were arguing about. Other people think it's not important. They do not know there is another story. The story that lurks between the facts. What they do not know—the cause of the argument—is crucial. So let me tell you...