Why Easter Matters Study Guide

Have you ever been at odds with God? Have you resisted, defied, or tried to bargain your way out of what you thought God wanted? You aren’t alone. Scripture documents similar stories. In this Easter Study Andy Stanley looks at some of the people whose lives intersected with Jesus in the weeks leading to his crucifixion. Each of them had an agenda that put them at odds with God and Jesus. As you’ll see, there’s a little bit of them in all of us. The Why Easter Matters Study Guide includes session overviews, video teaching notes, discussion questions, personal reflection material, and a leader’s guide. Sessions include: The High Cost of Following Christ The Risk of Surrendering to God The God Who Can Be Trusted The Foundation of Our Faith Designed for use with the Who Needs Christmas / Why Easter Matters Video Study (9780310121121), sold separately. Streaming video also available.

In this video Bible study, bestselling author Andy Stanley explores the details behind the remarkable story of Jesus' birth and explains why Christmas is so important for us today. He also looks at the lives of several key people in the Gospels who found their way into the story of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.

Uncover the five key questions that can change everything about your decision-making process and rewrite the story of your life...one decision at a time. Our decisions don't just affect our present circumstances; they radiate into our future. Most of the time, it's impossible to know what will come of the decisions we make. But this doesn't have to paralyze you. You can train yourself to ask well-placed, appropriately timed, thought-provoking questions that will result in stronger decisions and fewer disappointments down the road. In this six-session video study (DVD/digital download sold separately), author and pastor Andy Stanley gives you five key questions to ask when you have a decision to make and you're not sure what to do (or even if you think you do know what to do!). These five simple questions will empower you to: Pause when feeling tension over a decision Take the long view Look for the wise option Focus on the relational impact of decisions Every decision we make impacts our stories and the stories of those closest to us. It's time to start deciding with our heads instead of with our guts. Sessions Include: More Than a Decision The Integrity Question The Legacy Question The Conscience Question The Maturity Question The Relationship Question Designed for use with the Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets Video Study available on DVD or streaming video, sold separately.

Rediscover the improbable story of Christmas. Four thousand years ago, God promised he would do something through the bloodline of Abraham. Two thousand years later, Jesus was born. And two thousand years after that, we’re still talking about it. Why? The story of Jesus’ birth was not what anyone expected: a baby . . . born in the armpit of the Mediterranean . . . to save us from sins that no one thought we needed saving from. This Christmas season, join Andy Stanley as he unpacks why the improbability of the Christmas story is what makes it so believable. No one could have or would have made it up. The Who Needs Christmas Study Guide includes session overviews, video teaching notes, discussion questions, personal reflection material, and a leader’s guide. Sessions include: The Story Behind the Story The Author of Life The Message of Christmas Ready or Not . . . He Is Coming Designed for use with the Who Needs Christmas / Why Easter Matters Video Study (9780310121121), sold separately. Streaming video also available.

The Easter season is full of joy, celebration, and life. It's so easy to get swept up in the busyness of plays and pastels that we sometimes forget to stand in awe of Jesus this time of year. Easter: Behold Your King is a thoughtful look at the Easter season, focusing on the events and deeper theological meaning of the Passion Week. Diving into topics like: Old Testament prophecy that connects to Jesus as the Messiah, the significance of the events of Palm Sunday through the silence of Holy Saturday, and Jesus' appearances after His resurrection, this study will not only help the reader understand how beautifully deep Christ's sacrifice for us was, but also how to live in light of these life-giving truths. This resource will also include Easter activities to help kids, students, and adults celebrate the season together. Features: Leader helps for group discussion Beautiful 4 color interior to enhance the study experience 4 weeks of personal study to be completed between the 5 group sessions Specific Easter activities for kids, students, and adults Benefits: Understand the order and theological significance of the events and big moments during the Passion Week, including the Old Testament prophecies that connect to it, seeing it as more than just a familiar story. Allow a deeper understanding of Easter to fuel your worship of and love for Christ. Understand the important implications that Jesus' work during Passion Week brings to bear on your everyday life. Learn about the hope the Easter season brings us and be equipped to share that hope with others.

Of the many world religions, only one claims that its founder returned from the grave. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very cornerstone of Christianity. But a dead man coming back to life? In our sophisticated age, when myth has given way to science, who can take such a claim seriously? Some argue that Jesus never died on the cross. Conflicting accounts make the empty tomb seem suspect.sHow credible is the evidence for the resurrection? Focusing his award-winning skills as a legal journalist on history's most compelling enigma, Lee Strobel retraces the startling findings that led him from atheism to belief. Drawing on expert testimony first shared in his blockbuster book The Case for Christ, Strobel examines: The Medical Evidence -- Was Jesus' death a sham and his resurrection a hoax? The Evidence of the Missing Body -- Was Jesus' body really absent from his tomb? The Evidence of Appearances -- Was Jesus seen alive after his death on the cross? Written in a hard-hitting journalistic style, The Case for Easter probes the core issues of the resurrection. Jesus Christ, risen from the dead: superstitious myth or life-changing reality? The evidence is in. The verdict is up to you. Book jacket.

Christian Book Award Finalist What type of leadership is needed in a moment that demands adaptive change? Tod Bolsinger, author of Canoeing the Mountains, is uniquely positioned to explore the qualities of adaptive leadership in contexts ranging from churches to nonprofit organizations. He deftly examines both the external challenges we face and the internal resistance that holds us back. Bolsinger writes: "To temper describes the process of heating, holding, hammering, cooling, and reheating that adds stress to raw iron until it becomes a glistening knife blade or chisel tip." When reflection and relationships are combined into a life of deliberate practice, leaders become both stronger and more flexible. As a result, these resilient leaders are able to offer greater wisdom and skill to the organizations they serve. Also available: Tempered Resilience Study Guide

A fresh look at the earliest Christian movement reveals what made the new faith so compelling...and what we need to change today to make it so again. Once upon a time there was a version of the Christian faith that was practically irresistible. After all, what could be more so than the gospel that Jesus ushered in? Why, then, isn't it the same with Christianity today? Author and pastor Andy Stanley is deeply concerned with the present-day church and its future. He believes that many of the solutions to our issues can be found by investigating our roots. In Irresistible, Andy chronicles what made the early Jesus Movement so compelling, resilient, and irresistible by answering these questions: What did first-century Christians know that we don't—about God's Word, about their lives, about love? What did they do that we're not doing? What makes Christianity so resistible in today's culture? What needs to change in order to repeat the growth our faith had at its beginning? Many people who leave or disparage the faith cite reasons that have less to do with Jesus than with the conduct of his followers. It's time to hit pause and consider the faith modeled by our first-century brothers and sisters who had no official Bible, no status, and little chance of survival. It's time to embrace the version of faith that initiated—against all human odds—a chain of events resulting in the most significant and extensive cultural transformation the world has ever seen. This is a version of Christianity we must remember and re-embrace if we want to be salt and light in an increasingly savorless and dark world.