Discover new insights about the passion story through the lenses of Jesus' parables. "Parables nudge us all to receptive insight," writes Indermark. "For those new to the Lenten journey, they give access to the holy through the ordinary. For those who have navigated this season many times, they allow an opportunity to experience Lent from a different perspective. …[Parables] take us deeper, revealing the approaching realm of the God who has come to us in One who teaches still in parables." Le...

Is your goal to build great churches or make great disciples? Is your congregation full of professing-only Christians? Becoming a Christian disciple is supposed to be life-altering, a process of maturation and transformation. The church is to intentionally support that development—both individually and corporately. Sometimes, though, pitfalls and barriers in life and even within the church itself can damage the committed but unequipped follower. Proposing a "deep-sea change" from the typical ...

A high unemployment rate, tensions and wars around the world, soaring gas prices, job stress…Are today's anxieties shrinking your Christmas spirit, your sense of joy, your purpose, your song? This Advent, expect the unexpected. Reconnect with the Christmas story, the arrival of Christ's biblical message of hope and healing for this world. Expecting the Unexpected is a spiritual feast for the mind and imagination. Use it each day of the four-week Advent season. Open it and find: vivid da...

Where denominational hymnals feature beloved traditional hymns, the Upper Room Worshipbook is a wellspring for newer ecumenical selections. A rich source of versatile liturgies, psalm settings, global songs, and prayer songs, this new edition of Upper Room Worshipbook is ideal for use at retreats, with choirs, and by individuals who want to enrich their personal devotional practices. The fresh collection is an essential resource for congregations experimenting with classical worship forms suc...

Hawkins helps lay speakers identify the roles they play as leaders of small groups and helps them understand the power their leadership can have in transforming Christian lives. The text for this course is The Christian Small-Group Leader.

A restless search is on. Cover stories about the "real" Jesus are on the increase in news magazines, best sellers based on alternative Gospels, and documentaries. Whether you're a devout Christian, an inquiring seeker or a rank skeptic, this book is for you if you wish to explore the teaching of Jesus. Provocative Grace focuses on the words of Jesus, not as rules to live by but as challenges to precipitate growth into greater maturity. Morris asks us to enlarge our existing concepts and to st...

In this broken world, community is rare. Sadly, this is sometimes true even in the church. Conflict confronts us in just about every corner of our lives — from personal to familial, from congregational to denominational, from national to international. "We desire community but so often react out of brokenness," writes one reviewer, "Conflict and Communion points to the Lord's Table as the place where true harmony can be experienced." Porter sets the stage for the book by naming the conflicts...

A revised Companions in Christ Leader's Guide, containing a "Getting Started Guide" and new plans for a closing retreat, is also available. Feeding on the Word: The Mind of Christ is an introduction to the many ways of meditating and praying with scripture. Explore the depths of the Word, learn to listen to God through it, and allow your life to be shaped by it. This book is the second segment of a five-volume study of the original 28-week Companions in Christ resource. The five-piece partici...