How the Spirit Shapes Prayer answers qustions about: • Conversational prayer prompted by the Spirit • Why prayer can be so satisfying •How a better prayer life happens •Overcoming blockages to prayer After a major church planting disappointment followed by a serious illness, Dave Luecke had a series of deep prayer experiences with God that awakened him to a new relationship. He became curious about personal prayer experiences of ordinary churchgoers and did a survey of over 1,000 members in Lutheran congregations. He found much more involvement than expected: • Three out of four reported they pray at least daily other than at meals. • Half regularly experienced the peace and presence of God. •Half called personal prayer the most satisfying experience in my life. After holding monthly services of prayer for healing, Luecke wondered what other Lutheran pastors thought and did with such prayer. This prompted another survey, with more surprising results: • Four out five said they had experienced or witnessed a miracle. • Two out of three said members reported a miraculous healing in response to congregational prayer. Yet Lutheran pastors never talk professionally about miraculous healings. How the Spirit Shapes Prayer reopens the discussion. addressing many important questions about prayer and Gods response, such as: • Can God change his mind in response to prayers? • Can God be influenced by multiple prayers? • Why is God so frugal with obvious interventions in natural processes? Pastor and psychologist David S. Luecke has an M.Div. from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and an M.B.A. and Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. He worked as Vice Chancellor for University Services at Washington and then as full Professor for Administrative Sciences at Valparaiso University before going on to serve as Vice President for Administration at Fuller Theological Seminary. Since 1990 he has been a practicing pastor, first at Community of Hope in Brecksville and then at Royal Redeemer Lutheran Church in North Royalton, Ohio. dluecke@royred.org. GROWTHintheSpirit.church Facebook

Praying Shapes Believing is both a contribution to ongoing scholarly dialogue about how to do liturgical theology and an exposition of the liturgical theology of the Episcopal Church, the church which more than any other church seeds its own identity in terms of its liturgy. This in-depth look at The Book of Common Prayer systematically gives a theological answer to the question, What does it mean that we act and speak these particular words of liturgy?

The Shape of Participation is a work of constructive theology addressed to theologians, seminarians, and thoughtful pastors. Owens engages and deepens recent popular discussions of church practices by approaching practices from the church Fathers' understanding of the church's participation in God. Through a wide-ranging engagement with theologians, both ancient and contemporary--including Cyril of Alexandria, Maximus the Confessor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Herbert McCabe--Owens argues that the embodied practices of the church are the church's participation in the life of God, making the church Jesus' own continued, peaceable embodiment in and for the world. This book is for theologians, pastors, and anyone who wants a deeper understanding of how the visible presence of God's church is extraordinarily good news in a violent world.

Nicodemos (1749-1809), a monk of Saint Athos dedicated to asceticism and learning, was one of the most influential Orthodox writers of the last two centuries. His Handbook, written during the Age of Enlightenment in Europe, shares an exalted vision of human nature, but a vision that proceeds from the truths of revelation as interpreted by the Greek Fathers, not Descartes.

In this book of 190 pages the author shows you how to really enjoy your prayer time--how to find the beautiful place of prayer. Here are a few chapter titles: Aroma in Prayer, Confidence in Prayer, Power in Prayer, and Unity in Prayer. Also included are three chapters on how to have a quiet time.

Christianity is more than a system of beliefs or even an experience—it's a completely new life. In this fresh new look at the essentials of the Christian walk, Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz offer practical wisdom and penetrating insights into such foundational topics as... The Bible—why to read it and how to understand it Prayer—how to have an authentic conversation with God The Holy Spirit—how to experience God's power and presence every day Readers will find the encouragement they need to continue making steady progress in their spiritual lives. Chapter summaries, reading lists for further study, and questions for reflection and discussion make this a perfect tool for personal or group use.