A riveting story about the life of a 14 year old girl pregnant and alone in the big city. Daughter of a preacher man who had forgiven others but found it hard to forgive her. She was forced to grow up. She had to learn to survive. Had she ruined her life and the life of her unborn child? Only time would tell!

It isn’t easy being a teen in today’s world. More now than ever, it seems that issues are more complicated, distractions more powerful, and faith less important—a spiritually lethal combination for young people trying to chart their own course through life. The Bible studies inside this book are not one-size-fits-all, fill-in-the-blank lessons. These studies address thorny topics with the dual goal of provoking thought and discussion—on both sides of the issue—and connecting youth with the truths found in God’s Word. There’s no one right answer expected—rather an honest exploration of the subject at hand, with the freedom to stand for personal convictions. You, as the parent or leader, are provided with a road map for navigating topics that range from abuse, spiritualism, and premarital sex to poverty and suffering, ecology, and forgiveness. Questions to pose, scriptures to examine, and ideas for sharing the concepts internalized are included in each lesson. Remember, you can lead teens to the Living Water, but you can’t make them drink. You can, however, lead them.

We have questions. Child-like inquiries. And deep, heavy ones. In more than twenty-five years of writing and ministry, Max Lucado has received thousands of such questions. They come in letters, e-mails, even on Dunkin Donuts napkins. In Max on Life he offers thoughtful answers to more than 170 of the most pressing questions on topics ranging from hope to hurt and from home to the hereafter. Max writes about the role of prayer, the purpose of pain, and the reason for our ultimate hope. He responds to the day-to-day questions—parenting quandaries, financial challenges, difficult relationships—as well as to the profound: Is God really listening? A special addendum includes Max’s advice on writing and publishing. Including topical and scriptural indexes and filled with classic Lucado encouragement and insight,Max on Life will quickly become a favorite resource for pastors and ministry leaders as well as new and mature believers.

A collection of essays and stories documenting the lived theology and spirituality we need to hear in order to lean into a more freeing, loving, and liberating faith—from the hosts of the beloved Truth’s Table podcast “The liberating work of Truth’s Table creates breathing room to finally have those conversations we’ve been needing to have.”—Morgan Harper Nichols, artist and poet Once upon a time, an activist, a theologian, and a psychologist walked into a group chat. Everything was laid out on the table: Dating. Politics. The Black church. Pop culture. Soon, other Black women began pulling up chairs to gather round. And so, the Truth’s Table podcast was born. In their literary debut, co-hosts Christina Edmondson, Michelle Higgins, and Ekemini Uwan offer stories by Black women and for Black women examining theology, politics, race, culture, and gender matters through a Christian lens. For anyone seeking to explore the spiritual dimensions of hot-button issues within the church, or anyone thirsty to deepen their faith, Truth’s Table provides exactly the survival guide we need, including: • Michelle Higgins’s unforgettable treatise revealing the way “racial reconciliation” is a spiritually bankrupt, empty promise that can often drain us of the ability to do real justice work • Ekemini Uwan’s exploration of Blackness as the image of God in the past, present, and future • Christina Edmondson’s reimagination of what a more just and liberating form of church discipline might look like—one that acknowledges and speaks to the trauma in the room These essays deliver a compelling theological re-education and pair the spiritual formation and political education necessary for Black women of faith.

For forty years Michele Roberts has been on the journey of understanding relationships. This book on forgiving is one that will both fortify the strength you have to rekindle old relationships and release those who have wronged you in the past. You may never see him/her again, but you can be freed to walk into new connections because you have been empowered by forgiving. Ask Michele, she knows.

Are you addicted to your phone? Do you find yourself engaging online but unengaged at home with the people right in front of you? Do you spend hours scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, newsfeeds, and YouTube videos? Have your devices become divisive--dividing you from family and friends and, most importantly, God? What would happen if you took some time to fast from social media in order to get social with God and others once more? In the pattern of her popular 40-Day Sugar Fast, Wendy Speake offers you The 40-Day Social Media Fast. This "screen sabbatical" is designed to help you become fully conscious of your dependence on social media so you can purposefully unplug from screens and plug into real life with the help of a very real God. Take a break from everyone and everything you follow online. Disconnect in order to reconnect with the only One who said "follow me."

Making Good Preaching Better explores not the preaching of ethics but the ethics of preaching. Using sound theology and practical insights, this book shows that by putting themselves in the place of the people in the pews, preachers can improve their sermons and make good preaching better more consistently. Written with the practicing homilist in mind, Making Good Preaching Better helps motivate and sharpen the skills of those in preaching ministry. Laid out as a teaching tool for classroom use, it also makes the work of the homiletic professor easier. Reverend Rueter explains how the same qualities - visual, oral, cohesive - that make it possible for preachers to remember their sermons also make it possible for parishioners to remember these sermons. He also explores concepts not covered in other homiletics books, such as the legitimate appeal to self-interest as observed in Jesus,Paul, and Moses, how to deal with "hard," controversial topics, and tips for remembering homilies. Reverend Rueter bases his approach on the time-proven step-by-step pedagogy used in the first-century schools of rhetoric. He believes that requiring novices to prepare whole homilies for criticism presents too many possibilities for failure and thus discouragement. With its step-by-step homiletical exercises, Making Good Preaching Better gives students greater possibilities of the joy of success inputting together entire homilies - one step at a time. Making Good Preaching Better offers three-minute oral exercises to be performed before a video camera. Each exercise uses the theological/homiletical principles explained in that chapter and includes suggestions on how to conduct the video lab sessions without provoking dread but rather, by promoting affirmation. Fourteen homilies (by the author and others) are supplied for both professionals and novices to critique. To supplement the instruction, recommendations for additional readings are provided at the end of each chapter. Roman Catholic and Protestant clergy, seminarians, and those in Roman Catholic diaconate formation programs will benefit from this practical textbook. Reverend Rueter wrote this book asking several questions: "How does rhetoric agree with Christian theology?" "Why aren't homiletics books laid out as teaching tools?" and "Why don't we teach homilists the skills of rhetoric?" He answers with Making Good Preaching Better. Alvin C. Rueter, Ph.D., a lutheran pastor, conducts preaching workshops and teaches homiletics in the Formation Program for Permanent Deacons for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He also teaches homiletics at the School of Theology, St. John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota. He also hosts and produces a weekly radio program, Sing for Joy, and for several years wrote a monthly column, "People-Centered Preaching," for Emphasis. He earned a Ph.D. in speech communication from the University of Minnesota. "

What To Say Evangelism will teach you precisely what to say in order to lead any unsaved person to their decision for Christ.

This collection includes communion and postcommunion prayers for every Sunday and selected special days. Can be used in congregations that offer single or separate prayers for bread and cup and by congregations that do not use the lectionary.

Although fear fills ours world, it doesn’t have to fill our hearts. No one likes living in a world filled with fear and uncertainty, but God does some of His most important work during challenging times. In Fear Not, New York Times bestselling author Max Lucado provides comfort, encouragement, and truth by addressing six major topics related to fear. Fear Not helps readers identify the fear they are facing and how God can help them. The top six fear related topics discussed are: If You Are Afraid of Failure If You Are Afraid of the Unknown If You Are Afraid of Financial Difficulties If You Are Afraid of People If You Are Afraid of Death If You Are Afraid for the Welfare of a Loved One With over 200 powerful Bible verses and teachings from America’s pastor, Max Lucado, this edition is great for men and women: dealing with fear caused by anxiety and grief needing a gift of encouragement to lift their spirits and recreate joy needing a morale boost to rebuild confidence and live boldly looking for a daily devotional or a meaningful resource to ease fear