Each story, complete with a synopsis, a link to the liturgical calendar, and a corresponding scripture, offers us a glimpse into the mystery of life and faith.

My encounter with Jacob, “my calling” My life changing experience started many years ago, when a messenger from God asked me to acknowledge the word of God; I was at a train station with two of my boys, now in their thirties; My messenger had a limp in his leg, he was in his seventies, olive skinned, with thin build, he carried nothing and with many people around he chose me to talk to and my boys where witnesses to his presence; He asked if we could talk about God; he said he came from the Holy Land and that God healed him from a light beaming from the heavens while in his tent; he wanted me to receive his words, to read the word from God, and what was my beliefs in God. I replied that I had the Bible but found it hard to understand the parables; but I believed; meanwhile our train arrived to take us to our destination,home” The train was only one carriage long because my stop was the last and only a one gate exit; we got on the train including the man; and he ask if he could continue our talk about God; I felt fear, and then this overwhelming change of love come over me. We came to our last stop and we all got off, when my boys said mum where is the man, I replied he is behind me, I looked in the train, then on the small platform, outside the gate, even though he had to go past us, but he had disappeared, vanished. Years past; my life had become a mess with the death of my mother, depression, skin cancer, “I turned to someone for help “God” I never forgot my divine messenger, neither my boys; I knew my messenger was Jacob, his limp was from his fight with God, God let him live because of his strength and faith, Jacob had asked God when he asked his name for healing and blessings; Jacob called me to acknowledge God, and God has given me the gift of his words, a heavenly treasure to share with all, to change lives, to believe in God and his messengers who walk among us, to call us to do good, to make a difference to someone else, now let me take you on the journey with Gods heartfelt prayers. Lynda Hackford

This valuable program resource for clergy, worship planners and lay leaders offers practical tools for celebrating the Christian year at church, home or school. Organized around the cycles of Christmas and Easter, it provides activities, craft ideas, prayers, meditations, and ways to encounter scripture. Background information to origins of festivals, colors, symbols and art of the various seasons will help you deepen your understanding and experience of Christian faith. Indexed by scripture reference and theme. Includes a glossary. Permission to photocopy portions of text and prayers for use in worship services.

Dunnam and Walt use the psalms as models for pastoral prayers to help a pilgrimage people encounter the Divine in worship. Praying the Story will show how corporate prayer can catalyze the life of congregations and sharpen the mission of the church. Included are more than fifty pastoral prayers adaptable for worship. Prayer excerpts: "Oh God, who, by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus, destroyed death and fulfilled your promise of life forevermore, grant that we may be raised with Him to newness of life and abide in Him, that peace may be ours. Make real to us the price of peace. Emblazon on our minds the wounds in Jesus' hands and side that we may never forget that He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the whole world." "Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead your people like a flock. You who are enthroned on the cherubim, shine forth. O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains wold quake at your presence. As we remember and celebrate the birth of the baby in Bethlehem, let us not forget that the King is returning."

The promise of Easter and spring is new life: rebirth after death, light after darkness, growth after dormancy, and movement after stillness. In the Christian Church calendar, the season of Lent precedes Easter. It is a time of remembering the anguish, pain, hostility, and death that leads to resurrected life. It is the season for releasing what doesn't work in order to make room for the new to be born. In forty meditations (one for each day of Lent) exploring the symbolic truths of scriptures from The Holy Bible, Jungian Analyst Kathleen Wiley invites you on a journey through the dark, unknown aspects of your self to the larger whole of God Within where you find new life.

The Story for Children Bible, NIrV is a large-print Bible for children age six to nine with 32 beautiful full-color pictures highlighting eight important Bible stories with Scripture reference. The stories end with ""God's Message,"" sharing with children God’s great love for us. Each “message” was written by beloved pastor and bestselling author Max Lucado along with Randy Frazee and Karen Davis Hill. Features include: •32 pages of full-color Bible story illustrations •Large print (12-point) type for easy reading •Book introductions •Dictionary-concordance to explain key Bible words •8 pages of full-color maps to show where Bible events happened •Presentation page for personalization and gift giving •Bible passages written at a third grade reading level

This Bible study, part of our popular Keys to the Bible series, will examine six of the Gospel stories in which Jesus healed those suffering from a variety of physical or spiritual afflictions. While healings demonstrate the love and compassion that Jesus has for each one of us, they are also a sign of the new creation he came to inaugurate—an announcement that the kingdom of God is at hand. Even today, supernatural healing gifts are meant to be a sign that God is present and active in the world today. This study will help you view Jesus' healings in a new way and encourage you to pray for healing for yourself, your family, and those you encounter each day.

Baptism, Superstitions, and the Supernatural by Rev. Dr. Lesley G. Anderson is a book uniquely, and unquestionably, one of the most informative and remarkable of its type. The sacrament of baptism is undoubtedly to this day an exceedingly controversial sacrament of the Christian Church. The continuing differing debates, arguments, and views about adult (believers’) versus infant baptism are examined. Superstitions and the supernatural associated with this sacrament are given adequate attention in addition to the many other informative factors relating to this sacrament. Further, this sacrament is examined as a scriptural, psychological, theological, and social reality. The introduction of baptism as a liturgical phenomenon highlights the educational quality of this book as it takes the reader into the interesting and fascinating areas of baptism of blood, baptism by fire, baptism of the dead, baptism of the Holy Spirit, and baptism in the name of Jesus only. In addition, this book brings to the fore an intrinsic excitement and understanding about the symbols and symbolisms, images and mysteries, signs and wonders associated with this sacrament. The role of the Holy Spirit and the centrality of Jesus in the baptismal act are of importance recognized. If symbolically baptism means dying to sin and rising to new life with Christ, does this apply only to adult believers? This book explores the question against the background of research conducted in the Central American country of Belize that unearthed the views and beliefs of laypersons. The reach of the work extends beyond Belize, and Methodist traditions are compared with contrasting beliefs and practices of other denominations. Popular superstitions associated with baptism are also explored as well as the impact of African cultural practices on Christian theology in the lived experience of Caribbean peoples. Although this research was conducted in Belize, it is borderless and boundless. Of vital interest is the exploration of this sacrament in African religious beliefs and cultural practices. According to Professor Neville Duncan, former director of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, the book is “theologically and sociologically stimulating...while written from the Methodist perspective...the issues raised will resonate with all Christian denominations.” All denominations noted in this book are given their due respect regardless of their beliefs and/or baptismal practices.