Our destiny is to worship together as the multiethnic, multilingual family of God. In these five studies, Sandra Van Opstal dives into biblical perspectives on worship that shaped her groundbreaking book The Next Worship, inviting us to consider how worship relates to diversity, reconciliation, hospitality, unity, and more.

How do we help our congregations navigate the journey of worshipping in a multicultural context? Innovative worship leader Sandra Van Opstal gives leaders and churches guidance, providing biblical foundations for multiethnic worship and practical tools for planning services that reflect God's invitation for all peoples to praise him.

Nearly 200 ready-to-use ideas for hard-hitting Bible lessons and relevant worship services for teenagers! - Bible Study Meetings . . . Techniques and approaches for making any Bible lesson -- topical or scriptural -- appealing to unchurched teenagers as well as to preachers' kids. - Creative Bible Lessons . . . 'Martha and Mary Malpractice' (page 67), 'Noah and the Ark I. Q. Test' (page 43), and 70 more very different, very fun, and very solid Bible lessons. - Theme Lessons . . . Build an entire lesson on a specific theme. Try 'Feet Meeting' (page 118) -- foot games followed by a lesson on the symbolic importance of washing each other's feet. You aren't into feet? Okay, what about the hands of Jesus? Or the light versus darkness? They're all here! - Bible Games . . . These won't speed your kids into seminary, but they certainly go a long way toward making the Bible interesting to your students -- and fun, too! - Worship Services . . . Some are informal, others have a liturgical feel -- and all are innovative. Here are the ideas for communion, confession, music, prayer, and Scripture reading. And More . . . Full lessons (all the components are here, from opening mixers to closing prayers), board games (with reproducible game 'boards'), and ideas for using guest speakers and special projects. Whether you're a youth worker or a recreation director at a church, school, club, or camp -- Creative Meetings, Bible Lessons, and Worship Ideas is your storehouse of proven, youth-group tested ideas.

Perhaps no other group of people has been as much formed by biblical texts and tropes as African Americans. From literature and the arts to popular culture and everyday life, the Bible courses through black society and culture like blood through veins. Despite the enormous recent interest in African American religion, relatively little attention has been paid to the diversity of ways in which African Americans have utilized the Bible. African Americans and the Bible is the fruit of a four-year collaborative research project directed by Vincent L. Wimbush and funded by the Lilly Endowment. It brings together scholars and experts (sixty-eight in all) from a wide range of academic and artistic fields and disciplines--including ethnography, cultural history, and biblical studies as well as art, music, film, dance, drama, and literature. The focus is on the interaction between the people known as African Americans and that complex of visions, rhetorics, and ideologies known as the Bible. As such, the book is less about the meaning(s) of the Bible than about the Bible and meaning(s), less about the world(s) of the Bible than about how worlds and the Bible interact--in short, about how a text constructs a people and a people constructs a text. It is about a particular sociocultural formation but also about the dynamics that obtain in the interrelation between any group of people and sacred texts in general. Thus African Americans and the Bible provides an exemplum of sociocultural formation and a critical lens through which the process of sociocultural formation can be viewed.

Experience New Growth and Transformation in Your Spiritual Walk Are you experiencing a hunger to know God more completely in your life? Do you long for a deeper connection with him? If so, then the NIV Spiritual Renewal Bible—the recipient of the 1999 ECPA Gold Medallion Award—is for you. Using a time-tested process honed over decades of counseling and teaching, Stephen Arterburn employs 7 core principles of spiritual renewal and refreshment, connecting you more closely with God’s Spirit through his Word and helping you to develop the deep, satisfying change you desire in your spiritual life. Features: • 66 book introductions focused on the thematic study and spiritual renewal aspects of each Bible book • Text notes highlight renewal themes as they emerge from the text of the Bible • Multi-feature character profiles assess how different personalities managed different challenges in their walk with God • Spiritual keys devotional reading plan: Two cycles (OT and NT) of 49 devotions each lead the reader through 7 keys of spiritual renewal with 7 devotions for each key • Spiritual disciplines essays that describe the various disciplines of the faith such as prayer, Scripture reading, and others • Spiritual disciplines profiles: one-page articles that describe how certain characters of the Bible employed the various Spiritual disciplines in their lives

Two common temptations lure us away from abundant living: withdrawing into safety and grasping for power. However, with the characteristic insight, memorable stories, and hopeful realism he is known for, Andy Crouch argues that true flourishing comes when strength and weakness are combined in every human life and community.

The new iWorship Personal Worship Bible (New Living Translation TM) includes 365 daily devotions that lead readers into profoundly creative worship experiences. Special features include study notes, special introductions to all the books of the Bible, 100 "words of worship," quotes, reading plans, special Scripture locator tools, and a two-color interior.

A historical and philosophical study of how evangelical worship styles have changed with each great spiritual awakening from the Early Church era to the modern Praise and Worship movement.

Christianity Today 2023 Book Award Finalist (History & Biography) New forms of worship have transformed the face of the American church over the past fifty years. Drawing on a wide range of primary sources, including interviews with dozens of important stakeholders and key players, this volume by two worship experts offers the first comprehensive history of Contemporary Praise & Worship. The authors provide insight into where this phenomenon began and how it reshaped the Protestant church. They also emphasize the span of denominational, regional, and ethnic expressions of contemporary worship.

Worship A down-to-earth guide to planning and implementing meaningful worship experiences for pastors, written especially for those new to the job. This practical book is for new pastors as they move into the role of worship leader and planner. When faced with the weekly rhythm of planning and leading worship, new pastors sometimes find themselves overwhelmed with the tasks. The book centers on the pastor and his/her identity as worship leader, on guidelines for leadership, and on the 'why' and 'how' of worship services. Contents include: The Pastor as Leader; Leading on Your First Sunday; Rituals: "The way we do it here"; Leading in the Worship Service; Leading Prayer; Leading Communion; Leading Baptism; Leading through the Christian Year; Leading with Musicians; Leading the People into Leadership.To read chapter oneclick here "I heartily commend this book to new pastors. Get it and read it before you show up at your first appointment. Barbara Day Miller will save you from many a heartache and embarrassment. Though tagged as a new pastor's guide, most pastors I know will benefit by reading the New Pastor's Guide, especially the latter chapters about leading with musicians and guiding members of the congregation into worship leadership." Reverend Daniel T. Benedict, Jr., Director of Worship Resources, General Board of Discipleship, United Methodist Church "In the past couple of years, I have worshipped in about a hundred congregations. After that experience, I can tell you, HERE IS THE BOOK WE NEED! Barbara Day Miller packs this little book with a lifetime of the creative worship leadership and the inspired preparation of pastors to lead worship. Combining practical help with a deep theological understanding of, and heartfelt love of Christian worship, she gives pastors everything they need to lead God's people in prayer and praise." William H. Willimon, Bishop, the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church. Barbara Day Miller is the Assistant Dean of Worship at Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia. Church & Ministry/Church Life//Worship/Liturgy