The Way of Blessedness Participant's Book is also available for small-group members. The Way of Blessedness Leader's Guide provides everything you need to lead small groups through this 9-week study of the Beatitudes, including a preparatory meeting. The Leader's Guide contains detailed weekly session plans and a list of Weekly Needs at a Glance to make preparation for each meeting simple and quick. Each Leader's Guide in the Companions in Christ series assumes leaders are new to the formati...

The Way of Blessedness Leader's Guide is also available. The Way of Blessedness invites readers to cultivate the dispositions of the soul as outlined in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, which suit us for the reign of God while drawing us into its realm. Jesus portrays the reign of God in terms that are contrary to social hierarchy — in his time as well as our own. It is a realm of outlandish generosity and uncommon compassion. This is a 9-week study of the spiritual practices that help us turn a...

"This book is truly about life with God: a life in which the awareness and consciousness of God sweep us off our feet the way a lover would. It is about taking on the mind of Christ, a process that is a journey, the journey of prayer." So begins Wolpert's invitation to fully experience the lifeline God offers us in prayer. Creating a Life with God goes beyond the rote prayers that so many of us have experienced and found wanting. In fact, Wolpert admits that his own frustration with the formu...

"A threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12). A relationship where God and spouses are entwined is as strong and resistant to stresses as a braided cord. "A stable, meaningful marriage is further strengthened by a shared spiritual journey," write the authors. "There's a reciprocal relationship between marital and spiritual growth. In our counseling, we often hear how joint faith is one of the most important factors in the vitality and stability of marriage." In Love Never Ends...

We all need companions and guides on our spiritual journey. W. Paul Jones believes that spiritual direction is essential for every Christian. "Along each person's pilgrimage are those who can make one's journey accountable and whose hospitality makes it possible," Jones says. In The Art of Spiritual Direction, you'll discover the answers to these questions and more: What is spiritual direction? What is the difference between spiritual direction and counseling? How can you know if you are ca...

The Way of Forgiveness Leader's Guide is also available. It takes a lot of willingness and practice to see life from God's perspective. Perhaps nothing goes more against the grain of human nature than forgiving those who wound us and accepting forgiveness from others. But practicing forgiveness will transform your life and help you grow in the heart and mind of Christ. In The Way of Forgiveness, an 8-week small-group study, MarjorieThompson examines shame, guilt, and anger, helping you releas...

The Way of Forgiveness Participant's Book is also available for small-group members. The Way of Forgiveness Leader's Guide provides everything you need to lead small groups through this 8-week study. This guide includes step-by-step instructions for each of the weekly sessions. It also includes information to help you develop the distinct skills needed when leading spiritual formation groups. A Weekly Needs at a Glance list helps streamline your preparation. Session topics include: Living ...

Sometimes we struggle to believe we'll experience anything new as Advent comes around. What could we possibly learn that we haven't seen or heard before? If you're looking for an Advent study of a different slant, While We Wait: Living the Questions of Advent offers new ways of connecting the story with your own questions of faith and approaches an all-too-familiar narrative from perspectives we may have missed. You'll read about biblical figures mentioned in passing in the "original" Advent....

"I want to find a way to live that keeps me involved in what God is doing in me and in the world around me. Do you know a way to live that is like that?" Eighteen teens and 18 adults tackle that question in Way to Live: Christian Practices for Teens. Their different points of view and personal stories make living a Christian life real. "This book invites you into a community of people who don't just go with the flow," say the editors. "This community's image of 'the good life' is not about ha...

Prayer can be wonderfully accessible to everyone. "In learning to pray, no laboratory is needed but a room, no apparatus but ourselves," Douglas Steere writes. Aware of how easily we can be intimidated by complex methods, Steere suggests that we begin by simply acknowledging our dependence on God. Prayer comes as a response to a God who "besieges us with love," he says. In Dimensions of Prayer, Steere answers common questions and concerns about prayer. Among the topics covered are petition, c...