Generosity

The Power of a Focused Heart

Sat, 14 May 2022 02:16:54 GMT

Looking to simplify your life? quiet your mind? find your unique spiritual gift(s) and make a difference? Turn to the Beatitudes!

Sometimes teachings from well-known biblical passages are so obvious and preached so often that we overlook other helpful, not-so-obvious lessons. The Beatitudes are celebrated as being the template for humble Christian living. Dig deeper and you'll also find practical applications for living a simpler yet more spiritually engaged life, especially in this distraction-heavy and frenzied world.

"…the Beatitudes are not easy sayings we can glibly incorporate in our way of life," writes Redding. "Like so much of what Jesus said, they invite us to move beyond first impressions and surface meanings. They challenge us to explore."

Using Jesus' teachings about the kingdom of heaven and how that message spurs us to critically evaluate our priorities, Redding says we must learn to say no to some things to say yes to God.

The book's brief chapters are just-right for today's busy schedules and can be read in minutes. Daily exercises following each chapter will help you consider and practice lessons learned and respond to scripture in a self-guided study. Also included are meeting plans for an 8-session small-group study of the book.

Yours Are the Hands of Christ

Sat, 14 May 2022 01:54:20 GMT

Take spirituality into the real world.

Jesus didn't "become flesh" so we could feel different. He came to this world so we will be different.

Often our spirituality seems invisible and mute to a hurting world. Many of us simply internalize faith out of fear, feelings of inadequacy, or choice. A faithful response to discipleship's call, however, is both inward and outward.

Through Howell's study, you'll find ways to apply faith to your daily life and make evident your commitment to Christ. By considering all that Jesus did with his hands as a teacher, a healer, and a compassionate servant, Howell challenges readers to be the hands and feet and love of Christ in the world.

"Christianity must become something real, tangible, something that pervades all that we are," writes Howell. "It must become something we do. In our culture, for Christianity to have any meaningful future, we must get serious about a genuine lifestyle that is holy without being elitist, engaged with the world without being jaded or self-righteous, active and busy yet prepared to cope with failure."

Howell's inspiration for this work comes from a poetic meditation written by Teresa of Avila, a Spanish nun who lived in the 16th century. The poem begins:

"Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours."

Howell connects these words with the apostle Paul, who wrote in 1 Corinthians 12: "Now you are the body of Christ."

Express your faith through action. Be the hands of Christ today to a hurting world.

Loving the World with God

Sat, 14 May 2022 00:55:47 GMT

Have you ever had a mountaintop spiritual experience and then had trouble returning to the reality of your daily life? This book is for those who have gone on a Walk to Emmaus weekend or another intense spiritual experience such as a retreat, mission trip, or sabbatical.

After such a time of spiritual growth, you need practical, hands-on ways to continue your daily walk with Jesus Christ and love the world with God. Rebecca Bruff offers guidance and inspiration for living the rest of your life after your mountaintop experience.

Emmaus sponsors: A great gift to give pilgrims you sponsor.
Also a great follow-up to a mission trip or sabbatical.

Loving the World with God

Sat, 14 May 2022 00:55:59 GMT

Emmaus sponsors: A great gift to give pilgrims you sponsor.
Also a great follow-up to a mission trip or sabbatical.

Loving the World with God

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:19:11 GMT

Emmaus sponsors: A great gift to give pilgrims you sponsor.
Also a great follow-up to a mission trip or sabbatical.

Being the Presence of Christ

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:32:55 GMT

"This book is food for all who are hungry for an inner transformation in their lives. Tapping into ancient spiritual practices, Daniel Vestal connects biblically based mysticism with evangelism and social justice."

—Tony Campolo
Professor Emeritus, Eastern University
Author of more than 35 books and one of the founders of the Red Letter Christian movement

Do you long to make a difference in the world? Learn how to be Christ's presence. As Christians, we can continually embody Jesus Christ—be the presence of Christ—and we have the power to transform ourselves, our society, and the world.

The challenge in becoming the presence of Christ is that many of our prejudices and patterns of living will need to change. The hope is knowing that such transformation is possible.

Daniel Vestal says, "I write this book as one who has lived most of my life as a Christian. Though I have had my intellectual struggles and personal struggles, I have never left the Christian faith. My experience has led me to ask, 'What is the really good news that the Christian Gospel claims to possess and proclaim?' I seek to offer my voice as a witness to this Gospel as I understand it."

In this book you will find Vestal's perspective on these topics:

the basics—receiving and nurturing the presence of Christ
prayer as practicing the presence
personal transformation
Christian community
human suffering
Christlikeness through service
Christian social ethics

Find out how to be the presence of Christ, and make a difference in this needy world.

Being the Presence of Christ

Sat, 14 May 2022 02:30:51 GMT

—Tony Campolo
Professor Emeritus, Eastern University
Author of more than 35 books and one of the founders of the Red Letter Christian movement

The challenge in becoming the presence of Christ is that many of our prejudices and patterns of living will need to change. The hope is knowing that such transformation is possible.

In this book you will find Vestal's perspective on these topics:

the basics—receiving and nurturing the presence of Christ
prayer as practicing the presence
personal transformation
Christian community
human suffering
Christlikeness through service
Christian social ethics

Find out how to be the presence of Christ, and make a difference in this needy world.

Being the Presence of Christ

Sat, 14 May 2022 02:31:04 GMT

—Tony Campolo
Professor Emeritus, Eastern University
Author of more than 35 books and one of the founders of the Red Letter Christian movement

The challenge in becoming the presence of Christ is that many of our prejudices and patterns of living will need to change. The hope is knowing that such transformation is possible.

In this book you will find Vestal's perspective on these topics:

the basics—receiving and nurturing the presence of Christ
prayer as practicing the presence
personal transformation
Christian community
human suffering
Christlikeness through service
Christian social ethics

Find out how to be the presence of Christ, and make a difference in this needy world.

Tending the Seed

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:42:57 GMT

God gives generously to each of us and invites our cooperation. The best illustration for this is the parable of the sower.

"Jesus said, 'A sower went out to sow his seed … Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold…' "

As Christians, we're expected to be progressively transformed and more spiritually formed. To do so, Siddall and Stuckey assert that we need to find lifestyles and practices that help us through the slow, deep process of discerning and nurturing our God-given potential.

"We need to pay attention to what God is doing and create the best conditions we can to reach our full potential and to support others in doing the same," they write. "We are always engaged in a process of spiritual growth. We can either go with the flow of growing 'seeds' or hinder their growth."

Learn how practices embraced by generations of Christians can become tools for nurturing your own "hundredfold" growth. This 6-week study (self-guided or as a group) encourages deeper understanding of God's love and affirmation. Discerning God's hope for your life grows naturally out of recognizing God's care for you.

Tending the Seed invites you to work with your life experience. "Sometimes people look everywhere outside themselves to satisfy a need for 'something more' when their own experiences, longings, and questions provide fertile ground for new growth and wisdom," write Siddall and Stuckey.

God is active in your life right now. Expect change to happen!

The Way of Transforming Discipleship Leader's Guide

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:00:59 GMT

The Way of Transforming Discipleship Participant's Book is also available for small-group members.

Everything you need to guide a small group in a 6-week exploration of authentic Christian spirituality is contained in this Leader's Guide. Find the very practical help you need:

Ideas for a session to introduce the resource to participants
A list of Weekly Needs at a Glance
Detailed instructions for leading five weekly meetings
Meaningful Deeper Explorations of the spiritual life
Plans for a Closing Pilgrimage and Retreat

Help your group members become the people God wants them to be. Lead them to reflect on what faith means in terms of who we are, how we must change, how to deal with pain, and how to move toward reconciliation and belonging. Be challenged to live the whole gospel by connecting spirituality and discipleship. "The Upper Room has crafted a practical tool for assisting pilgrims on the journey of transformation," writes one reviewer. "The Way of Transforming Discipleship is for anyone who is on the way to becoming a true Christ-follower. Not only is this a must-read, but even more so, it is a must-do resource!"

A group experience of this resource consists of a preparatory meeting, 5 weekly sessions, and a closing retreat. The Way of Transforming Discipleship is appropriate for any group that has completed the Companions in Christ 28-week foundational resource, or it may also be used as an introduction to this powerful program.

The Way of Transforming Discipleship Participant's Book

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:18:30 GMT

The Way of Transforming Discipleship Leader's Guide is also available.

Are you becoming the person God wants you to be? Discover a way to authentic Christian spirituality through this 6-week study. By shining the light of God's Word into the darkness of our lives, Hudson and Bryant will lead you to a pathway of discovery and growth. Explore the markers of the journey:

Becoming a Christ-Follower
Knowing Who We Are
Changing from the Inside
Listening to the Groans
Experiencing the God Who Heals
Discovering Community Together

"The Upper Room has crafted a practical tool for assisting pilgrims on the journey of transformation," writes one reviewer. "The Way of Transforming Discipleship is for anyone who is on the way to becoming a true Christ-follower. Not only is this a must-read, but even more so, it is a must-do resource!" Join this journey to experience more deeply what it means to live as a follower of Christ. Understand the meaning of spiritual formation and how it leads to a spirituality that's authentic and grace-filled. Reflect on what your faith means in terms of who you are, how you must change, how you deal with pain, and how you relate to others. Be challenged to live the whole gospel by authentically connecting spirituality with discipleship.

The Power of a Focused Heart

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:19:38 GMT

Looking to simplify your life? quiet your mind? find your unique spiritual gift(s) and make a difference? Turn to the Beatitudes!

Using Jesus' teachings about the kingdom of heaven and how that message spurs us to critically evaluate our priorities, Redding says we must learn to say no to some things to say yes to God.

The Power of a Focused Heart

Sat, 14 May 2022 02:16:42 GMT

Looking to simplify your life? quiet your mind? find your unique spiritual gift(s) and make a difference? Turn to the Beatitudes!

Using Jesus' teachings about the kingdom of heaven and how that message spurs us to critically evaluate our priorities, Redding says we must learn to say no to some things to say yes to God.

To Walk in Integrity

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:25:47 GMT

"Naming where we see crisis can upset us," writes Doughty. "It probably ought to. Distress, at its best, creates awareness. It awakens us to where we are."

The Chinese symbol for crisis reflects its dual reality: danger yet opportunity. Even as a crisis threatens, it can bring wholly unanticipated chances for personal and communal growth. At such critical junctures, you want to know you can count on the sound, discerning counsel of genuine leaders—who seem so short in supply right now.

Our troubled world needs spiritual leadership now more than ever. Doughty's To Walk in Integrity provides a model for spiritual leadership in times of crisis. Examining the biblical understanding of integrity, he identifies 9 key qualities. He tells powerful stories of people who acted with integrity in difficult situations despite great personal cost.

Each chapter includes guidance for personal meditation and group reflection. Clergy and lay leaders will find inspiration and challenge in this timely book.

By examining patterns of daily living and choices, readers not necessarily involved in leadership roles also will be encouraged to follow the practical ingredients for a life of integrity.

Each chapter ends with two sets of questions: one for personal reflection and one for group reflection.

Climbing the Sycamore Tree

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:30:39 GMT

Warning: This book could change the way you live.

"Although I've experienced what it's like to get overextended, I've never been poor without options or help," writes Hagmann. "My faith tells me that being a Christian must affect who I am and how I behave with my wealth. Christ has something to say about the way I live my daily life, from how I treat others to how I spend my money."

Do you make everyday economic decisions that reflect your Christian faith and values? Or are you "living large" in a material world?

Using the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-9) as its inspiration, Climbing the Sycamore Tree is a 6-week study of faithful stewardship.

Hagmann uses both scripture and consumer statistics to show how our buying habits often marginalize certain people and perpetuate systems that contradict good stewardship and love for God's creation. Following the experience of the tax collector Zacchaeus, the study seeks to deepen the link between the faith we profess and the lifestyle we live.

Designed as a study for individuals or groups, Climbing the Sycamore Tree

provides insight into how our economy functions and the connection between how we spend our money and spiritual formation
asks provocative, discerning questions about our daily choices
calls us to a path of simple everyday living that's in harmony with our Christian beliefs

The study is divided into three sections of two weeks each. Each week's readings consist of five lessons and a group session that includes scripture, discussion questions, guides for reflection or activity, and prayer.

Open yourself to transformation that more clearly reflects the daily living of the faith you profess!

Climbing the Sycamore Tree

Sat, 14 May 2022 02:08:49 GMT

Warning: This book could change the way you live.

Do you make everyday economic decisions that reflect your Christian faith and values? Or are you "living large" in a material world?

Using the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-9) as its inspiration, Climbing the Sycamore Tree is a 6-week study of faithful stewardship.

Designed as a study for individuals or groups, Climbing the Sycamore Tree

provides insight into how our economy functions and the connection between how we spend our money and spiritual formation
asks provocative, discerning questions about our daily choices
calls us to a path of simple everyday living that's in harmony with our Christian beliefs

Open yourself to transformation that more clearly reflects the daily living of the faith you profess!

Climbing the Sycamore Tree

Sat, 14 May 2022 02:09:02 GMT

Warning: This book could change the way you live.

Do you make everyday economic decisions that reflect your Christian faith and values? Or are you "living large" in a material world?

Using the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-9) as its inspiration, Climbing the Sycamore Tree is a 6-week study of faithful stewardship.

Designed as a study for individuals or groups, Climbing the Sycamore Tree

provides insight into how our economy functions and the connection between how we spend our money and spiritual formation
asks provocative, discerning questions about our daily choices
calls us to a path of simple everyday living that's in harmony with our Christian beliefs

Open yourself to transformation that more clearly reflects the daily living of the faith you profess!

Servants, Misfits, and Martyrs

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:35:45 GMT

"These vivid and touching accounts are not only inspirational and enlightening, but they also broaden our perspective of what characterizes a hero."

—Jimmy Carter
Former U.S. president, winner of 2002 Nobel Peace Prize

Do you wonder how you can make a difference? Worry whether you have the courage to dare the impossible? Take heart! Everyone has wrestled with thoughts of inadequacy and fallibility at some point in their lives-even spiritual "giants."

Servants, Misfits, and Martyrs gives you a glimpse inside the lives of regular, everyday people who made a profound impact on the world through their service to God.

"This is a book of stories, my personal favorites, really," writes Howell. "These friends of God are not superhuman or the elite. They are flesh and blood, just like you and me. And that is the point. It's important to remember that the most ordinary soul possesses the most extraordinary gift."

Read about Dorothy Day and Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who devoted their lives to helping those who could not help themselves. Experience the stories of Sojourner Truth and Billy Graham. Learn about singing saints Charles Wesley, Isaac Watts, and John Newton. Meet misfit Francis of Assisi and Clarence Jordan, creator of The Cotton Patch Bible.

An engaging page-turner, Servants, Misfits, and Martyrs proves that God blesses every one of us with a special gift we can use to light the world. Discover a world of saints whose faith, hope, and action will encourage and inspire you to make a difference.

Dare to attempt great things for God!

Yours Are the Hands of Christ

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:37:33 GMT

Take spirituality into the real world.

Jesus didn't "become flesh" so we could feel different. He came to this world so we will be different.

Howell's inspiration for this work comes from a poetic meditation written by Teresa of Avila, a Spanish nun who lived in the 16th century. The poem begins:

"Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours."

Howell connects these words with the apostle Paul, who wrote in 1 Corinthians 12: "Now you are the body of Christ."

Express your faith through action. Be the hands of Christ today to a hurting world.

Yours Are the Hands of Christ

Sat, 14 May 2022 01:54:08 GMT

Take spirituality into the real world.

Jesus didn't "become flesh" so we could feel different. He came to this world so we will be different.

Howell's inspiration for this work comes from a poetic meditation written by Teresa of Avila, a Spanish nun who lived in the 16th century. The poem begins:

"Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours."

Howell connects these words with the apostle Paul, who wrote in 1 Corinthians 12: "Now you are the body of Christ."

Express your faith through action. Be the hands of Christ today to a hurting world.