Living Ministries

You were created to be filled with joy, peace, confidence, and creativity. But it's easy to go through life holding on to things that weigh you down - guilt, resentment, doubt, worry. When you give space to these negative emotions, they take up space that you need for the good things that move you toward your destiny. How much room are you giving to shame, to regret, to being against yourself? Whatever it is, it's too much. Life is too short for you to live bitter and discouraged, letting your circumstances hold you back.

In The Interior Castle, Carmelite nun, mystic, and patron saint of Spain Teresa of Ávila uses the metaphor of a giant crystal castle to explain her theory of the soul and the various stages it passes through as it progresses towards God. Beginning in the outer rooms, where demons are fought and vices are purged, the soul must reach the inner chambers, where it will enter betrothal and intimate union with God. Prayer is central to the journey, as the soul is guided by its practice and each phase represents a different category of devotion.

For years, Christians have been asking, "If you died tonight, do you know where you would go?" It turns out that many believers have been giving the wrong answer. It is not heaven. Wright outlines the present confusion about a Christian's future hope and shows how it is deeply intertwined with how we live today. Wright asserts that Christianity's most distinctive idea is bodily resurrection, and provides a magisterial defense for a literal resurrection of Jesus. Wright then explores our expectation of "new heavens and a new earth".

Depression and suicide aren't just a worldwide epidemic, they also hit home. With over 350 million people suffering from depression and an estimated one million Americans attempting suicide each year, most of us have been affected by this terrible plague - or perhaps struggle with it ourselves. How can we help those who feel they have no hope? In this moving fictional account, a caring bystander tries to convince a suicidal young man that his life has value and he has much to live for. Through their conversation, you will discover why we all have great worth, everyone has a reason.

Many believers feel stunted in their Christian growth. We beat ourselves up over our failures and, in the process, pull away from God because we subconsciously believe He tallies our defects and hangs His head in disappointment. In this new edition - now with a foreword by Michael W. Smith, testimony by Rich Mullins and the author's own epilogue, "Ragamuffin Ten Years Later," Brennan Manning reminds us that nothing could be further from the truth.

Welcome to the wilderness - the place between receiving a promise from God and seeing it come to pass. God uses the wilderness to prepare and equip you for your destiny. Contrary to what many may think, getting through this season isn’t just a matter of waiting on God. You have a part to play in navigating through it. And if you don’t want to waste time wandering in circles, it’s important to learn what that is. Author John Bevere equips you with key biblical insights and profound stories that will help you navigate your dry or difficult seasons and step into all that God has for you.

One of the most basic and vital dimensions of the Christian life is the practice of prayer. Frequently our prayers begin with a petition or request, so the content of our prayers is informed by our circumstances. But what if the opposite were true? What if we allowed our prayers to inform our lives? What would our lives be like if prayer altered our living and began to shape the contours and content of our daily experiences?

After grounding readers in the important truths of Christ's deity and the gospel, The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World strives to help believers understand how to share these truths in a postmodern society. As readers begin to apply the lessons from this book, they will gain a practical, biblical vision of ministry for the 21st-century world.

Think about that for a Minute is a Bible Study unlike any you've ever listened to before! We will look at a different scripture each day and looking at it from a completely new angle, letting the Word of God truly transform your life one day at a time. Easy enough for a middle schooler to listen to and deep enough to keep even a seasoned pastor's attention, this daily Bible study will encourage you, bless you, and grow your hunger for the Word of God!

What will heaven be like? Randy Alcorn presents a thoroughly biblical answer, based on years of careful study, presented in an engaging, audience-friendly style. His conclusions will surprise listeners and stretch their thinking about this important subject. Heaven will inspire listeners to long for heaven while they're living on earth.

Fear is the devil's favorite tool in the toolbox of schemes he uses to destroy God's good plan for you. He uses it to hold you back and prevent progress in your relationships, career, and more. In Do It Afraid, Joyce Meyer explains that fear is everywhere and affects everyone. It rules many people, but it doesn't have to rule you any longer.

In an era in which many Christians consider Jesus a beloved but remote savior, Willard argues compellingly for the relevance of God to every aspect of our existence. Masterfully capturing the central insights of Christ's teachings in a fresh way for today's seekers, he helps us to explore a revolutionary way to experience God by knowing him as an essential part of the here and now, rather than only as part of the hereafter.

Dallas Willard, one of today's most brilliant Christian thinkers and the author of The Divine Conspiracy ( Christianity Today's 1999 Book of the Year), presents a way of living that enables ordinary men and women to enjoy the fruit of the Christian life.

All believers in Christ have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, but not all believers have intimacy with him. Holy Spirit was sent to lead you deeper in the knowledge of truth and give you the strength to overcome trials and the power to reach this world. In this audiobook, Pastor Vladimir Savchuk takes you on a journey through discovering the communion with the Holy Spirit which belongs to everyone, not just the spiritually elite.

What Did Jesus Really Mean When He Said Follow Me? builds on the message of Follow Me to motivate listeners to experience our grand purpose: To exalt the glory of God by spreading Christ's gospel - to make disciples who are making disciples. This audiobook is a great resource to share with others to discuss crucial faith questions in a personal and grace-filled manner and engage others to be disciple-makers in obedience to Jesus.

Lee Strobel became convinced that God was outmoded. Today science is supports the conclusion that the universe was intelligently designed. Darwinism has faltered in the face of facts and hard reason. Science definitely gives faith a boost as new findings emerge about the complexity of our universe. Strobel re-examines the theories that once led him away from God. You'll encounter discoveries from cosmology, DNA research, and human consciousness that present evidence in The Case for a Creator.

Activate the ultimate power source! Prayer and confession of Scripture are two of the most powerful weapons we have in life. They connect us to God and allow His power to flow to us in every situation. Prayers That Rout Demons combines powerful prayers with decrees taken from Scripture to help you overcome demonic influence and opposition in your life.

The Practice of Pastoral Care has become a popular seminary textbook for courses in pastoral care and a manual for clinical pastoral education. In it, Doehring encourages counselors to view their ministry through a trifocal lens that incorporates premodern, modern, and postmodern approaches to religious and psychological knowledge. This new edition elaborates on and expands the author's previous work, adding an intercultural perspective that gives more attention to religious pluralism in the pastoral care setting.

It's time you learned from the legend of Honi the Circle Maker. When his land was drought-stricken in ancient times, Honi ha-M'agel drew a circle in the sand, stepped inside it, and wouldn't budge until God answered his petition for rain. Honi's story transformed author Mark Batterson's own experience with prayer and inspired him to document his journey to praying more powerful prayers in The Circle Maker.

Do you believe your struggle with anger stems from the wrong behavior you see displayed in your children? The knee-jerk reactions and blowups you're facing are often a result of a bigger set of "triggers". Some of these are external, like a child's disobedience, back talk, or selective hearing, while others are internal, like an overflowing schedule, sleep deprivation, or perhaps your own painful experiences from childhood.