Personal Ministries

Those asked to preach amid tragedy know the anxiety of trying to say appropriate things from God’s word that will comfort and strengthen God’s people when emotions and faith are stretched thin. This indispensable resource helps pastors prepare sermons in the face of tragedies by providing suggestions for how to approach different kinds of tragedy, as well as insight into how to handle the theological challenges of human suffering.

In God's Answers to Life's Difficult Questions, Warren uses stories from scripture to teach us that the Bible is filled with examples of real people who faced the same dilemmas we're facing today. By demonstrating the ways in which God chooses to use ordinary people to accomplish his plans--despite their weaknesses and failures--Warren gives us hope as we take on life's countless challenges. Better yet, Warren provides us with realistic solutions that we can start putting into practice today.

In a world where men and women are constantly told they are not different, His Brain, Her Brain shows couples what they instinctively know - men and women are different, and these divinely designed differences, when understood, make a marriage stronger and happier.

Sometimes it seems we just can't get what we want. Circumstances thwart our best-laid plans. We struggle to live a heartfelt life. Worst of all, says Eldredge, the modern church mistakenly teaches its people to kill desire (calling it sin) and replace it with duty or obligation (calling it sanctification).

Whether you have been married two years, 50 years, or anywhere in between, this book offers couples commonsense advice on how to keep romance alive in their relationships. To those who wonder if they can still rekindle that spark, Ziglar says, "Yes, you can!" This how-to guide to happily-ever-after combines convincing statistics, advice from experts, and humorous anecdotes from Ziglar's own experience.

The Duggars: 20 and Counting! is a behind-the-scenes look at the supersize family that fascinates millions of television viewers around the world. From Idaho to Istanbul, people want to know how Arkansas parents Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar efficiently and lovingly manage 19 happy, home-schooled children without going into debt—or losing their minds!

Wait! Stop! Don't say it! Pegues knows how easily a few careless words can cause problems in our business and personal relationships. Here she offers 30 warm-hearted Scripture-based devotions to help you take control of that hasty, gossiping, belittling, know-it-all, retaliatory tongue . . . before you really put your foot in your mouth!

This audiobook incorporates Pastor Dan's principles, which provide practical and proven ways to pick a spouse, and is your guide to finding - and keeping - a lifelong partner. You will discover how to test your relationship for key differences using a variety of methods including the Seven Cs: Character, Chemistry, Competency, Cultural Differences, Commitment, Communication and Core Values.

For many, friends now play the role of family, but often our friendships don't turn out quite as we envisioned or hoped. Bible teacher Kelly Needham debunks our world's constricted, small view of friendship and casts a richer, more life-giving, biblical vision for friendship. In Friend-ish, Kelly Needham takes a close look at what scripture says about friendship. She reveals the distorted view most of us have of it and recasts a glorious vision for a Christian understanding.

Of all the teachings of Christianity, the doctrine of hell is easily the most troubling, so much so that in recent years the church has been quietly tucking it away. Rarely mentioned anymore in the pulpit, it has faded through disuse among evangelicals and been attacked by liberal theologians. Hell is no longer only the target of those outside the church. Today, a disturbing number of professing Christians question it as well. Perhaps more than at any other time in history, hell is under fire. The implications of hell make the popular alternatives, annihilationism and universalism, appealing.

It is an honor and a privilege to be an ally to a survivor of sexual assault. She allows you close to her pain, and you help her heal, with no expectations on her. It’s not a commitment to enter lightly. If Jesus has burdened your heart for a survivor, but you don’t know what to do, start with this audiobook. It will take work, prayer, and patience, but she’s worth it.

John Piper challenges fellow baby boomers to forego the American dream of retirement and live out their golden years with a far greater purpose in mind. They say it's a person's reward for all those years of labor. "Turn in your time card and trade in your IRAs. Let travel plans and golf-course leisure lead the way." But is retirement really the ideal? Or is it a series of poor options that ignore a greater purpose-and will kill a person more quickly than old age? John Piper responds,"Lord, spare me this curse!"

In this best-selling memoir, Marla Frees reveals her extraordinary life journey from a small-town girl in a troubled family to a stage and TV actress and ultimately one of the country’s most respected transformational psychic mediums. Her tales of a harrowing childhood, burgeoning career in Hollywood, and astounding psychic and spiritual adventures along the way reveal the resilience and heights of the human spirit. U.S. military psychic spies, homicide cases, messages from the other side, spiritual healing.

The wedding is planned, but are you spiritually prepared for your wedding day? Trusted relationship author Gary Thomas coaches engaged couples on how to grow closer to the Lord in the days leading up to the wedding as a means of preparing them for all the days after the wedding. Providing encouraging entries that will help you deal with common issues such as what real intimacy means, how to celebrate your differences, and remembering to laugh together, Preparing Your Heart for Marriage will help you grow in your relationship as a couple as you become closer to God.

If you have ever forgotten to pick up your kids, accidentally worn two different shoes to the grocery store, or lost your cool over a messy house, you are not alone! In No More Perfect Moms, Jill Savage says it how it is: All moms struggle. We fall short of our own standards of excellence, and then we feel insecure about not being the perfect wife with the perfect kids, perfect husband, perfect home, perfect friends, perfect marriage, and perfect body. Jill speaks to the root of the insecurities mothers feel and points to a better way.

When children have a listening companion who hears, acknowledges, and encourages their early experiences with God, it creates a spiritual footprint that shapes their lives. How can we increase our capacity to engage children in spiritual conversations? In this audiobook, Lacy Finn Borgo draws on her own experience of practicing spiritual direction with children. She offers an overview of childhood spiritual formation and introduces key skills for engaging conversation-posture, power, and patterns - from a Christ-centered perspective.

In the summer of 2013, family and friends watched helplessly as author Sarah E. Ball spiraled into the darkest season of her life. A passionate woman of God, wife, mom of five, and popular blogger, Sarah nevertheless found herself abruptly taken captive by a severe anxiety and panic disorder that left her bedridden for months. Those around her were shocked at her fast derailment because she had always been a very strong, dependable woman. With time and perseverance, her determination and faith in God led her out of anxiety.

Adolescence now lasts longer than ever before. And as world-renowned expert on adolescent psychology Dr. Laurence Steinberg argues, this makes these years the key period in determining individuals’ life outcomes, demanding that we change the way we parent, educate, and understand young people.

Parenting Is Hard and Then You Die provides a biblical and comprehensive strategy for raising healthy kids in a world that is morally bankrupt, spiritually desolate, and increasingly dangerous. That strategy is clear and specific, rooted in the Bible, proved successful, and communicated in a fun, entertaining way.

One of the secrets of a great marriage is laughing together. Couples don't need to choose between work and play, duty and fun, laughter and responsibility. This book will help couples learn how to use fun, humor, and laughter to lighten the load of everyday life, reduce stress, and grow closer together.