Best Children's Christian Ministry

Spiritual Parenting introduces the simple but revolutionary concept that parents are, by the power of God's Spirit, to obey and depend on God in order to create an environment God can use to beckon their children to Him. The Ph.D. mom-authorÖs conversational style is rarely preachy and more narrative than didactic as she describes her £Aha!¥ moments, when she moved from attempting to control her childrenÖs behavior to putting them into environments where they can know God and be changed by him. This is not a £how to¥ parenting manual, but a guide for developing as a spiritually minded parent who asks, £Who did God create my child to be?¥ Attractive to many readers is the authorÖs mix of competence and vulnerability: £It frustrated me that some punk kid down the street had more credibility than I did.¥ Her writing is vivid, terse, and revealing--a story of a boy who grew up without a father to become a great father himself is the heart of a chapter on love and respect.

In this practical guide, John Stonestreet and Brett Kunkle explore questions including: What unseen undercurrents are shaping twenty-first-century youth culture? (Jim Daly) A Practical Guide to Culture is a profound, witty, and forthright manual written by two concerned dads who also happen to be two of the most effective worldview and apologetics experts of our day. John and Brett have written a hopeful, engaging book that will prepare parents, educators, and youth leaders to equip young minds. In A Practical Guide to Culture , John Stonestreet and Brett Kunkle provide a biblically based roadmap designed to assist a generation’s navigation through the difficult currents of relativism, decadence, and apathy, while simultaneously shining the light of Christ. (Eric Metaxas). “ A Practical Guide to Culture is smart, clear, and incredibly helpful for Christians trying to raise faithful, resilient children in a post-Christian—and increasingly anti-Christian—society.

But what does it look like to teach a gospel-centered lesson? Show Them Jesus is an instruction manual for teachers of kids and teens written by a lay Bible teacher with 30 years’ experience. --Paul Miller Director of seeJesus; author of A Praying Life. Show Them Jesus is a must read for every youth worker, children s ministry teacher, parent, and VBS volunteer. --Marty Machowski Family Life Pastor, Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, PA; author of the Gospel Story for Kids curriculum. He engages heart and hands as well, giving teachers an inspiring and practical framework for preparing Bible lessons, classroom environments, and family ministry where Jesus is the focus. --Marty Machowski Family Life Pastor, Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, PA; author of the Gospel Story for Kids curriculum. He engages heart and hands as well, giving teachers an inspiring and practical framework for preparing Bible lessons, classroom environments, and family ministry where Jesus is the focus.

Scazzero found two truths to be true: you can't be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature, and unless you slow and quiet your life down for a first-hand relationship with Jesus Christ, little change is possible. In this book, he unveils what's wrong with our conventional means of 'spiritual growth' and offers not only a model of spirituality that actually works, but seven steps to transformation that will help readers experience a faith charged with authenticity, contemplation and a hunger for God. He is also the author of The EHS Course and Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day .Pete and his wife, Geri, are the founders of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, a groundbreaking ministry that equips churches in a deep, beneath-the-surface spiritual formation paradigm that integrates emotional health and contemplative spirituality.

Timothy S. Lane, M.Div., D.Min., is Executive Director of the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF), a faculty member, and a counselor with twenty-five years of experience, including ten years as a pastor. He is the coauthor of the books How People Change and Relationships: A Mess Worth Making, coauthor of the curriculums Change and Your Relationships and How People Change, author of the minibooks Conflict; Family Feuds; Forgiving Others; and Freedom from Guilt. It's encouraging to know that, in God's hands, the winds of adversity that batter our lives are also agents of fruitful change in us. Paul Tripp and Tim Lane have done us all a favor by leading us down that path of change and teaching us how to embrace God's transforming work in our hearts. We are called to consider our circumstances and our responses to them, and beneath that to examine our hearts desires and to turn afresh to Christ's cross. We are called to consider our circumstances and our responses to them, and beneath that to examine our hearts desires and to turn afresh to Christ's cross. It's encouraging to know that, in God's hands, the winds of adversity that batter our lives are also agents of fruitful change in us. Paul Tripp and Tim Lane have done us all a favor by leading us down that path of change and teaching us how to embrace God's transforming work in our hearts.

Winter Quarter 2017-18 December 2017, January, February 2018.

An insightful, entertaining parable that’s an excellent guide for any speaker, Communicating for a Change takes a simple approach to delivering effectively. By knowing your destination before you leave (identifying the one basic premise of your message), using your blinkers (making transitions obvious), and implementing five other practical points, you’ll drive your message home every time! In Communicating for a Change, Andy Stanley and Lane Jones offer a unique strategy for communicators seeking to deliver captivating and practical messages. “Whether you are a senior pastor with weekly teaching responsibilities or a student pastor who has bern charged with engaging the hearts and minds of high school students, this book is a must-read.” -Bill Hybels, Senior pastor, Willow Creak Community Church “A very practical resource for every biblical communicator who wants to go from good to great.” -Ed Young, Senior pastor, Fellowship Church, Grapevine, Texas “To communicate effectively, you have to connect. Andy Stanley Communicator, author, and pastor, ANDY STANLEY founded Atlanta-based North Point Ministries in 1995.

Imagine having a team of 30 Moody Bible Institute professors helping you study the Bible. Not many commentaries can do that. This new commentary by the faculty of Moody Bible Institute is a worthy addition to this category of good single volume commentaries. Going through verse by verse at times, the commentary explains the texts, highlights some of the original languages' nuances, and also connects the theme to other passages in the Bible. Issues such as learning to apply timeless principles from Old Testament laws and regulations; contrasting the consequences of godlessness versus the promises of godliness; highlighting devotional material from the Psalms; wisdom from Proverbs with scholarship material from other commentaries apart from their own; a structural framework on understanding the Song of Solomon with an explanation of the different interpretative methods; and many more, making the commentary a very integrated one that aims to bring the central teachings across. Each book begins with some explanation on authorship, approximate dates, who the intended audiences are, the purpose of the book, and how the book contributes to the overall thrust of the Bible. This part alone makes this commentary an excellent primer to begin any in-depth studies of each book. On top of that, the books of the Bible are of different genre and commentary will have to be adapted according to the way and purposes the book are written. That is why it is very difficult to apply any one standard commentary for all the books. After all, students of the Bible learn best not by becoming dogmatic over their own philosophy but to be humble to acknowledge that the Holy Spirit can use anyone to teach us, including using this excellent 1-volume commentary on the Bible. As with the use of commentaries, even though there is an increasing use of electronic references, I feel that having a printed commentary is valuable too. The Moody Bible Commentary, a comprehensive one-volume commentary of the whole Bible, provides an objective look at the historical and cultural backgrounds of each book and help readers interpret Scripture in light of Scripture. The Moody Bible Commentary includes an outline of each book of the Bible, an introduction to each book, and then a more in-depth commentary following the outline given. In the New Testament, charts help readers grasp “The Eight Signs in John” as well as “Jesus’ Seven I Am Claims.” And, readers come to a clearer understanding of the book of James with the chart outlining “Parallels Between James and the Sermon on the Mount.” Of course The Moody Bible Commentary wouldn’t be complete without the Scripture index and subject index at the end, which help readers easily navigate the extensive volume. If you are looking for a one-volume commentary on the entire Bible, The Moody Bible Commentary fits the bill.

According to Pastor Mark Batterson in this expanded edition of The Circle Maker, "Drawing prayer circles around our dreams isn't just a mechanism whereby we accomplish great things for God. Mark Batterson serves as the lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C.

In Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, now expanded with bonus content, Nabeel Qureshi describes his dramatic journey from Islam to Christianity, complete with friendships, investigations, and supernatural dreams along the way. -- Mark Gabriel, , Author and former lecturer, University of Cairo. Fresh, striking, highly illuminating, and sometimes heartbreaking, Qureshi’s story is worth a thousand textbooks. His quest brought together several exceptional features: a very bright mind, extraordinary sincerity, original research, and a willingness to follow the evidence trail wherever it took him. This book gives westerners a glimpse of the richness of family and love in a devout Muslim home; it is an enviable picture of respect, devotion, and society. But Christians and Muslims alike are told stories about their religions when they are young, while few have ever personally researched the writings of their founding fathers to assess the validity that undergirds their respective faiths. But it is also a deeply personal heart-wrenching and tear-evoking saga of the life of a young Muslim growing up in the West, a gripping biography that is impossible to put down. We are introduced to the depth of spirituality, the love and honor of family, and the way a person “sees” and “feels” in a devout Muslim home. It reaches both East and West, teaching Christians about Islam from an insider’s perspective and helping Muslims understand the love and truth of Jesus. Nabeel Qureshi masterfully argues for the Gospel while painting a beautiful portrait of Muslim families and heritage, avoiding the fear-mongering and finger-pointing that are all too pervasive in today’s sensationalist world.

To regain control of your life, you’ve never needed Boundaries more than you do today in today’s always-on, always-connected digital world. Henry Cloud and John Townsend give you biblically based answers to these and other tough questions, and show you how to set healthy boundaries with your spouse, children, friends, coworkers, and even with yourself. In order to call themselves good Christians, many people have drawn overly flexible boundaries (unwilling to say no, always accommodating others' needs) or overly rigid boundaries (to the point of being righteous and judgmental).