Cliff Schimmels is a storyteller who weaves wonder into the fabric of the everyday and leaves us wondering why we didn't see the golden threads before he pointed the out. Here he takes the lessons he learned as a boy in Sunday School and fashions from them some profound truths about life in God's world.

A book to raise the spirits and warm the heart. Includes the famous Kindergarten essay that was read on the floor of the U.S. Senate.From the Hardcover edition.

Essays on life that will resonate deeply as readers discover how universal insights can be found in ordinary events. More than thirty years ago, Robert Fulghum published a simple credo—a credo that became the phenomenal #1 New York Times bestseller All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Today, after being embraced around the world and selling more than seven million copies, Fulghum’s book retains the potency of a common though no less relevant piece of wisdom: that the most basic aspects of life bear its most important opportunities. Here Fulghum engages us with musings on life, death, love, pain, joy, sorrow, and the best chicken-fried steak in the continental United States. The little seed in the Styrofoam cup offers a reminder about our own mortality and the delicate nature of life . . . a spider who catches (and loses) a full-grown woman in its web one fine morning teaches us about surviving catastrophe . . . the love story of Jean-Francois Pilatre and his hot-air balloon reminds us to be brave and unafraid to “fly” . . . life lessons hidden in the laundry pile . . . magical qualities found in a box of crayons . . . hide-and-seek vs. sardines—and how these games relate to the nature of God. All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten is brimming with the very stuff of life and the significance found in the smallest details. In the editions since the first publication of this book, Robert Fulghum has had some time to ponder, to reevaluate, and to reconsider, adding fresh thoughts on classic topics including a short new introduction. Praise for All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten “A healthy antidote to the horrors that pummel us in this dicey age.”—Baltimore Sun “Within simplicity lies the sublime.”—San Francisco Chronicle “It is interesting how much of it applies not only to individuals, grown or small, but even to nations.”—New York Daily News “As universal as fresh air and invigorating as the fragrance of a Douglas fir.”—Los Angeles Times

Sharing God's Word with children can be the most spiritually satisfying experience of your life. But if you've never taught kids before the prospect can be terrifying! Let Elmer Towns put your fears to rest as you read through 24 "bite-sized" topics covering everything from motivation to gifting to teaching methods! This easy-to-read book will inspire Sunday School teachers - new and experienced - to embrace with joy their important role of teaching children of all ages about God's amazing love.

Every lean practitioner occasionally wishes for a simple, fun, and quick-read introduction to lean thinking to give acquaintances, associates, and family members -- even to our kids. If lean thinking often entails unlearning a plethora of bad habits, wouldn't it better if we learned better thinking -- and habits -- from the beginning? Everything I Know About Lean I Learned in First Grade is just that sort of book. It brings lean back to its original simplicity by showing how lean is alive in a first grade classroom. The book connects common lean tools to the broader lean journey, shows how to identify and eliminate waste, and aids the reader in seeing lean for what it truly is: a way to create a learning and problem- solving culture. Written to educate the entire organization on the fundamentals of lean thinking, this is the perfect source to engage all team members at all levels of an organization. Originally self-published in 2008, LEI is proud to re-issue this book and make it available to the broader lean community.

The perfect programming resource for churches to teach meaningful Bible lessons to kids of all ages in one weekly class ​All-in-One is a best-selling Sunday school lesson series that children love--and you will, too Each volume offers 13 fun Bible lessons that help kids grow closer to Jesus. All-in-One Sunday school lessons are packed with original and creative ideas specially designed for children's ministries with mixed-age classes for ages 4 through 12. Teachers and volunteers love that these Sunday school lessons offer easy-prep and lasting impact. All-in-One Sunday School Volume 1 contains lessons that are seasonally tied to Fall. Each Sunday school lesson comes complete with: Active-learning experiences Catch kids' interest and teaches them lessons they'll remember Interactive Bible stories Helps even the youngest kids grasp the real meaning of Scripture Life applications Encourages children to use what they've learned Take-home handouts Make it easy for children to share what they've learned with their family And more Tips to help you better understand kids BONUS: You'll also discover how to help kids of multiple ages work together as a team...learn what to expect from different age groups...and be able to give young children the extra attention they crave while helping older children feel special as they help younger children learn. The All-in-One Sunday School Series offers four volumes, one for each season of the year beginning with fall: All-in-One Sunday School Volume 1: Fall (9780764449444) All-in-One Sunday School Volume 2: Winter (9780764449451) All-in-One Sunday School Volume 3: Spring (9780764449468) All-in-One Sunday School Volume 4: Summer (9780764449475)

Millions of Christians have struggled with how to reconcile God's love and God's judgment: Has God created billions of people over thousands of years only to select a few to go to heaven and everyone else to suffer forever in hell? Is this acceptable to God? How is this "good news"? Troubling questions—so troubling that many have lost their faith because of them. Others only whisper the questions to themselves, fearing or being taught that they might lose their faith and their church if they ask them out loud. But what if these questions trouble us for good reason? What if the story of heaven and hell we have been taught is not, in fact, what the Bible teaches? What if what Jesus meant by heaven, hell, and salvation are very different from how we have come to understand them? What if it is God who wants us to face these questions? Author, pastor, and innovative teacher Rob Bell presents a deeply biblical vision for rediscovering a richer, grander, truer, and more spiritually satisfying way of understanding heaven, hell, God, Jesus, salvation, and repentance. The result is the discovery that the "good news" is much, much better than we ever imagined. Love wins.

All Together Now Sunday School is a best-selling Sunday school series by Lois Keffer. You'll find All Together Now Sunday school lessons available in four volumes--one for each season of the year starting with fall. Through these kids' Sunday school lessons, your children's ministry will experience life-changing adventures for kids in kindergarten through 6th grade. Imagine the impact these 13 interactive Sunday school lessons will have on the children of your church. Through All Together Now Sunday School, you'll discover interactive Sunday school lessons filled with creative ideas for mixed-age classes ages 4 to 12. All Together Now Sunday school lessons work great for small churches, larger churches with multi-age classes, midweek programming, and anytime you want to teach meaningful Bible lessons to children of different ages in the same class. With these kid's bible lessons you will be ready no matter who shows up. All Together Now Volume 1: Fall brings the book of Exodus to life in a way that engages children of all ages--even when they're all in the same room. These 13 interactive lessons will teach them unforgettable lessons such as God always helps us, God lights up our lives and saves us, and many more! The All Together Series offers four volumes: All Together Now Volume 1: Fall (9781470776206) All Together Now Volume 2: Winter (9780764482311) All Together Now Volume 3: Spring (9780764482342) All Together Now Volume 4: Summer (9780764482373)

Pop worship music. Falling in love with Jesus. Mission trips. Wearing jeans and T-shirts to church. Spiritual searching and church hopping. Faith-based political activism. Seeker-sensitive outreach. These now-commonplace elements of American church life all began as innovative ways to reach young people, yet they have gradually become accepted as important parts of a spiritual ideal for all ages. What on earth has happened? In The Juvenilization of American Christianity Thomas Bergler traces the way in which, over seventy-five years, youth ministries have breathed new vitality into four major American church traditions -- African American, Evangelical, Mainline Protestant, and Roman Catholic. Bergler shows too how this "juvenilization" of churches has led to widespread spiritual immaturity, consumerism, and self-centeredness, popularizing a feel-good faith with neither intergenerational community nor theological literacy. Bergler s critique further offers constructive suggestions for taming juvenilization. Watch the trailer: