A Bible study that reflects on the biblical teaching for reconciliation while reviewing the six chief parts of Christian doctrine from LUTHER'S SMALL CATECHISM. The study answers "What Does This Mean?" through two parts: "Be Reconciled to God" and "Be Reconciled to Others."

My Utmost for His Highest has been a proven, best-selling devotional for many years. Over the past century, Oswald Chambers’s writings have inspired countless people to drink deeply from the biblical truths that he so passionately championed. His words are simultaneously penetrating and invigorating, and they trigger something in your soul leaving you forever changed. The biblical thoughts and themes that Chambers delivers in this updated-language edition will resonate with you as you seek to grow your faith. We have also included the topical section

During the climactic years of the civil rights movement in the Deep South, a closely related struggle was going on within the United Methodist Church. That denomination, second only in membership in the region to the Southern Baptists, was slowly moving toward integration under mandate from its national governing body, the Methodist General conference. But in Alabama, external institutional pressures and even internal constituencies were not strong enough to break down the segregated church structure: doing that would require a significant shift in the leadership of the church. The story is one in which an institution based on the moral teachings of Christianity confronted the immorality of racism and legal segregation within its own ranks while it continued to operate within a racially divided larger society. Against the backdrop of the tumultuous events of the civil rights struggle (the 1954 Supreme Court school desegregation decision, the Freedom Rides in 1961, the King demonstration in Birmingham in 1963, and the Sixteenth Street Baptist church bombing), the North Alabama Conference and its counterpart in South Alabama carried on a spirited and often bitter debate over the existence of a completely separate conference for their black membership. This book tells the inside story of the struggle within the North Alabama Conference for the first time by utilizing the publications and official archives of the church. But its most important sources are interviews with a wide spectrum of Methodists, including those who served in roles of leadership and those who were simply faithful members of their respective churches. Their accounts are compelling and go far beyond the sometimes vague and uninformative official conference documents. Many of the persons interviewed are no longer living, but in transferring their spoken words onto the printed page, there is a sense that their long-suppressed stories are being told for the first time. They described in detail how a hierarchical institution moved from a position of absolute commitment to segregation to one in which the uniting of the races under one organizational structure was achieved. In the end, the integration of the church was finally realized as a result of the daring leadership of a single bishop who challenged the prevailing white segregationist laity, Kenneth Goodson. But along the way there were many other persons who risked their careers and even their personal safety on behalf of racial justice. This is their story as well.

For anyone who is married, preparing for marriage, or desperate to save a relationship teetering on the brink of divorce, marriage coaches Dave and Ann Wilson offer hope and strategies gleaned from personal experience and Scripture that really work. Vertical Marriage will give you the insight, applications, and inspiration to transform your marriage into everything you hoped it would be. Honest to the core and laugh-out-loud funny, Dave and Ann Wilson share the one secret that brought them from the brink of divorce to a healthy and vibrant relationship. If you had asked Dave how their marriage was doing on the night of their tenth wedding anniversary, Dave would have rated it a 9.8 out of 10, and he would have even guaranteed that Ann would say the same. But instead of giving him a celebratory kiss, Ann whispered, "I've lost my feelings for you." Divorce seemed inevitable for the Wilsons, but starting that night, God began to reveal to Dave and Ann the most overlooked secret of getting the marriage we are looking for: a horizontal marriage relationship just doesn't work until your vertical relationship with Christ is first. As founders of a multi-campus church and marriage coaches with 30 years of experience, Dave and Ann share the hard-earned but easy-to-apply biblical principles that ensure a strong marriage. Written in a highly relatable dialogue between both husband and wife, Vertical Marriage will guide you toward building a vibrant relationship at every level, giving you the tools you need to embrace: Effective communication Fair conflict True romance A deeper connection Through their unique perspectives, Dave and Ann share an intimate, sometimes hilarious, and at times deeply poignant narrative of one couple's journey to reconnecting with God and discovering the joy and power of a vertical marriage.

Recovering the Lost Art of Contentment The biblical practice of contentment can seem like a lost art—something reserved for spiritual giants but out of reach for the rest of us. In our discontented age—characterized by impatience, overspending, grumbling, and unhappiness—it’s hard to imagine what true contentment actually looks (and feels) like. But even the apostle Paul said that he learned to be content in any and every circumstance. Paul’s remarkable contentment was something grown and developed over time. In Chasing Contentment, Erik Raymond helps us understand what biblical contentment is—the inward gracious spirit that joyfully rests in God’s providence—and then how we learn it. Giving us practical guidance for growing in contentment in various areas of our lives, this book will encourage us to see contentment as a priority for all believers. By God’s grace, it is possible to pursue the high calling of contentment and anchor our joy in God himself rather than our changing circumstances.

If You Love God's Word You Will Love This New Testament! The Disciples' Literal New Testament sets you free from our artificial 460 year old chapter and verse structure, replacing it with paragraphing that reflects the flow of thought in the original Greek writings. Paragraph headings make that flow of thought explicit to you, speeding your understanding of the NT books. This translation retains the writing style of the apostles themselves, rather than transforming their Greek ways of writing into an elegant or contemporary English writing style, as has been beautifully done so many times. It is the same translation as the author's New Testament TransLine, first published by Zondervan in 2002. Now you can read the New Testament as the original writers intended it, and see it with a clarity formerly available only to those who could carefully study their Greek New Testament. You can even see the difference in writing style between Matthew, Mark and Luke! Used along with your standard Bible version, you will profit from both methods of translation. *Easily grasp the relationship of the whole and the parts of each book with the big-picture overview outlines that use the words of the original author. *Gain quick insight into the flow of thought from descriptive paragraph headings that summarize the main point of each paragraph in its context. *You can visually follow the apostles' thinking because the 'Intelligent Paragraphing' visually displays their main and subordinate thoughts. *The hindrance to your understanding caused by our artificial chapter and verse structure is eliminated by paragraphing based on the Greek writings. *You will more fully appreciate the minds and thinking patterns and intent of the original writers because the translation corresponds more closely to their words and their grammar and their sentence structure. *Deepen and expand your understanding of the New Testament by meditating on the notes containing alternative renderings, explanations of what is being said, and different views of the meaning.

The WEB revision of the Holy Bible is an update of the American Standard Version of 1901, which is in the public domain. This edition presents the New Testament plus Psalms and Proverbs in modern English. It also has extensive footnoting to aid in Bible study.

Life Is Never Mainly About Love and Marriage. So Learn to Live and Date for More. Many of you grew up assuming that marriage would meet all of your needs and unlock God's purposes for you. But God has far more planned for you than your future marriage. Not Yet Married is not about waiting quietly in the corner of the world for God to bring you "the one," but about inspiring you to live and date for more now. If you follow Jesus, the search for a spouse is no longer a pursuit of the perfect person, but a pursuit of more of God. He will likely write a love story for you different than the one you would write for yourself, but that's because he loves you and knows how to write a better story. This book was written to help you find real hope, happiness, and purpose in your not-yet-married life.

When a friend or family member is struggling spiritually, do you ever feel uncertain about what to say? You may sense your loved ones need to hear biblical encouragement or advice but, feeling inadequate for the task, you might simply commiserate or say nothing. God calls you to something more. In When Words Matter Most, Cheryl Marshall and Caroline Newheiser help you discern spiritual needs and give biblical, heartfelt guidance. Through real-life stories and carefully chosen Scripture passages, they model what to say to those who are worried, weary, wayward, or weeping. You'll learn how to speak truth to others in your sphere of influence and strengthen the body of Christ as a whole.