"In the small Illinois town of Bradbury, change doesn't come often, and it certainly doesn't come easily. So when Pastor Fletcher hires Emily Duke as the new choir director at Zion Lutheran Church, he unknowingly sets in motion a chain of events that turns the life of his congregation upside down. The crusty church secretary, Mrs. Scheinberg, must learn to adjust her curmudgeonly ways. Zion's talented but pompous organist, Evan Ebner, must recognize his shortcomings. Emily must come to terms with her past. Even Pastor Fletcher must face reality when his world is shaken by the baggage Emily brings and by the handsome Zachary Brandt who pursues her."--Amazon.

A full generation has passed since black theology burst onto the American religious scene, ignited by the powerful work of James H. Cone. Now an illustrious group of theologians takes the measure of black theology's legacy and explores the radically new context - ecclesial, social, global, and interreligious - that is setting the black theological agenda for tomorrow.

Throughout the ages Creation has been groaning for its true identity, dominion, and ultimately restored intimacy and communion with the Father. If we are in Christ, we are a new creation. We are made in His image. But what does it mean to be made in His image? Who am I as a new creation? What is my destiny? Desperately seeking on her own journey of identity, author Marie Fowler spent twenty-five years researching the tribes of Israel to answer these questions. Our heavenly Father designed us for one sole purpose: habitation. God chooses to build His house through His family. Living Stones is a love letter in which you will discover your place within God's family. Worship (intimacy) reveals identity. One does not come face-to-face with someone and remain unaltered. As we encounter the Father with unveiled faces, we become like Him. Our utmost destiny is that we might take on His reflection found in the embodiment of habitation. Join Marie in her fascinating and biblically grounded study of the tribes of Israel as foundational keys to reveal every believer's identity in Christ. Watch in wonder as the author explains with amazing prophetic and revelatory insight how the characteristics of each tribe fit together as living stones displaying the facets of the Father's nature and character thereby building His holy habitation. You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (I Peter 2:5).

Growing up as a pastor's daughter, Becoming Living Stones author Denae Haas gained a broad knowledge of Scripture and its interpretation. Knowledge and understanding without relationship, though, is ineffective. It lacks life. When Denae's knowledge of God, of the Holy Spirit, became relational--experiential--a greater bond formed and new life blossomed. When her belief in God collided with doubt, a faith struggle began. Here the Holy Spirit began to cultivate experiential knowledge of His presence, His love, and the ability to truly know His constant transformative working in our lives. In this groundbreaking book, readers both witness this transformation in Denae and are led into their own journey with God. A journey both rooted in Scripture and alive in the Spirit. The result is a deepening relationship with God, emerging from a broader understanding of God's immense personal love for His children. Ultimately, this growing faith and relationship bring healing and restoration. Denae's experience of the Holy Spirit combined with knowledge is rich soil from which readers are drawn and invited to meditate and pray for their own transformation--for new life in the Spirit.

Culture and institutions.

In this remarkable New York Times bestseller, Joel Osteen offers unique insights and encouragement that will help readers overcome every obstacle in their lives.

*NOW A NETFLIX LIMITED SERIES—from producer and director Shawn Levy (Stranger Things) starring Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, and newcomer Aria Mia Loberti* Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist, the beloved instant New York Times bestseller and New York Times Book Review Top 10 Book about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris, and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel. In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the Resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge. Doerr’s “stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors” (San Francisco Chronicle) are dazzling. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, he illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, All the Light We Cannot See is a magnificent, deeply moving novel from a writer “whose sentences never fail to thrill” (Los Angeles Times).

2014 Carol Award Winner for Speculative The Fate of the Kingdom Awaits the Cast of Stones In the backwater village of Callowford, roustabout Errol Stone is enlisted by a church messenger arriving with urgent missives for the hermit priest in the hills. Eager for coin, Errol agrees to what he thinks will be an easy task, but soon finds himself hunted by deadly assassins. Forced to flee with the priest and a small band of travelers, Errol soon learns he's joined a quest that could change the fate of his kingdom. Protected for millennia by the heirs of the first king, the kingdom's dynasty nears its end and the selection of the new king begins--but in secret and shadow. As danger mounts, Errol must leave behind the stains and griefs of the past, learn to fight, and discover who is hunting him and his companions and how far they will go to stop the reading of the stones. "With an engaging, imaginative world that bristles with danger, characters that keep you guessing, and a story that sticks with you, A Cast of Stones will keep you devouring pages until the very end. I highly recommend it!" --John W. Otte, author of Failstate "Carr's debut, the first in a series, is assured and up-tempo, with much to enjoy in characterization and description--not least the homely, life-as-lived details." -Publishers Weekly This fast-paced fantasy debut set in a medieval world is a winner. Both main and secondary characters are fully drawn and endearing, and Errol's transformation from drunkard to hero is well plotted. Carr is a promising CF author to watch. Fans of epic Christian fantasies will enjoy discovering a new voice. "Like the preceding series title, Inescapable, this tale of suspense offers a colorful cast of characters, small-town drama, and a hint of romance. A sure bet for fans of Hannah Alexander." --Library Journal "[Good fantasy books] have to be excellent. Good storytelling and exceptional characters with circumstances that are easy enough to follow and wrap your brain around but keep you entertained and guessing... Cast of Stones has found itself firmly in that list of books. I absolutely, one hundred percent loved this book." --Radiant Lit

What is the most important thing on Jesus' agenda today? Quite simply, it is Building HIS Church! Often times, men are preoccupied with budgets and buildings; but, God's desire is to reconcile people to Him through the shed blood of Jesus and for the people to be built up together in love and unity. God established, in the Old Testament, that his desire was never to dwell in buildings. After all, God said that no one could make one big enough for him anyway (Isa. 66:1). The New Testament explains that when you and I come together in the perfect bond of love, as lively stones, we form a glorious spiritual habitation for God to dwell.

The Breastplate of the High PriestUnlocking the Mystery of the Living Stones Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood to offer up spiritualsacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ 1 Peter 2:5 Have you ever wondered what the stones in the breastplate of the High Priest represent?Since we are a royal priesthood and called by God to be living stones, we should knowabout the jewels of beauty that we have now become to the Lord. I was reading Ezekiel28:13 where it talks about Lucifer before the fall: he had nine stones as his covering.The Spirit of the Lord spoke to my heart and asked me a thought provoking question.He said, Lucifer had nine of the twelve stones on the breastplate of the high priest whatrow was he missing So began this journey to discover what each stone and row meansin our lives; and as a living priesthood of believers, how we can appropriate this and shineas stones of beauty, for His glory. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, thesardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was preparedin thee in the day that thou wast created. Ezekiel 28:13