In this six-session small group Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), Andrew Marin leads you in peaceful and productive ways to engage the theological, political and social disconnects between the Christian community and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. Today’s culture often defines ‘bridge building’ and reconciliation as a one-way street that leads to full theological, political and social agreement. Yet Christ demonstrated a different path of religious and cultural engagement to establish his kingdom here on earth. In light of such countercultural principles, the Christian community needs a new view on the issues that divide conservative believers and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities. Andrew Marin uses practical applications he’s learned over the last decade of living and working in the LGBT neighborhood of Chicago (Boystown), as well as his international speaking and consulting ministry, to offer a variety of practical teaching, insights, and life-lessons on reaching the LGBT community. Rather than avoiding the topic of homosexuality, Love Is an Orientation aims to equip the Christian community to bridge the gap between LGBT and religious communities. Instead of discussing how to “fix” gay people, this small group Bible study is all about getting to know them, engage them, and love them like Jesus does. After this study, you, your small group and your church will know what it means to peacefully and productively build bridges with the LGBT community. This Participant Guide is filled with insights, questions for discussion, and applications that will equip you with tools to reach out to the LGBT community in love and understanding. Sessions include: Love Is Our Orientation Building Bridges Theology of Bridge Builders Answering Tough Questions Adolescents and Sexuality Living in the Tension Designed for use with the Love Is an Orientation Video Study (sold separately).

The Miracle Moment Participant's Guideis a six-session workbook designed for use with the companion DVD experience (sold separately). Based on the new book The Miracle Momentby popular speaker Nicole Unice, this is a great resource for anyone wanting to transform their relationships at home, in love, or at work! Designed for group or individual use, The Miracle Moment Participant's Guideis a six-week journey in discovering the practical tools to Learn to respect and respond to your emotions without letting them control you Speak words that help--rather than hurt--the likelihood of your getting what you need Identify and keep yourself safe from toxic people Become comfortable setting and holding boundaries Be your best self even when you're tempted to shut up, blow up, or give up (Don't miss the companion Miracle Moment DVD Experience!)

You are what you love. But you might not love what you think. In this book, award-winning author James K. A. Smith shows that who and what we worship fundamentally shape our hearts. And while we desire to shape culture, we are not often aware of how culture shapes us. We might not realize the ways our hearts are being taught to love rival gods instead of the One for whom we were made. Smith helps readers recognize the formative power of culture and the transformative possibilities of Christian practices. He explains that worship is the "imagination station" that incubates our loves and longings so that our cultural endeavors are indexed toward God and his kingdom. This is why the church and worshiping in a local community of believers should be the hub and heart of Christian formation and discipleship. Following the publication of his influential work Desiring the Kingdom, Smith received numerous requests from pastors and leaders for a more accessible version of that book's content. No mere abridgment, this new book draws on years of Smith's popular presentations on the ideas in Desiring the Kingdom to offer a fresh, bottom-up rearticulation. The author creatively uses film, literature, and music illustrations to engage readers and includes new material on marriage, family, youth ministry, and faith and work. He also suggests individual and communal practices for shaping the Christian life.

Covenant Bible Study guides small groups through a comprehensive, in-depth study of the whole Bible over twenty-four sessions broken into three eight-session modules. Unlike the learning participants may have experienced in other groups, this study emphasizes the biblical concept of covenant as a unifying theme through both the Old and New Testaments. It underscores the unique relationship that God chooses to have with us as God’s people. This relationship is grounded in the faithfulness of God’s love and on our ongoing commitment to stay in relationship with God while sharing signs of God's love with others. The Leader Guide contains comprehensive and detailed direction for the group leader to use in each 90- minute group experience. Direction is provided for each component of the group meeting with options that allow leaders to adapt to the group's unique characteristics. Components of the group meeting experience include: Gathering Together - Opening questions designed to prompt conversation that connects to the main theme of the episode. Reflecting Together - Sharing what participants learned from the week’s scripture readings with questions that tie their discoveries into a central theme. Video Segment - Playing of the video for the current episode. Discovering Together - Building on the insights of the biblical scholar, analyzing a single passage from the week’s readings, going deeper into the way they explore the Bible’s meaning. Centering Together - Engaging in meditation, which is a devotional way to read the Bible. Serving Together - Reading together the “Signs of Faithful Love' provided.

The Old Testament both tells the story of Israel and points to the coming Messiah. Kaiser distinguishes between Old Testament passages that describe national Israel's glorious future and those that point to Christ and his kingdom. Kaiser's chronological approach traces Israel's developing concept of Messiah through different time periods.

This book is excellent for individual reading or can be used as the small group study book for the Christianity's Family Tree DVD based study. Adam Hamilton is, in my opinion, a national treasure. He embodies the kind of generous orthodoxy so many of us have been dreaming of and praying for. This book provides something truly unique—a kind of orientation to Christianity in its wide array of forms that not only educates but inspires. It’s one of the few books I wish every single Christian would read and share with their friends. - Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christian In this wise and practical book, Adam Hamilton serves as a trusted guide to some of the rich diversity of Christian belief and practice. It is a rare feat to acknowledge differences and distinctiveness appreciatively, and Hamilton does it with exceptional grace and insight. - L. Gregory Jones, Dean and Professor of Theology, Duke Divinity School I love this book. Adam Hamilton teaches us that we are far richer than we know, because the beauty and the fullness of the whole church is ours. Read, learn, and be happy. - John Ortberg, author of God Is Closer Than You Think In this book, Adam Hamilton presents a welcoming, inspiring vision of eight Christian denominations and faith traditions. Comparing the Christian family to our own extended families, he contends that each denomination has a unique, valuable perspective to offer on the Christian faith. The traditions he examines are Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Lutheranism, Presbyterianism, Anglicanism, Baptists, Pentecostalism, and Methodism. For each group, Hamilton gives a brief history, outlines major beliefs, and describes some things we can learn from that tradition to strengthen our own Christian faith. Also available is the planning kit for this video-based small-group study Christianity’s Family Tree: What Other Christians Believe and Why. Adam Hamilton is pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, one of the fastest growing, most highly visible churches in the country. Named by PBS’s Religion and Ethics Newsweekly as one of the top “Ten People to Watch,” Hamilton is the author of numerous video based small group studies and books from Abingdon Press.

Participant Guide: guides daily study and preparation for discussion in the weekly group meeting. The expectation for daily study will be no more than thirty minutes.

In our postmodern, experience-oriented culture, people are longing for greater authenticity, integrity, and depth in their pastors and leaders. Board directors, church members, and staff alike are all eagerly seeking leaders who effectively integrate their spirituality and leadership. Pastors and executives, however, often struggle with knowing how to integrate their spiritual values and practices into their leadership and management roles. Designed for pastors, executives, administrators, managers, coordinators, and all who see themselves as leaders and who want to fulfill their God-given purpose, The Spirit-Led Leader addresses the critical fusion of spiritual life and leadership for those who not only want to see results, but who also desire to care just as deeply about who they are and how they lead as they do about what they produce and accomplish. Geoffrion creates a new vision for spiritual leadership as partly an art, partly a result of careful planning, and always a working of the grace of God

Biblical and progressive. Mainline and charismatic. Faithful and questioning. This book is not what you think it is. The story of the Exodus is told in parallel with testimonies, sermons, and personal reflections from a congregation in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, challenging the reader to a journey of faith. Along the way, it becomes clear that open and affirming ministry transcends LGBTQIA+ inclusion. It is also about race relations, poverty, generational change, divorce, immigration, and any other human-created barrier to loving God and neighbor. Tools for the journey. Finding a new voice amid profound social change is a difficult and vitally important task. Many congregations and entire denominations are in the process of figuring out how to express a new voice of faith, particularly in our understanding of sexuality and gender. Christians are experiencing nothing less than a holy disruption caused by the Spirit among us. The book concludes with a discussion of challenges to community and ministry. Helpful appendices provide congregational resources and discussion questions for group study. The stories in this book include experiences of and with persons in many denominational settings: Roman Catholic, Unitarian-Universalist, Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, Metropolitan Community Church, United Church of Christ, United Brethren, Church of the Brethren, Society of Friends (Quakers), and United Methodist. This is truly an ecumenical journey.

Some church leaders assert that same-sex practices are incompatible with Christian teaching. The issues threaten to divide our churches and our nation. Michael B. Regele explores current scientific findings in biological brain research, psychology, and sociology, which he compares with scriptural teaching from the Bible, to show that a faithful reading of the Scriptures is consistent with Christian teaching that affirms same-sex love leading to same-sex marriage and full participation of LGBT people in church leadership. Regele offers compelling research and well-supported answers to common-place questions such as: Is sexual orientation a choice that individuals make? Is same sex attraction sinful in itself? Is it true that lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender (LGBT) people are more promiscuous than heterosexual people? Is it true that same-sex relationships do not last as long as hetero-sex relationships? Is abstinence for life the only choice for a Christian LGBT person? Or can they enter into intimate and sexual relationships and still be active participants in a Christian community? Is same-gender marriage acceptable from a Christian standpoint?