MOVING FROM A "BLUEPRINT HERMENEUTIC" TO A THEOLOGICAL ONE In this book, John Mark Hicks tells the story of his own hermeneutical journey in reading the Bible. Lovingly and graciously, he describes his transition from a "blueprint hermeneutic" to a theological one. Some suggest that moving away from a patternistic command-example-and-necessary-inference approach for understanding what God requires leaves no other alternative, or at least none that both respects biblical authority and seeks to obey the gospel of Jesus the Messiah. In Searching for the Pattern, John Mark offers just such an alternative. His theological hermeneutic is deeply rooted in the way the Bible presents itself as a dramatic history of God's plan to redeem the world as well as his own experience of growing up among Churches of Christ. Seeing the gospel of Jesus as the center of the biblical drama reorients us to what provides our Christian identity and unites us as disciples of Jesus. ********** I pray this book is received with open hearts and open minds because I believe this work could go a long way in helping to bring unity to our fractured fellowship. --Wes McAdams, Preaching Minister for the church of Christ on McDermott Road, Plano, Texas This excellent book helps us understand the inner workings of Bible interpretation among Churches of Christ and provides a persuasive proposal for Bible interpretation that is built on the story of God we find in Scripture--a story into which God calls us. --James L. Gorman, Associate Professor of History, Johnson University Knoxville, Tennessee Finally, a trellis across the chasm! Throughout this book, Hicks does not compromise his high regard for both the church and the Scriptures; and through the grace found therein, he composes this urgent invitation back to the Table, where obedience cooperates with mystery, and we--estranged or conflicted--can find our place as one within God's magnificent story. --Tiffany Mangan Dahlman, Minister at Courtyard Church of Christ, Fayetteville, North Carolina John Mark Hicks is Professor of Theology at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. He has taught for thirty-eight years in schools associated with the Churches of Christ. He has published fifteen books and lectured in twenty countries and forty states and is married to Jennifer. They share six children and six grandchildren.

“Ginger Gilbert Ravella and Jim Ravella have served and sacrificed much for our country. Jim and Ginger’s story of loss and tragedy turned to light and triumph, and the coming together of these two military families, inspires me. I do not take my freedom for granted nor the families like the Gilbert Ravella’s who sacrifice for it. This family has taken their loss and turned it to the greater good. An uplifting story of love and faith.” -Gary Sinise, Actor, Director, Musician, Veterans Advocate and Founder, Gary Sinise Foundation “In Hope Found, Ginger and Jim share their deeply personal experiences with love, loss and faith. Through journal entries and bible verses, you will come away knowing the depth of their pain and love for each other and the spouses they lost, as well as understand how faith helped them navigate a future they never anticipated.” -Taya Kyle, Mother and New York Times Bestselling Author of American Wife “Ginger, Jim and their children epitomize American heroes to me. Family and faith are woven throughout this book. The common bond of music, Troy’s old truck and love for our country have forever connected me to them.” -Lee Brice, Award Winning Country Music Recording Artist, Songwriter, Musician

With over one million books sold in her career, Joyce Rupp presents her newest undertaking: a unique collection of daily meditations that draw from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and other sources, offering wisdom and insight about the God who is beyond all names. Bestselling author Joyce Rupp once again proves herself a wise and gentle spiritual midwife, drawing forth 365 names of God from the world’s spiritual treasury. Fragments of Your Ancient Name—whose title comes from a poem by German mystic Rainer Maria Rilke—assembles a remarkable collection of reflections for each day of the year. This unique and profound devotional will heighten awareness of the many names by which God is known around the world. Whether drawing from the Psalms, Sufi saints, Hindu poets, Native American rituals, contemporary writers, or the Christian gospels, Rupp stirs the imagination and the heart to discover a new dimension of God. Each name is explored in a ten-line poetic meditation and is complemented by a simple sentence that serves as a reminder of the name of God throughout the day.

Bestselling author and beloved retreat leader Joyce Rupp has offered companionship and gentle guidance throughout the seasons in such books as May I Have This Dance? and Anchors for the Soul. In Jesus, Friend of My Soul, each two-page daily reflection brings our attention to the Lenten season, providing reflections for growth and inviting us to follow Jesus and become more like him. “As Christians,” Joyce Rupp writes, “we look to the person of Jesus to learn from him.” Because our lives are filled to the brim with activity, it is easy to drift away from trying to live as Jesus did, and we find ourselves in need of time to focus on drawing close to him again and learning from his example. In Jesus, Friend of My Soul, Rupp guides us from Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday illustrating both how Jesus called his followers to change and how his actions provide us a blueprint for growth. Rupp helps us learn from the qualities of Jesus and the actions and teachings that marked his time on earth, including: how Jesus extended mercy after Peter’s denials how Jesus trusted in his Father, even as he experienced other emotions when troubling events occurred how Jesus spoke and acted with integrity, which made him a valuable and trustworthy person for others to listen to and follow Each day’s reflection begins with a verse from scripture and a meditation centered on Jesus’ life, actions, and teachings that are applied to our lives. We are then offered a prayer and an intention to carry with us throughout the day. Each brief reflection gently leads us to new growth in our lives and invites us to reach new depths in our faith. Questions for individual or group study are included.

Long beloved for her artful prayers, best-selling author Joyce Rupp presents an entirely new collection of 106 meditative poems on a theme she has woven masterfully through all her writing--the pain of loss and the hope of restoration. My Soul Feels Lean is a journey into compassion. Drawing on insights from her Christian faith and a lifelong connection to the Iowa farmland of her birth, Joyce Rupp explores themes of loss and restoration in this luminous collection of poems. Returning to an undercurrent in her work since the publication of Praying Our Goodbyes, Rupp offers here sensitive insights on the pain of loss and the hope she finds when she is willing to let go and trust. Rupp's leanness of soul has taught her to observe and celebrate the harsh beauty of life. "Loss has encouraged me to find joy and meaning here instead of pining for it elsewhere," she writes, "to live more simply and be content with less, to appreciate more fully what I now have."

Named one of the Top 50 Spirituality Books of 2018 by Spirituality & Practice. Winner of a 2019 Catholic Press Association Award: Spirituality/Soft Cover Books (First Place) and a 2019 Association of Catholic Publishers Award: Spirituality Books (Second Place). "Living compassionately is rarely convenient and often downright challenging," writes Joyce Rupp, bestselling and award-winning author and retreat leader. The definitive Christian guide to compassion, Boundless Compassion is the culmination of Rupp's research and work as codirector of the Servite Center of Compassionate Presence. Through this six-week personal transformation process for developing and deepening compassion, Rupp nudges, encourages, and inspires you to grow in the kind of love that motivated Jesus’ life and mission for his disciples. With master teacher Joyce Rupp, you will learn to develop compassion as never before. You will discover compassion from science, medicine, theology, spirituality, sociology, and psychology. You will be encouraged to explore personal and professional expressions of compassion, and to re-energize your ability to offer loving kindness to those around you. Rupp has felt the call to walk with others in their suffering since she was a young member of the Servants of Mary, whose charism is compassion. She eventually cofounded the Boundless Compassion program with Sr. Margaret Stratman, O.S.M. Based on the format and theme of Rupp’s bestselling books like Open the Door and her popular workshops conducted by the Center of Compassionate Presence, Boundless Compassion has the power to transform your life, giving you wisdom, confidence, understanding, and inspiration to be a more caring presence. It will help you build on relational skills, learn self-care, gain wisdom for incorporating loss and suffering into your active life, and find ways to show compassion at work. By the book's end, you will feel prepared to live with a renewed commitment to a compassionate presence for yourself and those who are in the midst of pain, struggle, and transition.

In 1951, with the Second World War not long over and the menace of the Cold War generating anxiety in the West, Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached eight sermons on John 14:1-12 at Westminster Chapel in London. These sermons, presented in Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled, were intended to comfort, strengthen, and build up Christians in their "most holy faith" and to bring unbelievers to a knowledge of the only way men and women can face matters of life and death. Lloyd-Jones went through these verses carefully, showing that the way to deal with our fears is first to recognize and confront them and then to realize that the answer is only to be found in the great and unchanging truths of the gospel. Pastors, Lloyd-Jones readers, and anyone needing encouragement will benefit from this work by one of the twentieth century's foremost preachers.

For more than thirty years, Joyce Rupp has been writing bestselling spiritual books that have accompanied readers through the seasons of life and helped them glimpse the Divine. In Anchors for the Soul, prayers, poems, blessings, and meditations from Rupp’s many works are brought together to offer daily wisdom that will guide you and keep you anchored to God throughout the year. It’s easy, as we rush from one important thing to the next, for our days to feel off-balance, overwhelming, or even lacking in purpose. In Anchors for the Soul, bestselling author and retreat leader Joyce Rupp helps you root each day in the Holy One’s love and the promise of his faithfulness. Anchors for the Soul, compiled by Kathy Reardon—a spiritual director, retreat leader, and nurse—contains pieces from such Rupp classics as The Circle of Life and Fragments of Your Ancient Name as well as such perennially popular works as The Cup of Our Life and Praying Our Goodbyes. This daily devotional touches on the themes that have marked Rupp’s work as you travel through the seasons of the year. She walks with you as you experience grief, embrace stillness, and see in your daily life the fingerprints of the Divine. She helps you welcome new life, practice selfless acts of kindness, and remember the gift that is the people in your life, all the while showing you glimpses of the heart of God. Filled with Rupp’s characteristic prayers, poems, meditations, and blessings, this treasury provides a daily retreat to center yourself in the warmth of the Divine embrace and begin the day feeling renewed. Each day’s reading concludes with a practice to carry with you for the rest of the day that brings you back to your center and reminds you to be light to the world.