As parents, we strive to help our kids grow into their full potential. We help them with their homework, get them involved in planned activities, and invest for their college education. But while we may plan for their success, we can overlook a vital part of their personal development: Nurturing and encouraging a solid foundation of faith. It can be easy to assume our children are growing spiritually in church youth groups and programs. Yet it's vital that we take an active role in guiding them in their relationship with Jesus. The life of Joseph offers parents a Biblical standard for building children of character. Drawing from his story, this book will help you do just that. Inside you'll find a unique guide for creating a personalized plan for your child's spiritual growth, from preschool through high school. This practical guide will help your child: Acquire wisdom from the Bible Understand God's grace Gain a sense of destiny and purpose Develop a life-perspective based on God's perfect plan The result: Children and teenagers who know, love, and serve the Lord. So invest in their spiritual development. And create a legacy of faith that will last a lifetime.

Imagine this scenario for a typical teenager in your church: He's separated from his family and sent to live in a hedonistic, no-holds-barred culture. He's stripped of his spiritual support, left alone, and treated unfairly. Then, at his most vulnerable point, his ego is stoked with power and success. Throughout this rollercoaster ride, would he continue to serve God? This very test was given to the Old Testament Joseph, whose faith remained rock solid. Yet it seems that our youth are ill-equipped to face the moral vacuum in today's culture. Worse, research shows that when young people leave home, many also leave the church. So how can we forge sons and daughters of faith and fortitude? The vital answers are found in the story of Joseph. Drawing from this timeless narrative, author Larry Fowler offers a biblical plan for building teens who will love and serve Jesus Christ. Biblically based and up-to-the-minute relevant, Raising a Modern-Day Joseph is an essential guide to raising a generation that can pass life's tests with flying colors.

After spending more than a millennium in relative obscurity, Saint Joseph has become the second-most mentioned saint in the papal magisterium after the Virgin Mary. To understand the life and importance of Saint Joseph, a good place to start is with the first papal title ever granted him: “Patron of the Universal Church.” What is it that Saint Joseph has to offer the Church — and each one of us — today? That’s the question that A Man Named Joseph: Guardian for Our Times seeks to answer. To get there, author, podcaster, and blogger Joe Heschmeyer cuts through a lot of our misconceptions to see what the Bible and the earliest Christians really say about Joseph as a model husband, father, and saint. Questions at the end of each chapter help guide personal reflection and group discussion. Whatever we may be facing in life, we can go to Joseph for his example, his protection, and his prayers. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joe Heschmeyer is an instructor at the Holy Family School of Faith and the author of Who Am I, Lord? Finding Your Identity in Christ and Pope Peter: Defending the Church’s Most Distinctive Doctrine in a Time of Crisis. He cohosts The Catholic Podcast and blogs at ShamelessPopery.com. Previously, he was a litigator in Washington, D.C., and a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. He lives in the Kansas City area with his wife and two children.

Ever read one of Jesus' parables and ask, "What is He talking about?" If so, you're not alone. Jesus' own disciples were also perplexed by the enigmatic stories Christ told. Now you—alone or with your small group—can dig deeper into the meaning of these parables to uncover their important meaning for your walk with Christ. Designed with today's busy woman in mind, each lesson can be completed in as little as 20 minutes per day, but leave you with a lifetime of valuable insights. Based on the inductive Bible study method, each lesson conjures vivid imagery of the sights and sounds of ancient Israel alongside poignant application questions for today. There's something here for Christians of all shapes and sizes. Everyone will leave with a more profound understanding of Christ's amazing parables.

We're raising our kids in a high-speed, high-pressured, 24/7 world. Pushing children to get ahead, we cram everything possible into our days to maximize their chance at success. We're overloaded, overextended, overcommitted, and over-caffeinated. And we're paying a price: Our relationships are anemic; our health, in jeopardy. Half-awake and half-hearted, we can't sustain this pace. But how can we possibly downshift without missing out? Not So Fast: Slow-Down Solutions for Frenzied Families explores the jarring effects of our over committed culture and offers refreshing alternatives. Author Ann Kroeker relates her own story of how embracing a slower everyday pace resulted in a more meaningful family and spiritual life. Practical ideas and insight will spark creativity and personal reflection. Plus, ponder real-life stories from parents who chucked the high-speed lifestyle and reaped the rewards of richer relationships. Not So Fast offers hope that families struggling with hurried hearts and frantic souls can discover the rejuvenating power of an unrushed life.

WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING ABOUT BRUCES TITHING BOOKS AMAZON.COM - G. MAXWELLS PROFILES (REVIEWS) SAID: EXCELLENT! FIVE STARS! the BEST book available right now for its insightful conclusions unparalleled in this timely subject area also takes delightful side trails this book lays out the case for no tithing requirements for NT Christians like no other! A MASTERPIECE! Im ordering copies for my friends! Pastor C. Rinke Stuart, FL I couldnt put it down. Denice Elder Louisville, KY This book has been like a breath of fresh air and an oasis in the desert. It has been such a marvelous study for me opening my eyes to all that was truly accomplished at the cross. It has truly been an amazing study. Thank you for writing it. Michael Flud Dallas, TX Exceptionally well written! I was amazed. Roberta Welk Stuart, FL Wonderfully liberating! Wells reminds me of a modern day Martin Luther. Twenty Six years of Christianity and I finally know Im free! Joe Crawford Palm City, FL We have been blessed by this book. I wish we had found out about it sooner. Otis & Barbara Perry Columbus, OH Your book opened some very interesting questions and I plan on purchasing several more copies for some pastors and friends of mine. It was very insightful, offering guidance and info I had not heard any place else before. Basically, it was an eye-opening reading.

Imagine that you could really understand the Bible...that you could read, analyze, and discuss the book of Genesis not as a compositional mystery, a cultural relic, or a linguistic puzzle palace, or even as religious doctrine, but as a philosophical classic, precisely in the same way that a truth-seeking reader would study Plato or Nietzsche. Imagine that you could be led in your study by one of America's preeminent intellectuals and that he would help you to an understanding of the book that is deeper than you'd ever dreamed possible, that he would reveal line by line, verse by verse the incredible riches of this illuminating text -- one of the very few that actually deserve to be called seminal. Imagine that you could get, from Genesis, the beginning of wisdom. The Beginning of Wisdom is a hugely learned book that, like Genesis itself, falls naturally into two sections. The first shows how the universal history described in the first eleven chapters of Genesis, from creation to the tower of Babel, conveys, in the words of Leon Kass, "a coherent anthropology" -- a general teaching about human nature -- that "rivals anything produced by the great philosophers." Serving also as a mirror for the reader's self-discovery, these stories offer profound insights into the problematic character of human reason, speech, freedom, sexual desire, the love of the beautiful, pride, shame, anger, guilt, and death. Something as seemingly innocuous as the monotonous recounting of the ten generations from Adam to Noah yields a powerful lesson in the way in which humanity encounters its own mortality. In the story of the tower of Babel are deep understandings of the ambiguous power of speech, reason, and the arts; the hazards of unity and aloneness; the meaning of the city and its quest for self-sufficiency; and man's desire for fame, immortality, and apotheosis -- and the disasters these necessarily cause. Against this background of human failure, Part Two of The Beginning of Wisdom explores the struggles to launch a new human way, informed by the special Abrahamic covenant with the divine, that might address the problems and avoid the disasters of humankind's natural propensities. Close, eloquent, and brilliant readings of the lives and educations of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob's sons reveal eternal wisdom about marriage, parenting, brotherhood, education, justice, political and moral leadership, and of course the ultimate question: How to live a good life? Connecting the two "parts" is the book's overarching philosophical and pedagogical structure: how understanding the dangers and accepting the limits of human powers can open the door to a superior way of life, not only for a solitary man of virtue but for an entire community -- a life devoted to righteousness and holiness. This extraordinary book finally shows Genesis as a coherent whole, beginning with the creation of the natural world and ending with the creation of a nation that hearkens to the awe-inspiring summons to godliness. A unique and ambitious commentary, a remarkably readable literary exegesis and philosophical companion, The Beginning of Wisdom is one of the most important books in decades on perhaps the most important -- and surely the most frequently read -- book of all time.

The field of lifespan development in psychology has much to offer those engaged in making disciples, and Chris Kiesling brings those insights to bear in this volume. He appropriates the most useful observations from this discipline in light of biblical teaching. Drawing on more than twenty-five years of experience teaching faith development topics in academic and local church settings, Kiesling assembles a toolkit for those in ministry that will help them think comprehensively about discipleship at every stage of life. Taking into account physical, cognitive, emotional, and social aspects of human development from infancy through older adulthood, Kiesling guides readers in making practical use of these insights in their churches and educational settings. In addition, dedicated text boxes in each chapter offer specific advice and suggestions. Pastors, ministry leaders, and educators will benefit from this treatment, which brings cutting-edge findings from the social sciences into dialogue with Scripture, theology, and practical ministry.

Magical Child, a classic work, profoundly questioned the current thinking on childbirth pratices, parenting, and educating our children. Now its daring ideas about how Western society is damaging our children, and how we can better nurture them and ourselves, ring truer than ever. From the very instant of birth, says Joseph Chilton Pearce, the human child has only one concern: to learn all that there is to learn about the world. This planet is the child's playground, and nothing should interfere with a child's play. Raised this way, the Magical Child is a happy genius, capable of anything, equipped to fulfill his amazing potential. Expanding on the ideas of internationally acclaimed child psychologist Jean Piaget, Pearce traces the growth of the mind-brain from birth to adulthood. He connects the alarming rise in autism, hyperkinetic behavior, childhood schizophrenia, and adolescent suicide to the all too common errors we make in raising and educating our children. Then he shows how we can restore the astonishing wealth of creative intelligence that is the birthright of every human being. Pearce challenged all our notions about child rearing, and in the process challenges us to re-examine ourselves. Pearce's message is simple: it is never too late to play, for we are all Magical Children.