A collection of essays that explores the significance of Martin Luther's theology of the cross within the context of the various world religions and philosophies.
Print on demand only available directly from the publisher.
“Youth ministry that doesn’t last a lifetime doesn’t matter very much.”
The real criteria for evaluating youth ministry is this question: Are we consistently introducing teenagers to Jesus and then discipling them into believers who will, for a lifetime, love God, love people, and make disciples for the glory of God?
Everyone who evaluates youth ministry needs to ask a new set of questions. The issue really is not: How is our youth group doing today? Instead, the core question is: How will our youth group be doing for a lifetime?
Most youth pastors love King Jesus supremely and do their work tirelessly. But by employing a sixty-year-old model of youth ministry, the great majority of church teenagers are not becoming world-changing disciples as adults.
Is the church willing to give up comfortable youth ministry for a radically new model that is likely to lead many more teenagers to lifetime faith?
SIT 2024 Recommended SIT textbook for Session C. Youth/Family Ministry Workshops (Pr. Jordan Langness)
Reminder: Select one recommended resource per session to link to your reflective essay.
Spring '21
Required FLS textbook for Youth and Family Ministry course taught by Dr. Jason Holt.
Grant the women in your community the chance to explore what it means to be still and know God with this guided devotional journal. The journal includes a daily Scripture verse, a brief comment or question to dive deeper into God's stillness and grace in daily life, and ample space to record personal thoughts or reactions.
Prayer journal has 56 pages and measures 5-1/2" x 8-1/2". Scripture throughout is English Standard Version.
These five weeks of devotions will show you just how wonderful God has made you to be. You'll see God's love for you in Christ's cross and his purpose for your life as a woman of faith.
No matter your situation in life, the Bible can be your constant companion. God's Word offers undeniable courage, sure confidence, and comforting peace. You can't get this anywhere else!
With these devotions, you'll explore some of the most-loved Bible verses of all time. Uplift your spirit and reaffirm your faith as you engage with your favorite verses in a whole new way!
One important way that God infuses our lives with joy is through his Word. Scripture is the focus of this Prayer Journal, which encourages women to immerse themselves in the comfort and peace of our Lord's promises. With plenty of space to journal, doodle, or respond to God's truth, this 56-page book includes writing prompts to guide women to a greater appreciation of God's grace in their lives.
Whether you make this journal a part of your retreat or give it to women in your ministry to work through on their own, the beautiful book can become an important tool for anyone who wants to experience more of Jesus' joy in their journey. This journal features Scripture verses from the English Standard Version of the Bible.
In your presence there is fullness of joy. Psalm 16:11 ESV
The student edition of the popular A Practical Guide to Cultureby John Stonestreet and Brett Kunkle delivers a hopeful message to readers ages 15–25 who live every day with increasing cultural pressure. These young people struggle to navigate contemporary challenges to their Christian faith and values, but will be encouraged to emerge as leaders.
In A Student’s Guide to Culture, Stonestreet and Kunkle write in a highly relational style, sharing insight and experience. Jumping off from the original version, this guide includes all-new discussion questions and stories that remind young readers that they can live differently and be a light in a culture that sometimes feels overwhelming.
The problem with lies is they don’t often sound like lies. They seem harmless, and even sound right. So what’s a Mama Bear to do when her kids seem to be absorbing the culture’s lies uncritically?
Mama Bear Apologetics® is the book you’ve been looking for. This mom-to-mom guide will equip you to teach your kids how to form their own biblical beliefs about what is true and what is false. Through transparent life stories and clear, practical applications—including prayer strategies—this band of Mama Bears offers you tools to train yourself, so you can turn around and train your kids.
Are you ready to answer the rallying cry, “Mess with our kids and we will demolish your arguments”? Join the Mama Bears and raise your voice to protect your kids—by teaching them how to think through and address the issues head-on, yet with gentleness and respect.
Unveiling Mercy will do just that—unveil how the mercy of God in the Messiah is spoken of from the very opening Hebrew word of the Bible, all the way to the closing chapter of Malachi. By the end of the year, you will have entered the Old Testament through 365 new doorways, looked with fresh eyes at old verses, and traced a web of connections all over the Scriptures that you’ve never spotted before. You’ll begin to see what one person meant when he described Hebrew words as “hyphens between heaven and earth.” Reading the Bible in translation can be like “kissing the bride through the veil.” Each of these 365 devotions is crafted so as to lift that veil ever so slightly, to touch skin to skin, as it were, with the original language. You do not need to know anything about Hebrew to profit from these meditations. They are not written to teach you the language of Abraham, Moses, and Isaiah, but to give you a taste of their insights, to expose you to their eloquence, to laugh with them at their winking wordplays, to un-English their idioms, and—most importantly—to trace their trajectories all the way into the preaching of the Messiah and the writings of his evangelists and apostles.
Embracing Your Lutheran Identity uncovers inspiring stories and characters from church history with whom you share an identity. Writing not as a scholar, pundit, or apologist, but as a teacher, Gene Edward Veith Jr. guides you through the Holy Spirit's work from the early church, through the Reformation, and into Lutheranism today through engaging accounts, modern parallels, and thought-provoking questions. Individually or as a group, come discover (or rediscover) the heritage from whence you came; persecutions, martyrdoms, villains, battles, heroes, lore, and all.
Review the central teaching of the faith with one of Luther's earliest and most important hymns. A poetic synopsis of the book of Romans, this hymn chronicles the great blessings which God has bestowed on us in Christ.
The bold illustrations depict Luther's inner struggles and rediscovery of the Gospel, that "a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law." Both young and old will appreciate the theology woven into the realistic artwork throughout the book.
It is easy to assume that if we understand the gospel and preach it faithfully, our ministry will necessarily be shaped by it—but this is not true. Many churches claim to be gospel-centered but do not have a ministry that is shaped by, centered on, and empowered through the gospel. The implications of the gospel have not yet worked their way into the fabric of how that church does ministry.
Gospel-centered ministry is more theologically driven than program driven. To pursue it, we must spend time reflecting on the essence, the truths, and the very patterns of the gospel itself. The gospel is neither religion nor irreligion, but something else entirely—a third way of relating to God through grace. In Shaped by the Gospel,bestselling author and pastor Timothy Keller addresses several current discussion and conflicts about the nature of the gospel and shows how faithful preaching of the gospel leads to individual and corporate renewal.
This new edition contains the first section of Center Churchin an easy-to-read format with new reflections and additional essays from Timothy Keller and several other contributors.
SIT 2026 Textbook for Cultivating a Gospel Culture in the Congregation course taught by Dr. Craig Johnson.
The gospel is a theological message. But this message also creates human beauty―beautiful relationships in our churches, making the glory of Christ visible in the world today.
In this timely book, Pastor Ray Ortlund makes the case that gospel doctrine creates a gospel culture. In too many of our churches, it is the beauty of a gospel culture that is the missing piece of the puzzle. But when the gospel is allowed to exert its full power, a church becomes radiant with the glory of Christ.
SIT 2026 Textbook for Cultivating a Gospel Culture in the Congregation course taught by Dr. Craig Johnson.
Where did the AFLC come from? How is it structured? What does the AFLC believe? This single-volume book supplies a brief history and overview of the AFLC and the documents to which every AFLC Congregation and Ministry subscribes. It provides a great introduction to the AFLC, a reference tool for members of the AFLC, and a teaching tool for Confirmation or Adult Sunday School classes to walk through the Creeds and Confessions in which the AFLC believes.
The historical movement known as Pietism emphasized the response of faith and inward transformation as crucial aspects of conversion to Christ. Unfortunately, Pietism today is often equated with a “holier-than-thou” spiritual attitude, religious legalism, or withdrawal from involvement in society.
In this book Roger Olson and Christian Collins Winn argue that classical, historical Pietism is an influential stream in evangelical Christianity and that it must be recovered as a resource for evangelical renewal. They challenge misconceptions of Pietism by describing the origins, development, and main themes of the historical movement and the spiritual-theological ethos stemming from it. The book also explores Pietism’s influence on contemporary Christian theologians and spiritual leaders such as Richard Foster and Stanley Grenz.
