• An acolyte resource for the 21st-century Episcopal Church • Fully illustrated (black-and-white) with reproducible handouts Despite the changing landscape of the Episcopal Church, one ministry that continues but gets little attention is that of acolytes. Whether second graders or adults, the mentoring and training of acolytes is a formational experience. I Serve at God’s Altar offers a simplified theology of how God is met in worship and how it affects the lives of those most engaged in it, a visual exploration of the Episcopal liturgy and its history through extensive illustrations, how acolytes fit into the work of the church in worship, and how worship affects the acolyte’s discernment for ministry and Rule of Life. Illustrations include a visual exploration of church artifacts (crosses, candles, Eucharistic vessels, etc.), holds, and processes to set a standard of expectation and expertise in service according to Episcopal practice and tradition. There is a section of reproducible handouts for organizing an acolyte ministry at every size church, including scheduling, communications, installation liturgies, recruitment plans, and training outlines.

Discover your true identity in Christ. Many of us live for the approval of others. We let the world decide who we are, or we look to those around us to discover who we think we’d like to be. The problem is that living for what people think of you is the quickest way to forget what God thinks of you. In Altar Ego, pastor and author of Winning the War in Your Mind Craig Groeschel will show you how to sacrifice your broken ideas of approval-based identity on the altar of God’s truth and become who you were meant to be in Christ. You'll learn how to: Expose false labels and selfish motives. Live according to God's higher values with a deeper confidence in His calling. Trade in your broken ego and unleash your “altar” ego as a living sacrifice to Him. Understand how God continuously shapes you into His vision of you. Once you know your true identity and are growing in Christ-like character, then you can behave accordingly with bold behavior, bold prayers, bold words, and bold obedience. Altar Ego reveals who God says you are, and then calls you to live up to it. Rather than living a timid, halfhearted, shallow cultural Christianity, you'll boldly live in the confidence of the God who believes in you.

By looking into scripture, this book hopes to shed a clear picture of God's love, grace, and mercy toward man in the act of creation. The image depicted by the author is based upon scripture by using it to reveal what exactly is covered by God's boundless act of love. This book will also discuss the intricate details of God's altar for the sins of all mankind. Throughout the Old Testament, we are given examples that show the true character of God. The Bible also shows God's love for all mankind. God desires to draw us near to Him, to restore us to a place we were prior to the fall of man, to have fellowship with God, and to live eternally with God. By God's plan of redemption through His Son Jesus Christ, He would restore man back to Him, and to have fellowship with Him as it had first been intended. Man was predestined to again enter into fellowship with their Creator. There is a common ground in which all existence has in common: God spoke a beginning, and it was created.

Few believers experience God's altar--a place of pure and wholehearted relationship and worship where our holy God can meet with us and the fire of his presence can fall. But such an altar is necessary in our personal lives, our marriages, our churches, and our nations so that we are strengthened, empowered, and equipped for every good work. In this influential, modern-day call back to the altar, Chuck D. Pierce and Alemu Beeftu invite readers to find their way to rebuild the place of God's presence to allow the fire of God--his presence and power--to fall. When we rekindle the altar fire, our lives, prayer, and worship are transformed. The time to rebuild altars for fresh fire is now!

The Holy Spirit has become a stranger. Many long for a closer walk with God, but He seems far away. They go to church. They read the Bible. But they don’t experience His presence. Why? Because many have forsaken the altar—the place where God is found. When we truly encounter Him again, the light and power of God will flow to our homes, then to our houses of worship, then to the nation, and we will never be the same. In Rebuilding the Altar authors Pat and Karen Schatzline passionately challenge you to return to the altar. You see, the altar is not just a physical location or an instrument in a church or synagogue. Through Christ we can experience a daily encounter with Jesus, who became our altar. We must declare this truth to the deceived. We must raise a standard of holiness and no compromise. We must bring hope to the hurting. It’s time for change. It’s time to return to the altar...and encounter God.

The Holy Spirit has become a stranger. Many long for a closer walk with God, but He seems far away. They go to church. They read the Bible. But they don't experience His presence. Why? Because many have forsaken the altar--the place where God is found. When we truly encounter Him again, the light and power of God will flow to our homes, then to our houses of worship, then to the nation, and we will never be the same. In Rebuilding the Altar authors Pat and Karen Schatzline passionately challenge you to return to the altar. You see, the altar is not just a physical location or an instrument in a church or synagogue. Through Christ we can experience a daily encounter with Jesus, who became our altar. We must declare this truth to the deceived. We must raise a standard of holiness and no compromise. We must bring hope to the hurting. It's time for change. It's time to return to the altar...and encounter God.