Practical Ways to Support and Care for Your Pastor Do you pray for your pastors? Do you encourage them? Do you have realistic expectations for them? The office of pastor is simultaneously a rewarding and draining position. Pastors today have immense pressure on their shoulders and they need the support of their congregations. Peter Orr has written Fight for Your Pastor as an exhortation for church members to stand behind their pastors through the difficulties of ministry. Orr specifies ways in which congregations can be intentional in caring for church leaders, including prayer, encouragement, generosity, and forgiveness. Featuring stories from current pastors about their struggles, this book is perfect for thoughtful church members eager to understand the weight of their pastors' positions and support leaders in their important ministry. For Thoughtful Christians: Specifically those wanting to know more about their pastors and how to care for them Current: Features insight from pastors about their personal experiences in ministry Applicable: Gives practical examples of how to love and care for pastors, including specific prayers for church leaders and the best ways to encourage them

What if your struggles aren’t a barrier to thriving but an invitation into your most vibrant days? Discover how to live a life of joy and fullness, even in the midst of disappointment and broken dreams. How can you find a way forward when life throws you sucker punches, when you face obstacles that seem to snuff out your faith, when you lose someone precious to you? It is in the sacred space of pain and promise that we can begin to flourish. Even in the midst of disappointment and broken dreams it is possible to grow, be strong, and draw near to God. In The Fight to Flourish, Jennie Lusko draws on her experiences after the loss of her five-year-old daughter, Lenya, to show you that the ingredients for a fresh and thriving life are right in front of you. Jennie's story will help remind you of how much God loves you, even when life feels unbearable. With grit and grace, Jennie will help you: Discover that flourishing is not an impossible destination but a divine revelation of where you are right now Find relief from the weight of overwhelming circumstances by resting in the realization that God is fighting for you Trust that God is growing you in the gap between your expectations and your experience The word flourish is written all over you and your future. Discover the ongoing strength that Jennie has found and learn to reengage in life with renewed strength and confidence.

Christians usually focus on what Jesus has done (his life, death and resurrection) and what he will do (his second coming and reign). While there has been something of a revival in the study of his ascension, studies of Jesus in his exalted state are relatively rare. However, the Christ that Christians trust in, relate to, and love is the one who not only lived, died, rose, and will come again: he is also currently seated at God's right hand. Christian faith as well as theological reflection must take into consideration this significant aspect of Christ's person and work. In this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume, Peter Orr attends to this somewhat neglected "sub-epoch" of biblical theology. He explores the New Testament witness to Jesus as he is now, the exalted Christ, through the lenses of his identity, his location, and his activity. Addressing key issues in biblical theology, the works comprising New Studies in Biblical Theology are creative attempts to help Christians better understand their Bibles. The NSBT series is edited by D. A. Carson, aiming to simultaneously instruct and to edify, to interact with current scholarship and to point the way ahead. --

Author and pastor Craig Groeschel helps you uncover who you really are—a man created in the image of God with a warrior’s heart—and how to fight the good fight for what’s right. You will find the strength to fight the battles you know you need to fight—the ones that determine the state of your heart, the quality of your marriage, and the spiritual health of your family. Craig will also look at examples from the Bible, including our good buddy Samson. Yep, the dude with the rippling biceps and hippie hair and a thing for Delilah. You may be surprised how much we have in common with this guy. By looking at his life, you’ll learn how to defeat the demons that make strong men weak. You’ll become who God made you to be: A man who knows how to fight for what’s right. And don’t you dare show up for this fight unarmed. Learn how to fight with faith, with prayer, and with the Word of God It’s time to fight like a man. For God’s Sake, FIGHT.

In May of 2003, doctors gave the author, Joe Fornear, just days to live. Stage IV metastatic melanoma cancer had spread to thirteen different sites in his body, including lung, kidney, stomach and pancreas. Though he was at the brink of death, Joe experienced a miraculous healing. This book describes the struggles and process of how Joe gleaned lessons on surrender; human weakness and God's strength; God's goodness and compassion in a crisis and powerful lessons on faith and prayer. Joe Fornear is Founder and Executive Director of Stronghold Ministry, a non-profit ministry that provides spiritual help to cancer patients and those in crisis. An ordained minister, Joe has a Masters of Theology (ThM) degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. He founded Fellowship Bible Church White Rock in Dallas and pastored the church for 18 years. Joe and his wife, Terri, have two college age children, a son Jesse, and a daughter Amy.

For leaders in governments and in churches, marriage equality is the most contentious civil-rights dispute in the 21st century. During an era where nearly half of all marriages end in divorce, same-gender couples now have the federal civil right to marry, too. At a time when 62 percent of Americans approve of same-gender marriage, according to June 2017 Pew Research, churches are having to come to terms with whether to recognize and affirm these faithful partnerships as sacred covenants. Attorneys Harbison and Cramer, faithful and active members of a United Methodist congregation, brought one of the cases to the US Supreme Court, which resulted in the 2015 landmark decision that permits persons of the same gender to marry. They bring a unique legal and cultural perspective to the controversy. For the three couples Harbison and Cramer represented, marriage is not an "issue" to be resolved. Marriage is rather a sign for these couples of their faithful promise to love each other until they depart this life. "Each couple married for several reasons, including their commitment to love and support one another, to demonstrate their mutual commitment to their family, friends, and colleagues, and to show others that they should be treated as a family. They also married to make a legally binding mutual commitment, to join their resources together in a legal unit, and to be treated by others as a legal family unit, rather than as legally unrelated individuals. Finally, each couple married so that they could access the legal responsibilities of marriage to protect themselves and their families, just as heterosexual couples do." Aleta A. Trauger, Federal Judge With a first-hand account of the respectful courtroom drama concerning marriage in American communities and states, Harbison and Cramer show why states care about marriage, why the church got involved in marriage more than a thousand years after Jesus's earthly ministry, and how the church and the state function in partnership to foster the purposes and social benefits of marriage. From the Faultlines collection, resources intended to inform conversations around human sexuality and the church.

MORE THAN 500,000 COPIES SOLD! Are your thoughts out of control--just like your life? Do you long to break free from the spiral of destructive thinking? Let God's truth become your battle plan to win the war in your mind! We've all tried to think our way out of bad habits and unhealthy thought patterns, only to find ourselves stuck with an out-of-control mind and off-track daily life. Pastor and New York Times bestselling author Craig Groeschel understands deeply this daily battle against self-doubt and negative thinking, and in this powerful new book he reveals the strategies he's discovered to change your mind and your life for the long-term. Drawing upon Scripture and the latest findings of brain science, Groeschel lays out practical strategies that will free you from the grip of harmful, destructive thinking and enable you to live the life of joy and peace that God intends you to live. Winning the War in Your Mind will help you: Learn how your brain works and see how to rewire it Identify the lies your enemy wants you to believe Recognize and short-circuit your mental triggers for destructive thinking See how prayer and praise will transform your mind Develop practices that allow God's thoughts to become your thoughts God has something better for your life than your old ways of thinking. It's time to change your mind so God can change your life.