The inspiration of God to teach daily or preach weekly is a blessing and a burden. It is a blessing to have the week-after-week encouragement to preach your sermons with your original topics. However, for some, it is a burden because there is a Sunday morning sermon expected, and the inspiration to provide a message to preach God's Word must be roused, researched, and gathered into a logical presentation. Tag. You're it. Sometimes, it's just not there. You know Sunday is coming, and sometimes the stimulus or impetus is not. I empathize. These are the reasons I authored this book. The truth is, some preachers are good enough to not only preach on Sunday morning, but also follow that sermon with another on Sunday night and Wednesday night or another day of the week. They are always, always ready in season or out of season to preach the Gospel. But there are times in the career of every pastor when they struggle when the inspiration to create sermons fades after months and years of multiple weekly presentations. Especially during periods of life when events and tribulations require time and dedication to other pressing matters. Others might say, "It's their job. That is what they do." They get paid to read and study and make a forty-minute sermon each time they stand behind the pulpit. Not true. You and I know that. Most pastors/preachers do so much more than preach. They have families, a flock to attend to, and administrative duties that take much of their week. Some of you--bless your heart--are bi-vocational and work a forty-hour week as well. Not an easy job even for the called who are in love to do all they can in Jesus's name and for His glory. This book of Preacher Spurs is for them.

Attention, all preachers. This book is for you. Especially if you are not content with your preaching style or with the results you are getting now. I recommend an extemporaneous and conversational style. It doubled the membership in the last church I served. Read it, try it, be willing to be challenged and changed. Let it make your preaching new. Let it bring your preaching the pizazz and zest it will need to fascinate your listeners and bring them back to be mesmerized again and again.

Charles Wesley’s Journal is crucial to an understanding of the beginnings of the Wesleyan/Methodist movement. As a primary record of one of the founders of the Wesleyan/Methodist movement, Charles Wesley’s Journal is crucial to an understanding of the beginnings of that movement. It is an indispensable interpretive companion to John Wesley’s Journal, diaries, and letters. Since it provides essential background to the context of Charles Wesley’s lyrical theology expressed in sacred poetry, it is likewise essential for anyone who wants to understand the context out of which Wesleyan theology, worship, spirituality, hymnody, and conferencing emerged. For a church or movement which avers that “it sings its theology,” Charles Wesley’s Journal is an imperative. This volume is part of a series dedicated to providing a complete and accurate published collection of Charles Wesley’s manuscript items beyond his sermons and verse. The various items in the series constitute crucial primary texts for studying Wesley’s life, his ministry, and his increasingly contentious position within Methodism in his later years. The first two volumes of the series were devoted to Charles Wesley’s Manuscript Journal, a single-bound item held at the Methodist Archives and Research Centre. The present volume gathers a number of scattered items (the majority also held at MARC), many of which are earlier—and more complete—drafts of material in the Manuscript Journal. The third major component of the series is the publication of all of Charles Wesley’s surviving personal correspondence, which is replete with material of biographical and larger historical interest. This second edition adds journal letters and records from December 1716–January 1717 (Accounts of “Old Jeffrey”) and May 12–June 14, 1746. Praise for the First Edition “It’s a great day in the life of a student of the Wesleys when we get a fresh volume of material scarcely known to previous generations. So it is with this collection of Charles Wesley’s journal letters from the period 1738–1756 and similar letters up to 1778 that describe his sons’ musical careers and in fact reveal a great deal about his life. This will be relished by all concerned with the heritage of the Wesleys, and we’re especially blessed to have it in a very well annotated critical edition.”—Ted A. Campbell, Professor of Church History, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX “The publication of Charles Wesley’s Journal Letters helps expand our knowledge of his life and ministry and enrich our understanding of the wider evangelical revival. This is an essential text for scholars of early Methodism edited by renowned experts in the field.” —Geordan Hammond, Senior Lecturer in Church History and Wesley Studies and Director of the Manchester Wesley Research Centre, Nazarene Theological College, Manchester, UK

Many people don't like to watch movies or have time to do so. That's okay. This book is not about watching movies. It's about looking at how you live your life and what you want for your future. Movies are just stories about life so even if you don't watch them, you can still learn from them here. Some of life's most important lessons are learned through stories. What better way to hear these stories than on the big screen? Movies draw us in and touch our lives in ways we never imagined. The best part is that our supply is limitless. Here we have stories for all ages. As we watch the characters on the screen, we see ourselves; our need for love and understanding, hope for the future, or wish for revenge against someone who wronged us. We see how the characters on the screen deal with these emotions, but as Christians, how should we deal with ours? In this study, movies from different times and different genres offer us an opportunity to delve into the Bible and see the choices our heavenly Father wants us to make under similar circumstances. Each lesson will review one or more aspects of the movie and provide an opportunity for reflection or discussion. Bible passages are also referenced to enhance understanding. Now that we have this information, what do we do with it? Odds are that people around you every day are looking for this information as well. What a comfortable way to share your faith with your friends, co-workers, or neighbors while you discuss the latest flick. These Bible studies can be taught to a group of people or they can be done individually. Popcorn is optional.

Witchcraft and magic are topics of enduring interest for many reasons. The main one lies in their extraordinary interdisciplinarity: anthropologists, folklorists, historians, and more have contributed to build a body of work of extreme variety and consistence. Of course, this also means that the subjects themselves are not easy to assess. In a very general way, we can define witchcraft as a supernatural means to cause harm, death, or misfortune, while magic also belongs to the field of supernatural, or at least esoteric knowledge, but can be used to less dangerous effects (e.g., divination and astrology). In Western civilization, however, the witch hunt has set a very peculiar perspective in which diabolical witchcraft, the invention of the Sabbat, the persecution of many thousands of (mostly) female and (sometimes) male presumed witches gave way to a phenomenon that is fundamentally different from traditional witchcraft. This Special Issue of Religions dedicated to Witchcraft, Demonology, and Magic features nine articles that deal with four different regions of Europe (England, Germany, Hungary, and Italy) between Late Medieval and Modern times in different contexts and social milieus. Far from pretending to offer a complete picture, they focus on some topics that are central to the research in those fields and fit well in the current “cumulative concept of Western witchcraft” that rules out all mono-causality theories, investigating a plurality of causes.

GOD'S OPERATIONS OF GRACE BUT NO OFFERS OF HIS GRACE. To which are added two brief treatises. The One about Invitation, and the other about Exhortation of Sinners to come to Christ; both examined and consistently stated with the Glory of Free Grace, to rectify some Common and Prevailing Mistakes in Ministers, who now with Time, are running in the Present Generation. By Joseph Hussey. A Poor Despised Servant of JESUS CHRIST, and Pastor of the Congregational Church of Christ at Cambridge. Originally Published in 1707. COMPLETE & UNABRIDGED

An annual favourite, the CANTERBURY PREACHER'S COMPANION provides a total of 150 complete sermons for the coming year, with hymn suggestions. For each Sunday of the year there are two sermons based on the Principal and Second Service lectionaries, plus a section of sermons for special occasions - Mothering Sunday, Harvest, baptism, marriage, funerals - and for all major saints' days. In addition, it offers at-a-glance summaries of the Bible readings, seasonal introductions, a full colour liturgical calendar and hymns suggestions throughout the year. The sermons are complete and ready to use, or can be used as a base for local adaptation. A boon for hard-pressed clergy and preachers everywhere.