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In the gospel of Luke, the disciples of Jesus ask Him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” They saw the great importance Jesus placed on having a daily rhythm of prayer and they wanted to learn how to have this same rhythm in their own lives. And so can we.In this refreshingly different look at prayer, Johannes Hartl explores twelve simple ways to build a thriving prayer life—twelve steps that have transformed his life. Hartl encourages readers to explore different forms of prayer, from embracing silence, to creating your own `inner garden’ in which to meet with Jesus wherever you are, to overcoming the scripts and traffic in our heads that prevent us from encountering God. With inspiring stories, spiritual exercises, and practical ideas, Simply Pray will help you develop daily rhythms of prayer, even in the hectic pace of day-to-day life.For those who long to meet with God in prayer, experience more depth, and discover God’s presence in the everyday, Simply Pray is an invitation to the biggest challenge and the loveliest secret—the adventure that will change your life.

Amidst a crisis of leadership in our world, Karl Martin invites you to lead from a deeper place - from your soul. You'll find your leadership soul in four daily spaces - The Cave, where you start your day in the quest of the True, The Road, where you commit to purpose through the way of the Brave, The Table, where you gather people and facilitate the art of the Kind, and end your day by The Fire, processing your day in pursuit of the Curious. Written with humour and straight shooting, this book reads like a rich conversation with a wise mentor who pulls from both ancient wisdom and modern context, who's done the hard work of distilling the complex into the simple, providing a clear pathway for living into your fullest leadership potential.

Ambition - the desire to be the best - is one of the passions that fuels Western Society. Many of mankind's greatest advances have been achieved through ambitious men and women. And yet the cost is often a trail of neglected families, discarded friendships, and compromised values. In this profound and wise discussion, RT Kendall argues that God does not call us simply to suppress all ambition. In fact it is often that very same trait which he uses to motivate a man or woman to do his will. Our God-given ambition must become God-oriented, so that a love for the Glory of God eclipses our all.

More pubs, clubs and bars per square mile than almost anywhere else in Europe. Hundreds of thousands of young people, intent on having the best holiday possible. The beautiful island of Ibiza is often derided for the shocking scenes of excess, violence and incapacity that inevitably result. 24-7 Prayer took up the invitation, God's call to go to the party island and pray. So Brian and Tracy Heasley went. For seven years, they walked and prayed around the walls of the San Antonio. And most nights, joined by young volunteers, they walked through the town, chatting to clubbers and offering prayer. Thousands said yes. Some knelt, some put their hands together, some shared deep worries and concerns. They helped people home, looked after those in danger of being robbed, and befriended all kinds of people, from bar owners to prostitutes. The familiar T-shirts of 24-7 Ibiza came to be regarded as a fourth emergency service. Brian and Tracy's story will inspire you to pray and show God's love for your own community as you seek to express the gospel in whatever situation he has placed you.

"When I fell ill and stayed ill, I felt like God had chopped me off at the ankles. I yelped in pain and indignation, I felt painfully abandoned, diminished and finished. It took me a long time to learn that God was not out to kill me." Some illnesses begin with a bang, whipped off to hospital or flattened into bed. Other conditions creep in until normal life is no longer normal. Life skills are suddenly out of date. Work, socialising and hobbies are out of reach. It's a new and scary world. Emily Ackerman knows this world only too well. She knows what it feels like to cry out to God to relieve her suffering, to allow her to fulfil her life plans. She knows what it feels like to wait, year after year, while God works through her suffering, to fulfil his plans for her life. This book is about fighting back. It's about reclaiming your life now you're ill, and finding new ways to live well and serve effectively. You'll find survival strategies, encouragement, practical advice and fresh ways to view your situation. God hasn't given up on you: there's good news from the Bible about living abundantly and usefully with illness.

The moment Jesus kneels with a towel and bowl to wash his disciples' feet. The point where he looks Peter in the eye and predicts betrayal. That intimate, urgent prayer to the Father for the disciples. That resolute strength before the Sanhedrin, before Pilate, before the crowd. The cross. The talk with Mary in the Garden. The walk with Peter at Galilee. The later chapters of the Gospel of John form what is for many the deepest and most moving accounts of all Scripture. They also form a detailed description of Jesus' final days and hours on earth, Jesus final instructions to his team as he prepares to hand on his ministry. Karl Martin mines this incredibly rich vein of Scripture to draw lessons for leadership, leadership in Jesus' way. Leadership in the way of Jesus is about humility, about investing your life in your team, about facing betrayal, about dying to self, about handing on, about succession. Ultimately, true leadership is not about seeing others serve your dream - it is about seeing others released into the dreams, the gifting and calling that the Lord has placed on their lives. It is about something beyond you.This deceptively profound, honest and practical book gives great insight for leaders - challenge for younger leaders, encouragement for mid-life leaders, and refreshment for the mature leaders - and what may be some of the most significant lessons of their leadership life.

A beautiful, original and compelling invitation into the drama, wonder and mystery of the Christmas story. The warm rhythms and fresh directness of Mark Greene's poems are graced not only by illuminating design and gorgeous illustrations but by reflections that poignantly and powerfully connect the ancient world with our own. Intriguing and uplifting, Adventure makes an exquisite gift for Christmas, an enriching companion for Advent and a source of inspiration in any season.

This book won't try to get you to vote for a particular party. It isn't going to try to get you to vote at all. Something far better. It's going to show you that you could be voted for. That it could be your name on the ballot paper. Or that you could be working with someone whose name is, influencing your community more than you ever imagined. From food banks to debt counselling, soup vans to street pastors, the church is doing an amazing job treating the victims of a flawed system. But it's never going to be enough. Unless we also get involved in the decision-making process. God cares deeply about the heart of our state, as well as the state of our hearts. And, as Bart Simpson once famously discovered, the vote is won - and history is made, and the kingdom advanced - by those who show up.

Tucked away in the book of Numbers, amid instructions on wave offerings and haircutting, set in the ring of God's call to his people to be set apart for him, we find a sparkling diamond: God's gift of shining blessing, given to a weary people wandering in the wilderness. God blesses those who don't deserve it, through those who don't deserve it; again and again he chooses to bless. He is preparing his people for life in the Promised Land. And he is blessing them - us - to be a blessing to all people.

As parents we live each day at such a pace. One minute we are juggling the dawn scramble for p.e. kit, packing lunchboxes and dealing with toddler tantrums in the supermarket queue and then before we know it, they are filling in job applications. Did we do it right? Did we do it well? There is no one way to be the perfect parent. But there are a hundred ways to be a great parent. This hilarious, engaging little book is packed full with great ideas to help any really really busy parent find that extra minute, to enjoy their kids and to make the very most of every precious moment. Within these few pages are ideas strategies and principles that can revolutionise not only the way we parent, but also the way we feel about our parenting.

'...for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health ...' Maybe those vows are fresh off our lips; maybe they're a rosy memory. Maybe we're still creating a life together - unpacking wedding gifts, decorating a home, savouring candlelit dinners - and we are giving that one special person the very best of us. Or maybe life has taken over - that challenging job, the struggle to pay the mortgage, a long-term illness - and more often our loved one seems to be getting the worst of us. Here is a gift to celebrate the joys and bring encouragement in that shared journey, with wise and witty insights and thoughtful reminders to help couples thrive. Amusing and touching, with laugh-out-loud cartoons which so accurately capture the highs and lows of domestic trials and bliss. A beautiful book to remind us to make the very most of the time we have with the most important person in the world.

The unbelievable story of how one town truly prayed without ceasingIn 1999, a small town on the south coast of England became the birthplace of the extraordinary, accidental, international movement known as 24-7 Prayer. Their inspiration was a seemingly chance visit by founder Pete Greig to Herrnhut in Germany, where the eighteenth-century Count Nikolaus von Zinzendorf had initiated the Moravian prayer watch, which ran without ceasing for a hundred years.Five years later, Phil Anderson undertook an aerial road trip on a tiny four-seat airplane from England to Germany, a remarkable journey to uncover the history of Zinzendorf and the movement he led.Part history, part narrative, The Lord of the Ring takes readers on a fascinating journey back to the eighteenth-century Moravian renewal movement and their hundred-year prayer watch. Anderson retraces the steps of Zinzendorf, reconnects with his legacy, and seeks to apply it to life and faith in a new millennium. Learning from the past, readers will discover crucial signposts for grappling with the church’s identity and calling as an authentic, relational, missional community.

Imagine having to phone that friend to congratulate them on their new job - rather than posting a 'like' on their timeline. Or imagine writing a letter, finding an envelope and a stamp, walking to the letterbox and waiting a week for a reply - instead of firing off an email. How quickly life changes. The communications technologies that now permeate our every waking moment open up endless possibilities: we can do things more quickly, we can do things more efficiently, we can do more things. And yet there is a down side - our time absorbed in social media and sifting through shopping choices; a quarter of working hours spent in unproductive online activity. And more sinister implications: loss of privacy, anonymity, the undisclosed harvesting of personal details by commercial and government organisations. Ultimately, the reality of communications technologies is that either we will master them or they will master us.In this incredibly helpful book, Guy Brandon unpacks the practical and spiritual significance of our technological choices and encourages us to use communications technologies in a way that aligns with our faith and calling, and makes us more faithful, more human and better at relating to one another.

A shining invitation to get to know the God of eternity on this journey of life The call to live for eternity is more important than ever for us all. So much that seemed reliable has been shaken as our world faces economic instability and seismic cultural shifts. Scandals have undermined our faith in politics, sports, entertainment, and the church. Fear of catastrophic climate change and of an ongoing pandemic casts a shadow over the future. The fragility of life is on display and we desperately need to know our eternal foundations. In Living for Eternity, Kate Patterson explores what it means to be "eternally minded"--living with a long view, keeping our hearts set on the eternal life we were made for--and how that reality has the power to transform our lives now. A profound invitation to get to know the God of forever, Patterson opens the Scriptures and points to the eternal one who is revealed in His eternal Word. Turning our eyes to the one whose eyes are on us, Patterson tells of a God who is always faithful and mindful of us. Unveiling the freedom that being eternally minded brings, Living for Eternity encourages us to live fearlessly, even in life's most difficult and grief-filled moments. Through it all, God is making us more and more Christlike as we journey with him to our eternal destination.

In 2011, the borough of Thurrock in Essex stepped into the national spotlight when it came bottom of the national league table for life satisfaction. By 2015 that disaffection and anger had boiled over into political insurrection, and Thurrock led Britain out of the door of the EU with one of the highest 'leave' votes in the country. Starting from the underlying causes of the mass dissatisfaction that brought us to here, this book spells out a clear vision for what a post-Brexit Britain should look like. From unemployment to immigration, council estates to the banking industry, and local communities to the global environment, it takes a long, hard look at what really creates the conditions for people and communities to flourish and why we're just not feeling it as a nation. The answers combine radical political ideas with grass roots Essex reality; because if the solutions don't work for White Van Man then they probably won't work at all.

As many as one in four girls and one in six boys experience sexual abuse during childhood, and it's estimated that half of the incidents are never reported. This means that countless millions in our societies, both children and adults, carry this complex and often hidden pain. What does the path to healing look like for survivors? And how can ministry leaders, pastors, and counsellors best help them as they walk this difficult road?Drawing on both his own and his wife's experience as survivors of childhood sexual abuse, minister and lecturer Tim Hein offers his expertise, practical guidance, and empathy-both for ministry leaders and for survivors themselves. How can we best respond when a survivor shares their secret with us? Where can survivors turn for encouragement when the road to recovery seems so long and lonely? Hein presents clinical data and resources alongside pastoral wisdom and care, addressing both psychological and spiritual aspects of sexual abuse.Both for those who have suffered sexual abuse and those in a position to help them, this book is a rich resource. Filled with sober truths and the hope of Christ, it calls survivors to take courage and walk unafraid down the road of healing.

We were made to experience God’s blessing! From God’s first blessing on Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and increase in number” to Jesus’ last blessing on his followers as he ascended into heaven, blessing is central to how God relates to those he loves.And yet many of us think God’s blessing is not for us. Maybe we’ve read the stories of blessing in the Bible, or seen it in the lives of others, but catch ourselves thinking “that’s nice for them, but God hasn’t got that for me…” Or worse, we picture God as a grumpy old man who measures out blessing in measly thimblefuls.Following on from her first book exploring the Aaronic blessing from the book of Numbers, this encouraging devotional offers the opportunity to see God afresh through that shining blessing - a God who loves us and whose heart is to bless his people, through his people.Beautifully designed and illustrated, and with scripture, quotations, and questions to reflect on, The Gift of Blessing is an ideal gift for those who long to be blessed that they might be a blessing to others.

The remarkable story of one gutsy contractor's determination to end poverty in Africa. Grant Smith is not a visionary or an enthusiastic missionary. He's a problem solver. When confronted with the desperate problems of poverty he witnessed in Africa, he did the only thing he knew how to do--business. Business that would provide jobs and pay people enough so that they would not have to rely on charity to send their kids to school, so that none would be forced to live in a tin shed without water, electricity, sewerage, or dignity, fighting off the threat of pneumonia every time it rained. His venture led to a great challenge: become the biggest house-builder in Kenya. Both humorous and realistic, Smith tells of his successes and failures with projects as diverse as growing oil crops, a road-building scheme, house building, and selling old gas pumps. With faith in God's provision--and a little bewilderment--Smith wrestles with difficulties that every entrepreneur knows too well: finding investment funding only to lose it again, acquiring trustworthy business partners, confronting bribery and bureaucracy, corruption and culture. He is not the biggest house-builder in Kenya (yet!), but Smith has stumbled on a near-miraculous way of unlocking long-term financial provision for local Christian charities. For those who dream of making a difference for communities affected by poverty, this story is inspiring and thought-provoking. It encourages readers to see how ordinary people have been created for a purpose and have the potential to facilitate miracles. The Accidental Social Entrepreneur is a real challenge to consider how we might use the gifts and resources we have been given by God to change lives.

What is prayer? How does it work? And does it even help at all? Where do we start and where will it lead? These are questions that Johannes Hartl has spent his life exploring. Questions that have found their answers through encounter, experience and often through travel - a journey of discovery that has taken Hartl into the very heart of true prayer.Weaving together stories of individuals, movements and moments he has encountered across the world, Hartl invites you to join him on an incredible adventure. Exploring different approaches to prayer, such as contemplative, intercessory, creative, powerful and revelatory prayer, Hartl encourages us to rediscover the true heart of prayer - a God who hears us and wants to speak to us.For those who want to experience the power of prayer or who are struggling to pray, this book is full of thoughtful insights and wisdom, combined with reflective applications which will inspire and challenge readers to catch the fire for a life of prayer themselves.

At the heart of everything there is one very good idea – the true currency of our society, the key to all human flourishing and happiness. That idea is very simple.It is love, actually. Love God. Love one another. Your neighbour. Your enemy.Simple – but far from easy. As the statistics and prolific stories of broken friendships, toxic workplaces, divided churches, dysfunctional families and lonely people testify. And yet it is a commandment. Not just a good idea, but the most important one, the one from which all the others flow.With brilliant storytelling and deep theological insight, Mark Greene explores Jesus' familiar yet greatest command as a simple but liberating framework to help us make decisions that enhance rather than damage our relationships – whether it’s about replacing a dishwasher or managing a team. He challenges us to put relationships deliberately back at the heart of all thingsFull of humour, contemporary examples and research, Probably The Best Idea in the World shows how Jesus’ emphasis on thinking relationally is not only a liberating basis for our personal lives, but a dynamic foundation for our workplaces, our society, and our global community...... because putting relationships first transforms everything.

According to the World Health Organization, hundreds of millions of people around the world struggle with relational issues, emotional and mental health - and do not have access to help. LifeCare is a response to this crisis. An accessible and deeply encouraging resource that brings together discipleship practices, Christ-centered recovery skills, and research-supported pastoral care exercises, LifeCare guides you through the process of attending to your past, thought life, emotions, behaviors, and difficult circumstances to help you find the joy and purpose of abundant life. For all who feel called to work on difficulties in their life and relationships, whether through counseling, pastoral care, small groups, or other discipleship contexts, this book encourages you to start healing and seek growth in community.

Journey into the wonder that is to be found in the age-old story of Christmas with this beautiful little gift book. Bringing together thought-provoking and inspiring poems and illustrations, A Quickening retells and reframes the well-known Nativity story in a fresh way.Beginning and ending with important questions about stories, A Quickening invites us to encounter this story for ourselves. Weaving together different voices, forms and perspectives, this collection of poems forms a rich tapestry that offers moments to pause and reflect during the busiest time of year.Beautifully designed with pen and ink hand-drawn illustrations, this is a book to treasure or give as a meaningful gift this Christmas, for those who wish to experience this story anew and for those who do not know the story at all.

The need for spirituality in the Western world has never been greater. At the same time, churches are losing more and more members. The West is in a deep crisis of faith. How so? Because too often we are content with superficial answers and shallow conceptions of God. God, as he encounters us in the Bible and in prayer, is not simply `nice' and certainly not trivial or comfortable. God is fascinating and intimidating at the same time. He is a God who astounds. An astonishment and wonder that many have lost.In this rejection of `feel-good' Christianity, Johannes Hartl describes how one can rediscover this sense of wonder, pointing the way to what the Bible calls the `beginning of wisdom'. A compelling challenge to get out of our spiritual comfort zones to find a real, truly fulfilled and fulfilling faith.

A meeting in a restaurant in Eastern Europe is suddenly interrupted by secret police. Public artworks are installed in a Guatemalan town to confront injustice perpetrated by gangs and government. A ministry begins in the Solomon Islands where none existed before.All this is the work of students, young people the very age the disciples were when Jesus entrusted his ministry to them.Drawing together incredible stories from every region of the globe - from North America to Romania, from movements with official recognition to those persecuted to the point of being driven underground - Campus Lights bears witness to the way that student mission is flourishing around the world today. In his journalistic, engaging style, Luke Cawley recounts how students are taking risks to share their faith, continuing the legacy of Jesus' young disciples as they went out into the world and changed nations.Far more than a book on student mission, Campus Lights will inspire all leaders, encouraging them to take risks for the kingdom in their own context, and showing how students and young people can be catalysts for change in our world.

Motorcycle road trips across the United States were a lifelong dream, and now, with children grown up and a new work posting to Texas, it finally seemed within reach for Chris and Denise Arthey. But only a few hours down the road, on an arrow-straight stretch of Highway 35, devastation struck. A drunk driver veered across the carriageway and their Harley-Davidson was involved in a head-on collision. One medic commented after the air ambulances lifted off that "the motorcyclists may not make it".The Artheys did "make it", and then some. Both lost their left leg above the knee, and Chris suffered serious head and internal injuries, but their survival was remarkable.Even more remarkable is the story of their recovery. As Chris and Denise learned to cope with pain and a new reality, they simply refused to become physically held back, or to be frozen in anger and regret. They have gone on to lead extraordinarily full lives; returning to their vocations and taking another overseas posting to the Middle East before building new roles as ambassadors in the prosthetics industry. Chris has taken on marathons and triathlons, Mount Kilimanjaro, Everest Base Camp and a master's degree along the way.With an honesty that is both raw and vulnerable, the Artheys take us on their unique journey of hope against all odds, explaining how they rebuilt their lives, 'step by step', after their accident.More than a compelling story of survival, Highway 35 is an account of astounding personal strength and fighting spirit, of depth and integrity of relationship and uncompromising faith in the face of the most difficult of challenges.

After 30 years of being a disciple, Simon Ponsonby began to reflect on whether he was amazed by Jesus, or whether he had lost his first love, having a relationship with Jesus that was predictable and dutiful. Did Jesus still amaze him or just employ him?ISBN 978-1-910012-18-5As he reflected on this question, Jesus drew near to him, and Simon began to write a poem about Jesus, marvelling again at who he was and what he had done. Amazing is a touching and inspiring poem about just how amazing Jesus is - the perfect devotional for mediating and reflecting on Jesus, to help meet with him right where you are.Illustrated with the author's photographs, which position amazing truths in a stark and contemporary setting, and drive their message home all the more, this simple, honest and moving poem is a wonderful gift to help others to encounter the amazing person of Jesus too.

In Nazi-occupied Poland, Rosa Dunovich faces a terrifying reality: to save her daughter, she must send her into hiding. Her only hope of finding her again - if they survive - is her medallion. A tale of courage, sacrifice and survival, inspired by true events of Poland's darkest days and brightest heroes.

America, 1970s: Hannah struggles with forgiveness after her mother, Lieselotte's, death. Germany, 1930s: Lieselotte's father quickly ascends the Nazi Party ranks, and Lieselotte's in love - with the wrong man. As their stories unfold, Hannah must decide if she can atone for her family's tragic past and help reshape the future.

Whether we are over-eager or burnt-out grandparents, very involved or unsure how to help grandparents, this heart-warming little book can help us to be the best grandparent that we can possibly be, being there for, and bringing out the best in, our beloved grandchildren.