eBook

The Upper Room Disciplines 2025

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 19:24:42 GMT

Longing for daily spiritual renewal with God? Disciplines, the beloved and bestselling year-long devotional from The Upper Room, offers a unique opportunity to ground and center your day in God's word. With daily meditations and prayers crafted by renowned and diverse Christian thought leaders, you'll be guided through a transformative exploration of scripture to deepen and inspire your daily life with God.

Following the Revised Common Lectionary, a three-year cycle of scripture readings, Disciplines sparks new insights and revelations as you engage with the timeless truths of the Bible. Each week, a different thought leader will lead you on a journey of spiritual discovery, providing fresh perspectives and meaningful reflections to deepen your understanding of scripture and God's longings for you and your community.

The Upper Room Disciplines also includes a Guide to Daily Prayer and a Small Group Leader's Guide, making it perfect for individual study or group discussion. Whether you are seeking personal growth or nurturing a community of believers, this devotional guide is the perfect companion on your spiritual journey.

The Upper Room Disciplines is essential reading for all who yearn to live everyday grounded in God's word and hope. Order your copy today and start your journey towards a deeper relationship with Christ.

Among the writers for the 2025 edition of Disciplines are Jorge Acevedo, Bishop Sidwell Mokgothu, Osheta Moore, J. Dana Trent, Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth, and Nadiyka Gerbish.

The Upper Room Disciplines features:

A focal scripture passage for each day of the year
Brief, insightful meditations from 53 thought leaders from diverse Christian traditions
A prayer or reflection to carry with you each day
Weekly scripture overviews
An index of scripture readings
A guide to daily prayer
A small group leader’s guide

The Upper Room Disciplines Enlarged Print and Digital Combo

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 19:30:36 GMT

One year of digital access to The Upper Room Disciplines online and on your mobile device, and one copy of the current or upcoming year's Disciplines Enlarged Print.

The Upper Room Disciplines provides profound yet succinct daily meditations for going deeper in your spiritual walk. This bestselling book follows the lectionary scripture readings and is written by today's Christian thought leaders.

The Upper Room Disciplines 2024

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 21:03:01 GMT

"I pray you find the same poetic beauty, awe-inspiring wisdom, and challenge to deeper discipleship that I have discovered in the lectionary and the pages of Disciplines." —Kara Lassen Oliver

Challenge yourself to a deeper relationship with Christ each day with The Upper Room Disciplines. Readings in this year-long devotional will awaken and strengthen your awareness of God’s presence in your daily life. Each week a different Christian thought leader offers daily meditations and prayers that will help you engage in God's Word.

Based on the Revised Common Lectionary, a three-year cycle of scripture readings, Disciplines features:

A focal scripture passage for each day of the year
Brief, insightful meditations from 53 thought leaders from diverse Christian traditions
A prayer or reflection to carry with you each day
Weekly scripture overviews
An index of scripture readings
A guide to daily prayer

Among the writers for the 2024 edition of Disciplines are Gabby Cudjoe-Wilkes, Johnathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Will Willimon, Tracy Malone, David Dark, Whitney Simpson, and Ray Buckley.

Living into the Answers

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 19:52:32 GMT

What do I do now?!

Face life's "forks in the road" and write your own future—fearlessly. Be guided to your own wisdom within the context of the always-present divine voice. Living into the Answers teaches a way to ask for and receive God's guidance as you approach an issue or choice.

"Large or small, the decisions of life point toward particular paths," write Isenhower and Todd. "Paying attention to the process of discerning God's desire for our life starts us on a journey that leads to abundant life. …It opens us to a larger number of life choices and to a more interactive relationship with God who calls us for future possibilities."

Discernment isn't magic. It isn't passive. Discernment isn't a complicated mystical practice. Rather, it's a process of listening and choosing based on the understanding that God is to be at the center of decision making. The authors explain how to live in a way that satisfies the yearning for a deeper connection with the spiritual.

There may not always be one "right" answer because there's no shortcut to knowing which job to take, house to buy or relationship to pursue. But we don't have to make these decisions alone. As people of faith, we know every aspect of our lives is important to God, who created us for a purpose.

Living into the Answers is an inspiring and practical personal workbook that

introduces tools and practices that invite God in as we consider priorities and alternatives
guides us to create prayerfully considered options
helps us live with the confidence that God will use our choices to invite us into a deeper and more fruitful relationship

With Isenhower and Todd as your guides, you'll learn how to make every decision an opportunity for living in God's presence more deeply.

Confronting Whiteness Participant's Guide

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 19:52:52 GMT

The difficulty the author, Rev. W. Benjamin Boswell, experienced trying to lead his congregation to work for racial justice in their community convinced him that there needs to be a new conversation about race and racism that helps members of White-dominant churches and institutions identify their own racial history and wrestle with what it means to be White. That conversation developed into Confronting Whiteness, an intentional spiritual journey of anti-racism to aid people racialized as White to identify and dismantle their Whiteness.

This program consists of nine sessions, each designed to last approximately 90 minutes. Preparation for the sessions requires completing assigned readings and viewings and writing a racial autobiography.

The participant's guide to Confronting Whiteness offers people of faith a new posture for addressing racial issues. Spiritual practices will help participants engage writings and films by Black authors and filmmakers and develop habits that confront and undermine the power of Whiteness. The guide was developed for groups of White people who will be led by a trained facilitator.

The facilitator's guide for Confronting Whiteness provides productive tools for conducting conversations with 5-10 participants. The facilitators need to have previous experience as a participant in Confronting Whiteness and a readiness to engage in the inner work necessary for transformation.

Additional support for participants and facilitators will be available through The Upper Room.

The Upper Room Disciplines Print and Digital Combo

Thu, 16 Jun 2022 21:49:49 GMT

One year of digital access to The Upper Room Disciplines online and on your mobile device, and one copy of the current or upcoming year's Disciplines in regular print.

Sacred Conversation

Fri, 10 Jun 2022 21:32:57 GMT

God created humans with the desire to both know others and be known. People weren't meant to go it alone on their spiritual journeys, and God has provided many fellow travelers to accompany us.

Some of these fellow pilgrims—spiritual directors—are called to walk the spiritual path with others. The spiritual director, however, does not seek to tell their counterpart how to live out the faith. Instead, the spiritual director accompanies others on their spiritual journey and helps them discover how God may be working in their lives. The spiritual director listens, notices, encourages, asks questions, and prays for the person receiving spiritual direction.

In Sacred Conversation, readers will learn what spiritual direction is and what it isn't. They will explore spiritual practices that have helped people for hundreds of years develop a closer relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Marsha Crockett introduces readers to seven gifts of spiritual direction: awakening, hospitality, story, pilgrimage, silence, meditation, and belonging.

Each chapter contains reflection questions for individuals to use in conversation with their spiritual director, as prompts for journaling, or for sharing with small groups.

Everyday Contemplative

Fri, 10 Jun 2022 21:31:01 GMT

What does it mean to live a contemplative life? How does someone become contemplative? Does being contemplative mean sitting around thinking about God all day? Does it require living a simple or even austere life, like a monk or a nun?

Roger Owens challenges readers to expand their definition of contemplative living to encompass all ways of seeking to be more open, available, and responsive to God. God may be found just as easily in an office cubicle, a donut shop, or a laundry room as in a monastic cell.

In Everyday Contemplative, Owens presents seven characteristics of contemplative living: longing, attention, patience, playfulness, vulnerability, nonjudgment, and freedom. One ingredient he considers essential to the contemplative life is sharing it with others, and this book invites readers to discover the joys of contemplative living.

Vivir con propósito en la vejez

Fri, 10 Jun 2022 21:28:31 GMT

«¿Por qué sigo aquí? ¿Por qué Dios me deja sufrir tanto tiempo?»

La fragilidad, la dependencia y el dolor constante pueden conducir a la desesperanza espiritual en las personas adultas mayores. Aunque de vez en cuando nos inspiran las noticias sobre un extraordinario cumpleaños numero cien, es más común afligirse a medida que los seres queridos se debilitan.

Con compasión y honestidad, Buchanan da voz a las personas que tienen que depender de otras para que les ayuden en las tareas diarias. Muestra a quienes les cuidan y a sus seres queridos que vivir con un propósito en la vejez es una extensión de los desafíos vividos durante toda la vida:

aprender a ofrecer nuestra voluntad a la de Dios
confiar en la gracia de Dios
seguir respondiendo con la alegría y la fortaleza de la fe

Buchanan fomenta la empatía con las personas ancianas frágiles y expresa sus preocupaciones más profundas sin dar vueltas a los temas difíciles. Cuarenta y dos meditaciones breves y reconfortantes ofrecen aliento espiritual a quienes se enfrentan ahora a las limitaciones diarias y al deterioro de la salud.

Las meditaciones están escritas en primera persona, lo que permite a quienes las leen hablar directamente con Dios sobre sus preocupaciones. Con cada meditación se incluyen escrituras de apoyo del Nuevo Testamento y de los Salmos. Buchanan escribe sobre las experiencias de las personas cristianas de toda la vida, así como de las personas ancianas no creyentes que están pensando de nuevo en Dios.

Ayude a un ser querido a encontrar una razón y una forma de vivir el propósito de Dios a pesar de sus limitaciones.

La oración de una viuda

Fri, 10 Jun 2022 19:41:13 GMT

Las crisis de la vida amenazan nuestra estabilidad espiritual.

La pérdida de un ser querido -se espere o no su muerte- es siempre traumática. El trauma de adaptarse a la nueva realidad de viuda mientras se enfrenta a una multitud de preguntas y decisiones urgentes puede ser abrumador.

En este libro de 60 meditaciones, Nell Noonan comparte con franqueza sus experiencias en los 26 meses posteriores a la muerte de su marido.

Describe su recorrido en el duelo como una jornada repleta de bendiciones y quebrantos. A pesar de los momentos álgidos, logró encontrar a Dios en medio del duelo.

Noonan reconoce que el proceso de duelo de cada persona es único.

«Mis escritos no pretenden decir qué, cómo o cuándo hacer nada», dice Noonan. «Las meditaciones sólo pretenden tomarle de la mano y sentir su dolor para que, con suerte, sea capaz de avanzar lentamente, paso a paso, hacia una vida más plena, menos quebrantada, hacia una vida nueva y llena de paz».

Este libro ayudará a las viudas, tanto si deciden leerlo solas como en grupo. Es un buen recurso para los grupos de apoyo al duelo, y un regalo apropiado para mostrar su preocupación por cualquier mujer que sufra la pérdida de su compañero/a.

Meditation on Both Sides of the Camera

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 15:45:04 GMT

Have you ever thought of photography as a spiritual journey?

Photography provides a way to still the heart and soul so you can hear God's voice and sense God's presence. Whether you're an experienced photographer or just take pictures with your smartphone, you will enjoy this creative way to connect with God.

In Meditation on Both Sides of the Camera, award-winning photographer Valerie Isenhower guides you to pay attention, center, and focus your eyes in new ways. "The spiritual journey of photography from beginning to end is like breathing life into the stories of our photographs and souls," Isenhower writes.

This e-book includes:

color photography
helpful suggestions for preparing your heart, mind, and soul before you go on a photo shoot
tips for reflecting on the images you capture
links to online resources

Take advantage of Isenhower's years of experience as enjoyed by others in her workshops and online courses.

My Body Is Good

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 13:46:38 GMT

Author Anne Cumings recalls growing up in a culture that scrutinized her body as a source of weakness and sin. Her church warned of "slippery slides into debauchery," and modern culture taught her that she must look a certain way to be attractive, acceptable, even lovable—something to which most women will relate. Now, equipped with a body-positive mindset, she has created an engaging and uplifting study, My Body Is Good, to guide readers through a Lenten season of celebrating their bodies.

Written specifically for women, each daily meditation offers a scripture passage, a reflection, and a prayer. Readers are encouraged to capture their questions, ideas, and thoughts through journaling and other spiritual practices, all with the intention of healing from diet culture. Join her on this Lenten journey and never again forget that your God-given body, made from dust, is good.

Psalms for Black Lives

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 13:44:27 GMT

In the summer of 2020, while composing a series of devotionals on the Psalms for their church, the Double Love Experience, authors Gabby Cudjoe Wilkes and Andrew Wilkes recognized that these ancient words spoke truth and inspiration not only to their immediate community, but also to the growing number of people doing the holy, demanding work of pursuing justice, undoing structural racism, and building a society that truly values Black lives.

The Psalms speak power today as they always have. They have spoken across generations. They have bridged cultural divides and social contexts with their emotional rawness, urge towards justice, and blunt candor about the coarse edges of walking with God.

Psalms for Black Lives includes thirty devotions, each containing a psalm, a reflection, and an invitation for the reader to develop a justice imagination through further engagement with the text. Psalms for Black Lives also includes daily discussion questions to support small-group study and a guide for congregational and community groups who want to embody the words of the Psalms together.

The Upper Room Disciplines 2023

Thu, 26 May 2022 19:51:59 GMT

Strength for Your Spiritual Journey

Center your heart and mind on God each day with The Upper Room Disciplines. Readings in this year-long devotional will awaken and strengthen your awareness of God’s presence in your daily life. Each week a different Christian thought leader offers daily meditations, scripture readings, and prayers that will help you engage God’s Word.

Based on the Revised Common Lectionary, a three-year cycle of Sunday scripture readings, Disciplines features: a focal scripture passage for each day, short daily meditations from 53 thought leaders from diverse Christian traditions, a reflection or prayer to carry with you each day, weekly scripture overviews, an index of scripture readings, and a guide to daily prayer.

Among the writers for the 2023 edition of Disciplines are Hannah Adair Bonner, Tex Sample, Barbara Brown Taylor, Elizabeth Corrie, Bishop Karen Oliveto, Richard Morgan, Chanequa Walker-Barnes, and Peter Wallace.

Emaús Manual del Equipo

Fri, 20 May 2022 15:30:25 GMT

El Manual del Equipo de la Caminata a Emaús es muy necesario para todas las personas encargadas del Evento tanto para su uso en la preparación para el servicio, así como para su uso en las reuniones del equipo. Ayuda a los miembros del equipo de la sala de conferencias a desarrollar un entendimiento de La Caminata a Emaús y de lo que se espera de ellos/ellas durante la Caminata.

Este producto no tiene descuento.

Emaús Manual de Directores

Fri, 20 May 2022 15:30:16 GMT

El Manual de Directores de la Caminata a Emaús está especialmente diseñado para los directores y las directoras de la Caminata del fin de semana (laicos/as y clérigos/as) e incluye información para ayudar a los directores y las directoras del fin de semana a apoyar los papeles de todo el equipo de la sala de conferencias. Este manual incluye los procedimientos básicos para el Evento del fin de semana, horarios, guías para todos los miembros del equipo y recursos reproducibles.

Este producto no tiene descuento.

La evangelización transformadora

Fri, 20 May 2022 15:30:09 GMT

Debido a las tácticas más agresivas y de confrontación que escuchamos, el evangelismo ha desarrollado una mala connotación. Las puertas se cierran apresuradamente, las llamadas telefónicas terminan abruptamente y los correos electrónicos quedan sin respuesta.

Después de todo, ¿no es una tarea que debería realizar el pastor?

Tal vez sea el momento de reexaminar el modelo de evangelización de Juan Wesley como un ciclo completo y natural, en el que se trata de un punto de partida común en lugar de un final solitario.

El motivo central del evangelismo auténtico es: Habiendo recibido un mensaje que ha marcado la diferencia en nuestras vidas, deseamos compartir ese mensaje con otras personas con la esperanza de que también transforme sus vidas. Wesley modela un evangelismo que se extiende y da la bienvenida, invita y nutre, y habla tanto a la razón como al corazón.

«El evangelismo es relacional», escriben los autores. «Cómo nos relacionamos con Dios, que es capaz de transformarnos en seres nuevos. Cómo estamos en relación con nuestro prójimo, al que debemos amar como a nosotros mismos».

Como dice un crítico «Knight y Powe nos han dado un libro para relacionarse. Describen la profunda conexión entre los pensamientos de Juan Wesley, los himnos de Carlos Wesley, el pensamiento erudito sobre la evangelización y la comprensión bíblica del evangelio, todo ello en relación con las necesidades, preocupaciones y esperanzas de «la gente de a pie».

Aprenda por su cuenta o como grupo congregacional de este estudio práctico sobre cómo vivir una vida evangelística que demuestre el poder transformador de amar a Dios y al prójimo.

La evangelización transformadora. La manera wesleyana de compartir la fe: Guía para el liderato facilitador del curso, por Henry Knight III y F. Douglas Powe, también está disponible aquí.

For the Common Good

Fri, 20 May 2022 15:30:01 GMT

For the Common Good reminds us that the Holy Spirit gives each Christian one or more spiritual gifts to be used for the common good. It guides readers to discover their own particular gifts and learn to use their gifts to serve others.

Examining key passages in Paul's writings, author Christine Harman leads readers through a personal spiritual gift assessment. She names 20 distinct spiritual gifts—including discernment, compassion, and evangelism—and helps people explore scripture references on each one. After identifying their particular gifts, clergy and laypeople will learn how to apply them for the good of their church, community, and the world. This book is ideal for both group study and self-discovery. The book also includes suggestions for how to build a ministry team or assign people to committees based on the gifts of each individual.

This book is the text for a Lay Servant Ministries advanced course on spiritual gifts. It also can be used for a small-group study.

A Leader's Guide is available for this book.

Launching a New Worship Community

Fri, 20 May 2022 15:29:54 GMT

For many churches, the call to make disciples comes with a realization that the church's current worship opportunities do not reach certain groups in their surrounding community. New worship services offer the most promising strategy for renewing established churches and planting new worship communities. In a post-pandemic world, churches will be challenged to reach new people with the gospel and to help them meet in a way that is meaningful to them.

Accessible to ministry professionals and lay leaders, Launching a New Worship Community is a comprehensive guide to starting a new worship community—whether that means an established church beginning a new worship service or a church startup designing its first worship offering. The authors, writing with a team of church planting experts, provide practical advice rooted in solid academics, theology, and real-world experience. With this guide, readers will have the tools they need to begin and sustain a new worship community.

Leadership is Discipleship 2021 (Korean)

Fri, 20 May 2022 15:29:47 GMT

주제는 ‘교회의 미래’이다. 이 저널을 통해 교회의 벽을 넘어서