Emmaus Fourth Day Reading

Looking Inward, Living Outward

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 20:53:49 GMT

Available June 2024; Pre-Order Now!

In a world of so much hurt, how can we create communities of care and healing?

While much of contemporary Christianity careens toward a spirituality of individual salvation and the afterlife, the call of Jesus to create communities that enact justice and bring peace on earth is often tragically ignored. In his revelatory new book Looking Inward, Living Outward, author and student of the spiritual life Daniel Wolpert calls us back to a life of prayer and core spiritual practices that re-orient our gaze outward in acts of social transformation.

Drawing from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, one of the most radical speeches in human history, this encouraging and practical guide connects acts of contemplation with action, providing a biblically based and spiritually grounded course corrective for how Christians are called to live as Beloved Community today. Discover how spiritual practices can change the way you interact with the world and inspire lasting social change.

Key Takeaways:

Learn practical spiritual practices to live a life molded by a deep spiritual connection.
Explore the nature of the spiritual life and how it can become a guiding force in our daily lives.
Understand the teachings of Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount as a blueprint for living in community and society.
Discover the importance of communities of practice in reorienting our actions and promoting compassion in a world filled with challenges.

The Godbearing Life, Revised Edition

Wed, 18 May 2022 20:38:20 GMT

A generation ago, The Godbearing Life charted a new course for youth ministry to fuel the faith both of young people and the adults who minister with them. It is founded on the truth that we are all Godbearers to one another, and therefore youth ministry is more about people than programs. Youth ministry is ministry that invites young people into deep soul work and spiritual friendships.

Like the original, The Godbearing Life, Revised Edition is conversationally written, grounded in scripture, and grows out of all three authors' own pastoral experience. The update addresses the profound shifts in society and ministry over the past twenty-five years—from the interconnection of technology to the professionalization of youth ministry. This book reimagines the means of Godbearing youth ministry in a post-pandemic digital age in the twenty-first century while holding on to the fact that young people are continuously transformed by the message.

The Godbearing Life, Revised Edition offers a new generation of church leaders the same depth of spiritual wisdom that shifted the ground for youth workers two decades ago. The basic message is this: young people need adults who practice faith alongside them.

Sacred Conversation

Wed, 18 May 2022 20:38:09 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

Wed, 18 May 2022 20:38:01 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.

The Upper Room Disciplines 2023

Wed, 18 May 2022 20:37:36 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.

For the Common Good

Wed, 18 May 2022 14:56:46 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.

Way to Live

Sat, 14 May 2022 03:54:56 GMT

"I want to find a way to live that keeps me involved in what God is doing in me and in the world around me. Do you know a way to live that is like that?"

Eighteen teens and 18 adults tackle that question in Way to Live: Christian Practices for Teens. Their different points of view and personal stories make living a Christian life real.

"This book invites you into a community of people who don't just go with the flow," say the editors. "This community's image of 'the good life' is not about having lots of stuff or being more successful than other people. Instead, it's about getting involved in the loving, challenging life of God."

Find out how Alexx dealt with all his stuff, how Marie expressed her creativity with a paint roller, what Jack learned about play. These are just a few of the Christian practices this team of writers explores.

Some ancient Christian practices turn up as ways to deepen awareness of God's presence in our lives today. Discover how to use your imagination when reading the Bible—á la Saint Ignatius—and practice tuning in to God like Brother Lawrence of the 17th century.

This fun, graphics-filled book will start teens on the spiritual journey of a lifetime!

A FREE LEADER'S GUIDE filled with engaging, doable things to encourage teen Christian practices is HERE. (Size: 542 KB. Download times will vary.)

Accountable Discipleship

Fri, 13 May 2022 23:50:08 GMT

Accountable Discipleship: Living in God's Household is a book about pastoral leadership in the Wesleyan tradition. Pastoral leadership is the ministry of caring for the household of God. Both laity and clergy are called to this ministry.

Those who read and study this book will be invited to discover their own ministry as pastoral leaders. All who follow Jesus Christ and seek to obey his teachings to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind," and "love your neighbor as yourself"* have the potential to be pastoral leaders for their congregation. They are pastoral leaders because others see and experience the grace of Jesus Christ through their lives. They are spiritual, servant leaders who follow the example of Jesus. These are ordinary people. They are laity and clergy. They are people like you.

A foundational piece for anyone involved in Accountable Discipleship ministries, this resource explores a systematic approach for undertaking and accepting the challenge of personal discipleship for life. It is designed for leaders of Accountable Discipleship ministries, members of Covenant Discipleship groups, class leaders, and clergy.

*Matthew 22:37, 39 (NLT)

Click here for the Leader's Guide.

Praying in the Wesleyan Spirit

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:51:22 GMT

John Wesley (1703 - 1791), one of the greatest preachers of all time, preached more than 40,000 sermons. Wesley's sermons centered on God's unconditional love, freely offered to all through Christ. Wesley preached at coal mines and in fields and sparked a great spiritual renewal. Wesley's published sermons instructed the people in Christian discipleship and explained the core understandings of the Methodist movement.

Praying in the Wesleyan Spirit offers contemporary readers an approach to Wesley's spiritual depth. Author Paul Chilcote has transposed 52 of Wesley's standard sermons into flowing devotional prayers that are written in contemporary language, yet faithful to Wesley's message. A scripture reference and a hymn by Charles Wesley accompany each prayer. The prayers offer a means of reflecting on such topics as salvation by faith, yearning for God, and Christian perfection. Like Wesley's sermons, these prayers show a concern to reveal how God works in the world. The prayers also engage the head and hands and heart in the same way that Wesley understood Christian discipleship.

With 52 prayers, readers may pray one prayer a week for a year and immerse themselves in a short course in Wesleyan thought and theology. This one-of-a-kind prayer book will introduce readers to a rich heritage of Christian discipleship and is a must have devotional book for those active in the Wesleyan tradition. A Scripture Index and a Hymn Index are also included.

Conflict and Communion

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:46:30 GMT

In this broken world, community is rare. Sadly, this is sometimes true even in the church.

Conflict confronts us in just about every corner of our lives — from personal to familial, from congregational to denominational, from national to international. "We desire community but so often react out of brokenness," writes one reviewer, "Conflict and Communion points to the Lord's Table as the place where true harmony can be experienced."

Porter sets the stage for the book by naming the conflicts that were present at the Last Supper — conflicts among the disciples, conflicts among those in authority.

Then as now, the Eucharist and its spiritual power propels much-needed transformation in individuals and in congregations to heal our greatest needs. The 10 essays, written by a diverse group of church leaders, reflect on practical ways to live the sacrament in the everyday and extraordinary life of congregations.

Contributors include:

William Everett
Gayle Carlton Felton
Larry Goodpaster
Marjorie Thompson
Peter Storey
Thomas Porter
Marcia McFee
Jan Love
Stephanie Hixson
David Hooker

Reclaim the radical restorative justice and interdependent community available through the Table of Holy Communion. As the editor writes, "Through the practice of reconciliation empowered by the liturgy of Holy Communion, we hope that the Table will become for all of us and for our world a source of healing, transformed life, reconciled relationships, with God and with one another."

Talking in the Dark

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:43:59 GMT

Have you ever stopped praying?

When life seems unfair and prayer doesn't seem to make any difference, you may quit praying. Most people who admit that they stopped praying for a while, including the author, say they felt as if they were suffocating after a period without prayer.

"Sometimes I think God has called me to speak, write, and teach about prayer so I won't give up on it altogether," writes Harper. "After more than forty years of praying, I still don't understand prayer. …Prayer does not come easily for me."

"In the pages of this book," Harper continues, "I will ask you to roll up your sleeves and confront your problems with prayer—and then keep praying. Sometimes you will feel as though you are talking in the dark. But the fact is, sound travels in both darkness and light."

If you're frustrated in your prayer life and wonder whether prayer is worth the effort, this book is for you. Nothing daunts Harper in this wrangle with God. No doubt, experience, or unholy feeling is out of bounds as he considers life and prayer's dark patches.

No matter how lost or lonely you feel, he offers assurance. During days when you feel the number one problem with prayer is an unresponsive God, you'll have the strength to dig deeper and surrender to the mysterious sustenance God offers.

As you read Harper's brutally honest stories and follow his advice on how to cultivate a prayer life, you'll discover the kind of prayer that makes you want to continue even though everything in you wants to quit.

We Are the Church ... Let's Act Like It

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:40:06 GMT

Earthshaking. Status-quo challenging. World transforming. That's what the church was intended to be.

"An excellent resource for energizing your local church..."
—Mike Slaughter, Author and Pastor Emeritus, Ginghamsburg Church, Dayton Ohio

Problems in the church are nothing new; the book of Acts is full of them. In We Are the Church..., Pevey offers encouragement that today's church can truly be a transformative presence in the world, just as the early church was in the book of Acts.

While some feel the church is a social club with little impact on the world, that very idea runs contrary to God's plan. In We Are the Church... Let's Act Like It, Pastor Linda Tower Pevey offers churches practical and biblical ways to live out their mandate to make disciples and make a positive impact on their community and the world.

We Are the Church... takes readers through a 7-week Bible study of the book of Acts, looking at what it means to be the world-changing church that Jesus Christ intended. The study guides readers through weekly topics that empower them to take action — Act with . . . Power, Generosity, Acceptance, Creativity, Perseverance, Courage, and Witness.

Energize your entire congregation by using We Are the Church... as a churchwide small-group study. A built-in Leader's Guide makes it easy to lead this book in a small-group or Bible-study setting. The book is also suitable for individual use. Expect to see your church energized and renewed by We Are the Church ... Let's Act Like It!

A Wakeful Faith

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:38:06 GMT

In the harried, expect-the-unexpected flow of everyday life, faith seems far away for many people. Your car breaks down. The bills are due. The kids need school supplies. The business report remains unwritten.

In A Wakeful Faith, Jenkins asserts that living awake to God in all of our daily affairs is the answer. Only when we become consciously aware of God's gracious activity in the details of the day can we transform and find purpose in our lives today.

"Each day brings a flood of demands for our time and attention," writes Jenkins. "Deep down, many of us feel the pace is killing us, but we do not admit it very often. After all, everyone else seems to get along okay. Something is killing us, but it is not the pace. It is the inattention to our deepest desire, the desire for God."

Filled with humor and grounded in scripture, A Wakeful Faith calls us to a refreshed sense of God's presence, which can lead to spiritual well-being in all dimensions of life. Jenkins offers practical suggestions to rouse our spiritual wakefulness and alertness to God in daily living by showing how Jesus trained disciples to perceive the kingdom and to know God.

Appropriate for individuals and small groups, A Wakeful Faith contains questions for reflection and discussion at the end of each chapter.

Devotional Life in the Wesleyan Tradition

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:37:25 GMT

This workbook describes major features in John Wesley's devotional life, and it illustrates how you can apply his ministry to your own life.

Structured around Wesley's "Means of Grace," the 7-week study covers prayer, scripture, the Lord's Supper, fasting, Christian conferencing, and providential means of grace. Developed for individual or group study, the workbook also offers suggestions for organizing an initial group meeting and developing a successful group study.

Also available in Spanish as La Vida de Devoción en la Tradición Wesleyana and in Korean.

Transforming Community

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:37:09 GMT

Drawing from the strength of their previous book, Transforming Evangelism, Henry Knight and Douglas Powe show us a Wesleyan way to form missional communities and congregations. Drawing from John Wesley's own organizing abilities, this will better equip today's congregations to be more transfomational. Each chapter also has study questions.

This is the Participant's Book. Click here for the Leader's Guide, Leading Missional Small Groups.

Let Me Ask You a Question

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:34:21 GMT

We often think of Jesus as someone with all the answers. But over and over in scripture, he asks questions, seeking to engage with people and genuinely interested in their responses.

Matthew Croasmun challenges readers to consider this book as an experiment—an opportunity to see whether God is real. He invites us to enter into conversation with Jesus by answering the questions Jesus asks in scripture. The goal is not to come up with what we think are the right answers but to respond honestly to Jesus' questions.

Each chapter of this six-week study contains five readings. Each reading follows this format:

A Bible passage with a question Jesus asks in bold type
A short reflection designed to help you engage with Jesus’ question as he asked it in the Gospels and as he asks it of you now
Space for you to continue the conversation with Jesus.

Written in a warm, encouraging style, this thought-provoking and imaginative book will certainly give readers entry points into conversation with God, and they may find themselves experiencing a deeper relationship with the divine than they ever thought possible.

Transforming Ventures

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:34:02 GMT

Trends reveal that more and more people are using vacation time to experience new things or to help others. This book will help you consider how you can use your free time toward discipleship. Whether you go with a construction team, a traveling choir, or as an individual volunteer missionary abroad, you'll end up receiving more from the experience than you give.

Short-term mission projects can change an individual's life and the ministry of any church. Transforming Ventures approaches these mission opportunities with the spiritual journey at its core.

Ives weaves scripture, personal witness statements, and spiritual practices into a resource that will affect your life and the larger ministry of the church. As you gain a clearer understanding of God's call in your life, you'll recognize the ways God is already at work in the lives of those you seek to serve.

Ives's book is also an engaging study for small groups, leaders of youth missioners, and individuals who long to wander.

A Mile in My Shoes

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:31:46 GMT

We can be quick to pray for people around the world in times of trauma, but has prayer become a way to avoid taking real action? Are we reluctant to be fully aware of the suffering around us?

Trevor Hudson challenges us to see, hear, and respond to the needs of others, recognizing the living Christ in all things.

Hudson designed an 8-day program—a pilgrimage—to help all Christians cultivate the depth of compassion Jesus demonstrated. Through this program, pilgrims learn to be present wherever they are and with whomever they meet.

"We seldom become more compassionate without working at it," writes Hudson. "One practical way to cultivate compassion involves building the pilgrimage experience into our lives. …The risen Christ meets us in the lives of those who suffer."

Join Trevor Hudson in this exploration of how to love your neighbor as yourself and choose compassion as part of your daily life.

Climbing the Sycamore Tree

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:30:39 GMT

Warning: This book could change the way you live.

"Although I've experienced what it's like to get overextended, I've never been poor without options or help," writes Hagmann. "My faith tells me that being a Christian must affect who I am and how I behave with my wealth. Christ has something to say about the way I live my daily life, from how I treat others to how I spend my money."

Do you make everyday economic decisions that reflect your Christian faith and values? Or are you "living large" in a material world?

Using the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-9) as its inspiration, Climbing the Sycamore Tree is a 6-week study of faithful stewardship.

Hagmann uses both scripture and consumer statistics to show how our buying habits often marginalize certain people and perpetuate systems that contradict good stewardship and love for God's creation. Following the experience of the tax collector Zacchaeus, the study seeks to deepen the link between the faith we profess and the lifestyle we live.

Designed as a study for individuals or groups, Climbing the Sycamore Tree

provides insight into how our economy functions and the connection between how we spend our money and spiritual formation
asks provocative, discerning questions about our daily choices
calls us to a path of simple everyday living that's in harmony with our Christian beliefs

The study is divided into three sections of two weeks each. Each week's readings consist of five lessons and a group session that includes scripture, discussion questions, guides for reflection or activity, and prayer.

Open yourself to transformation that more clearly reflects the daily living of the faith you profess!

Love Never Ends

Thu, 05 May 2022 20:27:56 GMT

"A threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

A relationship where God and spouses are entwined is as strong and resistant to stresses as a braided cord.

"A stable, meaningful marriage is further strengthened by a shared spiritual journey," write the authors. "There's a reciprocal relationship between marital and spiritual growth. In our counseling, we often hear how joint faith is one of the most important factors in the vitality and stability of marriage."

In Love Never Ends, the Lauers show you how to strengthen both your relationship with God and with your spouse. Their approach is biblical, realistic, anecdotal, and practical.

Each chapter contains a "Face-to-Face" section with ideas for spouses to think about and discuss, followed by a prayer suggestion.

Engaging in the exercises in this book will help you

learn how to communicate better with your marriage partner
increase your intimacy
draw closer to God

Married since 1954, the Lauers speak from their extensive personal and professional experience. They have worked with other couples in marriage enrichment groups and in counseling, and they have coauthored 15 books as well as numerous articles published in magazines such as Psychology Today, Ladies' Home Journal, and Reader's Digest.

As you and your spouse read the book and engage in the exercises, you will grow in your understanding of Christian love and will practice mutual instruction in spiritual matters. Love Never Ends will help you learn to increase the number of joyous marital and spiritual experiences in your daily life.