Build a boat in a desert? Do What? Go where? Not me, God! Why would a frightened king let a teenager fight a giant? Strong enough to bench press 1000 pounds! Why not compromise? Who needs a den of lions or a fiery furnace? So nasty, even a fish spits him out! Do you know your Bible heroes? Do your kids know these heroes worth following, and the scoundrels to avoid? This book has stories from the Bible about heroes from our culture, and a few scoundrels. These are stories that I taught to my kids while they were growing up. I read them in the Bible, then told them while we were doing dishes. I think telling them is much better than just reading them to kids. It means more. It says that mom or dad actually know and believe what they are telling. It imprints a childs mind to hear stories of heroes who dared to stand for God in spite of temptations to give in. That is what makes a hero.

In the early church, the phrase ôThe Wayö was synonymous with Christianity itself. In Acts, we read that St. Paul, before his dramatic conversion, persecuted ôanyone who belonged to The Way,ö that is, anyone who was a follower of Jesus. And Jesus himself said these memorable words, ôI am the way, the truth, and the life.ö This book is intended especially for people striving to live their lives by The Way.

In the Old Testament, we read how God made the heavens and the earth, the galaxies, animals and mankind. We see how man decided that he wanted to be his own God. Instead of obeying the creator God, he chose to disobey God and sold himself to sin, bringing sin into the world. How God promised that He would send a savior to buy people back from sin. The entire Old Testament is showing us the great lengths that God went to, to find the right time and the right people to be parents to his Son,whom He was sending into the world to be our Savior. The New Testament is Gods answer to our sin problem. God sent Jesus to become a man so we could see the face of God. Jesus shows us how much God loves us, enough to take our sins on himself and die in our place so we can be forgiven. Jesus wants us to learn to follow Him back to God, His Father. This book has stories from the New Testament about heroes and a few scoundrels to avoid. It repeats in places like the Gospels do, each seeing the same thing from a little differnt angle. My kids loved these stories. I think that your kids will love them too, Just tell, or read them these stories. Bible Heroes who stood up for God are the best heroes a child can have. Hearing about people who stood up for God even when things were hard, gives a child courage to stand up for what is right in his world today. Kids need heroes.

The Scarlet Cord: Conversations With God s Chosen Women tells the story of biblical women in a new way, drawing the reader further down her spiritual path and closer to Christ. And here is why: for too long, women in the Bible have been demonized, sanctified or simply misunderstood, leaving highly stereotyped figures in their wake. As a result, passionate, faithful and bright individuals, from Eve to Ruth to Mary Magdalene, have lost meaning for many contemporary Christians and non-Christians alike. Here, through storytelling and artwork, twelve compelling women of the Bible invite readers to step further into the sacred circle of God s people, deepening their faith and joy in all of creation. That circle offers more than peace. It offers health, healing, and the knowledge that other women have also trod broken and jagged paths in their search for wholeness. By taking this step, the reader will discover that challenges experienced by biblical women are not so different from her own, including infertility, warfare, hunger, old age, grief and sexual conflict.

The stories of Scripture are for everyone. No exceptions. Emmy Kegler has a complicated relationship with the Bible. As a queer woman who grew up in both conservative Evangelical and progressive Protestant churches, she knows too well how Scripture can be used to wound and exclude. And yet, the stories of Scripture continue to captivate and inspire her--both as a person of faith and as a pastor to a congregation. So she set out to fall in love with the Bible, wrestling with the stories inside, where she met a God who continues to seek us out--appearing again and again as a voice, a presence, and a promise. Whenever we are pushed to the edges, our voices silenced, or our stories dismissed, God goes out after us--seeking us until we are found again. And God is seeking out those whose voices we too quickly silence and dismiss, too. Because God's story is a story of welcome and acceptance for everyone--no exceptions. Kegler shows us that even when we feel like lost and dusty coins--rusted from others' indifference, misspent and misused--God picks up a broom and sweeps every corner of creation to find us.

For too long the women of the Bible have been depicted in one-dimensional terms. On one side are saints, such as Mary, while on the other are "bad girls," such as Eve and Jezebel. Just as often, the female characters of the Bible are simply ignored. However, the women of the Bible are complex, multidimensional individuals whose lives are inspiring, funny, and tragic in ways too many of us never hear. In this first of two volumes, Lynn Japinga acquaints us with the women of the Old Testament. From flawed heroes like Ruth and Rahab to fierce fighters like Deborah and Jael to tragic characters like Jephthah's daughter and the unnamed concubine of the book of Judges, readers will encounter a wealth of foremothers in the faith in all their messy, yet redeemable, humanity. This Bible study introduces and retells every female character who contributes to one or more Old Testament stories, diving deeply into what each woman's story means for us today with questions for reflection and discussion.

What Wild at Heart did for men, Captivating is doing for women. Setting their hearts free. This groundbreaking book shows readers the glorious design of women before the fall, describes how the feminine heart can be restored, and casts a vision for the power, freedom, and beauty of a woman released to be all she was meant to be.