By making Three Simple Rules and Five Marks of a Methodist accessible for a current United Methodist and Wesleyan audience, Abingdon Press has reintroduced Wesley’s formative identity and boosted our way of Christian living in thousands of congregations. The next most important document that Wesley delivered to the rapidly expanding societies and congregations was The Wesley Covenant Prayer and Renewal Service from 1755, which are crucial to Methodist identity. This service, a liturgical event in 1755, was preceded by several mornings of teaching from John Wesley about “the means of increasing serious religion.” Charles Wesley also wrote a hymn supporting the prayer – “Come, Let Us Use the Grace Divine.” Over the millennia since 1755, many Methodists have used this liturgy on New Year’s Eve – the Watch Night Service – as a service of renewal of the individual’s covenant with God for the coming year. More recently many churches have found other opportunities to provide this opportunity for the congregation. Wesley’s covenant renewal can function now as an accessible church-wide campaign that culminates in the liturgical affirmation and faithful promise to love God and neighbor faithfully. The campaign could be: 1) Used during Advent and culminate on New Year’s Eve with the Covenant prayer committed to memory and resolve. 2) Used from mid-September, with emphasis on homecoming and harvest, and culminated with the liturgical event on All Saint’s Day. 3) Used prior to Lent and culminate on Ash Wednesday, or 4) Used during Lent and culminate on during holy week (read prior to the passion of Jesus).

By makingi Three Smple Rules and Five Marks of a Methodist accessible for a current United Methodist and Wesleyan audience, Abingdon Press has reintroduced Wesley’s formative identity and boosted our way of Christian living in thousands of congregations. The next most important document that Wesley delivered to the rapidly expanding societies and congregations was The Wesley Covenant Prayer and Renewal Service from 1755, which are crucial to Methodist identity. This service, a liturgical event in 1755, was preceded by several mornings of teaching from John Wesley about “the means of increasing serious religion.” Charles Wesley also wrote a hymn supporting the prayer – “Come, Let Us Use the Grace Divine.” Over the millennia since 1755, many Methodists have used this liturgy on New Year’s Eve – the Watch Night Service – as a service of renewal of the individual’s covenant with God for the coming year. More recently many churches have found other opportunities to provide this opportunity for the congregation. Wesley’s covenant renewal can function now as an accessible church-wide campaign that culminates in the liturgical affirmation and faithful promise to love God and neighbor faithfully. The campaign could be: 1) Used during Advent and culminate on New Year’s Eve with the Covenant prayer committed to memory and resolve. 2) Used from mid-September, with emphasis on homecoming and harvest, and culminated with the liturgical event on All Saint’s Day. 3) Used prior to Lent and culminate on Ash Wednesday, or 4) Used during Lent and culminate on during holy week (read prior to the passion of Jesus).

By making Three Simple Rules and Five Marks of a Methodist accessible for a current United Methodist and Wesleyan audience, Abingdon Press has reintroduced Wesley’s formative identity and boosted our way of Christian living in thousands of congregations. The next most important document that Wesley delivered to the rapidly expanding societies and congregations was The Wesley Covenant Prayer and Renewal Service from 1755, which are crucial to Methodist identity. This service, a liturgical event in 1755, was preceded by several mornings of teaching from John Wesley about “the means of increasing serious religion.” Charles Wesley also wrote a hymn supporting the prayer – “Come, Let Us Use the Grace Divine.” Over the centuries since 1755, many Methodists have used this liturgy on New Year’s Eve – the Watch Night Service – as a service of renewal of the individual’s covenant with God for the coming year. More recently many churches have found other opportunities to provide this opportunity for the congregation. Wesley’s covenant renewal can function now as an accessible church-wide campaign that culminates in the liturgical affirmation and faithful promise to love God and neighbor faithfully. The campaign could be: 1) Used during Advent and culminate on New Year’s Eve with the Covenant prayer committed to memory and resolve. 2) Used from mid-September, with emphasis on homecoming and harvest, and culminated with the liturgical event on All Saint’s Day. 3) Used prior to Lent and culminate on Ash Wednesday, or 4) Used during Lent and culminate on during holy week.

In a world of uncertainty, pain, and struggle, where do you find solid assurance and unshakeable truth? In The Shelter of God’s Promises, a ten-session small-group Bible study, gifted Bible teacher and inspiring speaker Sheila Walsh searches Scripture for what God has promised us, what God's promises mean, and how those promises provide the foundation for daily confidence, joy, and hope. Through vulnerable storytelling and powerful in-depth teaching, Sheila offers a life-changing study on ten bedrock promises of God to help you gain a trust in Him that will sustain you for a lifetime.The Shelter of God's Promises Participant's Guide includes individual and group activities, between-session personal studies, and additional material that will enhance your experience of the video sessions. Sessions include: The Promise of Jesus The Promise of Provision The Promise of Peace The Promise of Confidence The Promise of Love The Promise of Grace The Promise of Hope The Promise of Strength The Promise of More The Promise of Home Designed for use with The Shelter of God's Promises DVD 9780529110398 (sold separately).

This is the participant guide to The Tabernacle, the ONLY DVD study from The Tabernacle Experience® on the market! This guide provides discussion questions, session overviews, and additional information to help enhance your understanding of The Tabernacle. It covers all 6 sessions included in The Tabernacle DVD-based study. Covers all 6 sessions. This new The Tabernacle DVD is a fantastic 6-session video-based study on the biblical Tabernacle, and is perfect for your personal study, church small group, or Sunday school class. Learn more about this movable tent of meeting in the wilderness of Sinai where God dwelled with his people. Using the popular Tabernacle Experience® replica of the Tabernacle of Moses, this easy-to-teach study presents an expert-guided tour and explanation of each part. As you walk through this life-size model of the Old Testament Tabernacle, you will work your way from the Outer Courtyard into the Most Holy Place. Your teacher Shawn Barnard explains the significance and symbolism of each section of the Tabernacle. New! This ready-to-use Tabernacle DVD will explain - • Why and how the Tabernacle was built • How the sacrifices pointed toward Jesus Christ: Sin Offering, Guilt Offering, Grain/Gift Offering, Burn Offering, and Peace Offering • Why the Tabernacle is often called the "Tabernacle of God" because the design of the tent revealed God's holiness and humanity's need for God • The symbolism behind the Golden Lampstand/Candlestick, the Table of the Bread of Presence, the Altar of Incense and more • Why the Ark of the Covenant and Mercy Seat were at the center of worship • How the Tabernacle relates to biblical holidays, such as Passover • The parallels between the Tabernacle, Christ's ministry, and the church

This Covenant experience will guide participants in a comprehensive, in-depth study of the Bible over twenty-four weeks. Unlike the learning participants may have experienced in other groups, this in-depth study of the whole Bible emphasizes the biblical concept of covenant as a unifying pattern through all the books in the Old and New Testaments. It underscores the unique relationship that God chooses to have with us as God’s people. This relationship is grounded in the faithfulness of God’s love and on our ongoing commitment to stay in love with God while we share signs of that love with others. Each episode connects to an aspect of this covenant relationship, which is summarized in the heading of each participant guide. GOD ESTABLISHES THE COVENANT to be in relationship with us. So the first eight weeks, Creating the Covenant, examines how the covenant community is created and established—highlighting several examples throughout scripture. It discusses the story of our origins in Genesis, the Exodus narrative, the teachings of Moses, the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, as well as other books from each Testament that focus on the foundation of Christian faith. In doing so, it lays out the framework for a life lived in concert with God and others. Each participant in the group needs the Participant Guides and a Bible. The CEB Study Bible is preferred. The Creating Participant Guide is eight weeks long, and has a lay flat binding making it easy to take notes in the generous space provided on each page. The Creating Participant Guide contains the following episodes: Episode 1: Creating the Covenant Relationships with people in our lives are key to faithful living. Covenant is about the family God creates and the power of love that overcomes evil. We are broken and miss the mark. Substitutes for faithful love destroy our relationships. Yet God’s response to broken relationships is to restore us to wholeness. Through the shared practice of reading and interpreting the Bible scripture in holy conversation, we sharpen our understandings until they become more accurate and relevant. And we learn about God’s gracious love and how to share it with others. Episode 2: Torah—Genesis Genesis answers the question: Who are we in the scheme of things? Covenant relationships are a metaphor for life together before God. This life is characterized by both gift and responsibility. Broken relationships in these stories are countered by forgiveness and generosity. Episode 3: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers Passover is a bittersweet celebration of Israel’s liberation. The covenant at Sinai creates a people with instructions for living in harmony. These instructions are ever in need of reinterpretation in new situations, much like amendments to a constitution. God is holy and calls the people to be distinct and set apart in their faithfulness. Episode 4: Gospels—Matthew and Mark The Gospels are similar to Greco-Roman biographies but with a saving twist. They paint a portrait of Jesus’ significance for first-century readers living under Roman rule before and after the destruction of the temple in 70 CE. By arranging the events of his life, death, and resurrection in distinct order, these writers depict Jesus as both the suffering “human one” (Mark) and a new teacher like Moses (Matthew). Jesus comes to bring and embody a new covenant reign (kingdom) of God’s saving love in the world. Episode 5: Romans and Galatians The letters of Paul substituted for his presence and represent his attempt to deal with controversies and provide guidance to churches from a pastor’s perspective. For Paul, God’s grace expressed in Jesus’ faithfulness on the cross is a saving gift with no substitutes. The Spirit’s presence, too, is a gift that marks the community of faith and produces fruit for faithful life together, making us more gracious to ourselves and others. Episode 6: Hebrews The book of Hebrews is a masterful sermon written by an unknown author to a struggling community.The writer encourages them to live lives of gratitude for God’s saving work in Jesus. Hebrews embraces the imagery of sacrifice in the Old Testament to describe Jesus’ pioneering cosmic work of redemption. Replacing fear with trust, Jesus—our faithful forerunner—made it possible for us to approach the holy with confident expectation of God’s favor. Episode 7: 1 and 2 Corinthians Paul’s letters to the church at Corinth address very concrete issues in a culture that honors the freedom of superiors to do as they please. Paul counters this with the mind of Christ, patterned by the logic of self-giving love. This “logic of the cross” balances freedom with Christ-shaped responsibility to live in ways that benefit both self and community. Episode 8: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel These books retell the story of Israel and its responsibilities as a rescued, covenant people. As they transition to a new life in the promised land, the first commandment (no other gods) is restated positively: love God with all your heart and strength. Life in the land after Moses and Joshua is characterized by a cycle of faithlessness, crisis, cries for help, and temporary rescue. The last tribal chieftain/first prophet Samuel will anoint kings for an unruly people when the real king missing in Israel is God. More Questions? Visit http://covenantbiblestudy.com/ for more information.

The Struggle Is Real Participant’s Guide is a six-session workbook designed for use with The Struggle Is Real DVD Experience (sold separately), based on the new book by popular speaker and Bible teacher Nicole Unice. A great resource for church groups, Bible studies, and anyone who’s ever felt life just shouldn’t be this hard! Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a day where everything that could go wrong does go wrong—you lock your keys in the car while it’s running, lose control with your kids, make a mistake at the office that results in hours’ more work. And just when you think not one more thing could possibly happen . . . well, fill in the blank. The struggle is real, friends. It may not be major stuff. Lives are not on the line here. But it makes us feel awful . . . and then we feel guilty for stressing when other people have “real” problems that are so much more serious. Yet the fact remains: We live in a world that often feels harder than we think it should be. And so it can be easy to believe the stories we tell ourselves—that we’re doing it wrong, that we’ll be stuck in this place forever, that God doesn’t love us. We struggle practice gratitude, to make godly choices, and to live our daily lives with confidence and contentment. So what can we do? Join Nicole Unice to discover why the struggle is real . . . and what to do about it. In The Struggle Is Real Participant’s Guide Nicole offers practical tools to help you navigate the daily ups and downs, and ways to rewrite your struggle into a new, God-centered life story. Includes access to free online video streaming for 90 days!