• A fresh approach to church life and ecclesial health • Addresses the concerns of leadership in challenging times • Includes questions for reflection and study by individuals and groups Patience may be the least understood and least practiced of the Christian virtues—and yet patience may be the most important virtue to today’s church, the virtue that can underpin our most faithful longing. Building on a theological, biblical, and historical foundation, the author lays out a case for patience as a distinctly Christian practice. Patience subverts the cycle of crisis and fear that shapes so much of our culture. Patience understands that urgency and haste are hallmarks of the secular world, not the church. Patience and attending to the Other, whether divine or human, is a modern day cornerstone of justice, holding us together in a timeless bond. The author, a scholar and minister, has long wrestled with the notion that the church has to get out there and sell itself. In this book, he offers patience as an alternative way to address current issues and church growth.

Life Is Never Mainly About Love and Marriage. So Learn to Live and Date for More. Many of you grew up assuming that marriage would meet all of your needs and unlock God's purposes for you. But God has far more planned for you than your future marriage. Not Yet Married is not about waiting quietly in the corner of the world for God to bring you "the one," but about inspiring you to live and date for more now. If you follow Jesus, the search for a spouse is no longer a pursuit of the perfect person, but a pursuit of more of God. He will likely write a love story for you different than the one you would write for yourself, but that's because he loves you and knows how to write a better story. This book was written to help you find real hope, happiness, and purpose in your not-yet-married life.

There are many in the Body of Christ who live in fear of past failures and mistakes. In this message, receive strength and comfort to move forward in God. Jacob had to face his past with his brother. However, God gave him victory. Today is the day you can begin to say, "I thank God for my past." Why? "It prepared me for my future."

In "The Practice of Patience," Thomas Goodwin (1600-1680) delivers a biblical exploration of patience as an essential Christian virtue, rooted in James 1. Revealing patience not just as endurance but a divine grace, Goodwin guides readers through the multifaceted dimensions of this virtue, emphasizing its transformative effect on character and faith. Drawing on Scripture and theological insights, he illuminates patience's relevance to modern life and its role as a fruit of the Holy Spirit, fostering humility, trust, and dependence on God, to the glory of Jesus Christ. He establishes the theological foundation of patience, exploring its origin in God's character and manifestation through the life of Christ. He connects patience intricately to God's redemptive plan and highlights its cultivation of joy, peace, and spiritual maturity. Through exegesis of key biblical passages (especially James), Goodwin demonstrates how patience acts as a refining fire, purifying and strengthening the believer's faith. Furthermore, Goodwin examines patience's role in the believer's journey, emphasizing its link to true Christian faith and its divine power in shaping character. He offers practical guidance on prayer, meditation, and study of God's Word as disciplines to develop this transformative virtue. He also challenges readers to embrace patience as a means to experience Christ's promised abundant life. Goodwin's compassionate and accessible writing makes this timeless masterpiece engaging for readers from all walks of life. Whether navigating personal trials or seeking a deeper understanding of God's character, this work will inspire and encourage a journey of patience as both a divine fruit of faith and a learned virtue. May the wisdom of Goodwin's exposition guide you toward the divine virtue of patience, inspiring you to persevere, grow in faith, and find comfort in the unchanging love of our patient God. Experience the transformative power of patience, and embrace the journey filled with insight, encouragement, and timeless wisdom from Scripture.

We are an impatient people who want everything done in a hurry. But God refuses to be rushed. In the words of author James W. Moore: We love instant results. We want everything done in a hurry these days. We don’t want to wait for anything. We are so different from the earlier generations who ordered things from the Sears catalog and waited with great anticipation for weeks or even months for the items to arrive. We want to pay a little down now (even if we can’t really afford it) and get it today. We are impatient people looking for immediate action and instant gratification, so much so that God’s patient ways sometimes confuse, perplex, and bother us. We are impatient, but God is deliberate, steady, and long-suffering. We look for the speedy way, the shortcut, the instant answer, the immediate solution. But God takes the long way ’round. God refuses to be rushed. The way to become a spiritually mature Christian is to spend so much time with Christ that we begin to think and act like him, to spend so much time with him that we take on what the apostle Paul called “the mind of Christ.” It just takes time and effort and commitment. There are no easy, instant solutions. What we need to remember is that the things that matter most take time, effort, commitment, discipline, lots of practice, lots of hard work . . . and lots of patience. Working chapter titles include, “Lord, Give Me Patience, and Give it to Me Right Now”; “Lord, Give Me Perseverance”; “ Lord, Give Me Faith”; “Lord, Give Me Forgiveness”; “Lord, Give Me Love”; “Lord, Give Me Childlikeness”; “Lord, Give Me Life”; “Lord, Give Me Grace”; and others. This book includes twelve chapters and a discussion guide.

The third edition of the New Bible Dictionary will increase the reader's knowledge and understanding of God's Word as no other single book can do. This up-to-date edition is filled with the latest developments in biblical studies, ancient Near Eastern studies, and archaeological finds.

How and why did the early church grow in the first four hundred years despite disincentives, harassment, and occasional persecution? In this unique historical study, veteran scholar Alan Kreider delivers the fruit of a lifetime of study as he tells the amazing story of the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Challenging traditional understandings, Kreider contends the church grew because the virtue of patience was of central importance in the life and witness of the early Christians. They wrote about patience, not evangelism, and reflected on prayer, catechesis, and worship, yet the church grew--not by specific strategies but by patient ferment.