What is scriptural imagination? The word imagination does not mean the Bible is fantasy or untrue. A scriptural imagination allows us to look at the world through the stories and images of the Bible. As we view our world with scriptural imagination, we enter a continuous process of becoming more Christlike. In A Beginner's Guide to Practicing Scriptural Imagination, Kenneth Carter focuses on four scripture passages to give readers an easy entry into the practice of scriptural imagination. Carter advocates reading and reflecting on the biblical texts with a group. Carter says that almost every situation and problem we face can be addressed by men and women sitting with biblical texts, listening for what God might be saying through those passages. Equally important is taking time to listen attentively to people who are marginalized. As readers practice the spiritual exercises in this book, they will grow as disciples of Jesus who can then transform their world.

What is scriptural imagination? The word imagination does not mean the Bible is fantasy or untrue. A scriptural imagination allows us to look at the world through the stories and images of the Bible. As we view our world with scriptural imagination, we enter a continuous process of becoming more Christlike. In A Beginner's Guide to Practicing Scriptural Imagination, Kenneth Carter focuses on four scripture passages to give readers an easy entry into the practice of scriptural imagination. Carter advocates reading and reflecting on the biblical texts with a group. Carter says that almost every situation and problem we face can be addressed by men and women sitting with biblical texts, listening for what God might be saying through those passages. Equally important is taking time to listen attentively to people who are marginalized. As readers practice the spiritual exercises in this book, they will grow as disciples of Jesus who can then transform their world.

Mike Dooley, the beloved creator of Notes from the Universe, distills a career's worth of inspiration into elegant, brief lessons for making our way through the world--conceived as a guidebook for his young daughter to read when she grows up, yet relevant to everyone who's living a life on earth. Mike returns with his most impactful book yet: a volume of almost 500 insights drawn from his 20+ years as a New Thought leader, organized between endearing letters that recall poignant moments of fatherhood. Through books, courses, and live events, Mike has engaged students with his trademark humor, wisdom, and sheer joy in living. He speaks of understanding our innate spirituality and personal responsibility as the means to unlocking our power over the illusions of time and space. A Beginner's Guide to the Universe is filled with gem-like bits of wisdom imparting his most essential, heartfelt advice about living deliberately and creating consciously--comparable to such treasures as Life's Little Instruction Book, The Prophet, and The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down. Cleverly guiding the reader through a range of topics--including family and relationships, power and responsibility, adversity and rebounding, even the nature of heaven, angels, and God--Mike succeeds in making a happy life in this universe seem easily within our reach. The short passages of text placed artfully on each page, in a book that's a pleasure to hold in the hand, make this an ideal gift for a parent, a parent-to-be, a child, a new grad, a dear friend, or anyone who needs a dose of Dooley, whether they know it or not.

Author James Howell believes in the power of song to teach spiritual truths. "Hymns embed faith into the marrow of the soul," he writes. In Unrevealed Until Its Season, Howell takes us on a 40-day journey through well-loved hymns. A meaningful Lenten devotional guide for individuals and small groups, Unrevealed Until Its Season is also a valuable resource and perfect gift for musicians as they prepare for worship, and for ministers as they lead worship. Weekly themes include Praising God, Hymns About Jesus, Hymns of Forgiveness, Hymns of Vision, Hymns of Beauty, Hymns of Holy Week, and Hymns of Easter. Howell ponders phrases from old and new hymns, such as "Be Thou My Vision," "Hymn of Promise," "All Creatures of Our God and King," "For Everyone Born," "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing," "Lift High the Cross," and "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross."

In this revised and updated 2nd edition of her pioneering textbook, Allyson Jule offers fresh insights into the study of language and gender for those new to the subject. Students will gain a thorough grounding in theoretical and practical perspectives on gender and language in the workplace, media, school, religion and domestic settings. Updates to the 2nd edition include discussion of: language and rape culture; LGBTQ terminology; language and social media; gaming; eco-feminism; and language, gender and Islam. The book is an ideal introductory text for courses specifically focused on language and gender, as well as those where an understanding of these issues would be helpful. Written in an engaging and reader-friendly style, with study questions, suggestions for further reading and a glossary, this book is the ideal starting point for students wishing to understand how language and gender interact in the modern world.

Apophatic theology, or negative theology, attempts to describe God, the Divine Good, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is God. It is a way of coming to an understanding of who God is, which has played a significant role across centuries of Christian tradition but is very often treated with suspicion by those engaging in theological study today. This book seeks to introduce students to this oft-misunderstood form of spirituality. Beginning by placing apophatic spirituality within its biblical roots, the book later considers the key pioneers of apophatic faith and a diverse range of thinkers, including C. S. Lewis and Keats, to inform us in our negative theological journey. A final section explores what difference a negative theological approach might make to our practice and our liturgy.

Preaching was immensely important in the medieval Church, and Thomas Aquinas expended much time and effort preaching. Today, however, Aquinas’s sermons remain relatively unstudied and underappreciated. This is largely because their sermo modernus style, typical of the thirteenth century, can appear odd and inaccessible to the modern reader. In Reading the Sermons of Thomas Aquinas, Randall Smith guides the reader through Aquinas’s sermons, explaining their form and content. In the process, one comes to appreciate the sermons in their rhetorical brilliance, beauty, and profound spiritual depth while simultaneously being initiated into a fascinating world of thought concerning Scripture, language, and the human mind. The book also includes analytical outlines for all of Aquinas’s extant sermons. Reading the Sermons of Thomas Aquinas: A Beginner’s Guide is an indispensable volume for those interested in the thought of Aquinas, in the intellectual and spiritual milieu in which he worked, and in the manifold ways of preaching the Gospel message.