A practical, illuminating companion guide to Beautiful Union, Joshua Ryan Butler’s positive exploration of how God’s design for sex reveals the good, true, and beautiful in Scripture . . . and all of life. Designed as a companion to that life-changing book, this dynamic study guide is your road map for diving more deeply into the key concepts of Beautiful Union—whether by yourself or with a group. Through seven fast-paced sessions, you’ll encounter thought-provoking questions, be prompted to reflect on powerful concepts, discover what God’s design for sex was always meant to reveal, and consider what it all means for living a joyful, faithful life. These sessions include features such as: • Unpack It: questions to illuminate Beautiful Union with space to record your reflections • Use Your Imagination: exercises to creatively help you see God’s larger invitation for human flourishing • Reflect on It: ways to understand our lives in the expansive story of God that sex points to With this guide, you’ll experience a bigger, more beautiful vision of God, the gospel, and the Christian vision for sex.

A powerful call for Christians to understand sex as a window into God's story of redemption, and a validating guide to living with authentic love in a changing culture—from the influential pastor and author of The Skeletons in God’s Closet. Beautiful isn’t likely the first word that comes to mind when we think about sex. Our reactions are as varied as our experiences and backgrounds. Perhaps the word brings up past baggage. Perhaps it holds yearning for a dream that has never come true. Maybe we would rather not talk about it. Maybe it’s all we want to talk about. Around us, our culture is divided by this topic. On one side, “progressive” voices seek to dismantle historic Christian teachings to fit current norms. On the other side, “conservative” voices can reinforce messages of shame, judgement, and repression. Beautiful Union offers a third way, one that is both true and beautiful. It gives us a provocative, positive look into the deepest Christian understanding of sex . . . and what sex reveals about God, our world, and even ourselves. Through biblical teaching and livable, joyful answers to our tough questions about sexuality, author and pastor Joshua Ryan Butler shows how sex illuminates the structure of creation, the nature of salvation, the abundance of God’s kingdom, and God’s heartbeat for the world. Discover afresh the beautiful invitation of our sexuality . . . as God intended it to be.

How can a loving God send people to hell? Isn’t it arrogant to believe Jesus is the only way to God? What is up with holy war in the Old Testament? Many of us fear God has some skeletons in the closet. Hell, judgment, and holy war are hot topics for the Christian faith that have a way of igniting fierce debate far and wide. These hard questions leave many wondering whether God is really good and can truly be trusted. The Skeletons in God's Closet confronts our popular caricatures of these difficult topics with the beauty and power of the real thing. Josh Butler reveals that these subjects are consistent with, rather than contradictory to, the goodness of God. He explores Scripture to reveal the plotlines that make sense of these tough topics in light of God’s goodness. From fresh angles, Josh deals powerfully with such difficult passages as: The Lake of Fire Lazarus and the Rich Man The Slaughter of Canaanites in the Old Testament Ultimately, The Skeletons in God's Close uses our toughest questions to provoke paradigm shifts in how we understand our faith as a whole. It pulls the “skeletons out of God’s closet” to reveal they were never really skeletons at all.

Is God lost? Many of us feel that way. It’s as if God’s gone missing, out in the universe somewhere—and we must pick up the hunt, following any trail of breadcrumbs he may have left to go out and find him. We speak of “searching for God,” “exploring spirituality,” and “finding faith.” But what if we have it backward? What if God is the one pursuing us? What if our job is not to go out and find God, but simply to stop running and hiding? Not to earn God’s love, but to receive it? Not to turn on the light, but to step out of the shadows? Jesus reveals a God on the prowl, pursuing us, hunting down his world for reconciliation. And the question we’re left with is not whether we’ve pursued hard enough, searched long enough, or jumped high enough . . . The question is, “Do we want to be found?”

Christians know that God loves them, but can easily feel that he is perpetually disappointed and frustrated, maybe even close to giving up on them. As a result, they focus a lot—and rightly so—on what Jesus has done to appease God’s wrath for sin. But how does Jesus Christ actually feel about his people amid all their sins and failures? This book draws us to Matthew 11, where Jesus describes himself as “gentle and lowly in heart,” longing for his people to find rest in him. The gospel flows from God’s deepest heart for his people, a heart of tender love for the sinful and suffering. These chapters take readers into the depths of Christ’s very heart for sinners, diving deep into Bible passages that speak of who Christ is and encouraging readers with the affections of Christ for his people. His longing heart for sinners comforts and sustains readers in their up-and-down lives.

A Study Guide for "Gothic Literature," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Literary Movements for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Literary Movements for Students for all of your research needs.

This leader's guide by Dan B. Allender and Tremper Longman III will show you, step by step, how to put together the materials in the Intimate Marriage Series to create a powerful marriage emphasis experience for individual couples, groups of couples and your entire church, including singles.