This book is a compilation of the funny stories collected in over 50 years of ministry. Many of the stories are from personal experience and the experience of the author's family. A large number of the stories were gleamed from the churches served by the author and the denominational positions he has held. Some of the stories were collected from other people and received from friends over the internet. All of them are designed to make you laugh and find relief from the complexities of life. Hopefully, you will be inspired by some of the stories and find life a little more pleasant. Dan Ray served as pastor of Baptist Churches for 20 years. His pastorates were in South Carolina, Arizona and California. He also served as a denominational Executive for about 20 years. His denominational service was with the Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania-South Jersey and the South Carolina Baptist Convention. There was also a three year period when he served as an Associational Director of Missions in South Carolina. Since retirement in 1994 he has held various part-time positions related to Church Administration and Stewardship. Over the years Rev. Ray has been active in numerous mission trips sometimes as participant and sometimes as team leader. His trips have been to Puerto Rico, The Philippines, Canada, Brazil, and Mexico. His wife, Martha, has been his constant companion for over 54 years. She is a retired school teacher and musician and her talents seem endless. They have four children and eight grandchildren all actively participating in Christian ministry.

THE LAUGHING CHRIST is about Jesus the Christ. It emphasizes the joyousness of his nature, describes his birth, infancy, and childhood. It also details countries to which he traveled between the ages of twelve and thirty - the years about which Holy Scripture is silent.

Is Your Life Working? Most of us are trying to put together the jigsaw puzzle we call life without a very important piece. Over time this becomes incredibly frustrating. In this extraordinary book, Matthew Kelly powerfully demonstrates that we cannot live the life we have imagined, or experience the joy we yearn for, unless we learn to tend the soul. From there, with his classic style of practical wisdom, he teaches us how to remedy this problem. When our bodies are hungry, our stomachs growl. When our souls are hungry, we become irritable, restless, confused, overwhelmed, exhausted, anxious, discontent, and tend to focus on the things that matter least and neglect the things that matter most.

By using his unique blend of humor and tell-it-like-it-is honesty, he helps couples get along and have fun doing it.

Lenny Duncan is the unlikeliest of pastors. Formerly incarcerated, he is now a black preacher in the whitest denomination in the United States: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Shifting demographics and shrinking congregations make all the headlines, but Duncan sees something else at work--drawing a direct line between the church's lack of diversity and the church's lack of vitality. The problems the ELCA faces are theological, not sociological. But so are the answers. Part manifesto, part confession, and all love letter, Dear Church offers a bold new vision for the future of Duncan's denomination and the broader mainline Christian community of faith. Dear Church rejects the narrative of church decline and calls everyone--leaders and laity alike--to the front lines of the church's renewal through racial equality and justice. It is time for the church to rise up, dust itself off, and take on forces of this world that act against God: whiteness, misogyny, nationalism, homophobia, and economic injustice. Duncan gives a blueprint for the way forward and urges us to follow in the revolutionary path of Jesus. Dear Church also features a discussion guide at the back--perfect for church groups, book clubs, and other group discussion.

Discover the wonders of the universe with the Creator. Based on Louie Giglio's popular messages "Indescribable" and "How Great Is Our God," Indescribable: 100 Devotions About God and Science will help kids discover the incredible creation of our indescribable God. Indescribable displays the majesty of creation with scientific findings, photography, and original illustrations. Children who are fascinated with the world around them, nature, and the earth will deepen their faith as they explore God's Word. These 100 devotions encourage awe and appreciation for God's creativity with an in-depth look at these categories: space, galaxies, planets, and stars Earth, geology, oceans, and weather animals, from hummingbirds to dinosaurs our minds, bodies, and imaginations This book is perfect for children, ages 6–10 years old, each devotion features a "Be Amazed" section with fascinating scientific facts hands-on, easy-to-follow STEM activity closing prayer Psalm 19:1 says, "The heavens tell the glory of God. And the skies announce what his hands have made." It's impossible to out-imagine God. He orchestrates time, creates light, and speaks things into existence—from the largest stars to the smallest starfish. God is the powerful, purposeful, personal, and unparalleled Creator. Indescribable: 100 Devotions About God and Science has sold over 500,000 copies! Check out Louie Giglio's other bestselling science devotionals for kids: Indescribable for Little Ones How Great Is Our God The Wonder of Creation

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to church again, he's back. As HM's Church of Scotland minister, Jolly is in residence at Balmoral. You can tell because the flag's at half-mast. But when Jolly's fair midden, Ephesia, wrecks the Braemar Highland Games, the Church sends him off on a secret mission. This is Jolly as we've never seen him - laughing at danger, saving the world and a total babe magnet...Sorry, that's 007. This is Jolly as we've always seen him - hiding from danger, saving his pocket money and with a Mickey Mouse magnet on his fridge. Not so much mean, moody and magnificent as morbid, miserable and morose, with a permanent drip on his nose. Jolly's back. And this time he means business.