Social Ministry

Preach and Deliver is a practical guide that will teach you the best practices for body language, eye contact, pauses, humor, illustrations, notes, and much more. This book will change the way you deliver a sermon so that you can preach in a powerful way that grips the hearts and minds of your audience. But passive listening alone will not make you a better preacher. That's why at the end of every chapter, I have included an action step to apply what you learned.

What does salt, light, and ink, as mentioned in Matthew 5:13-20, have to do with scribal artistry? This intriguing question opens the door to a rich tapestry of spiritual exploration, where the seemingly disparate elements of ancient wisdom and contemporary faith converge to reveal profound insights. In Matthew 5:13-20, we find a mosaic of metaphors and teachings offered by Christ, each holding a unique significance in the context of our faith journey. Salt, with its preserving and flavor-enhancing qualities; light, illuminating the path of righteousness; and ink, the timeless medium of ...

What was the starting point of Christianity? Was it in a little town in Bethlehem, just as the lyrics of our favorite Christmas songs contend? In truth, in the earliest days of Christianity, when Peter and Paul first set out to preach the gospel, the belief systems of early Christians were viewed as merely a new sect of Judaism.

On a daily basis, author and LGBTQ advocate Amber Cantorna receives emails asking the same question: How does one reconcile their sexuality with their faith? Depression, despair, and thoughts of suicide often haunt LGBTQ Christians as they feel unable to imagine the possibility of living a happy, fulfilling life as an LGBTQ person of faith.

Do you want to love your neighbor as yourself but don’t know where to start? This practical, accessible guide to bridging the dividing lines of politics, race, and economics, both individually and as the church, will help you amplify Jesus in your community and build God’s kingdom.

Pastor Skip Heitzig breaks apart the basic components of today's society and looks at the threats that believers face at every level: personally, family, communally, nationally, and globally. This series focuses on what God's word says about each of these levels of society and how we can best follow God's original plan for our lives, our family, and the rest of the world.

Jack Miles's book is a provocative and revisionary look at the life of Jesus, in which many of the most well-worn truths about Christ are recontextualized and revisited. It does not look for the historical Jesus, but takes the Gospels as the sole source about his life.

When it comes to Christ-centered recovery, we, the church, have work to do. Our legalistic, box-checking, one-size-fits-all programs produce astonishingly high failure rates—which means far too many people are left to fight addiction, mental health problems, and suicidal thoughts on their own. The goal of The Uncovery is to help the church—and the world—see recovery through a grace-laced, gospel lens. Every single one of us has some trauma or issue from our past that may still be affecting our life today. This book offers listeners nudge to go deeper in the recovery space.

Here's a refreshing look at what it means to be a woman of faith in today's world. Based on the Women of Faith seminar, "The Joyful Journey," this collection of anecdotes discusses the obstacles, bumps, and detours women sometimes face along the journey of life. With warmth and humor, the authors encourage us to allow friendship, laughter, and celebration to steer our hearts closer to God. Patsy Clairmont and Barbara Johnson are both best selling authors, Marilyn Meberg is a speaker with several tapes to her name, and Luci Swindoll is the former vice president of public relations for Insight for Living.

Faith, Hope & Action: A Christian Response to Climate Change Struggling to reconcile your faith with climate action? Wondering how to inspire your church or take meaningful steps in your own life? You’re not alone. Many Christians wrestle with how to address climate change in a way that aligns with biblical teachings. While more faith communities recognize the need for action, few have the tools to make real progress. But what if you could engage confidently, armed with theological wisdom and practical solutions—transforming both your perspective and your community? This book provides a...

Money has great power in our lives. Used wisely, it is one key to accomplishing our goals, providing for our needs, and fulfilling our life purpose. In recent years, many of us ignored the wisdom of the past when it came to managing and spending our money. Credit card debt soared, savings rates plummeted, and our home equity became something to be tapped into and spent rather than a source of security in retirement. We felt an insatiable desire for more. And we found ourselves spending tomorrow's money today in order to have what we hoped would satisfy.

The stakes have never been higher as daughters of every age are navigating a world of hyper-sexualization, social media hangover, extreme loneliness, and a flood of confusing messages. Whether listeners desire to know more of who they are created to be or are raising daughters who are just beginning their own journeys, Courageous leads women and those they love through transformation as they experience confidence in who God made them to be.

Homosexuality is one of the most controversial moral issues of our day. Headlines teem with stories of athletes "coming out", politicians changing positions, and courts handing down same sex marriage rulings. Sadly, the church has often been afraid to talk about homosexuality. Many Christians feel confused and divided between the call to love and the call for truth. The time is ripe for God's people to think and speak about same sex attraction in a way that is both biblical and beneficial. Love into Light is designed to move the church toward that end.

New research finds that Christians are less involved in spiritual conversations today than we were twenty-five years ago. As society has changed, it seems we have become more uncomfortable talking with people about our faith. We are reluctant conversationalists. As a result, many of our churches and communities are shrinking instead of growing. What can we do about this?

In this story a galactic empire of thousands of planets has been at peace for hundreds of years. Production all across the empire is regulated to keep markets and economies stable. With this kind of system in place, why is there suddenly a plot to overthrow the current emperor, and who is behind it?

In a world fractured by racial, ethnic, class and political division, God's people need to pursue their unity in Christ. Jesus not only reconciles us to God but unites us in a new family. As we experience more of the fullness of being God’s reconciled people, we know more of the fullness of God.

In this poignant and vulnerable book, Leslie shows you how each hodgepodge piece of your life, no matter how haphazard, represents a part of what you do and who you are. While on the surface, none of these pieces may seem to make a terribly dramatic impact, Leslie will show you how they are your life and how when they are collected into a jar, a loving human heart, they become a treasure.

The human body is an amazing gift, yet today, many people downplay its importance and fail to understand what Christianity teaches about our bodies and their God-given purposes. Many people misunderstand how the body was designed, its role in relating to others; and we lack awareness of the dangers of objectifying the body, divorcing it from its intended purpose.

The tenth parallel - the line of latitude seven hundred miles north of the equator - is a geographical and ideological front line where Christianity and Islam collide. More than half of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims live along the tenth parallel; so do sixty percent of the world’s 2 billion Christians. Here, in the buzzing megacities and swarming jungles of Africa and Asia, is where the two religions meet; their encounter is shaping the future of each faith, and of whole societies as well.

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Christianity offers answers to the secular world's criticism of Christianity's history, traditions, and beliefs. You think you know about Christianity, but did you know: God likes "organized religion" - it's clear from both the New and Old Testaments; Christians have always believed that men and women are equal; the correct pronoun for angels is "he"; science was stillborn everywhere outside the Christian West; Christianity, which first taught the world to value victims, is now the victim of a victimhood culture; and more.