New Acquisitions:
Look what we just got!!!
"Focus Your Vision" with Dewitt Jones - 20 minute DVD with powerpoint presentation as well as leader notes and other downloadable support.(Ask me about Dewitt Jones if you have not heard about his DVDs)
Complete Set of Nooma DVD's - these are short DVD's with a postmodern flavor that are meant to stimulate discussion. They are great for a small group format for youth and young adults.
New Confirmation Materials:
Can We Talk? Conversations for Faith Student Journal for the Study Catechism
Confirmation: Presbyterian Practice in Ecumenical Perspective by Richard Robert Osmer
Making Disciples: Coordinator's Guide by William H. Willimon
Journey to Discipleship: Teacher's Guide (includes student book) by Harvey G. Throop.
Recent Arrivals:
The Apostles' Creed: 40 Daily Readings for the Purposeful Presbyterian - Part of the iBelieve Series. Small Group Study Guide Included
Building a Church of Small Groups: a place where nobody stands alone by Bill Donahue and Russ Robinson
I Have a Plan: A Pastor's Guide to Counseling Troubled Marriages by Charles L. Rassieur - a simple, straightforward, focused plan for short-term counseling with married couples that can be put in place quickly at the first signs of trouble.
No Perfect People Allowed: Creating a COME AS YOU ARE culture in the CHURCH by John Burke. This book "shows you how to deconstruct the five main barriers standing between emerging generations and your church by creating the right culture".
Seven Tools for Building Effective Groups by Jeffrey Arnold
Seven Traits of a Successful Leader by Jeffrey Arnold
Fasting: Spiritual Freedom Beyond Our Appetites by Lynne M. Baab
Financial Parenting: Showing Your Kids That Money Matters by Larry Burkett and Rick Osborne. "If we can teach our children to follow God's principles in finances, it will literally cause their hearts to be focused on God." Topics addressed include: stewardship, giving, financial contentment, diligence and the work ethic, long-term financial planning, borrowing and lending, saving and investing, and finally, budgeting.
Invitation to Christ: Font & Table: A Guide to Sacramental Practices. This is a sacramental study guide produced by "The Sacraments Study Group" of the PCUSA and is published by the PCUSA. It is available free of charge - PDS #70430-06-001. A downloadable version is also available from the Invitation to Christ website, www.pcusa.org/theologyandworship
The Life of Jesus For Today by Ronald J. Allen.
Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down, by Marva J. Dawn. The author, "writes to help local parishes and denominations think more thoroughly about both worship and culture".
The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch. Supporst a complete reorientation of church around mission and apostolic church planting in the West.
The Rhythm of Discipleship, by Luther D. Ivory. Part of the Foundations of Christian Faith Series
When Better Isn't Enough: Evaluation Tools for the 21st Century Church by Jill Hudson. She identifies 12 characteristics to measure effective ministry and the tools for evaluation.
Great Ends of the Church Series has arrived!!! The Great Ends of the Church represent a brief statement of principles found in the Book of Order.
Great Ends of the Church: Exhibition of the KIngdom of Heaven to the World, by Darrell L. Guder. This is the fifth in the Great Ends of the Church series of books published by Congregational Ministries Publishing (but detailing the sixth Great End). Guder envisions the sixth Great End, the exhibition of the kingdom of heaven to the world, as the end or goal of the others, but not in the sense of a finished goal. The exhibition of the kingdom of heaven is a gift of grace that flows through the hearts and souls to reach out to the world - manifesting Christ's presence to the world.
Great Ends of the Church: Maintenance of Divine Worship by Howard L. Rice, Jr.
Great Ends of the Church: Preservation of the Truth by Joseph D. Small
Great Ends of the Church: Proclamation of the Gospel for the Salvation of Humankind by Catherine Gonsalus Gonzlez
Great Ends of the Church: Shelter, Nurture, and Spiritual Fellowship of the Children of God by Elizabeth E. Caldwell
Three books by Elizabeth Caldwell:
Making a Home for Faith: Nurturing the Spiritual Life of Your Children - The author offers guidance to parents and caregivers who want to take an active role in the faith development of their children.
Leaving Home with Faith: Nurturing the Spiritual Life of Our Youth - The author explores themes faced by adolescents, their families and their congregations, and seeks to answer those questions. Each chapter deals with a specific perspective of adolescence. The book is designed to be especially useful for small group ministry.
Come Unto Me: Rethinking the Sacraments for Children - The author offers a holistic sacramental educational model that works to integrate education and worship in the lives of church members.
Additional New Arrivals:
New Music Book: Lift Up Your Hearts, Songs for Creative Worship - This is a Geneva Press resource containing praise songs appropriate for Reformed Worship.
I Want to Live These Days with You by Dietrich Bonhoffer - This collection of inspirational writings from Dietrich Bonhoffer is drawn from his many works and presented here as a series of daily meditations to last throughout the year.
The Gospel According to Hollywood, by Greg Garrett. Garrett looks at the theological elements in dozens of classic and recent Hollywood films, including a discussion about what the new openness to spirituality in the movies might mean for the future of American cinema and American religion. This is a new addition to the Gospel according to....series, which contains classic and recent films.
The Gospel according to the Simpsons (Bigger and Possibly Even Better! Edition) by Mark I. Pinsky - Religion jounalist Mark PInsky shows how The Simpsons engages issues of religion and morality in a thoughtful, provocative, and genuinely respectful way. With three new chapters and updates to reflect the 2001-2006 seasons, Pinsky has given a thorough facelift to the book that Publishers Weekly called "thoughtful and genuinely entertaining."
Losers, Loners, and Rebels: The Spiritual Struggle of Boys by Robert C. Dykstra, Allan Hugh Cole Jr., and Donald Capps - The authors investigate the interior lives of boys as they develop their sense of self and begin the spiritual journey that will carry them throughout their lives.
Caring for Mother: A Daughter's Long Goodbye by Virginia Stem Owens - The author gives a clear and realistic account of caring for an elderly loved one. Along the way, Owens notes the spiritual challenges she encountered, not the least of which included fear of her own suffering and death.
Hearing a Film, Seeing a Sermon: Preaching and Popular Movies by Timothy B. Cargal - New Testament scholar and pastor Timothy Cargal teaches pastors some of the basics of interpreting films so that they can integrate insights about popular films into preaching. He explains how people see and think about movies and then demonstrates for pastors how this connects with the way parishioners comprehend Scripture and theology. In addition, he offers several of his own sermons as examples of effective ways to use movies, including The Lord of the Rings, Spider-Man, The Passion of the Christ, In Her Shoes, Bruce Almighty, and others, in preaching.
Engaging Biblical Authority: Perspectives on the Bible as Scripture, William P. Brown, Editor - This helpful new book offers a brief introduction to the question of biblical authority, using essays by sixteen scholars who use the Bible as the Word of God in their own religious tradition and scholarship. Included are traditional Reformed, Lutheran, Wesleyan, Catholic, Jewish, and Orthodox views; recent conservative or evangelical positions; and critical African American, Asian American, Hispanic, feminist, and womanist perspectives.
John Calvin - A Biography by T.H.L. Parker - In this revision of his major biography, the author explores Calvin's achievement against the backdrop of the turbulent times in which he lived. With clear and concise explanations of Calvin's theology, analyses of his major works, and insights into his preaching, this definitive biography brings this crucially important reformer and his world to life for readers.
Speaking of Conflict: Stories of Controversial Jesus by David Buttrick - Conflict stories appear throughout the Synoptic Gospels, and although they are familiar and dramatic, the stories are particularly challenging for pastors to interpret and teach. In this book, Buttrick delves into each conflict story, analyzing the particular controversy at hand and highlighting problems that these passages pose for preachers - including anti-Jewish attitudes in the text.
Helpmates, Harlots, and Heroes, Second Edition: Women's Stories in the Hebrew Bible by Alice Ogden Bellis - In this revised and updated book, Alice Ogden Bellis examines women's stories in the Old Testament and shows how feminist and womanist scholars have interpreted these texts - texts that have profoundly affected how women understand themselves - in the last thirty-five years.
The Stewardship Companion: Lectionary Resources for Preaching by David N. Mosser (Foreword by William H. Willimon) - Veteran pastor and author David Mosser draws one Scripture passage from each week in the three-year lectionary cycle to provide a brief reflection on how that passage can be used to teach and preach about stewardship. The reflections address a variety of issues related to stewardship, making the book an essential resource for all pastors, worship leaders, and stewardship committees.
Tokens of Trust: An Introduction to Christian Belief, by Rowan Williams. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams uses classic statements of the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds to guide readers through central elements of Christian faith. Questions such as: What does it mean to believe in God? Can God possibly be almighty in the midst of so much evil and disaster? What does it really mean to follow Christ in today's broken world? Williams demonstrates that each of the basic tenets of Christian faith flows from the fundamental belief that God is worthy of our trust.
God's Land on Loan: Israel, Palestine, and the World by W. Eugene March - Old Testament professor W. Eugene March develops a theology of land, contending that since the world belongs to God, we do not "own" the land. Rather, land is a loan from God, and we must use it responsibly and justly. March goes on to examine in some detail the relationship between Israel and the Palestinian people, rehearsing both the history and that relationship and how it has led to today's conflict.
Jesus, the Gospels, and Cinematic Imagination: A Handbook to Jesus on DVD by Jeffrey L. Staley and Richard Walsh - The authors use their biblical knowledge and admiration for films to summarize eighteen popular Jesus movies and to show exactly where each movie parallels the Gospel accounts of Jesus's life.
DVD's for children: (presently checked out, but if you want to check them out, I'll ask for their return)
The Miracles of Jesus
Daniel
Ruth
He is Risen
The Lost is Found
The Prodigal Son
Esther
David & Goliath
The Good Samaritan
Forgive Us Our Debts
