The Light Shines On in the Darkness

The Light Shines On in the Darkness PDF Author: Robert Spitzer
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 1681497646
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 546

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Book Description
Why would an all-loving God allow suffering? Are not suffering and love opposed to one another? Does suffering have any meaning or benefit? Is there any objective evidence for God, for a soul that will survive bodily death, for the resurrection of Jesus? Who is God anyway – benevolent and loving, or angry and retributive? Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J., gives a comprehensive response to these questions and many others, explaining the contemporary evidence for God, the soul, and the resurrection. He discusses how God uses suffering to lead us to compassion for others and eternal life. He also shows how the Holy Spirit guides us through times of suffering toward our salvation, explaining the signs and the interior movements that reveal the Spirit's actions. Fr. Spitzer not only addresses the perplexing questions associated with suffering but teaches us how to suffer well. He points out some of the most common mistakes people make when trying to interpret God's motives for allowing or alleviating suffering. He demonstrates why suffering – in combination with love – is one of the most powerful motivating agents for personal, cultural, and societal development.

The Light Shines On in the Darkness

The Light Shines On in the Darkness PDF Author: Robert Spitzer
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 1681497646
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 546

Get Book Here

Book Description
Why would an all-loving God allow suffering? Are not suffering and love opposed to one another? Does suffering have any meaning or benefit? Is there any objective evidence for God, for a soul that will survive bodily death, for the resurrection of Jesus? Who is God anyway – benevolent and loving, or angry and retributive? Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J., gives a comprehensive response to these questions and many others, explaining the contemporary evidence for God, the soul, and the resurrection. He discusses how God uses suffering to lead us to compassion for others and eternal life. He also shows how the Holy Spirit guides us through times of suffering toward our salvation, explaining the signs and the interior movements that reveal the Spirit's actions. Fr. Spitzer not only addresses the perplexing questions associated with suffering but teaches us how to suffer well. He points out some of the most common mistakes people make when trying to interpret God's motives for allowing or alleviating suffering. He demonstrates why suffering – in combination with love – is one of the most powerful motivating agents for personal, cultural, and societal development.

Light Shines in the Darkness

Light Shines in the Darkness PDF Author: Lucille F. Sider
Publisher: Read the Spirit
ISBN: 1641800259
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 393

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Book Description
Clinical psychologist and clergywoman Lucille F. Sider adds her voice to the chorus of women in the #WhyIDidntReport and #MeToo movements. This is Lucille’s story of resilience and hope as a survivor of sexual abuse. She explains the challenges of finding her way out of a fear-based spirituality into one that is full of grace, hope and forgiveness. The unique richness of her book is that she wrote it to spark healing discussion. As she describes her experiences in these pages, she also steps back and offers helpful analysis as both a psychologist and a clergywoman. At the end of the book, she includes a complete study guide with questions for reflection for individuals, small groups and classes. “The book is arranged to be a valuable tool in the hands of persons in the helping professions, such as clergy, social workers, psychologists,” writes the Rev. Jo Anne Lyon, General Superintendent Emerita and Ambassador of The Wesleyan Church. “This writing is so powerful, yet gentle, that people will be able to add their own words to combat the pain. Lucille’s credentials enhance the power of the story. Truly a book for these days!” Lucille was just 6 years old when she was abused both physically and sexually by a hired man on the family’s farm. Lucille’s inner conflict about these experiences, propelled her into a childhood of guilt and shame. While Lucille was an outstanding student, singer and athlete, she lived with an underlying fear, loneliness and mild depression. A second sexual abuse by her brother-in-law, when she was just 15 years old, added to Lucille’s fears. When she tried to tell her parents about this, their response was only to pray for her—so, she kept these painful events secret for years. Many years later, her brother in law was arrested for molesting a 15-year-old girl. Lucille and others, including his own daughter, testified against him and he was incarcerated. Raised in a conservative household and faith, Lucille went to college and seminary to search for a theology that was full of grace and forgiveness. She found this especially at Yale Divinity School, though she always lived with a mild depression. Her struggle to understand both her faith and psyche led her to earn a PhD from Northwestern University in psychology and religion. She became a clinical psychologist and pastoral counselor and later the Executive Director of The Samaritan Pastoral Counseling Center in Evanston, Illinois. At age 50, when her husband suddenly divorced her, Lucille was cast into darkness and despair which resulted in major depression. Lucille became dysfunctional and had to step down as Executive Director of her counseling center. Years of therapy led her to new ways of offering and sharing her gifts, which included writing stories and ministering to seniors, especially those suffering from dementia. In Light Shines in the Darkness, Lucille F. Sider shares her unique story of sexual abuse and severe mental illness, including depression and PTSD. She describes her legal battle in fighting for justice and her ongoing persistence in finding ways to remain stable. She calls these her mental health and spiritual practices and they include: counseling, medication, meditation, healthy diet, exercise, daily prayer and church attendance. In sharing her story, Lucille now is helping others along their journeys from sexual abuse to stability—to find their own hope and their own light that shines through the darkness. “Timely, compelling and courageous, this autobiography lays bare the trauma of both child and adolescent abuse,” writes Carol Schreck, Professor Emerita of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Palmer Theological Seminary. “This book deserves to be read by any adult who, living in a culture where 80 percent of females have experienced some form of sexual abuse by the age of 18, are no longer content to keep their proverbial head in the sand.”

Holman New Testament Commentary - Acts

Holman New Testament Commentary - Acts PDF Author: Kenneth O. Gangel
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
ISBN: 0805402055
Category : Bibles
Languages : en
Pages : 498

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Book Description
One in a series of twelve New Testament verse-by-verse commentary books edited by Max Anders. Includes discussion starters, teaching plan, and more. Great for lay teachers and pastors alike.

The Spirit-Led Leader

The Spirit-Led Leader PDF Author: Timothy C. Geoffrion
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1566996732
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
In our postmodern, experience-oriented culture, people are longing for greater authenticity, integrity, and depth in their pastors and leaders. Board directors, church members, and staff alike are all eagerly seeking leaders who effectively integrate their spirituality and leadership. Pastors and executives, however, often struggle with knowing how to integrate their spiritual values and practices into their leadership and management roles. Designed for pastors, executives, administrators, managers, coordinators, and all who see themselves as leaders and who want to fulfill their God-given purpose, The Spirit-Led Leader addresses the critical fusion of spiritual life and leadership for those who not only want to see results, but who also desire to care just as deeply about who they are and how they lead as they do about what they produce and accomplish. Geoffrion creates a new vision for spiritual leadership as partly an art, partly a result of careful planning, and always a working of the grace of God

God Notes

God Notes PDF Author: Jackie Trottmann
Publisher: DreamSculpt Media, Incorporated
ISBN: 9781945949296
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
About God Notes During a month-long prayer retreat, the author asked God to give her a word. The words tumbled out in the form of love notes from God resulting in 365 insightful passages, each inspired by one word - and each passage meant for you. This is the kind of book that deserves a permanent space on everyone's nightstand. About the Jackie Trottmann Jackie Trottmann left her corporate career behind to pursue God's call to share her personal experience of God's healing power and loving presence. Learning how to be still, let go, trust herself, trust others, and trust God, has been an ongoing spiritual practice. She teaches others how to do the same through her books, blog, media and ongoing workshops and retreats.

The Greatest Gift

The Greatest Gift PDF Author: Ann Voskamp
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
ISBN: 1414388519
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
The New York Times bestselling Christmas classic. Over 250,000 books in print. An annual bestseller. Thousands of readers have already fallen in love with Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts, and this Christmas, Ann will help readers celebrate the lineage and the majesty of God’s greatest gift—Jesus Christ. In what has already become a holiday classic, Voskamp reaches back into the pages of the Old Testament to explore the lineage of Jesus via the advent tradition of “The Jesse Tree.” Beginning with Jesse, the father of David, The Greatest Gift retraces the epic pageantry of mankind, from Adam to the Messiah, with each day’s reading pointing to the coming promise of Christ. Sure to become a holiday staple in every Christian home, The Greatest Gift is the perfect gift for the holidays and a timeless reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.

Praying Upside Down

Praying Upside Down PDF Author: Kelly O'Dell Stanley
Publisher: NavPress
ISBN: 1496406729
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
When you talk to God, do you ever wonder if He really hears? Do your prayers start to feel rote or routine? Do you sometimes feel you don’t even know how to pray? Jesus is known for turning situations upside down . . . and He can do the same in your prayer life. Your perspective on prayer and faith may never be the same again when you read artist and designer Kelly O’Dell Stanley’s delightfully accessible, innovative new book Praying Upside Down. Stanley uses imagery, simple techniques, and artwork to help you see God like never before and move your prayer life away from the preconceived and expected to a new level of intimacy. Praying Upside Down offers a fresh chance to learn something new, hear an answer you didn’t anticipate, and experience God in a more real, tangible way.

Here in Spirit

Here in Spirit PDF Author: Jonathan K. Dodson
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 0830845445
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Who is the Spirit? Is he a person or a spiritual force? How are we meant to relate to him? What does being filled with the Spirit look like? Instead of relating narrowly to the Holy Spirit based on just a few of his gifts, this book broadens our engagement with him, touring aspects of his vast character that often go unexplored. It turns out, living here in the Spirit is the source of the most meaningful, creative, satisfying life possible.

Depression

Depression PDF Author: Edward T. Welch
Publisher: New Growth Press
ISBN: 1935273884
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
Looking away from despair towards hope can feel risky. What if God doesn't come through for you? What if you don't feel instantly better? Instead of offering simple platitudes or unrealistic cure-all formulas, Edward T. Welch addresses the complex nature of depression with compassion and insight, applying the rich treasures of the gospel, and ...

God's Team

God's Team PDF Author: Jack Redmond
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780768459968
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
IT'S TIME TO IMPACT PEOPLE FOR CHRIST EACH AND EVERY DAY! I often say, "It's going to take everyone to reach everyone!" Over the centuries, many in the church transitioned from being the church to simply going to church. But God is mobilizing the church once again to impact all people. Reading God's Team-Unleashing the Full Power of the Church will encourage every Christ follower to: See themselves as part of God's powerful team Embrace the responsibility of impacting lives and society Mobilize people to impact others outside the church walls seven days a week Reading God's Team-Unleashing the Full Power of the Church will encourage Pastors to: Evaluate their current church culture Build a greater soul winning and serving church Build a church that increasingly impacts their local community It is going to take everyone to reach everyone! Imagine the impact when every Christ follower purposely engages in spreading the gospel through both word and action seven days a week. Jack Redmond is a thought leader helping to shape the nuances today's church requires to engage culture. If you want to move beyond engaging information to executing transformation, God's Team is a must read. -David D. Ireland, Ph.D., Lead Pastor, Author of One in Christ and Raising a Child Who Prays, www.DavidIreland.org