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"e;For in Christ Jesus . . . the only thing that counts is faith working through love."e; -Galatians 5:6, NRSVFaith Working Through Love invites us to revisit and reclaim essential Christian beliefs and practices as United Methodists. In an easy to follow question and answer format, the study recaps basic teachings and practices of Christian faith and underscores the core convictions of United Methodists. ~~~Why Read This Book?People are struggling to cope with everyday life and our societies are divided and broken. Some wonder if lifting up the core doctrines of Christian faith divide us and cause further disagreements. But to the contrary, it is in times of uncertainty that we yearn to find our spiritual bearings by recalling our history and enduring teachings.This book helps us know who God is, what God is doing in the world, and how God includes us in making the world more loving and just. The Methodist tradition springs from forbears in the faith who prayed, learned, and served their neighbors together to increase their knowledge of God and actively shared God's love in word and deed in all the places they lived, struggled, and loved. The teachings you'll encounter in these pages are already making a difference in the lives of United Methodists around the world. We pray that through study and conversation with others, you too will encounter the Spirit of God who heals, strengthens, empowers, and transforms us. The questions and answers offered in this volume will challenge and embolden you as you grow in grace and love and to serve Christ. Faith Working Through Love bids you to take up the contents of this volume and read it, discuss it, and reflect upon it; and may God use it to bless you and to make you a blessing in the world.-David N. Field, Ecumenical Staff Officer for Faith and Order Faith Working Through Love has been crafted as a foundational United Methodist teaching resource by the Committee on Faith and Order of The United Methodist Church and received and commended to the church by the United Methodist Council of Bishops.

These full color leaflets contain four pages of fun activities for each week! They are designed to be used in the classroom and to be taken home and include weekly wonder questions about the story for families to discuss together. Purchase one per child.Ages: 8-12

Wesley showed us ways to reorder our lives through the "means of grace." Recharge. Reboot. Reorder. Whatever you want to call it, we need a process that helps us continuously renew our relationship with God so that we don't drift away from our faith. Based on The Wesley Covenant for Renewal, Five Means of Grace is a six-week, video-based study that will show you how to reorder your life through prayer, searching Scripture, receiving the Lord's Supper, fasting, and conferencing (worshiping together). You'll learn how to recognize and affirm the outward signs, words, and actions of an invisible divine grace, deepening your relationship with God and making your faith more complete. A Leader Guide and DVD are also available. "Surely John Wesley wanted his teachings to be presented in clear and understandable ways. Elaine Heath's teaching on the Five Means of Grace are simple and engaging with deep truths. Your group will love it!" --Jennifer Cowart (Executive pastor at Harvest Church, a United Methodist congregation in Warner Robins, GA, near Macon.) She co-preaches and directs Discipleship and Emerging Ministries at Harvest UMC. "Elaine Heath is one of the church's great teachers and prophets. With engaging stories and clear understanding of Scripture she invites us to experience God's love through ancient practices that we desperately need. I will be using Five Means of Grace with my congregation as an invitation for those seeking a deeper pathway into discipleship." --Rev. Jacob Armstrong, Providence United Methodist Church, Mount Juliet TN.

This Covenant experience will guide participants in a comprehensive, in-depth study of the Bible over twenty-four weeks. Unlike the learning participants may have experienced in other groups, this in-depth study of the whole Bible emphasizes the biblical concept of covenant as a unifying pattern through all the books in the Old and New Testaments. It underscores the unique relationship that God chooses to have with us as God's people. This relationship is grounded in the faithfulness of God's love and on our ongoing commitment to stay in love with God while we share signs of that love with others. Each episode connects to an aspect of this covenant relationship, which is summarized in the heading of each participant guide. COVENANT TRANSLATES INTO ACTIONS--into how we behave in our everyday lives. That's why the second module, Living the Covenant, focuses on how the community lives out their covenant in faithful love--how it's applied to actual relationships in daily life. The books included in these eight episodes examine the practical challenges of faithful covenant life. We explore leadership problems among tribal chieftains, kings and prophets, and spiritual and political crises. They look for practical wisdom and guidance in the teachings of Israel's sages, the letters of Paul, and more. And by demonstrating how people of vastly different cultures came together in a common purpose, they show how faithful love is the root of the covenant life. Each participant in the group needs the Participant Guides and a Bible. The CEB Study Bible is preferred. The Living Participant Guide is 8 weeks long, and has a lay flat binding making it easy to take notes in the generous space provided on each page. The Living Participant Guide contains the following episodes: Episode 9: Ruth, Esther, Song of Songs Ruth, Esther, and Song of Songs are a part of the "Festival Scroll" and linked to sacred celebrations in Israel's life. In the story of Ruth, both Ruth and Boaz risk caring beyond conventional expectations, displaying faithful, expansive love with consequences for Israel's royal future. Esther risks everything to identify with her people and rescue them from a genocidal plot. Song of Songs displays the power and passion of a "crazy love" that also helps us understand God's love. Episode 10: Luke and Acts Luke and Acts offer a vision of who God is and what salvation means. For the writer of Luke, Jesus is a prophet who reveals God's heart and intention to remake human beings and the broader world through a new community gathered in Jesus' name: the church. Living out Jesus' prophetic role in the power of the Holy Spirit, the church continues God's call to changed hearts and lives. Through Jesus and the church, God's Spirit calls people to belong, serve, and love by welcoming those considered outsiders by the world. Episode 11: 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings In these books the prophets serve as truth-tellers to Israel's kings. They stress that relationship rather than power is central to choosing what's best for the people God loves. Kings are at their best when they are moved by compassion that trumps every preoccupation with power. Idolatry splits our attention and distorts our priorities, distracting us from the main thing: God alone is worthy of absolute loyalty and trust. Episode 12: 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus 1 and 2 Thessalonians are written to a community Paul loves--a community suffering and anxious about Jesus' return. 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus (pastoral letters) are written to Paul's younger partners in ministry. While 1 Timothy is intimate, 2 Timothy reads like a last will and testament for Paul. Episode 13: Wisdom--Proverbs and Ecclesiastes Wisdom literature begins and ends with what is good for human beings in life. Starting with everyday insights gathered across time by courts scribes, these sayings are short and easy to remember. The wise person is one who understands these teachings and can apply them appropriately in real-life situations. Life is fragile and short, so wise people will enjoy family, friends, and the simple things in life. Episode 14: Philemon, Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians From a place where hope goes to die, an imprisoned Paul says that God is able to restore hope and encourages reconciliation between Philemon (home church leader) and his runaway slave (Onesimus). To the Philippians Paul passes on an early hymn that speaks of Jesus as the self-emptying, suffering servant exalted by God. Paul is a pastoral thinker and his words about slaves and masters must be understood in the context of Jesus' expected return. Episode 15: James, Jude, 1 and 2 Peter These letters are written to churches suffering harassment and struggling to keep the faith when Jesus' promised return hasn't occurred. They are written in the voice of those closest to Jesus and speak to new circumstances and situations. Concerned about real-life issues like gossip and favoritism toward the rich, James is a practical book stressing who God is and what you should do about it. Peter writes to guide the church in a negotiated faithfulness that requires discernment. Episode 16: Prophets--Isaiah 1-39 and the Book of the Twelve The prophets express the feelings of God: God's deep love for Israel and all of humanity, but also God's deep pain, disappointment, and anger when the people fail to be a loving community of neighbors. They also communicate God's yearning to call the people back to taking care of each other, especially those they are most likely to exclude (widows, orphans, strangers/immigrants). For prophets like Hosea, God has a parent's heart and refuses to give up on a faithless people. More Questions? Visit http: //covenantbiblestudy.com/ for more information.

Confirm Your Faith. Your Commitment. God's Call. Too often confirmation has been downgraded to the role of a checkpoint along the faith journey. The Confirm family of resources reclaims confirmation as the first step on a journey that leads to a mature, adult faith. Confirm treats confirmation as more than a decision. Instead, it is the beginning of a conversation about what it means to be a Christian, living out your faith, your commitment, and God's call. Confirm is an easy-to-follow and fully customizable confirmation program that can be used virtually any church setting and with a wide variety of schedules. You have the option to schedule your lesson choices and the tools to organize your own confirmation program over the course of a school year, a 3-year span, or in any other way that meets your needs without having to purchase additional customizable content. With flexible and easy-to-understand materials, Confirm provides students with the basic beliefs of a theologically sound, United Methodist faith while engaging them in creative and thought-provoking activities to help them internalize what they've learned. Confirm also embraces the importance of community in the journey of faith development, and provides materials to encourage cooperation with parents and mentors in the confirmation process and beyond. The Parent Guide provides an overview of confirmation and helps the parent and family establish their role in the process. The guide includes discussion starters, activities and devotional suggestions for use at home. As teens prepare to take the vows of confirmation, they need to be surrounded by mature Christian adults who can love, guide, and nurture them. This love and nurturing begins at home, with the youth's parent or guardian.

Confirm Your Faith. Your Commitment. God's Call. Too often confirmation has been downgraded to the role of a checkpoint along the faith journey. The Confirm family of resources reclaims confirmation as the first step on a journey that leads to a mature, adult faith. Confirm treats confirmation as more than a decision. Instead, it is the beginning of a conversation about what it means to be a Christian, living out your faith, your commitment, and God's call. Confirm is an easy-to-follow and fully customizable confirmation program that can be used virtually any church setting and with a wide variety of schedules. You have the option to schedule your lesson choices and the tools to organize your own confirmation program over the course of a school year, a 3-year span, or in any other way that meets your needs without having to purchase additional customizable content. With flexible and easy-to-understand materials, Confirm provides students with the basic beliefs of a theologically sound, United Methodist faith while engaging them in creative and thought-provoking activities to help them internalize what they've learned. Confirm also embraces the importance of community in the journey of faith development, and provides materials to encourage cooperation with parents and mentors in the confirmation process and beyond. This helpful guide provides direction for creating an effective discipleship path for teens using confirmation at your church. Complete with detailed instructions, you will learn how to integrate Confirm with the church's youth ministry program and other ministries throughout the church. In addition, you will be provided tools for creating specific confirmation assessments and reasonable expectations for youth, pastor, parents, and confirmation leaders.

Offering Disciple: Becoming Disciples Through Bible Study for personal study opens the door of this transformational Bible study to busy Christians. As with traditional Disciple Bible Study, daily Bible reading is essential for the best experience in this life-changing program. The Disciple Personal Study Guide includes: Opening prayer Scripture Encounter the Word Marks of Discipleship Contemplation at week's end Closing prayer When used with your Bible and the Disciple: Becoming Disciples Through Bible Study Study Manual, this personal study guide gives you everything you'll need to complete your own Bible study

United Methodist Membership Record Book (hardback with gold stamped cover) This hardbound record book is suitable for smaller congregations. It includes a sheet on which to record the pastor history, Record of Baptisms, the Permanent Church Register (space for 170 persons), Constituency Roll, Affiliate/Associate Roll, Professing Members Removed by Charge Conference Action, Historial Record, Record of Marriages, and Record of Deaths. 8-1/2 x 11, 96 pages.

In recent years, new music and worship styles have enriched the worship styles have enriched the worship experience, from contemporary worship and praise music to world music. New hymnody offers modern images and refreshing tunes that tell the old, old story. Now churches can continue to sing the hymns they treasure and add newer music to their worship life! All editions come with Cross & Flame emblem on the cover except for the "Cross Only" version of the Pew Edition.

The hymns of this collection speak to today's Church as it strives to minister to a changing and complex world. Each hymn is printed as poetry, set in standard hymn format (words interlined in the music), and also set in tuneline only format appropriate for bulletin inserts.

Help persons of all ages understand the Bible stories through the fun of taste and cooking! Everyone loves a good story and everyone loves to eat. Delicious Bible Stories combines the physical act of preparing the foods, the sensory act of eating the foods, and active listening to create unforgettable Bible stories. Using no-cook cooking methods, the boys and girls will make foods that go along with Bible stories from both the Old and the New Testaments. For example, the children will make the haroset as they hear the story of the Last Supper. They will prepare Babylonian fruit and nut balls as they hear the stories of Daniel and many many more. Ingredient lists and preparation directions for the foods are included as well as the Bible stories. Help persons of all ages understand the Bible stories through the fun of taste and cooking!

A light-hearted faith guide for anyone who is bad at being good.

In this six week video study, Adam Hamilton explores the key points in his new book, Making Sense of the Bible. With the help of this Leader Guide, groups learn from Hamilton as his video presentations lead groups through the book, focusing on the most important questions we ask about the Bible, its origins and meaning.

Partnering your church family with a public school can be a rewarding experience, but it also presents some unique challenges. The Mission-Minded Guide to Church and School Partnerships offers practical steps congregations can take to make a difference with the children in their community. From basic organization, training, safety, and planning, leaders will learn how to share the vision and effectively recruit and train volunteers. Most importantly, leaders will discover how to begin a collaborative, trusting relationship with students, administrators, and teachers. In addition, there are suggestions for sharing information about the partnership through communication tools like newsletters and special Sundays for welcoming the schools, teachers, principals, and more. Inspire your church family to embrace the power they have to change lives and make a difference in their community.

This booklet with CD-ROM contains a step-by-step guide with tools ennabling a pastor to plan, implement and promote this program. Features include: sermon starters - scripture references - materials for logo, banner, flyer, and more.

Questions and conflict about homosexual practice and the church abound. We encounter media reports of same-gender unions and clergy trials. This leads to talk in congregations and district preacher's meetings, in the hallways at district, conference and general church gatherings, and in the deliberations of the Council of Bishops where we hear prayers, questions, and an outpouring of conviction or anguish. We observe The United Methodist Church grappling with issues of importance that divide and confound us. We hunger for our church to engage hard questions and decisions in a spirit of generosity, gracefulness, and mutual respect. This book could change the nature of the conversation. It encourages frank and constructive dialogue that will help us conference together and open ourselves to God's guidance. We seek faithful, fair, just, and loving resolution to issues that challenge our faith community. Finding Our Way: Love and Law in The United Methodist Church is authored by several United Methodist bishops. These writers enunciate and clarify pathways that represent faithful, responsible, and constructive ways forward through the current controversies. Each bishop articulates a prescription for moving through current conflict about homosexual practice, same-gender unions, qualifications for ordination, and maintaining the "good standing" of elders. Go to www.ministrymatters.com/FindingOurWay to read the introduction and to comment. Contents: Frame: An introduction about the guiding vision and theological framework as we seek together to be faithful to God and to our covenants. By Rueben P. Job, retired, from the Iowa Area, and by Neil M. Alexander, who is publisher for The United Methodist Church. Part One: Options Enforce (follow the Book of Discipline): The Discipline interprets scripture and contains the rule of law for UM congregations and elders. When sacred promises are violated, leaders must uphold the spirit and letter of the law and follow the process defined by the Discipline. By Gregory V. Palmer, who serves the Ohio West Area. Emend (work to change the Book of Discipline): The General Conference legislative process must be engaged to emend the Book of Discipline -- or not. This is the responsible and thoroughly United Methodist way of moving through disputes and reaching consensus. By Hope Morgan Ward, who serves the Raleigh Area. Disobey (biblical obedience): Scripture and the sanctity of love are a higher authority than the Book of Discipline. Therefore, the current impasse must be broken by loving acts of conscientious fidelity to higher principles. By Melvin G. Talbert, retired, from the San Francisco Area. Disarm (suspending conflict between personal and social holiness): In many kinds of conflicts, in marriage and in war, the conflicted parties drop their weapons or grievances, agree to a cease fire, and search for a peaceful way to resolve their disagreement. By Kenneth H. Carter Jr., who serves the Florida Area. Part Two: Responses Order (supporting our covenant): Our sacred trust depends on keeping our promises. By J. Michael Lowry, who serves the Forth Worth Area Unity (dwelling in God's church as a family of Christ followers): When two elephants fight, the grass suffers. By John K. Yambasu, who serves the Sierra Leone Area. Diversity (coexisting with differences). By Rosemarie Wenner, who serves the Germany Area and is current president of the Council of Bishops. Part Three: Steps Trust God (discernment): Immerse ourselves in an intense process of prayerful discernment. This approach pleads for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and asks all to open themselves without condition or pre-judgment to the insight and inspiration that comes through deep prayer and listening. By Rueben P. Job, retired, from the Iowa Area.

Disciple 1 Korean Teacher Helps - 28 sessions

Witness the life and ministry of Jesus Christ through the eyes of Mary.

In this book, Adam Hamilton explores how, with God's help, we can make love last. Drawing upon a survey of thousands of couples and singles, interviews with relationship and marriage therapists, the latest research in the field, and wisdom from the Bible, Hamilton looks at what it takes to create and sustain healthy, meaningful romantic relationships across the course of a lifetime. Contents include:More Than a Piece of PaperWhat She Wants; What He WantsThe Significance of Sexual IntimacyHabits That Hurt, Habits That HealClothe, Bear With, and ForgiveA Love That Lasts a Lifetime

This Covenant experience will guide participants in a comprehensive, in-depth study of the Bible over twenty-four weeks. Unlike the learning participants may have experienced in other groups, this in-depth study of the whole Bible emphasizes the biblical concept of covenant as a unifying pattern through all the books in the Old and New Testaments. It underscores the unique relationship that God chooses to have with us as God's people. This relationship is grounded in the faithfulness of God's love and on our ongoing commitment to stay in love with God while we share signs of that love with others. Each episode connects to an aspect of this covenant relationship, which is summarized in the heading of each participant guide. GOD ESTABLISHES THE COVENANT to be in relationship with us. So the first eight weeks, Creating the Covenant, examines how the covenant community is created and established--highlighting several examples throughout scripture. It discusses the story of our origins in Genesis, the Exodus narrative, the teachings of Moses, the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, as well as other books from each Testament that focus on the foundation of Christian faith. In doing so, it lays out the framework for a life lived in concert with God and others. Each participant in the group needs the Participant Guides and a Bible. The CEB Study Bible is preferred. The Creating Participant Guide is eight weeks long, and has a lay flat binding making it easy to take notes in the generous space provided on each page. The Creating Participant Guide contains the following episodes: Episode 1: Creating the Covenant Relationships with people in our lives are key to faithful living. Covenant is about the family God creates and the power of love that overcomes evil. We are broken and miss the mark. Substitutes for faithful love destroy our relationships. Yet God's response to broken relationships is to restore us to wholeness. Through the shared practice of reading and interpreting the Bible scripture in holy conversation, we sharpen our understandings until they become more accurate and relevant. And we learn about God's gracious love and how to share it with others. Episode 2: Torah--Genesis Genesis answers the question: Who are we in the scheme of things? Covenant relationships are a metaphor for life together before God. This life is characterized by both gift and responsibility. Broken relationships in these stories are countered by forgiveness and generosity. Episode 3: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers Passover is a bittersweet celebration of Israel's liberation. The covenant at Sinai creates a people with instructions for living in harmony. These instructions are ever in need of reinterpretation in new situations, much like amendments to a constitution. God is holy and calls the people to be distinct and set apart in their faithfulness. Episode 4: Gospels--Matthew and Mark The Gospels are similar to Greco-Roman biographies but with a saving twist. They paint a portrait of Jesus' significance for first-century readers living under Roman rule before and after the destruction of the temple in 70 CE. By arranging the events of his life, death, and resurrection in distinct order, these writers depict Jesus as both the suffering "human one" (Mark) and a new teacher like Moses (Matthew). Jesus comes to bring and embody a new covenant reign (kingdom) of God's saving love in the world. Episode 5: Romans and Galatians The letters of Paul substituted for his presence and represent his attempt to deal with controversies and provide guidance to churches from a pastor's perspective. For Paul, God's grace expressed in Jesus' faithfulness on the cross is a saving gift with no substitutes. The Spirit's presence, too, is a gift that marks the community of faith and produces fruit for faithful life together, making us more gracious to ourselves and others. Episode 6: Hebrews The book of Hebrews is a masterful sermon written by an unknown author to a struggling community.The writer encourages them to live lives of gratitude for God's saving work in Jesus. Hebrews embraces the imagery of sacrifice in the Old Testament to describe Jesus' pioneering cosmic work of redemption. Replacing fear with trust, Jesus--our faithful forerunner--made it possible for us to approach the holy with confident expectation of God's favor. Episode 7: 1 and 2 Corinthians Paul's letters to the church at Corinth address very concrete issues in a culture that honors the freedom of superiors to do as they please. Paul counters this with the mind of Christ, patterned by the logic of self-giving love. This "logic of the cross" balances freedom with Christ-shaped responsibility to live in ways that benefit both self and community. Episode 8: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel These books retell the story of Israel and its responsibilities as a rescued, covenant people. As they transition to a new life in the promised land, the first commandment (no other gods) is restated positively: love God with all your heart and strength. Life in the land after Moses and Joshua is characterized by a cycle of faithlessness, crisis, cries for help, and temporary rescue. The last tribal chieftain/first prophet Samuel will anoint kings for an unruly people when the real king missing in Israel is God. More Questions? Visit http: //covenantbiblestudy.com/ for more information.

A 3-Step Stewardship Program from John Wesley

A 3-Step Stewardship Program from John Wesley