Coming Soon to the Resource Center - Late February 2014

Here are just a few of the books you can find in the church Resource Center in late February 2014 (All text copy from Goodreads):

A Guidebook to Prayer: 24 Ways to Walk with God (2013) Marykate Morse

Why is prayer so hard? Many of us have asked that question. We want to pray. We intend to pray. But, as spiritual director and professor MaryKate Morse notes, "We don't pray as consistently or as meaningfully as we might like." And yet prayer offers us such spiritual riches. 

This guidebook is designed to move you from lamenting over prayerlessness to the joy of praying. Whether you are a beginner or a lifetime person of faith, you will find a treasure trove of riches here to guide you into a deeper experience of prayer.

Holy Is the Day: Living in the Gift of the Present (2013) Carolyn Weber

Life pulls us in many directions, sometimes even to the point of pulling our souls apart. We know rest and reflection are necessary for a healthy life—even Jesus took time to get away from the crowds, away from the demands of everyday life, to pray, to spend time with close friends, to sleep. 

But when Carolyn Weber—emotionally and physically exhausted from managing her career as a college professor, writing her first book and parenting three children under the age of three—hears this truth from a friend, all she can think is: but who will do everything if I don't? And this sets her on a journey to find the still, small space in each day. 

In these pages Carolyn reflects on the eternal beauty that lurks within the present. Drawing from literature, history and everyday life, Holy Is the Day is a collection of spiritual reflections that trace the way God's ever-renewing grace is a gift of the present. Opening it we find poignant stories of endurance, humility, compassion, remembrance and gratitude, as well a harrowing account of near-death experience. Carolyn gives us new eyes to receive the precious gift of the present and give it away to others.

The Missional Quest: Becoming a Church of the Long Run (2013) Lance Ford & Brad Brisco 

When Christ calls people, he invites them on a journey--a journey taken together in community. We have reached a point in history, however, when we think of the church as a fixed place where isolated individuals show up, consume a Christian message, drink some coffee, and get on with their lives. The times demand, and the gospel proclaims, that we recover our identity as a church that is a people on a quest for the kingdom of heaven, formed intimately by a loving God and called onto a long journey for the sake of our neighbors and our world. InThe Missional Quest you?ll learn how to take your church on a long run, and how to sustain yourselves and one another along the way, through the power of God for the sake of the world.

The First Thanksgiving: What the Real Story Tells Us About Loving God and Learning from History (2013) Robert Tracy McKenzie 

The Pilgrims' celebration of the first Thanksgiving is a keystone of America's national and spiritual identity. But is what we've been taught about them or their harvest feast what actually happened? And if not, what difference does it make? Through the captivating story of the birth of this quintessentially American holiday, veteran historian Tracy McKenzie helps us to better understand the tale of America's origins—and for Christians, to grasp the significance of this story and those like it. McKenzie avoids both idolizing and demonizing the Pilgrims, and calls us to love and learn from our flawed yet fascinating forebears. The First Thanksgiving is narrative history at its best, and promises to be an indispensable guide to the interplay of historical thinking and Christian reflection on the meaning of the past for the present.

Luminous: Living the Presence and Power of Jesus (2013) T. David Beck

When pastor David Beck went to Haiti with a ministry team he found himself deeply experiencing the power of being Christ's own hands and feet. Reflecting on what it means to be Christ to others, he writes: "We come to fulfill Jesus' words that we are the light of the world and are here to let our light shine so others will glorify God (Mt 5:14-16). God intends for his children to be luminous." But how do we get there? Through both personal and spiritual reflection, this book explores the formational practices of those who long to become the embodiment of Christ to the world around them--who long to be what Jesus declared them to be: the light of the world.