Showing results for "Sacred Texts" in Ministry & Evangelism

With His gentle hand He wounded my neck And caused all my senses to be suspended. Part poetic masterpiece, part mystic treatise, The Dark Night of the Soul by 16th century Carmelite monk, St. John of the Cross, addresses the feeling of being forgotten by the Presence of the Almighty that every Christian, desirous of walking more closely with God must pass through in order to learn to walk by faith and not by sight.

The Trinity is supposed to be the central doctrine grounding Christianity, yet we're often told that we shouldn't attempt to understand it because it's a mystery. But what if we breached that mystery? How might it transform our relationship with God?

The enlightenment you seek in other religions has been present in Christianity from the beginning. Richard Rohr, a global leader in spiritual awakening, helps you recognize the forces (such as ego resistance and dual thinking) that separate you from your deeper self. Then, drawing from Gospels and the greatest Christian contemplatives, he shows you what it means to be spiritually awake. You will learn why your ego resists change and growth, what is useful about popular ideas such as the law of attraction, what Jesus, the first mythical leader in the West, can teach you.

The Beatitudes (or "blessed are" sayings) are perhaps the most recognized and most beloved passage from the Sermon on the Mount, yet they are among Jesus' most misunderstood teachings. In The Healing Breath, acclaimed teacher and author Neil Douglas-Klotz leads listeners through the Beatitudes as spoken in Jesus' native Aramaic to show how this seemingly simple set of statements reveals a profound source of divine connection.

In Practical Mysticism, Evelyn Underhill distills the essential (and comprehensible) steps that comprise the process of achieving mystical understanding. Though she uses the pantheon of Christian mystics as her guide, her methodology transcends any particular faith and offers a common sense approach to self-improvement and enhanced awareness.

Designed as both a practical guide and a call to action, the Son of Man audio edition brings to life a revolutionary vision of the historical Jesus that is intended to transform the sacred imagination of the world. Harvey builds a cathedral of words and invites you inside, where you will discover the spiritual riches that have been left unclaimed for 2,000 years.

The success of books such as Elaine Pagels's Gnostic Gospels and Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code proves beyond a doubt that there is a tremendous thirst today for finding the hidden truths of Christianity - truths that may have been lost or buried by institutional religion over the last two millennia. In Forbidden Faith, Richard Smoley narrates a popular history of one such truth, the ancient esoteric religion of gnosticism, which flourished between the first and fourth centuries AD, but whose legacy remains even today, having survived secretly throughout the ages.

Lost for nearly 1,700 years, newly restored and authenticated, the Gospel of Judas presents a very different view of the relationship between Jesus and Judas. Rather than paint Judas as a traitor, it portrays him as acting at Jesus' request.

The voice of the divine is as near to you as your own breath, just ask. That's what Reverend Deborah L. Johnson did in 1995. In a moment of darkness, there was nothing she could do but surrender. "Take me now, oh Lord." Almost instantly she heard whispers, and they turned into more than 300 letters from Spirit.

Centering prayer is the path to a wonderful and radical new way of seeing the world. It is not, as is sometimes thought, simply an act of devotional piety, nor is it a Christianized form of other meditation methods. Cynthia Bourgeault here cuts through the misconceptions to show that centering prayer is in fact a pioneering development within the Christian contemplative tradition.

Drawing on the records of national and regional archives as well as archaeological remains, James Clark explores the little-known lives of the last men and women who lived in England's monasteries before the Reformation. Clark challenges received wisdom, showing that buildings were not immediately demolished and Henry VIII's subjects were so attached to the religious houses that they kept fixtures and fittings as souvenirs. This rich, vivid history brings back into focus the prominent place of abbeys, priories, and friaries in the lives of the English people.

Saint John of the Cross was a Spanish mystic and poet, Catholic saint, Carmelite friar and priest, and a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation. The Ascent of Mount Carmel is divided into three sections, and presented as a commentary on four poetic stanzas. St. John portrays the various mystical experiences that the soul must endure in its ascent to the metaphorical Mount Carmel (the place of God or union with the divine).

Hannah Smith, a major author in the Holiness movement, discovered what she learned as the secrets to a happy life. Considered a timeless classic in Christian writing and thought, you, too, can learn - in a complete edition - how Smith's views have changed millions of lives. Walk by the side of her and Christ on this spiritual journey to peace and joy.

Definitively read by author Richard Smoley, this audio version of Inner Christianity brings a clear understanding to the listener of the complex universe of esoteric knowledge. Topics include esoteric orders past and present, inner traditions, Sophia and Mary, and Gnosticism, as well as well as the mystical body of Christ.

This is the true story of Michelle Hamilton who for three terrifying days, clung helplessly to her small capsized canoe in the Sulu Sea, the Philippines. Menaced by hungry sharks, enduring tropical storms, and with no food or water, Michelle hovered near death. Hanging onto the capsized canoe, wearing only a bikini and flippers, Michelle is miraculously rescued by a passing boat of Filipino fisherman; who are convinced she is a mermaid. Co-authored by Michelle's mother Rachelle, she shares her story of a mother's tireless vigil to find her lost child, of human helplessness and the intervention of a sovereign God.

In this Very Short Introduction Stephen J. Davis discusses the history of monasticism, from our earliest evidence for it, and the different types that have developed from antiquity to the present day. He considers where monasteries are located, from East Asia to North America, and everywhere in between, and how their settings impact the everyday life and worldview of the monks and nuns who dwell there. Exploring how monastic communities are organized, he also looks at how aspects of life like food, sleep, sex, work, and prayer are regimented.

Is an intimate experience of the Divine meant only for saints and mystics? Ask Tessa Bielecki, a former Carmelite nun and abbess of a monastic community, and the answer is an emphatic no. "Mystical experience is as natural to us as breathing," she explains. "It erupts spontaneously and graciously when we live on the spot and savor the real." Wild at Heart presents her call to you, the ordinary seeker, to have a loving realization of God, which is your divine birthright.

A classic work of English mysticism, Julian of Norwich's Revelations of Divine Love is an account of 16 divine visions and her meditations on them. She puts forth her ideas of God as a lover or divine love. Julian's revelations, experienced while suffering from a serious illness, may be dismissed as simple hallucinations or could be regarded as true divine visions from God. Regardless of what one might believe, "Revelations of Divine Love" is an important historical work of Christian theology.

New discoveries in archaeology and recent bestsellers and movies such as The Da Vinci Code and The Passion of the Christ have sparked a renaissance of the many controversies that have remained unanswered in Christianity and other religions. At the heart of these controversies is Jesus. With a unique perspective only Sylvia Browne could bring, The Mystical Life of Jesus is filled with the details of Jesus' inspiring life.

In 1939 Rev. Waitstill Sharp, a young Unitarian minister, and his wife, Martha, a social worker, accepted a mission from the American Unitarian Association: They were to leave their home and young children in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and travel to Prague, Czechoslovakia, to help address the mounting refugee crisis. Armed with only $40,000, the Sharps quickly learned the art of spy craft and covertly sheltered political dissidents and Jews and helped them escape the Nazis.