Showing titles in Holidays

Join Tom Wright on a journey with the Apostles, exploring the New Testament themes of thankfulness, patience, humility and joy.

Each of the four Gospels tells only part of the story of Jesus...and all of them leave out background facts that are essential to understanding events surrounding Jesus' arrest, trial, and crucifixion. Which is why Fr. Ralph Gorman has here crafted a single, unforgettable, detailed account that combines material from all four Gospels with critically important Old Testament passages, plus relevant facts from Jewish and Roman history, laws, traditions, and practices. 

Jesus' final days were full of risk. Every move he made was filled with anticipation, danger, and the potential for great loss or great reward. Jesus risked his reputation when he entered Jerusalem in a victory parade. He risked his life when he dared to teach in the Temple. His followers risked everything when they left behind their homes or anointed him with costly perfume. We take risks as we read and reread these stories, finding new meanings and new challenges.

From the Grave: A 40-day Lent Devotional reflects on this critical spiritual dynamic. It features A. W. Tozer's best insights on faith, repentance, suffering, and redemption. Gleaned from his transcribed sermons, editorials, and published books, each moving reflection has been carefully selected for the season of Lent.

Stillness as a virtue is a foreign concept in our society, but there is wisdom in God's own rhythm of work and rest. Jesus practiced sabbath among those who had turned it into a dismal thing, a day for murmuring and finger-wagging, and he reminded them of the day's true purpose: liberation - to heal, to feed, to rescue, to celebrate, to lavish and relish life abundant. With this audiobook, Buchanan reminds us of this and gives practical advice for restoring the sabbath in our lives.

A Chicago journalist finds himself in a small Texas town on Christmas Eve. Lonely and alone, he encounters old faces and new facts: a hand carved manger, a father's guilt, a young girl's faith. The trip into the past holds his key to the future, and a scarlet cross shows him the way home.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christmas Magic will warm listeners' hearts and spread the wonder of the holiday season with its tales of love, joy, and awe. A fantastic holiday gift for the young and young at heart. Christmas is a magical time of year - a time of family, friends, and traditions. Listeners will revel in the 101 holiday stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christmas Magic that spread the special joy, wonder, and blessings of the season with its tales of finding the perfect Christmas tree, being with family, seeing the awe in a child’s eyes, and enjoying the magic of the season.

At Christmastime we remember that an ordinary, young, poor, oppressed woman was chosen to play a significant and breakthrough role in the redemption of the world. It is no mistake that a woman gets to be a part of all this, and that her voice, her questions, her fears, and her actions matter.

Here are more than 60 heartwarming stories of faith. These are stories about the true gifts of Christmas: answered prayers, real-life angels, and inexplicable miracles. They are the stories of people who gained a greater understanding of the true meaning of Christmas, some through a word or gesture from their fellow man, others through a miraculous event that could only have come from God.

Stories of Jesus provides a portrait of Our Lord in a day-by-day reflection format, based on the Gospel accounts of his life and teachings. Through these reflections, Girzone introduces Jesus and his adult ministry - from his baptism by John the Baptist through his public life and work, to his death and resurrection - pausing along the way to focus on the important people and events of Jesus s world.

Christmas is one of the most joyful times of year, and it can also be one of the most stressful. It comes laden with expectations and, for many, overshadowed by difficult memories and emotions. If every other day of the year has us running in different directions, driven by the bleeping demands of our phones and devices, Christmas makes us run faster still.

The time-honored traditions of the liturgical calendar guide Christians through a year-long meditation on the life of Christ. Beyond just Christmas and Easter, each season of the church year offers special opportunities to remember and celebrate the work of God. In Sacred Seasons, Danielle Hitchen helps you incorporate the rhythms and rituals of this ancient Christian discipline into your everyday family life. 

These straightforward, short, and profound Advent readings have been edited from talks given by much-loved Bible teacher Dr. R.C. Sproul, helping listeners to benefit from his enduring insight and wisdom. They delve into the details of the Christmas story and reflect on how these impact our lives now, combining scholarly detail with heartwarming application.

Thomas Merton, toward the end of his life, warned of a "pervasive form of contemporary violence" that is unique to our times: overwork and overactivity. In his work as a minister and caregiver, Wayne Muller observed the effects of this violence on our communities, our families, and our people. He responds to this escalating "war on our spirits" in this audio guide, and immerses listeners in the sacred tradition of the shabbat - the day of rest - a tradition that is all but forgotten in an age where consumption, speed, and productivity have become the most valued human commodities. He offers practices and exercises that reflect the sabbath as recognized in Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism. Through his way of nourishment and repose, Muller teaches, we welcome insights and blessings and arise only with stillness and time.

Fasting is not just the physical practice of giving up food. Fasting can also be a way to combat our culture of endless distractions and busyness. Fasting is an act of letting go, of making more internal space to listen to the sacred whispers of our lives. Join Christine Valters Paintner, online abbess of Abbey of the Arts, on a spiritual journey through seven different kinds of fasts, including fasting from control, from our attachments, from our grasping, and more.

If you're looking for a new Lenten experience, here are 40 fresh ideas. Some will challenge you to deepen your prayer life; others will open your mind to new ways to serve others. Each of the 40 ways includes a reflection to help you understand more about Lent and why it matters. You'll learn how to have a more creative experience of Lent. You'll discover positive, proactive ways to take action instead of the same old routine of giving something up.

You’ve heard the Christmas story time and again. Perhaps it seems there’s nothing new to discover. Take another look, a closer gaze, at the details that reveal God’s love in the gift of a baby who would forever change the world. Six beloved Christian authors - Max Lucado, John Maxwell, Jack Hayford, Bill Hybels, David Jeremiah, and Rick Warren - share from a unique perspective and help you hear afresh the message God wants to whisper to your heart during this holiday. God loves you. God is with you. God is in every detail of your life.

After a lifetime of putting his body on the line to entertain his dozens (and dozens!) of fans, the Hardcore Legend is paying the price - physically and emotionally. When the final bell on Mick's career tolls, not in the ring, but in a neurologist's office, his future seems far from merry and bright. Until Mick is given the chance to become Santa Claus - not dress up, not pretend, but become Santa - allowing him to rediscover the joy of performing. Fully committing to his new mission, Mick details the drastic measures he takes to keep the Christmas magic alive.

After seven years, the Giant has nothing left to say to his friend the Cornish ogre, and so he returns home to his castle - only to find that in his absence, the children have been playing in his beautiful garden. At once the selfish Giant builds a high wall to keep the children out of the garden.Winter turns into spring all over the country - but not in the selfish Giant'sgarden.

What could be more familiar than the Christmas story - and yet what could be more extraordinary? The cast of characters is strange and exotic: shepherds and magicians, an emperor and a despot, angels, and a baby who is Almighty God. The strangeness calls for an explanation, and this book provides it by examining the characters and the story in light of the biblical and historical context.