Showing results by narrator "Lyle Blaker" in All Categories

The Bible calls Jesus the friend of sinners, but it's hard to imagine what friendship with Jesus really looks like. We so often don't even know how to do friendship with the people around us, despite all the options we have to connect. So how are we supposed to feel that close to a holy, perfect, and invisible God? How do we see Jesus as the real person he is? And how do we experience true friendship with him when we struggle to maintain true friendship on earth? Join author Jared C. Wilson as he explores what it means to be a friend of Jesus.

Over the first two-thirds of the twentieth century, as many as eight million whites left the economically depressed southern countryside and migrated to the booming factory towns and cities of the industrial Midwest in search of work. The "hillbilly highway" was one of the largest internal relocations of poor and working people in American history, yet it has largely escaped close study by historians. 

A terrifying true story of a seemingly ordinary house in a small mid-western town. 220 Fifth Street rivals the all-time great novels of its genre; however, this story is entirely true and will have you on the edge of your seat rethinking what you thought you knew about the spiritual realm and paranormal activity. In this second edition the continuing haunting is reinvestigated as the curse of 220 Fifth Street leaves a morbid trail of death, destruction, and horrific reoccurring events in its wake

All forms of recreational digital consumption—whether on smartphones, tablets, game consoles, or TVs—have skyrocketed in the younger generations. Most media experts do not seem overly concerned about this situation: children are adaptable, they say, they are "digital natives," their brains have changed and screens make them smarter. But other specialists—including some pediatricians, psychiatrists, teachers, and speech therapists—dispute these claims, and many parents worry about the long-term consequences of their children's intensive exposure to screens.

Imagine a nightmare in which your darkest fears are coming true. Your life seems to spiral further towards hell with each passing day, yet you can't wake up. You're constantly dominated by unthinkable circumstances as everything you hold dear is in danger of being torn from your grip, and the lines are blurred between the natural and the paranormal. You're entrenched in a spiritual battle against ancient curses, and the satanism and witchcraft practiced by those around you. Nightmare in Holmes County takes you on one man's journey through hell on earth, in the heart of Amish country.

The Lord uses each of our unique interests to speak to us—including the great game of golf! From your time on the fairway to your time in the rough, God can repurpose the insights you've gained from golfing to help you better understand truths of His Word. In A Look at Life from the Fairway, bestselling author and outdoor enthusiast Steve Chapman is here to help golfers everywhere notice the parallels between golfing and walking with Christ.

For those readers of his poetry and inspired by his increasingly vital work as advocate for rational land use and the right-size life, these stories of Wendell Berry's offer entry into the fictional place of value and beauty that is Port William, Kentucky. Berry has said it's taken a lifetime for him to learn to write like an old man, and that's what we have here, stories told with grace and ease and majesty. Wendell Berry is one of our greatest living American authors, writing with the wisdom of maturity and the incandescence that comes of love.

In wondrous contrast to silent idols, the one true God speaks. He addresses his people in love, and it’s their great privilege to answer him in prayer. At its root, prayer isn’t mere self-expression or a prod to get a silent God to speak, but it is a learned skill to answer God’s initiating word in Christ. Through this thoughtful book, author and pastor Daniel J. Brendsel explains how responding to God can nurture prayerful engagement with Scripture, shape healthy rhythms among God’s praying people, and spur excitement for communion with God.

Preparing for Marriage God's Way is a marriage counseling resource that uses thoughtful self-examination to reveal the personalities, background, and expectations that you and your partner are bringing to your union. Through rigorous Bible study, you will learn about God's expectations for marriage and be equipped with his solutions for dealing with typical marriage conflicts. Three follow-up lessons after your marriage help you to reflect on all that's happened after you said, "I do."

Does it matter if you are sorry for what you have done—or that you have not done? Does your being sorry—does your remorse—matter? If so, how? Who is helped or changed by it? Can spiritual leaders help people wrestle with some of the most challenging dilemmas of their lives? Episcopal priest and licensed therapist Stephen Crippen describes remorse as the crisis—both destructive and creative—that erupts within the human spirit at the point where sin and grace collide. 

In Launchpad Republic: America's Entrepreneurial Edge and Why It Matters, Howard Wolk and John Landry provide an insightful and thought-provoking history of entrepreneurship in the United States, with a focus on the political, legal, and cultural forces that have sustained "creative destruction" and propelled the country forward for more than 200 years. In telling this story, the book highlights the critical features that have set America apart from other countries and identifies the key attributes necessary for it to maintain leadership for years to come.

During the past five decades, the Second Vatican Council has been alternately celebrated or maligned for its supposed break with tradition and embrace of the modern world. But what if we've gotten it all wrong? Have Catholics—both those who embrace the spirit of Vatican II and those who regard it with suspicion—misunderstood what the council was really about? Fr. Blake Britton discovered the truth and beauty of the council while he was in seminary and he has witnessed firsthand the power of its teachings

Let This Mind Be in You explores God’s call on our lives to servanthood. Aimed specifically at ministers of the Gospel, this book argues that servanthood is essential to every form of Christian service. When we consider the teachings of Scripture and the example of Jesus, we simply cannot be who we are supposed to be without taking the posture of servants.

As a certified consultant for exorcists in the Diocese of Pittsburgh and an auxiliary member of the International Association of Exorcists, Adam Blai has spent decades studying and experiencing the supernatural. His confidence in the supernatural is based not only on his faith, but on his extensive experiences and observations. Now he shares in extraordinary detail what he has learned about miracles and their meaning for Catholics today.

There is a power so great it can help you not only survive but thrive in this crazy world, a power that can give you joy and peace, result in miracles, and make you victorious no matter what. It’s a power that comes from the third member of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. Spirit-Led Living in an Upside-Down World takes you on a journey to help you understand how you can experience this power and know the Holy Spirit intimately.

As a spiritual pilgrim for more than half a century, Jon Sweeney has practiced with teachers of many religious traditions. He's gone looking for wisdom, beauty, and truth wherever it can be found. But recently he's found himself learning closer to home—from the teacher-cats he lives with. What he discovered is that our greatest spiritual teachers are at our feet. Literally. They are the cats we love and treasure.

In The Principal 2.0, Fullan explains why the answer lies neither in micro-managing instruction nor in autonomous entrepreneurialism. He shows a new way forward that allows principals to expand their roles without overstepping and contribute to the development of the whole school.

No major arena of US governance is more elitist than foreign policy. International relations barely surface in election campaigns, and policymakers take little input from Congress. For much of the twentieth century, officials, activists, and academics worked to foster an informed public that would embrace participation in foreign policy as a civic duty. Every Citizen a Statesman recounts an abandoned effort to create a democratic foreign policy.

It's easy for scale-ups, giddy from early startup success, to get ahead of themselves and stumble. It's even easier to be slowed down by the many forces of resistance working against them: drag, inertia, friction, and waste. Drawing on a mastery of lean-based methods for achieving maximum effect with minimum means, private equity operators Matthew E. May and Pablo Dominguez provide listeners with a powerful framework of universally applicable principles that enable any company to effectively accelerate its ability to scale and grow.

We know that in a fallen and broken world there will always be pain and poverty, sickness and sadness. Yet as followers of Christ, we are called to bring hope and healing to those who hurt. What, then, is our responsibility to alleviate human suffering this side of eternity? With so many needs everywhere we look, where do we start? The Least of These brings together a collection of respected Christian thought leaders to provide a multifaceted look at the body of Christ’s relationship and responsibility―both individual and corporate―to the marginalized of our society.