Lent
Showing 101–150 of 164 results
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40 Days To A Closer Walk With God
$14.99Add to cartAre you trying to do it all yourself? Muyskens reminds us that what God seeks is relationship with us, a two-way communication. What relationship with God requires is very similar to what our earthly relationships require: openness, listening, focused time. One way to practice the skills needed for this relationship is centering prayer, a simple but deeply powerful prayer practice. In beautiful and accessible language, Muyskens invites us to spend time daily focusing our hearts on God, to find the power to be still and be reoriented to “the One who is the Center of all.”
Exercises in prayer and scripture reading are provided for the 40 days. -
Holy Moses
$12.95Add to cartIn Holy Moses, Arley Fadness takes the reader on a trip with Moses and the Hebrew people. This collection of six family-oriented Lenten services creates excitement and anticipation in children and adults alike as they retell and relive the greatest salvation event in the Old Testament. The Exodus experience is relived and remembered while being applied to the lives of modern Christians.
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Lent And Easter Wisdom From Thomas Merton
$13.99Add to cartThis book provides daily reflection from Ash Wednesday through the Second Sunday of Easter. Reflections from Thomas Merton are supported by Scripture, prayers, and suggestions to assist readers in keeping a private journal during their journey through Lent and Easter.
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Clearing Season : Reflections For Lent
$14.99Add to cartCities across the world celebrate the day-before with colorful parades and over-the-top parties. Then Wednesday arrives … Sigh. Lent. has. begun.
You hear about devout friends giving up seemingly innocent things in life (like chocolate) or stressing out to live a more perfect life during six grueling weeks – for reasons you don’t completely understand. Sermons about penitence are preached, and guilt soaks the congregation.
Sound like a good time?! It’s time to rethink Lent.
Or at least see it for the positive opportunity it offers. It’s spring-cleaning for the soul! Lent offers you time to pause, consider, and renew your relationship with God – an altogether hopeful (not dreary) experience.
“To arrive at newness of life, we first name parts of our lives that are shrouded in darkness,” writes Parsons. “To put it very dramatically,… your first order of business is to break your heart for God. We walk through some muck so that we can leave it behind and find Easter joy beyond…. With God’s help we will clear the darkness away and begin to experience greater joy and newness of life.”
Sure, there’s work to be done during Lent, but it’s the gentle, gradual work of opening one’s heart and mind to grace. A Clearing Space will move you week by week from “wilderness to holy ground,” using a personal tone that will stir and challenge personal reflection.
Parsons includes exercises for small groups, as well as questions at the end of each chapter for individual reflection. Also included is an appendix of spiritual practices for Lent you may not have considered before.
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Life Balance : A Five Session Course On Rest Work And Play For Lent (Student/Stu
$9.99Add to cartChurch House Publishing
21st century living is hectic. Getting the right ‘life balance’ between rest, work and play seems almost impossible. In five interactive sessions, Life Balance aims to help groups explores:”How to build Sabbath time into the crazy pressures of everyday life. ‘How ‘Sabbath attitudes’ can transform the way we spend our time.”Each session contains enough material for a 90-minute session and includes guidelines for group study, with full background notes for leaders, interactive activities, questions for discussion and multimedia ideas, and ideas for practical action.
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Roll Back The Stone
$20.95Add to cartCreate memorable services that help worshipers experience the profound sadness of the crucifixion as well as the marvelous joy of the risen Christ with this diverse collection of ready-to-use dramatic material. With ample selections for Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, there’s something special here for congregations of any size or worship style. Copying privileges are included for all segments. Included are:
* A Travesty Of Justice: In The Shadow Of The Cross (Kathy Martz), a series of six meditations in which an unusual assortment of “eyewitnesses” – the thorn, robe, nail, spear, shroud, and stone – tell about their extraordinary encounters with Jesus. Designed for use in Lenten vesper services, these spiritual contemplations examine the events leading up to the crucifixion from a unique perspective. Each user-friendly monologue comes with a brief scripture reading and a prayer.
* Live From Jerusalem (John O. Eby), a short Palm Sunday play that helps audiences envision what it would have been like to be on the scene of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Tying biblical prophecy together with a contemporary view, television-style news anchors and correspondents vividly portray the chaos and uncertainty of the first day of Passover while speculating on how simmering conflicts will be resolved – leaving audiences to ponder the question “What comes next?”
* Maundy Thursday Testimonies (David H. Covington), a brief set of dramatic readings depicting the Passion events and their meaning from the viewpoint of four characters: Mary Magdalene, Thomas, Judas, and Peter. An excellent vehicle for members to participate in worship, these moving monologues provide an especially powerful contribution to the Maundy Thursday service.
* God On Trial, Or…? (John O. Eby), a courtroom drama for Good Friday which portrays Jesus’ trial before Pilate ? with the novel twist of Beelzebub as the prosecutor, questioning several witnesses who level accusations against Jesus. While it is ostensibly Jesus who is on trial, it gradually becomes clear that everyone else (including all of us) is actually on trial before him ? giving new and deeper meaning to Christ’s plea, “Father, forgive them, for they do not understand what they are doing!”
* Sons Of Thunder (Carol Secord), a brief Good Friday sketch in which James and John struggle to come to grips with the stark reality of the crucifixion. As they bitterly lash out in anger and frustration at those who abandoned Jesu
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Hey Joseph
$12.95Add to cartCreate stimulating, family-oriented Lenten worship that captivates the imagination with this engaging “dramily” series. Six humorous sketches, interwoven with brief homilies highlighting key points, update the familiar Old Testament story of Joseph and his brothers for contemporary audiences ? providing an instructive and entertaining resource for midweek programs. Additional messages and dramas for Holy Week and Easter Sunday shift the focus to Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection.
By touching on such universal experiences as family squabbles, sibling rivalry, parental favoritism, jealousy, hatred, false accusations, reconciliation, trust, and healing, Hey Joseph! is certain to resonate with the people in the pews. It offers pastors, worship leaders, and drama groups a thematically unified total package that’s flexible and easy to adapt for any size church. A complete list of simple props is included, along with helpful illustrations for constructing “Joseph’s Granary,” which may be stocked with food donations for local pantries. -
Lent And Easter Wisdom From Henri J M Nouwen
$11.99Add to cartThought-provoking words from renowned spiritual writer, Henri J. M. Nouwen, lead readers along a journey of conversion during Lent and Easter week. These periods of penance and celebration, lavish with rituals, help us become more sensitive to our own weaknesses and Christ’s victory over sin. Through it all, Father Nouwen comforts and reassures us with reminders that God loves and accepts us even in our human state.
Each daily reflection–from Ash Wednesday through the Second Sunday of Easter–begins with thoughts from Father Nouwen on an appropriate theme, supported by Scripture, prayer, and a suggested activity for spiritual growth.
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Season For The Spirit
$27.95Add to cartExperience forty days of self-discovery through theological reflections and prayers. While it aims to assist a daily practice of personal prayer, it is also widely used by groups who pledge to meet regularly so that members can share their thoughts, reactions, and spiritual experiences.
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Thespian Theology Cycle C
$12.95Add to cartStimulate audiences to see the scriptural message in a new light with these inspiring sketches based on Cycle C lectionary readings for the Lent and Easter seasons. Originally developed for presentation by a high school-age youth group, the simple, easy-to-perform scenes in this latest installment of John TenBrook’s popular Thespian Theology series are an excellent tool for sharing the Gospel with unchurched people and getting them excited about Jesus Christ. Each skit is introduced by brief “Thespian Theological Thoughts” on the drama and the scripture texts. These versatile pieces can be staged as an alternative to the Sunday sermon or used for youth programs and other fellowship settings — they’re sure to enlighten audiences of all ages while leaving an indelible impression.
Some of the intriguing titles include:
* Dust Thou Art… Art Thou Dust? (Ash Wednesday)
* Moses The Fig Tree (Lent 3)
* The Spiritual Struggle Of Sidney Centurion (Passion/Palm Sunday)
* “But I Wasn’t There… Ya Gotta Show Me!” (Easter 2)
* Let Everyone Who Is Thirsty Come (Easter 7) -
Season Of Ash And Fire
$20.99Add to cartIn addition to prayers and liturgies for Ash Wednesday through Ascension Day, this book includes suggested themes and symbols for the Sundays of Lent, daily Scripture readings for Lent and the fifty Days of Easter, household prayers for Lent and Easter, and an order for Lenten study groups. A Selected Scripture Index is included. This book has been designed for ease of use in both thematic and lectionary-based worship services.
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Diario Santa Maria Faustina Ko – (Spanish)
$17.95Add to cartThe Diary is a dramatic telling of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska’s amazing encounter with The Divine Mercy – our Lord Jesus Christ. On Mercy Sunday 2006, Pope Benedict XVI said, “The mystery of the merciful love of God was the center of the pontificate of my venerable predecessor [Pope John Paul II] … evidencing that the devotion to Divine Mercy is not a secondary, but an integral dimension of a Christian’s faith and prayer.”
The Diary chronicles God’s invitation to turn to His mercy as a source of hope for the world. In it, we are reminded to trust in the Divine Mercy of Jesus and seek His forgiveness. And as Christ is merciful, so, too, are we instructed to be merciful to others.
The message of Divine Mercy has become an integral part of Catholic faith, including the celebration of the Feast of Divine Mercy on the Sunday after Easter as Jesus had requested of St. Faustina. The Diary is truly a book that inspires people to turn with trust to Jesus and guides the reader through an intimate journey of prayer and devotion that ultimately leads to God’s mercy.
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9 Changed Lives
$12.95Add to cartI found Nine Changed Lives to be an intriguing series of Easter season monologues. Each met me on a personal level and pointed me to Christ. Their unique format enables a great deal of flexibility for their presentation.
Rev. Dennis H. Greenwald
Upper Midwest Area Representative for the Conservative Congregational Christian ConferenceNine brief monologues for Lent are spoken by:
* Simon of Cyrene (for Ash Wednesday)
* Tamar of Jerusalem
* Zimri the Pharisee
* King Herod
* Pilate and Claudia
* Thomas
* The Centurion
* Mary Magdalene (for Easter sunrise)This book also includes a youth one-act for Palm Sunday and a Maundy Thursday meditation. Directions to make a cross and whip for use in two monologues are part of the book.
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Wheres Noah
$19.95Add to cartWhere’s Noah? features the classic biblical story of Noah, the flood, and God’s salvation in a worship format that engages all generations. This resource features monologues, brief pithy sermons, the exchange of animal tokens, crossword puzzles, an Easter Sunrise play, and other creative worship/learning experiences.
Worship leaders, clergy, and drama players will find this a refreshing series for congregational unity and growth.
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Services For The Lenten Candles
$18.95Add to cartJust as the Lenten season reminds the Christian of Christ’s journey to the cross, the seven candles and the weekly extinguishing of each one enhances that long, soon-to-be dark journey. When the last candle is extinguished and the darkness seems to be all-consuming, worshipers will feel the darkness of the soul at the time of Christ’s crucifixion.
Using one or two liturgists, flexible services are provided for every Sunday during the Lenten season as well as Good Friday and Easter Sunday, during which a Paschal candle is lighted.
The beauty and symbolism of these services will add meaning and dimension to your Lenten worship as the congregation is reminded each Sunday of being one step closer in the journey to the cross.
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Reconciliation
$7.95Add to cartPrepare everyone in your congregation for a meaningful Lenten season with this collection of six sermon outlines, accompanied by program suggestions, worship aids, and a dramatic reading based on Mark’s passion narrative. The resources all stress the theme of reconciliation – with ourselves, between ourselves and God, in our families, in our churches, in our churches, in our communities, and in the world.
A companion daily worship and study guide is available.
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Artisans Of The Crucifixion
$7.95Add to cartThese dramatic monologues offer a unique perspective on Jesus’ crucifixion. Viewed through the eyes of a Blacksmith, Carpenter, Stone Mason, Tanner, and Basket Maker, the presentations introduce the congregation to those who crafted items used in the crucifixion. These monologues are flexible, and few if any props are necessary.
Use these dramatic monologues for a unique perspective on the events of Jesus’ crucifixion. Viewed through the eyes of a Blacksmith, Carpenter, Stone Mason, Tanner, and Basket Maker, the presentations introduce the congregation to those who crafted the whip, wove the crown of thorns, forged the nails, constructed the cross, and chiseled out the tomb.
Pastors can present these monologues themselves or assign them to church members. They have the flexibility of being performed very simply or quite elaborately. Few if any props are necessary.
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People Vs Judas Iscariot The Punishment Phase
$11.95Add to cartWritten in an easy-to-present format, this captivating five-part series takes place in a courtroom, as attorneys present evidence based upon the Bible and tradition. Witnesses who are “subpoenaed” to testify include Peter, John, and Mary Magdalene.
The People vs. Judas Iscariot is a captivating five-part series for Lenten worship or group discussion. Detailed worship bulletins with an order of service are provided for each of the five presentations.
The People vs. Judas Iscariot is written in an easy-to-present format (no memorization required) and includes scripture readings that follow carefully defined themes. The homily takes the shape of a court hearing in which Judas undergoes his punishment phase. Prosecution and defense attorneys attempt to sway the judge and congregation with evidence based upon the Bible and tradition. Various witnesses are “subpoenaed” to testify, including Peter, John, Mary Magdalene, and others.
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Onward Through The Fog
$9.95Add to cartThe Sundays of Lent don’t have to be boring! Follow the lectionary and provide your congregation with exciting worship experiences by using these positive yet sensitive dialogue sermons based on Cycle A of the Revised Common Lectionary. Wit and scripture are combined to encourage Christian growth and prod listeners into making a personal commitment. In addition to six sermon dialogues, worship planning aids are included for each Sunday, along with an Ash Wednesday worship service.
In addition to six sermon dialogues, worship planning aids are included for each Sunday, plus an Ash Wednesday worship service with the theme-setting sermon, “Onward! Through The Fog!”
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Lenten Worship For Young Adults
$12.95Add to cartEach of these six worship services includes a meditation of about fifteen minutes, as well as prayers, suggested hymns and responsive readings.
A service based on the Seven Last Words
A call to service
An evening service for Lent
A service based on theological ideas
A service based on Baptism
A service based on Holy Communion
No formal rehearsal is required and each service involves between four and seven participants. -
Lenten Resources For Worship Leaders
$12.95Add to cartThese field-tested materials represent the creative effort of many denominations. Each includes ideas for preparation, items needed, suggestions for use, number of parts, and the time for best use.
This complete Lenten volume for busy ministers includes:
Shadows Around The Cross: A Tenebrae
A Good Friday Vigil
The Service Of Diminishing Lights — for Sundays in Lent
Justified By Greed: Monologue Of A Pharisee — for Lent
The Passover Haggadah: A Traditional Seder Service
Litany For Forgiveness
Litany For Palm Sunday
Litany For Easter
Meditation: Forgiveness Is Peace
Meditation: You Make The Difference
Litany Of Confession
Litany For Peace -
Behold The Man
$12.95Add to cartBehold The Man is a sermon/study series for Lent inspired by the words of Pontius Pilate about Jesus. The theme is carefully explored from the First Sunday in Lent through Easter Sunday.
For each Sunday a sermon, prayer, children’s sermon, order of worship and discussion questions are provided.
The purpose of these messages is to enable us to look at Jesus in the crucial times of his life and ministry. In beholding him as he was then we will be able to see him now.
Sections include:
* Behold the Man Who Was Tempted As We Are
* Behold the Man Who Takes Away Sin
* Behold the Man Who Taught By The Sea
* Behold the Man Who Trained Disciples
* Behold the Man Who Turned Toward Jerusalem
* Behold the Man Who Tried To Be King
* Behold the Man Who Took The Victory -
Mary Of Nazareth
$7.95Add to cartMary of Nazareth lived a dangerously demanding, yet holy life, She knew loneliness and poverty and endured extreme hardships of faith while maintaining a close relationship with God. During the crucifixion she knew raging and numbed pain which challenged her sanity. But her joy was overflowing after the Resurrection. Her story provides powerful information about God’s sovereignty in the universe toward those who believe in Him and seek Him.
Based primarily on the Gospel of Luke, the sole New Testament writer to interview and consider the female point of view, this dramatic monologue comes complete with an Order of Worship. It provides powerful insight into Mary’s suffering and, likewise, the joy she felt from her conquering on. The presentation is divided into five sections, making it possible to use as a five week series allowing five different women to participate instead of just one. It also provides hymn suggestions which help to amplify the monologue.
This easily yet effectively prepared service offers a profound experience any time during the Lenten season.
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Journey Of Lent
$15.95Add to cartThis book provides scripture-based reflections for each day of the Lenten season. It is an uplifting work for those who wish to enrich their personal prayer and meditation. It shows the Lenten season in its intended light — as a period of preparation, where we ready ourselves spiritually for life as Christians.
In this, Gribble provides a daily challenge to the one who is searching for a way to draw closer to God in everyday life. With each day’s reading he includes scripture passages, a theme and keenly stimulating thoughts for reflection.
More than simply a collection for personal meditation, it is also ideal for teaching and preaching illustrations.
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Turning Points
$12.95Add to cartIn these nine sermons preachers will find brilliant use of story to illustrate the Lenten message. Beringer focuses on different journeys throughout the New Testament and examines the “turning points” recorded there.
As is stated in the introduction, our Christian faith is a pilgrim faith. The author shows in modern parables how we are called by Christ to be a people on the move with him through time to eternity and the Kingdom of God. He shows that we are travelers on the road of faith, never quite arriving at our destination, but always growing and being transformed by each encounter with the living God.
Following each sermon is a set of discussion questions based on the preceding sermon and the scripture on which the sermon is based. These questions can be copied into the bulletin to help the congregation follow the sermon, used as small group discussion starters, distributed to worshipers as they leave church or be printed in weekly newsletters to reinforce the message given the previous Sunday.
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Table Talk
$5.95Add to cartThis service requires little preparation and involves only three readers. The build up to Holy Communion is dramatic and scriptural, climaxing in the betrayal of Judas, the sense of corporate guilt and the need for forgiveness.
In Table Talk we hear conversations between Jesus and his friends, enemies and those who are indifferent. These talks occur at tables where Jesus has come as a guest. The service culminates with Jesus serving as host to his disciples.
In his own table story we learn that whether or not we come to the great banquet, the table of the Lord will be filled. It forces us to ask that if we do come and receive the bread and wine what will Jesus say to us? What will we say to him? How can we not find our faith strengthened, our love enlarged, and our understanding deepened by the table talk of Jesus?
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Journeying Through Lent With Matthew
$8.00Add to cartIn this devotional, meditations for each day between Ash Wednesday and Easter focus on passages from the Gospel of Matthew. Using this book as a guide, readers will work their way through the entire Gospel, probing its meaning. Reflection questions and a prayer with each reading encourage readers to consider the passage’s signifigance for their lives.
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Restoring The Future Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartDrawing upon thoughtfully mined biblical insights and his alert attention to contemporary culture, Rob Elder has crafted sermons that not only disclose some unexpected angles of vision on Lent and Easter, but also serve as models for preaching on neglected and overlooked texts. These are not the usual texts and these are not the expected words for the seasons of Lent and Easter, but it is sometimes what we do not expect to see and hear that delights us most. Robert J. Elder is currently the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Salem, Oregon.
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Living Vertically Cycle C
$12.95Add to cartThrough fascinating anecdotes and stories drawn from his experience as a campus minister, John Brittain applies the Gospel readings from the Revised Common Lectionary to contemporary life. His powerful and insightful messages proclaim the good news in everyday situations — they’ll hold listeners’ attention from beginning to end.
Titles include:
And Now The News — Luke 13:1-9
A Tale Of Two Crosses — Luke 22:14-23:56
Believing Is Seeing — John 20:19-31
How Can They Do That? — John 14:23-29
Christo-centric Or Ego-centric? — John 17:20-26
… and more! -
Journeying Through Lent With Mark
$6.99Add to cartIn this devotional, meditations for each day between Ash Wednesday and Easter focus on passages from the Gospel of Mark. Reflection questions and a prayer with each reading encourage readers to consider the passage’s meaning for their lives. A study guide is included for six weeks of small-group discussion.
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Ashes To Ascension Cycle B
$12.95Add to cartThese sermons lift up the themes of suffering, reconciliation, and the unmerited goodness of God extended to all through Jesus Christ. Stroman never loses sight of the kerygma in his tightly packed messages. He addresses a world where hatred and violence prevail with the message of divine love, which has enriched souls and kindled faith throughout the centuries.
Titles include:
Beginning The Journey To Calvary — 2 Corinthians 5:20b
Once And For All — 1 Peter 3:18a
Promises — Promises — Romans 4:21
The Right Person For The Job — Hebrews 5:5-10
Life – And Then Some — 1 John 5:9-13
… and more! -
From This Day Foward Cycle B
$12.95Add to cartGod is into relationships, and he restores them by grace and love. Paul Kummer picks up the covenant/marriage/renewal themes in these scriptural texts and creatively develops them into inspiring messages of love and hope.
Sermon titles include:
Forsaking All Others — Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
A New Name — Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
Our Jealous Husband – Exodus 20:1-17
Something Old, Something New — Jeremiah 31:31-34
Shameless Passion — Isaiah 50:4-9a
… and more! -
Cross Resurrection And Ascension Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartThis book of sermons moves from the desert of Ash Wednesday to the cross of Calvary on Good Friday, to the empty tomb on Easter, and finally to Jesus’ return to the Father. Richard Gribble’s preaching style is vibrant and relevant to the person in the pew. The deeply spiritual content is punctuated by poignant story illustrations that illustrate the scriptural text and enlighten the listener.
Preachers will find this book inspiring for their own sermons, while lay readers will discover rich insights to the Bible for their personal study and devotions.
Contents include:
Ash Wednesday: The Journey To Freedom Begins
First Sunday In Lent: Greed Leads To Destruction
Fourth Sunday In Lent: Looking To The Heart
Maundy Thursday: Carrying On The Tradition
Easter Sunday: Our Need To Talk With The Son
Seventh Sunday Of Easter: The Community Of Life
Ascension Sunday: Completing The Master’s Work
… and others. -
Desert : An Anthology For Lent
$26.95Add to cartThe desert, with its great emptiness and silence, has long been a symbol of solitude. In our Spiritual lives, we sometines seek such isolation as a means of abandoning ourselves completely to God. At other times, solitude comes upon us uninvited and unwelcome, as we find ourselves totally alone and desolate. In facing the silence and the vast expanses of loneliness, we test our courage, deepen our faith, and hear the voice of God anew. This book explores the tradition and relevance of desert spirituality in the life and worship of the church today and offers a collection of pertinent writings in a daily format, by many acient and contemporary authors.
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In The Upper Room
$7.95Add to cartRequiring no memorization, this drama can be performed by any size congregation. Most of the reading is done out of sight while the 15 participants portray what the narrators are reading.
The primary narrator is a Greek woman named Sophia who is drawn to the Christian church and community in Ephesus. She is preparing to become baptized in the church which the Apostle Paul had started approximately 50 years earlier. Her instructors in the faith are none other than the Gospel writers Mark and John, who share in the narration of this drama.
Highlights include a footwashing and communal meal. Following the Communion by the disciples, the bread and chalice are shared with the congregation.
This is a very useful resource for pastors or worship and music committees looking for something a little out of the ordinary for the Lenten season. Little rehearsal is needed.
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Bread And Broth (Student/Study Guide)
$9.95Add to cartServe a different kind of soup and bread each week as you study the lives of Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Elisha, John the Baptist and Jesus in this six-part series. Each study provides a recipe for the soup of the week. Members can be invited to prepare the soup and bake breads to share. This program allows congregations to enjoy a fellowship meal together as they learn about a biblical character.
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Visions Of Lent Year 3
$12.95Add to cartA new and unusual service for Lent…!
At the beginning of Lent each family in the congregation is invited to lend a plant from home (silk or live), following a Jewish Shavuot custom. The following Sundays in Lent build on this focal point as an object is added each week. Two readers participate in a dialogue explaining the symbol for that day. A child brings the symbol forward and holds it during the dialogue. In this way several families are able to participate.
Visions of Lent Year 3 also includes:
* Sample bulletin insert prior to Lent
* Example of plant reminder that can be used in bulletin
* Sample Torah for bulletin inserts
* A suggested worship service for Palm/Passion Sunday -
Whispering The Lyrics Cycle A
$14.95Add to cartBased on texts from the Revised Common and Catholic lectionaries, Thomas Long provides inspirational messages to motivate and help preachers through their most difficult preaching time of the year, the seasons of Lent and Easter.
The road to Easter takes us through the most sacred stretch of the Gospel story, and the narratives simply overwhelm us … Congregations who blithely assume that their pastor eagerly relishes the chance to preach the passion and resurrection of Jesus are, for the most part, mistaken. To be sure the pews are more crowded as Easter approaches, the choirs are well-rehearsed and in full voice, and an electric charge courses through the sanctuary, but the preacher stands there with the obligation to proclaim the truths of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and it seems, at one and the same time, to be a set of claims too little to go on in a secular and cynical age and a range of mysteries too profound to speak. (from author’s foreword)
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Visions Of Lent Year 2
$7.95Add to cartVisions of Lent Year 2 — Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) offers congregations a weekly presentation to be included in the regular Lenten worship service. This follow-up to Volume 1 (which concentrated on the Feast of Passover) focuses on the Palm Sunday story and six elements within that story that were significant parts of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles or Booths. The festival is rooted in Leviticus 23:33f, where God commanded Moses to declare the festival to the people of Israel as a reminder of the temporary shelters they lived in when He delivered them out of Egypt.
Preparation for this worship series is very simple. Lent I begins with a plain, “symbolic” booth which is placed somewhere within the sanctuary. For the next five weeks objects are gradually added inside the booth.
Objects include:
Lent 2 — citron (or other citrus fruit) in an attractive yet simple container
Lent 3 — musical instruments (flute, cymbal, lyre, harps, trumpets, etc.)
Lent 4 — donkey figure or picture
Lent 5 — a large crown
Lent 6 (Palm Sunday) — palm branchesEach presentation involves four participants including: minister, a youth and two other readers. Parts are brief and need not be memorized.
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They Followed The Master
$12.95Add to cartThey Followed The MasterM gives power and vividness to the Lenten experience for participants and spectators.
Characters are carefully based on the scriptural evidence, supplemented by imaginative re-creation of what they might have said.
The plays may be performed by any size congregation. Even so, the author kept in mind small churches during her writing, saying she has great sympathy for small churches — those with limited budgets and big ideas.
Plays include settings for:
Sundays of Lent
Palm Sunday
Maundy Thursday
Good Friday
EasterDepending upon the drama, characters include Mary, John, Andrew, Martha, Lazarus, Judas, Judas’ mother, Matthew, Cornelius, and a host of other familiar and not-so-familiar biblical personalities.
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Visions Of Lent Year 1
$7.95Add to cart“Worship in Lent provides an opportunity for a congregation to reflect significantly on our faith. Unlike Advent and Christmas, Lent is free from the excitement busyness and commercialism that distract us as worshipers. We need to hear Gods voice afresh. The Passover tradition is a wonderful vehicle for that kind of listening,” writes Betty Lynn Schwab.
Visions Of Lent, Year 1 (three-book series) is a resource for congregational worship on each of the six Sundays in Lent. Special to Year 1 is a Maundy Thursday communion service.
The series provides congregations with a weekly presentation, which may be placed in the worship service. Each presentation offers a symbol. Symbols for Year 1 are Passover-related.
Symbols are:
The bitter herbs
The scorched shank bone
The green herbs
The fruits and nuts
The unleavened bread
The roasted egg -
Lenten Labyrinth
$13.95Add to cartThe journeys of Lent and of life are seldom straight roads, but are usually like complicated mazes or labyrinths. While we often can feel lost along the complex twisting patterns of the labyrinth path, to travel the maze of the Way is the greatest of all adventures. This guidebook of daily reflections for this journey of transformation has the power to change “to radically enrich” our way of thinking, loving and believing. Each day’s reflection–which takes but a few minutes to read–is followed by brief questions/exercises aimed at inspiring personal implications. Short of time? A few minutes daily with Father Hays can nourish a hungry soul for 24 hours. Both books of daily Lenten reflections–The Ascent of the Mountain of God and The Lenten Labyrinth–maximize our limited resources of time, making our journey through Lent into the heart of Holy Week a time of real renewal.
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Kneeling In Jerusalem (Large Type)
$20.00Add to cartIn a powerful and creative way, renowned author and speaker Ann Weems brings new insights into the Lenten season by providing seventy-one poems of inspiration. With her intutive and heartening poems, Weems takes the reader on a pensive journey through Lent and Easter.
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Power To Change Cycle B
$14.95Add to cart“Christians today need to hear more about the possibility that we don’t have to stay the way we are,” writes Durwood L. Buchheim. “God is not finished with us or with our world. So, Christians can live hopefully, expectantly and boldly. There is power to change. The Lent-Easter texts point in that direction.”
The 15 sermons in this book are based on First Lesson texts. Lenten season sermons are based on six Old Testament books. Except for Easter Sunday, Easter season sermons are based on The book of Acts. The sermons follow the Revised Common Lectionary.
Christianity is about caring and sharing … We are the people of God’s future. We are to be signs of hope to those around us. Under the power of God’s great grace, we can begin to live that way now. (from the Easter 2 sermon)
