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In his helpful devotional guide, Nurture Faith: Five Minute Meditations to Strengthen Your Walk with Christ, Doug Hood invites us to join him in the spiritual disciplines that have made him an exemplary pastor, preacher, husband and father. If we will assimilate the spiritual disciplines of scripture, meditation, and prayer into our daily routine, we will grow in our faith in Jesus Christ. But watch out…these devotionals might just change your life…as they are changing mine!"(Rev. Dr. Thomas K. Tewell, Former Executive Director, Macedonian Ministry)Nurture Faith: Five Minute Meditations to Strengthen Your Walk with Christ by Doug Hood provides a meaningful resource for people of faith as it blends Biblical passages with experiences of today, resulting in a meditation guide as well as a self-help manual. By consistently relating God's word with current examples, Dr. Hood has revealed his own struggles in being faithful while providing insight into possible responses to temptations and challenges which impact all Christians in one way or another on their faith journey.

Vulnerable Embrace is a book that celebrates the worship of God through a unique collection of 21st century sermons by co-pastor "clergy couple" Elana Levy and Lucus Keppel.Within, you will find:· stories of love, loss, and camping · plays and dialogues between Bible characters who never could have met any other way· connections between science, history and scripture that reveal more harmony than you might expect· a love of the Biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek that helps bring great depth and refreshing clarity to the work.Elana and Lucus are pastors in their first decade of congregational ministry. Their collection of sermons gives us a glimpse at the basics for "new church," "next church," and "fresh expressions."These sermons reflect the unique backgrounds, academic training, and non-church work experience of Elana and Lucus. They fold careful Biblical research, and relevant theological reflection into a mix of popular culture and current events to meet the spiritual and emotional needs of their congregation. Even their word-studies are charming. In other words, these are really engaging, witty people who preach thought-provoking and helpful sermons.~From the foreword by Rev. Deborah Fortel and Rev. Dr. David Sawyer of Flourishing Church Consulting and Coaching

A Journey Remembered contains the partial story of my life. I have written it in response to the suggestions of family and friends who have heard portions of the story over time and have suggested repeatedly that a written record be made. Family history appears in genealogy and stories told to me by older family members who were more than willing to share. Though some accounts may have been slightly exaggerated, they are part of the family story. Having listened carefully to what my elders have shared with me, I may be the sole repository of family lore. Also, I have been assured that children, grandchildren, friends and other associates might find what I have written to be interesting and worth reading.So I have put in print what I know and remember. The importance of this exercise was brought home to me in a comment by my wife, JoAnn. She stated quite simply that I ought to write what I could remember before something happened, and I would no longer be able to remember clearly. That statement caused me to begin writing what you are about to read. It is a record of my memory of a lifelong journey. I began writing in early June 2004. I was at that time 73 years old. Surprisingly, it has taken longer to write what you are about to read than I first anticipated. To those of you who read this record, I offer my thanks for taking the time to read an old man's account of his life and experiences. May you find the record informative and interesting.

Finding Manna is the story of Clare Wheeler, a young woman who feels lost in the middle of her own life. She chose to move far away from home after a broken romance and is living a life that looks successful on the surface. But underneath, she's in a career that was picked for her, in a location that looks like paradise, but feels like solitary confinement.Through getting to know the guests at a place called Manna House, Clare begins to see the world through new eyes. She is stretched to view life through the lens of people who deal with poverty, addiction, immigration and emotional health issues - and those experiences change how she understands her life. Clare explores her identity through adventures and experiences that continuously challenge Clare's view of who she is, what she can do, and how she wants to live her life. She is on a journey to find her own spiritual, professional and relational identity - and claim the life that is hers to live.

Think of this as a conversation on the matter of deacons in the Lord's churches.I'm a pastor. For 42 years I served six Southern Baptist churches and followed that with 5 years as the director of missions for our denomination's 130 churches and missions throughout greater New Orleans. I love deacons. My oldest son is one of the finest deacons I know. I'm eternally indebted to the Lord for surrounding me with godly and mature deacon friends who have enriched my life and enabled my ministry. My pastorates have been immeasurably strengthened by solid deacons who loved Jesus and wanted nothing more than to serve Him.But I did not emerge unscathed from serving alongside deacons.

WorshipPoints: A Liturgical Resource for Year C written by Rev. Chris Warren who is pastor of First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. A great resource for worship planners.

When Jesus' followers saw him praying, they knew that he connected to God in a profound way. Wanting to know how they could do the same, they asked: "Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1). Their request continues to be the desire of all who long for a meaningful life with God.Learning how to pray can happen in many ways. Sometimes we learn to pray from those who pray for us and with us. My parents prayed over our meals by day and over us by night. A spirit of gratitude and intercession pervaded my early life. My initial prayers were no doubt formed by what I heard them say to God in my presence.As we mature, we involuntarily learn to pray when crises hit. Mimicking our parents' prayers doesn't help in those moments. Difficulties drive us to articulate that most personal of prayers, "God, I need you right now . . . ." Perhaps for the first time in our lives, we talk to God from our hearts, in all sincerity. Adversity became our instructor.Praying Scripture is another way to mature in our life with God. When we read the Bible, we listen for God's voice. When we discern his direction, we respond in prayer. Often our words simply repeat the language of Scripture. If you are reading a psalm of thanksgiving like Psalm 103, and you want to pause and tell God how grateful you are for all of the blessings in your life, then it would be natural for you to repeat the words of gratitude from verses 1-2: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits" (Ps 103:1-2 NASB). Praying Scripture gives us the benefit of beautiful, borrowed language to talk to God. In this way, God's Spirit teaches us to pray.

How long will good people remain silent in the face of the religious bigotry that has captured our Christian faith in America? How long will we sit silently by while religious bigotry overshadows love, tolerance and grace?How long before we finally stand up and say, "Enough is enough. This is not who we are"?Reginald Scot, the author, boldly answers this question for himself in this book. He will no longer be silent and hopes that the book's stories will encourage you to join him and others in speaking out against religious bigotry and all its sanctimonious forms of evil. A day does not go by that white political and religious leaders, somewhere, do not play to their support bases by demeaning others. They denounce court orders that grant equality and call on school boards and local, state and national governments to force their religious agendas, including funding their schools, on the rest of the nation, all under the umbrella of "religious freedom". Within their own churches, women are relegated to subservient roles, the LGBT community demonized, sexual assaults of women excused, other faiths damned, and demeaning jokes about blacks and other minorities laughed at.

In this collection of writings, I share snippets of my childhood experiences of growing up in the small, rural community of Mexia in Monroe County, Alabama, during the mid-1950s through the mid-1960s. The themes of family, faith, education, and community emerged as I compiled the writings into this edition. My mother often told my sisters and me that the stories we read in books mirrored the real-life experiences of the people in our rural, isolated community. I'm not sure I believed her. How could rousing stories spring from people who farmed cotton and corn, and who attended Mexia Baptist Church at least three times every week? However, as always...Mother was right. People in our community "walked through the valley of the shadow of death" and experienced the "joy that comes in the morning." Like generations before them, they had to wrestle with justice and mercy, decide between good and evil, find the power to forgive, learn how to control temptations, and accept or reject the goodness of God. Mother's desire was for my sisters and me to travel and see the sights we read about in the many books she encouraged us to read. My sisters and I have been most fortunate to have travelled five of the seven continents and sailed four of the five oceans. We have toured major world cities and seen sights Mother dreamed of seeing. Daddy would wonder why we wanted to go in the first place! But the wonderful thing about Daddy is that he would be happy for us because our happiness was his happiness. No matter where we travel or how far we roamed from Mexia, it is the home lessons we learned in our childhood hometown that linger closest to the heart.

This collection of messages was preached at The First Presbyterian Church of Burlingame in California in the year 2018. Perhaps more than any other lectionary-based series I have offered from the front, this message series had the impact of connecting with real people in real life challenges and situations in real time. Anyone who is reading this book, preacher or non-preacher alike, is welcome to use whatever illustrations they find in this book that are helpful for their personal situations, or their teaching life. Audio copies of these messages (CD's, or other digital versions) can be found by linking on the www.burlpres.org website or contacting the front office of the First Presbyterian Church of Burlingame.

We have news reporters to cover the White House, The United Nations, and correspondents who cover national and international news. We don't have anyone to cover heaven. The Apostle John was given a vision of heaven and wrote about it. The Apostle Paul saw the third heaven, but he wasn't allowed to talk about it; that was 2,000 years ago.The world is now changing drastically, and my friend, Anderson McCollister, is right in the middle of the changes. Anderson is an unpretentious family man, who wouldn't have the faintest desire to have a story written about him. However, I believe his story should be recorded and shared.Anderson is the most conscientious person I know. He is compassionate and somewhat idealistic; he wants the best for everyone! I've known him, since he moved from Indiana to retire in Tennessee. He and his wife, Ruth, bought a house and land in Sevier County over twenty years ago.Some people don't believe the story about Anderson; however, many people reject the stories in the Bible. Anderson's experiences were told to me by his sister, Lydia, and his best friend, Kenny, from Maggie Valley, North Carolina. When I first heard about Anderson, it took a while for my finite brain to process the phenomena.I finally realized that the incredible report did make sense; largely, because I'm living in a fast-changing world (and it isn't getting better). Just a few months after my community and the rest of the world started drastically changing, I believe Anderson got caught up in the middle of those changes.I was told that Anderson had some serious concerns about his sister, daughter and his best friend. I know that Anderson is a man of prayer, and I believe God heard his prayers. One day I would like to see Anderson again, and hear him tell about what happened. Fortunately, you can read the story for yourself, and determine the veracity of Anderson's journeys.

These sermons were preached over the span of a year sometime between 2017 and 2018 at First Presbyterian Church, Shreveport. Recently I had the opportunity to be present at Eugene Peterson's final public address at the Karl Barth Pastor's Conference on the campus of Princeton Theological Seminary. Because of Eugene Peterson's declining health, the address ended up being read by his son Eric. The whole address and talk were very moving and special. It was a privilege to be present and to be shaped once again by the words and writing of Eugene Peterson. In his address, which was an appreciation for the theology of Karl Barth, Peterson, in conversation with Barth, discussed the difficulties of sermons in written or book form. Perhaps a book is not the sermon's natural habitat. Sermons are events, occurrences, and attempts to declare the gospel of Jesus Christ to a particular people in a particular place in a particular time with particular concerns and particular events happening in their lives and in the life of the world. To write sermons down, to publish them, and to put them in book form risks removing them from the intimacy of the congregation in which they were preached, risks ripping them from the struggles a community may be facing, and risks placing them out of the intricacies of a congregation's context, setting, and ethos. All of this is true, and yet Peterson reminds us that there is still value in reading a sermon secondhand or putting the preached Word in published form, and that a 'prayerful imagination can and does supply much' of what might be lost when transported into a book. We Presbyterians are people of the Word and people of the word. We are people who are shaped and formed by the preaching and hearing of the gospel, but we are also people of the written word, people formed and shaped by the witness of scripture and the beauty of written language. As such, we place a high value on the use of words that express the Christian faith in ways that lead us to think and act and live beyond the presenting possibilities. So while these sermons and their words may be one step removed from the event of the gospel and the context in which they were proclaimed, I trust they are of some value to the reader's life of faith. By engaging them with a prayerful imagination, I hope these sermons can offer a window into the ways I believe Christ is at work through the pages of scripture, through the voice of the preacher, and through the ministry of the congregation, moving beyond us and moving us beyond, into the life of our world, where we are called to be Christ's church 'out there.'

An Easter story for Children describing what happen in Joseph of Arimathea's Cave in his back yard. It is simply written by Juanita Ellis and illustrated by Sharon B. Parker.It is published by dtbookcompany under its imprint, LSKidStuff.

A children's story about a rabbit named Wilma with a brood of bunnies. Wilma and the bunnies celebrate springtime and resurrection. The book is written by Juanita G. Ellis and illustrusted by Sharon B. Parker. It is many of its kind at www.lskidstuff.com

Reflections for Those Walking the Lonely Path of Pain