Fan God’s Gifts into Flame assists pastors in thinking through some of the “whys” and “hows” of planning for growth in all their God-given callings (pastor, husband, father, colleague in ministry, etc.). Since each pastor is a uniquely gifted child of God, and since each place where God calls him to serve is a unique gathering of God’s people, it can be wise for a pastor to take time to consider how he can make the most of his unique God-given strengths in his unique God-given place of service. The goal is to help pastors make such planning an annual part of how they grow in all their callings.
The resource includes:
- An essay giving you the theological rationale and some practical directions for developing an annual spiritual and professional growth plan.
- A Workbook giving you tools to consider your strengths and the specific strengths that God has given to you as a unique individual.
- A Toolbox will giving you some tools you can use as you pursue personal, spiritual, and professional growth.
Renew 52: 50+ Ideas to Revitalize Your Congregation from Leaders under 50 is a free ebook that features 52 short essays from 54 Christian leaders in 15 different traditions. In this 2012 collection, edited by David J. Lose (former Vibrant Congregations Project grant director and Luther Seminary faculty member), authors were guided by the conviction that congregations are the primary place where the Spirit is at work for the renewal of the church.
From the introduction by David J. Lose:
The Spirit is moving in exciting ways. We are on the cusp of exciting, if unpredictable, renewal. In spite of the well-documented story of mainline decline, there is a lot of growth, a lot of potential, and a lot of hope in our congregations as well.
Each of the authors in this ebook has had her or his share of challenges and setbacks, but each has also learned from those and continues to dream, work, plan, and lead. And this book pulls together more than fifty of their best ideas for congregational renewal.
To download the book visit https://www.luthersem.edu/vcp/renew52/default.aspx?m=6411
Lutheran Church of Australia's Grow Ministries has developed a handout to assist grandparent in assisting their grandchildren to connect with and remain connected with Jesus.
The resource is available free of charge from Grow Ministries
What would it be like for modern readers to sit down beside Jesus as he explained the Bible to them? What life-changing insights might emerge from such a transformative encounter?
Lois Tverberg knows the treasures that await readers willing to learn how to read the Bible through Jewish eyes. By helping them understand the Bible as Jesus and his first-century listeners would have, she bridges the gaps of time and culture in order to open the Bible to readers today.
Combining careful research with engaging prose, Tverberg leads us on a journey back in time to shed light on how this Middle Eastern people approached life, God, and each other. She explains age-old imagery that we often misinterpret, allowing us to approach God and the stories and teachings of Scripture with new eyes. By helping readers grasp the perspective of its original audience, she equips them to read the Bible in ways that will enrich their lives and deepen their understanding.
Table of Contents
1 Opening the Bible with Jesus : Emmaus Is Still There
Part 1 Repacking Our Mental Bags: Tools for the Journey
2 Learning to Be There: A Clash of Cultures
3 What Does "Christ" Mean, Anyway?: A Perplexing Word
4 Painting in Hebrew: Bold Colors, Broad Brushstrokes
Part 2 How the Bible Thinks
Big Picture Ideas That You Need to Understand
5 Greek Brain, Hebrew Brain: Cows, Creeds, and Concrete Metaphors
6 Why Jesus Needs Those Boring "Begats": Knowing the Family Rules
7 Reading the Bible as a "We": Insights from a Communal Perspective
8 Like Grasshoppers in Our Own Eyes: Learning to "Think Small"
Part 3 Reading about the Messiah
Seeing Him through Hebrew Eyes
9 Memory Is Critical: Hinting at the Scriptures
10 Moses and the Prophets Have Spoken: Finding Promises in the Synagogue
11 Reading in the Third Dimension: Listening for Echoes in the Text
12 Jesus' Bold Messianic Claims: Very Subtle, Very Jewish
13 When the Words Catch Fire: What We Miss in Isaiah
Appendix A Books of the Tanakh
Appendix B Thirty Useful Hebrew Words for Bible Study
Appendix C Bible Translations for Word Study
