God's Messy Family

God's Messy Family
Author: Jacob Armstrong
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Total Pages:
Release: 2018-08-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1501843575

Genealogy is, widely considered to be, one of the fastest growing hobbies in the U.S. We have become consumed with constructing our family tree in an attempt to trace our lineage. Fortunately, the Bible does an excellent job helping us trace the ancestry of our faith family. Pastor and author Jacob Armstrong takes an in-depth look at our faith lineage focusing specifically on the messy family dynamics found in the book of Genesis. As we begin to understand the life stories of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Esau we find that their pattern looks a lot like ours—we are called, we mess up, and God continues to redeem us. Find out how your “messy family” fits into God’s family and how you are a part of God’s plan for the world. Additional components for a six-week study include a DVD featuring pastor and author Jacob Armstrong and a comprehensive Leader Guide. Also available for your church is a helpful guide to small groups titled The Connected Life: Small Groups that Create Community. Chapters include: The Myth of the Perfect Family The Gap Between What God Says and What You See No, Nothing Is Too Hard for the Lord Loss and Promise in the Family of God Promise Maker and Promise Keeper The Beauty of Imperfection

God's Messy Family Leader Guide

God's Messy Family Leader Guide
Author: Jacob Armstrong
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Total Pages: 51
Release: 2018-08-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1501843591

Genealogy is, widely considered to be, one of the fastest growing hobbies in the U.S. We have become consumed with constructing our family tree in attempt to trace our lineage. Fortunately, the Bible does an excellent job helping us trace the ancestry of our faith family. Pastor and author Jacob Armstrong takes an in-depth look at our faith lineage focusing specifically on the messy family dynamics found in the book of Genesis. As we begin to understand the life stories of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Esau we find that their pattern looks like a lot like ours—we are called, we mess up, and God continues to redeem us. Find out how your “messy family” fits into God’s family and how you are a part of God’s plan for the world. The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the six-week study including session plans, activities, and discussion questions, as well as multiple format options.

Messy Church

Messy Church
Author: Ross Parsley
Publisher: David C Cook
Total Pages: 179
Release: 2012-07-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1434705064

When you look at the church today, what do you see? A corporation with a CEO at the helm? A social organization that does good things for the community? Pastor Ross Parsley believes that neither of those pictures is God’s desire. Instead, God wants His church to function as a family—a group of real people who love each other and care for one another’s needs, no matter how messy. Our culture is dying for the kind of community that only the church can provide—if we are living as God intended: as a family, protecting one another, extending grace, and loving unconditionally. We are not called to be consumers who ask what the church can offer us. We are called to love deeply, fight fairly, and bring hope to a generation of people starving to belong to something greater than themselves. Welcome to the family. You belong here.

Messy

Messy
Author: A. J. Swoboda
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Total Pages: 186
Release: 2012-04-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0825488818

Christianity is messy. Unanswered prayers. Painful choices. Unresolved regrets. We’re called to have faith, and yet we doubt. We try to be perfect, but we fall short. This is the chaos. It’s all around us. There’s no limit to it. And there’s no quick fix for it.Both annoyingly honest and refreshingly humorous, Messy reassures Christians that God can reveal Himself in their clutter. Author and pastor A.J. Swoboda offers biblical insight and vivid, personal stories to redefine faith from something that must be perfect to something that is imperfect, but can still give beauty, meaning, and purpose to a messy life. As entertaining as it is challenging, this book teaches Christians what it means to trust in each other, in grace, in hope, and in a Savior who defied the rules of death. Here’s to finding joy in your chaos!

Messy Grace

Messy Grace
Author: Caleb Kaltenbach
Publisher: WaterBrook
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2015-10-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1601427379

Sometimes, grace gets messy. Caleb Kaltenbach was raised by LGBT parents, marched in gay pride parades as a youngster, and experienced firsthand the hatred and bitterness of some Christians toward his family. But then Caleb surprised everyone, including himself, by becoming a Christian…and a pastor. Very few issues in Christianity are as divisive as the acceptance of the LGBT community in the church. As a pastor and as a person with beloved family members living a gay lifestyle, Caleb had to face this issue with courage and grace. Messy Grace shows us that Jesus’s command to “love your neighbor as yourself” doesn’t have an exception clause for a gay “neighbor”—or for that matter, any other “neighbor” we might find it hard to relate to. Jesus was able to love these people and yet still hold on to his beliefs. So can you. Even when it’s messy. “Messy Grace is an important contribution to the conversation about sexual identity for churches and leaders. Caleb's story is surprising and unique, and he weaves it together compellingly. He states his views clearly, leaves room for disagreement, and champions love no matter where you are in this conversation.” —Jud Wilhite, Sr. Pastor, Central Christian Church

Family

Family
Author: Jessie Minassian
Publisher: NavPress
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2017-09-05
Genre: Young Adult Nonfiction
ISBN: 1631465309

Parents know the drama of living with a teenage girl. Teen girls struggle to honor their closest relationships while finding their unique identity during adolescence, especially in today’s families which can be messy, complex, and even painful. But family—however messy—can also provide the perfect training ground to make us more like Christ. Family: How to Love Yours (and Help Them Like You Back) is written to come alongside a young woman and equip her as she navigates her roles, responsibilities, and responses from a Christian perspective. With tender, funny, and hope-filled insight, Jessie Minassian digs in deep where parents sometimes struggle to be heard. Jessie offers trusted advice and wise, Godly counsel for a young woman to honor her closest relationships, see her family’s dynamics in new ways, and have some fun along the way!

Total Family Makeover

Total Family Makeover
Author: Melissa Spoelstra
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Total Pages:
Release: 2016-09-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1501820664

God calls us as parents to be key disciple-makers in our children’s lives, but if we’re honest, some days it’s a battle just to get them dressed and ready for school on time. How can you mold their hearts when sometimes you can’t even find their shoes? In Total Family Makeover, author Melissa Spoelstra gives parents a way—a sort of spiritual track to run on—when it comes to building family discipleship. She focuses on eight key habits of growth: • Spending Time in Prayer • Reading God's Word • Growing Through a Mentoring Relationship • Finding Community in the Church • Serving Others • Taking Time to Rest • Giving Back to God • Sharing Your Faith Disciples are made, not born. Whether your children are babes in arms or teenagers getting ready to leave the nest, making disciples at home starts with you! Give your family a makeover with this practical approach to helping your children learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Messy Parenting

Messy Parenting
Author: Lori Wildenberg
Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2018-08-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1563090546

As parents, we long for our kids to have family relationships that last a lifetime. But how do we create an atmosphere for connection on this messy journey of parenting? Messy Parenting shows you small changes you can make now to build lasting relationships, even when the going gets tough. By applying God’s design for interdependence, you’ll be able to: strengthen family relationships, encourage leadership skills, distinguish between enabling and helping, discuss without creating division, and so much more.

Looking for God in Messy Places

Looking for God in Messy Places
Author: Jake Owensby
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2021-04-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1791013236

“This is beautiful and brilliant stuff, profound and plain, incredibly human, wise and charming. I trusted and enjoyed every word.” –Anne Lamott, New York Times bestselling author about Looking for God in Messy Places For any who feel frustrated and world-weary, and who want more than just wishful thinking or superficial spirituality, this book is for you! In these pages, my friend Jake Owensby poignantly shows how LOVE is what can truly give us hope to carry on: real love, God's love for us, our love for each other, right here, right now in all the struggles of this messy life. And God knows, we need this book NOW! —Bishop Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church and author of Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times Life is messy. We can get discouraged by setbacks, overwhelmed by busyness, and shaken by worry. Hope is the power that gets us out of bed in the morning and gives us the courage to face adversity. Looking for God in Messy Places by Jake Owensby is a book about how love gives us an inextinguishable hope. This book is for anyone who has ever been frozen in place by loss or regret, anyone who has endured suffering, cruelty, or rejection. From word to word and page to page, readers will experience themselves as God’s beloved—so that they can be hopeful. From the introduction [This book is] For those whose struggles have been long and for those who are growing weary from heavy burdens. For those facing an unforeseen crisis or for those enduring a slow personal train wreck. For those whose throats have grown raw from crying for justice and for those whose wounds have gone unhealed. This is a book about hope, and I have written it especially for those who refuse to yield to discouragement and despair. Topics include: - The power of love to give us hope - The ways that God shows up in our daily lives - Recognizing God’s call in our lives - Becoming your true self - Having a sense of belonging - Forming a friendship with Christ - Contemplative faith

Messy People - Women's Bible Study Participant Workbook

Messy People - Women's Bible Study Participant Workbook
Author: Jennifer Cowart
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Total Pages: 349
Release: 2018-09-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1501863134

God can turn your messy life into a masterpiece. Every life gets messy at times. Sometimes these messes are literal, like a house that would be easier to condemn than to clean. But sometimes they are intangible messes such as illness, conflict, depression, abuse, bankruptcy, divorce, and job loss. And these messes can be painful, hurting our hearts and our homes. But as we see in the Bible, God loves to use messy people! In this six-week study, we will dig into the lives of biblical heroes who were messy people just like us but who were used by God in powerful ways. Together we will examine the stories of five wonderful but messy people and one messy parable character: Rahab, the Prodigal Son, Josiah, Mary, David, and Daniel. From their stories, we will learn how God can use broken people, restore damaged hearts and relationships, give us power to handle our critics, and help us deal with the hard moments of life. Along the way we’ll discover that we don’t have to just endure messy lives but can actually learn to thrive with God’s guidance and help. In the hands of God, our messes can become His masterpieces! The participant workbook, to be used along with the study's DVD, includes five days of lessons for each week, combining study of Scripture with personal reflection, application, and prayer. Other components for the Bible study, available separately, include a Leader Guide, and DVD with six 10-15 minute sessions.