Made for Friendship

Made for Friendship
Author: Drew Hunter
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2018-09-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 143355822X

God made you for friendship. Friendship is one of the deepest pleasures of life. But in our busy, fast-paced, mobile world, we've lost this rich view of friendship and instead settled for shallow acquaintances based on little more than similar tastes or shared interests. Helping us recapture a vision of true friendship, pastor Drew Hunter explores God's design for friendship and what it really looks like in practice—giving us practical advice to cultivate the kinds of true friendships that lead to true and life-giving joy.

Born Again This Way

Born Again This Way
Author: Rachel Gilson
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2020-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781784983901

Addresses some of the questions raised by Christians with same-sex attraction. As a Christian who experiences same-sex attraction, is it possible to live a life that's both faithful and fulfiling? Rachel Gilson wants to show you that it is and that it's not just a case of limping to the finish line, it's possible to run the race with joy. In this powerful and personal book, she describes her own unexpected journey of coming out and coming to faith... and what came next. As she does so, she addresses many of the questions that Christians living with same-sex attraction are wrestling with: Am I consigned to a life of loneliness? How do I navigate my friendships? Will my desires ever change? Is there some greater purpose to all this? What comes next, and next, and next? Drawing on insights from the Bible and the experiences of others, Born Again This Way provides assurance and encouragement for Christians with same-sex attraction, and paints a compelling picture of discipleship for every believer. Whatever your sexuality, this book is an inspiring testimony of how a life submitted to Jesus will be fulfilling and fruitful, but not always in the ways we might expect.

Friend-ish

Friend-ish
Author: Kelly Needham
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2019-08-27
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1400213525

For so many of us, our friends are like family members--we lean on them through our highest highs and our lowest lows--but sometimes those friendships don't turn out quite as we hoped. Bible teacher Kelly Needham debunks our world's constricted, narrow view of friendship and casts a richer, more life-giving, biblical vision for friendship. In Friend-ish, Kelly Needham reminds us that we were called to more than halfhearted friendships and lukewarm connections. We need something more stable, secure, and sacred. We were designed for real friendship--but the difficult truth is that too many of us are settling for less. Kelly deconstructs what Scripture says about the gift of friendship and takes a closer look at the distorted view that most of us have instead. As she shares the lessons she's learned from experience, Kelly paints her own glorious vision of what Christian friendship could look like. With hard-fought wisdom, a clear view of Scripture, and a been-there perspective, Friend-ish teaches us how to: Recognize symptoms of idolatry and toxic dependency Boldly ask for what we need from our community of friends Understand and address the problems that arise in friendship--from neediness to discord Recognize when it's time to end an unhealthy friendship Reorient toward the purposeful, loving relationships we all crave that ultimately bring us closer to God Find the friends you need and start to become that friend for others Join Kelly as she challenges you to view your chosen family in a new light, gain a vision of friendship according to Jesus, and finally enjoy friendships as God intended.

Character Matters

Character Matters
Author: Aaron Menikoff
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2020-05-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0802498671

Pastor, it’s time to turn down the noise and focus on what matters. Today’s pastoral world is packed with books, conferences, and seminars teaching you different techniques for being an all-star pastor, growing your church quickly, and changing the world. But the key to true success is much harder and much simpler. Pastors are called to be faithful, to have exemplary character, and to love Jesus. Without faithfulness, their ministry ends up harming others rather than helping them. Churches need pastors with sound doctrine and a sound life. Character Matters was written to help you slow down, cut through the noise and distractions, and focus on what matters—the fruit of the Spirit. Each chapter is a guided, biblical meditation on one aspect of each piece of the fruit of the Spirit. As you reflect and focus on the simple things that matter, you’ll see your heart change and your ministry follow, slowly, surely, and by the power of the Spirit.

Same-Sex Attraction and the Church

Same-Sex Attraction and the Church
Author: Ed Shaw
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2015-11-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830899790

When Christians have same-sex attraction, how should the church respond? Pastor Ed Shaw experiences same-sex attraction, and yet he is committed to Scripture and the church's traditional position on sexuality. In this honest book, he shares his own experiences and shows us that obedience to Jesus is ultimately the only way to experience life to the full.

A Friendship Like No Other

A Friendship Like No Other
Author: William A. Barry
Publisher: Loyola Press
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2009-03-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0829429697

Live in the love of a God who desires a relationship with you. Throughout A Friendship Like No Other, renowned spiritual director William A. Barry, SJ, explores the premise that God wants to relate to us as a close friend. Barry has contemplated this idea—radical for many Christians—throughout his lifetime, and he explains that it actually traces back to the “developing revelation of God contained in the Bible.” A Friendship Like No Other offers three well-supported and practical sections: prayerful exercises to help lead you to the conviction that God wants your friendship; a close look at objections to this idea; and reflections on experiencing the presence of God and discerning those experiences. Brief, personal meditations are woven throughout. Grounded in biblical tradition and with a clear focus on Ignatian spirituality, this book offers a fresh, heart-changing approach to living joyfully in the freedom of the divine embrace.

The Company We Keep

The Company We Keep
Author: Jonathan Holmes
Publisher: Cruciform Press
Total Pages: 87
Release: 2014-09-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1936760975

Friendship. This one word can mean a hundred different things to each person. We all want friends, but often struggle to develop meaningful friendships. Does the Bible speak to and present a vision and theology of biblical friendship? Is there anything unique about biblical friendship?

Never Unfriended

Never Unfriended
Author: Lisa-Jo Baker
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2017-04-04
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 1433643065

Written by Lisa-Jo Baker of the (in)courage women's community, Never Unfriended, is a step-by-step guide to friendships you can trust with personal stories and practical tips to help you make the friends, and be the friend, that lasts.

The Art of Being a Good Friend

The Art of Being a Good Friend
Author: Hugh Black
Publisher: Sophia Institute Press
Total Pages: 160
Release: 1999
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 091847762X

These pages show readers how to transform superficial friendships into soul-nourishing relationships, bringing them from shallowness and frivolity to a deep communion of mind and heart -- a communion that will become, for those who read this book and for their friends, a means for emotional and spiritual growth. Married couples will find here new ways to appreciate the gift God has given to them in their spouse. Best of all, readers will learn how to achieve friendship with God. As they enjoy this divine friendship and enrich their human friendships, they'll come to see how truly author Hugh Black speaks when he says that no one would care to live without friends, even if he had all other good things.

Love of Friendship in the Christian Life

Love of Friendship in the Christian Life
Author: Jonathan Sammut
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 174
Release: 2019-12-27
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1532673256

Theological reflection on friendship, as a particular form of Christian love, emerges in Holy Scripture and continues to be elaborated in the Christian tradition. However, “love of friendship” was at times absorbed into the other traditional understanding of love—“love of God and of neighbor.” After a philosophical-historical study of the Greco-Roman roots of friendship in moral reflection, and how (and to what extent) this was appropriated in the Christian tradition, this book illustrates the transcendental character and the novelty of the Christian understanding of friendship found in Holy Scripture, focusing particularly on the most relevant texts in the Fourth Gospel where “love” and “friendship” stand to be important themes. It also shows how Saint Thomas Aquinas, through his exegesis of the Fourth Gospel, his synthesis of the Christian tradition, and his ability to rearticulate Christian theology through Aristotelian philosophy, inimitably defines the theological virtue of caritas as “friendship with God.” In so doing he depicts friendship as the finality, the telos, of the Christian life. Finally, the book aims to show how the retrieval of a proper theology of friendship, rooted in Holy Scripture and Christian tradition, can enrich the life of an authentic Christian and contribute to the ongoing process of renewing moral theology.