Living Ministries

The heart of man is his worst part before it is regenerated, and the best part afterward. It is the seat of principles, and the fountain of actions. The greatest difficulty in conversion is to win the heart to God. The greatest difficulty after conversion is to keep the heart with God. For out of it [the heart] are the issues of life. In other words, the heart is the source of all vital operations; it is the origin of both good and evil, just as the spring in a watch that sets all the wheels in motion.

Most of us have had encounters with God time and again, but we often fail to recognize them or allow ourselves to be changed by them. When God meets you, His presence, power, and love should transform your life - forever. Using the compelling biblical accounts of the children of Israel, Ruth, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, author Priscilla Shirer shows you what happens when you meet God, the obstacles that keep you from changing, and the ways to experience a miraculous transformation in your life.

Are you exhausted? Women today really do feel the weight of the world on their shoulders. Every morning we are greeted with a long list of to-dos: get the kids up and out the door on time, have a meaningful quiet time, put in a full day at the office, spend an hour at the gym, prepare a healthy and delicious meal (organic and locally grown, of course), and make sure the sink sparkles before you go to bed. Oh, and don’t forget to look great and smile while you’re doing it.

A lot of time and money is spent by Christians who have a passion to spread the gospel. Across the globe, this effort is paying off as seekers find Christ, the source of truth and peace. In many cultures, though, appeals made on behalf of the Christian faith are met with blank stares, indifference, even mocking hostility. Ken Ham, one of Christendom's most astute observers of evangelism, is convinced that compromise with evolutionary world views has virtually crippled preaching and teaching efforts, especially in Western societies.

What happens when we replace courage with compromise? What happens when we replace honesty with likability? What happens when we replace conviction with cliches? What happens when we replace discipleship to Christ with a devotion to nice? We live in a culture that prizes niceness as one of its highest virtues. Niceness keeps the peace, wins friends, gains influence, and serves our reputations well, but it also takes the teeth out of our witness and the power out of our faith.

Transform your self-image and embrace the power of positive thinking with two simple words: Declare "I Am" and celebrate the life God has created for you! Joel Osteen reveals how The Power of I Am can help you discover your unique abilities and advantages to lead a more productive and happier life. His insights and encouragement are illustrated with many amazing stories of people who turned their lives around by focusing on the positive power of this principle. You can choose to rise to a new level and invite God's goodness by focusing on these two words: I am!

With compelling and often humorous stories from his own life, Bible scholar Peter Enns offers a fresh look at how Christian life truly works, answering questions that cannot be addressed by the idealized traditional doctrine of "once for all delivered to the saints".

Reclaim your joy and thrive through the storms of life when you find your strength in God. The human soul has a built-in yearning for joy and beauty and all good things. But that craving for life is so easily lost in the pace and demands of modern life. Join New York Times bestselling author John Eldredge as he gives you the tools you need to follow Jesus' path of supernatural resilience. Between false promises of ease and comfort on one side and the sheer busyness and stress of daily life on the other, people today are facing a shortage of peace, happiness, and strength.

In this life-giving book, Paul Tripp offers parents much more than a to-do list. Instead, he presents us with a big-picture view of God’s plan for us as parents. Outlining fourteen foundational principles centered on the gospel, he shows that we need more than the latest parenting strategy or list of techniques. Rather, we need the rescuing grace of God―grace that has the power to shape how we view everything we do as parents.

In The Interior Castle, Carmelite nun, mystic, and patron saint of Spain Teresa of Ávila uses the metaphor of a giant crystal castle to explain her theory of the soul and the various stages it passes through as it progresses towards God. Beginning in the outer rooms, where demons are fought and vices are purged, the soul must reach the inner chambers, where it will enter betrothal and intimate union with God. Prayer is central to the journey, as the soul is guided by its practice and each phase represents a different category of devotion.

Dr. Beeke offers a heartfelt and solemn plea for families to return to Biblical, consistent, and passionate family worship. With pastoral insight and care, the author provides practical and valuable answers to the practice of family worship, and at the same time, addresses objections raised against it. In a world of impossible standards and idealism, this audiobook is a helpful and motivating guide to implement or increase the depth of your family devotions.

No one signs up for the challenges of life, but in the real world, heartache is inevitable. We all want to live happily ever after. As Donna tells stories from her own life, you'll recognize your life, your struggles and broken dreams. She examines issues common to all women. If you're ready to discover a new approach to life--an approach that promises hope and healing--then This Isn't the Life I Signed Up For is for you.

Racism, hatred, and claims to ethnic superiority have been tragic elements of the human condition since the Fall. In every manifestation, the root of racial sin is an unbelieving heart resistant to the grace and mercy of God. The gospel of Jesus Christ, therefore, is the only hope for any meaningful racial solutions. John Piper brings the light of the gospel to bear on racial issues in this groundbreaking book.

In the church today, we have everything buttoned up perfectly. The music is flawless, the sermon well-prepared and smoothly delivered, and the grounds meticulously kept. People come on time and go home on time. But a fundamental element is missing. The business of church has undermined the individual's need to truly live for Christ, so much so, that only a limited few are seeing their life impact the world.

Worship leader and recording artist Laura Story's life took an unexpected turn when her husband, Martin, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Their lives would never be the same. Yes, with God all things are possible. But the devastating news was that no cure existed to restore Martin's short-term memory, eyesight, and other complications. The fairy-tale life Laura had dreamed of was no longer possible. And yet in struggling with God about how to live with broken dreams, Laura has found joy and a deeper intimacy with Jesus.

For over four decades, Fulton Sheen was the face of Catholicism in America and literally received hundreds of thousands of letters from people around the world in search of truth, faith, salvation, and spiritual guidance. In this new reissue of one of Sheen's classic works, the Emmy Award-winning priest takes an intimate look at our sacred journey to God and answers some of life's most profound questions.

In the popular devotional New Morning Mercies, 365 engaging passages lead off with a compelling, gospel-centered thought, followed by an extended meditation for the day. Focused less on behavior modification and more on helping people encounter the living God, this resource equips listeners with the good news that they need to trust in God’s goodness, rely on his grace, and live for his glory―day in and day out.

Getting to know that special someone naturally involves learning about family and friends, education and athletics, favorite pastimes, and your hopes and dreams. Ideally, you'll talk about life's best moments and worst, the brightest places in your background and the darkest. But what about God? What is his role in your relationship? What do each of you believe about him, and how do you understand his dream for marriage-for your marriage?

What the church needs today is not more and better machinery, not new organizations or more innovative methods, but men whom the Holy Spirit can use - men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not show up on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men - men of prayer.

You can't put it into words, but something is happening to you. Your stomach churns, your heart aches, and the tension in your marriage is making you feel weary and a little crazy. The constant criticism, disrespect, cruelty, deceit, and gross indifference are eroding your confidence and breaking your spirit. For any woman caught in an emotionally destructive marriage, Leslie Vernick offers a personalized path forward.