FEATURED BOOK FOR MAY: The Blessing of the Lord: by Kenneth Copeland




THE BLESSING of The LORD is God s original plan for you. Contrary to popular belief, He doesn t want you sick, broke and lonely. He wants to make you rich in every area of life your health, finances, relationships and more. In this hard-cover book, you will learn:


God s original intent for His people to live in THE BLESSING

God s plan to restore THE BLESSING after man sinned

How God has empowered you to succeed

How Jesus connects us to THE BLESSING

Why THE BLESSING is not just a spiritual reality, but a material reality, too

How to be living proof of THE BLESSING to others

How love governs the operation of THE BLESSING.

In the twenty years since its publication, Celebration of Discipline has helped over a million seekers discover a richer spiritual life infused with joy, peace, and a deeper understanding of God. For this special twentieth anniversary edition, Richard J. Foster has added an introduction, in which he shares the story of how this beloved and enduring spiritual guidebook came to be.

Hailed by many as the best modern book on Christian spirituality, Celebration of Discipline explores the "classic Disciplines," or central spiritual practices, of the Christian faith. Along the way, Foster shows that it is only by and through these practices that the true path to spiritual growth can be found.

Dividing the Disciplines into three movements of the Spirit, Foster shows how each of these areas contribute to a balanced spiritual life. The inward Disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, and study, offer avenues of personal examination and change. The outward Disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission, and service, help prepare us to make the world a better place. The corporate Disciplines of confession, worship, guidance, and celebration, bring us nearer to one another and to God.

Foster provides a wealth of examples demonstrating how these Disciplines can become part of our daily activities-and how they can help us shed our superficial habits and "bring the abundance of God into our lives." He offers crucial new insights on simplicity, demonstrating how the biblical view of simplicity, properly understood and applied, brings joy and balance to our inward and outward lives and "sets us free to enjoy the provision of God as a gift that can be shared with others." The discussion of celebration, often the most neglected of the Disciplines, shows its critical importance, for it stands at the heart of the way to Christ. Celebration of Discipline will help motivate Christians everywhere to embark on a journey of prayer and spiritual growth.

God wants me to try harder." "God blesses me when I'm good and punishes me when I'm bad." "God is angry with me." We all have ideas that we tell ourselves about God and how he works in our lives. Some are true--but many are false. James Bryan Smith believes those thoughts determine not only who we are, but how we live. In fact, Smith declares, the most important thing about a person is what they think about God. The path to spiritual transformation begins here. Turning to the Gospels, Smith invites you to put your ideas to the test to see if they match up with what Jesus himself reveals about God. Once you've discovered the truth in Scripture, Smith leads you through a process of spiritual formation that includes specific activities aimed at making these new narratives real in your body and soul as well as your mind. At the end of each chapter you'll find an opportunity for soul training, engaging in spiritual practices that reinforce the biblical messages on your mind and heart. Because the best way to make a complete and lasting change is to go through the material in community, small group discussion questions also accompany each chapter. Those who are leading apprentice groups will also find additional help and opportunities to interact with other leaders at the Apprentice website, www.apprenticeofjesus.com. This deep, loving and transformative book will help you discover the narratives that Jesus lived by--to know the Lord he knew and the kingdom he proclaimed--and to practice spiritual exercises that will help you grow in the knowledge of our good and beautiful God.

In this third book in the Apprentice Series, James Bryan Smith helps us know how to live in relationship with others as apprentices of Jesus. "Apprentices of Jesus are not part-time do-gooders," he writes. "They live in continuous contact with the kingdom of God, and are constantly men and women in whom Christ dwells. They do not sometimes tell the truth, sometimes live sacrificially or sometimes forgive. There are myriad opportunities for us to impact the world in which we live." Yet many times we've gotten it wrong, tending to emphasize personal faith over social justice or vice versa. In these pages Jim Smith shows us how to bring spiritual formation and community engagement together, and then once again offers spiritual practices that root new, true narratives about God and the world in our souls. His insight and humility as a fellow learner with us will lead us to live in authentic ways as a good and beautiful community of Christ-followers, shining the light of the Spirit into every relationship.

Jason Stevens (Drew Fuller) is a trust fund baby--he's eaten from a silver spoon his entire life. At his grandfather Red's funeral he makes a showy (and late) entrance, perhaps punctuating his low opinion of the man. But from his grave Red (James Garner) has words for his money hungry relatives at the reading of his will. No one gets what they expect, including Jason.

In a closed conference room with only his grandfather's trusted attorney (Bill Cobbs) and secretary (Lee Meriwether) in attendance, Jason is advised by Red via a video recording that he's being given a series of gifts. The catch? He isn't told what the gifts are, only that he's to arrive at the airport and await further instructions. Is this his grandfather's form of a joke, or is Red Stevens trying to reach out and teach him things he never learned from his materialistic family?

Jason Stevens (Drew Fuller) is a trust fund baby--he's eaten from a silver spoon his entire life. At his grandfather Red's funeral he makes a showy (and late) entrance, perhaps punctuating his low opinion of the man. But from his grave Red (James Garner) has words for his money hungry relatives at the reading of his will. No one gets what they expect, including Jason.

In a closed conference room with only his grandfather's trusted attorney (Bill Cobbs) and secretary (Lee Meriwether) in attendance, Jason is advised by Red via a video recording that he's being given a series of gifts. The catch? He isn't told what the gifts are, only that he's to arrive at the airport and await further instructions. Is this his grandfather's form of a joke, or is Red Stevens trying to reach out and teach him things he never learned from his materialistic family?

Discovery and Application on the Same Page for the First Time!

Now you don’t have to choose between context and application. Expository study notes help you understand the Bible like a 1st-century believer. Number one–selling Life Application notes help you apply its truths in a 21st-century world.

This Bible recognizes that Bible application is best done with a thorough knowledge of historical and literary context. The NLT Study Bible is excellent at establishing this base.

The Life Application Study Bible content can then guide the reader in concrete steps toward application.

The New Living Translation is an authoritative Bible translation, rendered faithfully into today’s English from the ancient texts by 90 leading Bible scholars. The NLT’s scholarship and clarity breathe life into even the most difficult-to-understand Bible passages. That’s why we call it “The Truth Made Clear.”