First Religion

Blindness became Captain Scotty Smiley’s journey of supreme testing. As he lay helpless in the hospital, he resented the theft of his dreams, but with his wife’s love and the support of family and friends, Scotty’s response became God’s transforming moment. Since the moment he forced his way through nurses and cords to take a simple shower, he has climbed Mount Rainier, won an ESPY Award, surfed, skydived, become a father, earned an MBA from Duke, and much more.

Many individuals are not aware that there is a God. I am here to tell you, there is truly a God. God found me broken, in pain, and fragile. I almost lost my life at the hands of a violent partner in 2018 and then, after that, I was sexually assaulted as an adult-keep in mind I had been sexually assaulted by two individuals when I was eight. However, God spoke to me and told me to remember to never give up. And, because of my faith in God, I did not give up, and I will never give up.

Introduce your child to a variety of classic Bible stories with this enchanting baby book. From Noah's Ark and Jonah and the Whale, to the story of Moses and the birth of Jesus, this book contains 14 of your favorite Bible stories to share and listen aloud to with your child.

In the midst of an alien invasion, refugees seeking safety gather together in a home undamaged by the intruders’ initial onslaught, discovering for better and for worse they are as much a factor in their survival or demise as their attackers.

This hymn book lists all the melodious hymns that a little child would first hear at church. Sing along with the baby to make it love the paens and be enriched in a life of loving God’s word....

In spontaneous, intimate terms, Archbishop Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, covers topics as wide-ranging as his childhood, family life, and the importance of his first job, to discovering his calling and his early days in the seminary. Through his own words, we come to know a man whose actions and words reflect his deeply-rooted humility. The audiobook concludes with the Pope’s own writings and reflections, full of wisdom and inspiration.

The year was 1922: World War I had just come to a close, the Ottoman Empire was in decline, and Asa Jennings, a YMCA worker from upstate New York, had just arrived in the quiet coastal city of Smyrna to teach sports to boys. Several hundred miles to the east in Turkey's interior, tensions between Greeks and Turks had boiled over into deadly violence. Mustapha Kemal, now known as Ataturk, and his Muslim army soon advanced into Smyrna, a Christian city, where a half a million terrified Greek and Armenian refugees had fled in a desperate attempt to escape his troops.

Where does this hate come from? Why is it rising again in America? What do we need to do to stop it? Prepare to be stunned, shocked, and illuminated as Rabbi Evan Moffic answers these questions. He reveals why the world's oldest hatred - once thought to be over after the Holocaust - keeps coming back to life. This book gives the clearest and most concise explanation of where antisemitism comes from, why it continues, and how to stop its resurgence today.

Sir David the Bard, or David, was an ex-temple worker for the Mormon church. Being an active member for 50 years, he married six times and bore 13 children while completing nearly two masters' degrees at BYU. This is a compilation of his rants, raves, funny stories, and crazy experiences being an ex-Mormon in a totally dominant Mormon society. His views may seem unbelievable, but they are actually true and really happened to him.

This collection of prayers by noted Hebrew Bible scholar Walter Brueggemann can be used in both public worship and private devotion. These prayers run the gamut from particular days in the church year to special moments in the lives of worshiping communities to events playing out on the world stage. In all cases, the prayers show us how God accompanies us through all the moments and stages of our life, bringing us the joys of life even amid a broken and hurting world and especially offering a joyous calling in Christ to serve that world.

How to read and understand the Bible. The Bible is the most extraordinary book you’ll ever read; it’s how God speaks directly to us and how his Spirit works to change us. But it can seem intimidating, confusing, and even a little bit boring. In this audiobook, Gary Millar shows you that the skills you need to read the Bible are not beyond your grasp. In a warm, approachable style, he gives you the tools to read and understand the Bible for yourself, helping you move from confusion to confidence as you enjoy refreshment in God’s word.

A Believer in Waiting's First Encounters with God allows readers an entrée into the world of what might be called a modern-day mystic, a world where spirituality, contemplation, hierophany, and miracles unite. Good, evil, suffering, darkness, unknowing, and the unconditional love of God are the leitmotifs that bind the author's experiences from the physical world to the spiritual realm.

What were the most important practices in the early church? In this volume, Michael Cooper arranges the writings of the Apostolic Fathers into eight themes that provide deeper understanding about the subjects important to the disciples of the New Testament apostles.

Do not accept any statement from scripture, the church, or an individual (including the speaker) as true until you have found God or a living truth in what is being said. What I tell you I know from experience, but I ask you not to accept my words without questioning them within yourself. It is silly to accept something simply because the church said it, or you read it in the Bible, or heard it from Neville. You must pursue the thought ceaselessly by questioning yourself.

As a young man is thrust into a journey of spiritual awakening, he is met with the inner demons that have tormented him since childhood. Wandering through the dark fantasies of his inner life, he's met with a life-changing decision in his outer life that will forever alter his direction. As he reaches the core of his darkness, he is met with the emotionally shattering reality of a childhood trauma that has haunted him his entire life.

Whether you're a youth ministry rookie or a seasoned veteran, walking into a new church or a new role can be a big challenge. You need to set the tone for your ministry and establish yourself as a leader, but you don't have very long to do it.

Let the songs of the first Christmas turn your heart toward God’s glory. During the holidays, the musical tunes of the season are everywhere. Their nostalgic melodies warm our hearts. But, the original Christmas songs are different; they lift our hearts to a holy God. They reveal the greatness, glory, and goodness of our savior. Taking us beyond quaint imagery and feel-good lyrics, the Advent songs of the Bible unfold God’s redemptive plan for the world and his eternal purpose for the ages.

In most colleges today, sex has become another form of recreation that you fit into your schedule, like studying or exercising. Sex at First Sight explains how the hookup has come into being, how pornography is a major factor influencing a student's view of sex, and how this new perspective on sexuality is impacting the lives and future sex lives of this generation of young people.

Embark on a journey through the Book of Genesis, the foundation of the Bible, with Joseph Lumpkin's in-depth study. This deep exploration offers a complete history of the timeless stories of creation, humanity, and their divine purpose.

A quarter of a century before Smith Wigglesworth, John G. Lake, and Maria Woodworth-Etter, Ethan Otis Allen pioneered an extraordinary move of God. Rising from abject poverty, this uneducated man became, in the words of A.B. Simpson, “The father of divine healing in America.” Who was this forgotten man, and what did he discover about the mysteries of the Kingdom of God?