NCW Libraries

With plans for a new performing arts center at Wynter Castle taking up all her time, baker Merry Wynter has been all but unaware of the fringe group compound near her small town--until a street preacher accosts her with taunts of doom and damnation. Worried that some of her close friends may have been lured in by the group and its charismatic leader, Merry begins digging into the ministry--and soon suspects they may have ties to the recent death of...

In his younger days, Taylor Callahan didn't know right from wrong - and didn't much care either. As a Confederate bushwhacker, renegade outlaw, and all-around hellraiser, he gave the devil himself a run for his money. Most folks figured Taylor would end up swinging from a noose or shot dead in a poker game. But somewhere along the road to perdition, he decided to change his wicked ways, and fight the good fight against the evil that men do. So he...

When you stand before your congregation, what do you hope to accomplish when you preach the Word? If people have Bibles and the freedom to read and pray on their own-why do they need you? In short, what do you bring to the table? Author, Pastor, and Professor John Koessler answers those questions and many more. Why does one sermon have a powerful effect on the audience while another falls flat? Why should listeners heed what the preacher says? Is...

This update of Craddock's original work on inductive preaching remains one of the most important contributions to homiletic scholarship. Revised with three new sermons, inclusive language, and NRSV texts, it is still as fresh and provocative as ever.

The longer we preach, the more we start to realize how radical and shocking the words of Jesus are-even to Christians. Veteran pastor Steven D. Mathewson provides proven wisdom from decades of preaching to makes sense of the red letters that perplex many in your congregations and to equip you with the tools you need to preach them confidently and persuasively. Preaching the Hard Words of Jesus is loaded with Scripture, bibliographic references, and...

Uno de los mayores desafíos que enfrentan los cristianos de hoy es la poderosa influencia del pensamiento secular. Los puntos de vista persuasivos pero contrarios a la Biblia, nos llegan constantemente y desde todas las direcciones. Utilizando la Biblia como fundamento podrá formar la perspectiva cristiana sobre temas clave como... • el activismo político • el culto a la celebridad • el matrimonio homosexual • la eutanasia y el suicidio...

When called on to preach, whether you are a pastor or lay preacher, do you sometimes find yourself blocked? With this opening sentence, Dr Tuck brings his many years of experience as professor and pastor and freely gives some "nuts and bolts" of sermon preparation and "pots and pans" essential for effective preaching. This book is not about the philosophy or theology of preaching but about preparing for, writing, and preaching a sermon. While the...

Most college students struggle tremendously with their bodies. Numerous issues related to the body plague higher education. Students struggle with sleep, mental health, eating disorders, sexual identity questions, clothing choices, obesity, and alcohol problems, among other concerns. Too often Christian colleges try to meet these challenges with rules instead of setting forth a vision of what it means to steward the body-a precious gift from God...

The public narrative about religion in America warns of loss and decline. But the young men and women voicing their convictions in this book tell a different story. They gathered in Lexington, Kentucky, in January of 2017 to preach at the National Festival of Young Preachers. This printed version of their words of hope and transformation is the eighth in this series bringing together the young and talented from all traditions of the Christian community....

Three contemporary, humorous parables of a preacher who struggles with his need to change Sam the preacher wonders what has gone wrong with his sermons. Are people still listening? Well-known storyteller and communications professor Calvin Miller combines his fiction writing with his insight into preaching to address the changes faced by today's preachers, especially the fact that contemporary congregations have shifted to a different way of listening....