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What if you could find a friend you could always count on, someone who would never abandon you?

BEYOND LONELINESS

AUTHOR’S INSPIRATION

The Gift of God’s Friendship

Trevor Hudson

AVAILABLE FEBRUARY 2016 Loneliness touches everyone—rich or poor, young or old. We were created with a longing for relationships with others and with God. Friendship with God can carry us from feelings of isolation and insignificance to a sense of belonging and feeling treasured for who we are.

In Beyond Loneliness, Trevor Hudson explores how friendship with God can transform our lives. In his warm, approachable style, he guides us to discover how to deepen our friendship with God. Each chapter includes friendship exercises and reflection exercises, making this book a perfect resource for individual or small-group study.

PAPERBACK: 978-0-8358-1519-2 • $10.99 eBOOK: 978-0-8358-1520-8 • $7.99 KINDLE: 978-0-8358-1531-4 • $7.99

RELATED READS KINDRED SOULS Connecting Through Spiritual Friendship Stephanie Ford Many of us go through our busy lives with many acquaintances but few true friendconfidants. We weren’t meant to travel alone. Find out how spiritual friendship differs from other kinds of friendship, and discover ways to find spiritual companions and nurture friendships with them.

PAPERBACK: 978-0-8358-9903-1 • $14.00

A SPIRITUALITY OF HOMECOMING The Henri Nouwen Spirituality Series Henri J. M. Nouwen with John S. Mogabgab Nouwen explores essential elements of discipleship and shows how to find your true home in God. He offers a welcome message for our chaotic times: “Come home to God, and you will no longer feel like a stranger to yourself or the world.”

EXERCISE SAMPLE Perhaps you have known this loneliness without a face in your own life. Consider the following questions: • Do you often feel as if something is missing in your life, even when things are going well and you have everything you need?

• Recall any moments when you have been overcome by the sheer awe and wonder of this world. At those times did you find yourself reaching for more, even if you were uncertain what that “more” was?

• Is your heart sometimes restless, searching, and unsatisfied in its longings?

• Do you ever yearn for someone to fully know, understand, and accept you just as you are?

In this book I explore the two interwoven themes of friendship and personal transformation. I have been engaging with these themes for many years in pastoral conversations, spiritual direction, retreat settings, sermons, lectures, and conferences, and I am continually struck by the positive way people respond. They often find themselves strongly drawn to the possibility of growing a friendship with God and the ways this could change their lives for the better. I believe that the gospel idea of a transforming friendship with God is one whose time has come.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK LEAD: 10 sessions on how to move beyond loneliness and build a friendship with God. Each chapter includes 2 friendship exercises with reflection questions. Weekly discussions and exercise responses can be shared in a small group.

PARTICIPATE: Weekly readings present help for moving from loneliness toward a friendship with God. Each chapter includes 2 friendship exercises with reflection questions. You may want to write down your responses to questions and thoughts on the topic for the week.

PRACTICE: Friendship exercises provide Christian action and practice.

• In moments of suffering or struggle, in spite of the presence of loved ones, have you ever felt alone?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you have sensed this loneliness without a face. I want to focus on this loneliness to see where it leads. Some of the wisest people in history have followed this trail, and it has led them into what they consider to be the deepest understanding of their lives.

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3

Find ways to bless all the moments of life—from times of pure joy to periods of intense struggle.

CHRIST BESIDE ME, CHRIST WITHIN ME

AUTHOR’S INSPIRATION

Celtic Blessings

Beth A. Richardson

AVAILABLE MARCH 2016 Inspired by the ancient form of prayer practiced by the Celtic people, Beth Richardson offers a multitude of short prayers— blessings—that embrace every part of daily life. Many blessings came to Richardson during one of her routine activities— walking her dog. As she welcomed the day, she thought about celebrations, challenges, and other situations people she loved were facing.

The result is a lovely collection of prayers that recognize God’s presence in each moment, from waking to sleeping, from birth to death. The blessings will help readers acknowledge the richness of the gifts of life; express their feelings about special moments such as births, marriages, and graduations; offer them words to pray during times of struggle; and give them ways to pray for the world and all its people.

PAPERBACK: 978-0-8358-1523-9 • $9.99 eBOOK: 978-0-8358-1524-6 • $9.99 KINDLE: 978-0-8358-1533-8 • $9.99

RELATED READS PRAYERS FOR LIFE’S ORDINARY AND EXTRAORDINARY MOMENTS Compiled and edited by Mary Lou Redding Sometimes our prayers flow easily, and we talk to God just as naturally as we would to a dear friend. But sometimes we can’t find words to express our thoughts. This unique collection of prayers offers words to pray when you can’t find words of your own.

PAPERBACK: 978-0-8358-1089-0 • $12.00 eBOOK: 978-0-8358-1164-4 • $9.99 KINDLE: 978-0-8358-1097-5 • $9.99

HOW TO PRAY E. Stanley Jones with commentary

by Tom Albin

Often the blessings came to me early in the morning as I walked the dog.

Images or words would come to me and weave their way into prayers. I shared these blessings on my blog and began to imagine a collection of prayers about the ordinary experiences that mark the way through our ordinary lives. As I read books, trying to learn about Celtic spirituality, I began to realize this way of living—observing and celebrating, blessing and being blessed by the ordinary acts and encounters of life—is who I am.

This way of living, this “blessing way,” was passed down to me from great-greatgrandmother Mary Tuohy; through greatgrandmother, Margaret Theresa Griffin; my grandfather, Tom Clifford Wilson; and my mother, Margaret Elizabeth Richardson.

SAMPLE PRAYERS Bless Our Waking Bless this day and all who wake.

Bless all who wake.

Bless this day and all who weep.

Bless all who weep.

Bless this day and all who fear.

Bless all who fear.

Bless this day and all who laugh.

Bless all who laugh.

Bless this day and all who hunger.

Bless all who hunger.

From “A Blessing of the Morning” Guide me, guide us, Gently into the day, May we be blessings to all we meet.

Traditional Prayer Attributed to St. Patrick Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in the eye that sees me, Christ in the ear that hears me.

Bless this day and all who hope.

Bless all who hope.

“Prayer is not an occasional exercise to which you turn now and then; it is a life attitude. It is the will to cooperate with God in your total life.”—E. Stanley Jones.

This reissue of a popular booklet and primer on prayer by renowned evangelist E. Stanley Jones brings his excellent and practical advice to a new generation. New to this edition, Tom Albin expands on key elements of prayer and provides background information about Jones and his ministry.

Bless this day.

PAPERBACK: 978-0-8358-1378-5 • $12.99 eBOOK: 978-0-8358-1380-8 • $9.99 KINDLE: 978-0-8358-1379-2 • $9.99

Choose a blessing for morning and night; pray these for two days. Add other blessings as this becomes routine.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK PARTICIPATE: Includes over 70 prayers and blessings organized by topic for easy accessibility. The prayers are short and can be used as touchstones through the day, allowing the reader to center on God.

PRACTICE:

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5

Did you know that your spiritual challenges are part of your story that need to be shared?

THE SOULMAKING ROOM Dee Dee Risher

AVAILABLE APRIL 2016 For many people, the middle years of life bring failure, uncertainty, and losses. Dee Dee Risher probes how struggles, losses, failures, and pain can actually result in a spiritually whole, authentic life.

In her personal, vulnerable, and sometimes humorous narrative, Risher is honest about money, race, marriage, class, parenting, and spirituality.

This powerful, poetic book shows how grappling with universal experiences of human life can make people more resilient, deeper, and truer to their identity. The Soulmaking Room is for anyone who wants to look life right in the eye and come out more whole.

PAPERBACK: 978-0-8358-1525-3 • $16.99 eBOOK: 978-0-8358-1526-0 • $9.99 KINDLE: 978-0-8358-1534-5 • $9.99

RELATED READS SAFFRON CROSS The Unlikely Story of a How a Christian Minister Married a Hindu Monk J . Dana Trent Compelling vignettes, laced with humor and honesty, give you a glimpse into the challenges and benefits of incorporating two vastly different spiritual paths into one household. Saffron Cross offers a welcome and inspiring story of empathy, love, and understanding.

PAPERBACK: 978-1-935205-16-6 • $16.00 eBOOK: 978-1-935205-18-0 • $9.99 KINDLE: 978-1-935205-17-3 • $9.99

WHAT WE NEED IS HERE Practicing the Heart of Christian Spirituality L. Roger Owens In Jesus, we have all we need to grow and flourish. Roger Owens calls us to return to 7 basic spiritual practices that build and sustain our relationship with God. PAPERBACK: 978-0-8358-1510-9 • $13.99 eBOOK: 978-0-8358-1511-6 • $9.99 KINDLE: 978-0-8358-1530-7 • $9.99

AUTHOR’S INSPIRATION I wrote this book to try to come home to my true self. It is an exploration of how the mixed experiences of our lives—and perhaps especially the most painful, difficult, and murky parts— allow us to become more authentic. They shape us into who we were intended to be.

This book is for people who have lived through stuff. It’s for people who have carried big dreams but lately seem to find themselves mired in the ordinary business of living. …

May the storytelling here encourage you to tell your story. There are those in your life who need to hear it—and not just the shining and successful parts but also parts that are dark like earth. These are the parts of your story that really move you toward the light as you unfold your specific, silhouetted shape in the world.

ENDORSEMENTS Brian McLaren, Jim Wallis, bell hooks, Richard Rohr, Murphy Davis, Ched Myers, Walter Brueggemann, David Janzen, Elizabeth Killough, and Robert Ellsberg

EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 1 Prophet, Woman, Holy Room The story begins with a yearning. An unnamed woman in the town of Shunem decides to build a room on her home for Elisha, the holy man. (Elisha was the prophet who carries the mantle after Elijah is swept up into a fiery chariot.) That act of hospitality changes her life.

Now there came a day when Elisha passed over to Shunem, where there was a prominent woman, and she persuaded him to eat food. And so it was, as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat food. She said to her husband, “Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God passing by us continually. Please, let us make a little walled upper chamber and let us set a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.”

One day, he came there and turned in to the upper chamber and rested (2 Kings 4:8-11, NASB).

Unlike most women in scripture, this woman has some economic power. Just before she makes her appearance, scripture records Elisha’s miracles for a widow so poor that her two sons are about to be enslaved by creditors in payment for her meager debts. But no such threat of economic disaster plagues this prominent woman. She is resourced, and she is persuasive.

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She has the ear of her spouse, presumably the real source of her economic power in a society where women have no wealth of their own. She convinces her husband to build an upper room for the prophet. It is a simple space—a small, walled chamber with a bed, table, chair, and lamp, open to him whenever he chooses to come. And he does come. The decision to build this space became an utterly life-changing act.

Acts of hospitality—giving or receiving—can alter our lives forever.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK PARTICIPATE: 26 chapters divided into 4 parts use the biblical story of the Shunammite woman and show how her actions shaped authenticity.

PRACTICE: Engage in at least one of these actions for one week: Share a lesson learned with a younger person at work or church. Invite someone to discuss a failure or success that has led them to their current status.

7

Did you know that your spiritual health is just as important as your physical health?

EVERY STEP A PRAYER Walking as Spiritual Practice

Thomas R. Hawkins AVAILABLE MAY 2016

While it’s common knowledge that walking is good for physical health, many people may never have considered that walking is also good for their spiritual health.

Beneath today’s renewed interest in walking lies a yearning to slow down in a world that never stops, to reconnect to the natural world. This deep yearning intersects with the spiritual resources of our Christian faith, which has always understood that walking serves as a means to and an expression of prayer.

Thomas Hawkins lifts up walking as a Christian spiritual practice that can help readers find their way to God. Each of the 6 chapters includes reflection questions and suggestions to help the reader experience prayerful walking.

PAPERBACK: 978-0-8358-1521-5 • $12.99 eBOOK: 978-0-8358-1522-2 • $9.99 KINDLE: 978-0-8358-1532-1 • $9.99

RELATED READS MEDITATION ON BOTH SIDES OF THE CAMERA A Spiritual Journey in Photography Valerie K. Isenhower Photography provides a way to still the heart and soul so you can hear God’s voice and sense God’s presence. Whether you’re an experienced photographer or just take pictures with your smartphone, you will enjoy this creative way to connect with God. eBOOK: 978-0-8358-1178-1 • $9.99 KINDLE: 978-0-8358-1106-4 • $9.99

A BEAD AND A PRAYER A Beginner’s Guide to Protestant Prayer Beads Kristen E. Vincent Looking for a way to focus during prayer?

This study introduces Protestant prayer beads to those who have no experience in praying with beads. Includes details for making beads, how to use them in prayer, and a variety of prayers. BEADS NOT INCLUDED. PAPERBACK: 978-0-8358-1217-7 • $12.00 eBOOK: 978-0-8358-1219-1 • $7.99 KINDLE: 978-0-8358-1218-4 • $7.99

AUTHOR’S INSPIRATION In a church council meeting, a member jokingly suggested that our group might like to adopt her boss’s latest approach for staff meetings. Since walking increases people’s creativity, they now walk around the building for Monday staff meetings. As I listened to everyone’s comments, I began to think of all the reasons people in our congregation take to their feet—health, quiet time, transportation, to help the environment, fundraising, protest, parades, and celebrations. Until that church council meeting, I had never considered all the opportunities for walking that are built into our congregation’s ministries.

Nor had I realized the extent to which members integrated walking into their daily routines. As we rediscover how every step can be a prayer, we walk a well-marked path traveled by our Christian forebears who understood that walking—like many other simple, everyday gestures—can be a spiritual discipline and an act of prayer.

WALKING SUGGESTION Go for a walk this week. Do not plan your walk for a purpose. Just walk. Let your feet take you where they want to go. Leave your iPod and smartphone behind.

Be alone with your feet and your thoughts. Afterwards, make some notes to yourself about the experience of walking: • What did you observe in the world around you? Does the world look different when you walk instead of drive?

• What thoughts came to you? Did you notice anything different about the kind of thoughts that arose?

• What did you find difficult about this exercise? What was easy?

• What did you notice about your body as you walked?

• What did you observe about the interplay between the physical motion of walking and your emotions?

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION 1. D uring Sunday worship, examine all the moments when people take to their feet. Who is walking at different times during the service (worship leaders, congregants, choir, acolytes, ushers, readers)? And what are they or others doing when they take to their feet? What symbolism could these varied moments mean during worship? What do they model about how to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ?

3. When have you walked in or helped with a charity fund-raiser? What motivated you to participate? What was your experience like in walking with others for a cause to which you are all committed? What could you learn from this experience that would inform the Christian practice of walking in worship and in life?

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK LEAD: 6 sessions that explore how the everyday activity of walking can become a spiritual practice. Each chapter includes a specific exercise or exercises designed to help participants walk prayerfully. Small groups can offer feedback from their experiences over the week.

PARTICIPATE: Create a walking journal to keep track of your observations, questions, and insights. Use your journal to record what days you walked, where you walked, how long you walked, and how far you walked.

PRACTICE: Start where you are, and add steps every day.

2. Looking back over your congregation’s program calendar, what events or programs include opportunities for walking, running, or biking? How do the ministries of your congregation incorporate walking? What segments of your congregation participate in these events?

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9

Are you looking for a simple, doable practice for Lent?

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

PAUSES FOR LENT 40 Words for 40 Days

LEAD:

Trevor Hudson In this beautifully minimalist book, Trevor Hudson focuses on 40 single words—one for every day in the season of Lent. Each brief meditation pairs the word for the day with a scripture verse, brief insight, and a thought or action for the day. Each pause for Lent will refresh and challenge readers.

PAPERBACK: 978-0-8358-1504-8 • $8.99 eBOOK: 978-0-8358-1505-5 • $4.99 KINDLE: 978-0-8358-1529-1 • $4.99

40 biblical words for 40 days of reflection. Each word comes with a Bible verse, a short reflection, and a daily practice to help readers open themselves to the presence of Christ. Meet once a week to discuss verses, reflections, or practical applications used during the week.

PARTICIPATE: Read daily biblical words, verses, reflections, or practical uses provided. Record responses and be prepared to discuss in weekly meetings.

PRACTICE: Commit to 40 days of reading each word, verse, and reflection. Share at least 4 of these biblical words with another person.

AUTHOR’S INSPIRATION Lent is the season the Christian Church traditionally sets aside for us to prepare ourselves to celebrate the events of Easter. When we enter deeply into this time of repentance and renewal, Easter becomes a wonderful celebration of the Risen Christ. I hope that these 40 biblical words will help us to do this. Each word comes together with a biblical verse or a prayerful reflection or something practical to do so that we can open our lives wider to the presence of the crucified and risen Christ. This is what Lent is all about. It explores ways of intentionally entering into the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection here and now.

RESOURCES FOR THE LENTEN SEASON —Please copy and share this insert—

Keeping Lent Holy ASH WEDNESDAY

February 10, 2016

PALM SUNDAY

March 20, 2016

MAUNDY THURSDAY

March 24, 2016

GOOD FRIDAY

March 25, 2016

EASTER

March 27, 2016

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11

•

THE GOD WE CAN KNOW

SMALL-GROUP STUDY

A WORLD WORTH SAVING George Hovaness Donigian

Rob Fuquay 7-week study Find an answer to Jesus’ most essential question: “Who do you say that I am?” Children, Youth, Adult, and eLearning resources available online at TheGodWeCanKnow.com

SHADOWS, DARKNESS, & DAWN Thomas Steagald

6-week study

6-week study

Instead of giving up something for Lent, add practices of prayer and action.

Trace the journey of Jesus toward the cross and explore the people who are touched by him— Nicodemus, the woman at the well, the blind man, Mary and Martha, and others.

PAPERBACK: 978-0-8358-1338-9 • $9.99 ENLARGED: 978-0-8358-1555-0 • $9.99

PAPERBACK 978-0-8358-1211-5 $14.00

eBOOK: 978-0-8358-1340-2 • $7.99 KINDLE: 978-0-8358-1339-6 • $7.99

eBOOK 978-0-8358-1213-9 $9.99

PARABLES AND PASSION John Indermark

REACHING TOWARD EASTER Derek Maul

6-week study

8-week study

KINDLE 978-0-8358-1212-2 $9.99

Study the parables of Jesus in light of his betrayal and death on the cross. Find the significance of the parables and apply their truths to your daily life.

PAPERBACK 978-0-8358-1005-0 $15.00

INDIVIDUAL STUDY

PAUSES FOR LENT Trevor Hudson

INTERRUPTIONS Jacob Armstrong

40 days

40 days

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Walk with Jesus and listen to his words of grace, hope, and challenge as he moves purposefully toward the cross.

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•

GOSPELED LIVES John Indermark

A CLEARING SEASON Sarah Parsons

6-week study

PAPERBACK 978-0-8358-1032-6 $15.00

DVD: 978-0-8358-1362-4 • $39.99

Focus on one word each day in Lent. Each meditation pairs the word for the day with a scripture verse, brief insight, and a thought or action for the day.

EACH RESOURCE INCLUDES:

DAILY READINGS • LEADER’S GUIDE • REFLECTION QUESTIONS • PRAYER • SCRIPTURE • 6 – 8 SESSIONS

6-week study Meet individuals from the New Testament who experienced Jesus. Explore the stories of those who met Jesus and their reactions of joy, gratitude, rejection, and ignorance.

PAPERBACK 978-0-8358-9971-0 $15.00

Reflect on what keeps you from God. Learn how to clear away those obstacles and create an authentic practice to make space for God. Includes exercises to experience alone or with a group.

PAPERBACK 978-0-8358-9817-1 $14.00

For more product details, visit Bookstore.UpperRoom.org/Lent & Easter.

To order call 800.972.0433.

EACH RESOURCE INCLUDES:

DAILY READINGS • REFLECTION QUESTIONS • PRAYER • SCRIPTURE

THE MIRACLES OF JESUS Wessel Bentley

THE AWKWARD SEASON Pamela C. Hawkins

40 days

6-week study

How do you respond to interruptions? See how Jesus handled them and how we can mirror his responses today.

Miracles are complex events and are just as powerful today as they were 2,000 years ago.

Do we still see them today?

PAPERBACK 978-0-8358-1347-1 $9.99

PAPERBACK 978-0-8358-1113-2 $14.00

Lent is an awkward season but also a season rich with possibilities. This unique book offers a simple, prayer-filled path to follow through Lent.

eBOOK 978-0-8358-1349-5 $9.99

eBOOK 978-0-8358-1172-9 $9.99

KINDLE 978-0-8358-1348-8 $9.99

KINDLE 978-0-8358-1121-7 $9.99

PAPERBACK 978-0-8358-9997-0 $15.00

FORTY DAYS TO A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD J. David Muyskens

SACRED BREATH J. David Muyskens

40 days

Sometimes we have to be reminded to slow down and breathe. Learn how to be silent and feel awe in prayer.

“Be still and know that I am God.” Being still is hard for some. Explore a method of prayer that goes deeper than verbal conversations with God. PAPERBACK 978-0-8358-9904-8 $16.00

40 days

PAPERBACK 978-0-8358-1031-9 $16.00 eBOOK 978-0-8358-1289-4 $4.99 KINDLE 978-0-8358-1288-7 $4.99

For more product details, visit Bookstore.UpperRoom.org/Lent & Easter.

To order call 800.972.0433.

13

THE GOD WE CAN KNOW SAMPLE EXERCISE Getting to know God means getting to know ourselves. The more we know who God is the more we know who we are.

Phillip Newell, the former Warden of the Iona Abbey in Scotland, spoke one morning in the church I serve. One of the statements he made really stuck with me: “We are not just made by God; we are made out of God.” Think about that for a moment, and say it to yourself in the first person: “I am not just made by God, I am made out of God.” It means we are made out of God’s goodness, power, strength, and love.

Try this little exercise. Begin a statement with the words “I am. . . .” and finish it with six to ten characteristics that are true for you. What words do you use? Are you tempted to think first of your less desirable traits? “I am forgetful. I am out of shape. I am messy.” Does it get worse? “I am hateful. I am prejudiced. I am addicted. I am ugly. I am hopeless.” If your first tendency is to think about what you wish were different about your life, then try another list. Write all the attributes you believe describe who God is. What does that include? Loving? Powerful? Forgiving?

Beautiful? Creative? Compassionate? Gracious? Remember, we are not just made by God, we are made out of God. Those attributes describe us too. Ultimately, they define us.

PAUSES FOR LENT SAMPLE EXCERPT ASH WEDNESDAY — FIRST DAY OF LENT Day 1 Dust

about. After all, when we begin to sense how near to nothing we are, it can be very easy to despair. Born to die is not good news.

“…for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19)

However the fact we are marked by the sign of the cross tells us we are infinitely more than dust. We are God’s beloved in Jesus Christ from which nothing, not even death, can separate us. Our dust is literally charged with God’s own life-sustaining and deathdefeating breath. We are beloved dust.

On the first day of Lent, which the church has called Ash Wednesday, many people have their foreheads crossed with ashes. It is a reminder that we are creatures of dust. We are fragile, fallible, fallen human beings. From the moment we emerged from our mother’s womb we have been in the process of dying.

To think that one day we will be nothing but ashes is a pretty grim reality. Not surprisingly many of us avoid facing this truth. It is not something we want to reflect on, or speak about, or even read

Daily Practice: Today go into a nearby garden and pick up a handful of soil. As you do this, focus on these two twin symbols: dust and the cross. Even when you wash off the dust from your forehead, remember the reality of who you are—dust redeemed by the cross.

A Lenten experience for all ages, designed for individual or churchwide use.

THE GOD WE CAN KNOW

Exploring the “I Am” Sayings of Jesus

Rob Fuquay Take a closer look at the “I Am” sayings of Jesus in the Gospel of John in this easy-to-use 7-week churchwide study. Find an answer to the most essential question in the Christian faith: “Who do you say I am?”

AUTHOR’S INSPIRATION Taking these sayings to heart can bring us into closer connection with Jesus. Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship. A living relationship requires nurture and attention. This book is about knowing God and, more specifically, knowing God through Jesus. In many ways the Bible is a story of humanity’s attempt to know God. Think of this book as a journey into the world where Jesus spoke these sayings.

The DVD, filmed on location in the Holy Land, allows you to travel with Rob Fuquay and see the places where Jesus stood when he disclosed his true identity, and in what context he spoke each “I Am.”The book, DVD/age-level guides, and online tools are designed for individual or churchwide use.

PAPERBACK: 978-0-8358-1338-9 • $9.99 ENLARGED PRINT: 978-0-8358-1555-0 • $9.99 eBOOK: 978-0-8358-1340-2 • $7.99 KINDLE: 978-0-8358-1339-6 • $7.99 DVD: 978-0-8358-1362-4 • $39.99

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HOW TO USE THIS BOOK LEAD: 7 sessions exploring the “I Am” sayings of Jesus Christ. Each chapter includes weekly commentary on the scripture and reflection questions that can be discussed in a small group. The DVD enhances the study through visuals from the Holy Land as well as interesting commentary on scripture and offers further discussion opportunities for classes. An online course is available at URelearning.UpperRoom.org/courses/ god-we-can-know.

PARTICIPATE: Read weekly sessions, scriptures, and answer discussion questions. A notes section is provided in the book.

PRACTICE: Take at least one of the “I Am” sayings and put it into action during or after the study. Encourage another group at church to do the study with your class. Teach another age level after you have completed the study.

15

PATHS OF STUDY on PRAYER Looking for a path to study?

Follow one of these paths categorized by topic and level of study.

FOUNDATIONAL

INTERMEDIATE

DEVELOPED

For those who desire to learn more.

For those who have a foundation and want to grow it.

For those who have a committed personal practice.

A Bead and a Prayer Kristen E. Vincent

4-week study

Introduces Protestant prayer beads to those who have no experience in praying with beads. Offers a variety of prayers and includes instructions to make prayer beads.

DOES NOT INCLUDE BEADS. PAPERBACK • $12.00 978-0-8358-1217-7

eBOOK • $7.99 978-0-8358-1219-1

Another Bead, Another Prayer Kristen E. and Max O. Vincent

KINDLE • $7.99 978-0-8358-1218-4

8-week study

Offers 28 devotions to use with beads during prayer.

Explains the use of beads with prayer and includes instructions to make prayer beads. DOES NOT INCLUDE BEADS. PAPERBACK • $12.00 978-0-8358-1372-3

eBOOK • $7.99 978-0-8358-1374-7

KINDLE • $7.99 978-0-8358-1373-0

Teach Me to Pray W. E. Sangster

44 chapters

Freedom from Worry Patricia Wilson

4-week study

Forty Days to a Closer Walk with God J. David Muyskens

6-week study

Offers practical suggestions, prayers, and devotions to help move you from the debilitating habit of worry into a practice of focusing on scripture.

Introduces a method of silent prayer that teaches how to center our thoughts and experience God’s presence.

Explore this simple 20-minute-per-day practice.

PAPERBACK • $10.00 978-0-8358-1189-7

PAPERBACK • $15.00 978-0-8358-9904-8

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1191-0

Praying Through a Child’s Illness Wessel Bentley

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1190-3

4-week study

Sacred Breath J. David Muyskens

6-week study

Offers practical suggestions to draw on the strength, love, presence, and wisdom of God during the helpless moments of dealing with the stress of a child’s illness.

Building on the method of centering prayer and grounded in scripture and Christian tradition, this guide will walk you through the practice for 40 days.

PAPERBACK • $10.00 978-0-8358-1064-7

PAPERBACK • $16.00 978-0-8358-1031-9

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1152-1

Facing Financial Struggle Wessel Bentley

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1072-2

4-week study

eBOOK • $4.99 978-0-8358-1289-4

KINDLE • $4.99 978-0-8358-1288-7

A House of Prayer Thomas R. Steagald

7-week study

Offers essentials needed to build a strong and intimate relationship with God through prayer.

Offers readings, meditations, prayers, and ideas as basis for honest conversation with God about your concerns.

Learn how intercessory prayer can strengthen and vitally connect you to others.

PAPERBACK • $9.00 978-0-8358-0125-6

PAPERBACK • $10.00 978-0-8358-1027-2

PAPERBACK • $16.00 978-0-8358-1321-1

Beginning Prayer John Killinger

27 chapters

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1208-5

Healing from Divorce Mary Lou Redding

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1077-7

4-week study

For those who are insecure in their prayer life and do not know where to start.

Offers practical steps to take toward healing before, during, or after your divorce.

PAPERBACK • $14.00 978-0-8358-1186-6

PAPERBACK • $10.00 978-0-8358-1315-0

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1317-4

“Pray for Me” Kenneth H. Carter Jr.

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1188-0

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1187-3

How to Pray E. Stanley Jones — commentary by Tom Albin

5 chapters

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1316-7

6-week study

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1323-5

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1322-8

A Guide to Prayer for All God’s People Reuben P. Job and Norman Shawchuck

365 days

Organized around the Christian year, this book offers a simple pattern of daily prayer, scripture readings, and reflections from the Common Lectionary.

PAPERBACK • $20.00

978-0-8358-0710-4

A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God Reuben P. Job and Norman Shawchuck

365 days

Addresses what prayer is, the time and place for prayer, steps of prayer, and more.

Explore the power of prayer and support you offer through intercessory prayer. Brief practical exercises included.

Prayer and devotional book arranged by themes from the Revised Common Lectionary for each week of the year.

PAPERBACK • $12.99 978-0-8358-1378-5

PAPERBACK • $12.00 978-0-8358-1090-6

PAPERBACK • $20.00 978-0-8358-1001-2

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1380-8

Scrambled Starts Jenny Youngman

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1379-2

7 chapters

eBOOK • $7.99 978-0-8358-1130-9

The Lord’s Prayer Mary Lou Redding

KINDLE • $7.99 978-0-8358-1098-2

6-week study

GIFT EDITION • $22.40 978-0-8358-0999-3

Creating a Life with God Daniel Wolpert

12 chapters

Simple prayers to memorize or read for those trying to make prayer a daily part of their family’s life.

Learn to connect scripture with your daily life using this prayer as your model.

Explore twelve prayer practices and methods with step-bystep instructions.

PAPERBACK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1499-7

PAPERBACK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1066-1

PAPERBACK • $14.00 978-0-8358-9855-3

eBOOK • $7.99 978-0-8358-1500-0

KINDLE • $7.99 978-0-8358-1537-6

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1154-5

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1075-3

Bookstore.UpperRoom.org || 800.972.0433 Bookstore.UpperRoom.org 800.972.0433

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1301-3

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1300-6 17

PATHS OF STUDY on DISCIPLESHIP Looking for a path to study?

Follow one of these paths categorized by topic and level of study.

FOUNDATIONAL

INTERMEDIATE

DEVELOPED

For those who desire to learn more.

For those who have a foundation and want to grow it.

For those who have a committed personal practice.

Invitations of Jesus Trevor Hudson

6-week study

A Mile in My Shoes Trevor Hudson

7-week study

Talk That Matters Susan Lee Lind & Ben Campbell Johnson

30-day study

Consider the invitations Jesus offers in 5 dimensions of life: intimacy, discipleship, solitude, mission, and mystery.

Where do you see Christ is touching your life?

Challenges us to hear, see, and respond to the needs of others, recognizing Christ in all things. Includes an 8-day program to help us practice compassion toward others.

Learn the art of clear, effective communication. Offers 30 principles to help you deal with conflict, understand what motivates others, and build meaningful relationships.

PAPERBACK • $10.99 978-0-8358-1312-9

PAPERBACK • $15.00 978-0-8358-9815-7

PAPERBACK • $7.98 978-1-935205-03-6

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1314-3

Sacred Days Thomas R. Steagald

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1313-6

6-week study

Learn how the seasons and days of the Christian year map out the events of Jesus’ life, ministry, and miracles to help you understand the importance of the entire story. Covers the Holy Days from Advent to Christ the King Sunday.

PAPERBACK • $16.00 978-0-8358-1381-5

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1383-9

The Way of Transforming Discipleship Stephen D. Bryant & Trevor Hudson

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1382-2

5-week study

Practical tools for becoming an authentic Christ follower.

PARTICIPANT’S BOOK • $12.00 978-0-8358-9842-3

LEADER’S GUIDE • $15.00 978-0-8358-9841-6

Loving the World with God Rebecca Dwight Bruff

11 chapters

Practical hands-on ways to continue and strengthen your daily walk with Jesus after a spiritual experience.

PAPERBACK • $8.00 978-0-8358-1335-8

eBOOK • $7.99 978-0-8358-1337-2

Kindred Souls Stephanie Ford

KINDLE • $7.99 978-0-8358-1336-5

6 chapters

Kindred spirits help us grow spiritually. Discover the gifts and vital ministry spiritual friendships provide.

PAPERBACK • $14.00 978-0-8358-9903-1 Room at My Table Evelyn Bence

52 meditations

Encouragement for those who use their cooking or hostess abilities as an invitation into Christian hospitality.

PAPERBACK • $12.99 978-0-8358-1359-4

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1361-7

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1360-0

The Power of a Focused Heart Mary Lou Redding

8-week study

Learn how to make decisions based on your spiritual gifts.

Offers practical applications for living a simpler yet more spiritually engaged life in a distraction-heavy lifestyle.

PAPERBACK • $15.00 978-0-8358-9818-8

Yours Are the Hands of Christ James C. Howell

12 chapters

Jesus used his hands as a teacher, healer, and a compassionate servant. Learn to seek out ways to make your faith evident in your daily life and become Christ’s hands in the world.

PAPERBACK • $14.00 978-0-8358-0867-5

The Jesus Priorities Christopher Maricle

8-week study

Questions God Asks Us Trevor Hudson

10-week study

Become an instrument of God’s grace and incorporate the priorities of Jesus into your daily life.

Investigate 10 questions God poses in the Bible and see how they can lead to a deeper conversation with God.

PAPERBACK • $16.00 978-0-8358-9914-7

PAPERBACK • $15.00 978-0-8358-9990-1

Being the Presence of Christ Daniel Vestal

9-week study

The Unmaking of a Part-Time Christian Derek Maul

12 chapters

Find out how to embody Jesus’ examples of community, justice, and sacrifice.

Move beyond doing just enough spiritually and become a full-time disciple of Jesus.

PAPERBACK • $14.00 978-0-8358-9965-9

PAPERBACK • $16.00 978-0-8358-9992-5

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1248-1

Practicing Compassion Frank Rogers Jr.

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1247-4

5 chapters

eBOOK • $4.99 978-0-8358-1279-5

KINDLE • $4.99 978-0-8358-1278-8

Leading a Life with God Daniel Wolpert

12 chapters

Most major religions lift up compassion, but few teach it.

Learn to incorporate compassion into your daily life.

Explore twelve prayer practices and methods to assist you in following the Holy Spirit’s guidance in leadership roles.

PAPERBACK • $14.99 978-1-935205-25-8

PAPERBACK • $17.00 978-0-8358-1003-6

eBOOK • $9.99 978-1-935205-27-2

Freestyle Michael W. Waters

KINDLE • $9.99 978-1-935205-26-5

19 chapters

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1246-7

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1245-0

A Spirituality of Homecoming Henri J.M. Nouwen with John S. Mogabgab

8 chapters

Provides a fresh perspective on issues that impact our communities, families, and the future of our country.

Explore essential elements of discipleship to find your true home in God and no longer feel like a stranger.

PAPERBACK • $14.00 978-1-935205-19-7

PAPERBACK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1114-9

eBOOK • $9.99 978-1-935205-21-0

KINDLE • $9.99 978-1-935205-20-3

Bookstore.UpperRoom.org | 800.972.0433

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1239-9

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1238-2 19

PATHS OF STUDY on SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES Looking for a path to study?

Follow one of these paths categorized by topic and level of study.

FOUNDATIONAL

INTERMEDIATE

DEVELOPED

For those who desire to learn more.

For those who have a foundation and want to grow it.

For those who have a committed personal practice.

The God We Can Know Rob Fuquay

7-week study

Read the “I am” statements Jesus spoke to answer the most essential question he asked: “Who do you say that I am?”

PAPERBACK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1338-9 ENLARGED PRINT • $9.99 978-08358-1555-0

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1340-2 DVD • $39.99 978-08358-1362-4

The Upper Room Disciplines 2016

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1339-6

365 days

Feeding on the Word E. Glenn Hinson

Investigate the many ways of meditating and praying with scripture. Explore the depths of the Word, learn to listen to God, and let yourself be shaped by God’s word.

Discover the ancient spiritual discipline of discernment.

Learn how to discover God’s guidance as an individual or in a community.

PARTICIPANT’S BOOK • $8.00 978-0-8358-9831-7

PARTICIPANT’S BOOK • $12.00 978-0-8358-9958-1

LEADER’S GUIDE • $20.00 978-0-8358-9840-9

Responding to Our Call Gerrit Scott Dawson

Reflect on Christ’s call in your life and discover the gifts God has given you to minister to others.

PAPERBACK • $15.00 eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1329-7 978-0-8358-1493-5 ENLARGED PRINT • $17.00 978-08358-1330-3

PARTICIPANT’S BOOK • $8.00 978-0-8358-9833-1

Exploring the Way Marjorie J. Thompson

6-week study

Explains the most basic concepts and language of the Christian spiritual life: prayer, the Bible’s message for our lives today, spiritual gifts, listening, journaling, and more.

PARTICIPANT’S BOOK • $12.00 978-0-8358-9806-5

LEADER’S GUIDE • $15.00 978-0-8358-9807-2

Meditation on Both Sides of the Camera Valerie K. Isenhower 6-week study Explores photography and meditation on images as a spiritual practice. eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1178-1

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1106-4

eBOOK • $7.99 978-0-8358-1498-0

One Day I Wrote Back Jane Herring

KINDLE • $7.99 978-0-8358-1536-9

PAPERBACK • $11.99 978-0-8358-1375-4

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1377-8

Explore how God wants you to use your spiritual gifts to minister to others. Includes spiritual gift inventory.

PAPERBACK • $17.00 978-0-8358-1002-9

PARTICIPANT’S BOOK • $8.99 978-0-8358-1015-9

What We Need Is Here L. Roger Owens

LEADER’S GUIDE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1014-2

Rediscovering Our Spiritual Gifts Charles V. Bryant

7-week study

6-week study

God has already given us all that we need. Return to the 7 basic Christian practices that build a relationship with God.

Identifies, defines and discusses 32 spiritual gifts. Discover gifts the Holy Spirit has given you and how to use them.

PAPERBACK • $13.99 978-0-8358-1510-9

PAPERBACK • $12.00 978-0-8358-0633-6

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1511-6

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1530-7

eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1491-1

Tending the Seed Ann Siddall & Gary Stuckey

9-week study

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1490-4

6-week study

Explore Jesus’ first teachings from the Sermon on the Mount, commonly referred to as the Beatitudes.

Discover how the parable of the seed and the sower and certain Christian practices can help you grow spiritually.

PARTICIPANT’S BOOK • $12.00 978-0-8358-0992-4

PAPERBACK $14.00 978-0-8358-9829-4

LEADER’S GUIDE • 15.00 978-0-8358-0994-8

Living into the Answers Valerie K. Isenhower & Judith A. Todd

10-week study

10-week study

6-week study

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1376-1

6-week study

Open yourself to recognize the places and circumstances that are sacred in life, and allow God to meet you there.

Walking in the Light Steve Harper

Discover the power of interacting with scripture by writing about scripture. Includes practical techniques for writing.

LEADER’S GUIDE • $15.00 978-0-8358-1033-3

Understanding Spiritual Gifts Mary Lou Redding

11 chapters

Practical hands-on guide to help parents, grandparents, and other adults nurture a child’s faith by passing on their own.

PAPERBACK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1497-3

PARTICIPANT’S BOOK • $12.00 978-0-8358-1034-0

7-week study

The Way of Blessedness Stephen D. Bryant & Marjorie J. Thompson

Passing It On Kara Lassen Oliver

Designed to help you explore the nature of scripture and the ancient, time-tested practice of lectio divina. Intended for adventuring into greater spiritual depth of the Word.

LEADER’S GUIDE • $20.00 978-0-8358-9840-9

You Gave Me a Wide Place Paul E. Stroble

LEADER’S GUIDE • $15.00 978-0-8358-9959-8

The Way of Scripture Marjorie J. Thompson & M. Robert Mulholland Jr. 7-week study

5-week study

Apply the daily spiritual disciplines of scripture reading and prayer.

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1494-2

The Way of Discernment Stephen D. Bryant & Marjorie J. Thompson 10-week study

5-week study

Learn how to pray and read scripture using time-tested principles that lead you to find and follow God’s will.

PAPERBACK • $14.00 eBOOK • $9.99 978-0-8358-1344-0 978-0-8358-1346-4

KINDLE • $9.99 978-0-8358-1345-7

Bookstore.UpperRoom.org || 800.972.0433 Bookstore.UpperRoom.org 800.972.0433

Learn how to put God in the center of your decision making. Provides practical tools to help you follow God’s leading and discern God’s purpose for your life.

PAPERBACK $15.00 978-0-8358-9944-4 21

SPIRITUAL FORMATION ONLINE.

ANYTIME. ANYWHERE.

Join Upper Room eLearning for eCourses and webinars based on these books:

Other offerings available from Upper Room eLearning: •U pper Room Living Prayer Center Volunteer Training - for individuals committed to prayer and who want to be a part of this growing ministry reaching hundreds of people every day.

•P reparing the Way: Looking Beyond America’s Current Crisis of Faith - an interview with Phyllis Tickle.

Visit eLearning.UpperRoom.org

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