Sophia and Daughters Revisited:
Reflections on Women of Biblical Connection.
Rosalie Sugrue.
196pp. ISBN 9781988572123.
Philip Garside Publishing Ltd (2019).
Print $30.00.
[30+ in stock].

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Attention worship leaders and preachers.

Tap into lay preacher Rosalie Sugrue’s creative imagination as she tells the stories of 35 Bible women from their point of view.

These stories and dialogues are perfect for you to share during the sermon or reflection time in your next service, and when these women appear in your lectionary scripture readings. The reflections are also suitable for personal devotions.

This easy-to-use book has feminist imagery and references focused on women of the Bible. It includes special prayers – on children, teamwork, families, inclusiveness, Advent, Lent, mothers, Bible Sunday, Disability Sunday, disasters – as well as dialogues suitable for reading aloud, and reflections on wisdom, journeys and aging.

“…The format will stimulate participation, provide a sense of drama or simply create space for meditative prayer. Use this book and see!” Shirley Erena Murray, hymn writer

This updated and expanded edition also includes reflections on other noted women with Bible connections; Argula von Grumbach, Lenna Button, Susanna Wesley and Ann Turner. And there are many prayers, lists and resources with a female focus to explore in pairs, groups or as individuals.

Click these links to match up Sophia and Daughters Revisited with Rosalie’s other practical resource books – Lay Preaching Basics ($30.00), Ten Plays ($20.00) and Theme Scheme ($25.00) – which are also available from us.

Gathering Print – Subscription – 4 issues p.a. 
United Church of Canada.
92pp. ISSN 0823-1869. United Church of Canada (2019).
Available in print and now as a PDF:

 PDF to download. $40.00 p.a.
[We will email you a link to download the PDF file.]

Published four times a year, Gathering is a worship planning resource for ministers, lay preachers, music directors and worship teams. 

The Pentecost 2 – 2019 issue has a focus on Ritual.

For each Sunday or feast day Gathering provides:

• a one line summary of each lectionary reading
• an overall theme spark
• a children’s talk idea
• a sermon starter, and
• titles and sources of suggested hymns/songs.

There are also Calls to Worship, Prayers of Approach, Words of Assurance, Offering prayers and benedictions. Each issue has materials around a central theme.

Interested? Ask us to email you some sample pages from the current issue.

We Are the Church … Let’s ACT Like It:
A Study on the Book of Acts.
Linda Tower Pevey.
Pbk 96pp. ISBN 9780835818834.
Upper Room (2019).
$29.50.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Many people think the church has become a social club with little impact on the world. That is not God’s plan for the church.

Pevey takes readers through the book of Acts, looking at what it means to be the church of Jesus Christ, the world-changing church that Jesus intended. She offers the church practical and biblical ways to live out its mandate to be a church that positively impacts its community and the world.

Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse:
Creating Healthy Christian Cultures.
Lisa Oakley; Justin Humphreys.
Pbk 192pp. ISBN 9780281081318.
SPCK (2019).
$33.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].

The term ‘spiritual abuse’ is widely used across the Christian community. But what is it?

Sometimes spiritual abuse involves leaders misusing their position, but ministers can also be the victims. Common factors include control through misuse of scripture, claims to divine authority, pressure to conform, and enforced accountability. Individuals may be isolated and compelled to secrecy and silence.

Drawing on a combination of extensive research, individual testimonies, and years of hands-on experience, Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys describe clearly the nature of spiritual abuse, and the best ways of countering it. Recovery is possible.

The Old Testament in Seven Sentences:
A Small Introduction to a Vast Topic.
Christopher J  H  Wright.
Pbk 184pp. ISBN 9780830852253.
IVP Academic (2019).
$36.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Some people find the Old Testament to be confusing, out-of-date, and essentially replaced by the New Testament. They are missing out.

The Old Testament offers us a grand narrative that reveals God’s work, God’s purposes, and God’s wisdom. Wright fits the pieces together and shows us the coherent whole. Using seven key sentences drawn straight from the Old Testament, he connects the dots and points us toward Jesus.”

• “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
• “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
• “You shall have no other gods before me.”
• “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news.”

Such sentences as these are not merely beautiful or helpful (though they are that). They are part of the great drama of Scripture, the story of God’s plan of redemption that embraces all nations and the whole of his creation.

Wright starts from the beginning, describing God’s promises and covenants with his people and his mission to bless the world. At the end of this short survey, readers will clearly see God’s faithfulness and love for his people and will understand how the Old Testament scriptures prepared for the identity and mission of Jesus as Messiah, Savior, and Lord.

Agnostic at the Altar.
John Van Hagen.
Pbk 140pp. ISBN 9781532675805.
Wipf & Stock Publishers (2019).
$41.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Former Catholic priest and psychologist John Van Hagen engages the voices of the ancient Jewish prophets to find a universal voice that speaks to all people.

He builds upon the work of Scripture scholars, religious writers, and his own experiences to pave a path by which readers can engage in religion, while at the same time defending against harmful religious claims and practices.

The prophets, who first appeared in Palestine in the Axial Age, translated their experience of the transcendent into magnificent stories that began with a time of intimacy with their God, a later time of betrayal and turmoil, and a future reconciliation at the end of time.

Later, Christians adopted these themes as their own. Their stories emphasize justice and right worship as a way toward a meaningful and peaceful future.

Beach Calling:
A Devotional Journal for the Middle Years and Beyond.
Missy Buchanan.
Spiral 128pp. ISBN 9780835818773.
Upper Room (2019).
$45.50.
[Allow 2-3 weeks]. 

Aging doesn’t take much effort—all you need to do is breathe. Aging faithfully is different. It requires intentional effort to stay focused on God as you make your way through a world of youth and change.

 Many women dread aging and resist thinking about it. Yet God designed the human body to change over time and growing older is part of God’s plan. How we handle the changes that accompany aging reveals much about our spiritual maturity.

Buchanan takes a fresh approach to the topic of aging. She uses comforting imagery from the beach and ocean to engage readers in spiritual reflection. In this devotional journal for women in their middle years and beyond, she guides readers to explore and embrace God’s plan for growing older.

Pursuing an Earthy Spirituality:
C. S. Lewis and Incarnational Faith.
Gary S Selby.
Pbk 232pp. ISBN 9780830852369.
IVP Academic (2019).
$45.50.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

“Red beef and strong beer” was how C. S. Lewis described his education under one of his early tutors. It was, in other words, a substantial education that engaged deeply with the intellectual tradition and challenged him to grow.

Gary Selby sees Lewis’s expression as an indication of the kind of transformation that is both possible and necessary for the Christian faith, and he contends that spiritual formation comes about not by retreating from the physical world but through deeper engagement with it.

By considering themes such as our human embodiment, our sense of awareness in our everyday experiences, and the role of our human agency—all while engaging with the writings of Lewis, who himself enjoyed food, drink, laughter, and good conversation—Selby demonstrates that an earthy spirituality can be a robust spirituality.

Why Church?:
A Basic Introduction.
Scott W Sunquist.
Pbk 224pp. ISBN 9780830852383.
IVP Academic (2019).
$45.50.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Is a church just something we create to serve our purposes or to maintain old traditions? Or is it something more vital, more meaningful, and more powerful?

This can be hard to believe when we look at what happens in any one congregation or denomination. Certainly not all churches act like Jesus in the world, and many individual churches in the West are dying. When it’s so easy to be confused, frustrated, or simply apathetic about the church, how should we understand its purpose today?

Sunquist shows us the church in motion and clarifies the two primary purposes of the church—worship and witness—and unpacks what the church is (and ought to be) using five movements of worship:

• come together
• stand to praise God
• kneel to confess
• sit to listen to the Word of God
• go out into the world

From Fuller Theological Seminary’s renowned church-planting program, this primer is well suited to leaders and their core teams to read together and share with new attenders as they catch the spirit of the dynamic gathering that is the local church.

A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible:
Seeing and Knowing God’s Word.
Tim Challies; Josh Byers.
Pbk, colour throughout, 208pp.
ISBN 9780310577966.
Zondervan (2019).
$46.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

By capitalising on the increasing popularity of infographics and a growing interest in accessible, understandable teaching on theology, Tim Challies and Josh Byers teach timeless, historic, biblical truths in a fresh and vibrant way that that will capture your interest and ignite your imagination.

This book is not only a wonderful introduction to the Christian life, it is a functioning guide for understanding and living out your faith. You’ll see how the Bible is put together, why the authors wrote each book, and what all of it means for your life today.

Go Forth:
Toward a Community of Missionary Disciples.
Pope Francis.
Pbk 240pp. ISBN 9781626983267.
Orbis (2019).
$46.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Through selections from his speeches, homilies, and other writings, Pope Francis presents his vision of mission – his understanding of what church in a missionary key looks like.

This book shows how the central themes of his papacy are integrated around the theme of mission and how he seeks to move the whole church forward in a missionary direction – not simply developing the church’s thinking on mission.

The Whole Story:
The Wedding of Science and Religion.
Norman C Carrol.
Pbk 184pp. ISBN 9780999608869.
Pacem in Terris Press (2018).
$51.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Science and religion have been at war for many centuries, and humanity is the loser. This book tackles and answers this all-important conflict, including even the long-debated problem of evil which Jesus addresses (but which is largely unknown) in his life and teachings. It makes a call to each of us for personal, societal, and cosmic wholeness.

The scientific community should view truth with an open mind even when deriving from the sanctuaries of religion. And believers should accept God’s presence not as a quasi-human being (a sky-god) but as the relationship of love pervading all creation.