Welcoming God's Word: Reading with Head and Heart invites a fresh and refreshing hearing of the Bible. While the content of Scripture remains securely fixed by God, our ability to understand deepens and broadens with faith, prayer, experience, and encouragement. While the message remains solid, application is ever fresh. Bible study is presented as an adventure that never ends. There's always something noteworthy; always something challenging and creative; always something rich, rewarding, and relevant to the needs of the hour. Welcoming God's Word models consistent respect for the Bible as God's holy, loving, and life-changing word through 120 brief essays. Initial articles present the attitudes and skills essential for faithful hearing. Subsequent essays explore application of those attitudes and skills-which welcome thought, challenge assumptions, and promote spiritual growth when practically employed. Because He loves us, God calls us to hear Him well. Because we love Him, we must answer that call. Thus, Welcoming God's Word is a series of invitations to hear God well and to let Him help us live in His grace. Enjoy the adventure.

Welcoming God's Word: Reading with Head and Heart

Religion & Spirituality

Bagents, Bill

Christian Books & Bibles

CyPress Publications

Always Near shares one self-confessed odd Christian's ongoing efforts to hear and honor God in the events of daily life. Bagents offers devotional reflections that process events and observations through the wisdom of Scripture. This collection invites the reader to join the adventure of listening for subtle spiritual messages that both bless and challenge. It promotes contemplation and spiritual formation. Occasionally, the book even finds a bit of humor.
Bagents writes from a decidedly Christian perspective and treats the Bible with respect. These devotionals flow from the conviction that God is all-wise and all-loving, and the better we hear Him, the better we'll live.
God is presented as the most persistent teacher, who has more ways of gaining our attention than we have of ignoring Him. God is more skilled at reaching out than we are at resisting. He is better at teaching than we are at being dense. Even when we're seeking Him, God can surprise us with precious lessons that we never saw coming. Always Near is an appeal to improve how we hear God and to draw ever closer to His heart.

Always Near: Listening for Lessons from God

Ephesians 4:11-16 offers instruction and encouragement for all who want to help the church grow. More than that, it challenges every Christian to grow into more abundant service. Equipping the Saints engages this rich text on a real-world level. It invites you to ask, "How can God use me to bless His church?"

Equipping the Saints: A Practical Study of Ephesians 4:11-16

Collins, Cory

Easing Life's Hurts compassionately encourages readers to choose a biblical perspective toward facing life's bumps, bruises, and disappointments. While optimistic, it makes no claim that all life's hurts can be blocked. Unavoidable hits and losses help us grasp our common humanity. Neither can all pains be erased; some of them stay with us as crucial and challenging aspects of our new reality. They shape our souls toward wisdom, kindness, and understanding.Easing Life's Hurts reminds us that we're not alone in facing setbacks. It also reminds us that we're never powerless victims. When we hurt, we can choose to seek God's help and welcome His grace. As we heal-often even as part of our healing-we find allies whom we come to identify as gifts from God. We discover strengths, many available for immediate access, some awaiting development, and others new to the moment. And we come to welcome the soothing power of humor.As we hurt, we find God lovingly ready to comfort and assist. As He eases our hurts, He also gently pulls us to use what we experience-what we have learned, are learning, and will learn-to help ease the hurts of others.

Easing Life's Hurts

Wilhelm, Jack P

Parenting & Relationships

﻿Counseling for Church Leaders offers biblical and practical encouragement to church leaders-in the broadest sense-as they help the hurting. Though Bagents and Snodgrass share insights learned from decades of counseling experience and include resources for further study, their appeal flows primarily from Scripture. Their emphasis is on God's leaders helping God's people God's way. Chapters explore God as counselor; a biblical understanding of human wellness; why people seek counseling; and the basics of listening, empathy, and emotions. Discussions include traps to avoid during counseling, the power of prevention, and practicing self-care during the helping process. "How to" chapters explore working with the angry, the fearful, the grieving, and the depressed. Counseling for Church Leaders also addresses helping those who are stuck and under-connected as well dealing with toxic people. Bagents and Snodgrass affirm the ability, obligation, and opportunity for each Christian to lead by helping others. They make no argument that every Christian should become a therapist. Rather, they appeal to church leaders-at every level-to value, enhance, and practice the time-honored people-helping skills that show others the love of God.

Counseling for Church Leaders: A Practical Guide

Snodgrass, Rosemary

Heritage Christian University

Corrupt Communication: Myths that Target Church Leaders exposes some thirty myths-lies and false message-that Satan floats to undermine communication within the church. Though ancient, these lines seem ever-fresh. They're crafted for maximum appeal-and damage. They always sound right and feel familiar.

Corrupt Communication: Myths That Target Church Leaders

Bagents, Laura S

Heritage Christian University Press

WHAM! Facing Life's Heavy Hits

Getting My Heart Right With God offers twenty-plus essays on God and ministry written over almost twenty years of teaching and kingdom-work. In four sections, Bagents explores God, Grace, Service, and Leadership. Hundreds of Bible citations invite readers to further study. Essays include "God the Master Servant," "God's Responses to Human Complaints," "Connecting to God," "How Does the Holy Spirit Lead Christians Today?" "The Church as Salt and Light," "A Contemplation on Faithful Quietness," and "A Plea for Grace and Fairness as Older Generations Assess Younger."

Getting My Heart Right With God

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Books by Bagents, Bill