Аннотация

Take My Hand is an invitation to experience a year of preaching through the eyes of a first-year pastor. Andrew Taylor-Troutman reflects on his experience of ministry as a dynamic exchange between his theological education and the people in the pews. Each chapter consists of Taylor-Troutman's reflections about a particular aspect of living as a faith community and concludes with a sermon exploring similar themes and ideas. As this book journeys through the Christian liturgical year, Taylor-Troutman considers a wide range of contemporary church issues, including the role of children in worship and the communal practice of Sabbath. He discusses topics as diverse as the Rapture, the death penalty, and church league softball. Along the way, readers will laugh at Sunday morning bloopers, study biblical texts from new perspectives, wrestle with theological questions, and discover parallels between their own experience of faith and the life of this small rural congregation. More than just a retrospective summary of events, Take My Hand poignantly illustrates how a pastor's work on Sunday morning grows out of his or her engagement with the hopes and fears of daily life, and the inspiring faith of men, women, and children in a church.
The Group Study Edition encourages people of different ages and experiences to discuss and enjoy the book, while applying insights to their own communities of faith.

Аннотация

Think of the most memorable week of your life. Was it tragic? Joyous? Heartbreaking? Inspiring? A combination of emotions swirled together and splattered across your heart, soul, and mind?
Reverend James Wheeler writes and reflects on such a monumental week. In the pages of his journal, he searches for peace in the shadows of the past and struggles with his current challenges. A man of tested faith, he hopes in the unseen and wrestles with paradox. As a Moravian pastor, husband, and father, Wheeler strives to embrace his loved ones, even as his anxieties threaten to push them away. Will he glimpse wholeness and harmony? Will he come to know healing?
Earning Innocence invites readers to wrestle with such questions and view their lives through the lens of friends, family, and faith. James Wheeler's aha!-moment is our revelation: certain stories are like candlewicks–common, ordinary, and seemingly of little value. Yet the candlewick carries the light.

Аннотация

Jesus told simple stories about common items; yet his parables profoundly address our hearts and minds. We offer an interpretation, not only about what we read, but also what we think and feel. Parables of Parenthood presents modern biblical scholarship in an accessible writing style in order to model how these ancient stories continue to enrich life in the twenty-first century. Andrew Taylor-Troutman closely analyzes each parable with deep appreciation before applying these interpretations to his life, because he believes the genius of the parables offers a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven in our everyday experience. By interpreting from the author's head and heart, Parables of Parenthood gives new luster to well-known, narrative gems about sowing seeds and lost sheep through personal insights about anxiety and hope. Lessons about wise builders and wicked tenants are illustrated with anecdotes about a baby's food and a grandmother's rocking chair. Through interpretations of other parables, moments as diverse as a beach trip and an ultrasound appointment invite movement from fear to faith. Through the combination of his informed Bible study and practical life experience, Taylor-Troutman empowers readers to connect the teachings of Jesus to our world in comforting and challenging ways.

Аннотация

Take My Hand is an invitation to experience a year of preaching through the eyes of a first-year pastor. Andrew Taylor-Troutman reflects on his experience of ministry as a dynamic exchange between his theological education and the people in the pews. Each chapter consists of Taylor-Troutman's reflections about a particular aspect of living as a faith community and concludes with a sermon exploring similar themes and ideas. As this book journeys through the Christian liturgical year, Taylor-Troutman considers a wide range of contemporary church issues, including the role of children in worship and the communal practice of Sabbath. He discusses topics as diverse as the Rapture, the death penalty, and church league softball. Along the way, readers will laugh at Sunday morning bloopers, study biblical texts from new perspectives, wrestle with theological questions, and discover parallels between their own experience of faith and the life of this small, rural congregation. More than just a retrospective summary of events, Take My Hand poignantly illustrates how a pastor's work on Sunday morning grows out of his or her engagement with the hopes and fears of daily life, and the inspiring faith of men, women, and children in a church.