As the year draws to a close and people make all sorts of Top 5 for 2014 lists, we thought we'd do our own. And add a little competition.
Over the next few days, we'll be telling you our Top 5 selling books for 2014. The competition is to guess the top selling book. We'll send a free copy to the first 5 people who guess the correct answer. Comment on the Blog, reply via Twitter, comment on Facebook. We could let you know all sorts of terms and conditions, but we're all friends here!
Today is the last day for sending us your guesses. Competition closes at 11am tomorrow (Friday 19 Dec).
Today, coming in at Number 2 is: Original Jesus by Carl Laferton: A funny, faithful introduction to Jesus, comparing him to other versions of "Jesus". Perfect for giving away. ... continue reading
And hot on the heels of it being our number 3 bestseller this year, we're offer the The Third Day for just £1.
What 3 words would you use to describe Christmas?
Christmas in Three Words is a great little booklet by Vaughan Roberts to give away to friends...
Another great idea for Christmas - The Christmas Promise: a captivating retelling of the Christmas story showing how God kept His promise to send a new King, with superb illustrations by Catalina Echeverri.
Looking up and looking down at others is something we all do yet, for many of us, it's so habitual we hardly notice we're doing it. Unfortunately the consequences are far more evident.
Sophie de Witt's, Compared To Her takes a good hard look at how we compare ourselves to others and the reasons why we do it. It's a problem we just cannot afford to ignore! Sophie offers hope by presenting the God-given remedy and convincing us that rather than being doomed to dissatisfaction, contentment is a realistic option.
Read more HERE and get the ebook for just $1.50 until midday on Thursday using the code hcth1114 at the checkout.
Christmas is coming and you may be struggling for ideas of things to do or gifts to buy. We’re going to be posting some Christmas ideas in the next few weeks. Starting with scrumptious Christmas cupcakes from Bake Through The Bible:
Or you might like to find some other Christmas gift ideas HERE.
How much time do you spend worrying what the future holds? The look of the future often affects how we feel currently. A bright future helps us feel content whereas an uncertain future can bring the opposite feelings.
If you are worried about your future… if you can't quite see how the future is going to make a difference to the here and now … or if you simply want to get more excited about where you will spend eternity ... then have a read of Stephen Witmer's, Eternity Changes Everything.
In this book, Witmer lifts up our eyes to see beyond the “now” that presses in on us to what is eternal. More than that, he lifts up our eyes to see the eternal God in the magnificence of his redeeming purposes. What encouragement this brings to the spiritually weary and what challenge it brings to those tempted to fall sleep amid the buzz and plenty of our modern world! This treatment of deep, biblical themes is fresh, pastoral and stimulating.
Read more and get the book HERE for just 99p/$1.50 until midday on Monday. Use code hece1114 at the checkout.
Coping with different personalities in a small group
When small groups of children contain big personalities, even the best-prepared Sunday school or Bible club sessions can be quickly de-railed! How do we manage the different characters in our group so that everyone goes away feeling valued and having learned something? This extract from a leader’s training session in the Epic Leader's Guide offers some advice. You’ll probably recognise some of these characters from the adults in your home group too!
Chatterbox Charlie
Very talkative and dominates discussions.
• Sit next to "Charlie" to reduce eye contact.
• Ask: “What does someone else think?”
• Ask "Charlie" to summarize the discussions, so that he has to listen to the others’ contributions.
• Talk to him privately about the problem.
• If you have lots of “Chatterbox Charlies”, then have an item that group members must hold, or cards they must hand in, before they can speak.
Debater Dani
Always presents opposition, and challenges every point.
• It can be intimidating for others but at the same time can help produce a “proper” discussion – so aim to direct "Dani" rather than shut her up!
• Ask for other suggestions.
• Break into pairs so that everyone has the chance to express a viewpoint.
• Set a group rule that it’s ok to disagree but you can’t talk over each other and can’t put down those with different ideas.
• Make sure you stick to main point – have a question time towards the end of Epic Explorers.
Voiceless Vic
Quieter and rarely contributes.
• Try to get to know "Vic". His silence could be because he is shy or because he doesn't want to be there or because he doesn't understand. Equally, he may be a heavily “auditory” learner, and will learn without having to contribute.
• Give "Vic" chances by asking: “Does anyone want to add anything?” Direct questions sometimes help.
• Sit opposite "Vic" to maximise eye contact.
• Take time to chat outside the discussion group and learn interests, so you can “pitch” questions and illustrations that interest him.
• Personal encouragement can make all the difference – both outside of group time and in thanking him for contributions.
Read more on Distracter Dom & Churchy Casey in the Epic Leader's Guide
This week on the blog we’re launching Epic Explorers, the brand-new children’s edition of Christianity Explored. Here’s a preview of pages from the Epic Explorers Logbook for 8-11 year olds. As with the adult Christianity Explored course, Epic Explorers aims to get children looking at the text of the Bible for themselves as they discover the wonderful truth about Jesus.
Here's a sample from Epic Explorers, the brand new children’s edition of Christianity Explored:
Click on the image to enlarge
