Study & Devotional

The King's Speech is such a runaway success because shows hope built out of friendship, trust, and supportive love and courage in the face of gathering evil.

The purpose of this course can be summed up in the words of the King’s Speech therapist, “To give them faith in their voice and let them know a friend is listening.”

This course provides five group sessions using the film as a starting point along with personal weekly reading exploring more fully the issues raised and Bible readings to root it in Christian values.

NEW The Kings Speech DVD Paramount Pictures Item ref no. 263528 $38.99.  [4 in stock]

After the death of his father King George V and the scandalous abdication of King Edward VIII, Bertie, who has suffered from a debilitating speech impediment all his life, is suddenly crowned King George VI of England. With his country on the brink of war and in desperate need of a leader, his wife, Elizabeth the future Queen Mother, arranges for her husband to see an eccentric speech therapist, Lionel Logue. After a rough start, the two delve into an unorthodox course of treatment and eventually form an unbreakable bond. With the support of Logue, his family, his government and Winston Churchill, the King will overcome his stammer and deliver a radio-address that inspires his people and unites them in battle.

Derek Maul beckons you to join him on a devotional pilgrimage through Lent. Imagine yourself sitting at the table with Jesus and his disciples.

Walk with Jesus on the dusty path from Bethany to Jerusalem. Watch him closely and listen to his words of grace, hope, and challenge as he moves purposefully toward the Cross.

Features 49 daily devotions that include in-depth Bible study, personal stories, and prayers.

Maul hopes that you will arrive at Holy Week refreshed rather than tired, inspired rather than discouraged, reflective rather than overwhelmed. By the time you reach Easter, your pilgrimage will have prepared you to live as an “Eighth Day Believer” a true follower of Jesus.

8-week study for individuals or groups. Includes a Leader’s Guide

This Lent book offers imaginative reflections on Christ's crucifixion. Each of the seven chapters is focused on a different key character, who describes his or her experience of the Passion. The nails used to crucify Christ are used as a jumping off point for their reflections. Each character considers the questions, 'who killed Christ' and 'who was responsible?' Each chapter includes a Biblical passage, a meditative hymn, a reflection from the point of view of the character, and a short prayer. The book finishes with practical suggestions on how the book can be used as a Lent study course. It is ideal for individual reflection or group study, and can also readily be adapted for use as a Good Friday liturgy.

NEW  Shaped by the Cross: Meditations on the Sufferings of Jesus. Gire, Ken. Item Ref no. 260478. InterVarsity Press, US. isbn 9780830838080. $29.99. [4 in stock]

"Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps." 1 Peter 2:21

What must it have been like to draw near to Christ as he drew near to the cross? Reflecting on Michelangelo's majestic Pieta, in which Mary gathers the suffering Jesus into her arms, Ken Gire offers seven meditations on a costly discipleship that invites us to take up our cross and follow our Savior--through death to life everlasting.

Theologian Stanley Hauerwas offers a moving reflection on Jesus's final words from the cross. This small and powerful volume is theologically poignant and steeped in humility. Hauerwas's pithy discussion opens our ears to the language of Scripture while opening our hearts to a truer vision of God. Touching in original and surprising ways on subjects such as praying the Psalms and our need to be remembered by Jesus, Hauerwas emphasizes Christ's humanity as well as the sheer "differentness" of God.

Ideal for personal devotion during Lent and throughout the year, Cross-Shattered Christ offers a transformative reading of Jesus' words that goes directly to the heart of the gospel. Now in paperback.

A day by day Lent book aimed at the individual reader, in which a poem appropriate to the themes of the season is read, along with a short reflection from the editor and a couple of questions to ponder. The purpose is to use a poetic text as the basis for 'slow reflection' during Lent and Eastertide.

"I think this is a brilliant Lent book, and one I would use. It is a marvellous anthology, but it offers so much more: critical insight into the poems, cultural and theological insight into their spiritual resonances and guidance as to how to read them prayerfully." Angela Tilby.

The Christian story has inspired centuries of art, of depicting the faith in images not least of Christ himself. Janet Hodgson has over many years collected images both contemporary and historical and encourages others to set up their own collections as a resource for creative worship and enabling people to articulate their faith. This workbook provides a wealth of material, designed to unlock people's intuition and imagination in expressing their faith and telling their stories. This work includes suggestions for use in groups, for Bible Study, faith sharing, mission and evangelism, meditation and prayer. A companion CD-Rom offers a range of images which provide a starting point for workshops, seminars, worship and private reflection.

Presents Christian faith as something to be lived out on a regular basis and in all pursuits - not something we merely believe. Meditations by a widely respected scholar, priest and author, recently appointed as Dean of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco

Ideal for Lenten study groups. A devotional book that challenges readers to take up “practical Christianity”, proposing Christian faith as something we do, not something we merely believe in. The starting point for Christianity lies within its practice, says the author, and not in the blind acceptance of a chunk of undigested doctrine.

The book samples fiction, poetry, art and music, combined with the wisdom of scripture and theology, to help pilgrims make sense of faith in the context of everyday life.

Shaw reconsiders the central doctrines of Christian faith through the lens of how we practice them. She explores five themes: dust, forgiveness, time, doubt and love - devoting a chapter to each.

This thematic approach is a way of presenting (covertly, since it’s not revealed until the end of the book) the doctrines of Creation and Sin, Forgiveness, the Trinity, Salvation, and finally Love.

Examine how the God of the universe uses the broken pieces of our lives to reframe our purpose, turning our discarded hopes and dreams into something beautiful and useful—a mosaic in which God uses all of the pieces.

The author says, "This journey will take us along the same path Jesus walked in the days surrounding his journey to Jerusalem. We will see the similarities to our own stories as well as the lessons we should pick, like pebbles along the path."

This seven-session study, appropriate for both group and individual use, provides one lesson for each week in Lent. Each lesson includes a key Scripture reference, a brief reading, questions for reflection or discussion, a brief prayer, and guided helps for daily Scripture reading and additional reflection in the coming week.

Experiencing God's Love is a short study guide that aims to deepen our understanding and first- hand experience of living the life of faith. It explores five biblical images of the ways in which our lives are changed by walking with Christ:

• Being securely rooted in prayer and the scriptures,

• Cleansed through baptism, confession and forgiveness,

• Enlightened through worship, mission and growth in holiness,

• Tended through care for one another and the world,
• Welcomed in the eucharist and in the fellowship of the Church.

Each chapter explores one of these images in the Psalms and the Gospels, and in popular culture, supported by YouTube clips.

Opening and closing worship, discussion starters, questions, and a leader's guide are all included making this ideal for Lent groups or as a Christian nurture course at any time of the year.

NEW  Abiding Word: Sunday Reflections for Year B. Barbara Reid. 125pp. Liturgical Press. $33.00. [Allow 2-3 weeks]

Striking new insights into the Sunday Readings for Year B. An invaluable resource for preachers, worship leaders, spiritual directors and all who seek to share the Word of God with others. Helps readers to meditate on the connection between the sacred text and their daily lives.

NEW  Journeying with Mark Lectionary Year B. James Woodward, Paula Gooder, Mark Pryce. 128pp. SPCK. $34.99. [6 in stock]

This book is a:

·         source of background information

·         way to greater understanding, prayer and action inspired by the teachings of Jesus

·         springboard for the imagination, helping us to visualize the lives, times and culture of 1^st century Israel

·         guide to reflection for those preparing to hear (or preach) the word of God/.

Feasting on the Word has quickly become the most popular lectionary commentary series in use today. This is the first in a new series of daily devotionals that draws from the wealth of writing in the commentaries to present inspirational reflections, responses, and prayers for each day of the lectionary year.

Each day of the week contains Scripture passages for the coming Sunday from the Revised Common Lectionary, excerpts from the commentaries for reflection, a response, and a prayer. Additional material is provided for each Sunday.

These handsome volumes are packaged in a soft leather-like cover with rounded corners, a stamped cover, and a sewn-in ribbon to help you keep your place.

Take a refreshing plunge into the Bible. Shaped with the individual in mind, these 8 studies encourage simultaneous engagement both with the Word of God and with the God of the Word to become a new creation in Christ. Explore the emotional, spiritual, and intellectual needs of your personal faith and discover God’s revelation to you through readings and reflections. Includes Leader’s guide.

Award-winning author and Benedictine oblate Paula Huston invites readers to de-clutter their minds, hearts, relationships, and souls in a book of daily Lenten practices woven from the gospels, the Desert Fathers, and the author’s own wealth of spiritual experience.

“What are you giving up for Lent this year?” It’s the expected question amongst Christian friends each spring. Huston asks her readers a deeper, alternative sort of question: “How will you rid your life of excess this Lent?” She encourages readers to see Lent as a time to seek out silence and free themselves of “stuff” and to acknowledge the connections between what they pray about and what they do.

With honesty, vulnerability, and grace, Huston challenges readers to move outward and act, showing them how everyday actions like cleaning out a junk drawer, giving away something no longer used, or spending fifteen minutes in silence can be surprisingly powerful ways of experiencing a more meaningful Lent and a simpler life. Whether cutting up a credit card, visiting someone at the hospital, or forgiving someone with whom they are angry, readers experience, under Huston’s gentle and expert care, how such practices lead to a more authentic Christian faith

Love is always ringing in our ears, but when is it not mixed up with something else? Love and the desire to possess, love and the need to control, love and the need to be needed, love and the lust to absorb, love and condescension, love and narcissism.In this short book of mediations on the Passion according to Saint John, Martin L. Smith shows how in the Christian mystery love itself must be crucified, must die to be reborn as the grace of communion, as love set free.Through the simple pledging of Mary to the beloved disciple and of him to her, the author of the fourth gospel takes the new commandment to love one another and places it directly in the vortex of death and self-offering. By doing so, he squeezes every remaining drop of sentimentality out of our understanding of love.In a mysterious sign the evangelist points to the new home of the beloved disciple as the place where this has happened, the household from which the church's authentic identity has its origin.

Scripturally-based readings to complement your Lenten journey.

The Way this most ancient naming of the Church in the Book of Acts reminds Christians we are a people on a journey of faith. But what signposts might guide us on this way? Way Words provides an itinerary of daily readings based on scripture for the journey we make during the season of Lent.

Each of its daily readings, starting with Ash Wednesday and concluding with Easter Sunday, will explore one concise phrase or verse from the Old or NewTestament that offers a spiritual guidepost for modern-day disciples on the Way ofJesus Christ.

Each of the short forty-seven readings includes a scripture excerpt, followed by a brief prayer or spiritual exercise. This resource is written for personal study and devotional use during Lent.

·         Introductory reading: Ash Wednesday

·         Week one: Holy Foundations

·         Week two: Godward Callings

·         Week three: Crucial Decisions

·         Week four: Community Fashionings

·         Week five: Faithful Practices

·         Week six: Enlarging Vistas

·         Holy Week: Saving Mysteries

NEW Lent for Everyone – Mark. Tom Wright. 144pp. SPCK. $19.99 [Allow 4 weeks]

A Lent lectionary resource using Tom Wright's For Everyone Bible translation, this is the third in a three-volume series to cover the three years of the Revised Common Lectionary. For each day of Lent, there is a reading chosen from the Gospel designated for the year, plus a reflection by Tom Wright. The book has grown out of a project to encourage Lent reading in the diocese of Durham.

New Listing Son of God DVD. 150 mins. Zone 4 PGR. Jeremy Bowen. BBC (2008). $29.99. [Allow 10 days]

Using scientific and historical research, along with computer graphic technology, Son of God recreates the life and times of Jesus – from the games he may have played as a boy to the house he would have lived in and even what he may have looked like. It explores the mystery surrounding the life of Jesus, including the mechanics of his crucifixion and what happened after his death.

Gaze on him . . .
Consider him . . .
Contemplate him . . .
As you desire to imitate him.

In Gazing on the Gospels, this advice from St Clare of Assisi provides the key to unlocking the door to the heart of Jesus’ teaching. Her words provide a pattern of meditation that brings alive the Gospel reading for every Sunday in Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary.

These short reflections will engage your imagination, mind and heart. Each one concludes with a brief prayer that focuses on helping you to imitate Christ in your everyday life.

These meditations provide a lively, different and accessible way to immerse yourself in the Gospel throughout the year.

This book is a lectionary-based adult Bible study with session plans for: a Sunday morning class on either the preceding Sunday or on the Sunday when the lections are read; a worship planning group to review the lections' actual scriptural content when planning the liturgical elements of the service; or other group study times prior to the preaching of the particular lection.

Back Again!  Christ and the Chocolaterie - Lent Course. Hillary Brand. 64pp Darton Longman & Todd (2002). Item ref. 163243. 19.00. [2 in stock]

An original, innovative and lively Lent course inspired by the film Chocolat, which was in turn based on the bestselling novel by Joanne Harris. Using the film as a starting point for exploring issues about God, the world, and what it means to be human, Hilary Brand has designed five group sessions on the themes of:

·         Giving up - a prelude to change

·         Giving out - the power of a gift

·         Getting wise - the possibility of change

·         Getting real - the power of acceptance

·         Growing up - the process of change

Each session includes extracts from the film, group discussion questions, exercises and meditations, suggestions for individual reading and related Bible passages. The book also includes appendices on the curious history of chocolate, the unfair economics of chocolate, and ideas for a chocolate feast.

Also Available:

Chocolat – DVD.  Starring Johnny Depp, Juliette Binoche & Judi Dench. 117mins (M) (2001). Item ref. 189976. $18.00. [Allow 10 days]

In the small French village of Lansquenet where life has remained the same for 100 years, the wind of change is about to sweep through it, altering it forever. Free-spirited wanderer, Vianne Rocher has arrived with her daughter to set up a chocolaterie during the Easter Lenten period of abstinence. Her arrival is frowned upon by some locals but to others, her presence is life changing. Somehow, almost magically, her delectable treats are tantalising more than just tastebuds – they are curing lost hopes, awakening unexpected passions and fulfilling unspoken desires.

The Awkward Season: Prayers for Lent. Pamela Hawkins. 128pp. Upper Room (2011). Item ref. 239101. $37.00. [1 in stock]

Hawkins offers Christian pilgrims a "prayer path" to follow through Lent. For each day of the week, prayers of invocation, confession, intercession, and thanksgiving are shaped around a theme prompted by the psalm for the day. A daily scripture reading is provided, but Hawkins welcomes readers to use a different passage if it comes to mind; this book, she reminds the reader, is designed to support rather than dictate a Lenten journey.

A finger labyrinth at the back of the book serves as an optional prayer tool for those who wish to try it and an order for Lenten praise and prayer provides a simple, beautiful way for groups who meet weekly to share this Lenten experience. Whether used individually or in a gathering, The Awkward Season will be a road map for the journey as you spend time with “the One who longs to be your companion in this season and always.”

Shadows, Darkness, and Dawn: A Lenten Journey with Jesus. Thomas Steagald. 160pp. Upper Room (2011). Item ref. 249730. $37.00. [2 in stock]

Let Thomas Steagald be your travel guide as you journey through Lent with Jesus. He skillfully moves you from being a mere observer to becoming an actual participant in the scripture stories. You'll enter the wilderness with Jesus. Later, you'll meet some of the people who confront Jesus—Nicodemus; the woman at the well; the man who was born blind; Mary and Martha after the death of their brother, Lazarus; and religious and government leaders. Perhaps you'll find some similarities between their spiritual journeys and yours. As Jesus bravely enters the thickening shadows of conflict and rejection, you'll be led to explore shadows in your own life.

The six chapters contain six daily readings, each ending with thought-provoking questions or even calls to action. Day 7 of each chapter encourages you to rest and reflect on the week's theme, and to pray for yourself and others. An ideal study for individuals or small groups.

Life Balance: A Five-Session Course On Rest, Work And Play. Sue Mayfield, Robert Warren. 80pp. Church House. (2005). Item ref. 235155. $16.99. [7 in stock]

“Keeping the Sabbath Holy is not just another commandment conveniently forgotten in the society that loves being busy; it is a gift of God in creation: a way of restoring balance to life. Rediscover it here. A free Holy-Day is guaranteed with every purchase!” Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading

21st century living is hectic. Getting the right ‘life balance’ between rest, work and play seems almost impossible. Life Balance aims to help groups explore:

·         How to build Sabbath time into the crazy pressures of everyday life.

·         How ‘Sabbath attitudes’ can transform the way we spend our time.

In five interactive sessions are:

·         Time to Pause

·         Time to Celebrate

·         Time to Rest

·         Time to Play

·         Time to Liberate

Each session contains enough material for a 90-minute session and includes guidelines for group study, with full background notes for leaders, interactive activities, including questions for discussion and multi-media ideas (e.g. film and music) and ideas for practical action. Each member of the group will need a copy of the book.

Ideal for Lent, cell and house groups

The Liturgical Year: The Spiralling Adventure of the Spiritual Life. (Ancient Practices Series). Joan Chittister. Pbk. 216pp. Thomas Nelson (2009). Item ref. 249755. $24.99 [2 in stock]

The liturgical year, beginning on the first Sunday of Advent and carrying through the following November is the year that sets out to attune the life of the Christian to the life of Jesus, the Christ. This book sets out to open what may at first seem to be simply an arbitrary arrangement of ancient holy days or liturgical seasons to their essential relationship to one another and their ongoing meaning to us today. It is an excursion into life from the Christian perspective, from the viewpoint of those who set out not only to follow Jesus but to live as Jesus lived and to think as Jesus thought.

Love Life Live Lent: Family Book. 48pp. Colour throughout. Church House Publishing (Dec 2009). Item ref. 224634. $16.99. [Allow 4 weeks]

40 simple actions to do throughout Lent. Each week contains six activities, recipes and prayers covering: Home & Family, Community, School/College/Work, Global, Green and Sabbath. This exciting new book is the ideal way to celebrate Lent and Easter together at home.

Through Grit To Glory: A Daily Companion for Lent, Holy Week and Easter. Craufurd Murray. Craufurd Murray, NZ (2010). Item ref. 237028. $12.00. [3 in stock]

In the first five weeks of Lent, this book follows the Anglican Communion’s five Marks of Mission: Pastoral Care, Care for Creation, Nurture, Evangelism and Social Justice. Holy Week dwells on the Seven Last Words from the Cross. Canon Emeritus Murray has dedicated his book to all School Chaplains and Religious Education teachers. Foreword by Victoria Matthews, Bishop of Christchurch.

The Resurrection. Geza Vermes. 168pp. Penguin (Mar. 2008). Item ref. 220358. $28.00. [1 in stock]

On what evidence is the most miraculous phenomenon in religious history based?

Biblical scholar Geza Vermes has studied all the evidence that still remains, over 2,000 years after Jesus Christ was reported to have risen from the dead. Examining the Jewish Bible, the New Testament and other accounts left to us, as well as contemporary attitudes to the afterlife, he takes us through each episode with a historian’s focus: the crucifixion, the treatment of the body, the statements of the women who found the empty tomb, and the visions of Christ by his disciples. Unravelling the true meaning conveyed in the Gospels, the Acts and St Paul, Vermes shines new light on the developing faith in the risen Christ among the first followers of Jesus.

Lent and Holy Week. (Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton series). Robert Toth & Jonathan Montaldo eds. 64pp. Ave Maria, US (2009). Item ref. 222503. $19.00. [Allow 4 weeks]

Lent and Holy Week opens the writings of Thomas Merton in easily digestible pieces and eloquently pairs them with the words of other great spiritual thinkers. Designed for use in new or existing small groups between Ash Wednesday and Easter, this booklet offers readers an accessible introduction to contemplative dialogue and is built around eight compelling Lenten themes:

·         Week of Ash Wednesday: Where Do We Turn for Forgiveness?

·         First Week of Lent: Living More Deeply in Christ

·         Second Week of Lent: A Season for Compunction and Tears

·         Third Week of Lent: In All Things, Always Seeking God

·         Fourth Week of Lent: Choosing with Christ to Love the World

·         Fifth Week of Lent: In the Service of Peace through Humility and Prayer Holy Week: Returning to the Source of Our Unity in Christ

·         The Resurrection of the Lord: Liberated to Redeem the World.

Reduced price!  Easter in Art – DVD. Tim Marlow presenter. 75 mins PAL Region 4. SBS, Aust (2007). Item ref. 249634. $28.00. [Allow 10 days]

In this three part series Tim Marlow explores the Easter story as depicted in art from the time of the early Christians to the present day. Filmed throughout the world, the series explores the different ways artists have depicted the Easter story through the ages.

·         Episode 1: Betrayal

·         Episode 2: Crucifixion

·         Episode 3: Resurrection

This five-session group study course encourages Christians to examine their lifestyle in the light of Jesus’ radical teaching and to live out these kingdom values – now.

This course takes a two-pronged approach to studying the Beatitudes:

·         deepening our understanding of Jesus and challenging our deepest personal values;

·         helping us understand how they should impact on our approach to major global issues, such as environmental pollution and the deep-seated hostilities and injustices that afflict our world

 

Each session of the course contains enough material for 90 minutes and includes:

·         guidelines for group study, with full background notes for leaders;

·         interactive activities, including questions for group discussion and multimedia suggestions;

·         a wide range of suggestions for Lenten prayer and meditation;

·         a challenge to practical action.

Lent/Easter Magazines

·         Gathering: 2012 Lent/Easter/Pentecost.
A4 copied sheets, 96pp. United Church of Canada. Resources for worship planners. Includes service outlines, prayers, plays, music and seasonal ideas.
$21 + $1.90 p&p single issue.
$58 incl. p&p annual subscription for 3 issues.
[In stock]

·         With Love to the World: Lent and Easter 2012 (mid-Feb to mid-May 2012).
Uniting Church in Aust. Daily Bible Reading Guide based on RCL. Australian and NZ contributors.
$9.50 + $1.60 p&p single issue.
$36 incl. p&p annual subscription for 4 issues.
[In stock]

·         Upper Room: Daily Devotional Guide - March/April 2012.
Upper Room, US.
$7 + $0.70 p&p single issue.
$40 incl. p&p annual subscription for 6 issues.
[In stock]

·         Alive Now - March/April 2012.
Upper Room, US.
$9 + $1.90 p&p single issue.
$50 incl. p&p annual subscription for 6 issues.
[Available February 2012

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