People to Be Loved

Author: Preston Sprinkle
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310519667
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 225

Book Description
Christians who are confused by the homosexuality debate raging in the US are looking for resources that are based solidly on a deep study of what Scripture says about the issue. In People to Be Loved, Preston Sprinkle challenges those on all sides of the debate to consider what the Bible says and how we should approach the topic of homosexuality in light of it. In a manner that appeals to a scholarly and lay-audience alike, Preston takes on difficult questions such as how should the church treat people struggling with same-sex attraction? Is same-sex attraction a product of biological or societal factors or both? How should the church think about larger cultural issues, such as gay marriage, gay pride, and whether intolerance over LGBT amounts to racism? How (or if) Christians should do business with LGBT persons and supportive companies? Simply saying that the Bible condemns homosexuality is not accurate, nor is it enough to end the debate. Those holding a traditional view still struggle to reconcile the Bible’s prohibition of same-sex attraction with the message of radical, unconditional grace. This book meets that need.

Loving People

Author: John Townsend
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 1418537608
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 214

Book Description
Your personal guide to learning how to love. When you say or hear the words "I love you" it can change your life forever. Love is one of God's most important gifts to anyone, yet there are many misunderstandings about how to make love work in our families, friendships, marriages and dating relationships. In Loving People, best-selling author Dr. John Townsend shows you that love can actually be learned, and gives you the steps and tools to become skilled in love. Using his trademark stories and illustrations to flesh out the important principles, Dr. Townsend covers: receiving love connecting love healing love confronting love romantic love surrendering love Through his teaching, readers will discover - and start enjoying - the words, actions, and experiences of authentic love.

Embodied

Author: Preston M. Sprinkle
Publisher: David C Cook
ISBN: 0830781234
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Book Description
Compassionate, biblical, and thought-provoking, Embodied is an accessible guide for Christians who want help navigating issues related to the transgender conversation. Preston Sprinkle draws on Scripture, as well as real-life stories of individuals struggling with gender dysphoria, to help you understand the complexities and emotions of this highly relevant topic. This book fills the great need for Christians to speak into the confusing and emotionally charged questions surrounding the transgender conversation. With careful research and an engaging style, Embodied explores: What it means to be transgender, nonbinary, and gender-queer, and how these identities relate to being male or female Why most stereotypes about what it means to be a man and woman come from the culture and not the Bible What the Bible says about humans created in God’s image as male and female, and how this relates to transgender experiences Moral questions surrounding medical interventions such as sex reassignment surgery Which pronouns to use and how to navigate the bathroom debate Why more and more teens are questioning their gender

Receiving Love

Author: Harville Hendrix
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1416507647
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 321

Book Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of Getting the Love You Want and Keeping the Love You Find comes illuminating and inspiring advice on one of the most complicated issues facing couples today: receiving love. Many people know how to give love, but many more undermine their relationships by never having learned how to accept it. We don't always realize the ways in which we reject appreciation, affection, help, and guidance from our romantic partners. According to Hendrix and Hunt, until we are able to understand the meaning behind our behavior, our relationships stand to suffer. Receiving Love prompts questions such as: -Are you reluctant to tell your partner what you really want or need? -When you do get what you've asked for, do you still feel dissatisfied? -Is it difficult for you to accept kind gestures, gifts, or compliments from your partner? With Receiving Love, you can learn how to break the shackles of self-rejection and embrace real intimacy. Drawing on their renowned expertise, the wide clinical experience of Imago therapists, and their own personal experience as a married couple, the authors offer detailed, sensitive advice on how to turn a relationship between two well-meaning yet misunderstood individuals into a true, everlasting partnership.

Holy Sexuality and the Gospel

Author: Christopher Yuan
Publisher: Multnomah
ISBN: 073529092X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Book Description
From the author of Out of a Far Country, which details his dramatic conversion from an agnostic gay man who put his identity in his sexuality to a Bible professor who now puts his identity in Christ alone, comes a gospel-centered discussion of sex, desire, and relationships. Dr. Christopher Yuan explores the concept of holy sexuality--chastity in singleness or faithfulness in marriage--in a practical and relevant manner, equipping readers with an accessible yet robust theology of sexuality. Whether you want to share Christ with a loved one who identifies as gay or you're wrestling with questions of identity yourself, this book will help you better understand sexuality in light of God's grand story and realize that holy sexuality is actually good news for all.

To Love and Be Loved

Author: Sam Keen
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN: 0553375288
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Book Description
To Love and Be Loved is a spirited challenge to a culture obsessed with romance and intimacy but dangerously ignorant of the full range of human love. Like a fresh wind, Sam Keen sweeps away tired self-help nostrums and reams of "bad advice from Dr. Lonelyhearts" to reveal a stunningly new map of love in all its forms. Love is not something we "fall" into, claims Keen, but a complex art combining many skills and talents that take a lifetime to learn fully. At the center of his book are sixteen distinct "elements of love": ranging from attention--a precious gift we can bestow on co-worker, friend, child, and spouse alike--to more exclusive gifts like desire and sexuality. Combining stories, poems and quotes with insights from modern psychology and spiritual tradition, Keen brilliantly explores the elements of memory and solitude in love, the importance of both enjoyment and commitment, and how we can cultivate the essential qualities of empathy and compassion. Each piece ends with suggestions for strengthening our daily practice of the element, so that we constantly enlarge our ability to love in all our relationships. The final section of the book is a soaring meditation on the claim that "those who love know God," an invitation to experience our place in the universe through the eyes of love.

Scripture, Ethics, and the Possibility of Same-Sex Relationships

Author: Karen R. Keen
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN: 1467451339
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 161

Book Description
WHEN IT COMES TO SAME-SEX RELATIONSHIPS, this book by Karen Keen contains the most thoughtful, balanced, biblically grounded discussion you’re likely to encounter anywhere. With pastoral sensitivity and respect for biblical authority, Keen breaks through current stalemates in the debate surrounding faith and sexual identity. The fresh, evenhanded reevaluation of Scripture, Christian tradition, theology, and science in Keen’s Scripture, Ethics, and the Possibility of Same-Sex Relationships will appeal to both traditionalist and progressive church leaders and parishioners, students of ethics and biblical studies, and gay and lesbian people who often feel painfully torn between faith and sexuality.

How to Be Loved

Author: Eva Hagberg Fisher
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
ISBN: 054499115X
Category : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Languages : en
Pages : 243

Book Description
A luminous memoir about how friendship saved one woman's life, for anyone who has loved a friend who was sick, grieving, or lost--and for anyone who has struggled to seek or accept help Eva Hagberg Fisher spent her lonely youth looking everywhere for connection: drugs, alcohol, therapists, boyfriends, girlfriends. Sometimes she found it, but always temporarily. Then, at age thirty, an undiscovered mass in her brain ruptured. So did her life. A brain surgery marked only the beginning of a long journey, and when her illness hit a critical stage, it forced her to finally admit the long‑suppressed truth: she was vulnerable, she needed help, and she longed to grow. She needed true friendship for the first time. How to Be Loved is the story of how an isolated person's life was ripped apart only to be gently stitched back together through friendship, and the recovery--of many stripes--that came along the way. It explores the isolation so many of us feel despite living in an age of constant connectivity; how our ambitions sometimes pull us apart more than bring us together; and how a simple doughnut, delivered by a caring soul, can become the essence of what makes a life valuable. With gorgeous prose shot through with empathy, pain, fear, and the secret truths inside all of us, Eva writes about the friends who taught her to grow up and open her heart--and how the relentlessness of suffering can give rise to the greatest joy.

Made to be Loved

Author: Stephen B. Bell
Publisher: Moody Publishers
ISBN: 1575678373
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 217

Book Description
While desired, the idea of spiritual intimacy is scary and even threatening to some couples. They've tried those other couples devotional books, but sharing Bible study and prayer time together just doesn't come naturally. And when these sharing times seem awkward and manipulated, many couples put the book back on the shelf and simply go on as they were before. If this sounds all too familiar, Made to Be Loved is the sip of cool water for your thirsty marriage. Steve and Valerie Bell encourage couples to go beyond treating the symptoms of a marriage that lacks spiritual intimacy and go straight to the root of the problem. The real disease that threatens marriages is spiritual distance from God. According to the Bells, "when a husband and wife invite God into their marriage, their perspectives change. Hearts are softened, expectations become more realistic, sexual relations take on a soulish sweetness, even fights get better!" Take your marriage to the next level with the help of Steve and Valerie Bell. Develop a deeper love relationship with you God, and in doing so, create a whole new atmosphere in your marriage.

All But Invisible

Author: Nate Collins
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310526035
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Book Description
What does it mean to be gay ... and a Christian? Beginning with how the Bible describes the Church, author Nate Collins outlines a vision for community life that challenges Christians to examine obstacles that inhibit spiritual unity. This new vision calls straight and non-straight believers alike to patterns of Christian obedience that respect and honor their similarities and differences.In addition, Collins provides a theological framework for understanding how Genesis 1-2 describes both gender and sexuality. He then unpacks biblical concepts like desire, lust, and temptation, and applies them to modern constructs like sexual attraction and orientation.Collins explores the theme of identity, focusing on facets of personal identity that are central to the experience of Christian gender minorities. He looks at what Scripture says about the formation and function of Christian identity, highlighting several theological and sociological tensions. Collins writes for believers who have a traditional sexual ethic and provides a compelling vision of gospel flourishing for gay, lesbian, and other same-sex attracted individuals.