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"When we interact with our LGBTQ+ neighbors we are not interacting with an ideology, a political movement, a social media post, a caricature from a movie, or a law being debated in Congress. We are interacting with people made in the image of God, who our Savior bled and died to redeem. We are interacting with someone God literally loved to the point of his own death."Cultivate Community With LGBTQ+ Neighbors Too often, fear and suspicion have characterized churches response to LGTBQ+ people. As we remain committed to the historic Christian teachings about marriage and sexuality, American evangelical churches have also harmed a community we have not understood. Our default has been to keep LGBTQ+ people at arms length.But there is another way, one that resists both culture wars and the pressure to revise scriptural teaching; one that embraces people and clings to historic witness.In Love All Our Neighbors, Tony Scarcello shows how holding a traditional sexual ethic does not have to lead toward the exclusion of LGBTQ+ people from church. Drawing from biblical theology, cultural data, and the authors personal experience as a same-sex-attracted pastor, this book teaches traditional Christians and churches how to truly care for LGBTQ+ people. Scarcello explains how churches can and should be places of conviction, humility, and radical love for everyone.In Love All Our Neighbors, youll learn how Jesus loves LGBTQ+ people and desires to know them, how churches have built unbiblical barriers between LGBTQ+ people and Jesus, and how to dismantle these barriers and minister with care, without compromising orthodox theology. If youre a church leader who upholds a traditional sexual ethic and seeks to genuinely care for LGBTQ+ individuals, youll find this book both challenging and transformative. With thoughtful guidance, Love All Our Neighbors equips churches committed to historic Christian teaching to overcome barriers, fostering a Jesus-centered, life-giving community that embraces everyone with grace and love. Our churches can become environments where LGBTQ+ people can find and follow Jesus in life-giving community.

What If You Saw Your Hobbies as a Form of Worship? Maybe youre an athlete or collector, a chef or film critic, a painter or video gamer. Your hobbies arent arbitrary passions. The same God who formed your muscles and nervous system also formed the specific ways you love to play. He understands the delight you feel in your garden or your excitement as you open up a new board game. And he calls it good.We often view play as a distraction from lifes serious responsibilities, but in Created to Play, Brianna Lambert reveals the ways God blesses your hobbies and uses them to form and pull you into worship. Lambert explores ten different titles you may inhabit in your play: Beholder, Curator, Maker, Herald, Restorer, Connecter, Nourisher, Mover, Caretaker, and Historian.This book helps you view your hobbies as opportunities not just for individual expression but also for communal enjoyment. With winsome practicality and theological reflection, Lambert draws you to glory in the God who loves and teaches you through play.With Created to Play, you will: Explore how hobbies shape your spiritual formation, offering a fresh perspective on the theology of hobbies and leisure. Identify yourself among ten unique roles we take on through hobbies, uncovering how play shapes your identity in Christ. Learn to embrace rest and joy through hobbies, reenvisioning leisure as life-giving rather than wasteful. Challenge your guilt around play by learning how hobbies can form you spiritually, draw you into worship, and help you reflect Gods character. You can experience how God is already participating in your hobbies with you, sharing in the joy they bring. If you are seeking a biblical perspective on your hobbies or struggling to enjoy leisure amid the demands of a busy life, this book can help you reclaim play as a vital part of spiritual formation.Play isnt about what you get or achieve but about who you become in the process.

In 1999 my expedition found George Mallorys body on Mount Everest. The intense public interest in his tragic fate obscured the other actors in that dramatic story.The pioneers who attempted the first climbs in 1922 and 1924 knew nothing about the mountain other than its height. They had to learn the hard way about the lack of oxygen, the jet-stream winds, the illnesses of altitude, and the vital importance of the Sherpas. They fought cerebral oedema, frostbite, hypothermia and raging thirst in the cold, thin air. They had to find a route, avoid avalanches, and work out what to do when confronted by an insuperable rock climb at extreme altitude. Many of them died.Howard Somervell was Mallorys closest friend on the mountain in 1922 and 1924. He was an exceptionally gifted man: he had a double first at Cambridge, he was a talented artist and an accomplished musician. He served as a surgeon at the Battle of the Somme during the First World War and was one of the foremost alpinists of the day when he was invited to join the 1922 Mount Everest expedition. After Everest he was awarded an Olympic gold medal for Alpinism in 1924. But in India he will be remembered as a surgeon who dedicated the remainder of his life to healing the sick.Those pioneers showed the way. Somervell took part in the first attempt to climb the mountain, and his oxygen-free height record in 1924 stood for over 50 years. On his descent he sat down alone suffocating from a frost-bitten larynx. He prepared to die, but at the last moment performed a medical manoeuvre which cleared his airway. He survived to struggle back down.Howard Somervell was my cousin, and I am one of the last Everesters left alive to have spoken with a climber from George Mallorys party.

Las descarnadas, inspiradoras y emocionantes memorias del icono y legendario ganador de varios premios Oscar, Sylvester Stallone, sobre su increíble camino al estrellato y la mejor historia jamás contada de un ganador contra todo pronostico.En los cincuenta años transcurridos desde que Sylvester Stallone subio corriendo los escalones del Museo de Arte de Filadelfia, el mismo y esos escalones se han convertido en simbolos de resiliencia y determinacion, y han inspirado a millones de personas de todo el mundo para perseguir sus sueños. En Los escalones, Stallone relata como persiguio sus propios sueños. Culminando un proceso de reflexion de decadas, Sly cuenta sus origenes -un nacimiento dificil, una infancia aun mas dificil, años de problemas en el colegio por no ser comprendido- y explica como la historia real de una vida exitosa se construye afrontando, asumiendo y, en ultimo termino, superando nuestras dificultades. La clave esta en la distancia que estamos dispuestos a recorrer y en los pasos que debemos dar para pasar de donde estamos a donde queremos llegar.En una narracion enmarcada entre su llegada a Nueva York en 1969 y el triunfo de Rocky en los Oscar de 1977, Sly teje un vivido y apasionante relato de lucha, subsistencia y, finalmente, exito. Escribe sobre sus inicios y tambien sobre los años posteriores, asi como sobre la persistencia, creatividad y resiliencia que lo llevaron no solamente a crear Rocky, sino a labrarse una carrera repleta de papeles iconicos. Los escalones constituye un testimonio de la extraordinaria vida de Stallone y una profunda meditacion sobre la importancia de la fuerza de voluntad, la vision y el trabajo duro.

From the acclaimed critic and award-winning author of Anno Dracula comes a bitingly satirical story of superheroism, soap opera and alternative reality -- for readers of Austin Grossmans Soon I Will Be Invincible and George R.R. Martins Wild Cards.When Chrissie Chambers (model actress whatever) discovers her soap opera character is about to be killed off, she finally stops dieting and discovers hitherto untapped supernatural abilities. Meanwhile, Chrissies aunt - former national heroine Lady Shade - goes missing. Afraid for Jasmines safety and itching to costume-up, Chrissie and her ghost-possessed best friend Loulee break into Devils Dyke, the asylum where Jasmine works as a therapist with the most dangerous cutthroats (supervillains) in Britain only to find the inmates have taken over Chrissie debuts successfully as a cloak (superheroine), but who will become the arch-nemesis of Lady Shade II?In Chrissies timeline, the Beatles didnt split up and recorded a hallucinodelic album in 1972 Never Mind (strictly, Never Mind the Beatles) which literally changed the world. Set in an alternative 2020s London, this hugely entertaining, darkly humorous superhero tale is packed with Newmans trademark wit, and comes with wickedly sharp edges.

A New Perspective for Biblical Justice in International Relations Practicing a Christian vision of justice as a citizen in ones own country is difficult enough. Add on the challenge of establishing and living out a Christian ethic among states, where there may be few established norms and shared values, and you have the gargantuan task of doing international relations.Does Christianity have anything to say about global justice for modern nation-states? Can we look to the biblical vision for help with the complex problems of a globalized world? Robert Joustra answers with a resounding yes.Christ and Covenant in Global Politics casts a compelling vision for a Christian approach to international relations that seeks to transform global politics from systems driven by fear to covenantal global community based in shared loves, drawing on Augustines understanding of rightly ordered loves and a contemporary Christian notion of covenantal pluralism. This groundbreaking textbook is designed for professors and students of international relations, offering a unique, faith-driven approach to global politics.In Christ and Covenant in Global Politics, Joustra introduces international relations through a distinctly Christian lens; demonstrates how the Christian worldview can positively shape international politics; equips students to thoughtfully engage with pluralism and multiculturalism in international politics; and moves beyond discussions of biblical justice within states toward discussions of biblical justice between and among states. Christ and Covenant in Global Politics is a first-of-its-kind work that provides a comprehensive introduction to the state of international relations theory today as well as a constructive account of a truly Christian vision for global politics. Joustra provides a systematic treatment of introductory political theology of world politics, then applies that foundation to key issues in the international system: diplomacy, war, political economy, and climate. Ideal for the undergraduate level, this book is a gift to those who to want to learn to love their neighbor on the global stage.

Move Past Anxiety and Into Confident Witness Are fear and anxiety holding you back from sharing your faith? Does the thought of evangelism make you uneasy or leave you concerned about making others uncomfortable? The biggest barrier to evangelism, Mark Teasdale argues, is not lack of training or informationits fear.To overcome this fear, we must engage not just intellectually and spiritually, but also psychologically. In Socially Awkward Evangelism, Teasdale considers evangelism through the lens of psychology, helping you overcome the roadblocks that often accompany sharing your faith. Teasdale offers resources for dealing with anxiety and shame and helps you communicate in ways that reduce uncertainties in others, utilizing recent developments in understanding mental and emotional health.Socially Awkward Evangelism: addresses the underlying fears and anxieties often tied to evangelism with tools informed by psychology, offers practical tools for overcoming fears about evangelism, challenges common misperceptions about evangelism, and helps you communicate your faith authentically, sensitively, and creatively. Through practical exercises, theological foundations, and psychological insights, this book will guide you to thoughtfully attend to your inner life, your social context, and the heart of Jesus, helping you move beyond fear to embrace evangelism as the blessing its meant to be.Whether youre a church leader or educator training others, a student eager to learn, or someone who struggles with the social anxiety often tied to evangelism, Socially Awkward Evangelism provides the tools to help you step into this sacred task with confidence and purpose.

When Brian Dillon was sixteen his mother died and he simply gave up all schoolwork. While he courted exam failure, his real education was going on elsewhere: with books, music, films and television. When at last he made it to university, his head was already full of avant-garde writing, art and ideas. Could academia live up to the hopes and dreams he had invested in it? Halfway through college his father died, and the stakes of reading and writing seemed even higher. Ambivalence explores what learning meant to its author, what it enabled and denied, between the ages of seventeen and twenty-six, when he left his native Dublin. Its at once a memoir of that city in the 1980s and 1990s, an uncynical portrait of the adolescent and early-adult mind, and an intimate defence of radical thinking about literature and life. In vivid present-tense fragments, Dillon describes his first encounters with writers such as Virginia Woolf, Walter Benjamin, Samuel Beckett, Roland Barthes and Jacques Derrida. He recalls being seduced by ambivalence, ambiguity and androgyny on the page and in the life he hoped his reading would transfigure. The era he describes seemed to demand new ways of thinking about aesthetics and politics. Today, when rights are fragile, arts and humanities attacked, and students dismissed as radicals or narcissists, Ambivalence is an argument for the poetic and revolutionary force of changing yourself and even the world by changing what you know.

When reporter Martha Strangeways is called into investigate the discovery of body parts on a remote railway track, shes drawn into a strange case, as her own past comes back to haunt her The atmospheric, critically acclaimed series continuesMartha Strangeways has settled into a quiet life in Strathbran, after the horrific events that traumatised the village a year earlier: her son, Dougie is at university, her friend Orla will give birth at any minute, and shes becoming ever closer to her ex, Jamie.But all this is turned upside down when her friend at Glasgow CID, DI Derek Summers, calls on her to help with a truly disturbing case: a human ear, with an unusual Celtic earring, has been found next to a railway line in the Highlands.An when the body of a young woman wearing matching jewellery turns up at a landmark church shortly after, the mystery only deepens. Why has she been laid out in such a ritualistic fashion? Does her trek along the little-known Cailleach Way have anything to do with her demise? And who is running the Facebook Group where she posted details of her journey to the shrine of the Bone Mother goddess?As Martha tries to unpick the threads, she soon finds herself entwined with a ghost from her own past, and in conflict with the owner of a company committed to a huge hydro-electric scheme that threatens to destroy the goddesss sacred land.With Halloween approaching, and someone determined to protect the goddess at all costs, can Martha and Summers catch the killer before they strike again and this time much closer to home?

The existential toolkit for readers to regain control of their emotional lives in the digital age.

An addictive novel about a young womans all-consuming obsession with a rival of her own making and the desperate lengths she goes to in order to succeed, by debut author Canwen Xu.Elizabeth Zhang knows her place in the world. She knows shes in the tenth percentile for likability, the seventieth percentile for attractiveness, and the ninety-ninth percentile for academics.With a hard-working ethic instilled in her by immigrant parents, armed with impeccable grades, Elizabeth thinks she is set for Harvard Law School. Until she is rejected for being too ordinary, which she translates to mean shes just another boring Asian female. But when her classmate Laura Kim gets in, everything falls apart. Why was Laura accepted? What makes her so interesting?At first, she follows her because shes just curious. What Laura eats for lunch. Where Laura shops. The answer for Elizabeths failure must lie somewhere in Lauras life. But still, Elizabeth just cant see it. The only thing she sees is that Laura has taken her spot at Harvard.A spot she knows she deserves. A spot that shell simply have to take back.Layered, subversive, and satirical, this novel brings to light how, in the face of societal expectations and self-inflicted pressures, a person can unlock the darkest parts of themselves and show how far theyre willing to go to achieve their vision of success.

This summerIll grow upFor as long as Billie can remember, summer has meant one thing: Pearl Beach. The idyllic seaside home belonging to her old Aunt Edith, and the place where she met her best friend, Andy. But this summer, everything seems to be changing. Andy is more interested in makeup and boys than in Billie, and Aunt Edith has decided to stay with them for the whole summer. Edith is a Holocaust survivor, and whenever Billie tries to talk to her, her words seem to crumble under the weight of this knowledge.Then Edith begins to share her story. Because she was once fourteen, too, and understands all too well the pain of growing up. What follows is a tale of first love, betrayal, and resilience. As the summer, and story, unfolds, so does a profound friendship between Billie and Edith. They may be generations apart but what they share will change both of them forever.

Summer, 1993, and Alex Lane finds himself at the end of the University summer term, broke and without any concrete plans. So, when hes offered the chance to join a group of students tasked clearing out Solace House, a large Victorian residence left to the University by a reclusive hoarder called Flayne, he jumps at it. The other students are a mixed bunch, but Alex quickly falls into a close friendship with the mercurial, red-headed Ella.At first the house seems to be an ordinary, if grandiose, property. But as the team begin sorting through piles of junk, they stumble upon Flaynes journals in which he details his obsession with his missing mother, his discovery of a strange place called Bewise, and - most mysteriously - his belief in another realm lying parallel to ours, along with coded instructions on how it might be reached.As the students continue to sort through the detritus, one of Alexs companions becomes increasingly obsessed with the hidden secrets of Solace House, Flaynes missing mother, and the possibility that, if only they can decipher Flaynes increasingly unintelligible writings, they might gain knowledge beyond their wildest dreams. That is, assuming, they are willing to sacrifice everything.

The leading authority on our contemporary prime ministers Dominic Grieve, GuardianAfter almost a decade and a half of Tory rule, the 2024 General Election saw the Conservatives suffer their worst-ever defeat: they received 7.14 million fewer votes than in 2019; 23.7 per cent is their lowest ever vote share; and their current 121 MP contingent is their smallest since 1832. Meanwhile, the rise of Reform threatens the partys very existence.How did it all go wrong so quickly, following Boris Johnsons record-setting win in 2019?From taking office amidst the cost of living and energy supply crises and the panic caused by Liz Trusss disastrous mini-budget, through the agenda-dominating Ukraine and Gaza wars and the Rwanda Asylum Plan, to the stunning 2023 local election results, Sunak at 10 is the definitive and jaw-dropping window into Rishi Sunaks premiership.

DCI Alison McCoist is up to the oxters in Glasgows shadiest police unit, with a list of guilty secrets growing longer by the day.Fran Forbes has just bolted from the scene of a gangland massacre with only a shite-stained tracksuit and a memory stick full of crypto-currency to his name.Ally is tasked with looking into this latest underworld rammy and ends up working with some bampots even dodgier than her polis pals.Can she keep Fran from being turned into mince by a Russian OCG and finally free herself from the fankle of police corruption shes caught in? An enemy from Allys past is determined her story wont have such a happy ending...

Wander into stillness. Tuck your thoughts under the stars. Let your breath slow with the rhythm of a prayer. The Unwinding Path is a quiet invitation to resta bedtime book that gently guides children (and the grownups who love them) through soft moments that bring rest and reset. With each turn of the page, little readers are invited to follow a calming path, pausing, noticing, breathing, and settling into sacred stillness.Filled with the authors tender, whimsical illustrations and a lyrical, meditative text, this book becomes more than a story. It becomes a bedtime practice that helps hearts unwind, hands unclench, and the body prepare for sleep.With The Unwinding Path, you will gently introduce children to mindfulness, stillness, and awareness of Gods presence; help children journey toward Gods presence through the rich imagery of the ancient Christian tradition of a labyrinth; and discover author and artist Betony Coonss beautiful illustrations for an inviting and comforting reading experience. If the little ones in your life struggle to calm and quiet themselves for bedtime, The Unwinding Path can help. As children trace the labyrinths path with their fingers, they are invited to slow down and experience Gods presence in the world around them. Night after night, experience a gentle, grace-filled close to the day with The Unwinding Path.

In 2019, it looked like the electoral map of Britain had been changed for ever, with once solidly Labour constituencies voting Conservative for the first time. An epochal realignment seemed to be in train that saw the Conservative electoral coalition become much more northern and working class and Labour depending more on middle-class voters in the south. Only a few years later, the realignment lies in ruins.The Red Wall has returned to Labour, and its clear 2019 was a blip. Tories are now jostling amongst themselves to be seen as the heirs to Thatcher. Its almost like the promise of change and levelling up was a fever dream as political parties and voters revert to type.What happened? And what can be done? The Conservatives made a big promise to Red Wall voters in 2019, speaking openly about first-time Conservative voters lending their support and promising that this trust wouldnt be forgotten. They swept the Red Wall with a promise of big economic change.In reality, that was quickly forgotten and the realignment was put in the too-difficult box, in favour of Thatcherite cosplaying that appealed to a tiny core of Tory members but didnt address the real problems the country faced. But the politics behind it cannot be ignored.This book will address what went wrong with the so-called realignment and what needs to be done to revive it.

The recent revelations regarding secret payments to star presenter Ryan Tubridy werent the first time Irelands national broadcaster has found itself caught up in scandal.Shane Ross, author of #1 bestsellers The Bankers and Mary Lou McDonald, winds the clock back to examine RTEs history of broadcasting excellence alongside the accusations of corruption, waste and ineptitude it has faced along the way, while also considering what the future might hold for this formerly beloved institution.

Radically lyrical, politically astute, this new collection features six writers whose every word is an act of affirmation. As it must be, for their art to flourish beside one of the worlds great languages.In Alcatraz: Poems from the Contemporary Welsh, we find youthful energies tackling climate change, global extinctions, even human life beyond our planet. Whether in Wales or Palestine, Manhattan or the island of Alcatraz itself, we learn that todays Welsh language poetry, with its unique perspective, is as valid as any verse in the world. And, possibly, more vital.If these translations take liberties, none are unforgivable. The spirit of each poem remains unblemished. Here, veteran writers, such as Menna Elfyn, Karen Owen and Iwan Llwyd, mix with the next generations Iestyn Tyne, Llyr Gwyn and Sian Northey. Alcatraz is an essential work for anyone interested in the good health of modern poetry in the UK.

Amy Jane Stewart is a writer living in the Scottish Borders. She was the winner of the New Writing North & Word Factory Northern Apprentice Award in 2021 and the Mairtín Crawford Prize for Short