NEW TO THE STACKS
Books and DVD's That Have Recently Been Added
to the Resource Center Collection And Are Available for Check-Out
If you are a member of a Presbyterian Church (USA) Congregation in Central Florida Presbytery, you can become a patron of the Resource Center and check out books for no charge. If you have never signed up to be a patron, simply complete the contact form on the main Resource Center Page.
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Beyond the Offering Plate:
A Holistic Approach to Stewardship by Adam J. Copeland, Editor 
Everyone knows that stewardship is more than money and finances. Nevertheless, seldom do we give time to explore the profound concept of stewardship in its many dimensions, including stewardship of time, work, body, mind, spirit, community, technology, and more. Beyond the Offering Plate does just that. In ten accessible chapters, readers will learn how they can faithfully and practically discuss and engage with stewardship on a regular basis. Ideal for church leaders and pastors, this book includes questions for reflection and applications for life together at the end of each chapter. Copeland adds a special section with biblical references and preaching themes at the end of the book.
Preaching the Women of the
Old Testament by Lynn Japinga 
Take an in-depth look at over forty fierce, faithful, and strong women featured in the Old Testament with Preaching the Women of the Old Testament. Inside this unique resource author Lynn Japinga interprets the stories of various biblical women, including Eve, Rebekah, Dinah, Tamar, Miriam, Deborah, Jael, Abigail, Bathsheba, and Vashti. Along with providing an interpretation, Japinga demonstrates how the character's story has been read in Christian tradition and offers sermon ideas that connect contemporary issues to each story. This book is ideal for pastors who want to know more about the many women of the Old Testament and learn how to better incorporate them into their sermons.
The Challenge of Evil: Grace
and the Problem of Suffering by William Greenway 
Belief in God in the face of suffering is one of the most intractable problems of Christian theology. Many respond to the spiritual challenge of evil by ignoring it, blaming God, or insisting on the inherent meaninglessness of life. In this book, William Greenway contends that we don’t have to deny our moral selves by either ignoring evil or abandoning our moral sensibilities toward it. We can open our eyes fully to suffering and evil, and our own complicity in them. We can do so because it is only in this full acceptance of the world’s guilt and our own that we make ourselves fully open to agape, to being seized by love of others and God. Inspired by the Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas and the Christian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Challenge of Evil lovingly explains how we can look squarely at the overwhelming suffering in the world and still, by grace, have faith in a good and loving God.
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The Altars Where We Worship:
The Religious Significance of Popular Culture by Juan M. Floyd-Thomas, et. al. 
While a large percentage of Americans claim religious identity, the number of Americans attending traditional worship services has significantly declined in recent decades. Where, then, are Americans finding meaning in their lives, if not in the context of traditional religion? In this provocative study, the authors argue that the objects of our attention have become our god and fulfilling our desires has become our religion. They examine the religious dimensions of six specific aspects of American culture body and sex, big business, entertainment, politics, sports, and science and technology that function as altars where Americans gather to worship and produce meaning for their lives. The Altars Where We Worship shows how these secular altars provide resources for understanding the self, others, and the world itself.
Living a Life of Diaspora: Mission Stories of Korean Presbyterians
by Hwaja Kim & Insik Kim 
Within the larger community of God's Church, there is a group of Presbyterian brothers and sisters whose common history is unique. They are immigrants from Korea to the United States. The group's particular faith history began a hundred years ago when a handful of Koreans immigrated to America, seeking to build communities of Christian faith. Now there are four hundred Korean language congregations within the Presbyterian Church (USA). In this book, you will find stories of how new challenges were met with prayter, faith, energy and commitment.
A Grace-Full Life:
God's All-Reaching, Soul-Saving, Character Shaping, Never-Ending Love by Jorge Acevedo & Wes Olds 
Grace is God's all-reaching, never-ending, game-changing love for you and me. In this series, Jorge Acevedo and Wes Olds examine God's Word and discover how grace works in our lives and in our world. A Grace-Full Life seeks to answer the questions In what ways is God an ever-present God?, Why does God want to have a personal relationship with me?, How can I fully experience and respond to God's grace?, How can I die well surrounded by God's grace?. Themes include: Prevenient grace: God's wooing or drawing grace; Justifying grace: God's saving grace; Sanctifying grace: God's grace that makes us more like Jesus; Glorifying grace: God's grace that welcomes us to eternity. The DVD contains four video segments of 10-12 minutes each, featuring Jorge Acevedo and Wes Olds in their warm and inviting style. The videos, when combined with the book, make an ideal four-week group study. All video sessions are closed captioned.
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