We are all made with a deep desire to be in God’s presence and to become our true selves in light of God's grace. Books from IVP Formatio follow the rich tradition of the church in the journey of spiritual formation. For spiritual directors, retreat leaders, and contemplative Christians alike, IVP Formatio titles facilitate deep and formative spiritual growth through spiritual disciplines and tools like the Enneagram.
Society teaches us to have everything under control, and we tend to think that this can be true even of our spiritual lives. Master storyteller and spiritual director Mark Yaconelli offers a narrative journey through ways in which disappointments have turned into gifts. In these pages are a wealth of spiritual practices that will help us find grace in unexpected places.
Can you imagine a God who dances with shouts of joy, laughs when you laugh, loves to play, and invites us to join the fun? In this book Christine Sine invites us to pay attention to childlike characteristics that have the power to reshape us, with fresh spiritual practices that engage all our senses and help us embrace the wonder and joy that God intends for us.
In the third book in the Apprentice Series, James Bryan Smith helps you to live in relationship with others as apprentices of Jesus. He shows how to bring spiritual formation and community engagement together, and he offers spiritual practices that root new, true narratives about God and the world in your soul.
Turning to the Gospels, James Bryan Smith invites you to compare your ideas about God with what Jesus himself reveals about his Father. Smith leads you through a process of spiritual formation that includes specific activities aimed at making these new narratives real in your body and soul as well as your mind.
In this anniversary edition of James Bryan Smith's classic book, you are invited to put your thoughts about God and how he works in our lives to the test to see if they match up with what Jesus himself reveals about God. Once you've discovered the truth in Scripture, you will learn how to practice spiritual exercises that will help you grow in the knowledge of our good and beautiful God.
James Bryan Smith believes we have bought into false notions of happiness and success. In this follow up to his first book, The Good and Beautiful God, Smith traces through the Sermon on the Mount and helps us replace our false beliefs with Jesus' narratives about life in the kingdom of God.
"Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner." These words from the Eastern Christian tradition have strengthened and comforted believers for centuries. In these pages, John Michael Talbot explores the roots of this Jesus Prayer along with the theological and practical meaning of each word for believers today. He ends each chapter with a brief practice using the prayer.
The Leadership Ellipse by Bob Fryling is designed to help Christian leaders embrace both halves of the tension of being in leadership--our internal relationship with God and our external relationship with others--to find a truly authentic, integrated way to lead.
There is a road to life in the unshakeable kingdom of God, but it's not an easy journey. In this book James Bryan Smith shows us the better road, the road less travelled, but the road full of riches. Along the way he introduces us to new spiritual practices that will provide the sustenance we need for the deepest, most joy-filled journey of our lives—the journey into the heart of God.
What is the story you have been told about the gospel? James Bryan Smith, author of the bestselling book The Good and Beautiful God, brings us this spiritual formation resource full of field-tested material and practices for both individuals and groups. Uncover the magnificent story of beauty, goodness, and truth that will satisfy the ultimate longings of your heart.