Harold L. Senkbeil

Visit the timeless rhythms of the Christian life with award-winning author Harold L. Senkbeil. As he addresses the concerns and pressures of the world today, you'll discover that even while the world is dying, Christ's death brings about life. True life. One that He offers to you. This new life stands the test of time and endures through the challenges of our dying world. While paradoxical, Christ's death is necessary for Him to guide you through death to life everlasting. Explore how this truth informs your entire Christian life, providing the Incarnational foundation, Sacramental focus, and Liturgical shape for your day-to-day. In a dying world, let your journey be shaped by life-the life of Jesus, given for you. What's New in the Second Edition? Foreword from Rev. Dr. Robert KolbUpdates to reflect cultural and technological changesUpdating Scripture to the ESV translationUpdated Scripture IndexTake a Look Inside: "We're all dying; we can either die alone, or we can die in Jesus. But His death brings life, and it's when we die with Him that we really begin to live." -page 65"Christianity is the unbelievably good news that there is forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation to be had in the midst of this dying world of ours. And this is the real thing: not just the same old rat race traded in for yet another treadmill. This is God's gift of life in exchange for death; LIFE in Person, in fact. In the person of Jesus Christ, who came that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10)." -page 34

The word is sown. But God gives the increase. Some fight to recover Christian culture; others abandon any hope of transforming culture. Both mindsets are at odds with the early church. The apostles weren't seeking to convert cultures but people, because God's word cultivates its own culture--the culture of the word. When the word is sown, the culture is grown. Our mission remains the same today: a stubborn commitment to proclaim God's word. In The Culture of God's Word, Harold L. Senkbeil and Lucas V. Woodford reclaim the biblical approach to transformation and social witness. By returning to the apostles' own example in the book of Acts, we are reminded of the power of the gospel. God's word embraces broken hearts and broken lives and transforms them in Christ Jesus. The church is born of God's word and grows by God's word. The pursuit of relevance has failed. The culture wars distract from the mission. But God's word cultivates a faith that endures in a chaotic world. "Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." --1 Corinthians 3:7

My God loves me and gives me life. His law protects the gifts he gives me. Learn and love the Ten CommandmentsSee how Jesus fulfilled God's willPray the Commandments with a family prayerJoin FatCat as he learns the Ten Commandments--how God's children love. Each commandment has a reflection on its meaning and illustrations from Jesus' life. As you read each commandment, see how Jesus fulfilled God's will for us and showed us how to love God and others. With a list of Scripture references and a guided family prayer, this FatCat book helps all God's children memorize, understand, and love the Ten Commandments. We love God because he first loved us. Jesus shows us how God loves us. Because Jesus obeyed his Father, we have forgiveness and life--and many other good gifts. God's commandments protect us and his gifts for us. When we love and obey God, we treasure the good things he gives us.

The Lord's song sings faith into people's hearts. Music is central to the life of the church. In Church Music: For the Care of Souls, Phillip Magness helps the church to recover the primary instrument in worship: congregational voices. With voices raised, we sing praises to our God and King for his Son Jesus Christ. Singing calls for a special kind of leadership--not only on the part of musicians, but also among pastors and lay leaders. Together, leaders can help congregations find their voice and reclaim the power of music for the care of souls.

Christ's sheep need shepherding. That's where you come in. With more than 60 years of ministry between them, Harold Senkbeil and Lucas Woodford have come to understand that everything in ministry--even administration, leadership, and planning--revolves around the ancient tradition of the care of souls. Pastors are entrusted with the care of a flock by the Good Shepherd and are called to be faithful to this task. But pastoring seems to be getting more and more difficult. Based on a sound theological framework, Senkbeil and Woodford present a set of practical tools for church leadership and strategy. Calling on their vast experience, they encourage pastors to protect, guide, and feed their flock as Jesus would, bridging the eternal wisdom of the word of God with the everyday practicality of hands-on leadership. Originally published as Church Leadership & Strategy, this revision includes a new chapter and litany.

2021 Christianity Today Beautiful Orthodoxy Award of MeritLord, do you not care if we perish? That's what the frightened disciples shouted to Jesus as he slept in the stern of a storm-tossed boat. In the midst of suffering and uncertainty, we're all prone to think that God has forgotten us, he doesn't care, or he's powerless to do anything. In Christ and Calamity, Harold L. Senkbeil speaks pastorally to our suffering and uncertainty. Senkbeil shows God's constant and faithful grace to us. With Paul he encourages us: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thess 5:16-18). Calamities come in many different sizes, and God addresses them all in his word and by his Spirit. Even when we don't see or feel it, God is always faithful. "If I dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me" (Ps 139:9-10). The disciples' faith in the midst of the storm may have been weak, but Jesus was mighty to save. And he will save you, too. No matter how small your faith, you can count on him to hear your anguished cry and to answer.

2021 Christianity Today Beautiful Orthodoxy Award of MeritLord, do you not care if we perish? That's what the frightened disciples shouted to Jesus as he slept in the stern of a storm-tossed boat. In the midst of suffering and uncertainty, we're all prone to think that God has forgotten us, he doesn't care, or he's powerless to do anything. In Christ and Calamity, Harold L. Senkbeil speaks pastorally to our suffering and uncertainty. Senkbeil shows God's constant and faithful grace to us. With Paul he encourages us: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thess 5:16-18). Calamities come in many different sizes, and God addresses them all in his word and by his Spirit. Even when we don't see or feel it, God is always faithful." If I dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me" (Ps 139:9-10). The disciples' faith in the midst of the storm may have been weak, but Jesus was mighty to save. And he will save you, too. No matter how small your faith, you can count on him to hear your anguished cry and to answer.

”Vi är mer intresserade av att veta vad vi ska göra, och ändå insisterar Gud på att berätta för oss vilka vi är. Vi är hans dyrbara barn, skapade av Fadern, återlösta av Sonen och heliggjorda av Anden. I våra synder är vi blinda och döda och fiender till Gud, men i Kristus är vi heliga.” I en tid när man lätt blir en religiös konsument av osammanhängande teologi och ytlig fromhet, söker många människor efter något mer stabilt. Harold Senkbeil menar att källan till en levande tro och ett kristet liv är evangeliets budskap om vilka vi är och vad vi äger i Kristus. Uppmärksamheten vänds från oss själva till Jesus Kristus och genom Honom får vi motta alla frälsningens rikedomar: syndernas förlåtelse, kroppens uppståndelse och det eviga livet. Det kristna livet är definierat och format av Kristus själv genom hans heliga ord och sakrament. Harold Senkbeil fokuserar i denna bok på det centrala och befriande budskapet till alla kristna: kraften i förlåtelsen. Harold Senkbeil har tjänstgjort i över trettio år som församlingspräst och har också verkat som docent i pastoralteologi vid Concordia Theological Seminary i Fort Wayne, Indiana. Sedan 2008 har han varit verksam i Doxology, ett lutherskt center för själavård.

2020 Christianity Today Book Award Winner for Church/Pastoral Leadership 2019 TGC Ministry Book of the Year Winner Drawing on a lifetime of pastoral experience, The Care of Souls is a beautifully written treasury of proven wisdom which pastors will find themselves turning to again and again. Harold Senkbeil helps remind pastors of the essential calling of the ministry: preaching and living out the Word of God while orienting others in the same direction. And he offers practical and fruitful advice—born out of his five decades as a pastor—that will benefit both new pastors and those with years in the pulpit. In a time when many churches have lost sight of the real purpose of the church, The Care of Souls invites a new generation of pastors to form the godly habits and practical wisdom needed to minister to the hearts and souls of those committed to their care.