Scotty Smith

What do you rely on to get through your day? The things we rely on are also what define us--our family, education, job, accomplishments, money. For the apostle John, nothing defined him more than the love of God in Jesus, and that is what he relied on every moment of every day. Scotty Smith takes readers through 1 John and shows how a rich understanding of the love of God prepares us to thrive in times of great stress and strengthens us for every season of life. Relying on God's love brings true joy that empowers us to be faithful in the face of opposition. Discover how we are to live in this world as children of light and how the best way to defeat spiritual warfare is to be preoccupied with Jesus. Participants will learn how knowing Jesus equals loving Jesus, and loving Jesus equals loving others. Because the Father already loves us as much as he loves Jesus, he is committed to making us like Jesus. This small group guide includes eight in-depth lessons that include discussion questions, a short article to read, and a practical application section that can be used for one-to-one discipleship, small group, or large group settings. 1 John: Relying on the Love of God is part of The Gospel-Centered Life in the Bible series published in partnership with Serge. Each book in the series examines how the gospel story is revealed throughout both the Old and New Testaments. Relying on God's love brings true joy that empowers us to be faithful in the face of opposition. Discover how we are to live in this world as children of light and how the best way to defeat spiritual warfare is to be preoccupied with Jesus. Participants will learn how knowing Jesus equals loving Jesus, and loving Jesus equals loving others. Because the Father already loves us as much as he loves Jesus, he is committed to making us like Jesus. This small group guide includes eight in-depth lessons that include discussion questions, a short article to read, and a practical application section that can be used for one-to-one discipleship, small group, or large group settings. 1 John: Relying on the Love of God is part of The Gospel-Centered Life in the Bible series published in partnership with Serge. Each book in the series examines how the gospel story is revealed throughout both the Old and New Testaments.

Discover your surpassing peace and surest hope in crisis in sixty gospel-centered meditations. Natural disaster or relational disaster, broken body or broken marriage, job loss or loss of a loved one.... Crisis thrusts us into a season of healing and recovery. The journey of recovery can arouse many emotions: shock, fear, anxiety, doubt, agony, anger. Into this place of strife and sorrow, Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage gives compelling reasons to hope: God has written a story that takes us from recovery to full restoration. Each meditation contains Scripture, prayer, a relevant meditation, reflection questions, and suggested music. If you long to know the restoration hope that awaits beyond recovery, you need this book. ADVANCE PRAISE: "Trauma fragments our ability to think and make good choices. Far too often, we try to overcome the fragmentation by long winded words that only burden us with tasks that we can no more carry than run with a broken leg. What I need, and Elizabeth Turnage offers with brilliant simplicity and wisdom, is perspective that cuts to the chase and grounds me in what I know to be true. This life-giving devotional will offer you hope without denying the depths of the struggle. It will free your heart to be with Jesus." DAN AND BECKY ALLENDER, FOUNDERS OF THE ALLENDER CENTER FOR TRAUMA AND ABUSE, AND FOUNDING PRESIDENT OF THE SEATTLE SCHOOL FOR THEOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY"To recover is to return to normal. But what is normal? Because our lives are bruised and broken by the Fall we know deep down, that is an unrealistic target. Elizabeth Turnage yet again invites fellow sufferers to be nourished daily by doses of life-giving gospel truths. She encourages her readers to set their sights beyond a temporal cure or easy solution-Christ-likeness." KAREN HODGECOORDINATOR OF WOMEN'S MINISTRIES FOR THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA (PCA)AUTHOR OF TRANSFORMED: LIFE-TAKER TO LIFE-GIVER AND LIFE-GIVING LEADERSHIP"When the storms of life crash into our lives, the devastation left behind is often overwhelming. Recovery and healing is slow and arduous. Elizabeth Turnage's devotional is for all those laboring toward recovery. From Recovery to Restoration is a hope-filled, gospel-laced, and Christ-exalting book which invites us into God's story of redemption and helps us see how he is at work to redeem and restore all things, even the aftermath of our personal losses, heartaches, and trials." CHRISTINA FOX, WRITER, COUNSELOR, SPEAKER, AUTHOR OF A HEART SET FREE: A JOURNEY TO HOPE THROUGH THE PSALMS OF LAMENT"Having personally known real crisis, both surviving Hurricane Katrina and Stage four colon cancer, I found that Elizabeth Turnage's thoughtful book perfectly captures the landscape of loss after devastating personal events, as she guides the reader through these difficult times to courage, peace, hope and the eventual restoration of all things." JAMIE ATEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HUMANITARIAN DISASTER INSTITUTE; AUTHOR OF A WALKING DISASTER"Whether it be in the midst of physical pain, addiction, abandonment, abuse, or habitual sin, Elizabeth will redirect your gaze over and over through scripture to meditate not on the gaping hole of your loss, but on the relentless pursuit of Jesus's love. From Recovery to Restoration is full of encouragement, practical steps, and reminders of the truth of God's faithfulness where trauma and tragedy have dominated. If pain has seemingly stolen some or all of your hope in the gospel, this is the book for you." HOPE BLANTON AND CHRISTINE GORDON, AUTHORS, AT HIS FEET STUDIES

This small group guide includes in-depth lessons for one-on-one discipleship, small group, or large group settings. Explore this resource and find the riches of grace, the implications of the gospel, and the knowledge and love of God you've been waiting for. Ephesians: The Love We Long For offers Scripture-based, theologically rich content with an easy-to-follow structure to engage readers. Smith invites men and women to reflect on the God of the Bible by reading the book of Ephesians slowly. He shares how the New Testament letter presents the love we all deeply long for--God's great love for us in Jesus. In this guide, discover the implications of God's love for every aspect of your life and relationships. With rich discussion questions and Scripture-based teaching, Smith helps readers see Jesus more clearly in the themes found in the book of Ephesians.

When the difficulties of life suggest that evil and chaos reign, we need to see that God occupies the throne in heaven and rules this world. Revelation: Hope in the Darkness by Scotty Smith reminds us that though these can be scary times, we have a champion Savior who is with us and will one day make all things right. This fourteen-week study in the Gospel-Centered Life in the Bible series provides in-depth lessons for one-on-one discipleship, small group, or large group settings. In this guide, author Scotty Smith give us a unique perspective on the end times that maps onto modern-day issues and problems. There is a battle raging against Jesus and his people, but be assured: Jesus wins. Though the world's kingdoms entice and persecute us, the gospel still advances. The Lamb is on the throne, and he alone is worthy of our worship. We can anticipate with great joy the final victory of Jesus and the wedding of the Lamb. Our destiny is renewal and new life, rejoicing with our Savior in the New Jerusalem.

Whether you are the caregiver or the patient, the "what-if's"of the waiting room can feel terrifying, and the wait can feel agonizing. Whether cancer, tumor, stroke, traumatic injury, or major surgery, a health crisis of any kind involves waiting. And this waiting arouses many emotions: fear, uncertainty, sorrow, agony, and anger among them. Elizabeth Turnage helps readers meditate on the certain hope and surpassing peace of the gospel: God has worked miraculous deeds and redemptive wonders in the past, and Jesus will "soon" come again to end our wait, and to bring full and final healing. When her son was diagnosed with a brain tumor while her father was also dying of prostate cancer, Elizabeth Turnage spent long spells in many different waiting rooms. As she waited, she began to wonder, "What if this space could make space for another, better kind of waiting?" What if the waiting room could become a "hoping room,"a place to grow our hope? What if this waiting room helps us to... Experience the peace that surpasses all understanding? Trust the redemptive work of God? Become more like our beloved Savior? Hope for the Day when Christ will return to bring full and final healing? Endorsements: Elizabeth Turnage offers a wisdom that has been hard won, meets the test of the gospel, and is beautifully and brilliantly written. I can't recommend this book more highly than to say you need a copy for yourself and eventually for every friend or family member who is called to wait for redemption. Dan B. Allender PhD, Professor of Counseling Psychology and Founding PresidentThe Seattle School of Theology and Psychology Elizabeth writes to anyone who finds themselves in the waiting room of God's sovereign purposes. She meets us there as an empathetic friend reminding us what is true in His Word, urging us to listen to the refreshing lyrics of the gospel, as she beautifully models what it means to lift our eyes to the Father who is faithful to meet us in the midst of our suffering. Karen Hodge, Coordinator of Women's Ministries Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) Each meditation includes: A relevant Bible verse. A brief story related to waiting in a health care crisis. A gospel reality that brings peace and hope. A brief concluding prayer. One or two suggestions for further action--Bible reading, links to music, reflection questions, other calming activities. The Waiting Room concludes with an appendix that contains suggested readings, prayers, journaling ideas, music, and other calming activities.

There is hope in Alzheimer's disease, but it isn't where most people look for it... Any form of dementia is terrifying and lonely for both the one suffering it and for those close to them. How do our relationships with those we love change with loss of memory or clarity of thought? What happens to our relationship with God? For those suffering from early-stage Alzheimer's, for their friends and family, community and church, this book will help you understand the disease itself, how to love and care for those affected by it, and how to see the hope that's greater than it: we may forget, but God always remembers. With pastoral tenderness and gospel confidence, Dr. Benjamin Mast shares his expertise on the subject and displays the power of the gospel that remains intact even when memory fades. Second Forgetting provides:Up-to-date answers to common questions about the disease and its effect on personal identity and faith. Personal stories of those affected and the loved ones who care for them and what their experiences were like—where they found hope and how they most needed support. Practical suggestions for how the church can come alongside families and those struggling or hurting. When a person is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, they face great uncertainty, knowing that they can expect to live their remaining years with increasing confusion and progressively greater reliance upon other people to care for them. Dr. Mast will help you see how Alzheimer's disease cannot have the final say on God's unforgotten children.

How would life be different if we could think, see, and do all things in light of the person and work of Jesus? With this inspiring collection of 365 Scripture-centered prayers, Scotty Smith helps readers pray the Scriptures through the lens of the gospel, mining the resources of God's grace and applying them in every season of life. He frees readers to abandon any posing or pretending in favor of an honest, no-spin relationship with a God who claims them as his own. Each day includes a Scripture reference and an inspirational original prayer, born from both moments of great faith and moments of crisis. Like a modern-day book of Psalms, Everyday Prayers is a year's worth of growing in grace that readers will lean on year after year.

Sooner or later, we all become disillusioned with this fallen world as we encounter life's difficulties. But Christians have hope, a promise from God: "Behold, I make all things new!"-Revelation 21:5. Authors Steven Curtis Chapman and Scotty Smith explore this bold proclamation of God's commitment to redeem and restore all things through His Son, Jesus Christ. They also reveal the important role Christians play in this redemptive process.

To see our sins, wounds, idols, and failures apart from God's is simply too much. We will either minimize our condition, thus marginalizing our need of grace, or we will run away in hopeless despair to the arms of a lesser love or to the worship of lesser gods. But . . . God pursues us in our restlessness. receives us in our sinfulness. holds us in our brokenness, and frees us from our lovelessness. -- Scotty Smith excerpt from Objects of His Affection

With breakthrough understanding, this book reconciles the disconnect between God's faithfulness to Christians and their unfaithfulness to Him. Scotty Smith, pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee, a high-profile congregation known for its ties to the Nashville music community, challenges readers humbly and honestly to consider what it means to be stewards of God's grace -- to live a life of obedience and service in response to His wonderful love.