Jesus Tree

Mackenzie and Ben are two typical kids caught up in the glimmer of the Christmas Season until they are asked to help an elderly woman decorate her "Jesus Tree." While reluctant to help at first, their change of heart begins as the woman purposefully decorates her tree with docorations that remind her of Jesus. Each decoration tells the story of Jesus in a way that breathes new life into the meaning of Christmas. While admiring the humble tree, the old woman surprises Mackenzie and Ben with a Christmas gift they will never forget.

A charming children's book to remind us of God's great gift at Christmastime. The forest friends are excited to decorate their community’s tree in a very special way. In a sort of show and tell, each animal will add an ornament on a certain day until the tree is covered with beautiful handmade ornaments. But these aren’t just any ornaments—the animals have been asked to bring an ornament that shows something amazing they know about Jesus. As more and more ornaments adorn the tree, Little Mouse begins to panic about her turn. It seems like all the answers are taken! It’s not until she looks deep inside that she sees the greatest miracle of all—that Jesus came for her . . . and every one of us. A Christmas Tree for Jesus is the follow-up to the heartwarming Christmas storybooks, A Birthday Party for Jesus, Everyone Is Invited to Christmas, A Christmas Pageant for Jesus, and A Christmas Journey for Jesus. This picture book will offer young children a fun, relatable story of forest friends who discover how special they are to God and that the greatest gifts can’t be wrapped.

A Black man wrongly convicted of murder attempts to rebuild his life and bring the real killer to justice, in this historical novel based on a true story. In the summer of 1932, Ben Jordan was wrongfully accused of killing a white pastor in Georgia. After a hasty trial, he was sentenced to a life of grueling labor on a chain gang and abuse at the hands of brutal wardens. But now, with his forty-year prison sentence completed, Ben is finally returning home. As he struggles to understand the profound changes the world has undergone, some things remain painfully the same—including the hateful animosity towards Black people and the fact that the real murderer is still living the life of a genteel southerner. Working to rebuild his life and see justice served, Ben faces one confrontation after another—with friend, foe, and a daughter who thinks he is dead. In this novel based on a real Depression Era murder case, author and Georgia historian Stephen Doster presents a vividly accurate depiction of Jim Crow’s long and painful legacy.

A landmark in the conversation about race and religion in America. "They put him to death by hanging him on a tree." Acts 10:39 The cross and the lynching tree are the two most emotionally charged symbols in the history of the African American community. In this powerful new work, theologian James H. Cone explores these symbols and their interconnection in the history and souls of black folk. Both the cross and the lynching tree represent the worst in human beings and at the same time a thirst for life that refuses to let the worst determine our final meaning. While the lynching tree symbolized white power and "black death," the cross symbolizes divine power and "black life" God overcoming the power of sin and death. For African Americans, the image of Jesus, hung on a tree to die, powerfully grounded their faith that God was with them, even in the suffering of the lynching era. In a work that spans social history, theology, and cultural studies, Cone explores the message of the spirituals and the power of the blues; the passion and of Emmet Till and the engaged vision of Martin Luther King, Jr.; he invokes the spirits of Billie Holliday and Langston Hughes, Fannie Lou Hamer and Ida B. Well, and the witness of black artists, writers, preachers, and fighters for justice. And he remembers the victims, especially the 5,000 who perished during the lynching period. Through their witness he contemplates the greatest challenge of any Christian theology to explain how life can be made meaningful in the face of death and injustice.

Packed with REPRODUCIBLE pages, timelines, family trees, and simple summaries, this incredible reference book gives a fantastic overview of 30 key people in Jesus' ancestry. Perfect for students, pastors, Bible study teachers, and those interested in seeing God's faithfulness throughout the Old and New Testament. The remarkable heroes and heroines in the ancestry of Jesus teach us a lot about God's faithfulness over the centuries. Each character in Jesus' family tree gives us a glimpse of how God works all things--even the tragedies and missteps--together for good. Enjoy Covering 30 Key People from Jesus' Family Tree! Looking at the dozens of names listed in Jesus' genealogy (family tree) can be quite overwhelming--and it can be hard to know what's important. Now you can easily dive into the fascinating lives of 30 key people from Jesus' family tree, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ruth, David and more with this full-color reproducible book. See how God fulfilled his promises through the generations--despite the strengths and weaknesses of each individual. Deepen your understanding of how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah's ancestry--he was from the family line of David, from the seed of Abraham, from the stem of Jesse, and more. Find out fascinating facts, such as why 5 women were mentioned in Jesus' family tree (when women were usually never mentioned). Enjoy having quick overviews that will add depth to any study on Jesus Christ and his link to the Old Testament, starting in the Book of Genesis. Get incredible charts, maps and time lines showing hundreds of facts at a glance. BONUS! Genealogy of Jesus Diagram: A fold-out family tree from Adam and Eve to Jesus Christ. Shows every person in the Bible who is listed in Jesus' direct ancestry.

This groundbreaking walk through Scripture by former physician and carpenter Dr. Matthew Sleeth makes the convincing case that trees reveal more about God and faith than you ever imagined. “Christians looking to reconnect to the natural world will relish Sleeth’s passionate call to Christian stewardship of the Earth.”—Publishers Weekly Fifteen years ago, Matthew Sleeth believed that science and logic held the answers to everything. But when tragedy struck, he opened the Bible for the first time and was surprised to find that God chose to tell the gospel story through a trail of trees. There’s a tree on the first page of Genesis, in the first psalm, on the first page of the New Testament, and on the last page of Revelation. The Bible’s wisdom is referred to as a tree of life. Every major biblical character and every major theological event has a tree marking the spot. A tree was the only thing that could kill Jesus—and the only thing Jesus ever harmed. Reforesting Faith is the rare book that builds bridges by connecting those who love the Creator with creation and those who love creation with the Creator. Join Dr. Sleeth as he explores the wonders of life, death, and rebirth through the trail of trees in Scripture. Once you discover the hidden language of trees, your walk through the woods—and through Scripture—will never be the same.

Who is Jesus whom we are waiting on this Advent? Who is Jesus' family and where did they come from? How does Jesus connect all the way back to Abraham, Jesse, and even Adam? Teach your children, ages 4 and up, about Jesus this Advent and Christmas season through this 16-page children's book, using Jesse's tree to introduce Jesus' family tree, explaining that through Him we are part of the family of God, rooted in Christ through our Baptism.

Once upon a time there was a war . . . and a young American who thought of himself as the Quiet American and the Ugly American, and who wished to be neither, who wanted instead to be the Wise American, or the Good American, but who eventually came to witness himself as the Real American and finally as simply the Fucking American. That’s me. This is the story of Skip Sands—spy-in-training, engaged in Psychological Operations against the Vietcong—and the disasters that befall him thanks to his famous uncle, a war hero known in intelligence circles simply as the Colonel. This is also the story of the Houston brothers, Bill and James, young men who drift out of the Arizona desert into a war in which the line between disinformation and delusion has blurred away. In its vision of human folly, and its gritty, sympathetic portraits of men and women desperate for an end to their loneliness, whether in sex or death or by the grace of God, this is a story like nothing in our literature. Tree of Smoke is Denis Johnson’s first full-length novel in nine years, and his most gripping, beautiful, and powerful work to date. Tree of Smoke is the 2007 National Book Award Winner for Fiction.

Let's decorate the tree! Little ones can't wait to put up the Christmas tree?a clear sign of exciting things to come. But what's the meaning of this holiday tradition? Learn the symbolic meaning of the Christmas tree, from lights and ornaments and the star on top to the blessing of presents underneath.

The Moonbeam Award Gold Medal Winner in the religion category, The Jesus Storybook Bible tells the Story beneath all the stories in the Bible. At the center of the Story is a baby, the child upon whom everything will depend. Every story whispers his name. From Noah to Moses to the great King David---every story points to him. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle---the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together. From the Old Testament through the New Testament, as the Story unfolds, children will pick up the clues and piece together the puzzle. A Bible like no other, The Jesus Storybook Bible invites children to join in the greatest of all adventures, to discover for themselves that Jesus is at the center of God's great story of salvation---and at the center of their Story too.