Showing results by author "Bryan Smith" in All Categories

We all have ideas that we tell ourselves about God and how he works in our lives. Some are true--but many are false. James Bryan Smith believes those thoughts determine not only who we are, but how we live. In fact, Smith declares, the most important thing about a person is what they think about God. The path to spiritual transformation begins here.

Being close to God means communicating with him—telling him what is on our hearts in prayer and hearing, and understanding what he is saying to us. But how do we hear God's voice? How can we be sure that what we think we hear is not our own subconscious? What role does the Bible play? What if what God says to us is not clear? The key, says bestselling author Dallas Willard, is to focus not so much on individual actions and decisions as on building our personal relationship with our Creator.

This year brings 22 more in-your-face stories that break boundaries and trash taboos, transgressive tales you can't "unread" (as Chuck Palahniuk says). Some of the stories you'll find here are loaded with very graphic descriptions of violence, sex, and depravities, while others may contain only one shocking moment of brutality. In others, the hardcore aspect may be less graphic and subtler than you might expect. Some of these quieter tales offer the listener some time to recover from the more disturbing ones preceding.

Welcome to Hopkins Bend, the remote little Tennessee town where the backwoods inhabitants are cannibals and the local law operates a sex-trafficking ring. Unlucky travelers are frequently ensnared in the town’s sinister web. Some are held captive and tortured while others face even more gruesome fates. And beneath it all is the town’s darkest secret, the curse of the depraved and mutated Kincher clan.

Following the Sermon on the Mount, this follow-up to The Good and Beautiful God guides us to look behind character flaws and to replace our false beliefs with Jesus' narratives about life in the kingdom of God.

A group of misfit teens who call themselves "The Dark Ones" make an abandoned house their hangout. But the demon they've inadvertently awakened possesses them one by one, using them to create a reign of unholy terror.

In this third book in the Apprentice Series, James Bryan Smith helps us know how to live in relationship with others as apprentices of Jesus. "Apprentices of Jesus are not part-time do-gooders," he writes. "They live in continuous contact with the kingdom of God, and are constantly men and women in whom Christ dwells. They do not sometimes tell the truth, sometimes live sacrificially or sometimes forgive. There are myriad opportunities for us to impact the world in which we live."

The Flaherty Brothers Traveling Carnivale and Freakshow has come to the quiet town of Pleasant Hills, Tennessee. But this is no ordinary sideshow and these are not the usual "freaks" on display. As the unsuspecting townsfolk gather for an evening of strange spectacle, the slaughter is set to begin...

The Westgate Galleria Mall was once a sprawling, shining monument to American consumerism and suburban growth. Now, it is a crumbling reminder of how both have fallen - an architectural ghost, haunting the outskirts of society. That makes it the perfect filming location for a YouTube channel devoted to the exploration of abandoned places. But the mall isn't as empty as it seems, and the residents have sinister obscene plans for them. Now, with the daylight still hours away, both the hunters and the hunted will fight to stay alive...and desperately try to make it home.

Three deaths in three years. His mother. His best friend. And now, his two-year-old daughter. In this moving story, a Christian author goes to a retreat center to grieve and face the hard questions about God that he is asking in the wake of these losses. If you have ever felt alone, betrayed, abandoned - if you have found yourself asking God why - this novel may be a source of hope. And if you have ever wondered what heaven is like, this book provides a beautiful vision.

James Bryan Smith reminds us how Scripture reveals the beauty and goodness of our own souls and how we long for healing that only God can provide. Complete with spiritual practices that help us live into that reality, The Good and Beautiful You will serve as a welcome companion on your journey to discover who you truly are in Christ.

Join Ben (he/him), Bryan (he/they), and Bill (he/him) as they Gaslight (reflect), Gatekeep (read research), and Girlboss (share successes) language teaching!

On the night before Halloween, a Satanic mass is held deep in the woods outside a small American town. Followers of the dark faith are assigned a mission in a message delivered by the devil himself. On Halloween, they must deliver a bounty of pure souls to their dark master. By killing virgins. As Halloween begins, so does the all-day horror movie marathon hosted by Count Victor von Gravemore on Channel 39. Many will be watching as real horror invades their lives and screams ring out all over town.

The abandoned house at the end of Millhaven Road stands on blighted and barren ground, as if nature itself shuns this tainted place. It is known simply as Dead End House, and unspeakably terrible things happened there long ago.

F Is for Fear, the sixth book in an epic series of 26 horror anthologies. In this audio, you will find a collection of 13 nightmarish tales from some of the most talented independent writers on the scene today. From spiders to snakes to things that dwell in the dark, F Is for Fear contains a variety of phobia-inducing stories that will set your heart racing.

Imagine a world in which corporations such as Costco, Nike, BP, and countless others are forming partnerships with environmental and social justice organizations to ensure better stewardship of the earth and better livelihoods in the developing world. Now, stop imagining - that world is already emerging.

On a cold winter’s night, a pair of runaway lovers stop to refuel their car in a remote Pennsylvania town hours away from any major population center. The town has gone to rot after the death of its main industry, and the remaining citizens are kept in line by a powerful few who refuse to let the dwindling community die, no matter what the cost. The rare wayward travelers who come to the town are rarely ever allowed to leave, as the lovers discover when they are forced to play a deadly game of kill or be killed. A game called The Gauntlet.

College student Kayla Monroe seems to have everything. Stunning looks, smarts, and loads of money thanks to her privileged upbringing. But something’s gone wrong. Ever since the start of her sophomore year, people have been avoiding her. Her friends shun her. Guys no longer flock to her. Even her former stalker, an awkward geek, now wants nothing to do with her. She is on the brink of utter despair when she encounters a young man in the park. The man is charming and movie star handsome. Kayla thinks maybe her luck has taken a turn for the better. But she couldn’t be more wrong.

For over fifteen years, writer Jeff Crosby has been searching for a language of the soul—a way to articulate our deepest longings. Through the years he gathered clues from within global music styles, from different cultures, from his own Christian tradition and its sacred texts—and from deep within himself.

Snakebite is a sleepy town in the middle of the Arizona desert. Nothing much exciting happens there. Until, that is, a terrified bounty hunter rides in raving about monsters.