Faith & Spirituality

Beautiful isn’t likely the first word that comes to mind when we think about sex.

Our reactions are as varied as our experiences and backgrounds. Perhaps the word brings up past baggage. Perhaps it holds yearning for a dream that has never come true. Maybe we would rather not talk about it. Maybe it’s all we want to talk about. Around us, our culture is divided by this topic. On one side, “progressive” voices seek to dismantle historic Christian teachings to fit current norms. On the other side, “conservative” voices can reinforce messages of shame, judgement, and repression.

Beautiful Union offers a third way, one that is both true and beautiful. It gives us a provocative, positive look into the deepest Christian understanding of sex . . . and what sex reveals about God, our world, and even ourselves. Through biblical teaching and livable, joyful answers to our tough questions about sexuality, author and pastor Joshua Ryan Butler shows how sex illuminates the structure of creation, the nature of salvation, the abundance of God’s kingdom, and God’s heartbeat for the world.

Discover afresh the beautiful invitation of our sexuality . . . as God intended it to be.

Designed as a companion to that life-changing book, this dynamic study guide is your road map for diving more deeply into the key concepts of Beautiful Union—whether by yourself or with a group.

Through seven fast-paced sessions, you’ll encounter thought-provoking questions, be prompted to reflect on powerful concepts, discover what God’s design for sex was always meant to reveal, and consider what it all means for living a joyful, faithful life. These sessions include features such as:

• Unpack It: questions to illuminate Beautiful Union with space to record your reflections
• Use Your Imagination: exercises to creatively help you see God’s larger invitation for human flourishing
• Reflect on It: ways to understand our lives in the expansive story of God that sex points to

With this guide, you’ll experience a bigger, more beautiful vision of God, the gospel, and the Christian vision for sex.

Through the years and the struggles, when life seemed more about hurt and loss than hope and mercy, God was positioning the Smiths for something extraordinary-the death and resurrection of their son.

When Joyce Smith’s fourteen-year-old son John fell through an icy Missouri lake one winter morning, she and her family had seemingly lost everything. At the hospital, John lay lifeless for more than sixty minutes. But Joyce was not ready to give up on her son. She mustered all her faith and strength into one force and cried out to God in a loud voice to save him.

Miraculously, her son’s heart immediately started beating again.

In the coming days, John would defy every expert, every case history, and every scientific prediction. Sixteen days after falling through the ice and being clinically dead for an hour, he walked out of the hospital under his own power, completely healed.

The Impossible is about a profound truth: prayer really does work. God uses it to remind us that He is always with us, and when we combine it with unshakable faith, nothing is impossible.

We are being called to a higher realm of influence.

The Church today is uniquely positioned to influence the culture around her. But Christians are walking away from this opportunity, this responsibility, in favor of building a separate, “safer” culture of our own.

Yet we’ve been given the tools to break personal strongholds and change the course of nations. Now revised and expanded, Created for Influence shows how you can do this–and transform culture right where you are. Sustained Kingdom prayer can release influence everywhere, from your own home to governments and judicial systems. It can undo demonic assignments and break the bonds that hold lives and nations captive.

This revolutionary book is calling you from a spot on the sidelines to a position on the front lines. It’s for believers who are ready to join the fight and grip the heart of God in prayer.

Follow God’s process for growth and find hope in life’s darkest moments with Bishop T.D. Jakes’s uplifting stories and advice from his own faith journey.

In this insightful book, #1 New York Times bestselling author T.D. Jakes wrestles with age-old questions: Why do the righteous suffer? Where is God in all the injustice?