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Check It Out!
March 17, 2016


The UMRC is here to help support your church in its various ministries!  Please forward this newsletter to church leaders and Sunday school teachers in your church.

 

There is no rental fee to borrow these items; the only cost to churches is to mail resources back.


 

 The UMRC is located in the United Methodist Center in Springfield.
If you're here for a meeting during the week, come in and look around!
        Contact me in advance and I'll have resources ready for you to pick up.

The UMRC has a wide variety of materials for teachers of
adult, youth, and children's classes!
Please let me know if you have any questions or comments; my contact information is listed below, near my signature.
Curriculum available for a two-week preview time
Citizens of Hope
  
'The Basics,' a three-part discipleship series that explores the basics of living as a follower of Jesus.
Each study has four sessions.
High school - Adult
  
  
Citizens of Hope: Basics of Christian Identity
This study focuses on our identity -- we are a resurrection people
#916001 Leader guide
#916002 Participant book
Road to Amazing: Basics of Christian Practice                  
This study explores how walking with Jesus is a pathway of transformation.
#916003 Leader guide
#916004 Participant book
Get in the Game: Basics of Christian Service
This study challenges us to make daily decisions to live selflessly, opening ourselves for God to use us in service.
#916005 Leader guide
#916006 Participant guide
  
  
Journeys with Celtic Christians
Although this six-session study introduces readers to people who lived primarily in the fifth through eleventh centuries, their vision, theology, and spiritual practices are relevant today and offer a helpful perspective on modern issues.  By connecting historical information with their current lives and concerns, readers will be encouraged to consider the many ways pilgrimage has shaped their personal faith.  Chapters: 1) Embarking on the journey;  2) Friends on the journey;  3) Markers on the journey;  4) Hospitality on the journey;  5) Reluctant journeys;  6) Blessings on the journey. Young adult - adult
#915084  Leader guide
#915085  Participant book
  
  
Wesley Bible Studies: Isaiah
#915081
This book in the Wesley Bible Studies series provides a thoughtful and powerful survey of key Scriptures in Isaiah.  12 sessions. Young adult - adult

Celebrating Gods Love

Celebrating God's Love: Living Into Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships
#815138 - book
Chapters:  Responding to God's call for a new way of living;  Embracing ecumenical and  interreligious relationships;  Remembering our ecumenical heritage;  Identifying with our interreligious traditions;  Enhancing Christian unity and interreligious relationships through dialogue;  Envisioning an abundant life for all God's creatures;  Finding a way forward for a United Methodist Church;  Where do we go from here?  Includes questions for reflection and discussion.
Arts Camp: A Creative, Customizable Alternative to Vacation Bible School and Beyond
#815171 -- book
Arts Camp Arts Camp uses music and song, visual art and media, drama and storytelling, and movement and game-playing to enter into Bible study around an established theme.  This book offers the basics for creating your own version of Arts Camp as well as plans for five themed camps.  Chapters:  What is Arts Camp?;  We've built an Arts Camp team, now what?;  The morning program;  Art, music, and movement/drama; Story, grace, lunch, playtime, and meditation/yoga;  Arts Camp -- Praise!;  Arts Camp -- EcoJustice;  Arts Camp -- Who is my neighbor?;  Arts Camp -- Interfaith peace;  Arts Camp -- Saints and holy helpers.

 

Mark Your Calendar
 
 Calendar
  
The United Media Resource Center will be closed the following dates:
  
Friday, March 25
Monday, May 30
Jesus Prom: Life Gets Fun When You Love People Like God Does
Jesus Prom #110047
In this six-session DVD study, Jon Weece explores verbs that define what the people of God are invited to be doing in the world.  Sessions:  1) Love (26 min.);  2) Be (19 min.);  3) See (19 min.);  4) Dance (17 min.);  5) Give (16 min.);  6) Remember (16 min.).  Includes guide.

Presence: Experiencing More of God
The Presence #116087
The wonder of closeness with God is available to you here and now.  Travel the world with Alec Rowlands in this six-session DVD study and listen to the moving stories of people who have encountered God in staggering, impressive, and unmistakable ways.  Through thought-provoking discussion questions and a deeper look into the history of revivals, Alec reveals the ways God makes His presence known, how you can prepare for it, and how experiencing it will transform everything.  Sessions:  1) Experiencing the presence of God (18 min.);  2) A holy dissatisfaction (17 min.);  3) Do it again, Lord (19 min.);  4) Back to our original purpose (20 min.);  5) A house of prayer (18 min.);  6) Mile markers for the journey (18 min.).  Includes guide and paperback book.

Vanishing Grace: Whatever Happened to the Good News?
Vanishing Grace #122021
In this five-session DVD study, Philip Yancey discusses the desperate need our world has for grace and how Christians can truly make the Gospel good news again.  Sessions:  1) We've got problems (19 min.);  2) What can we do about it? (21 min.);  3) Who are the grace dispensers? (21 min.);  4) Is it really good news? (20 min.);  5) Holy subversives (20 min.).  Includes guide.

Peaceful Neighbor: Discovering the Countercultural Mister Rogers
Peaceful Neighbor #816029 - book
Author Michael Long discusses Fred Roger's convictions and their expression through his children's program "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."  Chapters:  "Isn't Peace Wonderful?": against the Vietnam War, for Gandhi;  2) "War Isn't Nice": against the arms race, for peaceful imagination;  3) "I Like You": against the Cold War, for puppet d�tente;  4) "Just the Way You Are": a theology of peace;  5) "It's Okay to Be Angry": a psychology of peace;  6) "A Gross Form of Abuse": from the Persian Gulf War to the war on terror;  7) "A Black Brother": race and diversity;  8) "Food for the World": tears for hungry children;  9) "I'm Tired of Being a Lady": tough girls, sensitive boys;  10) "He Understood": homosexuality and gay friends;  11) "I Love Tofu Burgers and Beets": animals and mothers;  12) "Take Care of This Wonderful World": peace on earth.  Includes index.
Trinity: The God We Don't Know
#815092 - book
This four-week study is designed for small groups, Sunday school classes, and as a preaching resource.  Chapters:  Introduction -- The God we don't talk about;  The Son we don't know -- how can we say Jesus is divine?;  The Spirit we don't know -- generous gift-giver;  The triune God we don't know -- desire makes humanity.   Includes questions for reflection.  Part of the 'Belief Matters' series.
Young adult - adult
  
Other titles in this series:
 
#815008  Holy Communion: Celebrating God with Us
#815009  Incarnation: The Surprising Overlap of Heaven and Earth
If you have questions or wish to request resources, please contact me at 217-529-2744 (phone), 217-529-4155 (fax), or [email protected] (e-mail).

 

Sincerely,
Jill D. Stone signature  
Jill D. Stone, Director
United Media Resource Center