Showing results by narrator "Ben Holland" in All Categories

Weary travelers. You've seen them - everything they own crammed into their luggage. Staggering through terminals and hotel lobbies with overstuffed suitcases, trunks, duffels, and backpacks. Backs ache. Feet burn. Eyelids droop. We've all seen people like that. At times we are people like that - if not with our physical luggage then at least with our spiritual load. We all lug loads we were never intended to carry. Fear. Worry. Discontent. No wonder we get so weary. We're worn out from carrying that excess baggage.

We’ve never been more educated and entertained. We have technological tools our parents could only dream of, and we are saturated with information, amusement, and recreation. Yet more than ever, we are starving for hope. After 40 years of counseling and ministry, Max Lucado has learned that nothing lifts the desperate, weary heart like the promises of God. In a world full of despair, depression, anxiety, and instability, we do not need more opinions or hunches; we need the definitive declarations of our mighty and loving God.

In Begin Again, pastor and New York Times best-selling author Max Lucado combines his heartwarming stories and timeless biblical teachings with new insights and perspectives. Packed with encouragement, Begin Again will reassure you that Jesus is the author of new beginnings, no matter what sorrows or struggles you’ve faced.

One day in the life of Christ. Call it a tapestry of turmoil: A noisy pictorial in which the golden threads of triumph knot against the black, frazzled strings of tragedy. Call it a symphony of emotions: A sunrise-to-sunset orchestration of extremes. One score is brassy with exuberance -- the next moans with sorrow. Whatever you call it -- call it real.

Pastor and New York Times best-selling author Max Lucado reminds us that our miracle-working God sees us, cares about us, and will always come to our aid, no matter what we're up against. By tracing Jesus' miracles as told in the book of John, You Are Never Alone invites us to take a closer look at the good news John shares with each of us: God is never afraid to meet us in the middle of life's messes, extend a helping hand, and lift us out of our troubles.

Don’t let your life be mired by dissatisfaction, discontentment, or disappointment any longer. In How Happiness Happens, Max Lucado shares the unexpected path to a lasting happiness, one that produces reliable joy amidst any life circumstance. Based on the teachings of Jesus and backed by modern research, this audiobook presents a surprising but practical way of living that will change you from the inside out.

Part of Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe’s best-selling “BE” commentary series, BE Compassionate has now been updated with study questions and a new introduction by Ken Baugh. A respected pastor and Bible teacher, Dr. Wiersbe explores the compassionate life of Jesus. Filled with moving examples of Christ’s ministry to people of all backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs, this study will inspire you to share His love with the world around you.

Have you ever wondered what the Holy Land might have looked like through Jesus's eyes? Join pastor and New York Times bestselling author Max Lucado as he takes you on an unforgettable journey following Jesus through his life on earth, giving you a chance to see the Holy Land and God’s heart for humanity in a brand-new light.

Common people. Maybe you heard their names in a childhood Sunday school class. They're not often the champions or the go-to sermon illustrations. They probably didn't stand at the foot of the cross or even hang next to Jesus on one of their own. But they pepper the pages of the Bible, reminding us that we're not alone. Just like you and me, these ordinary people stumbled and struggled. They faced their own sin and came face-to-face with a God who not only wipes it away, but also makes the common extraordinary.

According to one research program, anxiety-related issues are the number one mental health problem among women and are second only to alcohol and drug abuse among men. Stress-related ailments cost the nation $300 billion every year in medical bills and lost productivity. And use of sedative drugs like Xanax and Valium have skyrocketed in the last 15 years. Even students are feeling it. One psychologist reports that the average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s.

It was hard for Little Acorn to believe he would ever be a big, strong oak tree. Soon Little Acorn grew into Little Oak. But now what was he to do? He couldn't grow oranges like the orange tree or flowers like the rose bush. He just grew and grew until he became Big Oak, and his branches were big and strong - but still he didn't know what he was to do. Then one day Big Oak found that his strong branches were just right for a very special purpose. The Oak Inside the Acorn is the story of the miracle inside each of us.

Max Lucado knows what it feels like to struggle with prayer. If you can relate, never fear! The sign-up sheet for Prayer 101 in the Bible contains some familiar apostles - the first followers of Jesus needed some prayer guidance, too. In this brief book, pastor and New York Times best-selling author Max Lucado will help you direct your prayers to the Source of all hope and strength in Pocket Prayers, which contains 40 guided prayers and complementary scriptures for any situation.

In a world full of achievement, praise, and accolades, we can easily fall into the trap of thinking we can save ourselves and direct our lives with our own actions. But the way of the cross guides us toward a place where we stop striving, stop pushing, and stop self-initiating - so that we can fall into the boundless, liberating, refreshing grace of God! New York Times best-selling author and pastor Max Lucado urges us to exchange the pressure of accomplishment for the peace of God’s grace.

Chelsea Chambers is on her own. After a public split from her NFL superstar husband, Chelsea takes a bold step out of the limelight and behind the counter of the Higher Grounds Café, an old-fashioned coffee shop in dire need of reinvention. But when her courage, expert planning, and out-of-this-world cupcakes fail to pay the bills, this newly single mom finds herself desperate for help. Better yet, a miracle.

Share God’s faithfulness and love with your child through Max Lucado’s new children’s book, God Always Keeps His Promises. Max Lucado, beloved pastor and best-selling author, is a revered authority on biblical teaching. Yet his gentle, loving approach makes it possible for even the youngest children to understand God’s tenderness toward them. Through compelling stories, Max will guide your family through God’s unfailing goodness and faithfulness through the promises He made, and how He kept those promises in Bible times and how He still keeps them today.

Do you want to overcome your anxiety? Do you want to be free from the worries that weigh you down? If you're trembling on a tightrope of fear and worry, get ready for the best trade ever: your cares for God's calm. That's God's offer. Best-selling author Max Lucado understands what it's like to feel overwhelmed by anxiety. You'll learn how to exchange your burdens for an abundance of mercy, gratitude, and trust; replace striving and stress with a faith-filled life, so you can see God's goodness; feel calm in chaos and find peace through prayer; and make faith your default reaction.

You can tell a lot about a person by the way he dies.In the last week of his life, Jesus deliberately sets his face toward Jerusalem - and certain death. This is no ordinary week. Even the angels are silent as they ponder the final days of Jesus Christ. This is no ordinary walk. Jesus doesn't chatter. He doesn't pause. He is on his final journey.He walks determinedly to the holy city, angrily into the temple, wearily into Gethsemane, painfully up the Via Dolorosa. And powerfully out of the vacated tomb.

In this compelling quest for the Messiah, best-selling author Max Lucado invites readers to meet the blue-collar Jew whose claim altered a world and whose promise has never been equaled. Readers will come to know Jesus the Christ in a brand-new way as Lucado brings them full circle to the foot of the cross and the man who sacrificed His life on it.

"Sweet spot." Golfers understand the term. So do tennis players. Ever swung a baseball bat or paddled a Ping-Pong ball? If so, you know the oh-so-nice feel of the sweet spot. Life in the sweet spot rolls like the downhill side of a downwind bike ride. But you don't have to swing a bat or a club to know this. What engineers give sports equipment, God gave you. A zone, a region, a life precinct in which you were made to dwell. He tailored the curves of your life to fit an empty space in his jigsaw puzzle.

No one likes living in a world filled with terror and uncertainty, but in such times, God does some of His most important work. Our part is to trust Him through faith that He will be true to His promises. Brimming with both encouragement and truth, best-selling author Max Lucado's Fear Not Promise Book addresses six major topics of fear and how we can put an end to its effects. While fear corrodes our confidence, faith in God's love for us always restores hope.