Showing results by author "Barry Clay" in All Categories

It should come as no surprise to hear than God had a plan when He created the world. This excerpt from the book "Solid Ground" discusses that plan. It begins with His temporary plan, Moses and the Old Covenant, and ends with the glorious good news of the Gospel. And we talk about the Man who made it possible to move from animal sacrifice and the Ten Commandments to faith in God, Jesus Christ. If you want to understand Christianity better, do not miss reading this excerpt. This is the central portion of the Christian faith. Everything either leads here or comes from here, and every Christian...

In this controversial excerpt from his book "Solid Ground," Mr. Clay enters territory on which, he says, angels fear to tread, and attempts to answer the question: are there God-designed differences between a man and a woman, and, if so, what are they? No matter your opinion on this topic, you are sure to benefit from Mr. Clay's explanation of what the Bible says about men and women, and how their differences are designed to forward the family and the kingdom of God.

It is six years after the events of "With Whom I Had Been Speaking." Susan Bachman has changed her name, her employment, and her city. While she has not escaped the memory of the life she led six years ago, she has left the better part of the pain in her past. Even though her life is solitary, she is content. But when a reporter appears unannounced and unwelcome on her doorstep, her new life is threatened. Aware of the danger, she little knows that this reporter has unwittingly begun a chain of events that will one more time change her life forever -- assuming she survives. This novella is ...

Patience Bellamy is a middle- aged spinster who lives an unremarkable life trying to make ends meet until, one day, she comes home to a basket and several packages on her doorstep. Improbably, there is an infant in the basket, wrapped in a blue blanket. A note pinned to the blanket explains that the parents can no longer care for the child. They implore Patience to provide a home for him, and they further warn her against taking the child to the doctor's office. The note adds, she'll understand once she attempts to feed the baby. This novella has also been collected in the anthology "...

The people of Tyemon's land consider the Antrix a myth -- a story to tell around the fire to frighten children. But Tyemon has discovered that, far from a myth, the Antrix is very real. To his sorrow, he also learns that the stories told of her are not as accurate as he would have liked, and he must now deal with the consequences of approaching her. But correcting his mistake may be impossible. Or is it? This novelette has also been collected in the anthology "Brushes with the Supernatural."

Committed free thinker and member of the American Society of Atheists, Colton Bremmerton III is suddenly faced with the unthinkable: could his only daughter truly be demon possessed? Desperate to find someone who can help and prevent his daughter from being institutionalized, he finds "Paranormal Solutions, Inc." in the yellow pages. But can they help? And what will it cost him if they can? This novelette is also included in the anthology "Brushes with the Supernatural."

In this novelette, Baron Rokosky is faced with one of the few surprises of his very long life: his castle has been invaded by mysterious intruders who have somehow disappeared. His chief of security urges him to move to a secure location, but the Baron make an unusual decision that will have far reaching and unexpected consequences. This novelette has also been collected in the Anthologies "A Little Bit of Everything" and "Brushes with the Supernatural".

Days ago, Endinara Thorson, the only child of the king and queen of Vaniar, arrived in the kingdom of Sylvanlund to seal an arranged marriage to the Sylvanlund heir, Prince Quentin Bregard. But she now lies in a magically-induced coma, having only a short time to live, and without hope unless the Sylvanlund court wizard, Polongrana, can heal her. But to do so, he must have one of the halves of the RavenDisc, a damaged talisman of arcane energies. One half is too far away to retrieve. The other is jealously guarded by Ulava, a sorceress us of great power, who has no intention of using her ...

The moon is a very religious place. The year is 2242, and Armstrong City, the largest city on the moon, maintains a precarious balance between the old United States of America and the upstart, self-proclaimed Free States of America that broke away in 2126 in protest of government policies they deemed oppressive. The majority of the population on the moon consists of Christian and cultural conservatives, the former having fled the United States to worship and act out their faith freely and the latter to pursue their own agenda free from centuries of policies that they believed had burdened ...

Can we believe anything we want? Does what we believe matter? This edition is an excerpt from the book "Solid Ground." It explores the importance of belief and how it affects our lives even while it discusses how belief in doctrine is, by itself, limited. It was written with both believers and unbelievers in mind, and it forms the foundation on which the "Solid Ground" series is built. It also discusses "cults", what they are, and how we should react when they come knocking at our doors.

Can one high school English class devolve into crime, and, if so, into what kind of crime? In This novelette, Fred Dorflinger and his friends discover that one bad decision can result in "repetitive embarrassment" for the rest of their lives. Can they ever live it down? Perhaps they could, if everyone would stop laughing. This novelette has also been collected in the anthologies "A Little Bit of Everything" and "Molded by Humor", by Barry Clay

When Fred Dorflinger and his wife Carol visit their friends Alan and Loretta Hostetter and their 10 children, they expect a quiet, calm weekend. What ensues instead is a calamity of unexpected visitors, clumsiness, unforeseen events, and a very dangerous bowl of spinach dip. To say more about this short novelette would be to spoil the surprise. Winner of the 1983 John T. Ruhl Memorial award for humor. "I have seen people howl with laughter when Barry Clay reads this story aloud to his friends, but I really, really wish he would have spared me the acute embarrassment and not printed this for...

In the title "Predestination and Free Will", Mr. Clay explored the tension between two seemingly irreconcilable theological positions. He explained that there were two main camps, and he explained why they disagree, and how he believed the two positions could be combined to a more correct understanding of the scriptures. In this chapter taken from his book "Solid Ground", Mr. Clay talks about the Reformed doctrines of eternal security, total depravity, irresistible grace, limited atonement, and the preservation of the saints. He contrasts them with the opposing positions and explains which ...

"When your children are young and they do things like biting each other, stealing each other’s toys, and attempting to swindle their younger siblings out of their meager life savings, it seems as if they will never become snotty teenagers, much less old enough that your state has decided they are responsible enough to drive. But it happens." And so begins the short Kindle edition of "You Drive me Crazy," true accounts of one family as the adults attempt to teach their four children to drive. And they did it successfully! All four children are now mature, responsible adults who have been ...

Surely, no camping trip could be that bad. Surely. But this novella is inspired by actual events, and the Brooks family little expects just how bad one long weekend at a state park can be. This book has also been collected in the anthology "Molded by Humor" along with other short stories and novelettes that were inspired by actual events.

Melissa Nelson understands that she is being unreasonable. Her husband is no doubt correct when he says that teenage boys, bored in the rural community that is their new home, are moving the scarecrow as a prank on their new city slicker neighbors. But as she looks out in the field of corn and sees the scarecrow looking at her, she can't convince herself that she is being irrational. Is she losing her grip on reality? And then a neighbor informs her that the scarecrow is indeed more than it seems .... This novelette has also been collected in the anthology "Brushes with the Supernatural."

In our day and age, the concept of "sin" is considered gauche and repugnant, but to the Christian, our tendency to sin is a sorrow. In this excerpt from his book, "Solid Ground," Mr. Clay discusses our propensity to sin and the provision God has made for us to help us to walk in a manner pleasing to him. And he wrestles with a topic most Christians assume they know they answer to: do we have to sin?

The writer of the book of Hebrews in the Bible refers to "elementary teachings." This title explores those "elementary teachings" that Mr. Clay hasn't already explored in other "Solid Ground" titles: repentance from dead works and faith in God, instructions about washings (baptism?), and laying on of hands. Whether your feel these topics are elementary or not, you're sure to benefit from reading Mr. Clay's explanation of them.

Family. Faith. Fantasy. For generations, the kingdoms of Vaniar and Sylvanlund have been at war over the mineral-rich mountainous region between their two kingdoms. Sylvanlund has proposed a marriage between the only children of their monarchs, a marriage that will end the war and the loss of lives it has meant for both kingdoms. The king and queen of Vaniar accept the proposal and begin negotiations, but someone with unknown motives has begun machinations – machinations of incredible sorcery – to prevent the marriage from occurring. Or so it appears. Identical twins Ian and Tad ...

This short story should have appeared in the book "Misadventures in Childrearing," but instead appears in its own Kindle edition. If you have ever been forced to deal with surly, uncaring, or unhelpful employees in your state's Department of Transportation, this story is for you.