Passage Into Discipleship is designed to help older children and youth more faithfully prepare for the act of baptism by teaching what it means to walk a Christian journey. This book incorporates four different learning models that stimulate young people in being excited about becoming followers of Jesus. Learning models include classroom instruction, community and communal hands-on experiences, mentors that guide youth throughout the process, and a day-long retreat that concludes the curr...

Explores how authoritarian regimes are deploying "sharp power" to undermine democracies from within by weaponizing universities, institutions, media, technology, and entertainment industries.The world's dictators are no longer content with shoring up control over their own populations—they are now exploiting the openness of the free world to spread disinformation, sow discord, and suppress dissent. In Defending Democracy in an Age of Sharp Power, editors W...

"On the outside, Dina Demille is the epitome of normal. She runs a quaint Victorian Bed and Breakfast in a small Texas town, owns a Shih Tzu named Beast, and is a perfect neighbor, whose biggest problem should be what to serve her guests for breakfast. But Dina is... different: Her broom is a deadly weapon; her Inn is magic and thinks for itself. Meant to be a lodging for otherworldly visitors, the only permanent guest is a retired Galactic aristocrat who can’t leave the grounds because sh...

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson comes a rollicking, riveting tale set in the Cosmere universe–a standalone adventure perfect for fans of The Princess Bride.The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disast...

With democracy in decline, authoritarian governments are staging a comeback around the world.Over the past decade, illiberal powers have become emboldened and gained influence within the global arena. Leading authoritarian countries—including China, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela—have developed new tools and strategies to contain the spread of democracy and challenge the liberal international political order. Meanwhile, the advanced democracies have retr...

It's totally refreshing to find a book written by a bloke for blokes about blokes in love. This book is well overdue and women all over the world should be celebrating. At last a bloke talking about "evolve-ya-bastard" to men. What is great is the question and answer format. So, it's relevant and contextual. I mean he's taken questions from people and answered them in as short a space of page as could be imagined. I don't think he could have said less, but in this case, less is more. The c...

"Dina Demille doesn’t run your typical Bed and Breakfast. Her inn defies laws of physics, her fluffy dog is secretly a monster, and the only paying guest is a former Galactic tyrant with a price on her head. But the inn needs guests to thrive, and guests have been scarce, so when an Arbitrator shows up at Dina's door and asks her to host a peace summit between three warring species, she jumps on the chance.Unfortunately, for Dina, keeping the peace between Space Vampires, the Hope-...

The past has unfinished business.Somebody came for Jason Trapp when he least expected it. Some of his oldest friends got hurt in the process. Unfortunately for the perpetrators, they missed the one person who counts.And now he’s going to return the favor. With interest.But first Trapp needs to find out who wanted him dead. And why. After all, with a career like his, you’re bound to make enemies. There’s a long list of nation states with reason to want him off the bo...

"Ilona Andrews invites you to experience the first dramatized audiobook in the #1 New York Times bestselling series featuring the intriguing fantasy world of mercenary Kate Daniels.When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck merce...

"A door opens. An army of dragons advance. And the fate of the living rests with the dead.After obtaining the secret to creating dragons, the leader of the Fhrey has turned the tide of war once more - but gaining the advantage has come at a terrible price. While Imaly plots to overthrow the fane for transgressions against his people, a mystic and a keeper are the only hope for the Rhunes. Time is short, and the future of both races hangs in the balance. In this exciting conclusion ...

Maud Demille is a daughter of Innkeepers—a special group who provide ‘lodging’ to other-planetary visitors—so she knows that a simple life isn't in the cards. But even Maud could never have anticipated what Fate would throw at her. Once a wife to a powerful vampire knight, Maud and her young daughter, Helen, were exiled with him for his treachery to the desolate, savage planet of Karhari.Karhari killed her husband, and Maud—completely abandoned by his family—has spent over a year a...

"In this twistingly beautiful and epically thrilling conclusion to the fantasy trilogy The Legacy of the Mercenary King, Michael, the infamous Kingkiller, and Serena, the Hollow Queen, race against the odds to have the future they’ve worked so hard to protect…or risk bringing about the end of the world.Michael Kingman has discovered his destiny, but the distance to what he wants, namely a life with Serena, the queen of Hollow kingdom, is as wide as the world, and just as cruel....