Leonard Sweet

She has walked beside prophets and peasants, carried a pregnant mother to Bethlehem, and watched a three-year-old boy stack stones in an Alexandrian courtyard. Now Issy-the donkey the world calls Balaam's Ass-is about to carry Jesus of Nazareth into the final chapters of the greatest story ever told. St. Us completes the journey that began before the manger and ends in eternity. With the eyes of a creature who has never stopped noticing what humans miss, Issy accompanies Jesus through his ministry, witnesses the agony of Gethsemane, stands in the shadow of the cross, and brays in bewildered joy at an empty tomb. But the story doesn't end at the resurrection. It ends at Pentecost-and beyond-where Issy finally understands what the mark on her back has always meant. You are not called to be a saint alone. You are called to be St. Us. In the tradition of Watership Down and The Screwtape Letters, Leonard Sweet gives voice to one of Scripture's most overlooked witnesses and discovers in her a theologian of uncommon grace. St. Us is a novel about burden-bearing, belonging, and the staggering truth that God's middle name is With-Emmanuel, God with us, walking beside us, marked on us, refusing to leave us alone with our loads. For readers of all ages who have ever felt the weight of the cross and wondered if anyone else is carrying it too-this book is for you. You are not alone. You never were. You are St. Us.

What if the wonder of Christmas wasn't something you left behind, but something that still beckoned you forward? In this moving devotional journey from Advent through Christmas Day and into the New Year, world-renowned prolific author Leonard Sweet invites readers to rediscover the sacred heart of the season. Through poetic meditations, vibrant storytelling, and interactive prayers, The Star Still Beckons explores how the Incarnation is not just a past event but a present invitation. With weekly themes like "From Glory to Grime," "The Manger Manifesto," and "The Sacred Dance of Silence and Song," Sweet brings fresh insight to familiar stories. You'll encounter donkeys that perceive what kings miss, learn why prepositions matter more than propositions, and see how even Christ's birth foreshadows his redemptive wounds. Perfect for individuals, families, or congregations seeking spiritual depth during the holidays, this devotional will renew your sense of wonder, awaken your imagination, and help you follow the star-again and again. Includes: 7 meditative chapters from Advent to New Year Prayers, Scripture reflections, and interactive prompts Theological depth with poetic beauty For all who still believe the world can be changed by a baby in a manger.

Decoding the Divine: Unveiling the Sacred Through Semiotics Revised and Expanded EditionUnveil the hidden language of the sacred with Decoding the Divine, now in a revised and expanded edition. Have you ever wondered why symbols shape our reality? From the emblems on flags to the mysteries woven into religious icons, signs surround us, whispering truths about the divine. Through the lens of semiotics-the study of signs and symbols-this captivating book decodes the invisible threads connecting everyday life to the sacred, revealing the profound code within human consciousness and culture.This enriched edition guides you through: *Revealing subliminal messages in advertising and media*Unraveling cultural myths and religious narratives*Illuminating deeper meanings in sacred texts and rituals*Boldly challenging assumptions about spirituality and the nature of realityStarting with the essentials of semiotics, Decoding the Divine takes you on a thought-provoking journey from the secular to the sacred. Question authority, rethink beliefs, and embark on a path of self-discovery, cultural insight, and divine revelation.Perfect for students of religion, cultural enthusiasts, or anyone curious about the forces shaping our worldview, this book offers: *A clear foundation in semiotic theory with real-world applications*Fresh perspectives on culture, religion, and symbolism*Practical tools for critical thinking and spiritual exploration*A bold new lens on the signs that define our realityAre you ready to see beyond the surface? Decoding the Divine: Unveiling the Sacred Through Semiotics invites you to unlock the sacred code and reshape the way you perceive the world around you-and within you.

Many of us have been taught to read Scripture as a collection of information that needs to be categorized, systematized, and analyzed verse by verse, concept by concept. But the Bible isn't a jigsaw puzzle, and it wasn't written in just Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. It was also written in the language of story. And as with every good story, we get to meet colorful characters, unravel mysteries, and see the world from a different point of view. It all makes more sense when understood from the perspective of storytelling.In The God of Story, Daniel Schwabauer explores the narrative principles of theme, context, characterization, voice, and plot as a lens for understanding the cosmic story arc of God's relationship to humanity. By including creative retellings of biblical stories, he demonstrates how to engage Scripture with imagination.For a fresh approach to reading the Bible and discovering how its stories connect to your own, start by learning to see God as the master storyteller.

Have you ever experienced infobesity online? Have you ever been bombarded with fake information or disinformation that has distracted you from your work, key relationships, school, or faith? Well, we all have. Whether you are a stay-at-home parent, a student, a teacher, a construction worker, a pastor, or anyone who has a social media account, you have experienced some form of infobesity. For followers of Jesus, this book aims to explore why infobesity occurs, respond with practical ways to understand personal digital practices and habits, and indicate how to redeem digital spaces.

Have you ever experienced infobesity online? Have you ever been bombarded with fake information or disinformation that has distracted you from your work, key relationships, school, or faith? Well, we all have. Whether you are a stay-at-home parent, a student, a teacher, a construction worker, a pastor, or anyone who has a social media account, you have experienced some form of infobesity. For followers of Jesus, this book aims to explore why infobesity occurs, respond with practical ways to understand personal digital practices and habits, and indicate how to redeem digital spaces.

Live a Designed Life: Unleash Your Faith with Designer Jesus In Designer Jesus, Leonard Sweet illuminates the path of discipleship with a bold and vibrant brush, revealing a faith that is as fresh as it is ancient. From the opening declaration, "Jesus is your design for living," Sweet jolts readers into a new understanding of what it means to follow Christ, rekindling the heart's rhythm with a message that is both timeless and timely. This inspiring book builds on Sweet's earlier work, Jesus Human, (2023) by moving beyond belief (fides quae) to explore the active experience of faith (fides qua). Where Jesus Human forged the guardrails of faith, Designer Jesus traces the handrails of life. Sweet delves into the life of faith, guiding readers to paint their lifestories with the rich colors of faith, hope, and love. He draws from the deep wells of the past to make the ancient faith accessible and relevant to today's readers. With wisdom, wit, and whimsy, Sweet shows how a discipleship designed by Jesus is both classic classy and contemporary chic, providing meaning and mooring to a world adrift and unhinged. Sweet asserts that our identity is found not in doctrines, creeds, or labels, but in the risen, rising Christ and his Spirit. He emphasizes that following Jesus, even being "little Christs" (the literal meaning of "Christian"), is not about imitation or cloning, but about allowing Jesus to live his life through us, ultimately leading us to become our truest, most authentic selves. Designer Jesus is more than a book. It is a starting point for a life-changing journey. For those seeking a Christianity that transcends mere belief and becomes a transfigurative lifestory, Designer Jesus readies you to live a designed life brimming with joy and passion. It not only inspires personal flourishing, but it also equips you to brighten the paths of others with their own lifestories.

"What is human" is one of the contentious topics in the world today. We no longer know what a human is. Where once humans made machines, now machines make humans. And the machines humans do make are becoming our most preferred relationships. In this pathbreaking and provocative book, Leonard Sweet contends it is our sacred duty to be human. Human identity is not who we have become but who we are created to be. Jesus Human explores how Jesus, in showing us the way to God, shows us the way to ourselves and the way to be human. All that it means to be human is here, in one person: Jesus, the greatest human, the most alive human, who ever lived. Learning to be a disciple of Jesus is learning to be a human being in a world that has been humaimed-our true identity has been amputated or disfigured. In scintillating prose and from a vast panorama of reading, Sweet demonstrates how the Jesus story is about "being" human and "human" being-both of which follow from following Jesus. Jesus gives back to us our full humanity as part of the redemption of all creation. Jesus doesn't help us rise above our humanity but enter our humanity. In short, discipleship formation or spiritual formation is really Christ formation or human formation.Sweet insists you can't be human without the divine, which makes the process of becoming human, or humanation, part of the Trinity's ongoing incarnation as the Spirit brings Christ to life in each of us. There is no elixir that, when taken, transforms a person into a true human. But there is the Living Water of Life.

Build healthy rhythms and harmonize your team: everything I wish I'd known as a young leader.A collection of leadership insights from former university president Jules Glanzer, The Sound of Leadership will show you how to become a Kingdom-minded leader who lives out their vision and inspires those around them to join in the song.

Jesus told stories. His most powerful stories were parables about the kingdom of God: The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed . . . The kingdom of God is like a persistent widow . . . The kingdom of God is like a man who had two sons . . . Jesus's stories have captivated hearts for thousands of years. Countless books and sermons have been written and preached explaining the background of these parables, but these dry explanations can rob the parables of their beauty and "punch." Think about it: if you explain a joke, it isn't funny. Jesus's parables primarily captivated the heart. Similarly, in Mustard Seeds and Viral Videos, Matthew Edwards combines his backgrounds in New Testament theology and semiotics with his fifteen years of preaching the Bible to retell the parables of Jesus in modern contexts. Instead of explaining that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed because it starts small and grows big, Edwards tells a story of a video that goes viral. Each chapter is a different story of the kingdom of God based on a different parable of Jesus.