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How can anything be ordinary if we find the glory of God there? <P><P>Whatever might be said of life's most thrilling or transformative moments, most of our time is spent in ordinary things. We spend a third of our lives sleeping. In our adult lives, perhaps a quarter to a third of each week is s... More

This study is an addition to the author's popular "Back Side" books. J. Ellsworth Kalas presents new insight into twelve of Jesus' parables by entering them through a unique starting point, a creative retelling, a new "lens," or the eyes of a minor or unsympathetic character. Chapter titles: 1. T... More

In this study, Kalas opens up new possibilities of insight into the familiar Ten Commandments by restating them in the positive and showing how they were intended to make life richer and more fulfilling. Kalas uses contemporary illustrations and personal experience to show how these timeless laws gi... More

"I confess that I am an unreconstructed optimist. Not a naive one; I've lived too long for that, long enough to have experienced a resounding case for pessimism. I have vivid memories of the Great Depression, and I've lived through several wars and those international anomalies that we call police a... More

Easter from the Back SideJ. Ellsworth KalasUsing an approach similar to the one he took in Parables from the Back Side and other books in the popular Back Side series, author J. Ellsworth Kalas opens up new possibilities of insight into the biblical Easter story. The author looks beyond the traditio... More

The Bible is filled with heroes and rogues, and this new edition brings them vividly to life. Each chapter includes a key Scripture passage and an examination of a particular biblical character's story, including the characteristics that defined that person, and what we can learn from them and their... More

In his popular series of books "From the Back Side," J. Ellsworth Kalas looks at Christian topics through a new lens, takes unique starting points on those subjects, and uses creative re-telling from different points of view. In Faith from the Back Side, Kalas explores something that is central in ... More

CHRISTMAS FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE Take a look at Christmas from alternative angles. Using an approach similar to his other "BackSide" books, Kalas crafts new insights into the scriptures of the Christmas story by looking at them from the "back side" - ...taking unique starting points...c... More

J. Ellsworth Kalas, adapted from chapter 1: There's an old hymn you may be familiar with that contains these words: "This is my Father's world, / And to my listening ears, / All nature sings, and round me rings / The music of the spheres. / This is my Father's world, / He shines in all that's fair; ... More

Popular author J. Ellsworth Kalas has a few things he'd like to share. In I Bought a House on Gratitude Street, Kalas imparts insights gathered over the years through different means - "Some...have come to me by my seeking, some have been shared with me by people of wider experience, and some have ... More

"In the case of this book, I can tell you not only when it came to birth but also where. It was in a quite modest kitchen at 1506 Center Street in Sioux City, Iowa, over a period of years in the late 1930s. On a shelf in that kitchen, just above the stove, was a box of cards, each measuring roughly ... More

Using an approach similar to that in his book Parables from the Back Side, popular author J. Ellsworth Kalas brings a new perspective to selected Old Testament stories by approaching them from the "back side"--through a unique starting point, a creative retelling, a new "lens," or the eyes of a mino... More

Take the best preacher you've ever heard; add in the teacher who first opened your eyes to the excitement and meaning of your favorite subject in school; combine these with that member of the family to whom you could always turn for the best advice; stir them all together, and you'll get a flavor of... More

Offers a new understanding of twelve of Jesus' parables by viewing them through the eyes of a minor or unsympathetic character. Chapter titles: When the Good Samaritan Is Bad News; God Called a Party, but Nobody Came; The Timid Soul; The Seasons of the Soil; The Sad Story of the Embarrassed Farmer... More

When we think of a detective story, we often think of murder mysteries. But the Bible contains some different kinds of detective stories. How is it, for instance, that some of the key personalities in the Bible story slip into the story almost unnoticed--like Judah, for example, an ancestor of King ... More

Using an approach similar to his other "Back Side" books, J. Ellsworth Kalas opens up new possibilities of insight into selected New Testament stories by entering them through the "back side" -- through a unique starting point, a creative retelling, a new "lens", or the eyes of a minor or unsympathe... More

From the Foreword - This little book invites us to study with some ancient experts in prayer, the persons who wrote the Book of Psalms. We haven't read long in the psalms before we realize that the authors were altogether human, with a massive catalog of troubles, inconsistencies, and questions. Th... More

Careful biblical interpretation; insights into contemporary life; polished delivery; humorous anecdotes; these are the building blocks of preaching that genuinely reach people. Right? Wrong, says Ellsworth Kalas. We have all encountered preachers who seem to know all the fine points of exegesis and ... More

In this engaging book from popular author J. Ellsworth Kalas, a portrait of each apostle as a servant in ministry, a human being, and individual are drawn from Scripture as well as historical writings and tradition. A chapter is also devoted to Mathias, the successor to Judas Iscariot. Each chapter... More

In Being Methodist, popular and well-loved J. Ellsworth Kalas uses his approachable style to address a topic that sometimes seems complicated even to those who have practiced it for years. In this book, Kalas explores questions such as Who are these people called Methodists? Where have they come fr... More

Study the whole Bible in a year with J. Ellsworth Kalas. The Grand Sweep is designed for personal use. The added component of a Leader Guide enables congregations and study groups to share the experience. It provides an overview of how to use the book as a study, along with specific content for week... More

In A Faith of Her Own: Women of the Old Testament, popular author J. Ellsworth Kalas focuses on women who were crucial--some in obvious and some in less obvious ways--to the story of the Old Testament. Kalas takes a look at several different women of the Old Testament. He examines the Scriptures to ... More

At the very beginning of our faith, the Christian population numbered a few thousand, measuring only one percent of the world population. Today a single mega-church can boast a comparable number, and together, Christians now number more than two billion people. It all began with this little body o... More

Study the whole Bible in a year with J. Ellsworth Kalas. The Grand Sweep: 365 Days from Genesis through Revelation guides adults to read through the Bible in a year, reading three to four chapters daily. The Psalms and Proverbs are scattered throughout the reading as devotional elements. Because the... More

In this follow-up to his book The Thirteen Apostles, popular author J. Ellsworth Kalas focuses on several women of great faith who were crucial, in ways both obvious and understated, to the story of the New Testament. Kalas looks into the life and times of eleven different women. With his signature ... More