Books with author William Benett

Bestselling author R. William Bennett imagines how a contemporary of Jesus, Simon, an ordinary spice merchant and a Jew without deeply felt religious beliefs, begins his lifelong journey as one of the first new Christians as his life intersects with Jesus at the major milestones of his life and ministry.From the very beginning, Simon is on the scene on the eve of Jesus's birth. He is the last man to get an available room at the inn in Bethlehem, forcing Joseph and Mary to be turned away upon their arrival. Later that night, unable to sleep, Simon stumbles upon a group huddled around a cave, solemnly watching the miracle of a newborn babe in a stone manger and immediately recognizes the couple from the inn. Gazing upon the scene, he feels something of spiritual significance: peaceful, holy, sacred. The next day, he hears rumors in the marketplace of a holy birth which is the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy: the promised Messiah of the Jewish people. Simon wonders if that was what he witnessed.As listeners, we walk with Simon as he witnesses Jesus's revolutionary teachings like the Sermon on the Mount. Simon also hears testimonies of Jesus's miracles, and watches his own eldest son embrace the new covenant after witnessing John baptize Jesus, an act which signals the beginning of Jesus's ministry, which paves the way for a new people of God.Simon feels blessed to have his family, but he doesn't understand why others are searching for deeper faith and connection to God. Still questioning and unsure, he spends his life determined to find out if Jesus truly is the son of God, the promised Messiah. Eventually, Simon travels to Jerusalem as the popularity of Jesus's ministry catches the attention of those in power.By the time he arrives in Jerusalem, he discovers that Jesus has been tried and convicted of treason in a Roman court and is sentenced to death by crucifixion. After a life of following Jesus from a distance, Simon is now walking the streets of Jerusalem with him. At a critical moment, Simon steps out from the crowd to help Jesus ease the burden of carrying the cross, symbolically pledging himself to ease the burden of humankind by spreading the word of Jesus as a new true Christian believer.In the aftermath of Jesus's death, Simon's family thinks that the new ministry is now over. But it's a true test of faith believing in the certainty of what is unseen, and in a week's time, Jesus's followers encounter him risen from the dead. In this moment of Jesus's resurrection, Simon is ready. His faith, built steadily on the bedrock of Jesus's teachings, love of God, and love of one's neighbor moves him to dedicate himself to a new mission, declaring we have work to do.

This is a fantastic froggy fairy tale from the creator of "And the Train Goes...and Whatever". Mrs Collywobbles has nothing to fear from the strange and fearsome visitors that emerge from the big, dark, scary wood - not with her pet frog guarding the garden gate. Gobble! They don't hang around for long! But when Mrs Collywobbles' frog demands a thank-you kiss, things suddenly take a surprising turn...

Stanley is taking Little Woo, Sophie and Benjamin somewhere special for the day. He prepares the train early in the morning and then, with a chuff, chuff, chuffety-chuff they're off!Little Woo has a beach ball, Benjamin has a toy boat and Sophie has a rubber ring. Where could they be going?Join Stanley and friends for another busy adventure in this colourful new story from William Bee.

A treasury of great moral tales. In The Book of Virtues, the author has collected hundreds of stories in an instructive and inspiring anthology that will help children understand and develop character and help adults teach them. Well-known works including fables, folklore, fiction, drama, and more, by such authors as Aesop, Dickens, Tolstoy, Shakespeare, and Baldwin, are presented to teach virtues, including compassion, courage, honesty, friendship, and faith.

Millions of American families have turned to The Book of Virtues and The Moral Compass by William J. Bennett for moral guidance in troubled times. Our Sacred Honor offers inspiration and instruction as well...this time of a particularly American sort.The lessons it contains are especially welcome. We live in a time when the practice of representative government in the United States of America is under siege from both the left and the right. Scandals abound. We are first shocked, then wearied, to learn that our national leaders have feet of clay. We live in a time, in short, which demands that we return to our origins to discover the common principles that make us essentially American. Our Sacred Honor reveals those common principles. They are articulated by the flawed but deeply admirable men and women who first wrote what it is to be American. The pledge made by the Founders to one another that hot July day in 1776—the pledge of "our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor"—has been redeemed many times in the centuries since, but the nation they founded has never failed to profit from their example.It is time to profit from their advice.In Our Sacred Honor, William J. Bennett has collected the best that has been thought and said by and about the men and women who founded America. And what a group they are: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John and Abigail Adams, and so many more that otherwise first-rate intellects such as John Dickinson, Benjamin Rush, and George Mason are relegated to the status of footnotes in the popular imagination. Not since Periclean Athens has such a small nation been led by so many larger-than-life figures. The only characteristic they shared more widely than revolutionary ardor was their talent (and inclination) for advice. Here is that advice on virtually every aspect of "the good"—good government, good relations between individuals and nations, and what it means to live a good life. Here are Thomas Jefferson on piety ("Adore God. Murmur not at the ways of Providence"); James Madison on justice ("It ever has been, and ever will be pursued, until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit"); and Patrick Henry on patriotism ("Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?"). Here are Abigail Adams on love ("When he is wounded, I bleed..."); Benjamin Franklin on industry ("Have you somewhat to do tomorrow, do it today"); and George Washington on friendship ("Be courteous with all, but intimate with few"). Here are the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle," Longfellow's celebration of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, and the Declaration of Independence. Here are the stories of the Liberty Bell, Washington at Valley Forge, and Nathan Hale. Here are selections from The Federalist Papers, and Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Concord Hymn," with "the shot heard round the world." Here are Poor Richard's Almanack, the extraordinary correspondence between John and Abigail Adams, and George Washington's Farewell Address.The stories, songs, letters, and speeches collected in Our Sacred Honor are an inspiring celebration of American exceptionalism, produced by a collection of exceptional Americans. It is the best book of advice in more than two hundred years.