After an unforgettable three years, the charismatic teacher who called you and your brother James to follow him says, 'Right, let's go to Jerusalem' It's thrilling to be setting out on the next stage of the adventure. But life in the company of Jesus is not for the faint-hearted. Certainly there's fun, as lark about with the other young disciples. But it's pretty edgy too, not knowing who is going to turn up next and what might be expected of you. And as the days pass by, the huge demands on Jesus as he heals and teaches invoke both a strange tenderness, and a growing dread of why exactly you are journeying to the holy city . . . Looking through the eyes of the disciple John, The Journey follows Luke's chronology from Luke 9.51, as Jesus 'set his face to go to Jerusalem' Absorbing, exuberant and affective, it offers daily (weekday) readings for Lent, from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday, with a poem for each Saturday. It is suitable to use individually or in groups.

Christ is the final victor, and he will come again... Follow Dr. Jeremiah through the book of Revelation in a chapter-by-chapter study that will help you understand what it meant to the people at the time it was written, and what it means to Christians today. Even in John's day, many Christians wanted to know when Christ would come again-when the plan of salvation would be accomplished. Throughout the book of Revelation, in all of its confusing images and prophecies, God's stunning faithfulness and love is on full display as he offers up every chance for sinners to claim redemption and join him forever. Each of this study's twelve lessons is clearly organized to include: Getting Started: An opening question to introduce you to the lesson. Setting the Stage: A short reflection to explain the context of the study. Exploring the Text: The Scripture reading for the lesson with related study questions. Reviewing the Story: Questions to help you identify key points in the reading. Applying the Message: Questions to help you apply the key ideas to their lives. Reflecting on the Meaning: A closing reflection on the key teachings in the lesson. -ABOUT THE SERIES- The Jeremiah Bible Study Series captures Dr. David Jeremiah's forty-plus years of commitment in teaching the Word of God. In each study, you'll gain insights into the text, identify key stories and themes, and be challenged to apply the truths you uncover to your life. By the end of each study, you'll come away with a clear and memorable understanding of that Bible book. Each study also contains a Leader's Guide.

Daily readings with Scripture verses and prayers, based on the life and ministry of Catherine Booth, wife of General Booth and co-founder of The Salvation Army, often called 'The mother of The Salvation Army'. An ardent temperance campaigner, she and William developed together the firm convictions about salvation and poverty that led to the formation of the Army. Catherine Booth was eloquent and compelling in speech, and articulate and devastatingly logical in writing. At first, Catherine and her husband had shared a ministry as traveling evangelists, but then she came into great demand as a preacher in her own right, especially among the well-to-do. Although it was virtually unknown at that point for women to speak in public, and despite her nervousness, she developed a considerable preaching ministry. Catherine was both a woman and a fine preacher, a magnetic combination that attracted large numbers to hear her. This book of daily readings introduces us to Catherine's heart and convictions. Here we find the passion, urgency, thought and humanity which drove her on. Each devotional will take one page of the format above. Catherine's succinct, direct style is ideally suited to this form.

Whether you are searching for your calling or wholeheartedly pursuing your life's purpose, Brian Houston's transformative approach to life will help you navigate a faith path that is all your own and discover unique gifts tailored perfectly for your journey. Thirty-five years ago when Brian Houston set out to pioneer a church with thirty people in a school hall, he had no idea how many highs and lows, sacrifices and miraculous opportunities he would face. Over time, his tiny church grew into the worldwide Hillsong ministry, leading people all over the globe to follow the greatest Guide who ever walked the path of life - Jesus. In this ninety-day devotional adapted from his bestselling book Live, Love, Lead, Brian Houston shares his own life-tested experiences and the powerful biblical truths he's learned that will enable you to live fully, love completely, and lead boldly - the hallmarks of Jesus' time on earth. Each page includes: * Scripture to meditate on * Excerpt: a key truth about living, loving, and leading * Thought: an uplifting, liberating, and meaningful thought to start the day * Reflection: a place to write your thoughts and reflections * Prayer: a simple but powerful prayer to help you express yourself.

This volume in the popular Interpretation series presents the book of Leviticus. It focuses on the history of Israel during this time when Israel's life was marked by the various ritual sacrifices and observances commanded by God for the ordering of the nation's life.

Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.

The book of Numbers is the story of the people of Israel in the wilderness as they departed from slavery in Egypt to the freedom of the promised land of Canaan. It contains a variety of materials relating to this transition from the old generation of Israel to the new, including stories and laws, census lists, instructions for worship, reports of military battles, and accounts of legal disputes. Numbers chronicles a community faced with many competing interests, groups, and issues, endeavoring to define itself and its mission in the world. Dennis Olson offers readers a comprehensive interpretation of this often overlooked book. He provides a thoroughly contemporary reading of Numbers that enlightens the modern church as it navigates the contemporary wilderness of pluralism, competing voices, and shifting foundations in the journey toward the twenty-first century.

Jesus' life is a song that still resonates down through the ages. His deeds and words speak with beauty and mystery, both comforting and confounding us. Who is this man? Over the course of his career, singer-songwriter Michael Card has explored the depths of Scripture by bringing together biblical study and the power of the imagination. Now he sheds light on the life of Jesus through lyrical reflections on the four Gospels. These forty meditations lead us to a place where Jesus becomes real and we can hear him with both hearts and minds. Listen again to the life of the Nazarene. And discover anew the music of Christ in your soul.

This commentary on the book of Job is a non-technical commentary but it is full of Whybray's most mature reflections on the book. The Introduction deals with the nature and purpose of the book, its specific and distinctive theology, its themes and its various parts and their mutual relationship. Thereafter, Norman Whybray, who is renowned for his insightful commentaries, usually comments on small sections of the text, and verse-by-verse in some especially difficult passages. As a whole, his commentary is illustrative of the fact that the book of Job is more concerned with the nature of God than with the problem of suffering. This is a reprint of the original edition in 1998.

Luke's Gospel was written to transform. In its original context, readers would have seen a portrait of Jesus as an ideal teacher and king, able to shape his people through exemplary leadership. They would have come to the Gospel expecting to be changed for God's purposes through the imitation of Jesus' lifestyle and adoption of his teaching. When today's readers approach the text in the same way, they can be transformed too. Spiritual Practices of Jesus explores Luke's portrait of the spirituality of Jesus, focusing on the themes of simplicity, humility, and prayer in his life and teaching. After establishing the likely thought patterns of Luke's first readers, Catherine Wright considers how Jesus models these three values and then explores how different readers have understood and employed key Lukan passages for spiritual formation, beginning with a first-century audience and tracing the reception of these texts in the ancient church. Demonstrating a theological interpretation of Jesus' spirituality grounded in church tradition, this accessible book combines New Testament studies and spiritual formation to provide fresh insight into the biblical text. Wright invites readers to join with Luke's earliest readers in adopting ancient spiritual practices that still hold the potential to revolutionize our relationships with money, ourselves, others, and God. Luke's Gospel reveals that as we individually and corporately imitate Jesus, we live lives of greater authenticity, are oriented toward his kingdom, and are transformed by his manner of life.

Come and experience the Scriptures in a fresh and life-giving way. In this collaboration between Alabaster Co. and IVP, the full text of Psalms 72-150 is presented alongside beautiful full-color photographs and guided meditations by author and Bible teacher Kathy Khang. Carefully designed as a practical, study-focused version of Alabaster's other bible books, the Alabaster Guided Meditations invite readers into deeper reflection by incorporating the church's ancient lectio divina and visio divina traditions. Though the intersection of New Living Translation Bible passages, photography, thoughtfully designed layouts, and meditations, readers are invited to experience Psalms 72-150 anew.

It is not surprising that non-academic bible readers largely ignore Nahum. Comprising only a few pages, it is easily overlooked in the midst of the twelve Minor Prophets. When a reader does stop in passing, the book appears to be brief, brutish, and uncomfortably violent. Looking more closely, however, readers may observe echoes of other much greater prophets, such as Isaiah and Ezekiel, perhaps even of the Psalms, and conclude that the book is a rather second-rate pastiche of other writings, although some rather brilliant poetry is woven into it. Who Will Lament Her? takes a fresh look at Nahum. It explores further the presence of the feminine in the book of Nahum, the extent to which it is present in the text, how the structure of the text makes the feminine both present and absent, and the possible reasons why this is so. Lanner takes two methodological approaches. The first sets out to show that it is possible that a feminine deity is present in the text of Nahum. The second approach engages three theories of the literary fantastic with the text, taking into consideration the findings of the historical and exegetical work. Using these two approaches hand in hand results in a fresh reading of Nahum.

This monograph investigates the literary development of Ezra 7-10 and Neh 8. With a detailed literary critical analysis, the investigation shows that the text was produced in several successive editorial phases for at least two centuries. Thus the final text cannot be used for historical purposes. The oldest text emerged as a short narrative, entirely written in the third person. It describes how a Torah scribe (Schriftgelehrter) called Ezra came from Babylon to Jerusalem to reinstate the written Torah. In the later editorial phases, Ezra's role was transformed from a scribe to a priest who brought cultic vessels to the Temple. The editorial development reveals that the text was originally influenced by Deuteronomy and the (Deutero)nomistic theology. Later, it came under priestly and Levitical influence.

Many interpreters read John 6 as a contrast between Jesus and Judaism: Jesus repudiates Moses and manna and offers himself as an alternative. In contrast, this monograph argues that John 6 places elements of the Exodus story in a positive and constructive relationship to Jesus. This reading leads to an understanding of John as an interpreter of Exodus who, like other contemporary Jewish interpreters, sees current experiences in light of the Exodus story. This approach to John offers new possibilities for assessing the gospela (TM)s relationship to Jewish scripture, its dualism, and its metaphorical language.

Was the Gospel of John written in critical response to the Gospel of Thomas, an early collection of Jesus's sayings? Or was it directed to the Christians among whom Thomas originated? Ismo Dunderberg challenges these views, arguing that the two gospels were written at about the same time but without knowledge of each other. He also offers a thorough discussion of the identity and functions of the enigmatic Beloved Disciple in the Gospel of John, throwing new light on this figure by comparing it to other `beloved' disciples of Jesus in early Christian literature. This part of Dunderberg's analysis also helps to evaluate the portrayal of Judas in the recently published Gospel of Judas, although this text was not yet available, when this study was completed.

The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) covers all areas of research into the Old Testament, focusing on the Hebrew Bible, its early and later forms in Ancient Judaism, as well as its branching into many neighboring cultures of the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world.

The NIV Application Commentary helps you communicate and apply biblical text effectively in today's context. To bring the ancient messages of the Bible into today's world, each passage is treated in three sections: Original Meaning. Concise exegesis to help readers understand the original meaning of the biblical text in its historical, literary, and cultural context. Bridging Contexts. A bridge between the world of the Bible and the world of today, built by discerning what is timeless in the timely pages of the Bible. Contemporary Significance. This section identifies comparable situations to those faced in the Bible and explores relevant application of the biblical messages. The author alerts the readers of problems they may encounter when seeking to apply the passage and helps them think through the issues involved. This unique, award-winning commentary is the ideal resource for today's preachers, teachers, and serious students of the Bible, giving them the tools, ideas, and insights they need to communicate God's Word with the same powerful impact it had when it was first written.

This book is a wide-ranging study of Johannine exegesis in the sixteenth century, centered on the John commentary of Wolfgang Musculus (1497-1563), an influential leader of the Protestant Reformation. Farmer compares Musculus's exegesis of the Johannine miracle stories not only with that of other sixteenth-century commentators but also with ancient and medieval commentaries.

This study of Book III of the Psalter examines evidence for the canonical organization of these seventeen psalms and finds cohesive links that create a consistent and coherent dialogue throughout. Continual laments by a righteous individual on behalf of and in concert with the nation spring from the non-fulfilment of hopes raised in Psalm 72 at the end of Book II. Divine answers give reasons for the continuing desolation but assure the eventual establishment of a kingdom without specifying its time. Book III ends as it began, asking how long God's wrath will smoulder, and in response Book IV opens with Psalm 90 contrasting human and divine perspectives on time.

'And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.' Micah 6:8 NIV This book contains 365 short daily devotions on the theme of mercy. Each day's reading will take about one minute to read, and is accompanied by a short scripture passage and a gentle tug on your heart to be the light of mercy in someone's life each day, because a merciful heart looks beyond its own difficulties and encourages others. Written by Don Stephens, bestselling author of Ships of Mercy, and founder of the charity Mercy Ships which offers free surgical care to people in desperate need in Africa, these daily devotional readings are inspired by the very best stories from the work of the people who volunteer on the ship. But each day's reflection points to the need for mercy everywhere... not just across the ocean, but down the street, next door, and even in our very own homes.

In the view of St. Benedict of Nursia, the Lenten journey is an inner pilgrimage with Christ into the deepest parts of ourselves, to be marked not so much by external observances, such as fasting and self-denial, as by a deepening of our relationship with God. Benedictine monk Albert Holtz develops that journey theme through meditations written during a fifteen-country pilgrimage while on sabbatical. At the heart of each reflection is the lesson it teaches about our inner spiritual journey. By applying Benedict s monastic wisdom to the everyday concerns and aspirations of modern Christians, Pilgrim Road helps contemporary spiritual seekers travel along and experience the journey of Lent in the most positive, meaningful, and fruitful manner. Revised edition of a classic Lenten devotional guide from Morehouse Includes a revised introduction and questions for reflection "