Do you long for a closer, deeper walk with God? Would you like to know more about what the Bible says about spiritual intimacy? We say we know about God's love in our heads, but has it really percolated through to our hearts? The Bible employs the metaphor of Christ, the Lover, and believers, his beloved. Yet this rich relationship potential is relatively unexplored in modern popular books, and we are the poorer for it. Using Song of Songs and other Bible sources, the author explores the dynamics of our relationship. We come to understand more fully what it is for Christ to love us and for us to love him. Contents Desire - You're the one I want Show me your face Jesus is not my boyfriend, but... Is the Song of Songs really about me and Jesus? Insecurity Delight Springtime Belonging Distance Christ finds us beautiful Christ gets crazy for love Finally, consummation Distant again Spiritual intimacy betrayed and lost through porn Porn-spoiled lives restored Reconciled Still beautiful to him Spirals of longing and love Conclusion: the power of spiritual marriage in the storms This portrayal of the living dynamics of a believer's relationship with Christ cannot fail to transform our devotional life profoundly.

This volume studies the biblical book of Judges, which focuses on the period in Israel's history when the nation was ruled by a series of judges. The book describes the progressive deterioration of the nation as a result of the violence and idolatry of the people. Yet the nation also encountered the astounding graciousness of the God who remained faithful to them.

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.

" This book identifies the source of the Colossian error as from within Jewish mystical movements and shows how both the theology and practice which is taught in the epistle is to be understood from this context. The book gives a helpful overview of scholarship that has attempted to identify the nature and source of the Colossian error. The book, unlike many others on the topic, is exegetically driven, and will model thorough and careful exegetical practice. The book interacts with extra-Biblical texts which help the reader to understand the mystical contexts of first century Judaism."

Take your Bible reading to a deeper, more personal level with this thoughtfully designed journal. It offers three simple writing prompts that loosely guide you through The Bible Recap chronological reading plan. The open-ended nature of the questions--and the pattern they help you establish through daily repetition--is ideal for building your understanding of Scripture, section by section, day after day. With a lay-flat binding that provides a comfortable writing experience, this journal will help you get the most out of your time in God's Word. Getting to know Him will grow your faith and strengthen your joy, because He's where the joy is! Praise for The Bible Recap "I have grown closer to God in ways I couldn't expect." "It has helped me understand the Bible like never before." "More than a Bible study, it is a God study."

An easy-to-understand introduction to Judaism's most sacred text

The foundation of Hebrew and Jewish religion, thought, law, and society is the Torah-the parchment scroll containing the text of the Five Books of Moses that is located in every synagogue. This accessible guide explains the Torah in clear language, even to those who were not raised in the Jewish religious tradition. Christians who want to know more about the Jewish roots of Christianity need to understand the Torah, as do followers of Islamic tradition and those interested in the roots of Abrahamic faiths. The Torah For Dummies explains the history of the Torah, its structure and major principles, and how the Torah affects the daily lives of people who follow the Jewish way of life.

This is the first English translation of Marius Victorinus' commentary on Galatians. Analytical notes, full bibliography, and a lengthy introduction make this book a valuable resource for the study of the first Latin commentator on Paul. No such comparable work exists in English; and this volume engages fully with German, French, and Italian scholarship on Victorinus' commentaries. A number of themes receive special treatment in a lengthy introduction: the relation of Victorinus' exegetical efforts to the trinitarian debates; the iconography of the apostle Paul in mid-fourth-century Rome; Victorinus' exegetical methodology; his intentions as a commentator; and the question of his influence on later Latin commentators (Ambrosiaster and Augustine).

Archaeological, epigraphic, numismatic, and historical research is used to illuminate the meaning and function of temples in both Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures. This evidence is then brought into a dialogue with a literary analysis of how the temple functions as a symbol in Revelation.

Life is a hot mess. There's the bedlam of getting out the door in the morning. The constant breaking down of our homes and bodies and the cars we drive. And the institutions that promise to help are often no better. We are surrounded by the constant disorder of governments and disappointed by "organized" religion, the very entities that tell us they can provide us sanity and security. Instead, they leave us scratching our heads or licking our wounds. Chaos surrounds us, and at times, it seems to rule our souls, our families, and our world. But does chaos always end in failure or flaw? What if chaos was more than the check engine light of lost causes? What if chaos was the raw material out of which God creates? In the beginning God brought order from chaos, filling the chaos with a beautiful creation, and he's been doing it ever since. Where you and I may experience confusion and disorder, God sees an opportunity for something new--for a rebirth, a renewal, and a renovation. God did this in the beginning, he did it again at the cross, and with renewed vision for our disordered world today, we look to God to do it again. Inspired by the powerful picture of creation in Genesis 1:2, author Jessica LaGrone challenges the hope-destroying belief that God has abandoned us in our broken relationships, our pain, and our grief. In the midst of our out-of-control lives, God is there, and he specializes in making new things from the chaos threatens to drown us. When we experience chaos in our own lives and everything feels like it is falling apart, God is just getting started. When the Spirit of God hovers, chaos can give birth to hope.

How were the Johannine books of the New Testament received by second-century Christians and accorded scriptural status? Charles E. Hill offers a fresh and detailed examination of this question. He dismantles the long-held theory that the Fourth Gospel was generally avoided or resisted by orthodox Christians, while being treasured by various dissenting groups, throughout most of the second century. Integrating a wide range of literary and non-literary sources, this book demonstrates the failure of several old stereotypes about the Johannine literature. It also collects the full evidence for the second-century Church's conception of these writings as a group: the Johannine books cannot be isolated from each other but must be recognized as a corpus.

Based on the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year B, Volume 1 provides liturgical pieces used in preparing for worship. Written and compiled by an ecumenical team of eleven seasoned liturgy writers, this resource offers a multitude of poetic prayers and responsive readings for all parts of worship and is meant to complement existing denominational resources. In addition, the weekly entries include questions for reflection and household prayers for morning and evening that are drawn from the lectionary, allowing churches to include them in their bulletin for parishioners to use throughout the week.

During times of the year when two different tracks of Old Testament texts are offered by the RCL, this resource offers an entire set of materials for each track. Also, a CD-ROM is included with each volume that enables planners to easily cut and paste relevant readings, prayers, and questions into worship bulletins.

Liturgy writers include the following:

* Kimberly L. Clayton, Director of Contextual Education, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

* David Gambrell, Associate for Worship in the Office of Theology and Worship, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Louisville, Kentucky; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

* Daniel M. Geslin, Pastor, Union Congregational Church of Hancock, Hancock, Maine; United Church of Christ

* Kimberly Bracken Long, Associate Professor of Worship, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

* L. Edward Phillips, Associate Professor of Worship and Liturgical Theology, Candler School of Theology, Atlanta, Georgia; United Methodist Church

* Melinda Quivik, Liturgical Scholar, Houghton, Michigan; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

* Carol L. Wade, Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Lexington, Kentucky; Episcopal Church

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.

Mary Grey takes the reader on a contemporary Lenten journey through a series of profound theological reflections on the search for peace and reconciliation in Israel/Palestine. Along the way she explores the core Christian concepts of redemption, atonement and resurrection from the perspective of justice-making in the real world, pursuing a spirituality of perseverance and steadfastness ('sumud') deriving from her work with Middle Eastern Christians. The book draws on all four Gospels and the book of Revelation, providing biblical inspiration for the quest for peace.

How do you pray?
Do you think praying is either a fearful mystery or a dry duty? If you want to get past feelings of futility and change your world through prayer, then Changing Me, Change the World is the answer. This book connects God's Word and your prayers. It will strengthen your faith and instill confidence in you to pray more effectively, molding you into a prayer warrior in the process.

You will discover: a deeper, more satisfying prayer life as you meditate on these Psalms and prayers, passionate, engaging language that addresses problems you face in your life every day, prayers you can pray with confidence because they have a solid biblical foundation, a heightened awareness of meaningful issues outside of your daily life, a desire to return to Changing Me, Change the World as new situations arise.

This Lent book will explore biblical stories and characters that exemplify a whole range of relationships, in good times and bad. Relationships will be defined very widely, to include even people who don't see themselves in 'relationship'. The stories will be related to common emotions - love, friendship, rivalry, conflict, trust, hatred, fear - and linked with 21st-century attitudes, culture and moral dilemmas. The book will cover OT stories as well as NT, and explore dysfunctional as well as functional relationships to make clear how experiences of loss and failure - which culminated, for Jesus, in the Cross - are inevitably part of our relationships, but can be healed by the Resurrection. The making of choices is pivotal in our life journey and these meditations will focus on key moments of decision, and their consequences. This will often involve reflection on the power of temptation: the ways in which biblical characters respond to it, and their varying success in withstanding it. The reflections will range widely, but will start with Jesus' temptations and conclude with stories from Holy Week and Easter, so that the relevance to Lent is maintained.

This commentary adopts a literary-rhetorical approach, viewing the letter as an instrument of persuasion designed to transform readers through a celebratory presentation of the Gospel. Reflecting upon the fate of Jews and Gentiles, Paul wins his audience to a Vision of a God who always acts inclusively. The God who, in the person of Israel's Messiah (Jesus), has acted faithfully to include the Gentile peoples within the community of salvation, will not fall to see to the eventual inclusion of Israel as well. In the victory of grace displayed already in the risen humanity of Jesus, the original design of the Creator for human communities and for the world begins to come true.

The interpretation of Paul's letter to Rome has accompanied and stimulated the path of Christian theology down to today. "Romans" touches upon virtually al main issues of Christian theology, as well as presenting a rewarding introduction toPaul. Byrne facilitates full access to Paul and his Gospel through the letter, allowing Christians today to hear his voice as intelligibly and powerfully as it has spoken to past generations.

Bible readings, reflections and worship resources from Iona Community members and associates - Helen Boothroyd, Ruth Burgess, David Coleman and Zam Walker, John Davies, Leith Fisher, Ian M Fraser, Kathy Galloway, Tom Gordon, John Harvey, Peter Millar, Jan Sutch Pickard, Norman Shanks, Thom Shuman, Alison Swinfen, Brian Woodcock. May this book be a friend through the joy and euphoria of Christmas and New Year, and may it feed you, challenge you, in the in-between times. There are good-hearted, human companions here for our journey through this bewildering and beautiful world.

This book represents a fresh approach to the study of 2 Corinthians. In the first chapter of the epistle, Paul recounts how he had been faced suddenly with the prospect of imminent death. Either he had succumbed to a severe illness or was suffering the effects of savage persecution. In either case Dr. Harvey believes that some of the profound but difficult language in the central chapters may best be explained by reference to this traumatic event. He begins by exploring the social, economic and religious consequences of illness or disability in antiquity and the radically new understanding of suffering to which Paul was led by his near-death experience. The remainder of the book takes the form of a running commentary, bringing out the implications of this biographical approach for understanding the text of 2 Corinthians. Despite addressing detailed questions of a technical nature, this study is presented in a clear and readable form and will prove illuminating for all those - scholars, students, or more general readers - interested in St. Paul and 2 Corinthians.

From beloved author Elizabeth George comes a wealth of bite-sized wisdom for your daily living. These powerful and easy to understand devotions celebrate God’s provision for you. The scriptures and thoughts in this book will also encourage you to become a woman who demonstrates Jesus’s grace and love in every circumstance. You will be inspired to…

• pursue God and get to know Him more deeply
• make prayer an important part of your daily life
• model your actions, attitudes, and desires after those of Jesus
• know the joy of walking side-by-side with your heavenly Father

As you seek God with all your heart, He will pour out His blessings upon you. Whether you are reading this book on your own or are giving it as a gift to a friend, these many hope-filled insights will bless any woman who is striving to grow in Christlikeness.

Richard Nelson examines the books of Kings and treats the text as theological literature, emphasizing the literary impact of this important part of the Old Testament canon. Nelson recognizes King's as a useful though uncritical source of historical information, its purpose to transform the beliefs of its first readers, to get them to re-evaluate their identity before God.

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.

This book offers an exploratory approach that enables students to engage with the text for themselves, and not simply to be passive learners. It offers activities and challenges at introductory and intermediate levels, key background information needed to work at the required level, and ideas for further theological thought and reading. Students will discover the major themes and theology of the Pentateuch, the purpose and structure of the texts, the major scholarly questions concerning the texts and how it can be seen as relevant today.