The last fifty years have seen a dramatic increase of interest in the wisdom literature of the Bible, as scholars have come to appreciate the subtlety and originality of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes as well as of Sirach and Wisdom of Solomon. Interest has likewise grown in the wisdom literatures of the neighboring cultures of Canaan, Egypt, and especially Mesopotamia. To help readers understand the place of biblical wisdom within this broader context, including its originality and distinctiveness, this volume offers a rich collection of essays by distinguished Assyriologists and biblicists on the social, intellectual, and literary setting of Mesopotamian wisdom; on specific wisdom texts; and on key themes common to both Mesopotamian and biblical culture. Scholars, pastors, and laity will find these essays both fascinating and enriching. Contributors to the volume include Paul-Alain Beaulieu, Richard J. Clifford, James L. Crenshaw, Edward Greenstein, Victor Avigdor Hurowitz, Karel van der Toorn, and Raymond C. Van Leeuwen. Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org)

Popular author and Bible teacher Ron Rhodes offers straightforward, easy-to-understand responses to frequently asked questions about God, faith, and living for Christ. He addresses more than 300 issues as diverse as... Do guardian angels exist? What will heaven and hell be like? Did Jesus physically come back to life? Is meditation okay for Christians? Does a person have to be baptized to be saved?

Readers will also find information about apparent Bible contradictions and difficult verses, supposed conflicts between science and the Bible, and the effects of atheism, agnosticism, and humanism on society.

With solid biblical insights and accurate research, this indispensable reference will help readers explore God's incredible plan, the life of Christ, the teaching of the Bible, church doctrines, and more. Perfect for personal study, small groups, and every Christian's reference library.

Leader Guide: provides process guidance for weekly group sessions. The Leader Guide understands the role of leader as facilitator of small-group sessions. Procedures for guiding sessions include: directions for using related video segments, and questions for discussion.
Click here to read session one

Invitation To John
11 sessions, 60-90 minutes
Experience required: Beginning to Moderate

The invitation from Christ is: "Come and see, Follow me." Experience the magnificent passages in John including the I am statements (I am the truth, the life and the way, I am the living water and more). Revisit stories only told in John's gospel including Nicodemus, Mary Magdalene and the raising of Lazarus.

During the weekly video segments, travel into the scripture as you hear the Word, experience the grand artwork connected with each story and interview the scholar. Each week wraps up with a small group discussion on video to spark your own conversation.

Participants for this Invitation to John do not have to have an in-depth knowledge of the Bible to enjoy and benefit from participation. Reading just two chapters of John a week, they will discover the life altering stories that will invite them to follow Christ as true disciples. This eleven-week study includes a participant book outlining daily reading assignments for group preparations, a leader guide suggesting discussion activities for use in the 60 90-minute weekly meeting, and a video component providing interpretation and context for the biblical texts.
Click here to read session one
Robert D. Kysar, Bandy Professor Emeritus of Preaching and New Testament, Candler School of Theology, is a noted scholar on the Gospel of John. He has authored numerous articles and books, including a revised edition of John: The Maverick Gospel; Preaching John; and most recently Voyages With John: Charting the Fourth Gospel.
Session titles and scripture:
1. Come and See (John 1- 2)
2. How Is It Possible? (John 3 4)
3. Taste for Yourself (John 5 6)
4. To Believe or Not to Believe (John 7 8)
5. Are We Blind? (John 9 10)
6. I Couldn t Believe My Eyes (John 11 12)
7. Would You Believe It? (John 13 14)
8. What Time Is It? (John 15 16)
9. Look Out (John 17 18)
10. Believing Without Seeing (John 19 20)
11. Do You See Him? (John 21)
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Philippians - Count It All Joy - Precepts for Life Study Companion for the radio / tv broadcast series by Kay Arthur. (Covers whole book of Philippians.) Disappointment, pain, betrayal or the circumstances of daily life can rob you of your joy. Learn to bear all things and overcome through Christ who strengthens us. Learn how you can have all joy despite it all and rely on His promises through this letter from the Apostle Paul.

This magisterial study surveys the contributions of biblical scholars and theologians from the early patristic writers to the modern era, from eastern and western traditions, and from Catholic and Reformed, Enlightenment and Modernist sources to the interpretation of the Lord's Prayer.

In this intensive exegesis of the Epistle to the Galatians, renowned German theologian Gerhard Ebeling strives to open "our eyes to the explosive force that produced this text, a force which, through this text, can explode over and over again.&334; Using rigorous technical tools, Ebeling interprets Galatians in such a way that "the truth of the Gospel" confronts the general reader as well as the specialist. He clarifies and emphasizes the relevance of this explication to the real-life struggles of contemporary Christians.

Praise Seeking Understanding sits at the intersection of three important fields in theology: theological exegesis, Augustinian studies, and contemporary church practice. Jason Byassee deftly brings the three together, revealing an important symbiotic relationship between them -- a relationship hitherto largely ignored. Though current exegetical methods have swung away from a Christological reading of the Old Testament -- rejecting in particular Augustine's treatment of the text -- Byassee believes that is a mistake we must remedy. Using a recent translation of Augustine's Enarrationes in Psalmos, Byassee describes in depth Augustine's psalm hermeneutic and his approach to scripture generally, offering a defense of these views in conversation with recent work in theological exegesis.

The leading edition of the original text of the New Testament, this scholarly edition is designed for extensive research, textual criticism, and other academic studies. In keeping with the goals of serious and advanced New Testament scholars, the revised critical apparatus shows a nearly exhaustive list of variants but includes only the most significant witnesses for each variant. The Greek text has paragraph and section breaks. Cross references in the margins are extensive and include synoptic parallels. Five appendices offer in-depth information for further understanding of passages. The introduction appears in both English and German. Text, notes, and critical apparatus appear in a clear font throughout the volume. The text is also available with a Greek-English Dictionary by Barclay Newman. Hendrickson Publishers distributing for German Bible Society.

The Gospel of Matthew - The King, His Kingdom, and Me - Precepts for Life Study Companion for the radio / tv broadcast series by Kay Arthur. Matthew begins with Jesus' humble birth as son of David, son of Abraham and ends with His universal authority over heaven and earth, His commission to His followers to make and teach disciples of all nations, and His promise to be with them always, to the end of the age.

For over a century the ten-volume Dictionary of the Bible has been the definitive reference. "It is a Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, together with the Old Testament Apocrypha, according to the Authorized and Revised English Versions, and with constant reference to the original tongues. ... Articles have been written on the names of all Persons and Places, on the Antiquities and Archaeology of the Bible, on its Ethnology, Geology, and Natural History, on Biblical Theology and Ethic, and even on the obsolete or archaic words occurring in the English Versions." James Hastings (1852-1922) was a distinguished scholar and pastor. He was founder and editor of the Expository Times and is also well known for editing the Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, the Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, and the Dictionary of the Apostolic Church.

The capital city of the province of Asia in the first century CE, Ephesus played a key role in the development of early Christianity. In this book Paul Trebilco examines the early Christians from Paul to Ignatius, seen in the context of our knowledge of the city as a whole.

Drawing on Paul's letters and the Acts of the Apostles, Trebilco looks at the foundations of the church, both before and during the Pauline mission. He shows that in the period from around 80 to 100 CE there were a number of different communities in Ephesus that regarded themselves as Christians ? the Pauline and Johannine groups, Nicolaitans, and others ? testifying to the diversity of that time and place. Including further discussions on the Ephesus addresses of the apostle John and Ignatius, this scholarly study of the early Ephesian Christians and their community is without peer.

Winner of a Chicago Book Clinic 2004 Design Award A Fragile Stone explores the dynamic life of the apostle Peter, revisiting well-known passages and revealing unexpected insights. Author Michael Card sketches out Peter's life, showing how the impetuous fisherman of the Gospels was transformed into the pivotal leader of the early church. "The ultimate reason for getting to know Peter," Card explains, "is so together we might better know Jesus. For the story of Peter is the story of Jesus. Perhaps, if you and I do our best, the same will be said of us someday." Peter's life serves as a model for Christian discipleship, offering hope that we likewise can be changed as Jesus calls us to follow him.

Whether used as an individual Bible study or used for studying with a group, the Nelson Impact Bible Study Guide Series will deepen your knowledge and understanding of the Bible, book by book.

Written in an easy-to-read, interesting style, each study guide will help you to experience the true meaning of the messages of the Bible, and in turn, empower you to truly make a difference in the world for Christ.

Key Features Include: Timelines Fun cultural facts and probing questions Plenty of room for taking notes Biblical and present-day maps

Other study guides in the series include: 1 Corinthians ISBN: 1418506192 Exodus ISBN: 1418506168 Genesis ISBN: 1418506087 Isaiah ISBN: 1418506095 John ISBN: 1418506109 Mark ISBN: 1418506184 Romans ISBN: 1418506117 Ruth & Esther ISBN: 1418506176

A brilliant synthesis of the Apostle Paulas thought and influence, written by a aforemost Catholic intellectuala ("Chicago Tribune")
All through history, Christians have debated Paulas influence on the church. Though revered, Paul has also been a stone on which many stumble. Apocryphal writings by Peter and James charge Paul, in the second century, with being a tool of Satan. In later centuries Paul became a target of ridicule for writers such as Thomas Jefferson (athe first corruptor a), George Bernard Shaw (aa monstrous impositiona), and Nietzsche (athe Dysangelista). However, as Garry Wills argues eloquently in this masterly analysis, what Paul meant was not something contrary to what Jesus meant. Rather, the best way to know Jesus is to discover Paul. Unlike the Gospel writers, who carefully shaped their narratives many decades after Jesusa life, Paul wrote in the heat of the moment, managing controversy, and sometimes contradicting himself, but at the same time offering the best reflection of those early times.

"What Paul Meant" is a stellar interpretation of Paulas writing, examining his tremendous influence on the first explosion of Christian belief and chronicling the controversy surrounding Paul through the centuries. Willsas many readers and those interested in the Christian tradition will warmly welcome this penetrating discussion of perhaps the most fascinating church father.

The books of the New Testament are some of the most extraordinary documents ever created - brilliant, vivid works central to the lives of many millions of readers over the centuries. Yet, the picture they give of Jesus' world is a very partial one. Written thirty to eighty years after the events they describe and with very specific doctrinal aims they addressed a Greek-speaking audience when Christianity was at its most precarious. Geza Vermes, one of the world's foremost biblical scholars, is uniquely positioned to guide the reader through the many conundrums presented by the New Testament. "Who's Who in the Age of Jesus" is an ambitious and enjoyable attempt to sift through all the sources for the period to create biographies of the major (and some fascinating minor) figures from Jesus' era. The book allows readers to understand a Jewish, Roman and Hellenistic world crowded with explosive, mutually antagonistic groups - a world which would give rise both to a new Judaism and ultimately to Christianity. From detailed, convincing portraits of Jesus, John the Baptist, Pontius Pilate, Herod and other key New Testament figures to the Jewish and Roman leaders like Hillel, Caiaphas, Augustus, Vespasian and Titus, hardly or not at all mentioned in the Gospels or the Acts of the Apostles, Geza Vermes' illustrated "Who's Who" will throw much fresh light on the age of Jesus and provoke innumerable arguments and discussions.

Romans - Constitution of Your Faith - Precepts for Life Study Guide for the radio / tv broadcast series by Kay Arthur. (Covers Romans chapters 1-5.) Learn about the righteousness of God and understand the bondage of sin in Paul's life-changing letter to the Romans. Study how God's solution to man's sinful dilemma through justification by faith in Jesus and the free gift of grace. Understanding these essential doctrines will strengthen your faith

Revelation - God's Message to the Church - Precepts for Life Study Guide for the radio / tv broadcast series by Kay Arthur. (Covers Revelation chapters 1-3 & 21.) Study the first three chapters of Revelation that record God's messages to the seven churches, and learn why they are relevant to the Church - and to you - today

Knowing the historical and cultural background of the Bible is crucial to properly understanding and interpreting it. But the passing of 2,000 years often prevents today's reader from fully understanding the significance of various actions and teachings of Jesus in the Gospels. For example, the radical nature of Jesus's healings on the Sabbath may go unnoticed without an awareness of first-century Jewish teaching on what was and was not permissible.
Pastors and other serious Bible students may not have access to important early writings that would provide this background, nor the time to wade through volumes of source material to find relevant tidbits. This unique reference work gathers into one handy volume the key extrabiblical texts that provide the necessary background for passages in the Gospels, along with introductory comments by the editors.

Among the classics of ancient Greek and Jewish literature, the story of Luke-Acts has few rivals. Yet we moderns miss much of the meaning of Luke's two-part drama because we read it like any other text and not as it would have been "heard" by ancient listeners -- in public performance by a skilled storyteller.

"The Way according to Luke" unlocks the big picture of Jesus' mission by attending to the repetition, patterns, and other clues of oral narrative. In this single volume Paul Borgman lays out a holistic view of the organic unity between Luke and Acts while demonstrating that the meaning of Luke-Acts is uniquely embedded in its narrative. Borgman's distinctive work makes available both the satisfying pleasure of reading the Bible as great literature and the rewarding insight gained from receiving Scripture as it was originally delivered.

1 Samuel - Part 1 - The Heart of a Leader - Precepts for Life Study Companion for the radio/tv broadcast series by Kay Arthur. (Covers 1 Samuel chapters 1-14.) Study the stories of Eli, Hannah and Samuel, David and Goliath, David and Jonathan, David and Abigail - all recorded in God's Word so you can know and trust God, experience His grace and forgiveness, and pray more effectively, relying on the precious promises in His Word.

Revelation - God's Message to the Church - Precepts for Life Study Companion for the radio / tv broadcast series by Kay Arthur. (Covers Revelation chapters 1-3 & 21.) Study the first three chapters of Revelation that record God's messages to the seven churches, and learn why they are relevant to the Church - and to you - today