With the twelve-volume series Feasting on the Word, Westminster John Knox Press offers one of the most extensive and well-respected resources for preaching on the market today. When complete, the twelve volumes will cover all of the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with moveable occasions.The page layout is truly unique. For each lectionary text, preachers will find brief essaysA--one each on the exegetical, theological, pastoral, and homiletical challenges of the text. Each volume will also contain an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers may make use of its contents. The printed volumes for Ordinary Time include the complementary stream during Year A, the complementary stream during the first half of Year B, the semicontinuous stream during the second half of Year B, and the semicontinuous stream during Year C. Beginning with the season after Pentecost in Year C, the alternate lections for Ordinary Time not in the print volumes will be available online at feastingontheword.net.

This book examines the historical development of the blessing of waters and its theology in the East, with an emphasis on the Byzantine tradition. Exploring how Eastern Christians have sought these waters as a source of healing, purification, and communion with God, Denysenko unpacks their euchology and ritual context. The history and theology of the blessing of waters on Epiphany is informative for contemporary theologians, historians, pastors and students. Offering important insights into how Christians renew Baptism in receiving the blessed waters, this book also proposes new perspectives for theologizing Christian stewardship of ecology in the modern era based on a patristic liturgical synthesis. Denysenko presents an alternative framework for understanding the activity of the Trinity, enabling readers to encounter a vision of how participants encounter God in and after ritual.

This book examines in detail the concept of "abrogation" in the Qur'an, which has played a major role in the development of Islamic law and has implications for understanding the history and integrity of the Qur'anic text. The term has gained popularity in recent years, as Muslim groups and individuals claim that many passages about tolerance in the Qur'an have been abrogated by others that call on Muslims to fight their enemies. Author Louay Fatoohi argues that this could not have been derived from the Qur'an, and that its implications contradict Qur'anic principles. He also reveals conceptual flaws in the principle of abrogation as well as serious problems with the way it was applied by different scholars. Abrogation in the Qur'an and Islamic Law traces the development of the concept from its most basic form to the complex and multi-faceted doctrine it has become. The book shows what specific problems the three modes of abrogation were introduced to solve, and how this concept has shaped Islamic law. The book also critiques the role of abrogation in rationalizing the view that not all of the Qur'anic revelation has survived in the "mushaf", or the written record of the Qur'an. This role makes understanding abrogation an essential prerequisite for studying the history of the Qur'anic text.

In 1998, What s So Amazing About Grace? was chosen as the Gold Medallion Book of the Year. Stamped with Philip Yancey s journalistic gift for inquiry and personal passion for truth, this provocative best-seller has challenged and inspired more than half a million readers worldwide with a vision of the life Experience the Impact of Grace It s one thing to talk about grace; it s another to taste its power. What s So Amazing About Grace? ZondervanGroupware takes you and your study group for interactive, gut-level encounters with radical, life-changing grace. Through candid video interviews, Philip Yancey integrates true-life faces and experiences with 10 POWERFUL SESSIONS that will rock your preconceptions, get you thinking and talking, and help you discover together why grace is more amazing than you ve ever dreamed. This Participant s Guide will help you not only gain a better understanding of what grace is and why it is so precious, but also integrate it into your life. Engaging questions, provocative Bible studies, and lively discussions are just part of the package. You ll also be challenged to look for grace where it counts the most: in your own character and personal life. If you re ready to discover grace as more than just a fluffy concept, buckle your seat belt. You re about to take a journey to the radical heart and soul of Christianity. The next life grace changes could be yours."

A brief life of this 12th-century German Benedictine nun, the only female Saint titled "The Great." Her method of prayer, some sample prayers, and some of her revelations. (5-1.50 ea.; 10-1.25 ea.; 25-1.00 ea.; 50-.80 ea.; 100-.60 ea.).

The Imitatio Christi is considered one of the classic texts of Western spirituality. There were 800 manuscript copies and more than 740 different printed editions of the Imitatio between its composition in the fifteenth century and 1650. During the Reformation period, the book retained its popularity with both Protestants and Catholics; with the exception of the Bible it was the most frequently printed book of the sixteenth century. In this pioneering study, the remarkable longevity of the Imitatio across geographical, chronological, linguistic and confessional boundaries is explored. Rather than attributing this enduring popularity to any particular quality of universality, this study suggests that its key virtue was its appropriation by different interest groups. That such an apparently Catholic and monastic work could be adopted and adapted by both Protestant reformers and Catholic activists (including the Jesuits) poses intriguing questions about our understanding of Reformation and Counter Reformation theology and confessional politics. This study focuses on the editions of the Imitatio printed in English, French, German and Latin between the 1470s and 1650. It offers an ambitious and comprehensive survey of the process of translation and its impact and contribution to religious culture. In so doing it offers a fresh analysis of spirituality and devotion within their proper late medieval and early modern contexts. It also demonstrates that spirituality was not a peripheral dimension of religion, but remains at the very heart of both Catholic and Protestant self-perception and identity.

Awry and thought-provoking jaunt through the spiritual terrain of our everyday language -- a lexion of uncommon insight to jar the mind and nourish the soul. "I think of faith as a kind of whistling in the dark, because in much the same way," writes Buechner, "it helps to give us courage and to hold the shadows at bay."

Giving the Holy Souls in Purgatory an indulgence is "the highest act of supernatural charity, " says Pope John Paul II. What better way to pray for them than by adapting the Rosary?

50 of the best-loved prayers of the Iona Community in a portable edition. A book that is sure to become dog-eared through use in worship, or from being carried around on the often bumpy, sometimes tran

Originally published in 2004. Inculturation - the creative and dynamic relationship between the Christian message and culture or cultures - is of interest to many churches throughout the world, particularly since the Second Vatican Council made it part of the Roman Catholic agenda. This book looks at the question of the inculturation of Christian worship, particularly in the Eucharist. Looking at the relationship of worship and culture requires insights from both theology and anthropology; Tovey develops the tools to interconnect perspectives into an interdisciplinary exploration of different models of inculturation. Inculturation of Christian Worship is both interdisciplinary and ecumenical in approach. Case studies are drawn from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, African Independent Churches, The Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. While there is a focus on Africa for particular examples, the issues are discussed in a world wide context.

Worship has always been affected by its surrounding culture. This book examines the changing perspectives in and discussions on worship styles and practices from the Restoration to the death of Wesley, in England and Scotland. Moving beyond the text, Spinks grounds the discussion within the changing cultural and intellectual framework of the period referred to as the Enlightenment. The focus is the end of the early modern period, when already the upheaval of the English Civil War, the methods of the Cambridge Platonists, and the thinking of Descartes and Spinoza were making the period one of transition, and Newtonian thought and the thought of John Locke impacted theological thought and worship forms. It is against this framework that the worship in England and Scotland will be described and assessed. As well as published and unpublished liturgical documents, this book draws on contemporary accounts and descriptions of worship, catechisms, sermons and theological works, and contemporary diaries. Musical and architectural changes are also noted, particularly the late seventeenth century hymns of Richard Davies of Rothwell, Joseph Stennett and Benjamin Keach. This book places worship in the society which it served, and from which changes sprang. It explores the interaction of cultural thought and worship, drawing parallels between the Enlightenment period and problems of late modernity and the worship wars of the late twentieth century.

Elmer Towns's Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough has become must-reading as this powerful spiritual discipline of fasting has seen a revival among followers of Christ. Now Towns digs deeper into one of the most popular forms of fasting today, the Daniel Fast. With an emphasis on a healthy, simple diet, the Daniel Fast is named after the prophet Daniel who participated in a partial fast for spiritual purposes. Daniel was taken captive into Babylon when he was sixteen years old. The Babylonian king wanted the young prophet to help him administer his rule over the captive Jews--and he wanted to "Babylon-ize" Daniel, to make the young man of God more like him. The first step the king took in his campaign was to provide a sumptuous feast to tempt Daniel--food fit for a king-- basically fattening comfort foods. In response, the prophet refrained from the king's table, choosing instead to eat only vegetables and to drink only water. He honored God over the king. Dr. Elmer Towns introduces readers to the spiritual, physical, and mental basics of the Daniel Fast, coaching them through either a ten-day or twenty-one-day period of renewal, and he includes original Daniel Fast recipes created by executive chef John P. Perkins. Dr. Towns addresses practical questions, such as what to eat and when, as well as how to pray effectively. Readers will learn how to encounter God during their fast, how to worship through self-discipline, and how to pray for specific answers. They will also explore the role of weeping, repentance, and spiritual warfare in their life of faith. Daniel is a model to God's people of someone who chooses spiritual nourishment over bodily satisfaction, in The Daniel Fast for Spiritual Breakthrough, God's people can learn to follow his example.

In The Jesuits, Malachi Martin reveals for the first time the harrowing behind-the-scenes story of the "new" worldwide Society of Jesus. The leaders and the dupes; the blood and the pathos; the politics, the betrayals and the humiliations; the unheard-of alliances and compromises. The Jesuits tells a true story of today that is already changing the face of all our tomorrows.

Specifically designed for congregational use, this contains 255 songs for straightforward arrangements, either four-part harmony or with piano accompaniment.

The first investigation into the choral foundation of the Chapel Royal, Dublin Castle. The Chapel Royal, Dublin Castle, was the place of worship of the British monarch's representative in Ireland from 1814 until the inception of the Irish Free State in 1922. It was founded and maintained by the joint efforts of church and state, and thus its history provides valuable insights into how the relationship between religion and politics shaped Irish society and identity. The Dublin Chapel was established in imitation of the Chapel Royal of St James's Palace, London, and was served by a staff of clergy and musicians. Its musical foundation was a formal and independent entity, with its own personnel and performance traditions. Its distinctive repertoire included music from the English and Irish cathedral traditions, as well as works written by composers associated directly with the Chapel. This study investigates the Chapel's constitution, liturgy and music through an examination of previously unexplored primary material. Discussion of the circumstances of the Chapel's founding and its governance structures situates the institution in the context of the church-state relationship that existed following the Union of 1800. Further, by exploring architecture, churchmanship and musical style, O'Shea demonstrates how the Chapel was part of a wider aesthetic and liturgical tradition. The choral foundation is brought to life with accounts of the Chapel's clergy, organists, boy choristers and gentleman singers, which provide insights into Dublin's social history during a period of significant change. This book reflects on the Dublin Chapel Royal's legacy a century after its closure and offers a new perspective into a forgotten corner of Irish cultural, religious and political history.

In this book Allan Doig explores the interrelationship of liturgy and architecture from the Early Church to the close of the Middle Ages, taking into account social, economic, technical, theological and artistic factors. These are crucial to a proper understanding of ecclesiastical architecture of all periods, and together their study illuminates the study of liturgy. Buildings and their archaeology are standing indices of human activity, and the whole matrix of meaning they present is highly revealing of the larger meaning of ritual performance within, and movement through, their space. The excavation of the mid-third-century church at Dura Europos in the Syrian desert, the grandeur of Constantine's Imperial basilicas, the influence of the great pilgrimage sites, and the marvels of soaring Gothic cathedrals, all come alive in a new way when the space is animated by the liturgy for which they were built. Reviewing the most recent research in the area, and moving the debate forward, this study will be useful to liturgists, clergy, theologians, art and architectural historians, and those interested in the conservation of ecclesiastical structures built for the liturgy.

Contemporary culture is rediscovering the importance of beauty for both social transformation and personal happiness. Theologians have sought, in their varied ways, to demonstrate how God's beauty is associated with notions of truth and goodness. This book breaks new ground by suggesting that liturgy is the means par excellence by which an experience of beauty is communicated. Drawing from both secular and religious understandings, in particular the mystical and apophatic tradition, the book demonstrates how liturgy has the potential to achieve the one ultimately reliable form of beauty because its embodied components are able to reflect the disturbing beauty of the One to whom worship is always offered. Such components rely on understanding the aesthetic dynamics upon which liturgy relies. This book draws from a broad range of disciplines concerned with understanding beauty and self-transformation and concludes that while secular utopian forms have much to contribute to ethical transformation, they ultimately fail since they lack the Christological and eschatological framework needed, which liturgy alone provides.

The Book of Common Prayer is the old and well-loved prayer book of the Anglican Church, in use since the 16th century. In this revised 1662 form, it has also become one of the classic texts of the English language, its prayers and expressions making English what it is today. Cambridge's new editions of the Prayer Book have been freshly typeset for the 21st century, using a modern digital typeface to give a clear printing image and greater readability. Nevertheless, the format and page layout follow the previous version of the Standard Edition Prayer Book (originally produced in the early 20th century) page for page. The book provides the complete 1662 services - including the traditional forms of the baptism and marriage services.This particular style comes in a red imitation leather hardcover binding, and is ideal for use in church.* economical book* same page numbers as previous edition* new, clearer typeface

One of the most carefully prepared liturgies of any Roman Catholic parish's year is the celebration of 'First Communion'. This is the ritual by which seven- or eight -year-old children are admitted to the Eucharist for the first time. It attracts the largest congregations of any parish liturgy, and yet is frequently marked by tension and dissent within the parish community. The same ritual holds very different meanings for the various parties involved - clergy, parish schools, regularly communicating parishioners, and the first communicants and their families. The tensions arise from dissonance between the parties on such key issues as expected patterns of Church attendance, Catholic identity, dress and expenditure, and family formation. The relationships and discontinuities between popular and 'official' religion is at the heart of these tensions. They touch upon deep-seated anxieties concerning the future viability of the very structures and patterns of parish life during the current period of falling Church attendance and parish closures. For those within the Church who are concerned to understand and address the issues in its structural decline, this book will make sometimes uncomfortable but always stimulating reading. Peter McGrail examines the relationship between Church structures and popular religious identity, viewed through the lens of the first communion event. Drawing out hitherto unrecognised connections and significances for the future of the Catholic Church at local level, the insights into the decline of the parish as an institution present challenges to all with an interest in and concern for the future of the Church in the English-speaking world. Bringing to the fore the relationship and tensions between liturgy and Church structures, both historically and at the present time, this book offers academics and students alike extensive material for reflection and future development..

Towards Liturgies that Reconcile reflects upon Christian worship as it is shaped, and mis-shaped, by human prejudice, specifically by racism. African Americans and European Americans have lived together for 400 years on the continent of North America, but they have done so as slave and master, outsider and insider, oppressed and oppressor. Scott Haldeman traces the development of Protestant worship among whites and blacks, showing that the following exist in tension: African American and European American Protestant liturgical traditions are both interdependent and distinct; and that multicultural communities must both understand and celebrate the uniqueness of various member groups while also accepting the risk and possibility of praying themselves into an integrated body, one new culture.