Bright Gems for His Crown is designed to help elementary and junior young people love and live for Christ now, and to develop qualities of character that will help them shine for Him. The author seeks to accomplish this with thirty-one topics presented as daily devotionals for the children to do themselves, with each topic presented in a different way for three months. Using simple language, she speaks to the children in a caring and direct manner based on God's Word. Each devotional is accompanied by a response question and an activity for later in the day. The devotionals are also structured so as to provide a forum for parent and child discussions on many issues.

"Family Prayers for Daily Grace" provides the prayerful words that describe a wide range of family experiences. Beginning with a selection of mealtime blessings and prayers of thanks, expressions of gratitude naturally flow into collections of prayers of appreciation for the many blessings of home and family. More intimate prayer topics focus on facing the challenges of life, learning and growing, the importance of developing personalities, and overcoming bad habits. Prayers about relating to other people and developing social values are provided as prayerful reminders that family members must reach out to others in the spirit of the Gospel.

Jesus Christ. He is, without question, the most influential person in history. Millions of people claim the truths of the religion that bears His name.

But who exactly "is" Jesus? A popular religious teacher? An ancient martyr? Many today are unsure. Even scholars debate whether the Jesus of history is the Christ of faith. Now, more than ever, we need a clear understanding of the person and work of the man millions call "Savior."" "

In this ninth and final biographical study in the best-selling Great Lives from God's Word series, " "beloved pastor and Bible teacher Charles" "Swindoll introduces you to the carpenter from Nazareth as you have never seen Him before.

This fascinating biography, filled with biblical and historical insights, takes you on an unforgettable journey through the complex and provocative life of Jesus of Nazareth. His unique birth. His astonishing power. His controversial teaching. His shocking death. And His world-changing resurrection.

Refreshingly honest and deep, this in-depth profile reveals" "Jesus with great clarity and offers practical applications for your own life. Whether you're just curious about Jesus or a longtime follower of His life and teachings, you'll experience His life in a new way as you join Dr. Swindoll in "Jesus: The Greatest Life of All."

Steve Harper exhorts us not to have just a devotional time, but to have a devotional life. The seven weekly sessions in this workbook illustrate how John Wesley's devotional life can be applied to our own. The devotionals cover scripture, prayer, and fasting, among other topics.

Contemporary Muslims face a challenge: how should they define the relationship between normative Islamic jurisprudence-worked out by classical jurists over the course of centuries-and the reality that confronts them in their everyday lives. They have to reckon with how religion can regulate and serve the needs of a changing community. Is there a need for reformation in Islam? If so, where should it begin and how should it proceed? So far, these challenging questions have received little attention from Western scholars. Shi'ism Revisited will address this gap. In order to address pressing religious and social questions-on topics ranging from women's rights to bioethics and the challenges facing diasporic Muslims-legal scholars have sought to apply ijtihad, or independent reasoning. The lack of a central authority in Islam means the interpretations and edicts of scholars are frequently challenged, resulting in diversity and plurality in Islamic law. This makes Islamic law capacious, but also suggests the critical importance of examining not just the theory of law, but its application. Shi'ism Revisited moves beyond theoretical questions of reformation to address specific ways that Islamic law is being revisited by jurists. Tracing the origins and development of Shi'i jurisprudence and legal theory, Liyakat Takim analyzes how underlying epistemologies can be revised in order to create a moral and coherent legal system.

One in five Americans has anxiety significant enough to be diagnosed, and a recent poll showed that 62 percent of people feel more anxious than they did a year ago. But while we're facing new challenges, anxiety itself is as old as time. It's an inescapable part of being human in this world, but it doesn't have to control our thoughts, our days, or our lives. Counselor, life coach, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Holley Gerth wants you to break free of anxiety's grip so that you can experience an inner calm despite your outer circumstances. She knows from personal experience what it's like to struggle with anxiety. During this 60-day journey, she comes alongside you as a trusted friend, offering hard-won personal insights, biblical advice, and the latest brain science to help you take control of your anxious thoughts once and for all. Each devotion includes Scripture, prayer, and questions for further reflection.

The Dhammapada is a collection of aphorisms that illustrate the Buddhist dhamma or moral system.

Probably compiled in the third century B.C., the verses encompass the struggle towards Nirvana - the supreme goal for the Buddhist - and point out the narrow Path of Perfection that leads to it. 'In the Dhammapada we can hear the voice of Buddha,' writes Juan Mascaro, translator of the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. 'This gospel of light and love is amongst the greatest spiritual works of man. Each verse is like a small star and the whole has the radiance of eternity.'

An exploration of the inner life shared by many persons in nursing homes and retirement centers.

Scripture as Logos Rabbi Ishmael and the Origins of Midrash Azzan Yadin "This is perhaps the most significant and innovative scholarly work on the halakhic midrashim in the past thirty years. The claims are extremely convincing, the scholarship is rigorous, and the writing is engaging. The conclusions repeatedly break new ground and dispel mistaken ideas that have been accepted among scholars. Most impressive, Yadin consistently displays a command of both textual expertise and theory."--Jeffrey L. Rubenstein, New York University The study of midrash--the biblical exegesis, parables, and anecdotes of the Rabbis--has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years. Most recent scholarship, however, has focused on the aggadic or narrative midrash, while halakhic or legal midrash--the exegesis of biblical law--has received relatively little attention. In "Scripture as Logos," Azzan Yadin addresses this long-standing need, examining early, tannaitic (70-200 C.E.) legal midrash, focusing on the interpretive tradition associated with the figure of Rabbi Ishmael. This is a sophisticated study of midrashic hermeneutics, growing out of the observation that the Rabbi Ishmael midrashim contain a dual personification of Scripture, which is referred to as both "torah" and "ha-katuv." It is Yadin's significant contribution to note that the two terms are not in fact synonymous but rather serve as metonymies for Sinai on the one hand and, on the other, the rabbinic house of study, the bet midrash. Yadin develops this insight, ultimately presenting the complex but highly coherent interpretive ideology that underlies these rabbinic texts, an ideology that--contrary to the dominant view today--seeks to minimize the role of the rabbinic reader by presenting Scripture as actively self-interpretive. Moving beyond textual analysis, Yadin then locates the Rabbi Ishmael hermeneutic within the religious landscape of Second Temple and post-Temple literature. The result is a series of surprising connections between these rabbinic texts and Wisdom literature, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Church Fathers, all of which lead to a radical rethinking of the origins of rabbinic midrash and, indeed, of the Rabbis as a whole. Azzan Yadin teaches in the Department of Jewish Studies at Rutgers University. Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religion 2004 248 pages 6 x 9 ISBN 978-0-8122-3791-7 Cloth $69.95s 45.50 ISBN 978-0-8122-0412-4 Ebook $69.95s 45.50 World Rights Religion, History

Now in paperback
Taking Hold of Torah
Jewish Commitment and Community in America
Arnold M. Eisen

A personal meditation on the meaning of Judaism today and a vision for revitalizing Jewish community and tradition in America.

"Arnold M. Eisen offers a personal plea for and a vision of the revitalizing of American Judaism through a renewed relationship to Jewish tradition and the strengthening of Jewish communities." Jewish Book News

..".required reading for Jewish communal professionals, Taking Hold of Torah] spells out the discontents and dreams of the baby boomers and their children who are reinventing Jewish communal life for the modern world." Jewish Exponent

"Melding autobiography with biblical exegesis, philosophical speculation and a program for Jewish educational reform, the book is an unbuttoned riff on what's ailing modern Jews." Forward

..".a personal story of a modern Jew trying to make sense of Judaism in a time when Jews can choose whether and how to be Jewish...." The Jewish Advocate

Jews, like other Americans, have both benefitted and suffered from the fraying of traditional loyalties that has come to characterize modern American culture. In each of the five chapters, Arnold M. Eisen examines a major issue or theme related to his vision for the renewal of Jewish communities in terms of one of the five books of the Torah. What is the meaning and purpose of Jewish tradition? What is the significance of faith and covenant? What are the contemporary uses of ritual? What should a new agenda for politics in American Jewish life include? What legacy is to be left to future generations? This encouraging work is essential reading for anyone concerned with questions of Jewish faith and the future of Judaism in America.

Arnold M. Eisen is Professor and Chair of Religious Studies at Stanford University, a frequent speaker on issues related to contemporary Jewish life before lay and scholarly audiences throughout North America, and an active participant in communal discussions concerning the future of American Judaism. His publications include The Chosen People in America (Indiana University Press) and Rethinking Modern Judaism: Ritual, Commandment, Community, winner of a Koret Jewish Book Award.

The Helen and Martin Schwartz Lectures in Jewish Studies

Contents:
Introduction
1. Genesis: Taking on Tradition
2. Exodus: History, Faith, and Covenant
3. Leviticus: Ritual and Community
4. Numbers: Politics in the Wilderness
5. Deuteronomy: Legacies"

Are you and your spouse speaking the same language? He sends you flowers when what you really want is time to talk. She gives you a hug when what you really need is a home-cooked meal. The problem isn't love--it's your love language. Each one of us responds well to a different type of expression of love. "The One Year Love Language Minute Devotional" is your daily guide for expressing heartfelt love to your mate in a way that he or she can appreciate it.

In the seventeenth century, English Baptists existed on the fringe of the nation's collective religious life. Today, Baptists have developed into one of the world's largest Protestant denominations. Despite this impressive transformation, those first English Baptists remain chronically misunderstood. In Orthodox Radicals, Matthew C. Bingham clarifies and analyzes the origins and identity of Baptists during the English Revolution, arguing that mid-seventeenth century Baptists did not, in fact, understand themselves to be a part of a larger, all-encompassing Baptist movement. Contrary to both the explicit statements of many historians and the tacit suggestion embedded in the very use of "Baptist" as an overarching historical category, the early modern men and women who rejected infant baptism would not have initially understood that single theological stance as being in itself constitutive of a new collective identity. Rather, the rejection of infant baptism was but one of a number of doctrinal revisions then taking place among English puritans eager to further their on-going project of godly reformation. Orthodox Radicals complicates our understanding of Baptist identity, setting the early English Baptists in the cultural, political, and theological context of the wider puritan milieu out of which they arose. The book also speaks to broader themes, including early modern debates on religious toleration, the mechanisms by which early modern actors established and defended their tenuous religious identities, and the perennial problem of anachronism in historical writing. Bingham also challenges the often too-hasty manner in which scholars have drawn lines of theological demarcation between early modern religious bodies, and reconsiders one of this period's most dynamic and influential religious minorities from a fresh and perhaps controversial perspective. By combining a provocative reinterpretation of Baptist identity with close readings of key theological and political texts, Orthodox Radicals offers the most original and stimulating analysis of mid-seventeenth-century Baptists in decades.

Mase'ei (Numbers 33:1-36:13) and Haftarah (Jeremiah 2:4-28; 3:4): The JPS B’nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary shows teens in their own language how Torah addresses the issues in their world. The conversational tone is inviting and dignified, concise and substantial, direct and informative. Each pamphlet includes a general introduction, two model divrei Torah on the weekly Torah portion, and one model davar Torah on the weekly Haftarah portion. Jewish learning—for young people and adults—will never be the same.    The complete set of weekly portions is available in Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin’s book The JPS B’nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary (JPS, 2017).