Paul preaches of unity, love for Christ, moral living, and the Second Coming. He warns of false teachers, promotes vigilance in the wait for Christ, and blesses these communities throughout his letter writing, from his earliest letters through those he penned shortly before his death. Paul's encouragement, his advice for faithful living, and his love for Christ speak to us today as clearly as they did for the early Christians.

Jesus had about three years to mold a dozen fearful, faithless men into the pillars of a worldwide movement. Despite this brief window, time in Jesus' presence had a transforming effect on each of them, and they would be changed by Jesus' power. In this ten session LifeGuide(R) Bible Study of Jesus' first followers will transform you too. For over three decades LifeGuide Bible Studies have provided solid biblical content and raised thought-provoking questions--making for a one-of-a-kind Bible study experience for individuals and groups. This series has more than 130 titles on Old and New Testament books, character studies, and topical studies.

Feasting on the Gospels is a new seven-volume series that follows up on the success of the Feasting on the Word series to provide another unique preaching resource, this time on the most prominent and preached upon New Testament books, the four Gospels. With contributions from a diverse and respected group of scholars and pastors, Feasting on the Gospels will include completely new material that covers every single passage in the New Testament Gospels, making it suitable for both lectionary and non-lectionary use. Moreover, these volumes will incorporate the unique format of Feasting on the Word, with four perspectives for preachers to choose from for each Gospel passage: theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical. Feasting on the Gospels will provide a special resource for all who preach, either continuously or occasionally, on the Gospels.

Towns reveals the power of prayer in this fascinating look at the Lord's Prayer. Each chapter examines a line from the prayer, revealing power points for every believer desiring a more dynamic prayer life. Towns says: "What would you say if you were ushered into the throne room of God with only one minute to request everything you needed, but didn't know how to put it into words? The Lord's Prayer includes everything you need to ask when you talk to God . . . it is a model prayer that teaches us how to pray."

Everyone knows the New Testament begins with the Gospel of Matthew, but how many know Matthew was actually one of the later books to be written? (It wasn't even the first Gospel ) But Evolution of the Word is not your typical New Testament.

Marcus J. Borg, esteemed Bible scholar and bestselling author, shakes up the order of the New Testament as we know it by putting the books in a completely new order--the order in which they were written. By doing so, Evolution of the Word allows us to read these documents in their historical context. For the first time, see how the core ideas of Christianity took shape and developed over time.

Borg surveys what we know of the Jewish community of Jesus followers who passed on their stories orally. Into this context emerges the apostle Paul, whose seven authentic letters become the first collected writings that would later become the New Testament. Borg offers helpful introductions for each book so that as we read through these biblical documents, spanning over a century in time, we see afresh what concerns and pressures shaped this movement as it evolved into a new religion.

In this groundbreaking format, Borg reveals how a radical and primitive apocalyptic Jewish faith slowly became more comfortable with the world, less Jewish, and more pre- occupied with maintaining power and control. Evolution of the Word promises to change forever how we think about this historic work.

Who was Peter and what was his true stature in the early church? For Protestants at least, Peter seems caught between two caricatures: the rustic fisherman of Galilee and the author of two lesser New Testament letters. And in both cases he is overshadowed by Paul. In The Life and Witness of Peter, Larry Helyer seeks to reinstate this neglected and underestimated apostle to his rightful stature as an early Christian leader and faithful witness to Christ. Reconstructing Peter's life, theology and legacy from evidence in 1 and 2 Peter, the Gospels, Acts, Paul's letters, and texts from the early church, Helyer renders a great service for students of the New Testament. We are introduced to Peter the eyewitness who stands behind much of Mark's Gospel, Peter the preacher who lends deep credibility to the account of Acts, and Peter the letter-writer whose words glow with spiritual intelligence. Along the way we are rewarded with a careful analysis of prominent theological themes in Peter's letters. And we learn much about the traditions, legends and legacy of Peter in the post-apostolic era

The guides in this series by Tom Wright can be used on their own or alongside his New Testament for Everyone commentaries. They are designed to help you understand the Bible in fresh ways under the guidance of one of the world's leading New Testament scholars.

Christianity Today 2013 Book Award Winner Winner of The Foundation for Pentecostal Scholarship's 2012 Award of Excellence 2011 Book of the Year, Christianbook.com's Academic Blog Most modern prejudice against biblical miracle reports depends on David Hume's argument that uniform human experience precluded miracles. Yet current research shows that human experience is far from uniform. In fact, hundreds of millions of people today claim to have experienced miracles. New Testament scholar Craig Keener argues that it is time to rethink Hume's argument in light of the contemporary evidence available to us. This wide-ranging and meticulously researched two-volume study presents the most thorough current defense of the credibility of the miracle reports in the Gospels and Acts. Drawing on claims from a range of global cultures and taking a multidisciplinary approach to the topic, Keener suggests that many miracle accounts throughout history and from contemporary times are best explained as genuine divine acts, lending credence to the biblical miracle reports.

Radio messages from J. Vernon McGee delighted and enthralled listeners for years with simple, straightforward language and clear understanding of the Scripture. Now enjoy his personable, yet scholarly, style in a 60-volume set of commentaries that takes you from Genesis to Revelation with new understanding and insight. Each volume includes introductory sections, detailed outlines and a thorough, paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of the text. A great choice for pastors - and even better choice for the average Bible reader and student! Very affordable in a size that can go anywhere, it's available as a complete 60-volume series, in Old Testament or New Testament sets, or individually.

Radio messages from J. Vernon McGee delighted and enthralled listeners for years with simple, straightforward language and clear understanding of the Scripture. Now enjoy his personable, yet scholarly, style in a 60-volume set of commentaries that takes you from Genesis to Revelation with new understanding and insight. Each volume includes introductory sections, detailed outlines and a thorough, paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of the text. A great choice for pastors - and even better choice for the average Bible reader and student! Very affordable in a size that can go anywhere, it's available as a complete 60-volume series, in Old Testament or New Testament sets, or individually.

In this masterfully written book, Tomas Halik calls upon Christians to touch the wounds of the world and to rediscover their own faith by loving and healing their neighbors. One of the most important voices in contemporary Catholicism, Tomas Halik argues that Christians can discover the clearest vision of God not by turning away from suffering but by confronting it. Halik calls upon us to follow the apostle Thomas's example: to see the pain, suffering, and poverty of our world and to touch those wounds with faith and action. It is those expressions of love and service, Halik reveals, that restore our hope and the courage to live, allowing true holiness to manifest itself. Only face-to-face with a wounded Christ can we lay down our armor and masks, revealing our own wounds and allowing healing to begin. Weaving together deep theological and philosophical reflections with surprising, trenchant, and even humorous commentary on the times in which we live, Halik offers a new prescription for those lost in moments of doubt, abandonment, or suffering. Rather than demanding impossible, flawless faith, we can look through our doubt to see, touch, and confront the wounds in the hearts of our neighbors and-through that wounded humanity, which the Son of God took upon himself-see God.

Who was Luke? Was he one of Paul's companions? Was he a doctor? We do know that he was educated and cultured, writing for people far away from where Jesus lived. In his Gospel, we find the foundation of our Christmas stories and the best-loved parables, those of the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. We see Jesus' concern for the poor and the marginalized, especially women and children. And it's Luke who tells us of the repentant thief on the cross and of the risen Jesus accompanying the people on the road to Emmaus. In these twenty-six studies, we discover Luke's aim - to present the good news of Jesus as clearly and unambiguously as he can.

Radio messages from J. Vernon McGee delighted and enthralled listeners for years with simple, straightforward language and clear understanding of the Scripture. Now enjoy his personable, yet scholarly, style in a 60-volume set of commentaries that takes you from Genesis to Revelation with new understanding and insight. Each volume includes introductory sections, detailed outlines and a thorough, paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of the text. A great choice for pastors - and even better choice for the average Bible reader and student! Very affordable in a size that can go anywhere, it's available as a complete 60-volume series, in Old Testament or New Testament sets, or individually.

Radio messages from J. Vernon McGee delighted and enthralled listeners for years with simple, straightforward language and clear understanding of the Scripture. Now enjoy his personable, yet scholarly, style in a 60-volume set of commentaries that takes you from Genesis to Revelation with new understanding and insight. Each volume includes introductory sections, detailed outlines and a thorough, paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of the text. A great choice for pastors - and even better choice for the average Bible reader and student! Very affordable in a size that can go anywhere, it's available as a complete 60-volume series, in Old Testament or New Testament sets, or individually.

Radio messages from J. Vernon McGee delighted and enthralled listeners for years with simple, straightforward language and clear understanding of the Scripture. Now enjoy his personable, yet scholarly, style in a 60-volume set of commentaries that takes you from Genesis to Revelation with new understanding and insight. Each volume includes introductory sections, detailed outlines and a thorough, paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of the text. A great choice for pastors - and even better choice for the average Bible reader and student! Very affordable in a size that can go anywhere, it's available as a complete 60-volume series, in Old Testament or New Testament sets, or individually.

Radio messages from J. Vernon McGee delighted and enthralled listeners for years with simple, straightforward language and clear understanding of the Scripture. Now enjoy his personable, yet scholarly, style in a 60-volume set of commentaries that takes you from Genesis to Revelation with new understanding and insight. Each volume includes introductory sections, detailed outlines and a thorough, paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of the text. A great choice for pastors - and even better choice for the average Bible reader and student! Very affordable in a size that can go anywhere, it's available as a complete 60-volume series, in Old Testament or New Testament sets, or individually.

Radio messages from J. Vernon McGee delighted and enthralled listeners for years with simple, straightforward language and clear understanding of the Scripture. Now enjoy his personable, yet scholarly, style in a 60-volume set of commentaries that takes you from Genesis to Revelation with new understanding and insight. Each volume includes introductory sections, detailed outlines and a thorough, paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of the text. A great choice for pastors - and even better choice for the average Bible reader and student! Very affordable in a size that can go anywhere, it's available as a complete 60-volume series, in Old Testament or New Testament sets, or individually.

Radio messages from J. Vernon McGee delighted and enthralled listeners for years with simple, straightforward language and clear understanding of the Scripture. Now enjoy his personable, yet scholarly, style in a 60-volume set of commentaries that takes you from Genesis to Revelation with new understanding and insight. Each volume includes introductory sections, detailed outlines and a thorough, paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of the text. A great choice for pastors - and even better choice for the average Bible reader and student! Very affordable in a size that can go anywhere, it's available as a complete 60-volume series, in Old Testament or New Testament sets, or individually.

The last thirty years have witnessed increasing diversity in methodology and perspectives within biblical studies. One of the most dynamic and continually expanding contributions to this development is that of postcolonial studies, known for its fresh approaches as well as for its complex theoretical foundations. The present book aims at introducing both student and scholar to this emerging field. Part One discusses in a structured and pedagogical way the theoretical location of postcolonial biblical studies as well as its critique of and contributions to New Testament exegesis more specifically. Part Two presents five articles by scholars from Africa, Asia, and North America, illustrating the diversity of current postcolonial studies as applied to individual New Testament texts.

Join Gary Inrig at the feet of Jesus and experience His parables as though for the first time.

In "The Parables," you'll feel as though you can smell the odors of Jewish villages, feel the dust of Galilean roads, and hear the voice of the Savior putting you into His stories.

You'll be encouraged by what you learn about yourself and God.

This new commentary -- part of Eerdmans's acclaimed NICNT series -- gives primary attention to John's gospel in its present form rather than the sources or traditions behind it. J. Ramsey Michaels assumes that the John who authored the book is someone very close to Jesus and, therefore, that the gospel is a testimony to events that actually happened in the life of Jesus. Yet Michaels does not ignore the literary character of the gospel of John or its theological contribution to the larger Christian community from its own time to the present day. Through a detailed verse-by-verse commentary, Michaels reveals how the gospel of -the disciple whom Jesus loved- is a unified composition, intertwined with the synoptics, yet drawing on material none of them cover.

The Complete Gospels is the first publication to collect the canonical gospels and their extracanonical counterparts, from the first and second centuries, under a single cover. These extracanonical gospels are independent of the canon, and significantly contribute to our understanding of the developments in the Jesus tradition leading up to and surrounding the New Testament. Each chapter comprises: - An updated translation of the gospel. - An introduction that sets the text in its ancient and historical contexts and discusses the overall structure and central themes. - Notes that explain important translation issues, supply necessary background information, offer guidance to difficult passages, and honestly indicate problems in the text or in our understanding of them. - Cross references to parallel passages, intratextual indicators, and thematic parallels so the reader can see how the individual passages of a gospel fit into the rich tapestry of Jewish and early Christian texts. - This volume is the premier publication of the Scholars Version translation of the gospels-a fresh translation from the original languages into living American English that is entirely free of ecclesiastical control. The Scholars Version intentionally drops the pretence that academics have all the answers. It strives to avoid both talking down and over the heads of readers. The goal is to make these fascinating texts intelligible and inviting to all who want to study them.

Few individual books of the Bible have changed the course of church history the way Paul's letter to the Romans has. Whether one thinks of Augustine's conversion in the fourth century, Luther's recovery of justification by faith in the sixteenth or Barth's challenge to recover theological exegesis of the Bible in the twentieth, Romans has been the catalyst to personal spiritual renewal and the recapturing of gospel basics. Paul, in seeking to bring unity and understanding between Jews and Gentiles in Rome, sets forth in Romans his most profound explication of the gospel and its meaning for the church. The letter's relevance is as great today as it was in the first century. Throughout this commentary, Grant R. Osborne explains what the letter meant to its original hearers and its application for us today.

Valuable tools for study or scholarship. Taking a telescopic view of the Bible, Exploring the Old Testament Book by Book and Exploring the New Testament Book by Book enable readers to see the big picture behind this Book of books, to see how the various parts of Scripture relate to one another. These volumes from gifted expositor John Phillips teaches the importance of taking a few steps back from Scripture in order to gain fresh insight into the message, meaning, and art of the Bible.

The 'Ephesians: For Everyone Bible Study Guide' by renowned Christian author and professor, Tom Wright, is an excellent starting point for new Christians, those studying or Bible study groups to explore and understand more on the book of Ephesians. As part of the 'For Everyone Bible Study Guides' series, this title by Tom Wright offers a range of thought-provoking study questions and accessible introductory material. The guides in this series can be used on their own or alongside Tom Wright's engaging New Testament for Everyone commentaries. 'For Everyone Bible Study Guides' are designed to help you understand the Bible in fresh ways under the guidance of one of the world's leading New Testament scholars, Tom Wright. Thoughtful questions, prayer suggestions, and useful background and cultural information all guide you into a deeper understanding of the Christian story and the Christian life. When you have a story at the back of your mind, have you noticed how it sometimes keeps coming up, even if you are talking about something else? Throughout his exhortation, prayers and instructions for living in the letter to the Ephesians, Paul cannot contain his joy and amazement at God's plan to save us in Jesus the Messiah. These eleven studies from Tom Wright within 'Ephesians: For Everyone Bible Study Guide' help us to see the significance of our role in God's grand narrative, and encourage us to live fully as people who are lavishly loved by God. This book on Ephesians is the perfect introduction to the topic, designed to not only teach but also question the reader and give thoughtful insight.