After her conversion from Orthodox Judaism to Christianity, Lauren Winner found that her life was indelibly marked by the rich traditions and spiritual practices of Judaism. She set out to discover how she could incorporate some of these practices into her new faith. Winner presents eleven Jewish spiritual practices that can transform the way Christians view the world and God. Whether discussing attentive eating, marking the days while grieving, the community that supports a marriage, candle-lighting, or the differences between the Jewish Sabbath and a Sunday spent at the Mudhouse, her favorite coffee shop, Winner writes with appealing honesty and rare insight.

"The Voice of Matthew" is a unique retelling of the life of Jesus from the perspective of a Jewish believer who wants to connect the past with the future. The writer of this retelling is Lauren Winner, a young Jewish woman who has become a follower of Jesus. She is an extremely talented writer and a lecturer at Duke Divinity School that brings an intellectual edge to the biblical story. At the heart of this retelling is an accurate rendering of the traditional Bible text with historical and cultural expansions of the story that are placed in italic type to help the reader differentiate the expansions from the Bible text. Throughout the book the writer adds significant statements as ancillary asides. These ancillary statements are separated from the biblical text as ruled text. They include further development of the narrative setting, connective statements to explain the story, or development of character or background information.
Because Lauren has written all of the material, the elaborations in the text and the ancillary statements are in the same style and tone as the biblical text and make for a thoroughly stimulating read. While Lauren's writing style is very conversational, her scholarship is of the highest quality. An extremely accurate rendering of the biblical text is the foundation for this provocative and enlightening retelling of Matthew's Gospel. The reader will feel as if he is having a personal discussion with Matthew.
A unique formatting of the narrative text of the Scriptures is being used in all of the Gospel products in The Voice. It is readily apparent who the speaker is in dialogue without the interruptions to the story found in most versions of the Bible, the narrative element of the text is clear, and the ancillary material is easily distinguished from the Bible. The story reads like a novel with fascinating bonus gems provided to make this one of the most satisfying Bible reading experiences ever.The biblical scholarship and writing style have been checked by two biblical reviewers, the senior theological scholar on The Voice Scripture Project, the senior writer, a biblical archaeologist, copyeditors and proofreaders, and the executive editor of the project. Lauren's work in Matthew has already been used to compile The Last Eyewitness, Songs from the Voice volume two, and the upcoming Son of the Most High.
The Voice is a Scripture project to rediscover the story of the Bible. It is holistic, beautiful, sensitive, and balanced. As a part of the project a contextualized version of the Bible is being created through a truly unique retelling process with an emphasis on the cultural transference to the postmodern culture and with great attention being given to literary artistry.

Thomas Nelson Bibles is giving back through the God's Word in Action program. Donating a portion of profits to World Vision, we are helping to eradicate poverty and preventable deaths among children. Learn more and discover what you can do at www.seegodswordinaction.com.

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson is one of the most eminent public intellectuals in America today. In addition to literary elegance, her trilogy of novels (Gilead, Home, and Lila) and her collections of essays offer probing meditations on the Christian faith. Many of these reflections are grounded in her belief that the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformer John Calvin still deserves a hearing in the twenty-first century. This volume, based on the 2018 Wheaton Theology Conference, brings together the thoughts of leading theologians, historians, literary scholars, and church leaders who engaged in theological dialogue with Robinson's published work-and with the author herself.

SEX. Splashed across magazine covers, billboards, and computer screens--sex is casual, aggressive, and absolutely everywhere. And everybody's doing it, right?
In "Real Sex," heralded young author Lauren F. Winner speaks candidly to Christians about the difficulty--and the importance--of sexual chastity. With honesty and wit, she talks about her struggle to live a celibate life. Never dodging tough terms like "confession" and "sin," Winner grounds her discussion of chastity first and foremost in Scripture. She confronts cultural lies about sex and challenges how we talk about sex in church. Her biblically grounded observations and suggestions will be especially valuable to unmarried Christians struggling with the sexual mania of today's culture.
"Real Sex" is essential reading for Christians grappling with chastity and a valuable tool for pastors.

Loneliness has reached epidemic proportions, according to many sources. In an age of mobility and fraying civic life, we are all susceptible to its power. But what if loneliness is a necessary part of the human condition? What if it is a current that leads us deeper into belonging--to ourselves, to each other, and to God?In The Great Belonging, writer and spiritual director Charlotte Donlon reframes loneliness and offers us a language for the disquiet within. Instead of turning away from the waters of loneliness for fear they will engulf us, she invites us to wade in and see what we find there. In vulnerable, thoughtful prose, Donlon helps us understand our own occasional or frequent loneliness and offers touchpoints for understanding alienation. We can live into the persistent questions of loneliness. We can notice God's presence even when we feel alone in our doubts. Ultimately, Donlon claims, we can find connection that emerges from honesty, and she offers tools, resources, and practices for transforming loneliness into true belonging.

A daily devotional reader to guide lovers of the Word through the forty days of Lent and Easter, rich with spiritual insight from leading Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox writers Explore the meaning of Lent, its importance in spiritual formation, its significance in the preparation for Easter, and throughout the holy season of Christ's Resurrection. Leading North American spiritual writers reflect on what one theologian has called the "bright sadness" of Lent: that it is not about feeling broken and lost, but about cleansing the palate so we can taste and live life more fully. During Lent and Easter, we encounter the God who in all of life is for us-for our liberation, for our healing, for our wholeness. Even in death we can find resurrection. In God For Us readers will find: - Daily readings with scriptures, meditations, and prayers, beautiful edited by Greg Pennoyer and Gregory Wolfe - One beloved spiritual writer featured each week Introduction: Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, OMI Shrove Tuesday and the First Week of Lent: Richard Rohr, OFM Second Week of Lent: Lauren F. Winner Third Week of Lent: Scott Cairns Fourth Week of Lent: James Schaap Fifth Week of Lent: Luci Shaw Holy Week and Easter: Kathleen Norris - Studies throughout the forty days on "The Feasts and Fasts of Lent" by Beth Bevis

This enlightening book examines the physical objects found in elite Virginia households of the eighteenth century to discover what they can tell us about their owners' lives and religious practices. Lauren F. Winner looks closely at punch bowls, needlework, mourning jewelry, baptismal gowns, biscuit molds, cookbooks, and many other items, illuminating the ways Anglicanism influenced daily activities and attitudes in colonial Virginia, particularly in the households of the gentry.

"Advent is about learning to love the waiting..." Waiting is the primary lesson of Advent, says Paula Gooder. In the company of the biblical characters with whom the candles on the Advent wreath are traditionally associated, she helps us to discover very different kinds of waiting: * Abraham and Sarah--who waited a lifetime for the fulfillment of God's promises.* The Hebrew prophets--who waited for God's intervention, both longed for and feared.* John the Baptist--whose ministry marked the end of one era and anticipated the new.* Mary--whose life was shaped by waiting and by events beyond her control. "The Meaning Is in the Waiting" is arranged for daily reading in the hectic run-up to Christmas. This thoughtful book will enable you to grow more fully into a way of being that is expectant rather than urgent, more focused on God's presence right now than on some imagined future. You will venture on this journey in companionship with the God who waits with us.

Challenging the central place that "practices" have recently held in Christian theology, Lauren Winner explores the damages these practices have inflicted over the centuries Sometimes, beloved and treasured Christian practices go horrifyingly wrong, extending violence rather than promoting its healing. In this bracing book, Lauren Winner provocatively challenges the assumption that the church possesses a set of immaculate practices that will definitionally train Christians in virtue and that can't be answerable to their histories. Is there, for instance, an account of prayer that has anything useful to say about a slave-owning woman's praying for her slaves' obedience? Is there a robustly theological account of the Eucharist that connects the Eucharist's goods to the sacrament's central role in medieval Christian murder of Jews? Arguing that practices are deformed in ways that are characteristic of and intrinsic to the practices themselves, Winner proposes that the register in which Christians might best think about the Eucharist, prayer, and baptism is that of "damaged gift." Christians go on with these practices because, though blighted by sin, they remain gifts from God.

• Next generation of the classic Episcopal Teaching Series • Accessible and engaging enough for newcomers and adult learners; full of content for church leaders and seminarians • Filled with interactive study materials The New Church’s Teaching series has been one of the most recognizable and useful sets of books in the Episcopal Church. With the launch of the Church’s Teachings for a Changing World series, visionary Episcopal thinkers and leaders have teamed up to write a new set of books, grounded and thoughtful enough for seminarians and leaders, concise and accessible enough for newcomers, with a host of discussion resources that help readers to dig deep. In this seventh volume, bestselling author, scholar, and priest Lauren Winner introduces the story behind the Scriptures and invites readers to engage the Word of God with curiosity and confidence. Rich with content and grounded in Episcopal tradition, A Word to Live By is filled with Winner’s trademark combination of humor, authenticity, and rich insight.