Of course we want to be full-time Christians. But that's tough to do. Wouldn't it be easier if someone came alongside to help us and encourage us? That's just what Earl Palmer does in this book. He walks with us, shares the joys and struggles of his own journey, and passes along wisdom that comes from his intimate experience with God in Jesus Christ.

Can we really know that Christianity is true? Is there a place for doubt in the Christian life? Pastor Earl Palmer tackles these and other crucial questions in this helpful book, showing that authentic Christian faith is not a blind leap into the dark, but rather personal trust in the God who reveals himself in the Bible. Faith is putting our weight upon the faithfulness of God. It is our response to the evidence of God's self-evidence. Through numerous biblical examples Earl Palmer shows the many ways that we can be assured that our faith is well placed and yet be open to honest inquiry and deep self-questioning. Anyone who has ever been paralyzed in their faith by the forces of internal doubt will benefit from prayerfully reading this book. Each chapter includes Scripture readings and discussions questions for individual or group study. Earl F. Palmer is pastor of University Presbyterian Church in Seattle, Washington. He is the author of numerous books and commentaries on the New Testament, including The 24-Hour Christian, The Humor of Jesus, and The Book that James Wrote.

The parables of Jesus are of untiring interest because they have the intriguing capacity to dole out their meaning here a little, there a little, new new insights revealed by changing times. Here, master Bible expositor Earl Palmer finds in them the truths awaiting our generation, and presents those truths with a gifted sense of illustration and application. Partly because their veiled nature, the parables never grow old. Far from what we sometimes hear, they are not little stories so simple that they can make truth transparent, so anyone can understand. Jesus used parables so that the truth will actually be hidden from those who had rather not see it in the first place (Matthew 13:11-15). But for those who long for the truth, it is there for the discovering.

Just as the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament served as a book of advice to the Jewish people, so James, according to Earl F. Palmer, is a New Testament book of advice to Christians. And it contains a great wealth of instruction and admonition as relevant to Christians today as it was to its first-century audience. In The Book That James Wrote, Palmer offers a user-friendly guide to James that is ideal for pastors and parishioners, for personal or small-group study. In the opening chapters, Palmer interestingly sets the historical scene behind the book of James, discussing the book's authorship, date, and the political and religious atmosphere of the city of Jerusalem and its first church. He also examines the book of James itself, its structure, its major themes, and its remarkable similarity to the book of Proverbs. In the main body of the book Palmer first provides a verse-by-verse commentary on James before focusing more deeply on such pastoral-theological themes as the nature of God and the meaning of faith, wisdom, temptation, hope and patience. A study guide at the back of the book suggests further readings and questions for reflection.

Hype and appearance. That is the type of generation we live in according to Earl Palmer, a much-respected writer and pastor. Integrity has taken a beating in this modern world of ours, as we know from watching the nightly news. Even the religion world has had its share of scandals. Somehow our Christian senses have been deadened by all the gifts and noise. And somehow it has made our quest to live a life consistent with the gospel more and more difficult. But Earl Palmer believes that Paul, in the book of Philippians, has much to say to our generation about integrity in life; about living our daily lives a worthy of the gospel.a Palmer, with his gift for expository teaching, unfolds the insights of this short letter and offers them to us as a guide to the kind of life, full of integrity and depth, we all want to live for Christ. With questions included for study and reflection, this book is valuable for either personal or group use.