Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Top Shelf Book Cover Award We live in a culture that values activity, achievement and accomplishment. Whether in our careers, churches, schools or families, busyness is the norm in our lives, and anything less makes us feel unproductive and anxious. We have to work all the harder, then, to pursue true rest in a 24-7 world that is constantly in motion. John Koessler understands that rest is not automatic or easy to attain. He names the modern-day barriers to becoming people of rest and presents a unique perspective on how pursuing rest leads us to the heart of God. With honest, biblical reflections on trends in our culture and churches, he exposes our misconceptions regarding the concept of rest, as well as offering correction and practices to align our ideas with God's ideal. The book includes reflection and discussion questions designed for both individual and group use. You will discover the true meaning behind Jesus' idea of the yoke of rest and restoration for your mind, body and soul.

When you stand before your congregation, what do you hope to accomplish when you preach the Word? If people have Bibles and the freedom to read and pray on their own---why do they need you? In short, what do you bring to the table?Author, pastor, and professor John Koessler answers those questions and many more. Why does one sermon have a powerful effect on the audience while another falls flat? Why should listeners heed what the preacher says? Is human language adequate for facilitating an encounter with God? What is the point of preaching a sermon?Folly, Grace, and Power is a must-read for pastors, seminarians, and lay leaders charged with the task of preaching God's word. This essential book is both a stern reminder of the sacredness of the awesome 'job' of being a preacher, as well as a how-to that reveals the key to speaking powerfully on God's behalf.

For Christians, one of our earliest lessons--and greatest gifts--is learning how to pray. And yet many of us believe our prayer lives fall short. In When God Is Silent, John Koessler reassures us that this has nothing to do with motivation or method. Our problems are relational, and recognizing this is the first step to having a better prayer life. Prayer is a conversation that moves primarily in one direction: from the believer who prays to the God who hears. If God appears silent, that does not mean that he is unresponsive. We always have God's attention. This book does more than answer questions like how and why we should pray--it also invites us to gain a sense of God, of his goodness, and the rich welcome that is waiting for us every time we approach him in the name of Jesus Christ.

Old Testament Theology provides a foundational tool for a theological reading of the Old Testament. In the book's central chapters, John Kessler delineates six differing representations of the divine-human relationship, with special emphasis on the kind of response each one evokes from the people of God. He traces these representations through the Old Testament, into the New Testament, and reflects on their significance for the values and character formation of the people of God today. Old Testament Theology combines elements of Old Testament history, exegesis, hermeneutics, and theology, and situates them within the social, cultural, and intellectual world of ancient Israel and Israelite religious institutions. The result is a comprehensive and readable introduction to Old Testament theology for students in seminaries and colleges.

When the Old Testament refers to silence, either the silence of persons or of God, that silence conveys a diversity of meanings. It may indicate a breakdown in the divine-human relationship, or the beginning of the renewal of that relationship. It can be associated with sacred space or the realm of death. At times, God's silence seems painful and incomprehensible, an indication of God's indifference or neglect. At other times it speaks of the great security that the people of God may have in the Lord's unfailing care. Between Hearing and Silence: A Study in Old Testament Theology invites students and scholars alike to explore the various ways in which the concept of silence is expressed in the Old Testament and the many meanings it conveys. John Kessler surveys the diverse facets of the Old Testament's understanding of silence to help readers discover the richness of this often-overlooked biblical theme. Each chapter examines various biblical texts relating to a different aspect of silence and uncovers the distinctive understanding of silence those texts present; at the same time, this thematic investigation opens up new perspectives on the broader contours of Old Testament theology in all its stunning complexity. These portraits of silence, both divine and human, will introduce readers to a novel way of understanding the relational dynamics within the divine-human relationship. As the biblical texts move between silence and sound, readers will discover the crises of faith experienced by the people of God in their journey, even as these hardships hold within them great hope for Israel's future. Most significantly in the Old Testament, silence emerges as a sacred medium of communication between the Lord and the people of God, modeling even for the contemporary life of faith a posture of hopeful openness to the often mysterious ways of the divine.