In June 1983 the Astronomical Institute of the State University of Groningen, founded by Kapteyn about 100 years ago, celebrated its one-hundredth anniversary. At the suggestion of its Chairman, R.J. Allen, the Kapteyn Institute invited the International Astronomical Union to mark the centenary by holding a Symposium on "The Milky Way Galaxy". The purpose of the Symposium was to review recent progress in the study of our Galaxy, to define current problems, and to explore prospects for future development. The Symposium programme would emphasize the large-scale characteristics of our Galaxy, and highlight both the historical development of our understanding of the Milky Way Galaxy and the importance of studies of external galaxies to this understanding. The Symposium was sponsored by four IAU Commissions: 33 (Structure and Dynamics of the Galactic System), 28 (Galaxies), 34 (Interstellar Matter) and 41 (History of Astronomy). The Scientific Organizing Committee, listed on page xviii, represented a broad range of nationalities and of expertise, including two historians of science. A meeting of the Committee, held during the IAU General Assembly at Patras, provided an excellent opportunity to discuss plan and format of the Symposium, topics and speakers; thereafter, the-Committee was regularly consulted by letter and telephone. IAU Symposium 106 was held at Groningen on 30 May - 3 June 1983, in the new building occupied by the Kapteyn Institute since January 1983. There were about 200 participants, coming from as many as 25 countries.

A faith should be a living thing. What we believe necessarily evolves in response to insights into the Bible, to questions or doubts we face, to changes in life circumstances, or to things that happen in the larger world. Nevertheless, Christians often find it helpful to identify what they can most fully believe at a given moment. Such clarity empowers the present and leads us toward the future. Such moments can also be mile markers by which we measure our faith journey.

In each chapter the first section lists the most common ways a certain topic is understood in the Bible. The second section identifies important ways the church has interpreted that topic since the Bible's inception. The third section introduces contemporary perspectives. With that foundational knowledge, readers can make a judgment as to which viewpoints seem more or less persuasive to them personally. Finally, each chapter ends with questions for reflection for individuals or small groups.

This collection of sermons by noted homileticians illustrates thirty-four distinct styles of contemporary and traditional preaching.

Various ideas float around about the subject of last things, leading many Christians to conclude that they don’t know what to think about the subject. Yet at the core of the Christian doctrine of last things lies two simple and complementary hopes: that God ever and always offers hope for our individual futures and for the future of the whole world. In this helpful book, Allen and Cornwall explain how we don’t have to subscribe to sensationalist theories or sketchy interpretations to believe in Christian hope. They walk the reader through the central biblical teachings on last things and then show the ways the church has interpreted those teachings throughout the centuries. In a respectful way, the authors demonstrate that end-time beliefs centered on the Rapture came into existence only recently, and they then offer several more life-affirming, contemporary interpretations as alternatives. The book includes a study guide and web-based appendixes designed to help pastors develop both topical and lectionary-based sermon series on Christian hope.

The lectionary is a helpful homiletical tool. But there are times when lectionary preaching does not meet a congregation s needs. Sermon Treks offers preachers and students an invigorating selection of new sermon-planning trails, for use as sermon series or for single sermons. The options presented here are practical and theologically responsible. Some are rooted in ancient forms of proclamation; others are new. All provide clear but creative guidance for the preacher, and a path that will lead to more effective sermons."