If your customers are looking for accessible Biblical study guides, either for personal or group use, then look no further. The "Conversations with Scripture" series either looks at individual Biblical books, or as in the case of this latest volume, Biblical topics. The series isn't so highbrow that only those versed in Greek can understand it, but equally doesn't talk down the way some commentaries can. The author is an expert in the field and knows how best to study the Parables, which are filled with ambiguity and much room for interpretation. He has organised each chapter by Parable type - such as seeking and growth and left room for activity ideas, such as role-playing, parable writing or music. This book gives the historical and cultural background and will help readers to explore the beauty, richness and joy that the Parables contain. Each book in the series has strong branding and is designed to stand out on the shelf.

Using the findings of historical Jesus studies, William Brosend asks, what is the rhetoric that characterized the preaching of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels, and how may today's preaching benefit from it? This book for preachers and students of preaching helps the reader see four distinct aspects of the rhetoric of Jesus: dialogical (preaching in response to challenges and questions); proclamatory (making bold and authoritative statements); occasionally self-referential (though less so than in the Fourth Gospel); and persistently figurative (illustrating his message through metaphor). Brosend spends one chapter on each of these methods, closing each chapter with a sermon that models that approach and his analysis of it. Sample sermons are by well-known preachers including Fred Craddock, Michael Curry, Tom Long, and Barbara Brown Taylor. Brosend concludes with the implications for modern preaching and a sermon of his own.