Eugene Peterson considers the words of the Word made flesh. His probing of the parables and prayers of Jesus will inform and inspire all who love the Gospels. He explores the common speech of the Bible, and carefully exercises God's gift of language so that Jesus' words of storytelling and prayer "dazzle us with truth."

John, the Maverick Gospel has long been regarded as one of the most trustworthy introductions to the Fourth Gospel, paying special attention to the literary and theological dimensions of this Gospel without neglecting historical and other approaches. Robert Kysar, an international expert on John's Gospel, has now revised this useful classroom tool to bring the scholarly discussions up to date and to add sections on women in the Gospel of John as well as postmodern appraoches to the Gospel. This classic text provides an accessible entry into the important critical issues of John's Gospel, both on its own terms and in comparison to the Synoptic Gospels, offering a sure foundation for scholarly study of the book as well as theological interpretation and preaching.

More than six billion of us live on this planet now—growing rapidly toward seven billion. We’re separated by many differences: sex, race, religion, language, customs, and geography. Nevertheless, we also have some things in common. We breathe the same air. We all bleed the same red blood. We all need food, rest, and shelter. Oh, yes, we have one other thing familiar to each one of us—we all want happiness. Happiness—an elusive, sort of nebulous something that every one of us spends a lifetime pursuing. Some of us try to find it in things. We think that if only we could be rich, we’d be happy. When we’re rich, we have money. Money buys things, and things make us happy. Or do they? Others of us try to find happiness in becoming well-known—maybe even famous. If the masses adore us, surely, then we would be happy, right? Or maybe we look for happiness in being powerful and important, in plunging headlong into pleasure-seeking and entertainment, or in trying to find someone else who can make us happy. We want happiness. We crave it—all of us. Through all ages of history, we have desired it. Nevertheless, this inexpressible desire of all ages cannot be found in things, in fame, in power, in pleasure-seeking. It can be found only in a Person, and you can probably guess who that Person is. This book is His story. In Him is the end of your quest for happiness.

Provides forty devotions, one for each day of Lent, and is ideal as a companion piece to 24 Hours That Changed the World.

Joseph Smith, Jesus, and Satanic Opposition explores Mormon theology in new ways from a scholarly non-Mormon perspective. Bringing Jesus and Satan into relationship with Joseph Smith the founding prophet, Douglas Davies shows how the Mormon 'Plan of Salvation' can be equated with mainstream Christianity's doctrine of the Trinity as a driving force of the faith. Exploring how Jesus has been understood by Mormons, his many Mormon identities are described in this book: he is the Jehovah of the Bible, our Elder Brother and Father, probably also a husband, he visited the dead and is also the antagonist of Satan-Lucifer.

The Imitation of Christ (Latin: De Imitatione Christi) by Thomas à Kempis is a Christian devotional book. It was first composed in Latin ca.1418-1427. It is a handbook for spiritual life arising from the Devotio Moderna movement, where Kempis was a member. The Imitation is perhaps the most widely read devotional work next to the Bible and is regarded as a devotional and religious classic. The text is divided into four books which provide detailed spiritual instructions. The four books are, "Helpful Counsels of the Spiritual Life", "Directives for the Interior Life", "On Interior Consolation", "On the Blessed Sacrament". The approach taken in the Imitation is characterized by its emphasis on the interior life and withdrawal from the world, as opposed to an active imitation of Christ by other friars. The book places a high level of emphasis on the devotion to the Eucharist as key element of spiritual life.

Jesus is the center of Christian faith and the Bible is its holy book, its sacred scriptures. For hundreds of years, this meant that Jesus was divine and the Bible was a divine product. This remains the primary perspective for many Christians today. However, it has mutated appreciably for others. It is not that Jesus is no longer thought of as the center of Christian faith or the Bible as Christianitys sacred scriptures. Those remain true for everyone. However, studies in biblical criticism and the historical Jesus suggest Jesus was a Palestinian Jew a human being -- not different in that respect from you and me. Divinity was bestowed upon him by his followers, and eventually took the form of imperial divinity after the example of Caesar. This presents a conundrum for Christianity. What, for instance, is Christianity to do with a human being at its center? How has Christianity accommodated imperial rule? What do we do with those imperial titles by which he is known Lord, Savior, Redeemer, and Son of God? Taking Caesar out of Jesus presents a new portrait of Jesus based on solid historical evidence assembled from the works of hundreds of critical biblical scholars. As the subtitle proclaims, Jesus emerges from this book as a new figure, relevant to the 21st century. Some will say this new perspective destroys Christianity. Others will find Jesus to be far more believable and compelling. Anyone will find this progressive approach to uncovering the historical Jesus thought-provoking. This book, however, goes beyond biblical criticism and a new portrait of the historical Jesus. It confronts the Christian proclamation that Jesus is humanitys savior including the notion that it needs a savior. It suggests that the historical Jesus never embraced the well-known notion of divine salvation. To the contrary, Jesus embraced Judaisms wisdom tradition. In the wisdom tradition, a person deals with the exigencies of life by developing a new vision of reality, and by acting differently. Jesus did not provide an instruction manual for living; rather, he pointed us in the direction of self-management. As described in this book, this new way of living, taken from Jesuss parables and aphorisms, will startle some, and stir others toward greater maturity and responsibility for their own lives.

The Gospel of Matthew and Its Readers is a biblical commentary with a difference. Howard Clarke first establishes contemporary scholarship's mainstream view of Matthew's Gospel, and then presents a sampling of the ways this text has been read, understood, and applied through two millennia. By referring forward to Matthew's readers (rather than back to the text's composers), the book exploits the tensions between what contemporary scholars understand to be the intent of the author of Matthew and the quite different, indeed often eccentric and bizarre ways this text has been understood, assimilated, and applied over the years. The commentary is a testament to the ambiguities and elasticity of the text and a cogent reminder that interpretations are not fixed, nor texts immutably relevant. And unlike other commentaries, this one gives space to those who have questioned, rejected, or even ridiculed Matthew's messages, since Bible-bashing, like Bible-thumping, is a historically significant part of the experience of reading the Bible.

A world-renowned scholar explores the latest archaeological evidence about the historical Jesus and His world. -- Book Cover.

Acknowledged by many as a classic work of biblical scholarship, A Guide to the Gospels by Dr. W. Graham Scroggie provides a book-by-book treatment of the foundational New Testament books. Every element of the four Gospels is covered under the three divisions of this study: The Gospels viewed synthetically, The Gospels viewed analytically, The Gospels viewed Christologically. Filled with a wealth of charts, maps, and lists, A Guide to the Gospels provides a ready source of information, analysis, and source material for the pastor, teacher, or Bible student. Scroggie's insightful treatment of the English text furnishes the comprehensive scholarship necessary for a thorough grasp of each book of the Gospels. - Back cover.