Outline: Many American Christians today are not sure what spiritual maturity is or how to get there. Thomas Bergler has written this accessible guide to help both individuals and whole faith communities to grow spiritually. Bergler claims that spiritual maturity - which he defines as basic competence in the Christian life - is not only desirable but attainable, and he identifies its character f…
Outline: We all know that everything we have is a gift from God. But sometimes it's hard to know just how to give back to God. How much is enough? What does the Bible really say? What should giving look like in our everyday lives? Filled with good news for followers of Jesus, Mark Allan Powell's Giving to God shows Christians the way to a better life and a better relationship with their money -…
Outline : That there are four canonical versions of the one gospel story is often seen as a problem for Christian faith: where gospels multiply, so too do apparent tensions and contradictions that may seem to undermine their truth claims. In Gospel Writing Francis Watson argues that differences and tensions between canonical gospels represent opportunities for theological reflection, not proble…
Outline: What are the origin and meaning of the words "greed is idolatry" found in Ephesians 5: 5 and Colossians 3: 5? In what sense are the greedy guilty of idolatry? Many different answers have been given to this question throughout the history of interpretation. In fact, a consensus exists on only one score - that the expression serves to vilify greed. Brian Rosner ably takes on the challeng…
Outline: Modern Protestant debates about spousal relations and the meaning of marriage began in a forgotten international dispute some 300 years ago. The Lutheran Pietist ideal of marriage as friendship and mutual pursuit of holiness battled with the idea that submission defined spousal roles. Exploiting material culture artifacts, broadsides, hymns, sermons, private correspondence, and legal c…
Outline: A History of Biblical Interpretation provides detailed and extensive studies of the interpretation of the Scriptures by Jewish and Christian writers throughout the ages. Written by internationally renowned scholars, this multivolume work comprehensively treats the many different methods of interpretation, the many important interpreters from various eras, and the many key issues that h…
Outline: There are now over 250 theological seminaries in the United States and Canada. Leading these diverse institutions is a difficult task that combines elements of executive management, academic prowess, master storytelling, and spiritual discipline. Apart from informal mentoring relationships, however, there has been no resource specifically designed to impart collected presidential wisdo…
Outline: How do you as a parent continue to relate to a child who refuses to cooperate, responds in persistent anger or hatred toward you, or rejects the Christian faith? When Good Kids Make Bad Choices offers thoughtful encouragement and guidance based on the firsthand experiences of the authors and those whom they've counseled. While the path is a difficult one for any parent to walk, there a…
Outline: How does the New Testament echo the Old? Which versions of the Hebrew Scriptures were authoritative for New Testament writers? The appearance of concepts, images, and passages from the Old Testament in the books of the New raises important questions about textual versions, allusions, and the differences between ancient and modern meaning. Written by ten distinguished scholars, Hearing …
Outline: This insightful book examines nine case studies in the history of exegesis in order to demonstrate the valuable insights into Scripture that we can gain not only from what individual commentators say but from fifteen centuries' cumulative witness to the meaning of Scripture in the life of the church.
Outline: The process of sanctification is personal and organic - not a one-size-fits-all formula. Many popular views try to reduce the process of Christian growth to a single template: Remember past grace. Rehearse your identity in Christ. Avail yourself of the means of grace. Disciple yourself. But Scripture portrays the dynamics of sanctification in a rich variety of ways. No single factor, t…
Outline: Presented as the letters of a mature pastor to several fictional recipients, Letters to New Pastors delves into the professional, emotional, and spiritual needs of those new to the ministry. In a manner reminiscent of C. S. Lewis's Letters to Malcolm and Reinhold Niebuhr's Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic, Michael Jinkins connects readers with valuable pastoral wisdom gleaned …
Outline: For Jesua and His Contemporaries, what we now know as the Old Testament was simply the Scriptures - and it was the fundamental basis of how people understood their relationship with God. In this book John Goldingay uncovers five major ways in which the New Testament uses the Old Testament. His discussion paves the way for contemporary readers to understand and appreciate the Old Testam…
Outline: This accessible text by James P. Ware provides both a concise guide to Paul's theology and a general introduction to the key issues and debates in the contemporary study of Paul. Examining Paul's message in the context of the ancient world, Ware identifies what would have struck Paul's original audience as startling or unique. By comparing Paul's teaching to the other religions and phi…
Outline: "Celebrating the Lord's Supper," says award-winning author and theologian J. Todd Billings, "can change our lives." In this book Billings shows how a renewed theology and practice of the Lord's Supper can lead Christians to rediscover the full richness and depth of the gospel. At once strikingly new and deeply traditional. Remembrance, Communion, and Hope will surprise and challenge re…
Outline: The premier Dead Sea Scrolls primer ever since its original publication in 1994, James VanderKam's Dead Sea Scrolls Today won the Biblical Archaeology Society's Publication Award in 1995 for the Best Popular Book on Biblical Archaeology. In this expanded and updated edition the book will continue to illuminate the greatest archaeological find in modern times.
Outline : Cotton Mather (1663-1728) was America's most famous pastor and scholar at the beginning of the eighteenth century. People today generally associate him with the infamous Salem witch trials, but in this new biography Rick Kennedy tells a bigger story: Mather, he says, was the very first American evangelical.
Outline: This superb commentary offers the first sustained attempt to read the Gospel of Mark both as an ancient biography and as a form of ancient rhetoric. Ben Witherington applies to the Mark the socio-rhetorical approach for which he is well known, opening a new perspective on the earliest Gospel that also emphasizes Mark's theological and ethical interests and purposes. Based on a fresh tr…
Outline : Today's pastors -- often expected to be multitasking marvels who can make their churches "successful" -- are understandably confused about their role. Craig Barnes contends that the true calling of a pastor is to help others become fully alive in Christ, to be a "minor poet," or poet of the soul. As such, pastors are to read the major poets of Scripture and history in light of the dus…
Outline: Ernst Wurthwein's classic introduction to the textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible is here thoroughly updated in the light of new critical editions of the texts and recent contributions and findings in the various areas of the history of the text - especially the Masoretic text, the Septuagint, and the Peshitta, with attention given to the Dead Sea Scrolls. New in this edition are a c…
Outline: A friend feels rejected. A counselee is angry. A church member's child is ill. You want to help, but where do you begin? Counselor Michael R. Emlet outlines a model of one-another ministry based on how God sees and loves his people as saints, while bringing comfort to the sufferer, and faithfully speaking truth to the sinner.
Outline : This sixth volume of Hughes Oliphant Old's monumental, acclaimed study of preaching throughout history, The Modern Age, tells the story of preaching and worship from the French Revolution to the fall of the Berlin Wall (1789-1989). During this period preaching continued to support the historic Christian faith while the church under- took to resist secularization, come to grips with bi…
Outline: Much of today's writing on children treats the child of any age as a problem or a set of problems to be solved, effectively reducing the child to a complex of biological and chemical factors, explainable in scientific terms, or regarding children as objects of adult control. In contrast, Martin Marty here presents the child as a mystery who invokes wonder and elicits creative responses…
Outline : "Messiah" is one of the most contested terms in Christian reflection, with many people reading the concept back into early Old Testament texts. In The One Who Is to Come Joseph Fitzmyer contradicts that misreading, carefully tracing the emergence of messianism in Judaism to a much later date -- the second century B.C.
Outline: We Have Seen His Glory sounds a clarion call to worship in light of the coming Kingdom. Ben Witherington here contends that Christian worship cannot be a matter of merely continuing ancient practices; instead, we must be pre- paring for worship in the Kingdom of God when it comes on earth. The eight chapters in this thought-provoking book each end with questions for reflection and disc…
Outline: This original work of scholarship clarifies how, in light of Matthew's Gospel, the first Christians understood and claimed Israel's messianic mission to people of every ethnic group immediately after Jesus' death and resurrection. In Part 1 James LaGrand examines the Hebrew Bible and other ancient documents to uncover the meaning in Matthew's time of the terms 'Israel' and 'the nations…
Outline : Where Is Godin the Struggle? Looking away from despair towards hope can feel risky. What if God doesn't come through for you? What if you don't feel instantly better? Instead of offering simple platitudes or unrealistic cure-all formulas. Edward T. Welch addresses the complex nature of depression with compassion and insight, applying the rich treasures of the gospel, and giving fresh…
Outline: Practical Wisdom for dealing with depression. Depression - whether circumstantial and fleeting or persistent and long term - impacts most people at some point in their lives. Puritan pastor Richard Baxter spent most of his ministry caring for depressed and discouraged souls, and his timeless counsel still speaks to us today. In this book, psychiatrist Michael S. Lundy and theologian J.…
Outline : When you say "I do," you begin the journey of a lifetime - and you have dreams of that journey being perfect. But it won't take long for expectations of the perfect marriage to fade away in the struggles of everyday life. A long-term, vibrant marriage needs to be grounded in something studier than romance - it needs the life-changing power of the gospel. In this rebranded edition of W…
Outline: Sixty years ago, biblical scholars typically maintained that Israel's religion was unique, that it stood in marked contrast to the faiths of its ancient Near Eastern neighbors. Nowadays, it is widely argued that Israelite religion mirrors that of other West Semitic societies. What accounts for this radical change, and what are its implications for our understanding of the Old Testament…
Outline : This survey textbook is grounded in the view that the prophetic book of the Old Testament should be read as Christian Scripture. Although it covers critical issues such as authorship, background, and history, its primary focus is on the message and theology of the prophetic books and the contribution they make to the Christian canon. The prophetic books covered are Isaiah, Jeremiah, L…
Outline: Just as two bookends together a row of books, the covenant of works and the covenant of grace hold together the storyline of Scripture. Join a host of twenty-six scholars, including O. Palmer Robertson, Michael J. Kruger, and Scott R. Swain, as they explore how the concept of covenant is clearly taught in Scripture and how it lays the foundation for other doctrines of salvation. This m…
Outline: Old Testament Use of Old Testament by Gary Edward Schnittjer surveys hundreds of Old Testament allusions within the Old Testament and provides hermeneutical guidance for interpreting these interrelated Scriptures. The handbook takes an easy-to-navigate, book-by-book approach. Schnittjer provides a list of scriptural allusions for each book and follows with an interpretive profile of ho…
Outline : While many Christians are familiar with Paul's letters in the New Testament, they often miss the core principles of his writings. Building on a lifetime of study and teaching, scholar Richard B. Gaffin Jr. gives Christians a biblical and exegetically grounded framework for understanding the narrative of Acts and the nuanced theology of Paul. Gaffin covers a variety of topics including…
Outline: Stanley E. Porter focuses upon the depiction of Paul in the book of Acts from literary-critical, rhetorical, and theological perspectives, among several others. The essays within this volume examine various topics related to the Paul of Acts such as the "we" passages of Acts as a source regarding Paul, and the theology and perspective of these passages in terms of their portrait of him…
Outline : Recent years have seen renewed interest in divine action, but much of the literature tends to focus on the science-theology discussion. Resulting from the multiyear work of the Scripture and Doctrine Seminar, part of the Kirby Laing Centre's Scripture Collective, this book explores the many different ways in which divine action is foregrounded and portrayed in one major biblical text,…
Outline: With more than a million copies sold worldwide, The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work has revolutionized the way we understand, repair, and strengthen marriages. John Gottman's unprecedented study of couples over a period of years has allowed him to observe the habits that can make and break-a marriage. Here is the culmination of that work: the seven principles that guide coupl…
Outline: Based on the acclaimed sermon series by New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller, this book shows everyone-Christians, skeptics, singles, longtime married couples, and those about to be engaged-the vision of what marriage should be according to the Bible. Modern culture would have you believe that everyone has a soul mate; that romance is the most important part of a successful…