Ninety days of poetic gospel reflection focusing on books of the Bible like 2 Corinthians, Esther, and Titus as well as topics like suffering and the gospel-centered life.

A fresh way to experience the Bible! 290 down-to-earth poems, based on Bible passages, range from traditional rhyme to free verse, and speak in a personal voice to the reader. The applicable Bible verses are listed with each poem. Blank pages and wide margins provide space to creatively respond with thoughts, prayers, poems, sketches, and doodles. Looking for a new approach to Bible reading? For readers of the Bible as well as those who shy away from reading the Bible. Bible Poems for Reflection and Response offers a personal and interactive way to experience the enduring truths of God's Word. Not sure if you're a poetry person? These poems are accessible--no obscure poetic language, no hidden meanings. They range from traditional rhyme to haiku to free verse. There is something for everyone, and yet you will find that the poems seem to speak personally to you. You don't have to read in sequence. Jump around if you like. Read a poem every day, or twice a day, or once a week. This is your book to read and to interpret as you like. You can read the Bible verses suggested (and beyond) or simply the poems--or both. Personalize your reading experience. Space is provided with interspersed blank pages and with wide margins--to respond to what you're reading and feeling. By adding your thoughts, prayers, reflections, poems, drawings, and doodles, this book will truly become a conversation between you and God.

This perennial bestseller is now available in a tenth-anniversary edition that showcases Joyce Rupp's poems, a new preface by the author, and a new design. Joyce Rupp's characteristic creativity and reverence for the divine are on full display in this collection of prayer resources for birthdays, holidays, holy days, transitions, and many other occasions, helping readers enter more deeply and reflectively into the liturgical and seasonal celebrations of their lives. Ideal for personal use, or as a gift for loved ones celebrating a landmark occasion, Out of the Ordinary: Prayers, Poems, and Reflections for Every Season is an invaluable resource for ministers, spiritual directors, and lay leaders alike, who turn to its prayers, reflections, and rituals for personal and communal occasions both "ordinary" and profound.

Olivier-Thomas Venard's Thomas d'Aquin poète théologien trilogy, an in depth analysis of the scripture of St. Thomas Aquinas, is translated for a new audience in this streamlined anthology. Featuring selections from all three books in the trilogy, chosen in accordance with Venard's direction and discernment, it introduces not only arguments pertinent to the theme of this volume, but an invitation to explore the full breadth of Venard's work. Concentrating on the subjects of scripture, theology and literature, language as a theological question and the word of God, Murphy and Oakes capture the scope and energy of Venard's trilogy while collating many of its key passages. Ranging from the themes of a poetic gospel and Christology to the Thomist theories of semiology and the metaphysics of the Word, this volume sets scholars on the path to a deeper understanding of Aquinas's systematic theology.

James H. Charlesworth begins from a burgeoning point of scholarly consensus: More and more scholars are coming to recognize that the Fourth Gospel is more historically complex than previously thought. Charlesworth outlines two historical horizons within John. On the one hand, there is the Jewish background to the text (complete with the evangelist's knowledge of Palestinian geography and Jewish customs) which Charlesworth perceives as offering a window into pre-70 Palestinian Judaism. On the other hand, the gospel also reflects a post-70 world in which non-believing Jews, with more unity, begin to part definitely with those who identified Jesus as the Messiah. Split into four sections, this volume first examines the origins of the Fourth Gospel, its evolution in several editions, and its setting in Judea and Galilee. Charlesworth then looks specifically at the figure of Jesus and issues of history. He proceeds to consider this Gospel alongside earlier and contemporaneous Jewish literature, most notably the Dead Sea Scrolls. Finally, the volume engages with John's symbolism and language, looking closely at key aspects in which John differs from the Synoptic Gospels, and raising such provocative questions as whether or not it is possible that Jesus married Mary Magdalene. From one of the New Testament's most noted scholars, this book allows deeper understanding of the ways in which the Gospel of John is a vital resource for understanding both the origin of Christianity and Jesus' position in history.

The Africa Bible Commentary is a unique publishing event—the first one-volume Bible commentary produced in Africa by African theologians to meet the needs of African pastors, students, and lay leaders. Interpreting and applying the Bible in the light of African culture and realities, it furnishes powerful and relevant insights into the biblical text that transcend Africa in their significance. The Africa Bible Commentary gives a section-by-section interpretation that provides a contextual, readable, affordable, and immensely useful guide to the entire Bible. Readers around the world will benefit from and appreciate the commentary’s fresh insights and direct style that engage both heart and mind. Key features: · Produced by African biblical scholars, in Africa, for Africa—and for the world · Section-by-section interpretive commentary and application · More than 70 special articles dealing with topics of key importance in to ministry in Africa today, but that have global implications · 70 African contributors from both English- and French-speaking countries · Transcends the African context with insights into the biblical text and the Christian faith for readers worldwide

What are the poetics of everyday life ? What can they teach us about God? Art, music, dance, and writing can certainly be poetic, but so can such diverse pastimes as fishing, skiing, or attending sports events. Any and all activities that satisfy our fundamental need for play, for celebration, and for ritual, says William Dyrness, are inherently poetic and in Poetic Theology he demonstrates that all such activities are places where God is active in the world. All of humanity s creative efforts, Dyrness points out, testify to our intrinsic longing for joy and delight and our deep desire to connect with others, with the created order, and especially with the Creator. This desire is rooted in the presence and calling of God in and through the good creation. With extensive reflection on aesthetics in spirituality, worship, and community development, Dyrness s Poetic Theology will be useful for all who seek fresh and powerful new ways to communicate the gospel in contemporary society. William Dyrness s bold invitation to a poetic theology shaped by Scripture, tradition, and imagination one luring us toward a fuller participation in beauty than argument or concept alone allow reminds us that truth itself is beautiful to behold and poetic to the core. . . . If poetry is in its deepest reflex an intensification of life, then Dyrness s call for a poetic theology is one we ignore at our peril, reminding us that faithful living is not only about proper thinking but also and, perhaps, more properly about the texture of our living and the quality of our loving. Mark S. Burrows Andover Newton Theological School Makes a strong case for aesthetics as one of the avenues used by God to draw human beings near to him and his glory. . . . A wonderful journey through Reformed spirituality and a wake-up call for Reformed theology. Cornelius van der Kooi Free University, Amsterdam

THE AWARD-WINNING COMMENTARY SERIES THAT BRINGS THE ANCIENT MESSAGE OF THE BIBLE INTO YOUR WORLD Over 2 million copies sold! The NIV Application Commentary on the Bible is a masterful blend of content written by today's top academics in a way that is compelling and easy to understand for anyone--no formal training or seminary degree required. This one-volume commentary is intended both for personal study and for teaching preparation. Concise commentary and background help the reader understand the original meaning of the biblical text in its historical, literary, and cultural context. Clear explanations make it easy to understand matters related to grammar and the meaning of biblical words. While most commentaries stop there, the unique format of The NIV Application Commentary on the Bible provides a bridge from the world of the Bible to our lives today, guiding the reader to powerfully apply the biblical message to contemporary situations, problems, and questions.

Every day, tens of thousands of women turn to Midday Connection for spiritual nourishment and encouragement through the radio program and Facebook community. The hosts, Anita Lustrea, Melinda Schmidt and Lori Neff hear the heartfelt needs of these women and understand their desires to grow in body, mind, and soul. In response, Midday Connection along with prominent authors and artists – Staci Eldridge, Shannon Ethridge, Carol Kent, Sara Groves and many others – compiled Tending the Soul: 90-days of Spiritual Nourishment. This devotional combines transparency with biblical truth, as each reading begins with scripture, followed by a short devotional including a deeply personal prayer, and closes with an application question.

Every day, there are treasures to be discovered by anyone who will honestly come to hear the voice of the Savior in his Word. The Lord Jesus indicates that there is an added blessing for those who will write down the insights he gives by his instruction: ?Every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old? (Matthew 13:52). The poems in this book are the result of going to the Bible each day with an expectation that God has something very valuable to say. That expectation has NEVER been disappointed. Our risen Lord said, ?I stand at the door and knock. If any man hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will sup with him, and he with Me? (Revelation 3:20). This intimate, two-way communion with God is offered to all those who have received the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:12) and thereby ?have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us by God? (1 Corinthians 2:12). My prayer is that God may use this book for his glory, for the encouragement of his own children, and for the persuasion of those who may yet be awakened to their need of our Savior. ?Blessed is the man that heareth Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the post of My doors? (Proverbs 8:34). Heaven is waiting. Don't miss it for the world.