Based on the conviction that the Old Testament texts are a vital and dynamic part of the Christian canon and pertinent to Christian practice, this stimulating volume offers guidance for expository preaching and practical suggestions for understanding the message of its diverse literature.

2011 Preaching Today Magazine Book Award winner! The Old Testament is filled with intriguing characters, stories and themes. But preaching from its remote historical context wrapped in sometimes unfamiliar literary genres and narrative devices can be daunting. Based on the conviction that the Old Testament texts are a vital and dynamic part of the Christian canon and pertinent to Christian practice, this stimulating volume offers guidance for expository preaching and practical suggestions for understanding the message of its diverse literature. The chapters cover narrative, plot, characters, genre and preaching from difficult texts. The book concludes with a vital chapter on preaching Christ from the Old Testament, which offers a theological account of biblical interpretation without unnaturally forcing the texts. The contributors are internationally respected evangelical Old Testament scholars, from a wide range of church traditions and global regions, who are also active in preaching: Daniel I. Block, David G. Firth, Grenville J. R. Kent, Paul J. Kissling, Alison Lo, Tremper Longman III, Ernest C. Lucas, R. W. L. Moberly, Laurence A. Turner, Frederico G. Villanueva, Gordon Wenham, H. G. M. Williamson and Christopher J. H. Wright. Here is a book that will help you use all of the Bible's rich resources in preaching the good news of the global kindgom of God.

A fresh look at the earliest Christian movement reveals what made the new faith so compelling...and what we need to change today to make it so again. Once upon a time there was a version of the Christian faith that was practically irresistible. After all, what could be more so than the gospel that Jesus ushered in? Why, then, isn't it the same with Christianity today? Author and pastor Andy Stanley is deeply concerned with the present-day church and its future. He believes that many of the solutions to our issues can be found by investigating our roots. In Irresistible, Andy chronicles what made the early Jesus Movement so compelling, resilient, and irresistible by answering these questions: What did first-century Christians know that we don't—about God's Word, about their lives, about love? What did they do that we're not doing? What makes Christianity so resistible in today's culture? What needs to change in order to repeat the growth our faith had at its beginning? Many people who leave or disparage the faith cite reasons that have less to do with Jesus than with the conduct of his followers. It's time to hit pause and consider the faith modeled by our first-century brothers and sisters who had no official Bible, no status, and little chance of survival. It's time to embrace the version of faith that initiated—against all human odds—a chain of events resulting in the most significant and extensive cultural transformation the world has ever seen. This is a version of Christianity we must remember and re-embrace if we want to be salt and light in an increasingly savorless and dark world.

Front-ranking theologians speak out on the crisis of biblical authority and interpretation in the church, focusing in particular on the adequacy of the historical-critical method of hermeneutics. The essays in this volume address from various perspectives the notorious gap between the historical­ critical approach to the study of the Bible and the church's liturgical and dogmatic transmission of biblical faith. The authors, following the central theme suggested by Brevard S. Childs's "canonical method" of biblical interpretation, argue that the historical-critical method does not suffice of itself apart from faith and the church.

“This festschrift honors one of the most important Old Testament scholars in the modern Mennonite tradition, and the essays produced by colleagues and former students reflect Janzen's influence and productivity as both a scholar and a teacher.” —Daniel L. Smith-Christopher, Loyola Marymount University

Do these sound like qualities you express each day? Have you tried to get rid of them? Have you not been successful? What if you could replace them with happiness, peace, and forgiveness? What if these were qualities that could triumph in your life and finally bring you the joy you have searched for? In a world filled with unimaginable pain, suffering, and hardship, God has promised us abundant, overflowing joy, joy that is deeper than any situation we face and greater than any person we meet. Can you imagine such joy? A joy that overflows during the good times of life and a joy that carries us through the difficult valleys as well, a joy that does not depend on people or on circumstances. This is what God readily offers us. It is part of our birthright as children of God. But are we willing to claim it? Join author Lorraine Hill as she guides you through an eight-week daily Bible study to find joy for your life. Follow along asReclaiming Your Joyteaches you about your God-given privilege to find everlasting joy through him. This inspirational study will encourage and guide you to find solutions that will allow you to reclaim your joy: how to be obedient, how to overcome worry, how to promote peaceful relationships, and so much more. Prepare for the most important growth in your life, the growth from achieving eternal joy!

In Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World, bishop and social activist John Shelby Spong argues that 200 years of biblical scholarship has been withheld from lay Christians. In this brilliant follow-up to Spong’s previous books Eternal Life and Jesus for the Non-Religious, Spong not only reveals the crucial truths that have long been kept hidden from the public eye, but also explores what the history of the Bible can teach us about reading its stories today and living our lives for tomorrow. Sarah Sentilles, author of Breaking Up With God: A Love Story, applauds John Shelby Spong’s Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World, writing that “pulsing beneath his brilliant, thought-provoking, passionate book is this question: can Christianity survive the education of its believers?…A question Bishop Spong answers with a resounding yes.”

Front-ranking theologians speak out on the crisis of biblical authority and interpretation in the church, focusing in particular on the adequacy of the historical-critical method of hermeneutics. The essays in this volume address from various perspectives the notorious gap between the historical­ critical approach to the study of the Bible and the church's liturgical and dogmatic transmission of biblical faith. The authors, following the central theme suggested by Brevard S. Childs's "canonical method" of biblical interpretation, argue that the historical-critical method does not suffice of itself apart from faith and the church.