“Most of Scripture speaks to us, while the Psalms speak for us.” Most of Scripture tells us about God. The Psalms tell God about us – our feelings of rage, of pain, of gratitude, of praise. They express our human concerns and our requests of help. And they teach us how to talk to God. In this book John Goldingay presents a fresh translation of each psalm, explains its meaning and background, and points out how its wisdom applies to contemporary life.

When Jackie Mittoo and Leroy Sibbles migrated from Jamaica to Toronto in the early 1970s, the musicians brought reggae with them, sparking the flames of one Canada’s most vibrant music scenes. In King Alpha’s Song in a Strange Land, professional reggae musician and scholar Jason Wilson tells the story of how the organic, transnational nature of reggae brought black and white youth together, opening up a cultural dialogue between Jamaican migrants and Canadians along Toronto’s ethnic frontlines. This underground subculture rebelled against the status quo, eased the acculturation process, and made bands such as Messenjah and the Sattalites household names for a brief but important time. By looking at Canada’s golden age of reggae from the perspective of both Jamaican migrants and white Torontonians, Wilson reveals the power of music to break through the bonds of race and ease the hardships associated with transnational migration.

A prizewinning historian pens this biography of C.L. Franklin, the greatest African-American preacher of his generation, father of Aretha, and civil rights pioneer.

Across the United States, Jews come together every week to sing and pray in a wide variety of worship communities. Through this music, made by and for ordinary folk, these worshippers define and re-define their relationship to the continuity of Jewish tradition and the realities of American life. Combining oral history with an analysis of recordings, The Lord's Song in a Strange Land examines this tradition incontemporary Jewish worship and explores the diverse links between the music and both spiritual and cultural identities. Alive with detail, the book focuses on metropolitan Boston and covers the full range of Jewish communities there, from Hasidim to Jewish college students in a transdenominational setting. It documents a remarkably fluid musical tradition, where melodies are often shared, where sources can be as diverse as Sufi chant, Christmas carols, rock and roll, and Israeli popular music, and where the meaning of a song can change from one block to the next.

Music and song are important parts of worship, and hymns have long played a central role in Protestant history. This book explores the ways in which Protestants use hymns to clarify their identity and define their relationship with America and Christianity.

From the earliest meetings of the Civil Rights Movement to offering the benediction for the first African American President of the United States, Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery has been an eyewitness to some of the most significant events in our history. But, more important, he has been a voice that speaks truth to power--inspiring change that moves us forward. In Singing the Lord's Song in a Strange Land, you will find Dr. Lowery's most enduring speeches and messages from the past fifty years including Coretta Scott King's funeral and the benediction given at President Obama's inauguration. This book, however, is not simply a collection of words. It is the heart of a movement and a call to a new generation to carry the mantle--for all people.

Drawing on a lifetime of experience in the Church's mission and ministry, John Marsh explores how churches can recover their vision for sharing the gospel following the exile experience of the pandemic.

There are some things when we miss them in life, it won't matter what else we gained. There are some things when we gain them, it won't matter what else we missed and no greater wisdom can we discover than this, and the greatest wisdom is to discover our purpose in life! The day you discover God's purpose for your life, you will cease to be using your your efforts but His. You will no longer use your strength but His. You will no longer be using your wisdom in what you are doing but His. You will no longer use your approach to issues of your life but His, for you have discovered His assignment for your life! Your assigmnent in life is never far from you, but it could be far from your focus. Always change your focus to discover what is God's purpose for your life! Wealth is not your purpose, it is a slice of it. Fame is not your purpose, it is a slice of it. Power is not your purpose, it is a slice of it and until you discover your purpose, the slices will keep distracting you from God's plan for your life! Let no attraction; either the attractions of money, fame or power distract you from pursuing your purpose in life! The attractions that cannot distract you at the early stage of your struggles in discovering your purpose in life, will serve you at its later stage! Trying to do like everybody else might not be your purpose. Trying to do what people like may not be your purpose. Trying to do as you are told may not be your purpose. Trying to to impress the people around you, may not be your purpose. Discovering your purpose in life will give you a picture of where your tomorrow will be. It will give you the right mentality to achieving a breakthrough in life. Because whenever the journey of your struggles starts to bog down, you cannot breakthrough with the wrong mentality that sees you from a picture of where you found yourself. You can only go forward with a right mentality of the picture of where your tomorrow will be. And when tomorrow comes and you see yourself in great victory, you will then realise that what is needed is not to thank God for answered prayers but to apologise to Him for the times we go about in behaviours that shows He was not faithful to us! A feeling in actions and activities that shows He might not really have cared about our situation! I came to the point that I planned to stop the show for the day. My dear listeners, always have a positive attitude to whatever you are going through in life and keep to the path and action that will carry you to your victory in life. You can't get an answer by following a formula half way. You can't get an answer by following a formula the wrong way. The formula ensures that we do away with anything that is stopping us from achieving our victory in life. Most times, it is the presence of some little things that is denying the coming of some wonderful things in our lives... HE CHANGES PEOPLE'S LIVES THROUGH HIS MOTIVATIONAL

In this series of messages based on scripture, the author demonstrates the vital applications of the Bible for our times, dealing first with the greater words of faith such as love, grace, and reconciliation. It then sheds light on various events in Jesus' life and beyond. A third group of messages shows the Bible addressing social issues such as sexuality and violence.