"A masterpiece of contemporary Bible translation and commentary."—Los Angeles Times Book Review, Best Books of 1999 Acclaimed for its masterful new translation and insightful commentary, The David Story is a fresh, vivid rendition of one of the great works in Western literature. Robert Alter's brilliant translation gives us David, the beautiful, musical hero who slays Goliath and, through his struggles with Saul, advances to the kingship of Israel. But this David is also fully human: an ambitious, calculating man who navigates his life's course with a flawed moral vision. The consequences for him, his family, and his nation are tragic and bloody. Historical personage and full-blooded imagining, David is the creation of a literary artist comparable to the Shakespeare of the history plays.

Profound reflections on the cross that help you to meditate on and marvel at the sacrificial love of Jesus. This book can be used as a devotional, especially during Lent and Easter. These profound reflections on the cross from David Mathis, author of The Christmas We Didn’t Expect, will help you to meditate on and marvel at Jesus’ life, sacrificial death, and spectacular resurrection-enabling you to treasure anew who Jesus is and what he has done. Many of us are so familiar with the Easter story that it becomes easy to miss subtle details and difficult to really enjoy its meaning. This book will help you to pause and marvel at Jesus, whose now-glorified wounds are a sign of his unfailing love and the decisive victory that he has won: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) This book can be used as a devotional. The chapters on Holy Week make it especially helpful during the Lent season and at Easter.

Are you discouraged? It's easy to get focused on your problems and difficulties. When you do, your focus is no longer on God. You forget how God has been faithful in your life, and you become filled with anxiety. The remedy is to get your focus back on God and the ways He has been faithful in your life. An ordinary stone can be a powerful reminder of God's faithfulness. The Bible calls it an Ebenezer stone, which means "stone of the help." The sight of the stone prompts you to recall how God has helped you. Our faith is strengthened when we meditate on the things God has done. Ebenezer Stones will take you on a journey through the fundamental ways that God is faithful in our lives. God is faithful to bring us into a relationship with Him, change us from the inside out, provide for us, guide us, protect us, prepare us for the plans He has for us, help us do His work, and fulfill the future promises that He has made. Each chapter includes a "Going Deeper" section that will help you apply the Biblical truths to your life. You will be able to see your own Ebenezer stones, so you will be encouraged by God's faithfulness.

Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta was founded in 1886. The name Ebenezer means "rock or stone of help." From a small group of believers, many of whom were former slaves, in a boxlike structure on Airline Alley, Ebenezer has grown to an internationally known church with over 4,000 members. The Gothic architecture of the Heritage Sanctuary on Auburn Avenue, coupled with the influence of the African meetinghouse seen in the architecture of the Horizon Sanctuary across the street, reflects the diversity of outreach of Ebenezer's ministry. Ebenezer has been a beacon of racial pride and social consciousness. The love and cooperation between the members and the pastor have created a family atmosphere that has sustained the growth and expansion of the church.

Ebenezer Le Page, cantankerous, opinionated, and charming, is one of the most compelling literary creations of the late twentieth century. Eighty years old, Ebenezer has lived his whole life on the Channel Island of Guernsey, a stony speck of a place caught between the coasts of England and France yet a world apart from either. Ebenezer himself is fiercely independent, but as he reaches the end of his life he is determined to tell his own story and the stories of those he has known. He writes of family secrets and feuds, unforgettable friendships and friendships betrayed, love glimpsed and lost. The Book of Ebenezer Le Page is a beautifully detailed chronicle of a life, but it is equally an oblique reckoning with the traumas of the twentieth century, as Ebenezer recalls both the men lost to the Great War and the German Occupation of Guernsey during World War II, and looks with despair at the encroachments of commerce and tourism on his beloved island. G. B. Edwards labored in obscurity all his life and completed The Book of Ebenezer Le Page shortly before his death. Published posthumously, the book is a triumph of the storyteller’s art that conjures up the extraordinary voice of a living man.

"Hymn singing reflects a congregation's spiritual vitality and their response to God's grace.

Life for Susan Van Volkenburgh was good. She was often told that God had placed a golden star upon her life. Then tragedy struck. On September 11, 2001 at 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 plummeted into the Pentagon, taking the lives of 184 innocent people. One of them was Susans father, Stanley R. Hall. At that moment, everything changed for Susan. Everything she knew, everything she ever believed in, came crashing down. Her life began to unravel. How could she face God in light of all that had happened? How could she ever trust Him again? Wasnt God supposed to protect His own? Nothing made sense anymore. This ten-year journey through the desert, through a land where God was silent, was a time of trial and of spiritual awakening. Could faith endure in the face of so great a loss, so large a betrayal? Transcending the events of September 11, this spiritual odyssey moves through the mire of grief and loss, to question the very motives and promises of God. As Susan asks the tough questions, can the silent resolve of her own father speak to her from beyond the veil? Is there a place for faith when God has let you down?

Magee brings hymns out of their sometimes formal, Sunday-best, stuffy setting and into Christians' Monday-through-Friday lives. At the same time, she presents a light object lesson and appropriate scripture passage.

Invites readers to guess what part of Barney's body is hidden behind his hands, with the answers given by folding his hands back.