The fourth in this series of homily collections offers inspiring homilies for the Advent and Lent seasons.

Finely crafted homilies for each Sunday of ordinary time Cycle B, along with a reflective introduction on the theology of the Word.

"Richard Viladesau's homily series The Word In and Out of Season has become a basic resource for many a busy preacher. Now Father Viladesau directs his attention to the peak moments of the liturgical year: Christmas, Easter, special feasts and holy days, weddings and funerals. He draws upon his unique knowledge of scripture, science, literature and the arts to bring a fresh perspective to familiar events and readings. These homilies will inspire the reader to reflect more deeply on the meaning of these liturgical and human celebrations. They will stimulate the imagination and heart as well as the mind."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The written word is one of the defining elements of Christian experience. As vigorous in the 1st century as it is in the 21st, Christian literature has had a significant function in history, and teachers and students need to be reminded of this powerful literary legacy. Covering 2,000 years, The Encyclopedia of Christian Literature is the first encyclopedia devoted to Christian writers and books. In addition to an overview of the Christian literature, this two-volume set also includes 40 essays on the principal genres of Christian literature and more than 400 bio-bibliographical essays describing the principal writers and their works. These essays examine the evolution of Christian thought as reflected in the literature of every age. The companion volume also features bibliographies, an index, a timeline of Christian Literature, and a list of the greatest Christian authors. The encyclopedia will appeal not only to scholars and Christian evangelicals, but students and teachers in seminaries and theological schools, as well as to the growing body of Christian readers and bibliophiles.

The difficulty of interpreting the Bible is felt all over today. Is the Bible still authoritative for the faith and practice of the church? If so, in what way? What practices of reading offer the most appropriate approach to understanding Scripture? The church's lack of clarity about these issues has hindered its witness and mission, causing it to speak with an uncertain voice to the challenges of our time. This important book is for a twenty-first-century church that seems to have lost the art of reading the Bible attentively and imaginatively. The Art of Reading Scripture is written by a group of eminent scholars and teachers seeking to recover the church's rich heritage of biblical interpretation in a dramatically changed cultural environment. Asking how best to read the Bible in a postmodern context, the contributors together affirm up front "Nine Theses" that provide substantial guidance for the church. The essays and sermons that follow both amplify and model the approach to Scripture outlined in the Nine Theses. Lucidly conceived, carefully written, and shimmering with fresh insights, The Art of Reading Scripture proposes a far-reaching revolution in how the Bible is taught in theological seminaries and calls pastors and teachers in the church to rethink their practices of using the Bible. Contributors: Gary A. Anderson Richard Bauckham Brian E. Daley Ellen F. Davis Richard B. Hays James C. Howell Robert W. Jenson William Stacy Johnson L. Gregory Jones Christine McSpadden R. W. L. Moberly David C. Steinmetz Marianne Meye Thompson

I have, through this compiled work, Power from the Word: Sunday Homilies for Cycle B, tried to make alive and active Gods Word to us through the liturgical readings for Sundays and Feast Days of the occurring year. The arrangement and methodology flow from those of Cycle AAdvent-Christmas-Lent-Easter-Ordinary Time-Feast Days. Through the homilies, I gave more consideration to what goes around our todays human situations than how it happened when Jesus was walking alongside the streets of Judea and Galilee and working amongst people with different cultural settings. Nevertheless, his teachings and approaches are the indispensable yardstick. And this is what any homilist has to bear in mind, even when this book is considered worthwhile making reference to in preparing homilies for the People of God. Nonetheless, reading through the homilies of this presentation for personal reflection and growth in spiritualityoutside the Sunday liturgyis entirely a different thing. It could be a stitch on time!