Marshall's commentary on the Book of Acts is a contribution to the Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, a popular study aid designed to help the general Bible reader understand clearly what the text actually says and what it means without going into scholarly technicalities.

    These are combined with the first edition’s focus on literature and narrative, and an increased amount of improved maps are also included. In all, the book charts every major element that unifies the Old Testament, making it an excellent companion for Bible reading.Any student desiring a thorough and time-tested overview of the Bible’s first half will find it in this updated edition of Old Testament Survey.

    Samson, the vigilante superhero of Judges, slaughters thousands of Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. David, the Machiavellian prince of Samuel and Kings, is one of the great literary figures of antiquity. A ruthless monarch, David embodies a life in full dimension as it moves from brilliant youth through vigorous prime to failing old age. Samson and David play emblematic roles in the rise and fall of ancient Israel, a nation beset by internal divisions and external threats. A scattering of contentious desert tribes joined by faith in a special covenant with God, Israel emerges through the bloody massacres of Canaanite populations recounted in Joshua and the anarchic violence of Judges. The resourceful David consolidates national power, but it is power rooted in conspiracy, and David dies bitterly isolated in his court, surrounded by enemies. His successor, Solomon, maintains national unity through his legendary wisdom, wealth, and grand public vision, but after his death Israel succumbs to internal discord and foreign conquest. Near its end, the saga of ancient Israel returns to the supernatural. In Elijah's fiery ascent to heaven many would find the harbinger of a messiah coming to save his people in their time of need.

    Their challenge was to build a text that would be engaging, academically robust, richly illustrated, and relevant to the modern student. This book strikes a balance between being accessible to all students and challenging them to explore the depths of the New Testament within its cultural worlds.The New Testament in Antiquity carefully develops how Jewish and Hellenistic cultures formed the essential environment in which the New Testament authors wrote their books and letters. It argues that knowing the land, history, and culture of this world brings remarkable new insights into how we read the New Testament itself. Numerous sidebars provide windows into the Jewish, Hellenistic, and Roman worlds and integrate this material directly with the interpretation of the literature of the New Testament. This is an ideal introductory text for classroom use, with ample discussion questions and bibliographies.

    To meet the needs of an increasingly technology-savvy public, Fortress Press presents widely-used volumes in a new CD-ROM format. Features include: The complete, searchable text of the book; glossary hyperlinked to key words in the text; additional study questions; student helps for writing papers; internet links to additional resources; note-taking, bookmarking, and highlighting capabilities.The completely revised and updated version of Johnson's very successful introduction to the New Testament (1999) is now available with a CD-ROM that contains the entire original text with copious searching and researching features, plus hyper-links to the NRSV. Johnson organizes his presentation in six major sections:(1) The Symbolic World of the New Testament, (2) The Christian Experience, (3) The Synoptic Tradition, (4) Pauline Traditions, (5) Other Canonical Witnesses, and (6) The Johannine Tradition.

    It is also the world’s most widely distributed book, translated into over two thousand languages, and the world’s best selling book, year after year. But the Bible is a complex work with a complicated and obscure history. Made up of sixty-six “books” written by various authors and divided into two testaments, its contents have changed over the centuries. The Bible has been transformed by translation and, through interpretation, has developed manifold meanings to various religions, denominations, and sects. In this seminal account, acclaimed historian Karen Armstrong discusses the conception, gestation, and life of history’s most powerful book. Armstrong analyzes the social and political situation in which oral history turned into written scripture, how this all-pervasive scripture was collected into one work, and how it became accepted as Christianity’s sacred text. She explores how scripture came to be read for information, and how, in the nineteenth century, historical criticism of the Bible caused greater fear than Darwinism. This is a brilliant, captivating book, crucial in an age of declining faith and rising fundamentalism.

    For him, daily devotion is not a mere habit but a real desire to be transformed by the challenging word of Isaiah. These devotionals reassure us that the Lord can restore what sin has robbed us of. These daily devotionals are birthed from a lifetime of study on the prophecy of Isaiah. Day by day you will be provided with passages from Isaiah and an opportunity to explore the passage further. Take time to acquaint yourself with these passages from God's Word and treasure them in your heart.

    In October 2008, a meeting of the world Synod of Bishops scheduled by Pope Benedict XVI will focus on "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church." Coinciding with that meeting is the launch of the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture (CCSS), a series that responds to the desire of Catholics to access the living Word of God. The Gospel of Mark is the first of seventeen volumes, which will cover the entire New Testament. Written by trusted Catholic biblical scholars, these commentaries interpret Scripture in the light of Catholic tradition. Accessibly written yet substantive, the CCSS fills a gap in the available literature by offering commentaries that cover more than brief study guides but are less daunting than scholarly commentaries.

    Jesus saw these commandments not as onerous burdens, but as guideposts to help us experience a good and beautiful life. These ten ancient "words" were given to us by a loving God who longed to set safe boundaries, create order out of chaos, help communities live peacefully, and protect us--often from ourselves.In this book of Scripture and inspiration, bestselling author Adam Hamilton brings modern eyes to the most important set of ethics in history. He considers the commandments in their historical context, considering the meaning of each commandment in Hebrew, unpacking how Jesus reinterpreted them, and showing how every thou-shalt-not was intended to point to a life-giving "thou shalt." He also explores how the latest research in science and psychology illuminates these commandments, rightly understood, as a way of ordering one's life beautifully in the present day. In a culture marked by workaholism, materialism, and social media-driven envy, God has given us a time-tested path that leads to gratitude, confidence, and peace.A landmark work from one of our most trusted biblical thinkers, Words of Life is an inspiring, thought-provoking read for anyone seeking to live a meaningful and joyful life.

    I don't much like going. So, what now?"What's happening to the Church? Why are so many people who for decades have been faithful, steady churchgoers (and others who want to start going to church but can't seem to find one that meets their needs) losing interest in even attending church, let alone getting involved? What is fundamentally wrong with the "types" of churches (Seeker, Bible, Emergent, Liberal, Evangelical) that dot the religious landscape? Larry Crabb believes it is time to rethink the entire foundation and focus of what we know today as church -- everything we're doing and are wanting to see happen. In his most honest and vulnerable book to date, the author reveals his own struggles in this area and then offers a compelling vision of why God designed us to live in community with Him and others, and what the church he wants to be a part of looks like."

    She explores the idea of Paul not as the founder of a new Christian religion, but as a devout Jew who believed Jesus was the Christ who would unite Jews and Gentiles and fulfill God’s universal plan for humanity. Eisenbaum’s work in Paul Was Not a Christian  will have a profound impact on the way many Christians approach evangelism and how to better follow Jesus’s—and Paul’s—teachings on how to live faithfully today.

    It is true, the period of time covered by it is the same as in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, some of the incidents treated of by the "Synoptics" come before us here, and He who has occupied the central position in the narratives of the first three Evangelists is the same One that is made pre-eminent by John; but otherwise, everything is entirely new. The viewpoint of this fourth Gospel is more elevated than that of the others; its contents bring into view spiritual relationships rather than human ties; and, higher glories are revealed as touching the peerless Person of the Savior. In each of the first three Gospels Christ is viewed in human relationships, but not so in John. The purpose of this fourth Gospel is to show that the One who was born in a manger and afterward died on the Cross had higher glories than those of King, that He who humbled Himself to take the Servant place was, previously, "equal with God," that the One who became the Son of Man was none other than, and ever remains, the Only Begotten of the Father.▶ CONTENTS1. Introduction2. Christ, the Eternal Word3. Christ, the Word Incarnate4. Christ's Forerunner5. Christ and His First Disciples6. Christ's First Miracle7. Christ Cleansing the Temple8. Christ and Nicodemus9. Christ Magnified by His Forerunner10. Christ at Sychar's Well11. Christ in Samaria12. Christ in Galilee13. Christ at the Pool of Bethesda14. The Deity of Christ: Sevenfold Proof15. The Deity of Christ: Threefold Witness16. Christ Feeding the Multitude17. Christ Walking in the Sea18. Christ the Bread of Life19. Christ in the Capernaum Synagogue20. Christ and His Disciples21. Christ and the Feast of Tabernacles22. Christ Teaching in the Temple23. Christ and the Adulterous Woman24. Christ the Light of the World25. Christ and the Blind Beggar26. Christ the Door27. Christ the Good Shepherd28. Christ One with the Father29. Christ Raising Lazarus30. Christ Feared by the Sanhedrin31. Christ Anointed at Bethany32. Christ's Entry into Jerusalem33. Christ Sought by Gentiles34. Christ's Ministry Reviewed35. Christ Washing His Disciples Feet36. Christ's Example For Us37. Christ's Warnings38. Christ Comforting His Disciples39. Christ the True Vine40. Christ Fortifying His Disciples41. Christ Vindicate by the Spirit42. Christ Glorified by the Spirit43. Christ's Concluding Consolations44. Christ's Interceding45. Christ in the Garden46. Christ Before Annas47. Christ Before Pilate48. Christ Condemned to Death49. Christ Laying Down His Life50. Christ Risen From the Dead51. Christ Appearing to His Own52. Christ and Thomas53. Christ by the Sea of Tiberius54. Christ and Peter55. Conclusion56. Other Books▶ AUTHORArthur W. Pink was born in Nottingham England in 1886, and born again of the Spirit of God in 1908 at the age of 22. He studied at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, USA, for only six weeks before beginning his pastoral work in Colorado. From there he pastored churches in California, Kentucky, and South Carolina, before moving to Sydney Australia for a brief period, preaching and teaching. In 1934, at 48 years old, he returned to his native England.

    Now The Forgotten Ways Handbook moves beyond theory to practice, offering ways for any missionally minded person to apply the ideas contained in The Forgotten Ways to their life and ministry.This intensely practical handbook includes many helpful tools: summary sections encapsulating the ideas contained in each chapter in a popular way; suggested practices to help readers embed missional paradigms concretely; and adult learning-based techniques and examples from other churches and organizations that enable readers to process and assimilate the ideas in a group context. EXCERPTMake no mistake about it; the scope of the change that is required to shift to the kind of movement described in The Forgotten Ways is nothing less than paradigmatic. Every element of mDNA poses a direct challenge to the prevailing ways of doing church and mission. When taken together, all six elements of Apostolic Genius make the task seem enormous. But we don't think it is actually as difficult as it seems. And it is certainly not impossible. The Chinese church proves that a highly institutionalized form of Christianity can become a remarkable movement given the right circumstances. And we don't believe that we have to have persecution to activate Apostolic Genius. Less intense forms of adaptive challenges can, and do, force the church to respond. What we are witnessing in our own day indicates that. Because the church carries the gospel as well as the full coding of Apostolic Genius in her, the potential for world transformation is always present in us. We can always draw upon latent resources and instincts. God is able and very willing to stir his church up. In fact we see this as one of the very special works of the Holy Spirit--to awaken God's people to their calling and destiny as a movement that can and will change the world.

    The author of Ecclesiastes had his doubts, too, and these have enabled him to speak to skeptics as well as believers down through the centuries.Ecclesiastes is a book rich in literary artistry and multi-layered depths of spiritual meaning. Philip G. Ryken explores this wonderful Old Testament book, and reminds us again of the need to trust God with the questions, even when we do not have all the answers.

    These studies offer a fresh, adventurous look at all of Jesus' parables, treated according to their major themes. With the same authorial flair and daring insight that have earned him a wide readership, Capon admirably bridges the gap between the biblical world and our own, making clear both the original meaning of the parables and their continuing relevance today.