A 1989 ECPA Gold Medallion Award winner! How did the books of the Bible come to be recognized as Holy Scripture? Who decided what shape the canon should take? What criteria influenced these decisions? After nearly nineteen centuries the canon of Scripture still remains an issue of debate. Protestants, Catholics and the Orthodox all have slightly differing collections of documents in their Bibles. Martin Luther, one of the early leaders of the Reformation, questioned the inclusion of the book of James in the canon. And many Christians today, while confessing the authority of all of Scripture, tend to rely on only a few books and particular themes while ignoring the rest. Scholars have raised many other questions as well. Research into second-century Gnostic texts have led some to argue that politics played a significant role in the formation of the Christian canon. Assessing the influence of ancient communities and a variety of disputes on the final shaping of the canon call for ongoing study. In this significant historical study, F. F. Bruce brings the wisdom of a lifetime of reflection and biblical interpretation to bear in answering the questions and clearing away the confusion surrounding the Christian canon of Scripture. Adept in both Old and New Testament studies, he brings a rare comprehensive perspective to his task. Though some issues have shifted since the original publication of this book, it still remains a significant landmark and touchstone for further studies.

    Sometimes the words on the pages seem so distant from reality. In this practical and accessible book, Matthew Harmon trains believers to ask the right questions when reading their Bibles so that they see how it can transform their lives--even the passages that at first glance might seem irrelevant or disconnected from the modern world. Harmon explains the overall structure of Scripture, highlighting techniques we can use when reading to make the connection between the text and our hearts, ensuring that God's Word has its intended effect: growing us in godliness.

    In addition to inspiring the public prayer of the church, the Psalms are an indispensable part of the private devotions of all who seek a closer relationship with God. Most important, however, the Psalms point toward the ultimate liberation of humanity from sin, death and despair through Jesus Christ. Father Pat Reardon, drawing on his long experience as an Episcopal minister, and then as a priest in the Orthodox Church (Antiochene), has produced a work of depth and devotion. He tightly understands that one cannot truly probe the deep meaning of the Psalms unless one understands them in the light of the redemption brought by Christ. Fr. Reardon beautifully relates each Psalm to its place within the Divine Liturgy and shows us how they reveal Our Lord to us, if we prayerfully study the Psalm text.

    In What Christians Ought to Believe Michael Bird opens our eyes to the possibilities of the Apostle’s Creed as a way to explore and understand the basic teachings of the Christian faith.Bringing together theological commentary, tips for application, and memorable illustrations, What Christians Ought to Believe summarizes the basic tenets of the Christian faith using the Apostle’s Creed as its entryway. After first emphasizing the importance of creeds for the formation of the Christian faith, each chapter, following the Creed’s outline, introduces the Father, the Son, and the Spirit and the Church. An appendix includes the Apostles’ Creed in the original Latin and Greek.What Christians Ought to Believe is ideally suited for both the classroom and the church setting to teach beginning students and laypersons the basics of what Christians ought to affirm if they are to be called Christians.

    A key element in the fight for hope, he discovered, has long been the practice of Bible reading and interpretation that comes out of traditional Black churches. This ecclesial tradition is often disregarded or viewed with suspicion by much of the wider church and academy, but it has something vital to say. Reading While Black is a personal and scholarly testament to the power and hope of Black biblical interpretation. At a time in which some within the African American community are questioning the place of the Christian faith in the struggle for justice, New Testament scholar McCaulley argues that reading Scripture from the perspective of Black church tradition is invaluable for connecting with a rich faith history and addressing the urgent issues of our times. He advocates for a model of interpretation that involves an ongoing conversation between the collective Black experience and the Bible, in which the particular questions coming out of Black communities are given pride of place and the Bible is given space to respond by affirming, challenging, and, at times, reshaping Black concerns. McCaulley demonstrates this model with studies on how Scripture speaks to topics often overlooked by white interpreters, such as ethnicity, political protest, policing, and slavery. Ultimately McCaulley calls the church to a dynamic theological engagement with Scripture, in which Christians of diverse backgrounds dialogue with their own social location as well as the cultures of others. Reading While Black moves the conversation forward.

    In Pundit’s Folly, author Sinclair Ferguson takes the timeless truths found in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes and artfully applies them to today in this readable, concise volume.In this spectacle of words, the world is a sea of glass: a pageant of fond delight, a theatre of vanity, a labyrinth of error, a gulf of grief, a sty of filthiness, a vale of misery, a spectacle of woe, a river of tears, a stage of deceit, a cage full of devils, a den of scorpions.

    The Brooklyn Tabernacle pastor discusses how he built up a broken-down church to a membership of six thousand.

    For those who have longing for prayer and yet have never prayed, the author offers some specific suggestions about attitudes, beliefs, and dispositions that get in the way of our prayer without us even noticing. Bondi also shares some of what the founders of early monasticism had to say about prayer and Christian love that she has found especially helpful over the years.

    Many have identified with the main character's Great Sadness, the terrible burden of grief that often accompanies and follows a deep loss, for the Great Sadness is part of the human condition. And it compels us to ask, Where is God? Who is God?Roger Olson, who has faced his own Great Sadness, finds a good deal of comfort in this much beloved, story as have so many others. Some may ask, however, Is God really like that? Is that really how God responds to evil? Can God be trusted?Olson also views The Shack with a theologian's eye and finds much sound truth. He delves into many of the significant issues raised by the book such as forgiving those who have done us great evil, how God acts in the world, how God is three persons in one and what difference this makes to us. While he offers his own criticisms of the book, he largely finds the truth about God in The Shack.

    Do you ever wonder if we've been missing something? We claim to be saved in the next life, but can we find peace in the storms that rise up against us in this life? The answer is an unequivocal yes. But that yes means looking at ourselves and the world differently, which leads to a new way of being. The Forgotten Way Meditations is a journey of re-discovering the radical love, peace, and identity found in Yeshua so you can see and be differently. Forgotten, because Yeshua's simple path of awakening to love, peace and power in this life is rarely remembered (or understood) by millions of Christians weighed down with life's cares and concerns. Way because it is a pathway we walk, not a checklist of rules to follow. Read The Forgotten Way as a book, or take the journey through 21 short daily meditations and you will never see yourself in the same way. Come all who are weary and find rest. Enter the Way of Yeshua so easily forgotten. Take the journey from hate to love; from fear to faith. The journey from insecurity to complete rest. Here you will find peace in the storms; you will walk on the troubled seas of your life. Love, joy and peace will flow from you as living waters. (Non-Fiction/Spirituality)

    Biblical and practical, this book gets down to the real questions in the disciple making process: What is the biblical case for making disciples? How can I disciple others if I was never discipled? How do I select someone to disciple? How do I get started? How do I become the kind of close friend that can influence another? What sort of goals should we set? What kind of study content is most helpful? How can I foster a love of prayer in another? Why are some models followed more than others? How can I create a life-long thirst for doing ministry? How can I effectively coach my friend in his or her ministry? When can I release a disciple to independence? These authors are experts who have raised up hundreds of house church leaders and other Christian workers during their combined 60 years of experience.

    The nation of Israel had many hopes: hope for a deliverer, hope for restored fellowship with God, and hope for the world to be put right. The New Testament explains how those promises were kept and how, if we are Christians, they are kept in us as well.Mark Dever surveys the historical context, organization, and theology of each New Testament book, in light of God's Old Testament promises. His message is that of the New Testament itself, one of hope fulfilled.

    Even within the church, homosexuality, divorce, and shallow, sentimental views of love are subverting God’s design for husbands and wives. To help Christian couples counter these trends and recover marriage as God intended it, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin has compiled a rich anthology of love letters from saints of the past. Each letter gives us a glimpse of what marriage should be: joyful companionship, deep passion, and unfailing commitment through the ups and downs of life. At its best, Christian marriage is a foretaste of eternal bliss—and it’s far more satisfying than any of the substitutes this world has to offer.

    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.

    And then going one step further, this project shares the good news of Jesus and the way of life that he makes possible.