Amidst the bright lights and wrappings of a sentimentally saturated Christmas season, we tend to forget about the gritty, messy reality of the Advent story as it was experienced 2,000 years ago. In this honest Advent devotional, best-selling progressive Christian author John Pavlovitz reminds us that God came to meet us in the low places of our lives -- and that Jesus continues to come low this Advent season.
Ancient stories invoking contemporary questions and providing insight for an uncertain future
The story of the woman taken in adultery features a dramatic confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees over whether the adulteress should be stoned as the law commands. In response, Jesus famously states, “Let him who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” To Cast the First Stone traces the history of this provocative story from its first appearance to its enduring presence today.
There is a legend that describes how, at midnight on Christmas Eve, all creatures are granted the power of speech for one hour. In this rich collection, Lee Bennett Hopkins and a dozen other poets imagine what responses they might offer.
Stephen Mitchell’s gift is to breathe new life into ancient classics. In Joseph and the Way of Forgiveness, he offers us his riveting novelistic version of the Biblical tale in which Jacob’s favorite son is sold into slavery and eventually becomes viceroy of Egypt. Tolstoy called it the most beautiful story in the world.
The Jewish Study Bible is a one-volume resource tailored especially for the needs of students of the Hebrew Bible.
In The Bible: A Historical and Literary Introduction, Second Edition, renowned biblical scholar and New York Times Best-selling author Bart D. Ehrman provides an exceptionally engaging survey of the Bible.
Historical events have long been the standard lens through which scholars have sought to understand the theology of Christianity in late antiquity. The lives of significant theological figures, the rejection of individuals and movements as heretical, and the Trinitarian and christological controversies—the defining theological events of the early church—have long provided the framework with which to understand the development of early Christian belief.
No other gods. No graven images. Don't take God's name in vain. Those are the commandments that focus this first volume of our series for small group study: Exploring Justice: The Ten Commandments. Do you think idols are merely statues from a false religion? Think again.
No other gods. No graven images.
LITERACY
UNDERSTANDING
DIALOGUE
