Busyness is a sickness of the soul that affects many today-and it is especially detrimental to young people, who are finding their identity shaped by ongoing resume-building, constant digital communication, and unceasing activity. The last thing they have time for is rest. But rest-Sabbath-is necessary for youth, not just because of who they are ......
American pastors, says Eugene Peterson, are abandoning their posts at an alarming rate. They are not leaving their churches and getting other jobs. Instead, they have become "a company of shopkeepers, and the shops they keep are churches." Pastors and the communities they serve have become preoccupied with image and standing, with administration, ......
This accessible, engaging work explores the major theological dimensions of John's Gospel, including God, the world and its people, Jesus, the crucifixion and resurrection, the Spirit, faith, and discipleship. Craig Koester's Word of Life is notable for its comprehensive treatment of themes and its close, careful focus on the biblical text, on the
An Entryway to the Theological Interpretation of Scripture
This book fills a real need for pastors and students. Though there is currently a large body of material on the theological interpretation of Scripture, most of it is highly specific and extremely technical. J. Todd Billings here provides a straightforward entryway for students and pastors to understand why theological interpretation matters and ......
Meet the women who followed Jesus even when the Twelve failed. ?? To be a disciple is to follow Jesus. And that requires action. But in the Gospels, the disciples often falter. The Twelve even abandon Jesus at his crucifixion in many of the narratives. Yet it is female disciples who remain faithful to Jesus to the end. What do we make of ......
A robust theological argument against the assumption that God is male. God values women. While many Christians would readily affirm this truth, the widely held assumption that the Bible depicts a male God persists--as it has for centuries. This misperception of Christianity not only perniciously implies that men deserve an elevated place over ......
One particularly challenging aspect of the Hebrew Bible is its treatment of various forms of voluntary death: suicide, suicide attack, martyrdom, and self-sacrifice. How can people of faith make sense of the ways biblical literature at times valorises these sensitive and painful topics? Willingness to Die and the Gift of Life surveys a ......
Christianity Today Book Award Winner in Popular Theology (2024) We know what the gospel is--but do we know why it is?? ? As Christians, we often ask what the gospel is, when we should be asking why it is. Matthew W. Bates has previously demonstrated that the "good news" of the gospel is that Jesus is King. But in his latest book, he explores ......
Do Christians need recovery? Or is recovery something needed by the church itself? Addiction--whether to a substance or to a behavior--is a problem within faith communities, just like it is everywhere else. But because churches are rarely experienced as safe places for dealing with addiction, co-addiction, or the legacy of family dysfunction, ......