LITMIR.BIZ

What is found in this series unveils an entirely different side of C. K. Barrett, a side one might never have known about if one had knowledge only of his famous commentaries and monographs. Herein lies a goodly selection of Kingsley's sermons preached largely in small- and medium-sized Methodist churches in the northeast of England, though often elsewhere in England and around the world. Fred Barrett was not the scholar his son was, but on close inspection, one can most definitely see the impact of the father on the son when it came to preaching. It seems right to include as many sermons from both of these men as we can in this series. One thing sorely lacking in much preaching these days is in-depth engagement with both the biblical text and one's tradition and theology. The sermons in these volumes demonstrate what such preaching can look like. This third volume presents sermons from both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

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The book of Psalms is a treasure trove of teaching about Jesus Christ. While the church has traditionally recognized only about fifteen psalms as «messianic,» anticipating God's promised Messiah, the issue is how Christians should understand the other 135 psalms of the Hebrew Psalter. Psalms of Christ applies the New Testament conviction that the whole book of Psalms speaks prophetically about Christ to select «non-messianic» psalms. Following the New Testament as the guide for how to read the Old in light of the gospel, Psalms of Christ proposes fresh readings of so-called non-messianic psalms by illustrating their christological character, and exploring how they testify to the gospel by evoking Jesus's person, purpose, and passion.

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Would Eve object to the presentation of her original sin in Genesis 3? Could Alexander Graham Bell possibly have foreseen the enslaving power of his great invention, the phone, over human beings today? In The Roots that Clutch, Thomas Esposito poses such questions directly by means of letters addressed to a host of deceased historical persons and literary characters. Esposito employs an eclectic blend of humor and honest curiosity in sharing insights with figures as diverse as the Greek goddess Nike, Saint Benedict, the holy city of Jerusalem, and Martin Luther King Jr. With each letter, the Cistercian monk and Catholic priest digs with the spade of his pen to unearth a dialogue on the roots or origins of realities such as sin, anger, prayer, monasticism, and his own family tree, among many others. Undergirding every letter is an invitation to discern the seeds of the Logos, the Word made flesh, planted in the soil of human thought and history. By examining these particular roots of the human condition, the author aims at cultivating fruitful meditations on the mysteries of God at work in every heart.

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Limericks are, like the Bible, often funny and sometimes obscene. They shock us. They surprise us. They're not usually considered fitting for polite conversation. But perhaps the Bible has been tamed, has been polished of its rough edges. So let's take the Bible out of polite conversation and let it shock and surprise us again.

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People have used the Bible for a variety of purposes over the course of the past two thousand years; unfortunately, many of those uses have reinforced power structures and systems that oppress and dominate those without privilege. Worst of all, people have used the Bible as a means to divide humanity into those who are worthy of salvation and those who are not. However, if we look at the lectionary readings, especially the gospels, we can see that God actively seeks to undercut and subvert systems of power, and God calls Christians to do the same. Through an examination of Jesus's teachings, with support from a wide variety of other parts of the Bible, we can see that ideas of social justice and true liberation run throughout God's message to humanity. Rather than focusing on who gets into heaven and who doesn't, Jesus seeks to proclaim God's love for all humanity. By reading the Bible this way and attempting to live up to Jesus's call, we can seek to bring the kingdom to our world, as it is in heaven.

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Five hundred years after Luther's famous posting of his 95 Theses in 1517, the church again faces an important crossroads. Sunday worship attendance is shrinking at alarming rates. There are now more «Elvis believers» in the US than Episcopalians and almost limitless spiritual options exist for those who seek faith and trust in something, but are hesitant to commit to a particular path leading to truth. The word prosthesis, normally associated with surgery, is also an apt word to describe the church's need to forge a theological identity that fits our current context. The church faces change and a transformed body, but not at the expense of the biblical richness and tradition that fueled the restlessness of the reformers. The essays gathered here, arranged around the seasons of the church year, address familiar challenges faced by all pastors and leaders in an era of transition, specifically in Christian formation and discipleship. Appropriate for group and personal reflection, 95 Prostheses employs humor and biblical accessibility with the skeptical outsider who may be considering Jesus and his church for the first time in mind.

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She's more than 3,000 years old. Her grandfather was the patriarch Jacob. She's mentioned by name three times in the Hebrew Bible, but there are no stories told about her. She knew Moses and David, Spinoza and Einstein–and now, at long last, Serach bat Asher has written her autobiography.
"I was born in a tent," Serach tells us, a woman long silenced by history. She is feisty, funny, and bitter. The stories she tells about what really happened to her and her family will make you laugh and cry and maybe even rage against her, the oldest woman in the world, now living two blocks from the beach in Los Angeles.

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The calling to parish ministry involves a journey leading through lowland thickets and high plateau vistas. It's a vocation not for weak spirits. The parish presents general challenges rather than specialist endeavors. So, wearing one hat after another, the pastor may speak from the pulpit, join a team processing a current social concern, visit the intensive care hospital unit, and offer counsel at birth, marriage, or death–maybe all in one day.
Clergy and non-ordained alike will find that Parish, the Thought provides a closeup insight into this ministry, telling the truth about the defeats and victories experienced over the course of forty years in the parish. This memoir spends little time in navel gazing. Rather, the author explores the humor, conflicts, ventures, and achievements that rise in his memory.
The reader will detect a commitment to priestly and prophetic ministry, one that seeks to comfort the distressed and to nudge the comfortable out of apathy, encompassing the personal and public dimensions of the faith. All this as an adventure following the Pioneer, Jesus, the Christ.

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On November 18, 1978, over 900 people died in Jonestown, Guyana. Some perished willingly and others did not. Regardless of the means, Rev. Jim Jones was the killer. Though evil reigned, the community did not die alone. God was there. In this exegesis of their last words, you will discover a faint light. It will guide you home.

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The book of Job is the most challenging–and most engaging–of all the books in the Hebrew Scriptures. It challenges one's faith in the essential goodness of God and humanity. In this volume, Rabbis Kravitz and Olitzky provide an original, modern translation and commentary while also inviting classic rabbinic commentators of the past to provide insight to the text. Along with helping the reader to understand the original Hebrew sources, the authors also strive to answer some of the basic answers of human existence posed by religion: Why is there evil? Why do the good suffer? Why do those who do evil seem to go unpunished? Are acts of goodness rewarded?

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