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Paul's second letter to the Corinthians explores the meaning of the cross in terms of personal suffering--his own, and that of all the Messiah's people. If in Galatians he is angry, if in Philippians he is joyful, in this letter his deep sorrow and the raw wounds of his own recent suffering are very apparent. Yet he is determined to view all of his suffering and all of the troubles of the world ...
Number of Studies: 11
Paul's project, he often says, is building--not building with bricks and mortar but rather with people. He lays the foundation with the shockingly good news of one true God who raised Jesus from the dead, in order to build a new family with no divisions, all of whom can call God Father. In a world of widespread ethnic rivalry and trenchant divisiveness, Paul's strong corrective message in Galatians ...
Number of Studies: 10
Things don't always go the way we intend. It's easy to feel discouraged because what we hope for is badly thwarted, or because people make life difficult. Paul, writing to the Philippians from prison, certainly knew what it was like to have plans interrupted. But he maintains robust confidence in God's overruling power, even when everything seems to be going wrong. These eight studies will help ...
Number of Studies: 8
For many Jewish Christians of the first century, living in the light of the gospel was challenging. Having accepted Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, they were regarded by still-skeptical family, friends and neighbors as dangerous, misguided and even disloyal to all that God had said earlier on. The letter to the Hebrews was written to show that you can't go back to an earlier stage of God's purposes ...
Number of Studies: 13
Every generation in the church worries, rightly, about people who just glide along, seeming to enjoy what they hear in church but without it making any real difference. James faced exactly the same problem in the very first generation. So it's not surprising that translating belief into action--making sure faith is the real thing--is near the heart of his message. That kind of faith, he explains, ...
Number of Studies: 9
What is the human heart like? Theologians and philosophers have attempted to address this question, not just in the abstract, but concretely in personal, as well as social and political, dimensions. Patrick Downey explores the biblical writings of Genesis and the Hebrew prophet Jeremiah, the Greek tragedies, Plato, Aristotle, and political philosophers--such as Rousseau, Hobbes, Nietzsche and René ...
The first chapters of Genesis are the bedrock of the Jewish and Christian traditions. In these inaugural pages of the canon, the creation of the world, the fall of the human creature, the promise of redemption and the beginning of salvation history are found. Interwoven in the text are memorable stories of the ancient biblical patriarchs and matriarchs. Throughout the history of commentary, interpreters ...
Evangelical. Sacramental. Pentecostal. Christian communities tend to identify with one of these labels over the other two. Evangelical churches emphasize the importance of Scripture and preaching. Sacramental churches emphasize the importance of the eucharistic table. And pentecostal churches emphasize the immediate presence and power of the Holy Spirit. But must we choose between them? Could the ...
Experience the Kaleidoscopic Mystery of the Cross
Everything about the gospel message leads to the cross, and proceeds from the cross. In fact, within the narrative of Scripture, the crucifixion of Jesus is literally the crux of the story—the axis upon which the biblical story turns. But it would be a mistake to think we could sum up the significance of ...