Beyond the Headlights: Donning the Mantle of Disability.  Dr. John Roskoski.   218 Pages.  ISBN: 979-8773882725

This work is a personal testimony of John’s journey through the difficult and long recovery from a devastating vehicular accident. John shares much of the emotion that he experienced as he describes the sequence of grief and acceptance that is part of such a life-changing event, and the power of his faith in God to bring him through..  (AJBT). Kindle: $5.70 from Amazon.com  Paperback: $12.79 from Amazon.com. Free Preview.

A God Nearby: Three Medieval Views of Immanence and Transcendence.  Dr. Nathan D. Amerson.   424 Pages.  ISBN: 9798739872753

This work explores the writings of three great medieval theologians, all doctors of the church, and all enormously influential not only within their time but for centuries to come. Anselm of Canterbury, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Thomas Aquinas all held positions of significant sway within their monastic circles and their writings have continued to be points of reference, both for Catholic and Protestant theologians to this day. Simultaneously, a development of the twin themes of God’s attributes of transcendence and immanence is an appropriate starting point not just for theology proper but for theology in general, and these three writers each contributed to an orthodox position which keeps a balanced position of these attributes in mind.  (AJBT). Kindle: $5.70 from Amazon.com  Paperback: $12.79 from Amazon.com. Free Preview.

Prayers from the Desert: Living Out the Pastroral Call as a Hostage in Kuwait.  Dr. Maurice Graham.   424 Pages.  ASIN: B08F4FWV76

On August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait. At the time they were the fourth biggest army in the world and Hussein had just been named by U.S. News & World Report as “the most dangerous man in the world.” Maurice Graham had just moved his family to Kuwait to serve as the English pastor of the National Evangelical Church of Kuwait. Just three months into their arrival Iraq invaded. Graham spent the next four months as a hostage trying to protect his family and fulfill his pastoral calling in the midst of this crisis. His story is proof that God is still in the business of doing miracles and changing the hearts of even the world’s most evil leaders. (AJBT). Kindle: $2.99 from Amazon.com  Paperback: $9.99 from Amazon.com. Free Preview.

Jesus' Moral Teaching: A Guide to Christian Morality.  P.G. Nelson.   415 Pages.  ISBN: 979-8569068067.

There is a great deal of confusion about Christian morality today. While all Christians agree about the rightness or wrongness of some actions, they disagree about the morality of others. This greatly weakens the Church and its witness to the world.In this little book, the author re-examines Jesus’ teaching with a view to resolving this problem. He begins by outlining Jesus’ approach to moral questions and then considers what he taught on specific issues, namely money and possessions, marriage and divorce, and sexual morality. His aim is to present Jesus’ teaching as accurately and coherently as possible and to help Christians to know how to live their own lives and to witness more clearly to the world.The author is a scientist, writer, and lay preacher in East Yorkshire. His other books include Making Sense of Romans (Thankful Books), Biblical Light on Contemporary Issues (AJBT), and God and the Universe (AJBT). Kindle: $5.79 from Amazon.com  Paperback: $9.99 from Amazon.com. Free Preview.

Biblical Eschatology.  Jonathan Menn.   415 Pages.  ISBN: 979-8569068067.

Biblical Eschatology provides what is not found in any other single volume on eschatology: it analyzes all the major eschatological passages (including the Olivet Discourse and the book of Revelation), issues (including the second coming of Christ, the millennium, the rapture, and Antichrist), and positions (including all the major views of the millennium) in a clear, but not superficial, way. The book concludes with a chapter showing how eschatology is relevant for our lives. Biblical Eschatology makes understanding eschatology easier by including chapters on how to interpret prophecy and apocalyptic literature, by showing the history of eschatological thought, and by placing eschatology in the context of the Bible's overall story line and structure. Clarity and understanding are enhanced by the use of comparative tables and appendices. Subject and Scripture indexes are included. The book interacts with the best of Evangelical and Reformed scholarship, and the extensive bibliography (which includes the web addresses of many online resources) provides an excellent source for the reader's further study. This is a perfect resource for intelligent Christians, including pastors, students, and teachers, who desire to understand eschatology and to see how it fits together with the rest of the Bible. Kindle: $9.99 from Amazon.com  Paperback: $48.09 from Amazon.com. Free Preview.

Light in a Once-Dark World: Contemporary Issues in Nigerian Christianity, Volume 3.  Dr. John W. (Jack) Carter, Editor.   415 Pages.  ISBN: 979-8569068067.

Once considered by global Christianity as the “Dark Continent”, Africa has seen dramatic growth in the Christian faith among its many people groups. However, this growth has come with no few challenges as the truths of the Gospel of God’s grace and love for His people face a diversity of pagan and tribal cultures with well-established systems of belief. The contributors to this book each provide insight into these challenges as they address a wide variety of social issues that are impacting the efforts by faithful believers to bring the Good News to people who are seeking peace midst a great deal of social turmoil. Much of the work of African Christian evangelism is taking place in Nigeria, and the pastors, theologians, and seminary students who have been selected for this text offer their experience and knowledge with the intention of addressing many of the issues facing the Nigerian Christian Churches. Paperback: $15.99 from Amazon.com  Kindle: $5.79 from Amazon.com. Free Preview.

Sharing the Word of God, Year C.  Michael Ufok Udoekpo.   445 Pages.  ISBN: 979-8674197003.

This three-volume compendium of homilies covers with expertise and deep spirituality not only the three-year Sunday Cycle scripture readings, select feasts, memorials, and solemnities, but also some weekday readings of the church’s liturgical cycles (ABC). It is faith-based, pastorally inspired, and biblically intended for everyone, and for all peoples of all times and culture. The reflection questions offered at the end of the readings each day further invite readers in their diverse cultural settings and walks of life to reflect on, deepen and internalize their understanding of the scripture passages read and apply them to life, since God’s word speaks differently, yet consistently, in different contexts. Paperback:  $16.99 from Amazon.com. Free Preview. Kindle:  $5.75

Sharing the Word of God, Year B.  Michael Ufok Udoekpo.   416 Pages.  ISBN: 979-8674197003.

This three-volume compendium of homilies covers with expertise and deep spirituality not only the three-year Sunday Cycle scripture readings, select feasts, memorials, and solemnities, but also some weekday readings of the church’s liturgical cycles (ABC). It is faith-based, pastorally inspired, and biblically intended for everyone, and for all peoples of all times and culture. The reflection questions offered at the end of the readings each day further invite readers in their diverse cultural settings and walks of life to reflect on, deepen and internalize their understanding of the scripture passages read and apply them to life, since God’s word speaks differently, yet consistently, in different contexts. Paperback:  $16.49 from Amazon.com. Free Preview. Kindle:  $5.75

Sharing the Word of God, Year A.  Michael Ufok Udoekpo.   443 Pages.  ISBN: 979-8672778242.

This three-volume compendium of homilies covers with expertise and deep spirituality not only the three-year Sunday Cycle scripture readings, select feasts, memorials, and solemnities, but also some weekday readings of the church’s liturgical cycles (ABC). It is faith-based, pastorally inspired, and biblically intended for everyone, and for all peoples of all times and culture. The reflection questions offered at the end of the readings each day further invite readers in their diverse cultural settings and walks of life to reflect on, deepen and internalize their understanding of the scripture passages read and apply them to life, since God’s word speaks differently, yet consistently, in different contexts. Paperback:  $16.99 from Amazon.com. Free Preview. Kindle:  $5.75

What Do We Know About God? Theological, Philosophical, and Existential Arguments Concerning the Nature of God.  Dr. Kenneth A. Bryson.   206 Pages.  ISBN: 979-8665332376.

There are few subjects known to mankind that has drawn more interest, exploration, and publication than the nature of God and our relationship to Him as human beings. Many approaches to the study stand wholly on a platform of religious doctrine and dogma. Other approaches are secular in nature and rely solely on rational and philosophical arguments. Dr. Ken Bryson brings to the field an approach that applies a balance between these two extremes. As a Christian, Ken bases his arguments in biblical theology and then builds upon this foundation with reason and philosophy drawn from many of the most prominent thinkers in both ancient and modern history. Paperback:  $12.29 from Amazon.com. Free Preview. Kindle:  $5.75

Light in a Once-Dark World: Contemporary Issues in Nigerian Christianity.  Dr. John W. (Jack) Carter, Editor.   416 Pages.  ISBN: 979-8650163336.

Once considered by global Christianity as the “Dark Continent”, Africa has seen dramatic growth in the Christian faith among its many people groups. However, this growth has come with no few challenges as the truths of the Gospel of God’s grace and love for His people face a diversity of pagan and tribal cultures with well-established systems of belief. The contributors to this book each provide insight into these challenges as they address a wide variety of social issues that are impacting the efforts by faithful believers to bring the Good News to people who are seeking peace midst a great deal of social turmoil. Much of the work of African Christian evangelism is taking place in Nigeria, and the pastors, theologians, and seminary students who have been selected for this text offer their experience and knowledge with the intention of addressing many of the issues facing the Nigerian Christian Churches. Paperback: $15.99 from Amazon.com  Kindle: $5.79 from Amazon.com. Free Preview.

God and the Universe.  Dr. Peter G. Nelson.   125 Pages.  ISBN: 979-8620856626.

A significant tension exists between the modern scientific picture of the universe and the Biblical one. On the standard scientific picture, the universe started in a ‘Big Bang’ ‒ the explosion of a speck of highly concentrated matter 14 billion years ago. According to the Bible, God created the universe in six days about ten thousand years ago. On the scientific picture, the universe has evolved and continues to develop under the operation of fixed laws and chance. According to the Bible, God acts in the universe in providence and judgment, human beings are responsible for their actions, and the Devil plays a part too. This book seeks to resolve these tensions by presenting a new way of reconciling the Bible and modern science.The author is a scientist, writer, and lay preacher at in East Yorkshire, UK.  Paperback: $10.59 from Amazon.com  Kindle: $5.79 from Amazon.com. Free Preview.

Leading Strategic Community Change.  Dr. Jimmy Arthur Atkins.   114 Pages.  ISBN: 978-1070140728.

Leading Strategic Community Change explores the dynamics of leadership and strategic community change for churches and faith-based organizations. In doing so, it incorporates principles and practices from the fields of strategic planning, leadership, and organizational development. At the end of chapters there are exercises designed to reinforce the concepts discussed in the chapter. The appendices also include activities for churches and faith-based organizations to use with their congregations, boards, and executive ministry teams to develop a more effective plan for engaging the community in social and economic change. This book is based on the fundamental belief that churches and faith-based organizations are often closest to the needs of the poor and disenfranchised, but often lack the capital, human and financial, to implement community-based initiatives that lead to lasting change. However, if given the knowledge and expertise, churches and faith-based organizations can transform their surrounding communities and restore a sense of hope and renewal.  Paperback: $9.99 from Amazon.com  Kindle: $5.79 from Amazon.com. Free Preview.

Light in a Once-Dark World: Contemporary Issues in Nigerian Christianity, Volume 1.  413 Pages.  ISBN: 978-1070140728.

Once considered by global Christianity as the “Dark Continent”, Africa has seen dramatic growth in the Christian faith among its many people groups. However, this growth has come with no few challenges as the truths of the Gospel of God’s grace and love for His people face a diversity of pagan and tribal cultures with well-established systems of belief. The contributors to this book each provide insight into these challenges as they address a wide variety of social issues that are impacting the efforts by faithful believers to bring the Good News to people who are seeking peace midst a great deal of social turmoil. Much of the work of African Christian evangelism is taking place in Nigeria, and the pastors, theologians, and seminary students who have been selected for this text offer their experience and knowledge with the intention of addressing many of the issues facing the Nigerian Christian Churches.Paperback: $15.99 from Amazon.com  Kindle: $5.79 from Amazon.com. Free Preview.

James W. Skeen. Thinking About God: The Blessedness of Faithful Contemplation.  271 Pages.  ISBN: 978-1071126752.

This book seeks to show the reader that "new life" is new in quality and capacity not just new in time and that a sixth need, blessedness, should be added to William Glasser's Choice Theory so that a more complete view of human functioning can be understood. The author also seeks to demonstrate the mean or 'middle way' view of virtue or moral excellence and the innate human needs and how important it is to the Christian life and the growth of Christ-likeness in us.  $14.79 from Amazon.com  Kindle: $5.79 from Amazon.com. Free Preview.

Rev. Alfred E. Bishop. Human Nature in the Kingdom of God: A Funny Thing Happened to Me on the Way to Heaven. The American Journal of Biblical Theology.  393 Pages.  ISBN: 978-1098789671

The wit and wisdom of Pastor Al Bishop will bring to mind loads of stories of your own about the complicated joy of ministering in our Lord’s Church to His people. But most of all, it will also help new and seasoned pastors, lay leaders and God’s Church to relax and be able to laugh at the strange things that happen in their congregations on their way to heaven as well.   Dr. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. President Emeritus, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.  $13.39 from Amazon.com  Kindle: $5.79 from Amazon.com. Free Preview.

Dr. David C. Strem. New Life in Christ, Vol 1.: Salvation, Inheritance, and New Birth. The American Journal of Biblical Theology.  333 Pages.  ISBN: 978-1093481365

New Life in Christ is a four-volume anthology of the writings and sermons written and presented by Dr. Strem during his many years in pastoral ministry. These volumes present the breadth of Christian theology in a personal and informal manner that serves to address the application of Christian faith in daily life. Written during a time when there is a great need for discipleship in the community of Christian faith, Dr. Strem addresses that need by organizing the material in a manner that may be used both as a reference text on theological subjects and for instruction in Christian living.  
$14.79 from Amazon.com  Kindle: $5.79 from Amazon.com. Free Preview.

Dr. Vincent Edwards. Lead with Love: Nurturing Sustainable Relationships. The American Journal of Biblical Theology.  71 Pages.  ISBN: 978-1796857511

This study examines Christian Scripture and proposes the Biblical Text as the source for understanding and implementing values for individuals to build long-term trust-based relationships with others. Those who implement these values in their daily life are more likely to have the cultural agility needed to recognize and effectively deal with the societal-cultural influences that affect their organization’s culture. Societal culture influences an individual’s cognitive processes and style of leadership.  
$9.99 from Amazon.com  Kindle: $5.49 from Amazon.com. Free Preview.

Dr. Peter G. Nelson. Biblical Light on Contemporary Issues.  The American Journal of Biblical Theology.  205 Pages.  ISBN: 978-1728884011

Evangelical Christians in the West today face many difficult issues. Some of these arise from influences both within and without the Evangelical Christian community. Inside this community there is the Charismatic Movement with its emphasis on the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, and healing, and Reformed Theology, with its emphasis on God’s sovereignty and grace. Outside this community, secular society promotes evolution, feminism, and liberal values. These influences raise many difficult questions.  The author seeks insight into these issues based on the Bible. Each chapter is devoted to one issue, and can be read independently of other chapters. The author has translated Biblical texts as literally as Hebrew or Greek and English idiom will allow. Paperback:  $12.29 from Amazon.com  Kindle: $5.99 from Amazon.com. Free Preview.

Jack Carter. The Revelation of John:  A Message of Encouragement for a Persecuted Church.  The American Journal of Biblical Theology.  505 Pages.  ISBN: 9781976959622

An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of the Scriptures. Walk through the Revelation of John, verse-by-verse, observing the Gospel presented in Apocalyptic form as John paints seven beautifully vibrant and picturesque vignettes that describe God's purpose of grace for mankind. Written to be easily read, but at the same time containing an in-depth treatment of John's theology as he presents each point with literary mastery. The text is organized into 26 chapters, each useful for a 30-minute personal study, or an hour group study. A "very powerful, combining the fruits of scholarship within the context of faith." Dr. John Roskowski.   $18.99 from Amazon.com

Eric Metaxas.  Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery.   Penguin/Random House.  480 Pages.  ISBN: 9781101980019

Metaxis tells the story of the remarkable life of the British abolitionist William Wilberforce (1759-1833). This biography chronicles Wilberforce's extraordinary role as a human rights activist, cultural reformer, and member of Parliament. At the center of this heroic life was a passionate twenty-year fight to abolish the British slave trade, a battle Wilberforce won in 1807, as well as efforts to abolish slavery itself in the British colonies, a victory achieved just three days before his death in 1833. Metaxas discovers in this unsung hero a man of whom it can truly be said: he changed the world. This account of Wilberforce's life will help many become acquainted with an exceptional man who was a hero to Abraham Lincoln and an inspiration to the anti-slavery movement in America..   $19.00 from Amazon.com

Eric Metaxas.  Martin Luther. the Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World,   Penguin/Random House.  480 Pages.  ISBN: 9781101980019

On All Hallow’s Eve in 1517, a young monk named Martin Luther posted a document he hoped would spark an academic debate, but that instead ignited a conflagration that would forever destroy the world he knew. Five hundred years after Luther’s now famous Ninety-five Theses appeared, Eric Metaxas paints a startling portrait of the wild figure whose adamantine faith cracked the edifice of Western Christendom and dragged medieval Europe into the future. Written in riveting prose and impeccably researched, Martin Luther tells the searing tale of a humble man who, by bringing ugly truths to the highest seats of power, caused the explosion whose sound is still ringing in our ears. Luther’s monumental faith and courage gave birth to the ideals of liberty, equality, and individualism that today lie at the heart of all modern life.   $19.99 from Amazon.com

Eric Metaxas.  Bonhoeffer, Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy,   Thomas Nelson  624 Pages.  ISBN: 9781595552464

As Adolf Hitler and the Nazis seduced a nation, bullied a continent, and attempted to exterminate the Jews of Europe, a small number of dissidents and saboteurs worked to dismantle the Third Reich from the inside. One of these was Dietrich Bonhoeffer—a pastor and author. In this New York Times best-selling biography, Eric Metaxas takes both strands of Bonhoeffer’s life—the theologian and the spy—and draws them together to tell a searing story of incredible moral courage in the face of monstrous evil. Metaxas presents the fullest accounting of Bonhoeffer’s heart-wrenching decision to leave the safe haven of America to return to Hitler’s Germany, and sheds new light on Bonhoeffer’s involvement in the famous Valkyrie plot and in “Operation 7,” the effort to smuggle Jews into neutral Switzerland. In a deeply moving narrative, Metaxas uses previously unavailable documents including personal letters, detailed journal entries, and firsthand personal accounts to reveal dimensions of Bonhoeffer's life and theology never before seen.   $19.99 from Amazon.com

Ian E. Rock.  Paul’s Letter to the Romans and Roman Imperialism An Ideological Analysis of the Exordium (Romans 1:1-17)  James Clark & Co.  171 Pages.  ISBN: 9780227176450

Ian E. Rock demonstrates that the Letter to the Romans may be seen as an attempt by a subordinate group to redress actual and potential issues of confrontation with the Emapire and to offer hope, even in the face of death. Paul demonstrates that it is God's peace and not Rome's peace that is important; that loyalty to the exalted Jesus as Lord and to the kingom of God - not Jupiter and Rome - leads to salvation; that grace flows from Jesus as Christ and Lord and not from the benefactions of the Emperor. If the resurrection of Jesus - the crucified criminal of the Roman Empire - demonstrates God's power over the universe and death, the very insturment of Roman control, then the CHrist-believer is encouraged to face suffering and death in the hope of salvation through this power. Paul's theology emerges from, and is inextricably bound to, the politics of his day, the Scriptures of his people, and to the critical fact that the God who is One and Lord of all that is still in charge of the world.   $50.00 from Amazon.com

Ambrose Mong.  Guns and Gospel: Imperialism and Evangelism in China  James Clark & Co.  171 Pages.  ISBN: 9780227176252

During the nineteenth century, Christian missionaries vied for the Chinese souls they thought they were saving. But many things held them back: Western gunboat diplomacy, unequal treaties and their own prejudices, which increased hostility towards Christianity. ‘One more Christian, one less Chinese,’ has long been a popular cliché in China. Guns and Gospel examines the accusation of ‘cultural imperialism’ levelled against the missionaries and explores their complex and ambivalent relationships with the opium trade and British imperialism. Ambrose Mong follows key figures among the missionaries, such as Robert Morrison, Charles Gützlaff, James Hudson Taylor and Timothy Richard, uncovering why some succeeded where others failed, and asks whether they really became lackeys to imperialism.   $50.00 from Amazon.com

Barry Harvey.  Taking Hold of the Real Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Profound Worldliness of Christianity  James Clark & Co.  301 Pages.  ISBN: 9780227175972

Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes in one of his last prison letters that he had “come to know and understand more and more the profound this-worldliness of Christianity”. In Taking Hold of the Real, Barry Harvey engages in constructive conversation with Bonhoeffer, contending that the “shallow and banal thisworldliness” of modern society is ordered to a significant degree around the social structures of religion, culture, and race. These mechanisms displace human beings from their traditional connections with particular locales, and relocate them in their “proper places” as determined by the nation-state and capitalist markets. An insightful exploration of the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and its ongoing relevance for an authentically Christian engagement with the world.   $43.00 from Amazon.com

Theodore R. Weber.  War, Peace, and Reconciliation: a Theological Inquiry  The Lutterworth Press.  160 Pages.  ISBN: 9780718894450

War, Peace, and Reconciliation invites Christians and their churches into a dialogue regarding how to think about war from a standpoint rooted in faith. It asks how reconciliation, which is central to Christian life and doctrine, can engage with the realities of war without surrendering its fundamental affirmations. Theodore Weber defines these realities politically by discussing the meanings of power, peace as a particular organisation of power, and the international system. The study of war and politics is unavoidable, as is engagement with reconciliation, because all human activity exists in the context of the gracious work of God to renew and reconcile the fallen creation. Weber’s inquiry is theocentric and christocentric. It culminates in a stirring call to churches to examine all their practices in the light of this perspective.  $24.00 from Amazon.com

Andrew M. Mbuvi.  Jude & 2 Peter: A New Covenant Commentary  The Lutterworth Press.  340 Pages.  ISBN: 9780718894450

A thorough and extensive textual and contextual analysis, Jude & 2 Peter presents the epistles within the setting of first-century Greco-Roman associations, highlighting both similarities and differences between these fledgling religious groups and the more established guilds. Mbuvi interprets the Epistles from his own translations and thus provides a fresh and unique take on the well documented themes raised. Addressing concerns relevant to the Global Church, especially issues outside the Western world, Jude & 2 Peter provides a distinctive analysis of these two books, perhaps the least-read in the New Testament.  $30.00 from Amazon.com

Victor I. Ezigbo.  Introducing Christian Theologies:  Voices from Global Christian Communities, Volume 2  The Lutterworth Press.  340 Pages.  ISBN: 9780718894450

For too long African, Asian, and Latin American theologians have been left out of mainstream theological discussions. Few standard textbooks on Christian theology acknowledge the unique contributions theologians from these continents have made to global Christianity.  Consistent with the international flavor of The American Journal of Biblical Theology, Introducing Christian Theologies explores the works of key international theologians, highlighting their unique contributions to Christian theology and doctrine.  $50.00 from Amazon.com

Tim Carter.  The Forgiveness of Sins.  James Clark & Company.  209 Pages.  ISBN: 9780227176054

In The Forgiveness of Sins , Tim Carter examines the significance of forgiveness in a New Testament context, delving deep into second-century Christian literature on sin and the role of the early church in mitigating it. This crucial spiritual issue is at the core of what it means to be Christian, and Carter’s thorough and erudite examination of this theme is a necessity for any professional or amateur scholar of the early church.  The Forgiveness of Sins is a painstaking, clear-eyed exploration of what forgiveness meant not only to early Christians such as Tertullian, Irenaeus and Luke, but to Jesus himself, and what it means to Christians today.  $55.00 from Amazon.com

Beáta Tóth.  The Heart Has its Reasons  James Clark & Company.  209 Pages.  ISBN: 9780227175873

The Heart Has Its Reasons explores a hitherto neglected area of theological anthropology: the unity of human emotion and reason embodied in the Biblical concept of the heart. While the theological contours of human rationality have long been clearly drawn and presented as the exclusive seat of the image of God, affectivity has been relegated to a secondary position. In conversation with patristic and medieval authors like Irenaeus, Tertullian, Gregory of Nyssa, Maximus, and Thomas Aquinas, and in dialogue with more recent interlocutors such as Blaise Pascal, Ricoeur, Marion, Milbank, and John Paul II, this text pursues a novel theological vision of the essential unity of our humanity..  $33.00 from Amazon.com

Mark D. Owens.  As it Was in the Beginning: and Intertextual Analysis of New Creation in Galatians, 2 Corinthians, and Ephesians   James Clark & Company.  209 Pages.  ISBN: 9780227176016

The meaning of Paul’s comments about the new creation in 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Galatians 6:15 has long been obscured. Debate has raged for years, with some arguing that the phrase “new creation” solely refers to the inward transformation believers have experienced through faith in Jesus Christ, and others that this phrase should be understood cosmologically and linked with Isaiah’s “new heavens and new earth”. Still more advocate an ecclesiological interpretation of this phrase that centres Paul in the new community formed around Jesus Christ. In As It Was in the Beginning , Mark Owens argues that the concept of “new creation” should be understood within the realm of Paul’s anthropology, cosmology, and ecclesiology. Paul’s understanding of new creation belongs within an Urzeit-Endzeit typological framework, especially within 2 Corinthians 5-6 and Ephesians 1-2. Owens’s reading of “new creation” gives due weight to the use of Isaianic traditions in Paul’s letters, and demonstrates that the vision of new creation in 2 Corinthians and Galatians is in striking harmony with that of Ephesians.  $37.00 from Amazon.com

Kim Huat Tan.  Mark:  A New Covenant Commentary  The Lutterworth Press.  286 Pages.  ISBN: 9780718894238

Believing that the needs of beleaguered Christian communities in turbulent times would be best met by resourcing the life of Jesus, Mark wrote a Gospel that was at once plain and subtle, fast-paced and yet profound. He clarified the essence of being a follower of Jesus, so that these communities might differentiate the essential from the trivial and be fortified in their testimony to the one, true Gospel. In his important new commentary Kim Huat Tan expounds the artistry of Mark in achieving all this in its original setting, by focusing on the larger picture of themes and thrusts, paragraphs and plot, but without dodging important issues of interpretation. Following in the footsteps of his Gospel, Mark attempts to bridge the horizons between then and now, and show how it is still a powerful resource for being a disciple of Jesus today.  $40.00 from Amazon.com

Sune Fahlgren and Jonas Idestrom.  Ecclesiology in the Trenches:  Theory and Method Under Construction  James Clarke, & Co.  219 Pages.  ISBN: 9780227175774

This book takes the reader into the trenches of ecclesiological research where the actual work of reading, writing, interpreting, and analyzing is being done. Ecclesiology is dealt with as a systematic, empirical, historical, and liturgical discipline. Essays explore theology in South Africa as shaped by apartheid, liturgical theology, the diaconate in an ecumenical context, Free Church preachership, suburban ecclesial identity, medieval church practices, liturgical texts, church floor plans, and ecclesiology as a gendered discipline. $37.00 from Amazon.com

Margaret G. Sim.  A Relevant Way to Read:  A New Approach to Exegesis and Communication  James Clarke, & Co.  177 Pages.  ISBN: 9780227174425

In A Relevant Way to Read , Margaret G. Sim draws on her in-depth knowledge of New Testament Greek to forge a new exegesis of the Gospels and Paul’s letters. Locating her studies in the linguistic concept of relevance theory, which contends that all our utterances are laden with crucial yet invisible context, Sim embarks on a journey through some of the New Testament’s most troubling verses. Here she recovers lost information with a meticulous analysis that should enlighten both the experienced scholar and the novice. Whether discussing Paul’s masterful use of irony to shame the Corinthians, or introducing the ground-breaking ideas behind relevance theory into a whole new field of study, the author demonstrates her vast learning and experience while putting her complex subject into plain words for the developing student. $35.00 from Amazon.com

Matthew Newkirk.  Just Deceivers: An Exploration of the Motif of Deception in the Books of Samuel.  James Clarke, & Co..  177 Pages.  ISBN: 9780227175507

Is it ever right to lie? Does the Bible allow us to deceive? These are perennial questions that have been discussed and debated by theologians for centuries with little consensus. Entering this discussion, Just Deceivers provides a fresh analysis of this important topic through a comprehensive examination of the motif of deception in the books of Samuel. While many studies have explored deception in other Old Testament texts―especially the patriarchal narratives of Genesis―and a few articles have initiated examination of this motif in Samuel, Just Deceivers builds upon this groundwork and offers an exhaustive treatment of this theme in an important portion of the Hebrew Bible. Newkirk takes the reader through the books of Samuel, investigating every occurrence of deception in the narrative and exploring how the author depicts these various acts of deception, and then synthesises the results to offer an exegetically based theology of deception. In so doing, this study both challenges commonly held views concerning the Bible's stance on falsehood and illustrates the importance of attending to the sophisticated literary character of biblical narrative. $9.99epub/$36.50hc from Amazon.com

Walter Brueggemann.  The Role of Old Testament Theology in Old Testament Interpretation.  James Clarke, & Co..  177 Pages.  ISBN: 97807227175453

This collection of essays is drawn from a series of previous collections to which the author has contributed that were designed to honor senior scholars in the discipline of Old Testament study. Each of these essays reflects a distinct intention depending on the nature of the original collection in which they appeared and the scholar who was being honored. Taken together, however, this collection amounts to an articulation of Brueggemann's distinctive approach to theological interpretation of the Old Testament. Already in his major volume on Old Testament theology, Brueggemann proposed a dynamism of tension, dispute, and contradiction as the text of ancient Israel sought to give voice to the mystery of God as a sustaining and disruptive agent in the life of the world. Over a long period of time, this collection reflects the author's growing clarity about the task of Old Testament theology. It further reflects on the nature of the biblical text and the way in which the God who inhabits the text runs beyond all of our attempts to define and explain. These essays reflect not so much on methodological issues, but take up the substantive questions that regularly occupied these ancient text-makers. $30.00 from Amazon.com

Douglas Ellory Pett.  The Healing Tradition of the New Testament.  The Lutterworth Press.  181 Pages.  ISBN: 9780718893873

Over the last twenty years there has been a great surge of interest in the healing ministry, yet this ferment of activity seems not to have been matched by an equally fresh or energetic study of healing in the New Testament, which ostensibly forms the basis, and is still claimed as supplying the inspiration for the revival of this ministry.  This work is the first, serious, critical study of healing in the New Testament as a discrete subject.  It's purpose is to arrive at a clearer understanding of what Scripture actually tells us about healing, not what we imagine it says, but what the sacred authors actually wrote, and more to the point, what they meant by what they wrote.  $39.00 from Amazon.com

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