Luke is a gospel of joy, amazement, and warmth. From the jubilant birth narrative and Magnificat at the beginning to the wonder of the ascension at the end, Luke offers a matchless portrait of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and those who followed him.
In the 36th volume in the Believers Church Bible Commentary series, New Testament scholar Mary H. Schertz helps readers inhabit the pages of the third gospel, replete with parables and paradoxes and ministries of mercy. In vibrant writing and with careful exegesis, Schertz invites readers to investigate for themselves the surprise, light, and awe of the kingdom of God, in which people find healing, the marginalized find welcome, and the poor find flourishing. Schertz traces the motifs of holy warrior and suffering servant that confronted every first-century Jew, including Jesus, and that still shape the church today. Through it all, Luke demonstrates both the cost of the...
Practicing the Restful Way of Jesus in a Fragmented World
by Tamara Hill Murphy
$18.99 / CAD $25.26
ISBN: 9781513811918
Pub Date: 06/20/2023
A simple invitation into a life ordered around listening and love
As we live through cycles of change and disruption, our familiar pathways crumble and we find ourselves in fragmented relationships with God, others, and our own souls. We are not the first to experience this disorientation: When Jesus offered the stunning invitation to come to him to learn how to work from a place of rest, he was talking to people weighed down by ill-fitting political, economic, and religious systems. And his life and ministry offer a glimpse of a better way.
For centuries a practice called the Rule of Life—built around rhythms of prayer, work, study, hospitality, and rest—has provided a loving pathway for anyone who desires to live out the whole gospel. More than a historic primer on an ancient practice, an aspirational overview of spiritual life, or a personal inventory focused on habits, The...
What It Really Means for the Bible to be Divinely Inspired
by Zack Hunt
$18.99 / CAD $25.26
ISBN: 9781513811833
Pub Date: 05/09/2023
Could there be good news in biblical imperfections?
What if the imperfections and contradictions in Scripture aren’t an accident? What if they were allowed to be there by the Holy Spirit in order to draw us beyond the literal words on the page and deeper into the spiritual truth God is trying to teach us? As provocative or unorthodox as that might sound, it is in fact a very ancient way of understanding what it means for the Bible to be divinely inspired. In this thorough and disarming book, author Zack Hunt explains how we got here and offers a practical and easily accessible approach for reading and understanding the Bible that doesn’t require a PhD in biblical languages. As the disillusioned leave the Church in droves and the deconstructing search for better answers to eternal questions, this book repositions Scripture in the life of the Church to...
A gentle guidebook for Christians caught in the messy middle
In the wake of scandal, culture wars, and abuse, many Christians are wondering whether the North American church is redeemable—and if not, whether they should even stay. While many are answering no to those questions, this book is for those who long to disentangle their faith from all the cultural baggage and recapture the joy of following Jesus.
Through personal anecdotes, encounters with the global church, deep dives into Scripture, and helpful historical context about Christianity, An Untidy Faith takes readers on two journeys. The first journey lays out the grand vision of Christianity and the legacy passed on to us by the early believers in hopes of renewing readers’ belief in the church writ large. The second journey helps believers understand why they feel distant from their church settings and provides a reorientation drawn from Scripture of...
The Hope of Christian Witness in a Polarized World
by J. Nelson Kraybill
Foreword by Stuart Murray
$18.99 / CAD $25.26
ISBN: 9781513810645
Pub Date: 04/11/2023
What does it mean to be a peacemaker in a polarized world?
It can feel as if the world—and the church—has never been more polarized. But when we feel worn down by the chasms dividing us, we can take hope from the early Christian vision of God uniting all things in Christ, a hope that can lead us to act. Stuck Together explores Bible stories and narratives ancient and modern that inspire us to open hearts and minds to persons with whom we disagree as we gain confidence in our own convictions. Drawing from Scripture, from his own life journey, and from the witness of others, author J. Nelson Kraybill demonstrates how even small steps of reconciliation by confessionally grounded Christians can have big effect and give loving Christian witness in a polarized church and society.
When our children turn 18, we hope to happily launch them into the world to become the adults we’ve been preparing them to be. Their pathway seems clear: most will go to college, find a vocation and then a true love, and settle into a comfortable life while we parents keep in touch through occasional phone calls, family gatherings, and surprise trips home for Christmas. But now more than ever, these expectations fail to acknowledge the significant challenges faced by many young people, from a pandemic to racial unrest to a climate crisis that is setting the world on fire, figuratively and literally.
While young people are consistently told they need to discern God’s calling, in Finding Our Way Forward, Melanie Springer Mock draws on her decades as a college professor and mom to four adult children to explore how finding our way means developing a more expansive understanding...
Do you wonder what it means to be a man? Do you desire to grow? Want something more? Long for a life that matters? Seek to make a difference in the world? If so, Living That Matters may be for you or your group. This practical handbook is a guide to help individuals and groups engage in honest conversations on what matters most for men—with a focus on following Jesus, forming community, and building peace.
With over 60 years of combined experience in pastoral ministry and social work geared toward men, authors Steve Thomas and Don Neufeld offer many short reflections to help individuals and groups deepen relationships with one another, with ourselves, with our families and communities, and with God as we seek to live into God’s shalom—a peaceable order with abundance, security, and justice for all and well-being throughout creation.
A Trauma-Informed Guidebook for the Foster and Adoptive Journey
by Jennifer Ranter Hook and Joshua N. Hook
Foreword by Lisa Qualls
$18.99 / CAD $25.26
ISBN: 9781513810478
Pub Date: 01/17/2023
A practical roadmap for foster and adoptive families
Caring for children is deeply important to the heart of God, and adoption and foster care are important callings that connect to God’s heart for children and families. But this road isn’t always easy. It’s important that foster and adoptive parents prepare to address their children’s history of trauma, separation, and disrupted placements, which can lead to mental health, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. It is also important to understand how this journey shapes and influences our children. We cannot ignore the deep feelings and questions that children experience as they try to understand their story. How can we help them navigate their identity, and sit with them in the unknowns of their story or the grief and loss that comes up? Drawing on the latest science and research on trauma, attachment, sensory processing difficulties, cultural competence, and grief and loss,...
The story of the Amish—told by the Amish. Brad Igou offers a second volume of writings by Amish people across North America, compiled from the last three decades of Family Life (1993–2020), a monthly Amish magazine. He includes letters, articles, history lessons, parables, questions, challenges—a wide spectrum of human experience from an Amish point of view. Fourteen chapters cover fascinating topics such as shunning, nonresistance, clothing, youth activities, old age, conflicts with the modern world, work, church, humor, and lessons from life.
Changemakers Lab is a Bible and activity-based learning experience for Vacation Bible School. The Changemakers Lab Invitation Poster (11″ x 17″) can be displayed in many...
