RELIGION

The good news is bigger and better than we imagined. 

Is the gospel good news for us today? Many Christians—especially young Christians stepping into a world and a church devastated by division, scandal, and abuse—are asking this question and deciding it simply isn’t. For many, it seems like our faith has little to offer the world around us. Our gospel has become too small—it looks nothing like the Jesus who embodies good news in the flesh.  

How do we recover this gospel? When we turn to the parable of the prodigal son—a story of elaborate parties, upside-down kingdoms, and reunited families—we can hear in Jesus’ own words a clear presentation of what he is doing, of a truth that is bigger and better than we’ve imagined. In these pages, author and pastor Jonny Morrison invites us on a journey to help us find ourselves and Jesus in the...

What constitutes a faithful life? At its most basic level, the New Testament book of Hebrews considers this essential question and pleads with its audience to find in faithful living the rest that Christ offers. The book begins with a poetic reflection on the one who lived the most faithful of lives—Jesus—and concludes with words of exhortation to go and do likewise.  

In the 37th volume in the Believers Church Bible Commentary series, scholars Debra J. Bucher and Estella Horning examine at great length one important aspect of Hebrews: Jesus as the “new covenant” and the “once for all,” better sacrifice who replaces the daily and yearly sacrifices offered in the temple in Jerusalem. The authors give attention to the ways this idea has been used to minimize the value of other religious traditions and even to legitimize the horrors of the mid-twentieth century. They carefully unpack the language...

Timeless wisdom for a simpler life 

Do you feel trapped in a chaotic, relentless, demanding lifestyle? Discover the secrets to the peaceful, compelling life you long for through the skills honed by our grandmothers and lived out by the Amish. Drink from this well of timeless wisdom and gain practical skills with a counselor, career woman, and busy mom who’s raised her family on a farm in the heart of Amish and Mennonite country as your guide.  

In this new book from the author of Fledge: Launching Your Kids without Losing Your Mind, Brenda L. Yoder equips women with 10 timeless lessons drawn from past generations to overcome practical obstacles and solve daily challenges with a calm presence, authentic faith, and voice of reason. No matter where you live or what season of life you’re in, you can find inspiration from the simpler life. 

What does it look like to be an Anabaptist community in the modern world? And why does it matter?A new incarnation of Anabaptism is blossoming—but not where we might expect. In the United Kingdom,...

Sin weighs us down, but we long for freedom. 

When sin and harmful words or actions lead to broken relationships, we often have an end goal of forgiveness. But forgiveness can be elusive. Sometimes it can take our whole lives to forgive those who have harmed us. Sometimes we may never manage it. And when we are the ones responsible for rupture, we may long for a reconciliation that doesn’t come.  

Lent is a time to reflect on how Jesus frees us from the burden of sin, both personal and communal. It’s a time to orient ourselves toward the resurrection and Easter, toward the possiblity of new life in Christ. It’s a time to work for healing, to let go of grief and guilt, and to reach for joy.  

Unburdened invites readers to hear God’s call to move away from brokenness and toward the healing and...

A movement manifesto for a more hopeful and Jesus-centered Christianity

Over five hundred years ago, the Western church underwent a period of massive recalibration that exposed abuses and theological blind spots and revived the historical foundations of Christianity. Today, signs suggest that we have entered another such religious reformation as new technologies, ecclesial scandals, and a crisis of biblical authority leave many Christians adrift or deconstructing the faith they once took for granted. The Christian story the church has been telling has become too small, and we are at a dead end.
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There is hope. Author and pastor Meghan Larissa Good invites readers into a movement that is finding ways to tell a better Christian story—a movement that is already emerging spontaneously as a work of the Spirit in many different wings of the church. Along the way, readers will encounter core rediscoveries of this authentic, Jesus-centered Christianity:...

Will we choose life for our children and the future of our planet?Everywhere we look, we see signs that all is not right with our earth—extreme temperatures and weather patterns wreak havoc, pollutants...

Rediscover the essential beginning of the most important story ever told.
 
Although the Bible contains sixty-six books that usually span over a thousand printed pages, most Christians turn first—and sometimes only—to the New Testament. So often, Christian readers have little idea what to do with the Old Testament, if we read it at all. Sure, we value a few well-known stories and use a few psalms for personal devotions and for worship. Beyond that, many Christians find the Old Testament mostly confusing, troubling, or irrelevant.
 
But to understand the Bible as the grand story that it is—the story of God’s dealings with humanity and relationship to the whole universe—we must learn to read the first three-quarters of Scripture as Jesus did, and as the New Testament teaches us to do. Walking through the arc and major themes of the Old Testament narrative, author and...

Listen for the voice of God. If you approach this Advent season waiting for something—in your life, in your family or community, or in a fractured world—you are not alone. This season reminds...

There is hope yet that we may embrace the call to live differently on this fragile planet.
 
As temperatures rise, natural disasters wreak devastation, and precious species die off one by one, we know we must change how we live in the world. But how? What would it look like if we took seriously the biblical charge to live more peacefully and gently on our fragile planet, if we understood ourselves as neighbors in a community of creation? Rooted Faith explores the future of the church called to live differently—one of reinhabiting our particular landscapes and confronting the assumptions of consumer culture head-on through our lives and actions.
 
Drawing on Scripture, Christian history, and practical theology, author Sarah Renee Werner invites readers into a new way of seeing ourselves in relationship with the rest of creation. She offers tangible practices for opening up our...