Jesus’ final days were full of risk. Every move he made was filled with anticipation, danger, and the potential for great loss or great reward. Jesus risked his reputation when he entered Jerusalem in a victory parade. He risked his life when he dared to teach in the Temple. His followers risked everything when they left behind their homes, or anointed him with costly perfume. We take risks as we read and re-read these stories, finding new meanings and new challenges. In Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week, author, professor, and biblical scholar Amy-Jill Levine explores the biblical texts surrounding the Passion story. She shows us how the text raises ethical and spiritual questions for the reader, and how we all face risk in our Christian experience. Entering the Passion of Jesus provides a rich and challenging learning experience for small groups and individual readers alike. The book is part of a larger six-week study that is perfect for Lent and includes a DVD, and a comprehensive Leader Guide. The book’s six chapters include: Jerusalem: Risking Reputation The Temple: Risking Righteous Anger Teachings: Risking Challenge The First Dinner: Risking Rejection The Last Supper: Risking the Loss of Friends Gethsemane: Risking Temptation

Christ Is for Us invites readers to explore God's saving and redeeming love through a seven-week study of the Scripture readings for Lent and Easter. Key Bible readings call us to embrace God's salvation and the new life offered to us through Christ. This study is based on the Revised Common Lectionary scriptures for Year A. Each chapter includes commentary and reflection on readings from the Old Testament, the Epistle, and the Gospel reading for that day. Each chapter also includes questions for personal reflection, questions for group discussion, and suggested activities to facilitate group study.

As well as telling parables and stories, giving teachings on how to discern questions of ethics and human nature, and offering beatitudes for comfort and encouragement, Jesus also spoke words and flung insults that followers then and now have found difficult, to say the least. He instructs disciples to hate members of their own families (Luke 14:26), warns that unending fire awaits some people, says body parts should be cut off if they offend. He calls a foreign woman a ‘dog’, the Jews ‘offspring of vipers’ and his closest disciple ‘Satan’. Preachers often gloss over these or avoid them altogether as they are still so shocking. In The Difficult Words of Jesus, Amy-Jill Levine sheds vital light on understanding these by exploring how these sayings sounded to those who first heard them. She reveals Jewish modes of expression, humour and the long tradition of Jewish insults and what they mean, and how we might interpret these sayings today within a gospel of love and reconciliation.

Do you long to experience the joy and peace only found in knowing and loving our Lord? The Passion Code leads you on a 100-day journey with bestselling author O. S. Hawkins to grow closer to God and to discover that the more you know Him, the more you want to do His will. In The Passion Code readers will: embark on a 100-day journey, guided by O. S. Hawkins, to discover that God is with us, for us, and in us engage with a daily reflection accompanied by a Code word for the day, a Passion Proclamation Bible verse to apply to your life, and a prayer This devotional is perfect for: anyone wanting to unlock the blessings of God’s Word Bible study and worship groups gifting--includes presentation page for thoughtful personalization and a beautiful ribbon marker From Bethlehem, where we find God with us, then to Golgotha, where we find God for us, and finally to Pentecost, where we discover that God came to take up residence in our lives, God in us. Begin your own journey of unlocking the blessings of God’s Word through The Passion Code.

Place yourself as a witness of the cross and determine what your own testimony will be! Experience Holy Friday from the perspective of those who watched Jesus die: Mary his mother; the Beloved Disciple from the Gospel of John; Mary Magdalene and the other women from Galilee; the two men, usually identified as thieves, crucified with Jesus; the centurion and the soldiers; Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. Jews and Romans, friends and strangers, the powerful and the powerless, the hopeful and the despairing. The story of Jesus’s death is not something we just read: we think about it, and we experience it; we hear the taunts of the soldiers, the priests, and the passersby even as we hear the famous “seven last words” from the cross. In Witness at the Cross, Amy-Jill Levine shows how the people at the cross each have distinct roles to play. Each Evangelist presents a distinct picture of the death of Jesus. Each portrays different individuals and groups of people at the cross, each offers different images and dialogues, and so from each, we learn how those meanings and messages cross the centuries to any who would come to the cross today. Each Gospel has its own story to tell, all the witnesses have their own memories, and every reader comes away with a new insight. The witnesses at the Crucifixion watch Jesus die, and we watch with them, and we watch them. And we come away transformed. Additional components are available for a six-week study include a DVD featuring Dr. Levine and a comprehensive Leader Guide.

These imaginary reenactments follow the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus from the time the chief priests plotted to kill Him to His glorious resurrection from the dead, allowing readers to re-experience the Passion--or perhaps see it fully for the first time.

We desire revival in our personal relationships with Jesus, but many of us don’t know how or where to begin. Although revival may be first of all a movement of God, too few resources offer practical guidance on how to align ourselves to receive it daily. Ignite Your Passion for Jesus is a twelve-week guide designed to help you deepen your relationship with Jesus. Each day includes: - a key verse, - an inspirational reading, - questions for reflection and application, - revival truths, and - spirit-empowered faith experientials. Revitalize your heart and relationship with Jesus as you pursue Him and experience His pursuit of you in personal revival.