Many see the Minor Prophets as dusty old men who are irrelevant to the 21st Century world. However, on further reading, we encounter real people who were brave enough to challenge the attitudes and behaviours of their generation. Speaking prophetically, they called their nation back to God even when it cost them personally which it usually did. They suffered harassment, rejection and sometimes death but proclaimed their message faithfully. That is why I have called this book ‘everybody hurts’: their message was painful to deliver and painful to receive. As you read this book, you will find out a little more about these men and the context in which they were bringing their message. This includes a synopsis of the political and social situation of the times, as well as a view of the history that formed the backdrop to their words. The message they were given to bring into those situations is summarised and then mapped to our own context. The reader will be left in no doubt that the words of these men are as relevant today as when they were first given. This book contains a prophetic message that speaks right into our own generation which we would do well to heed. Richard Bradbury is based in Beverley, East Yorkshire and leads Beverley Community Church. He also represents the Groundlevel network of churches in Churches Together in England. Married with four children, his primary gifting is as a teacher to the Body of Christ. Book reviews online: PublishedBestsellers website.

John’s writings are both ethereal and practical. On the one hand he deals with some of the most profound truths of the Christian gospel and then brings us up short with his black and white statements concerning who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out’. The dialogues between Jesus and the Pharisees in this gospel sound very harsh to a Western ear – there are no punches pulled. But these are surrounded by miracles and healings, and the profound ‘I Am’ statements that fall from the pages and cause us to watch and listen in awe and wonder. We see the same contrast of profundity and practicality in John’s letters as he speaks of Jesus in hushed tones and then condemns those who reject Jesus as ‘antichrist’. John makes the purpose of his gospel clear (John 20:31). He does it in such a way that tells and paints an unmistakable portrait of Jesus: that people come to know who He is and put their faith in Him. In his letters, John aims to deal with error concerning the person of Jesus and to ensure the church remains on track. At the centre of all John’s writings is a simple message to the Church: love one another.

In this book Walter Brueggemann, America's premier biblical theologian, introduces the reader to the broad theological scope and chronological sweep of the Old Testament. He covers every book of the Old Testament in the order in which it appears in the Hebrew Bible and treats the most important issues and methods in contemporary interpretation of the Old Testament--literary, historical, and theological.

A young woman living in a rigid, puritanical society discovers dark powers within herself in this stunning, feminist fantasy debut. In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet's word is law, Immanuelle Moore's very existence is blasphemy. Her mother’s union with an outsider of a different race cast her once-proud family into disgrace, so Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the other women in the settlement. But a mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet once chased and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still lurking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the journal of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood. Fascinated by the secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realizes the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And she starts to understand that if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A lucid, intelligent page-turner” (Los Angeles Times) that challenges long-held assumptions about Jesus, from the host of Believer Two thousand years ago, an itinerant Jewish preacher walked across the Galilee, gathering followers to establish what he called the “Kingdom of God.” The revolutionary movement he launched was so threatening to the established order that he was executed as a state criminal. Within decades after his death, his followers would call him God. Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of history’s most enigmatic figures by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived. Balancing the Jesus of the Gospels against the historical sources, Aslan describes a man full of conviction and passion, yet rife with contradiction. He explores the reasons the early Christian church preferred to promulgate an image of Jesus as a peaceful spiritual teacher rather than a politically conscious revolutionary. And he grapples with the riddle of how Jesus understood himself, the mystery that is at the heart of all subsequent claims about his divinity. Zealot yields a fresh perspective on one of the greatest stories ever told even as it affirms the radical and transformative nature of Jesus’ life and mission. Praise for Zealot “Riveting . . . Aslan synthesizes Scripture and scholarship to create an original account.”—The New Yorker “Fascinatingly and convincingly drawn . . . Aslan may come as close as one can to respecting those who revere Jesus as the peace-loving, turn-the-other-cheek, true son of God depicted in modern Christianity, even as he knocks down that image.”—The Seattle Times “[Aslan’s] literary talent is as essential to the effect of Zealot as are his scholarly and journalistic chops. . . . A vivid, persuasive portrait.”—Salon “This tough-minded, deeply political book does full justice to the real Jesus, and honors him in the process.”—San Francisco Chronicle “A special and revealing work, one that believer and skeptic alike will find surprising, engaging, and original.”—Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power “Compulsively readable . . . This superb work is highly recommended.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)