By the end of France’s long seventeenth century, the seminary-trained, reform-minded Catholic priest had crystalized into a type recognizable by his clothing, gestures, and ceremonial skill. Although critics denounced these priests as hypocrites or models for Molière’s Tartuffe, seminaries associated the features of this priestly identity with the idea of the vray ecclésiastique, or true churchman. Ceremonial Splendor examines the way France’s early seminaries promoted the emergence and construction of the true churchman as a mode of embodiment and ecclesiastical ideal between approximately 1630 and 1730. Based on an analysis of sources that regulated priestly training in France, such as seminary rules and manuals, liturgical handbooks, ecclesiastical pamphlets and conferences, and episcopal edicts, the book uses theories of performance to reconstruct the way clergymen learned to conduct liturgical ceremonies, abide by clerical norms, and aspire to perfection. Joy Palacios shows how the process of crafting a priestly identity involved a wide range of performances, including improvisation, role-playing, and the display of skills. In isolation, any one of these performance obligations, if executed in a way that drew attention to the self, could undermine a clergyman’s priestly persona and threaten the institution of the priesthood more broadly. Seminaries counteracted the ever-present threat of theatricality by ceremonializing the clergyman’s daily life, rendering his body and gestures contiguous with the mass. Through its focus on priestly identity, Ceremonial Splendor reconsiders the relationship between Church and theater in early modern France and uncovers ritual strategies that continue to shape religious authority today.

It's the most important question we can ask: Who is God? The wrong answer could spell our doom, but God has clearly revealed Himself and His majesty in His Word. Just as Moses asked the Lord on the summit of Sinai, we can approach God's Word with the ultimate request: "Show me Your glory." In Show Me Your Glory: Understanding the Majestic Splendor of God, Dr. Steven Lawson takes us to the mountaintop of divine revelation by distilling the Bible's teaching about God Himself. Each chapter delves into the depths of God's awesome attributes, teaching that a deeper knowledge of our Creator can lead us into intimate fellowship with and reverent worship of the One who made us for Himself.

Prompted by a friend to describe Jesus as he is--not as he was or will be in the coming days--Dick Eastman found himself stammering. What followed over many months was a desire to get to know the Jesus who had changed his life, but in a much fuller and richer way--now! From then on, on scraps of folded paper in his pockets, Eastman found himself recording adjectives describing the nature and character of Jesus Christ, expanding them later into a personal devotional journal. Reflecting Eastman's spiritual journey, this book of insights will challenge you to see Jesus as you may never have seen him before. Eastman's approach to studying the nature and names of Jesus will bring you closer to your Savior. Each day of this enriching 31-day resource consists of Scripture, a short exposition, insights from Christian leaders, a prayer, and a practical application to help deepen your faith. You, too, will find Jesus awesome!

Why be Jewish? A fascinating dialogue across denominations of the High Holy Days and their message of Jewish purpose beyond mere survival. Almost forty contributors from three continents—men and women, scholars and poets, rabbis and theologians, representing all Jewish denominations and perspectives—examine the tension between Israel as a particular People called by God, and that very calling as intended for a universalist end, furthering God's vision for all the world, not just for Jews alone. This balance of views arises naturally out of the prayers in the High Holy Day liturgy, coupled with insights from philosophy, literature, theology and ethics. This fifth volume in the Prayers of Awe series provides the relevant traditional prayers in the original Hebrew, alongside a new and annotated translation. It explores the question "Why be Jewish?" in a time when universalist commitment to our planet and its people has only grown in importance, even as particularist questions of Jewish continuity have become ever more urgent. Prayers of Awe: A multi-volume series designed to explore the High Holy Day liturgy and enrich the praying experience for everyone—whether experienced worshipers or guests who encounter Jewish prayer for the very first time. Contributors Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, DHL Rabbi Tony Bayfield, CBE, DD Rabbi Will Berkovitz Dr. Annette M. Boeckler Dr. Erica Brown Rabbi Lawrence A. Englander, CM, DHL, DD Rabbi Lisa Exler Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand Rabbi Laura Geller Rabbi Edwin Goldberg, DHL Rabbi Andrew Goldstein, PhD Dr. Joel M. Hoffman Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD Rabbi Walter Homolka, PhD, DHL Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, DHL Rabbi Reuven Kimelman, PhD Dr. Mark L. Kligman Rabbi Noa Kushner Rabbi Daniel Landes Rabbi Asher Lopatin Catherine Madsen Rabbi Jonathan Magonet, PhD Rabbi Dalia Marx, PhD Ruth Messinger Rabbi Charles H. Middleburgh, PhD Rabbi Jay Henry Moses Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum Rabbi Jack Riemer Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin, DMin Rabbi Marc Saperstein, PhD Rabbi Dennis C. Sasso, DMin Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, DMin Rabbi Jonathan P. Slater, DMin Rabbi David A. Teutsch, PhD Rabbi Margaret Moers Wenig, DD Rabbi Daniel G. Zemel Dr. Wendy Zierler

The hope you need today is not found in the things of this world. Money and fame can disappear quickly. The hope you need is found in the One who created the world. Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave. He conquered death and now is alive in Heaven. This book is designed to draw you closer to the One who created you, has seen your every breath and knows you better than anyone. God pursues a relationship with you through His Son, Jesus. When you spend each day reading this book, you will discover hundreds of qualities about God and find endless promises that He has given you. A few minutes each day learning about God and reading a few verses will increase your faith in Jesus and provide you the reassurance that He is with you right now. His Word will provide the hope you need today to thrive and overcome obstacles in life. When you learn the attributes of God and remember what He's done for you in the past, you quickly realize the hope you need today is found in Jesus!