With an all-new introduction by the author, N. T. Wright's classic work helps us grow in our understanding of the historical Jesus within first-century Palestine while challenging us to follow Jesus more faithfully into the postmodern world of the twenty-first century.

N. T. Wright offers clarity and a full accounting of the facts of the life and teachings of Jesus, revealing how the Son of God was also solidly planted in first-century Palestine. The 50-minute DVD, Resurrection, is included. It was shot on location in Israel, Greece and England, and presents the political, historical and theological issues of Jesus' day and today regarding this claim. Here Wright brings clarity and insight to one of the most profound mysteries in human history

A restless search is on. Cover stories about the "real" Jesus are on the increase in news magazines, best sellers based on alternative Gospels, and documentaries. Whether you're a devout Christian, an inquiring seeker or a rank skeptic, this book is for you if you wish to explore the teaching of Jesus. Provocative Grace focuses on the words of Jesus, not as rules to live by but as challenges to precipitate growth into greater maturity. Morris asks us to enlarge our existing concepts and to stretch our beliefs about Jesus beyond the borders of formal Christianity and what we learned in Sunday school. "The Jesus of the Gospels, in all his modes of encountering people—as prophet, healer, wisdom teacher, mystic, social critic, and nonviolent revolutionary—is a disturber of our immaturities, one who challenges us to find and use our strengths," writes Morris. "Jesus was neither a rule maker or idealist but a provocateur. Rather than impossible ideals imposed upon us, his sayings are proddings to grow step-by-step, by trial-and-error learning, into the best possibilities of our nature." Listen to Jesus' words not with an attitude of uncritical acceptance or blind faith but rather with an openness to hear the message in a fresh way. Provocative Grace dares us to wrestle with Jesus' sayings and to experience a vivid revelation of God's love and grace. Each chapter helpfully arranges the book so that it may be an aid to personal reflection, journaling, or discussion.

Christians chronically and desperately need prophecy, says award winning biblical scholar Luke Timothy Johnson. In this and every age, the church needs the bold proclamation of God's transforming vision to challenge its very human tendency toward expediency and self interest -- to jolt it into new insight and energy. For Johnson, the New Testament books Luke and Acts provide that much-needed jolt to conventional wisdom. To read Luke-Acts as a literary unit, he says, is to uncover a startling prophetic vision of Jesus and the church -- one that imagines a reality very different from the one humans would construct on their own. Johnson identifies in Luke's writings an ongoing call for today's church, grounded in the prophetic ministry of Jesus Christ, to embody and enact God's vision for the world--from publisher's website.

A fresh look at the meaning of Jesus' parables for Christian living today. The parables recorded in the Gospels are central for an understanding of Jesus and his ministry. Yet the parables are more than simple stories; they present a number of obstacles to contemporary readers hoping to fully grasp their meaning. In this volume, thirteen New Testament scholars provide the background necessary to understand the original context and meaning of Jesus' parables as well as their modern applications, all in a manner easily accessible to general readers. Contributors: Stephen C. Barton Craig A. Evans Richard T. France Donald A. Hagner Morna D. Hooker Sylvia C. Keesmaat Michael P. Knowles Walter L. Liefeld Richard N. Longenecker Allan W. Martens Klyne R. Snodgrass Robert H. Stein Stephen I. Wright

The Challenge of Islam to Christians is David Pawson's most important and perhaps his most sobering - prophetic message to date. Moral decline and erosion of a sense of ultimate truth have created a spiritual vacuum in the United Kingdom. Pawson believes Islam is better equipped than the Church to move into that gap and it is far more likely to become the country's dominant religion in the future. This book unpacks and explains the background behind Pawson's claims. and - crucially - sets out a positive blueprint for the Church's response. Christians must rediscover and demonstrate to society the three qualities that make Christianity unique: Reality. Relationship and Righteousness. This book is essential reading for all Christians.

The Problem of God explores answers to the most difficult questions raised against Christianity. A skeptic who became a Christian and then a pastor, author Mark Clark grew up in an atheistic home. After his father's death, he began a skeptical search for truth through the fields of science, philosophy, and history, eventually finding answers in the last place he expected: Christianity. In a winsome, persuasive, and humble voice, The Problem of God responds to the top ten interrogations people bring against God, and Christianity, including: Does God even exist in the first place? What do we do with Christianity's violent history? Is Jesus just another myth? Can the Bible be trusted? Why should we believe in Hell anymore today? Each chapter answers the specific challenge using a mix of theology, philosophy, and science. Filled with compelling stories and anecdotes, The Problem of God presents an organized and easy-to-understand range of apologetics, focused on both convincing the skeptic and informing the Christian. The book concluding with Christianity's most audacious assertion: how should we respond to Jesus' claim that he is God and the only way to salvation.