This book compares New Testament and Rabbinical texts in order to recover the oral tradition accompanying the written Biblical text. Although New Testament Greek is a hellenistic idiom, it reflects a Semitic rather than a hellenistic culture. Therefore, Culbertson looks to Jewish sources in order to understand the Greek text, rather than to the philosophical, methodological, and literary sources of hellenistic culture. The author uses specific examples to illustrate various literary theories and to prove the value of a Listener Response Analysis of Gospel texts. A dozen parables are discussed in detail.

A Word Fitly Spoken explores significant poetic devices within the four alphabetic acrostic psalms found in Book I of the Psalter. The majority of scholarly opinion has been that these acrostics are poetically and artistically deficient due to the writers' and editors' preoccupation with the alphabetic pattern. In contrast to this view, A Word Fitly Spoken proposes that the acrostic pattern contributes to, rather than detracts from, the poetic artistry of these psalms. In an effort to promote a holistic, canonical reading of the four acrostic poems within Book I of the Psalter, this study also examines the linguistic and grammatical connections within the text. Such a close reading repeatedly demonstrates the emotive power and the imagination of this literature in contradiction to its supposedly stiff, wooden nature. A Word Fitly Spoken is attuned to the frequent plays on word and sound that occur throughout these four poems and as such would be useful in graduate courses on biblical interpretation, Hebrew poetry, or the Psalms.

Evelyn's world was getting stranger. Light bulbs burst when she sang. Rainstorms suddenly appeared when she cried. An odd, transparent canopy surrounded her when she yelled. These bizarre things kept happening, and it seemed to only be when she spoke... But someone has been waiting for these things to start happening. Someone who knows a lot about Evelyn's past and understands what's happening to her now. Someone with the same ability. "We're Speakers, Evelyn. We can do anything using only our Words." Professor Sydney Elwin invites Evelyn to attend Windsor Academy, a preparatory school for teenagers just like her, where she'll be able to master the power of Speaking and learn all about this secret community living right alongside ours. But when Evelyn discovers that a recent spree of murders across America was committed by her estranged and mentally unstable twin brother, William, she realizes he also has the same mysterious power coming over him, and he is using it to kill anyone standing in his way as he works to build a new world where Speakers rule and the Humans are their slaves. And, upon arriving to Windsor, Evelyn quickly learns that her days won't just be filled with exciting classes like Teleportation 101, Introduction to Speaking, and Unarmed Combat. She must also protect herself from an unknown threat inside the school who is secretly working for William, because his next step is to eliminate the only person rumored to hold the power to stop him: his twin sister, Evelyn. A Word Fitly Spoken is the first book in a four-part urban fantasy series for young adults.

As a new believer in Christ Jesus I overheard someone speaking about the perfect will of GOD. I was so amazed that GOD had a perfect will for my life. It was then I discovered my gift of teaching. I begin a lifelong search for knowledge, insight and wisdom. I came across so much truth that I remembered asking GOD to help me to retain the every thought of GOD that was being shared with me from Him. I was truly enlightened by His word and His spirit. GOD gave me this gift of remembering events, scripture lessons, teaching tools, and defining special moments through Acronyms, hence, the title, A Word Fitly Spoken Its nothing short of a miracle. I give Him all the Glory! For years Ive ministered using one, two and even more of my acronyms in my teachings. These acronyms help put a handle on the truths discovered as we look into life and the word of GOD. The way GOD deals with me is through meditation, and I simply ask GOD, What are you saying? How could this be said in a way that will allow me to never forget it? Give me a method, to hang this truth on, and as expected, He does it each time. So walk with me through my lifes lessons with these acronyms given to me by GOD, revealing to us how to handle His precious principles that He desires us to never forget

Is my ordinary, everyday life actually significant? Is it okay to be fulfilled by the simple acts of raising kids, working in an office, and cooking chicken for dinner? It’s been said, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.” The pressure of that can be staggering as we spend our days looking for that big thing that promises to take our breath away. Meanwhile, we lose sight of the small significance of fully living with every breath we take. Melanie Shankle, New York Times bestselling author and writer at The Big Mama Blog tackles these questions head on in her fourth book, Church of the Small Things. Easygoing and relatable, she speaks directly to the heart of women of all ages who are longing to find significance and meaning in the normal, sometimes mundane world of driving carpool to soccer practice, attending class on their college campus, cooking meals for their family, or taking care of a sick loved one. The million little pieces that make a life aren’t necessarily glamorous or far-reaching. But God uses some of the smallest, most ordinary acts of faithfulness—and sometimes they look a whole lot like packing lunch. Through humorous stories told in her signature style, full of Frito pie, best friends, the love of her Me-Ma and Pa-Pa, the unexpected grace that comes when we quit trying to measure up, and a little of the best TV has to offer, Melanie helps women embrace what it means to live a simple, yet incredibly meaningful life and how to find all the beauty and laughter that lies right beneath the surface of every moment.

Trapped in complicated Christianity? Here's permission to come out of confinement! How did so many people wind up trapped by complicated systems of performance-based faith? Why do we push ourselves past our limits in pursuit of more works than any reasonable Pharisee would have demanded? Must we run at a pace somewhere between maddening and insane to prove we're among the faithful? "No!" is the emphatic answer from best-selling author Chuck Swindoll. In Simple Faith, he shows us how to get free from such arbitrary confinement. He reminds Christians that they serve a God who promised freedom, peace, and rest. And it's everlasting---not exhausting---life, remember? Here at last is an exhilarating invitation to simple faith. Move beyond rat-race Christianity and break the bars calculated to wilt free spirits. A cage is no place for a Christian. Welcome to your wings!

Widely considered in his own time as a genial but provincial lightweight who was out of place in the presidency, Abraham Lincoln astonished his allies and confounded his adversaries by producing a series of speeches and public letters so provocative that they helped revolutionize public opinion on such critical issues as civil liberties, the use of black soldiers, and the emancipation of slaves. This is a brilliant and unprecedented examination of how Lincoln used the power of words to not only build his political career but to keep the country united during the Civil War.