Christian’sQuest is a fresh retelling of the classic allegory, Little Pilgrim’s Progress. Christian is on an epic quest from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. The road is long and difficult, and many interesting characters show up along the way. Some of his companions help Christian and encourage him in his quest, while others try to point him back to the City of Destruction. Will Christian make it to the Celestial City? Join Christian in this adventure-filled quest to find out… Christian’s Quest comes loaded with helpful features: discussion questions, an appendix of unfamiliar words, an allegorical key, and realistic black and white ink illustrations throughout. These tools ensure that each person joining Christian in his quest will have all he or she needs to understand the story behind the story —the Gospel message in all of its relevance to our everyday lives.

A unique look at Christian biblical interpretation and theology from the perspective of Native American tradition. This book focuses on four specific experiences of Jesus as portrayed in the synoptic gospels. It examines each story as a “vision quest,” a universal spiritual phenomenon, but one of particular importance within North American indigenous communities. Jesus’ experience in the wilderness is the first quest. It speaks to a foundational Native American value: the need to enter into the “we” rather than the “I.” The Transfiguration is the second quest, describing the Native theology of transcendent spirituality that impacts reality and shapes mission. Gethsemane is the third quest. It embodies the Native tradition of the holy men or women, who find their freedom through discipline and concerns for justice, compassion, and human dignity. Golgotha is the final quest. It represents the Native sacrament of sacrifice (e.g., the Sun Dance). The chapter on Golgotha is a discussion of kinship, balance, and harmony: all primary to Native tradition and integral to Christian thought.

In this six-session Bible study, participants will learn to develop an intimacy with God and embrace the adventure that comes with living a life for Him. Features small-group leader helps, personal study segments with homework, and space for journaling and reflection.

Ben Witherington III offers a comprehensive assessment of what scholars such as John Dominic Crossan, Marcus Borg, Burton Mack and the Jesus Seminar are really saying about Jesus.

The Radical Teaching of Jesus carefully and thoughtfully invites the reader into an understanding of the life and teachings of Jesus. Both his life and teachings are radical in that Jesus intended those who observed his life and heard his teachings to make a major change in their lives by fully receiving the power and presence of God. The implications of this transformation would result in a life of loving God with heart and mind and one's neighbor without condition. This volume underlines that to have a full understanding of the implications of the radical teaching of Jesus requires a careful reading of the history--of the Gospel records, of the circumstances in which Jesus lived, and of Jesus' sense of vocation. This understanding makes possible a more credible and nuanced grasp of the style and content of the life and teaching of Jesus and its extraordinary relevance for our rapidly changing and troubled global context. The book speaks poignantly both to those within the Christian family who find traditional categories regarding Jesus increasingly difficult to affirm, and to those of other faith traditions or religious unaffiliated who seek an authentic spiritual way.

In this book Paul Zahl seeks a broader understanding of the life and teachings of Jesus. What was it within his message that burst his first-century Jewish context? What was creative, fresh, and universal about his message? What did Jesus maintain, within his own setting and period, that is still true and applicable today? In pursuing these questions, Zahl swims against the current of modern scholarship, arguing that Jesus was more "Christian" than "Jewish." Jesus' teaching concerning the kingdom of God is replete with Christian perspectives on human nature and salvation, and his insights into original sin and grace are closer to core Christianity than much recent literature acknowledges. Drawing from both Jewish and Christian thinkers, Zahl shows Jesus to be a saving figure, a christological figure, even a radically Protestant figure. Zahl also brings his fresh perspective into present-day focus by showing how Jesus' dynamic teachings still have worldwide impact. Zahl writes both as a highly trained theologian and as a pastor who recognizes that scholarship stands in the service of discipleship. In The First Christian he renders the contemporary "quest for the historical Jesus" not only accessible but also relevant to the life of faith. Students of the Bible and general readers alike will be enriched by his compelling portrait of a Christian, universal Jesus.