The New Testament opens with four Gospel accounts that introduce the reader to Jesus Christ. From the very beginning, the redemptive drama moves toward the cross. The final week of Jesus's life, Passion Week, takes up nearly 40 percent of the entire narrative. The canonical Gospels provide four different perspectives on the life of Jesus. He is portrayed in this fourfold account as King and covenant keeper (Matthew), as obedient Son-servant (Mark), as the perfect Man among men (Luke), and as the eternal Son of God (John), the only person ever born whose central purpose in living is to die. The Gospels are Passion narratives with extended introductions. This is the governing principle of the present work as Jesus moves toward the culmination of his saving mission. From early adumbrations to deepening shadows to direct predictions and finally to the detailed narratives of Passion Week, the Gospels follow the Lord's inexorable journey to the cross. This synthetic study, which follows the life of Jesus in a chronological sequence while attempting to preserve the unique contribution of each of the four Gospel accounts, draws upon the long-established tradition of harmonies of the Gospels, dating back to Tatian's Diatessaron (AD 170). The ordering of the data follows, with minor rearrangements, The NIV Harmony of the Gospels edited by Robert L. Thomas and Stanley N. Gundry. In The Passion of the Servant, eighteen chapters with thirteen maps trace the geographical context of Jesus's ministry. Biblical quotations are taken from the English Standard Version (ESV) except where otherwise noted. The chronology adopted in this work, one that assumes a spring AD 30 date for the crucifixion, is appended, along with a brief bibliography of works that have been particularly helpful to the author. The front cover is a portrait of the risen Lord instructing the two disciples near Emmaus that the events surrounding his death and resurrection fulfilled the sacred prophecies of the Old Testament (Luke 24:25-27).

In 1914, Luisa writes in a letter to the now Saint, Annibale M. di Francia: “I am finally sending you this handwritten copy of The Hours of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. May it all be for His greater Glory. I have also enclosed a few pages where I describe the effects and the beautiful promises that Jesus makes to everyone who meditates these Hours of the Passion. I believe that if whoever meditates on them is a sinner, he will convert; if he is imperfect, he will become perfect; if he is holy, he will become holier; if he is tempted, he will find victory; if suffering, he will find strength, medicine, and comfort in these Hours; if weak and poor, he will find a spiritual food and a mirror in which to look at himself continually and so become beautiful and similar to Jesus, our model”.

'If this is not heaven, I do not know what heaven is, for all the suffering that can ever be put into words, could not enable anyone to earn such a reward and for ever possess it.' A central figure in Christian mystical literature, the Dominican Prior Henry Suso was the author of the seminal work The Life of the Servant. Transcribed by an enlightened amanuensis without his explicit consent, Suso began burning the manuscript until a heavenly missive from God decreed that the text should be spared further desecration. The remaining fragments of that conflagration are vividly resurrected in this volume, elegantly translated by James M. Clark. Suso's subjective account of the spiritual and invisible world, told in prose of unsurpassed poetic beauty, is reflective of the ardent spirituality of his devotion. Informed by severe mortifications, visions, ecstasies and revelations, this canonical text endures as a sublime cultural artefact. Resonating profoundly with contemporary concerns about austerity and materialism, this classic text of mysticism is once again accessible to a new generation of readers and to those existing admirers seeking to re-evaluate its many virtues.

Leadership is a subject that has gained impressive visibility in the past two decades. The number of books, monographs and articles, as well as seminars, devoted to the development of one's leadership skills has been almost exponential growth. This study is an attempt to forge a full-orbed theology of Christian leadership grounded in the teaching of Scripture. What emerges from tracing the theme of leadership through the biblical record is a servanthood pattern, one that is wholly distinct from prevailing secular models. Our exposition begins with the biblical language of the servant, the term of choice for those great leaders used of God to further his saving purposes in the world. Eleven Old Testament and five New Testament leaders are profiled. The portrait of Jesus Christ focuses on three motifs that governed his training of the twelve for kingdom ministry. The Pauline letters are mined for those convictions that governed Paul's practice of leadership, both of his mission team and of the faith communities that emerged from that mission. The treatment of each leader, from Joseph to Paul, begins with a series of preliminary questions and concludes with a mini-profile that correlates the biblical data with these questions. The final chapter offers a summary profile of the servant leader, one whose character, motives and agenda align with the divine purposes. Though designed as a textbook for upper level college and seminary courses on leadership, the book's readable format is ideal for churches and parachurch organizations in their leadership training programs. The author's prayer is that this work will serve as a catalyst to call God's people back to Scripture and thereby raise up a whole new generation of authentic servant-leaders.

Afrika Mhlophe tackles the timely issue of leadership and how it can be misused in today’s society. He turns us back to the true definition of godly leadership, as defined by the Lord, reminding leaders that their purpose is to serve.

Evangelical guide to the film The Passion of the Christ, including an analysis of the film's theological and artistic elements.