back to the top

The book of Proverbs celebrates all who live toward wisdom, who are willing to learn from life, regardless of education. Proverbs upholds the pursuit of wisdom as a high calling, perhaps our highest, but never for personal gain or recognition. The pursuit and living out of wisdom is always for the blessing of the larger community and the proper honor of God. The book of Proverbs aims to help all believers live in ways that bless others and honor God. The study of Proverbs, the book itself tells us, helps us on this journey toward wisdom and roots our lives in those things that truly matter the most (1:1-7).

In Faith Postures, Holly Sprink describes a two-fold journey—first, we must notice the kingdom of God. How is God’s kingdom arriving in our world right now? Are we proclaiming the difference it makes in our everyday lives? Second, we must allow Christ to realign us, to adjust and transform us into living examples of his wholeness. We take up residence in this kingdom by letting him redirect our attitudes toward life and health in him.

Perhaps more than any other “book” in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians offers readers a window to the life of the early church. Through this window we catch a glimpse of a community of faith struggling with questions of identity, relationship, belief, and practice. Yet our vision through the window of 1 Corinthians is not without significant limitations. For the most part, we can see only what Paul wished to expose and only in the ways he wished to expose them.

The Bible is full of examples of how God’s people, with homes grounded in the faith, faced crisis after crisis. These biblical personalities and families were not hopeless in the face of catastrophe—instead, their faith in God buoyed them, giving them hope for the future and strength to cope in the present. John Lepper will help you and your family prepare for, deal with, and learn from crises in your home. He will also help you help others in crisis.

When we encounter a Christian who thinks and believes differently, we often experience that difference as an attack on the principles upon which we have built our lives and as a betrayal to the faith. These battles are not new—Christians have disagreed since the days of the early church. However, it is possible for Christians to retain their differences and yet unite in respect for each other. It is possible to love one another and at the same time retain our individual beliefs.

Go deep into the thought world of Paul and his congregation at Corinth and explore the social and theological tensions that shaped Paul's relationship with the Corinthian Christians. His letter expresses his joy that prior "severe" correspondence had been positively received and addresses the issues that were tearing the church apart. Paul finds as well that many have repented of their rebellion, and he encourages them even as he seeks to vindicate his apostleship to those who challenged him.

In this captivating collection of essays, Dr. Malcolm Tolbert reflects on nearly two dozen stories taken largely from the Synoptic Gospels. Those stories range from Jesus’ birth, temptation, teaching, anguish at Gethsemane, and crucifixion.

Leaving Religion, Following Jesus is a book about running after Jesus, about a journey with the Christ—his journey and yours. It is a book about looking and listening to the unexpected. It is a book about opening our eyes, unstopping our ears, and soaking up the gracious wonder that he is, the wonder that surrounds us.

Charles Qualls takes readers on a journey through the letters of John and Jude. The lessons of these letters drive us to active belief as Christ modeled.

Judson Edwards asks questions shared by many longtime Christians: wouldn’t it be great if the Bible fascinated us once again? Wouldn’t we do almost anything to sense the presence of God anew in our lives? Wouldn’t we pay almost anything to get the wonder back? Wonder is the fuel that keeps Christians going, the element that makes our faith contagious and alive—and it is the greatest need in our churches today. Making the Good News Good Again will help readers hear with new ears the sweet, undistilled melody of the gospel.

During a historical crisis involving a splintering church, 1 John was written to solidify fellowship among like-minded congregations in a time when some teachings (2:19) denied the humanity of Chriwst. Second John emphasizes the serious nature of false teachings and exhorts readers to be on their guard. Third John juxtaposes hospitality embodied and denied in the situation of Gaius and Diotrephes.

Though individual denominations, congregations, and Christians may argue about how to interpret particular doctrines, all Christians accept and affirm some interpretation of them as central and vital to the practice of the faith. Though we may differ on the nuances of each of these doctrines, we still confess that they are central to our understanding of Christianity. They are the bottom line beliefs that form the body of our shared Christianity.

Wade Burleson’s Hardball Religion is the startling story of his three-year journey from Christian dissent to censure to resignation from the IMB. It also serves as an important record of another struggle within the SBC—the much more serious battle against the Fundamentalism that threatens to destroy the fabric of Southern Baptist cooperation.

The time has come for evangelical Christians to rethink their faith. Many of us grew up with a Christianity centered mostly on the teachings of Paul, but have we explored the life and teachings of Jesus as portrayed in the Synoptic Gospels? Chuck Queen contends that when we broaden our study of Jesus, the result is a richer, deeper, healthier, more relevant and holistic gospel, a Christianity that can transform this world into God’s new world.