IVP Library Expansion Bundle (312 vols.)

by C. Stephen Evans; Stanley J. Grenz; David Guretzki; Cherith Fee Nordling

and

263 more

Publishers:

IVP; IVP Academic; SPCK; Inter-Varsity; Apollos; IVP Formatio

, 1974–2018

Overview

The IVP Library Expansion Bundle gives you everything you need for bible study, theology and Christian living. Known for the high quality of its publications, from scholarly commentaries and dictionaries to accessible and practical discussions of important topics for Christian life and practice, InterVarsity Press is a trusted source of Christian scholarship. Informative, clear, and easy to read, the books included in this collection will demonstrate their value over and over as you delve into the riches of theology and doctrine that tackle many of the topics of the day, shedding new light on beliefs often taken for granted. The IVP Library Expansion provides something for everyone regardless of their background or experience whether you are a layperson, pastor, student or scholar.

Key Features

• Offers a range of viewpoints on academic topics about which Christians clearly disagree
• Includes essential reference books for quick insight for answering difficult questions
• Encompasses a wide domain of biblical, theological, and spiritual topics

Product Details

• Title: IVP Library Expansion Bundle
• Publisher: IVP
• Volumes: 312
• Pages: 112,000+

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture Complete Set Updated Edition (ACCS)

• Series Editor: Thomas C. Oden
• Series: Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (ACCS)
• Publisher: IVP
• Volumes: 29
• Pages: 11,757

The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (ACCS) does what very few of today’s students of the Bible can do for themselves. The vast array of writings from the Church Fathers—including many that are available only in the ancient languages—have been combed for their comment on Scripture. From these results, scholars with a deep knowledge of the fathers and a heart for the Church have hand-selected material for each volume, shaping, annotating, and introducing it to today’s readers. Each portion of commentary has been chosen for its salient insight, its rhetorical power, and its faithful representation of the consensual exegesis of the early Church.

Included in this series is the full text of all 29 commentaries from the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (ACCS). Arranged canonically, each volume allows the living voices of the Church in its formative centuries to speak as they engage the sacred page of Scripture. Now even more accessible in digital format, this series will prove an uncommon companion for theological interpretation, spiritual reading, and wholesome teaching and preaching.

The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (29 Vols.) (ACCS) is an ecumenical project, promoting a vital link of communication between the varied Christian traditions of today and their common ancient ancestors in the faith. On this shared ground we listen as leading pastoral theologians of eight centuries gather around the text of Scripture and offer their best theological, spiritual, and pastoral insights.

Titles Included:

• Genesis 1–11 edited by Andrew Louth
• Genesis 12–50 edited by Mark Sheridan
• Exodus Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy edited by Joseph T. Lienhard
• Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1–2 Samuel edited by John R. Franke
• 1–2 Kings, 1–2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther edited by Marco Conti
• Job edited by Manlio Simonetti and Marco Conti
• Psalms 1–50 edited by Craig A. Blaising and Carmen S. Hardin
• Psalms 51–150 edited by Quentin F. Wesselschmidt
• Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon edited by J. Robert Wright
• Isaiah 1–39 edited by Steven A. McKinion
• Isaiah 40–66 edited by Mark W. Elliot
• Jeremiah, Lamentations edited by Dean O. Wenthe
• Ezekiel, Daniel edited by Kenneth Stevenson and Michael Glerup
• The Twelve Prophets edited by Alberto Ferreiro
• Matthew 1–13 edited by Manlio Simonetti

• Matthew 14–28 edited by Manlio Simonetti
• Mark edited by Thomas C. Oden and Christopher A. Hall
• Luke edited by Arthur Just Jr.
• John 1–10 edited by Joel C. Elowsky
• John 11–21 edited by Joel C. Elowsky
• Acts edited by Francis Martin
• Romans edited by Gerald L. Bray
• 1–2 Corinthians edited by Gerald L. Bray
• Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians edited by Mark J. Edwards
• Colossians, 1–2 Thessalonians, 1–2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon edited by Peter Gorday
• Hebrews edited by Erik M. Heen and Philip D.W. Krey
• James, 1–2 Peter, 1–3 John, Jude edited by Gerald L. Bray
• Revelation edited by William C. Weinrich
• Apocrypha edited by Sever J. Voicu

This collection is the updated version of ACCS. Some content differs from the original edition. Pagination may slightly vary between the two editions.

Chronological snobbery—the assumption that our ancestors working without benefit of computers have nothing to teach us—is exposed as nonsense by this magnificent new series. Surfeited with knowledge but starved of wisdom, many of us are more than ready to sit at table with our ancestors and listen to their holy conversations on Scripture. I know I am.

—Eugene Peterson, James Houston Professor of Spiritual Theology, Regent College

All who are interested in the interpretation of the Bible will welcome the forthcoming multivolume series, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Here the insights of scores of early church fathers will be assembled and made readily available for significant passages throughout the Bible and Apocrypha. It is hard to think of a more worthy ecumenical project to be undertaken by InterVarsity Press.

—Bruce M. Metzger, professor emeritus of New Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary

Composed in the style of the great medieval catenae, this new anthology of patristic commentary on Holy Scripture, conveniently arranged by chapter and verse, will be a valuable resource for prayer, study and proclamation. By calling attention to the rich Christian heritage preceding the separations between East and West and between Protestant and Catholic, this series will perform a major service to the cause of ecumenism.

—Avery Dulles, Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society, Fordham University

Thomas C. Oden recently retired as Henry Anson Buttz Professor of Theology at The Theological School of Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. He is the general editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture and the author of numerous theological works, including Thomas C. Oden’s Systematic Theology (3 Vols.).

For more information on this collection, see here.

IVP Spectrum Series

• Series: IVP Spectrum
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Volumes: 21
• Pages: 4,154

Spectrum Multiview Books from IVP Academic offer a range of viewpoints on academic topics about which Christians clearly disagree. The unique format, pioneered by IVP in 1977 with the publication of The Meaning of the Millennium, gives proponents of major positions an opportunity to make their case. Each of the other contributors then offers a brief response. Books in the series range in topic from theology to science, from practical ministry to philosophy. Spectrum books help Christians think more carefully about what they believe and appreciate more the perspectives of others.

Titles Included:

• Baptism: Three Views edited by David F. Wright
• Biblical Hermeneutics: Five Views edited by Stanley E. Porter and Beth M. Stovell
• Christian Ethics: Four Views
• Christian Spirituality: Five Views of Sanctification edited by Donald Alexander
• Church, State, and Public Justice edited by P.C. Kemeny
• Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views edited by James K. Beilby and Paul R. Eddy
• Faith and Reason: Three Views edited by Steve Wilkens
• God and Morality: Four Views edited by R. Keith Loftin
• God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views
• God and Time: Four Views edited by Gregory E. Ganssle
• Predestination and Free Will: Four Views of Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom edited by David Basinger and Randall Basinger
• Psychology and Christianity: Five Views, Second Edition edited by Eric L. Johnson

• Science and Christianity: Four Views edited by Richard F. Carlson
• The Lord’s Supper: Five Views edited by Gordon T. Smith
• The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views edited by Robert G. Clouse
• The Nature of the Atonement: Four Views edited by James K. Beilby and Paul R. Eddy
• Two Views of Hell: A Biblical and Theological Dialogue by Edward William Fudge and Robert A. Peterson
• What About Those Who Have Never Heard?: Three Views on the Destiny of the Unevangelized edited by Gabriel Fackre, Ronald H. Nash and John Sanders
• Women in Ministry: Four Views edited by Bonnidell Clouse and Robert G. Clouse
• The Historical Jesus: Five Views edited by James K. Beilby and Paul R. Eddy
• Justification: Five Views edited by James K. Beilby and Paul R. Eddy

For more information on this collection, see here.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (IVPNTC)

• Editor: Grant R. Osborne
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press
• Volumes: 20
• Pages: 5,910

Pastors with a passion for sound exposition have joined forces with scholars with pastoral hearts to produce this exciting commentary series. These 20 volumes, informed by the best of recent evangelical scholarship, expound the implications of each New Testament book for today’s church. Within the unique series format, pastors, teachers and Bible study leaders alike will find clear, forceful presentations of the heart of each New Testament author’s message, coupled with helpful attention to tough exegetical issues. Seldom have such readable commentary and solid help been available in the same volume.

Titles Included:

• Matthew by Craig S. Keener
• Mark by Ronald J. Kernaghan
• Luke by Darrell L. Bock
• John by Rodney A. Whitacre
• Acts by William J. Larkin
• Romans by Grant R. Osborne
• 1 Corinthians by Alan F. Johnson
• 2 Corinthians by Linda L. Belleville
• Galatians by G. Walter Hansen
• Ephesians by Walter L. Liefeld
• Philippians by Gordon Fee

• Colossians & Philemon by Robert W. Wall
• 1-2 Thessalonians by G.K. Beale
• 1-2 Timothy & Titus by Philip H. Towner
• Hebrews by Ray C. Stedman
• James by George M. Stulac
• 1 Peter by I. Howard Marshall
• 2 Peter & Jude by Robert Harvey and Philip H. Towner
• 1-3 John by Marianne Meye Thompson
• Revelation by J. Ramsey Michaels

For more information on this collection, see here.

IVP Old Testament Studies Collection

• Publisher: IVP
• Volumes: 16
• Pages: 4,188

Among modern Christians, the Old Testament is often neglected, or it is seen as secondary to the New Testament and the center of our faith, Jesus Christ. The IVP Old Testament Studies Collection shows us how all three persons of the triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—are present throughout the Old Testament Scriptures, and it explains why an understanding of these Scriptures is essential to understanding the Christian faith. This collection unpacks over 4,000 pages of in-depth scrutiny of the Old Testament—prophecies, proverbs, psalms, and more.

Respected authors such as Christopher J. H. Wright and Tremper Longman show us how to read the Old Testament with in-depth writings, reflections, and questions for further study. Sandra L. Richter helps readers organize their approach to the Old Testament, while John Sailhamer offers a key for understanding the Pentateuch. And John H. Walton enters into the debate of origins through Genesis.

The 16 volumes in this collection offer scholarship and insight into the Old Testament that pastors, students, or indeed, any Christian, will find invaluable to their study of the Word.

Titles Included:

• Genesis: The Story We Haven’t Heard by Paul Borgman
• How to Read Genesis by Tremper Longman
• How to Read Exodus by Tremper Longman
• How to Read the Psalms by Tremper Longman
• How to Read Proverbs by Tremper Longman
• Knowing God the Father Through the Old Testament by Christopher J.H. Wright
• Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament by Christopher J.H. Wright
• Knowing the Holy Spirit through the Old Testament by Christopher J.H. Wright
• The Old Testament Documents: Are They Reliable and Relevant? by Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.
• Old Testament Wisdom Literature: A Theological Introduction by Craig G. Bartholomew and Ryan P. O’Dowd

• The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate by John H. Walton
• The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition, and Interpretation by John H. Sailhamer
• Themes and Transformations in Old Testament Prophecy by Samuel A. Meier
• Interpreting the Psalms: Issues and Approaches edited by Philip S. Johnston and David G. Firth
• The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament by Sandra L. Richter
• The Story of Israel: A Biblical Theology

For more information on this collection, see here.

Ancient Christian Texts Collection

• Series Editors: Thomas C. Oden and Gerald L. Bray
• Series: Ancient Christian Texts
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Volumes: 15
• Pages: 3,910

Uncover the roots of Christianity and the writings of the early church in a new way. Ancient Christian Texts is a series of new translations of full-length commentaries and sermons based on biblical books or extended scriptural passages by early church leaders like Ambrosiaster, Origen, John of Damascus, Cyril of Alexandria and many others, most of which are presented in English for the first time. With today’s best scholarship, the Ancient Christian Texts provides you with the resources you need to study for yourself the key writings of the early church in a way never possible before.

Titles Included:

• Commentaries on Genesis 1-3
• Homilies on Numbers
• Commentary on Isaiah
• Commentary on Jeremiah
• Commentaries on the Twelve Prophets, vol. 1
• Commentaries on the Twelve Prophets, vol. 2
• Incomplete Commentary on Matthew Opus imperfectum, vol. 1
• Incomplete Commentary on Matthew Opus imperfectum, vol. 2

• Commentary on the Gospel of John
• Commentary on John, vol. 1
• Commentary on John, vol. 2
• Commentaries on Romans and 1-2 Corinthians
• Commentaries on Galatians-Philemon
• Greek Commentaries on Revelation
• Latin Commentaries on Revelation

For more information on this collection, see here.

IVP Jesus Studies Collection

• Publisher: IVP
• Volumes: 15
• Pages: 5,147

The IVP Jesus Studies Collection presents fifteen contemporary volumes on Jesus’ life and ministry, as well as much-debated topics relating to the interpretation of his deity, significance of his resurrection, and the historical impact he made. This collection provides readers with the best in scholarship from well-known names in the field of New Testament studies including Craig A Evans, Kenneth E. Bailey, Ben Witherington III, Craig L. Blomberg, Robert H. Stein, and more! Bringing together their expertise, the IVP Jesus Studies Collection offers pastors, students, and laypeople a deeper look at numerous topics.

Titles Included:

• Fabricating Jesus by Craig A. Evans
• He Came Down from Heaven by Douglas McCready
• The Cross and the Prodigal: Luke 15 through the Eyes of Middle Eastern Peasants by Kenneth E. Bailey
• The Gospel Code: Novel Claims about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Da Vinci by Ben Witherington III
• The Historical Jesus: Five Views edited by James K. Beilby and Paul R. Eddy
• Jacob and the Prodigal: How Jesus Retold Israel’s Story by Kenneth E. Bailey
• Jesus and the Restoration of Israel: A Critical Assessment of N.T. Wright’s Jesus and the Victory of God edited by Carey C. Newman

• Jesus and the Rise of Early Christianity: A History of New Testament Times by Paul Barnett
• Jesus the Messiah: A Survey of the Life of Christ by Robert H. Stein
• Jesus the Miracle Worker: A Historical and Theological Study by Graham H. Twelftree
• Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels by Kenneth E. Bailey
• The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach by Michael R. Licona
• Surprised by Jesus: His Agenda for Changing Everything in A.D. 30 and Today by Tim Stafford
• Interpreting the Parables by Craig L. Blomberg
• The Jesus Quest by Ben Witherington III

For more information on this collection, see here.

IVP New Testament Studies Collection

• Publisher: IVP
• Volumes: 14
• Pages: 7,616

The IVP New Testament Studies Collection (14 vols.) is designed to address the quest for the historical Jesus and examine the early church in its social, cultural, historical, and religious context. This series offers an amazing glimpse into the lives of the first Christian believers by surveying key events, movements, ideas, and individuals of the New Testament era. It reveals the living diversity of cultures, perspectives, and practices among the first Christians and explores the expansion and growth, life and practices, leadership, and worship of the early church.

This collection also examines the evidence that the New Testament and other relevant historical records contain. The IVP New Testament Studies Collection (14 vols.) offers mature thoughts of some of the finest contemporary evangelical New Testament scholars. These authors, each with their own interpretive approach, help readers assess the contemporary relevance of the ancient texts. They tackle tough questions skeptics often ask and present seasoned and trustworthy insights. The biblical theology that is presented is comprehensive, clear, and readable. The IVP New Testament Studies Collection (15 vols.) provides a great foundation for those seeking to understand the importance and relevance of the gospel and early church in the twenty-first century.

Titles Included:

• A Beginner’s Guide to New Testament Exegesis: Taking the Fear Out of Critical Method by Richard J. Erickson
• Contextualization in the New Testament by Dean Flemming
• The Emergence of the Church: Context, Growth, Leadership, and Worship by Arthur G. Patzia
• Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period: A Guide for New Testament Students by Larry R. Helyer
• The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era by James S. Jeffers
• The Indelible Image: The Theological and Ethical Thought World of the New Testament, Vol. 1 by Ben Witherington III
• The Indelible Image: The Theological and Ethical Thought World of the New Testament, Vol. 2 by Ben Witherington III

• Introduction to the New Testament by David A. deSilva
• Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians, Vol. 1: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on Titus, 1–2 Timothy and 1–3 John by Ben Witherington III
• Letters and Homilies for Jewish Christians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on Hebrews, James and Jude by Ben Witherington III
• Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians, Vol. 2: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1–2 Peter by Ben Witherington III
• The Making of the New Testament: Origin, Collection, Text, and Canon by Arthur G. Patzia
• New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel by I. Howard Marshall
• The Witness of Jesus, Paul and John: An Exploration in Biblical Theology by Larry R. Helyer

For more information on this collection, see here.

IVP Pauline Studies Collection

• Publisher: IVP Press
• Volumes: 14
• Pages: 5,726

The IVP Pauline Studies Collection brings together 14 important volumes of recent Pauline literature, providing in-depth focus on his life, letters, missionary work, and theology. It contains contributions from today’s top Pauline scholars, including Thomas R. Schreiner, Ben Witherington III, N. T. Wright, and Frank Thielman. These works analyze the cultural milieu, rhetorical strategies, and the deep layers of the Hebraic prophetic tradition informing Paul’s writings. They provide differing opinions on Paul’s doctrine of justification. Numerous works shine light on the “New Perspective on Paul” conversation. And several works provide the framework for better understanding Paul’s world in the first century.

Titles Included:

• Early Christian Mission, Volume 1: Jesus and the Twelve by Eckhard J. Schnabel
• Early Christian Mission, Volume 2: Paul and the Early Church by Eckhard J. Schnabel
• Jesus, Paul, and the People of God edited by Nicholas Perrin and Richard B. Hays
• Justification: Five Views edited by James K. Beilby and Paul Rhodes Eddy
• Paul and First-Century Letter Writing: Secretaries, Composition, and Collection by E. Randolph Richards
• Paul: Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ by Thomas R. Schreiner
• Paul through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians by Kenneth E. Bailey

• Paul the Missionary: Realities, Strategies, and Methods by Eckhard J. Schnabel
• The Problem with Paul by Brian J. Dodd
• Rediscovering Paul: An Introduction to His World, Letters, and Theology by David B. Capes, Rodney Reeves, and E. Randolph Richards
• Revisiting Paul’s Doctrine of Justification by Peter Stuhlmacher
• Reframing Paul: Conversations in Grace and Community by Mark Strom
• Spirituality According to Paul by Rodney Reeves
• A Week in the Life of Corinth by Ben Witherington III

For more information on this collection, see here.

IVP Pocket Reference Series

• Series: IVP Pocket Reference
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Volumes: 13
• Pages: 1,845

The IVP Pocket Reference Series was designed for students, pastors, and other busy people who want an aid to formal or informal study. Informative, clear, brief, and affordable, the books included in this series will become your constant companion as you tackle the study of biblical languages, church history, apologetics, contemporary religions, ethics, theology, and more.

Titles Included:

• Pocket Dictionary for the Study of Biblical Hebrew by Todd J. Murphy
• Pocket Dictionary of Church History by Nathan P. Feldmeth
• Pocket Dictionary of Ethics by Stanley J. Grenz and Jay T. Smith
• Pocket Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship by Brett Scott Provance
• Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition by Kelly M. Kapic and Wesley Vander Lugt
• Pocket Guide to World Religions by Winfried Corduan
• Pocket Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli

• Pocket History of the Church by D. Jeffrey Bingham
• Pocket History of Theology by Roger E. Olson and Adam C. English
• Pocket Dictionary for the Study of New Testament Greek by Matthew S. DeMoss
• Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics and Philosophy of Religion by C. Stephen Evans
• Pocket Dictionary of Biblical Studies by Arthur G. Patzia and Anthony J. Petrotta
• Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms by Stanley J. Grenz, David Guretzki, and Cherith Fee Nordling

For more information on this collection, see here.

Reformation Commentary on Scripture Collection

• Editors: Timothy F. George and Scott M. Manetsch
• Series: Reformation Commentary on Scripture
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Volumes: 11
• Pages: 5,538

The Reformation Commentary on Scripture (RCS) follows an ancient practice of biblical commentary, in which the scriptural texts are elucidated by chains of passages collected from the authoritative insights of the church’s great exegetes. Each volume consists of the collected comments and wisdom of the Reformers collated around the text of the Bible. Here is a unique tool for the spiritual and theological reading of Scripture and a vital help for teaching and preaching.

With the Reformation Commentary on Scripture you have centralized access to treasures that very few can gather for themselves. The series introduces you to the great diversity that constituted the Reformation, with commentary from Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Anabaptist, and even reform-minded Catholic thinkers, who all shared a commitment to the faithful exposition of Scripture.

The Reformation Commentary on Scripture provides a crucial link between the contemporary church and the great cloud of witnesses that is the historical church. The biblical insights and rhetorical power of the tradition of the Reformation are here made available as a powerful tool for the church of the twenty-first century. Like never before, believers can feel they are a part of a genuine tradition of renewal as they faithfully approach the Scriptures.

In each volume of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture you will find insights of the leaders of the Reformation—from the landmark figures such as Luther and Calvin, to lesser-known commentators, such as Peter Martyr Vermigli, Johannes Oecolampadius, Martin Bucer, Johannes Brenz, Caspar Cruciger, Giovanni Diodati, and Kaspar Olevianus. Many of these texts are being published in English for the first time.

Each volume is designed to facilitate a rich research experience for preachers and teachers, and contains a unique introduction written by the volume editor, providing a reliable guide to the history of the period, the unique reception of the canon of Scripture, and an orientation to the thinkers featured in the volume. Volumes also contain biographies of figures from the Reformation era, adding an essential reference for students of church history.

Titles Included:

• Genesis 1–11 edited by John L. Thompson
• 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles edited by Derek Cooper and Martin J. Lohrmann
• Psalms 1-72 edited by Herman J. Selderhuis
• Ezekiel, Daniel edited by Carl L. Beckwith
• Luke edited by Beth Kreitzer
• John 1–12 edited by Craig S. Farmer

• Acts edited by Esther Chung-Kim and Todd R. Hains
• Romans 9-16 edited by Philip D.W. Krey and Peter D.S. Krey
• 1 Corinthians edited by Scott M. Manetsch
• Galatians, Ephesians edited by Gerald L. Bray
• Philippians, Colossians edited by Graham Tomlin

Detached from her roots, the church cannot reach the world as God intends. While every generation must steward the scriptural insights God grants it, only arrogance or ignorance causes leaders to ignore the contributions of those faithful leaders before us. The Reformation Commentary on Scripture roots our thought in great insights of faithful leaders of the Reformation to further biblical preaching and teaching in this generation.

—Bryan Chapell, distinguished professor of preaching, Knox Theological Seminary

After reading several volumes of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture, I exclaimed, ‘Hey, this is just what the doctor ordered—I mean Doctor Martinus Lutherus!’ The church of today bearing his name needs a strong dose of the medicine this doctor prescribed for the ailing church of the sixteenth century. The reforming fire of Christ-centered preaching that Luther ignited is the only hope to reclaim the impact of the Gospel to keep the Reformation going, not for its own sake but to further the renewal of the worldwide church of Christ today. This series of commentaries will equip preachers to step into their pulpits with confidence in the same living Word that inspired the witness of Luther and Calvin and many other lesser-known Reformers.

—Carl E. Braaten, emeritus professor, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

The Reformation was ignited by a fresh reading of Scripture. In this series of commentaries, we contemporary interpreters are allowed to feel some of the excitement, surprise, and wonder of our spiritual forebears. Luther, Calvin, and their fellow revolutionaries were masterful interpreters of the Word. Now, in this remarkable series, some of our very best Reformation scholars open up the riches of the Reformation’s reading of the Scripture.

—William H. Willimon, bishop, North Alabama Conference, United Methodist Church

The Reformation Commentary on Scripture is a major publishing event—for those with historical interest in the founding convictions of Protestantism, but even more for those who care about understanding the Bible . . . this effort brings flesh and blood to ‘the communion of saints’ by letting believers of our day look over the shoulders of giants from the past. By connecting the past with the present, and by doing so with the Bible at the center, the editors of this series perform a great service for the church. The series deserves the widest possible support.

—Mark A. Noll, Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History, University of Notre Dame

The Reformation Scripture principle set the entirety of Christian life and thought under the governance of the divine Word, and pressed the church to renew its exegetical labors. This series promises to place before the contemporary church the fruit of those labors, and so to exemplify life under the Word.

—John Webster, chair of systematic theology, University of Aberdeen

Since Gerhard Ebeling’s pioneering work on Luther’s exegesis seventy years ago, the history of biblical interpretation has occupied many Reformation scholars and become a vital part of study of the period. The Reformation Commentary on Scripture provides fresh materials for students of Reformation-era biblical interpretation and for twenty-first-century preachers to mine the rich stores of insights from leading Reformers of the sixteenth century into both the text of Scripture itself and its application in sixteenth-century contexts. This series will strengthen our understanding of the period of the Reformation and enable us to apply its insights to our own days and its challenges to the church.

—Robert Kolb, director, Institute for Mission Studies, Concordia Theological Seminary

Discerning the true significance of movements in theology requires acquaintance with their biblical exegesis. This is supremely so with the Reformation, which was essentially a biblical revival. The Reformation Commentary on Scripture will fill a yawning gap, just as the Ancient Christian Commentary did before it, and the first volume gets the series off to a fine start, whetting the appetite for more. Most heartily do I welcome and commend this long overdue project.

—J. I. Packer, Board of Governors Professor of Theology, Regent College

Timothy F. George is a Reformation historian and author of Theology of the Reformers, as well as other theological and historical works. He is dean of Beeson Divinity School, Samford University and an executive editor of Christianity Today.

Scott M. Manetsch is associate professor of church history at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and author of Theodore Beza and the Quest for Peace in France, 1572—1598.

For more information on this collection, see here.

IVP Evangelical Theology Collection

• Publisher: IVP
• Volumes: 11
• Pages: 2,649

Established in 1992, the annual Wheaton Theology Conference has existed to explore the parameters of Evangelical theology in North America. Since its inception, more than one hundred of today’s most respected Christian thinkers have gathered in Wheaton, IL to deliver essays addressing the issues that most affect the contemporary Church. Selected essays from eleven of these conferences were made available in print form through InterVarsity Press.

Now, Logos is proud to offer in electronic form the volumes first published by IVP. The IVP Evangelical Theology Collection covers the gamut of theological issues concerning the Church over the past twenty years. Topics addressed in this collection cover everything from racial and egalitarian issues, to attempts at outlining a theology of justification and ecclesiology as they are represented throughout the greater Christian Tradition.

Few theology conferences have been established to address such a broad scope of pressing theological topics at such a crucial time in the history of the Evangelical movement. The Logos edition of these volumes will allow you to easily find corresponding scripture references and search each essay against your existing digital library. With this Logos collection you will be able to quickly search and access important ideas from these individual essays for your sermons, class notes, or research projects without having to hunt through the print edition.

Titles Included:

• Ancient Faith For the Church’s Future edited by Mark Husbands and Jeffrey P. Greenman
• Biblical Theology: Retrospect and Prospect edited by Scott J. Hafemann
• Care for the Soul: Exploring the Intersection of Psychology & Theology edited by Mark R. McMinn and Timothy R. Phillips
• Christian Apologetics in the Postmodern World edited by Timothy R. Phillips and Dennis L. Okholm
• Evangelicals and Scripture: Tradition, Authority, and Hermeneutics edited by Vincent E. Bacote, Laura C. Miguelez, and Dennis L. Okholm
• Justification: What’s at Stake in the Current Debates edited by Mark Husbands and Daniel Treier

• The Beauty of God: Theology and the Arts edited by Daniel Treier, Mark Husbands and Roger Lundin
• The Community of the Word: Toward an Evangelical Ecclesiology edited by Mark Husbands and Daniel Treier
• The Gospel in Black and White edited by Dennis L. Okholm
• The Nature of Confession edited by Timothy R. Phillips and Dennis L. Okholm
• Women, Ministry and the Gospel edited by Mark Husbands and Timothy Larsen

For more information on this collection, see here.

IVP Biblical Theology Collection

• Publisher: IVP
• Volumes: 10
• Pages: 6,913

The IVP Biblical Theology Collection has been assembled to help scholars, students, and pastors navigate the waters of biblical theology. These ten volumes comprise some of the sharpest scholarship in the discipline and are fine examples of experienced scholarship. I. Howard Marshall’s A Concise New Testament Theology provides an in depth, book-by-book analysis of the message of the New Testament. In Old Testament Theology, Paul R. House addresses the major theological emphasis of each Old Testament book. John Goldingay’s Old Testament Theology presents a detailed and intriguing insight into the theology of the Old Testament. Ben Witherington provides thoughtful insights into New Testament theology in his two volume work The Indelible Image.

With the IVP Biblical Theology Collection you will learn to see the theological vision of the Bible like never before. More than just introductory texts, these volumes attempt to uncover the motion, power and mission of God throughout Scripture. Each author addresses the difficult questions posed by the biblical texts and provides a thoughtful, contemporary analysis of God’s interaction with humanity.

Titles Included:

• A Concise New Testament Theology by I. Howard Marshall
• New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel by I. Howard Marshall
• Old Testament Theology by Paul R. House
• Old Testament Theology, vol. 1: Israel’s Gospel by John Goldingay
• Old Testament Theology, vol. 2: Israel’s Faith by John Goldingay
• Old Testament Theology, vol. 3: Israel’s Life by John Goldingay

• The Indelible Image: The Theological and Ethical Thought World of the New Testament, Volume 1: The Individual Witnesses by Ben Witherington III
• The Indelible Image: The Theological and Ethical Thought World of the New Testament, Volume 2: The Collective Witness by Ben Witherington III
• The Story of Israel: A Biblical Theology
• The Witness of Jesus, Paul and John: An Exploration in Biblical Theology by Larry R. Helyer

For more information on this collection, see here.

John Stott Bible Studies Collection

• Author: John Stott
• Series: John Stott Bible Studies
• Publisher: IVP Connect
• Publication Date: 2008
• Volumes: 10
• Pages: 728

Hailed as the elder statesman of evangelical Christianity, John Stott was one of the most beloved and respected Bible teachers of his day. Throughout his five-decade ministry he was a tireless and faithful expositor, writer and speaker. His commentaries have informed and inspired pastors and preachers around the globe. As a result, millions have benefited from his careful study and insightful interpretation.

Using this Bible study series, you can explore Scripture side by side with John Stott—enhancing your own in-depth study with his insights gained from years of immersion in God’s Word. Each of ten study guides includes Stott’s informative and eloquent exposition of key biblical passages with inductive study questions for individual reflection or group discussion.

The John Stott Bible Study series will serve you as an excellent introduction both to the work of John Stott and, more importantly, the riches of Scripture.

Titles Included:

• Acts: Seeing the Spirit at Work
• Romans: Encountering the Gospel’s Power
• Galatians: Experiencing the Grace of Christ
• Ephesians: Building a Community in Christ
• 1 & 2 Thessalonians: Living in the End Times

• 1 Timothy & Titus: Fighting the Good Fight
• 2 Timothy: Standing Firm in Truth
• Revelation: The Triumph of Christ
• Jesus Christ: Teacher, Servant Savior
• The Beatitudes: Developing Spiritual Character

John Stott was, in my opinion, the greatest Bible expositor of the past few decades because he knew how to let his deep study of the Word highlight relevant points for the daily life and thought of ordinary people. I am so glad that the fruit of his ministry is available in this user-friendly format.

—Ajith Fernando, teaching director, Youth for Christ, Sri Lanka

John R.W. Stott (1921–2011) has been known worldwide as a preacher, evangelist, and communicator of Scripture. For many years he served as rector of All Souls Church in London, where he carried out an effective urban pastoral ministry. A leader among evangelicals in Britain and the United States and around the world, Stott was a principal framer of the landmark Lausanne Covenant (1974). His many books have sold millions of copies around the world and in dozens of languages.

For more information on this collection, see here.

The IVP Bible Dictionary Series

• Publisher: IVP
• Volumes: 8
• Pages: 8,797

Unique among reference books on the Bible, the volumes of the IVP Bible Dictionary Series bridge the gap between scholars and those pastors, teachers, students and lay people desiring in-depth treatment of select topics in an accessible and summary format.

Articles cover traditional and contemporary biblical topics, including cross-sectional themes, methods of interpretation, significant historical or cultural background, and each Old and New Testament book as a whole.

In part and in whole, the IVP Bible Dictionary Series presents the fruit of evangelical biblical scholarship at the intersection of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries—committed to the authority of Scripture, utilizing the best of critical methods, and maintaining dialog with contemporary biblical research and challenges facing the church.

Titles Included:

• Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch edited by T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker
• Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books edited by Bill T. Arnold and H.G.M. Williamson
• Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry and Writings edited by Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns
• Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets edited by Mark J. Boda and J. Gordon McConville
• Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels edited by Joel B. Green
• Dictionary of Paul and His Letters edited by Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid
• Dictionary of New Testament Background edited by Craig A. Evans and Stanley E. Porter
• Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments edited by Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids

For more information on this collection, see here.

Christian Foundations Collection

• Author: Donald G. Bloesch
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press
• Volumes: 7
• Pages: 2,452

The Christian Foundations Collection brings together all seven volumes of Donald G. Bloesch’s Christian Foundations series. This comprehensive, systematic theology for the twenty-first century contributes significantly to late modern evangelical theology while exploring what an ancient faith has to say to perplexing new times. The Christian Foundations Collection will be of great help to all who want to hold to orthodoxy and honestly engage contemporary thought.

Throughout the Christian Foundations series Bloesch offers a fresh, biblical response to the trends permeating modern Christianity, including relativism, feminine-gender language for God, evangelical rationalism, and many more. Bloesch also presents new approaches to the long-standing issues of biblical authority, Christology, ecclesiology, and eschatology, among others. All the while, Bloesch remains in dialogue with the major theologians who went before him, such as Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Forsyth, and Barth.

Titles Included:

• A Theology of Word & Spirit: Authority & Method in Theology
• Holy Scripture: Revelation, Inspiration & Interpretation
• God the Almighty: Power, Wisdom, Holiness, Love
• Jesus Christ: Savior & Lord
• The Holy Spirit: Works & Gifts
• The Church: Sacraments, Worship, Ministry, Mission
• The Last Things: Resurrection, Judgment, Glory

Christian Foundations will stand as a landmark in late twentieth-century evangelical theology.

— Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

Bloesch is unfailingly irenic as well as erudite.… As a guide to the current evangelical discussions, … he is indispensable.

—George Lindbeck in Interpretation

Christian Foundations promises to be the evangelical summa of the twentieth century. Bloesch demonstrates once more a clarity, forthrightness, relevance and breadth of vision which will commend his series to a wide readership.

—I. John Hesselink, Western Theological Seminary

When completed, Bloesch’s seven-volume magnum opus will constitute the most substantial theological contribution of any American evangelical since Carl Henry’s magisterial God, Revelation and Authority.

—Christianity Today

I haven’t read any theological work as biblically and historically rich, as intellectually satisfying, or as spiritually exhilarating as Bloesch’s [Christian Foundations] since Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics.

—David Gill in Christianity Today

This splendid addition to Donald Bloesch’s dogmatics delineates the meaning of his ‘evangelical neo-orthodoxy’ for the contested, slippery question of the meaning of the church. Soaked in Scripture and the history of theology, and insightfully evaluating a variety of alternative positions, Bloesch makes a strong case for a broadly evangelical understanding of the church that remains open to the ongoing dialectic of Word and Spirit.

—Gary Dorrien, Parfet Distinguished Professor, Kalamazoo College

Donald G. Bloesch (Ph. D., University of Chicago) is professor of theology emeritus at Dubuque Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. He has done postdoctoral work at the universities of Oxford, Tübingen and Basel and has written numerous books, including Faith and Its Counterfeits, Christian Foundations Series, Evangelical Theology in Transition, Theological Notebook Volume 3, Essentials of Evangelical Theology, The Future of Evangelical Christianity, The Struggle of Prayer and Freedom for Obedience. He is also a past president of the Midwest Division of the American Theological Society.

For more information on this collection, see here.

IVP Essentials Series

• Series: IVP Essentials
• Publisher: IVP
• Volumes: 6
• Pages: 1,213

The Essentials Set is a series of in-depth workbooks that brings the essentials of Christian ministry into contact with the real life of your congregation. With books on discipleship, evangelism, leadership, and the Great Commandment, there is something for everyone at your church—from veteran ministry leaders to regular attenders.

Every Essentials experience is built on three conditions for transformation: 1) The unchanging truth of God’s Word, 2) transparent relationships, and 3) mutual accountability. As each Essentials group matures in these areas, members are encouraged to start again with new groups—creating an ever-expanding, multigenerational discipling network within your community.

If you want to see unprecedented growth in every facet of your ministry, there’s no better place to begin than the Essentials Set.

Titles Included:

• Leadership Essentials: Shaping Vision, Multiplying Influence, Defining Character by Greg Ogden and Daniel Meyer
• The Essential Commandment: A Disciple’s Guide to Loving God and Others by Greg Ogden
• Witness Essentials: Evangelism that Makes Disciples by Daniel Meyer
• Discipleship Essentials: A Guide to Building Your Life in Christ by Greg Ogden
• Old Testament Essentials: Creation, Conquest, Exile and Return by Tremper Longman
• New Testament Essentials: Father, Son, Spirit and Kingdom by Robbie Fox Castleman

For more information on this collection, see here.

Reading the Bible with John Stott

• Author: John Stott
• Publisher: IVP
• Volumes: 6
• Pages: 800

Read day-by-day through John Stott’s essential teachings in a new InterVarsity Connect series, Reading the Bible with John Stott. The series condenses Stott’s well-known Bible Speaks Today volumes into short sections focused on specific Scripture passages. This new format makes these volumes ideal for daily reading or group study. Questions following each set of readings help individuals and groups go deeper into the text.

This series will continue the impact of Stott’s worldwide ministry by connecting today’s readers, including those already familiar with or new to his work, with Stott’s rich teaching on Scripture.

Titles Included:

• Reading the Sermon on the Mount with John Stott
• Reading Romans with John Stott (vol. 1)
• Reading Romans with John Stott (vol. 2)
• Reading Galatians with John Stott
• Reading Ephesians with John Stott
• Reading Timothy and Titus with John Stott

John Stott (1921-2011) served around the world as a preacher, evangelist, and writer. He was one of the main contributors to the Lausanne Covenant (1974) and the founder of Langham Partnership, which seeks to equip a new generation of Bible teachers around the world.

For more information on this collection, see here.

Ancient Christian Doctrine Series

• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Volumes: 5
• Pages: 1,221

From the earliest days of the Christian church, there has been the tendency to distill those essential aspects of Christian teaching into succinct creeds. These creeds, in turn, are unpacked to reveal much about the Christian understanding of the nature of God, salvation, and the church.

As the seminal Ancient Christian Commentary on Sacred Scripture series did for Scripture, so this series does for the classic articulation of Christina doctrine—the Nicene Creed. Following the outline set forth in that ancient creed, these volumes bring together copious amounts of commentary from the early church fathers on each statement and phrase. Fleshed out with commentary on the historical context and helpful indices, this collection makes it easy to see with the eyes of the early Christians and come to understand their vision of what it means to be Christian.

Titles Included:

• We Believe in One God edited by Gerald L. Bray
• We Believe in One Lord Jesus Christ edited by John Anthony McGuckin
• We Believe in the Crucified and Risen Lord edited by Mark J. Edwards
• We Believe in the Holy Spirit edited by Joel C. Elowsky
• We Believe in One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church edited by Angelo Di Berardino

For more information on this collection, see here.

The Lost World Series

• Publisher: IVP
• Volumes: 5
• Pages: 1,248

Often times, reading the Old Testament can be a challenge. It feels foreign. The culture, the customs, the social rules regularly come across as mismatched with contemporary life. Even Christians who work hard to be thoughtful and dedicated in their reading of scripture can feel like a “literal” seems lacking somehow, as if the world of the Old Testament is lost on us compared to our modern experience of technology and convenience. in the Lost World Collection, John H. Walton helps us gain a greater understanding of the culture and milieu of the Ancient Near East in way that is practical for gaining a better understanding of the Old Testament.

Titles Included:

• The Lost World of Adam & Eve by John H. Walton with contributions by N.T. Wright
• The Lost World of the Flood: Mythology, Theology, and the Deluge Debate by John H. Walton and Tremper Longman III
• The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate by John H. Walton
• The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest by John H. Walton and J. Harvey Walton
• The Lost World of Scripture by John H. Walton and Brent Sandy

John H. Walton (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College and Graduate School. Previously he was professor of Old Testament at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for twenty years. Some of Walton’s books include The Lost World of Adam and Eve, The Lost World of Scripture, The Lost World of Genesis One, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament, The Essential Bible Companion, The NIV Application Commentary: Genesis, and The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament (with Victor Matthews and Mark Chavalas). Walton’s ministry experience includes church classes for all age groups, high school Bible studies, and adult Sunday school classes, as well as serving as a teacher for “The Bible in 90 Days.” John and his wife, Kim, live in Wheaton, Illinois, and have three adult children.

For more information on this collection, see here.

IVP Christian Counseling Collection

• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Volumes: 4
• Pages: 1,878

As a part of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies book series, each of these resources is designed to assist mental health professionals, pastors, or lay counselors in serving others spiritual, psychological, and relational needs. These authors’ approach to mental health recognizes the spiritual components of the self, divine dynamics of families, the gradual maturing in children, and also tackles difficult questions in how to best maintain a principled purity when working to bind up the broken. Gain a clearer perspective on the faith-filled and God-honoring task of counseling from a Christian worldview.

Titles Included:

• Christian Counseling Ethics: A Handbook for Psychologists, Therapists and Pastors edited by Randolph K. Sanders
• Christianity and Developmental Psychopathology: Foundations and Approaches edited by Kelly Flanagan and Sarah E. Hall
• Family Therapies: A Comprehensive Christian Appraisal by Mark A. Yarhouse and James N. Sells
• The Reciprocating Self: Human Development in Theological Perspective by Jack O. Balswick, Pamela Ebstyne King, and Kevin S. Reimer

For more information on this collection, see here.

John Stott LifeGuide Bible Study Collection

• Author: John Stott
• Series: LifeGuide Bible Studies
• Publisher: IVP Connect
• Volumes: 4
• Pages: 391

For over three decades LifeGuide Bible Studies have provided solid biblical content and raised thought-provoking questions—making for a one-of-a-kind Bible study experience for individuals and groups. These four titles represent some of the best LifeGuide content and feature insights from renowned pastor and theologian John Stott.

Titles Included:

• Christian Leadership
• The Cross
• A Deeper Look at the Sermon on the Mount
• Sermon on the Mount

John R.W. Stott (1921–2011) has been known worldwide as a preacher, evangelist, and communicator of Scripture. For many years he served as rector of All Souls Church in London, where he carried out an effective urban pastoral ministry. A leader among evangelicals in Britain and the United States and around the world, Stott was a principal framer of the landmark Lausanne Covenant (1974). His many books have sold millions of copies around the world and in dozens of languages.

For more information on this collection, see here.

John Stott on Christianity

• Author: John Stott
• Publisher: IVP
• Volumes: 4
• Pages: 467

Recognized as one of the foremost Christian figures of the twentieth century, John Stott (1921–2011) demonstrates the relevance of Scripture in Christian leadership, ministry, and daily life. In these four titles, Stott presents a wholistic approach to some of our most pressing questions: How do we carry out the Great Commission in a broken world? How do we lead in the midst of discouragement and failure? What does it look like to faithfully follow Jesus? And, how practical is the Bible for my life today?

Titles Included:

• The Authority of the Bible
• Balanced Christianity
• Christian Mission in the Modern World
• Problems of Christian Leadership

John R.W. Stott (1921–2011) has been known worldwide as a preacher, evangelist, and communicator of Scripture. For many years he served as rector of All Souls Church in London, where he carried out an effective urban pastoral ministry. A leader among evangelicals in Britain and the United States and around the world, Stott was a principal framer of the landmark Lausanne Covenant (1974). His many books have sold millions of copies around the world and in dozens of languages.

For more information on this collection, see here.

Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity

• General Editor: Angelo Di Berardino
• Consulting Editors: Thomas C. Oden, Joel C. Elowsky, and James Hoover
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Publication Date: 2014
• Volumes: 3
• Pages: 2,951

The Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity covers eight centuries of the Christian church and comprises 3,220 entries by a team of 266 scholars from 26 countries representing a variety of Christian traditions. It draws upon such fields as archaeology, art and architecture, biography, cultural studies, ecclesiology, geography, history, philosophy, and theology.

The encyclopedia’s A-to-Z coverage extends from “Aaron (iconography)” to “Zosimus, pope” and chronologically from Christianity’s origins to Bede (d. 735) in the West and John of Damascus (d. ca. 749) in the Greek East, with detailed emphasis on the first four centuries of Christian history.

Extensive cross-referencing provides ease in exploring related articles, and helpful bibliographies, including primary sources (texts, critical editions, translations) and key secondary sources (books and journal articles), give access to the very latest in-depth scholarship in countless disciplines of study.

Titles Included:

• Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity, vol. 1: A-E
• Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity, vol. 2: F-O
• Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity, vol. 3: P-Z

This product will be downloaded as a single resource.

The Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity is highly recommended as a front line source for information on all aspects of the early church. . . . It is a must for any seminary, training school, or other educational institution. Those specializing in church history will want to have this reference set within arm’s reach at their desk.

—Dennis M. Swanson, The Master’s Seminary Journal

The revised and expanded Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity is certain to become the standard work of reference for patristics and the study of Late Antiquity. The range of subjects covered by the articles is astounding, including virtually everyone about whom anything at all is known, as well as geography, literary and legal culture, art and symbolism, architecture and liturgy. These articles, together with their extensive and up-to-date bibliographies, make the Encyclopedia the portal of choice to the world of Late Antiquity.

—Andrew Louth, Professor Emeritus of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, Durham University

Words fail me for celebrating the fullness and excellence of this unique pioneer compendium, which brings together just about everything that is known about the first eight Christian centuries. A must-have for libraries, it will prove an invaluable resource for scholars and students alike. All praise to IVP for making it available to us English readers who could not handle the original Italian.

—J.I. Packer, Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology, Regent College

Angelo Di Berardino is past president and current professor of patrology at the Augustinian Patristic Institute (Augustinianum) in Rome. He is the editor or author of authoritative works on the early church, including Encyclopedia of the Early Church and Patrology: The Eastern Fathers from the Council of Chalcedon to John of Damascus. He also serves as the Italian-language editor for the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture.

Thomas C. Oden (1931–2016), was the general editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture and the Ancient Christian Doctrine series as well as the author of Classic Christianity, a revision of his three-volume systematic theology. He was the director of the Center for Early African Christianity at Eastern University in Pennsylvania and he served as the Henry Anson Buttz Professor of Theology at The Theological School of Drew University in Madison, New Jersey.

The Rev. Dr. Joel C. Elowsky (PhD, Drew University) is associate professor of historical theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He has served as the operations manager for the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture and has edited the two volumes on John’s Gospel in that series. He is the volume editor for We Believe in the Holy Spirit in the Ancient Christian Doctrine series and has edited volumes on Theodore of Mopsuestia and Cyril of Alexandria in the Ancient Christian Texts series.

James Hoover (MDiv, Gordon Conwell) is IVP’s associate editorial director and senior editor for IVP Academic. Since 1999 he has served as in-house editor in the area of patristic studies, overseeing editorial work on the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, the Ancient Christian Doctrine series, the Ancient Christian Texts series and, most recently, the Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity.

For more information on this collection, see here.

The Apprentice Series

• Author: James Bryan Smith
• Series: The Apprentice Series
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press
• Volumes: 3
• Pages: 736

James Bryan Smith believes the gospel is about change in our lives today, not just our eternal destiny. In The Apprentice Series he aims to assist Christians in developing a robust discipleship by helping them understand who God is, what it means to be a Christian, and what it means to live in community as a part of God’s kingdom. Throughout the series Smith helps us discard the flawed narratives of our hearts and replace them with the truths God reveals in his word about himself, the Christian life, and his Church. This series encourages you to read, journal, pray, discuss, and participate in weekly spiritual exercises to help you engage with the text. Smith guides us in being with Jesus and discovering the narratives he lived by. Get to know the God Jesus knows and the kingdom he proclaims.

Titles Included:

• The Good and Beautiful God: Falling in Love with the God Jesus Knows
• The Good and Beautiful Life: Putting on the Character of Christ
• The Good and Beautiful Community: Following the Spirit, Extending Grace, Demonstrating Love

The Apprentice Series is a treasure. Dr. Smith has thought long and hard about the process of human transformation into the likeness of Jesus. I urge you to buy these books immediately! Read them and apply them. Then live them out in the context of a loving community. You will not regret doing so.

—Richard J. Foster, author, Celebration of Discipline

Jim Smith is the most articulate, accurate and helpful writer of spiritual formation of my generation. I give this series my highest recommendation.

—Todd Hunter, author, Giving Church Another Chance

If you’re looking for books to help patrons rekindle or enhance their relationships with God, buy this one. Highly recommended for small groups interested in deepening their relationships with God.

—Church Libraries

The Apprentice Series is the best practice I have seen in Christian spiritual formation.

—Dallas Willard, author, The Divine Conspiracy

James Bryan Smith is a theology professor at Friends Unviersity in Wichita, and a writer and speaker on Christian spiritual formation. He is the director of the Aprentis Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation at Friends University.

For more information on this collection, see here.

The Church Fathers Collection

• Author: Christopher A. Hall
• Publisher: IVP
• Volumes: 3
• Pages: 764

For many years, Christopher A. Hall has been working hard to introduce the Church Fathers to an evangelical audience. Here, the Church Fathers Collection (3 vols.) brings together three of his books from this important era of Christian history. Discussing the Church Fathers in the context of theology, christian living, and worship, this collection brings insight, thoughtfulness and depth to an evangelical audience in a way that makes Christian history fresh and relevant.

Titles Included:

• Learning Theology with the Church Fathers
• Living Wisely with the Church Fathers
• Worshiping with the Church Fathers

Christopher A. Hall (PhD, Drew University) is the director of Renovaré Institute of Christian Spiritual Formation. He is associate editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, and his books include Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers, Learning Theology with the Church Fathers, and Worshiping with the Church Fathers.

Hall previously served at Eastern University for over twenty years in several roles, including chancellor, provost, dean of Palmer Seminary, dean of the Templeton Honors College, distinguished professor of theology, and director of academic spiritual formation. He and his wife, Debbie, live in Pennsylvania and have three grown children.

For more information on this collection, see here.

Ancient Christian Devotional Series

• Editor: Cindy Crosby
• General Editor: Thomas C. Oden
• Publisher: IVP
• Volumes: 3
• Pages: 902

The Ancient Christian Devotional Series provides a curated collection of quotations from the early church fathers as found in InterVarsity Press’ monumental Ancient Christian Commentary on Sacred Scripture series. Organized around the three-year lectionary cycle in use in a variety of churches, the editors of this set have drawn out the themes of each week and selected key quotations on every Bible passage in the Revised Common Lectionary. Each week’s entry elaborates on the connection between the biblical texts and helps you to read the Bible through the eyes of those key figures in the early church. Also including opening and closing prayers for each week, this set is a great tool for sermon preparation as well as a great devotional aid for the layman.

Titles Included:

• Ancient Christian Devotional: Lectionary Cycle A
• Ancient Christian Devotional: Lectionary Cycle B
• Ancient Christian Devotional: Lectionary Cycle C

Cindy Crosby is the author, contributor to, or compiler of more than twenty books, including By Willoway Brook: Exploring the Landscape of Prayer. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications including Publishers Weekly, Books & Culture, Christian Century, and Christianity Today. She speaks and teaches in the Chicago region.

For more information on this collection, see here.

Historical Interpreters Collection

• Publisher: InterVarsity Press
• Volumes: 2
• Pages: 868

The Historical Interpreters Collection introduces you to the host of theologians who have shaped how the church has interpreted the Bible throughout the centuries. The two volumes skillfully comb church history and offer up biographical and historical information on all the major interpreters, including the context in which they worked.

The Historical Handbook of Major Biblical Interpreters acts as an encyclopedia of the great biblical interpreters. It provides introductory essays on the historical eras spanning from the early church to the 20th century followed by detailed articles on the major interpreters. Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers focuses on the interpreters of the early church. It aims to bring you to a better understanding of how they read and interpreted scripture, and show you how you can follow in their footsteps.

Titles Included:

• Historical Handbook of Major Biblical Interpreters edited by Donald K. McKim
• Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers edited by Christopher A. Hall

For more information on this collection, see here.

A Contemporary Anabaptist Theology

• Author: Thomas N. Finger
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press
• Publication Date: 2004
• Pages: 603

In this comprehensive volume Thomas N. Finger takes on the formidable task of making explicit the often implicit theology of the Anabaptist movement and then presenting, for the sake of the welfare of the whole contemporary Christian church, his own constructive theology.

In the first part Finger tells the story of the development of Anabaptist thought, helping the reader grasp both the unifying and diverse elements in that theological tradition. In the second and third parts Finger considers in more detail the major themes essential to Anabaptist theology, first considering the historic views and then presenting his own constructive effort. Within the Anabaptist perspective Finger offers a theology that highlights the three dimensions of its salvific center: the communal, the personal and the missional. The themes taken up in the final part form what Finger identifies as the convictional framework of that center; namely, Christology, anthropology and eschatology.

This book is a landmark contribution of Anabaptist theology for the whole church in biblical, historical and contemporary context.

Thomas N. Finger is a scholar and writer currently based in Chicago, Illinois. Formerly, he was professor of systematic and spiritual theology at Eastern Mennonite Seminary in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Since then he has taught courses for Goshen College (Goshen, Indiana) and the Associated Mennonite Seminary (Elkhart, Indiana). His books include Christian Theology: An Eschatological Approach.

For more information on this title, see here.

A Student’s Guide to Textual Criticism of the Bible

• Author: Paul D. Wegner
• Publisher: InterVarsity
• Publication Date: 2006
• Pages: 334

A Student’s Guide to Textual Criticism of the Bible presents, in plain language and with ample illustration, an overview of the history and methods, aims and results of textual criticism. In the process, the readers gain an appreciation for the vast work that has been accomplished in preserving the text of Scripture and find a renewed confidence in its reliability.

The Bible has been on a long historical journey since its original composition. Its texts have been copied and recopied. And despite the most careful and painstaking efforts of scribes and publishers down through the centuries, errors of one sort or another have crept in and have been reproduced. Sorting out the errors and determining the original wording is the task of textual criticism.

In fact, the task of textual criticism is so daunting and detailed that it is divided between Old Testament textual critics and New Testament textual critics. That is why nearly every book on the subject focuses on the textual criticism of either the Old or New Testament. But if you are one of those interested in a general understanding of textual criticism, A Student’s Guide to Textual Criticism of the Bible introduces you to textual criticism of the whole Bible—the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament.

Paul D. Wegner is professor of Old Testament at Phoenix Seminary in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the author of The Journey from Texts to Translations: The Origin and Development of the Bible.

For more information on this title, see here.

The Acts of the Apostles A Newly Discovered Commentary

• Author: J.B. Lightfoot
• Editors: Ben Witherington and Todd D. Still
• Assistant Editor: Jeanette M. Hagen
• Series: The Lightfoot Legacy Set
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2014
• Pages: 399

The Acts of the Apostles is the first volume in a three-volume set of previously unpublished material from J.B. Lightfoot, one of the the great biblical scholars of the modern era. In the spring of 2013, Ben Witherington discovered hundreds of pages of biblical commentary by Lightfoot in the Durham Cathedral Library. While incomplete, these commentaries represent a goldmine for historians and biblical scholars, as well as for the many people who have found Lightfoot’s work both informative and edifying, deeply learned and pastorally sensitive.

Among those many pages were two sets of lecture notes on the Acts of the Apostles. Together they amount to a richly detailed, albeit unfinished, commentary on Acts 1-21. The project of writing a commentary on Acts had long been on Lightfoot’s mind, and in the 1880s he wrote an article about the book for the second British edition of William Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible. Thankfully, that is not all he left behind.

Now on display for all to see, these commentary notes reveal a scholar well ahead of his time, one of the great minds of his or any generation. Well over a century later, The Acts of the Apostles remains a relevant and significant resource for the church today.

Joseph Barber Lightfoot was educated at Cambridge and Oxford, became the lord bishop of Durham in the church of England, served as a minister in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, and was professor of divinity at Cambridge University. He was also one of the original members of the New Testament Company of Bible Revisers. His other commentaries include volumes on Galatians and Philippians.

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An Introduction to the Old Testament: Exploring Text, Approaches, and Issues

• Author: John Goldingay
• Publication Date: 2016
• Pages: 400

This introduction to the Old Testament is written to cover all key components of most OT courses and also to help students to think for themselves about key issues of interpretation.

Built upon John Goldingay’s decades of studying and teaching the Old Testament, this introduction is unusual in that it sets out background information, notes interpretative possibilities, raises questions and suggests approaches to the text. This introduction has the feel of a workbook, encouraging students to investigate the Old Testament, both critically and prayerfully, for themselves.

John Goldingay is David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. His books include Models for Scripture, Models for Interpretation of Scripture, Walk On, and commentaries on Psalms, Isaiah, and Daniel.

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Biblical Foundations For Small Group Ministry

• Author: Gareth Weldon Icenogle
• Publisher: InterVarsity
• Publication Date: 1994
• Pages: 509

Gareth Weldon examines biblical teaching and the ministry of the early church, offering guidance for setting up and running a biblically based small-group ministry program.

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Biblical Theology: The God of the Christian Scriptures

• Author: John E. Goldingay
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Publication Date: 2016
• Pages: 608

Imagine someone who has spent a lifetime listening deeply and attentively to the full range of Scripture’s testimony. Stepping back, they now describe what they have seen and heard. What emerges is a theological cathedral, laid out on the great vectors of Scripture and fitted with biblically sourced materials.

This is what John Goldingay has done. Well known for his three-volume Old Testament Theology, he has now risen to the challenge of a biblical theology. While taking the New Testament as a portal into the biblical canon, he seeks to preserve the distinct voices of Israel’s Scriptures, accepting even its irregular and sinewed pieces as features rather than problems. Goldingay does not search out a thematic core or overarching unity, but allows Scripture’s diversity and tensions to remain as manifold witnesses to the ways of God.

While many interpreters interrogate Scripture under the harsh lights of late-modern questions, Goldingay engages in a dialogue keen on letting Scripture speak to us in its own voice. Throughout he asks, "What understanding of God and the world and life emerges from these two testaments?"

Goldingay’s Biblical Theology is a landmark achievement—hermeneutically dexterous, biblically expansive, and nourishing to mind, soul and proclamation.

John Goldingay (PhD, University of Nottingham; DD, Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth) is David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary. He was previously principal and a professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at St John’s Theological College in Nottingham, England. His books include An Introduction to the Old Testament, The Theology of the Book of Isaiah, Key Questions about Interpretation, Do We Need the Old Testament? and commentaries on Psalms, Isaiah, and Daniel. He has also authored the three-volume Old Testament Theology and the seventeen-volume Old Testament for Everyone series.

Goldingay also serves as priest-in-charge at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, Pasadena. He holds membership in the Society of Biblical Literature and the Society for Old Testament Study, and served on the Task Force on Biblical Interpretation in the Anglican Communion and the editorial board for the Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies.

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The Big Book on Small Groups

• Author: Jeffrey Arnold
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 1992
• Pages: 308

Jeffrey Arnold discusses the basic components and dynamics of small groups and describes how to develop relationships within the group, how to train group leaders, and much more.

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The Canon of Scripture

• Author: F.F. Bruce
• Publisher: InterVarsity
• Publication Date: 1988
• Pages: 349

In The Canon of Scripture, F.F. Bruce presents a thorough reexamination of the historical evidence for acceptance of the canon, focusing on the central issues of criteria of canonicity, the idea of a canon within a canon, and canonical criticism. Adept in both Old and New Testament studies, Bruce brings a rare comprehensive perspective to his task, as well as the wisdom of a lifetime of reflection and biblical interpretation to bear in answering the questions and clearing away the confusion surrounding the Christian canon of Scripture. Winner of two 1990 Christianity Today Awards and a 1989 ECPA Gold Medallion Award, this impressive work remains a significant landmark and touchstone for further studies.

How did the books of the Bible come to be recognized as Holy Scripture? Who decided what shape the canon should take? What criteria influenced these decisions? After nearly nineteen centuries the canon of Scripture still remains an issue of debate. Protestants, Catholics and the Orthodox all have slightly differing collections of documents in their Bibles. Martin Luther, one of the early leaders of the Reformation, questioned the inclusion of the book of James in the canon. And many Christians today, while confessing the authority of all of Scripture, tend to rely on only a few books and particular themes while ignoring the rest.

Scholars have raised many other questions as well. Research into second-century Gnostic texts has led some to argue that politics played a significant role in the formation of the Christian canon. Assessing the influence of ancient communities and a variety of disputes on the final shaping of the canon calls for ongoing study.

F.F. Bruce (1910-1990) was Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester in England. During his distinguished career, he wrote many bestselling commentaries and books, including Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free, A Mind for What Matters and several titles published by InterVarsity Press. He also served as general editor of The New International Commentary on the New Testament.

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Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith

• Author: Douglas Groothuis
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press
• Publication Date: July 2011
• Pages: 752

The Christian worldview proposes answers to enduring human questions. But how reliable are those answers? In this 2012 Christianity Today Book Award of Merit, eminent Christian apologist Douglas Groothuis offers a thorough examination of this query.

“What if the millennia of human cries echo only into the empty sky and no further?” he asks. “That possibility must be faced if the quest itself is to have any meaning. . . Truth is what matters most, particularly truth concerning our human condition in the world—its origin, its nature, its purpose. . . its destiny.” Newcomers and seasoned apologists alike will benefit from exploring the arguments presented in Groothuis’ systematic text. Placed within a fully integrated Christian worldview, Groothuis makes a powerful case for Christian theism, proceeding from a defense of objective truth, to a presentation of the key arguments for God from natural theology, to a case for the credibility of Jesus, the Incarnation, and the Resurrection. Importantly, within these discussions, Groothuis considers alternative views as well and how they fare intellectually. Drawing upon decades of scholarship in the field, as well as experiences as a professor, writer, and campus pastor, this comprehensive text is a must-read for fans of Groothuis’ work, and for those looking to understand how the Christian worldview addresses difficult questions of life, death, suffering, the afterlife, and much more.

Douglas Groothuis, PhD in philosophy, from the University of Oregon, emerged as a prominent younger voice among Christian evangelicals in the late 1980s. He came to be recognized as an authority on New Age spirituality and has since moved into writing about Christian apologetics in the postmodern world, as well as substantive work on other philosophical topics. He is currently a professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary, teaching graduate courses on Christian apologetics, problems in apologetics, issues in philosophy of religion, Christian ethics and modern culture, and religious pluralism. He has also been a visiting professor or adjunct faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary (Colorado Springs extension), Metropolitan State College of Denver, Westminster Theological Seminary (California campus), University of Oregon, New College Berkeley and Seattle Pacific University. He has authored numerous articles appearing in magazines such as Christianity Today, Books and Culture, The Christian Research Journal, as well as several books, including Truth Decay, In Defense of Natural Theology (coeditor), Unmasking the New Age, Jesus in an Age of Controversy, Deceived by the Light, The Soul in Cyberspace, and, in the Wadsworth Philosophers Series, On Pascal and On Jesus.

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Contours of the Kuyperian Tradition: A Systematic Introduction

• Author: Craig G. Bartholomew
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Publication Date: 2017
• Pages: 365

Abraham Kuyper was, by any standard, one of the most extraordinary figures in modern Christian history. He was a Dutch Reformed minister, a gifted theologian, a prolific journalist, the leader of a political party, the cofounder of the Free University of Amsterdam (where he was professor of theology), a member of the Dutch Parliament, and eventually prime minister of the Netherlands.

Kuyper’s remarkable legacy lives on today in the tradition of Dutch Calvinism that he developed. As his writings become more widely available, this tradition continues to find new adherents attracted by his comprehensive vision of Christian faith. But what defines the Kuyperian tradition?

Renowned South African theologian and philosopher Craig Bartholomew has written the first systematic introduction to this tradition. Drawing on Kuyper’s entire corpus, Bartholomew has identified the key themes and ideas that define this tradition, including worldview, sphere sovereignty, creation and redemption, the public square, and mission. He also goes beyond Kuyper to show how later thinkers developed these ideas. They include, among others, Herman Bavinck, J.H. Bavinck, Gerrit C. Berkouwer, and Herman Dooyeweerd.

Widely known but little read, Kuyper is now receiving the global recognition that his fertile and influential thought deserves. Contours of the Kuyperian Tradition is an indispensable guide to one of the most significant schools of thought in the modern age.

Craig G. Bartholomew is H. Evan Runner Professor of Philosophy and professor of religion at Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario. He is dean of the St Georges Centre for Biblical and Public Theology as well as adjunct faculty at Trinity College, Bristol. He has written and edited numerous books, including Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics, The Drama of Scripture (with Michael Goheen), Old Testament Wisdom Literature (with Ryan O’Dowd), and a commentary on Ecclesiastes. He initiated and directed the Scripture and Hermeneutics Seminar, which now continues as part of the St Georges Centre.

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The Design Revolution: Answering the Toughest Questions about Intelligent Design

• Author: William Dembski
• Publisher: InterVarsity
• Publication Date: 2004
• Pages: 324

Is it science? Is it religion? What exactly is the Design Revolution?

Today scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers in the intelligent design movement are challenging a certain view of science—one that limits its investigations and procedures to purely law-like and mechanical explanations. They charge that there is no scientific reason to exclude the consideration of intelligence, agency and purpose from truly scientific research. In fact, they say, the practice of science often does already include these factors!

As the intelligent design movement has gained momentum, questions have naturally arisen to challenge its provocative claims. In this book, William A. Dembski rises to the occasion clearly and concisely answering the most vexing questions posed to the intelligent design program. Writing with non-experts in mind, Dembski responds to more than sixty questions asked by experts and non-experts alike who have attended his many public lectures, as well as objections raised in written reviews.

The Design Revolution has begun. Its success depends on how well it answers the questions of its detractors. Read this book and you’ll have a good idea of the prospects and challenges facing this revolution in scientific thinking.

William Dembski is Research Professor of Philosophy at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He has previously taught at Northwestern University, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Dallas. He has done postdoctoral work in mathematics at MIT, in physics at the University of Chicago, and in computer science at Princeton University, and he has been a National Science Foundation doctoral and postdoctoral fellow. Dembski has written numerous scholarly articles and is the author of the critically acclaimed The Design Inference, Intelligent Design, and No Free Lunch: Why Specified Complexity Cannot Be Purchased without Intelligence. He is also the editor of Mere Creation: Science, Faith and Intelligent Design, available from Logos.

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Dictionary of Biblical Imagery

• Editors: Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, and Tremper Longman III
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 1998
• Pages: 1,079

Every reader of the Bible has encountered the powerful, comforting, and sometimes puzzling imagery of Scripture. These concrete pictures with their hidden force have struck sharp and lasting impressions on our minds. Their imprint has etched itself on the language and grammar of Christian faith and Western culture.

Dictionary of Biblical Imagery is the first contemporary reference work dedicated to exploring the images, symbols, motifs, metaphors, and literary patterns found in the Bible. More than that, it examines the Bible’s universal archetypes or master images—including the plot motifs and character types that recur throughout life, literature, and the Bible.

This unique dictionary explores the dazzling variety in which the Word of God comes dressed in clothes of everyday life. It traces the trail of images from Eden to the New Jerusalem, captures the plotted patterns of biblical narrative, and surveys the imaged texture of each book of the Bible. In short, Dictionary of Biblical Imagery is an inviting, enlightening, and indispensable companion to the reading, study, contemplation, and enjoyment of the Bible.

Leland Ryken is a Clyde S. Kilby Professor of English at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He received a PhD from the University of Oregon.

James C. Wilhoite is a professor of Christian education at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois.

Tremper Longman III is a Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, visiting professor of Old Testament at Mars Hill Graduate School, visiting professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary, and an adjunct of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary. He earned his PhD from Yale University.

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Dictionary of Christianity in America

• Editor: Daniel G. Reid
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press
• Publication Date: 1990
• Pages: 1,305

There is nothing like the Dictionary of Christianity in America. Even most libraries can’t offer you all the facts, perspectives and information you’ll find in this single volume. The work of over 400 scholars and experts in American religion, the Dictionary of Christianity in America offers 2,400 authoritative articles on nearly every aspect of this fascinating epoch in modern Christian history. The riches of North America’s religious heritage are great. This book takes the wraps off the significant role Christianity has played in our history, our culture and our life today. Readers can also examine their own religious roots, discovering the saints and the sinners, the thinkers and the shapers who helped mold a continent. Written with a broad readership in mind, the Dictionary of Christianity in America attempts to convey in an objective manner the history, beliefs and practices of the major—as well as the minor—Christian traditions in North America.

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Dictionary of Major Biblical Interpreters

• Author: Donald K. McKim
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press,
• Publication Date: 2007
• Pages: 1,134

From Abelard to Zwingli, the history of Christian biblical interpretation has been shaped by great thinkers who delved deeply into the structure and meaning of Christianity’s sacred texts. With over two hundred in-depth articles, the Dictionary of Major Biblical Interpreters introduces readers to the principal players in that history: their historical and intellectual contexts, their primary works, their interpretive principles and their broader historical significance. In addition, six major essays offer an overview of the history of biblical interpretation from the second century to the present.

This one-volume reference by Donald K. McKim, a significantly revised and vastly expanded edition of IVP Academic’s Historical Handbook of Major Biblical Interpreters, will serve as an invaluable tool for any serious student of the Bible and the history of biblical interpretation.

Donald K. McKim is executive editor for theology and reference at Westminster John Knox Press.

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Discovering Biblical Equality

• Editors: Ronald W. Pierce, Rebecca Merrill Groothuis and Gordon D. Fee
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press
• Publication Date: 2005
• Pages: 528

Discovering Biblical Equality presents a Scripturally-founded case for the complementarity of the sexes outside hierarchal gender roles. These 29 essays represent both a positive explanation and thoughtful defense of Biblical gender equality, fostering dialogue within the greater evangelical movement on a topic that touches the lives of all believers.

Discussions surrounding the roles of men and women – whether in the church, the home or society at large – never seem to end, often generating more heat than light. Such debate is still important, though, because this issue directly affects every member of Christ’s body. What we believe the Bible teaches on these matters shapes nearly all we do in the church. In addition, these questions deserve further thought and reflection because neither side has won the day.

In an effort to further discussion, Ronald W. Pierce and Rebecca Merrill Groothuis (general editors), with the aid of Gordon D. Fee (contributing editor), have assembled a distinguished array of twenty-six evangelical scholars firmly committed to the authority of Scripture to explore the whole range of issues – historical, biblical, theological, hermeneutical and practical. While dispelling many of the myths surrounding biblical equality, they offer a sound, reasoned case that affirms the complementarity of the sexes without requiring a hierarchy of roles.

Ronald W. Pierce (Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary) is professor of biblical studies and theology in the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University (La Mirada, California), and author of Old Testament Interactive, a computer learning program for Old Testament survey classes.

Rebecca Merrill Groothuis is a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of Women Caught in the Conflict: The Culture War Between Traditionalism and Feminism and Good News for Women: A Biblical Picture of Gender Equality.

Gordon D. Fee (Ph.D., University of Southern California) is professor emeritus of New Testament studies at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has written several books and commentaries, including Listening to the Spirit in the Text, God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul, New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors and commentaries on 1 Corinthians and Philippians (NICNT) and the Pastoral Epistles (NIBC).

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Do We Need the New Testament? Letting the Old Testament Speak for Itself

• Author: John E. Goldingay
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2015
• Pages: 184

Do we need the Old Testament? That’s a familiar question, often asked. But as an Old Testament scholar, John Goldingay turns that question on its head: Do we need the New Testament?

What’s new about the New Testament? After all, the Old Testament was the only Bible Jesus and the disciples knew. Jesus affirmed it as the Word of God. Do we need anything more? And what happens when we begin to look at the Old Testament, which is the First Testament, not as a deficient old work in need of a christological makeover, but as a rich and splendid revelation of God’s faithfulness to Israel and the world?

In this cheerfully provocative yet probingly serious book, John Goldingay sets the question and views it from a variety of angles. Under his expert hand, each facet unfolds the surprising richness of the Old Testament and challenges us to recalibrate our perspective on it.

John E. Goldingay (PhD, University of Nottingham; DD, Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth) is David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary. He was previously principal and a professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at St John’s Theological College in Nottingham, England. His books include An Introduction to the Old Testament, The Theology of the Book of Isaiah, Key Questions about Interpretation, and commentaries on Psalms, Isaiah, and Daniel. He has also authored the three-volume Old Testament Theology and the seventeen-volume Old Testament for Everyone series.

Goldingay also serves as priest-in-charge at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, Pasadena. He holds membership in the Society of Biblical Literature and the Society for Old Testament Study, and served on the Task Force on Biblical Interpretation in the Anglican Communion and the editorial board for the Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies.

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Drawing Close to God

• Author: Stephen D. Eyre
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press
• Publication Date: 1997
• Pages: 120

Quiet time is the spiritual discipline that allows us to experience God’s presence. It is an opportunity to meet with God—to pray, worship, think and study the Bible. In Drawing Close to God, Stephen Eyre shows you how to develop a regular and fruitful quiet time. He describes the dynamics of quiet time, shows how quiet time can influence the rest of the day, and includes quiet time exercises that help you put what you’ve read to good and immediate use.

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Exile: A Conversation with N.T. Wright

• Editor: James M. Scott
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Publication Date: 2017
• Pages: 336

Few New Testament scholars of recent decades have set the pitch for academic discussion and debate in their field like N.T. Wright. His signature contention, that Israel’s continuing exile was a pivotal issue in the emergence of Christianity, has found a central place in contemporary New Testament scholarship.

Israel had grievously sinned against Yahweh and suffered the judgment of exile from its land. But even though Israel had returned, the majority of Jews of the second temple era regarded themselves in paradoxical exile under Roman rule and still awaiting their full restoration. It was this crisis of exile that reached its climax and resolution in the person and work of Jesus Christ. This, according to N.T. Wright, is the controlling narrative that shaped the thinking of Jesus and Paul.

While many find this a compelling key to understanding the New Testament, critical responses also abound. This book engages a variety of scholars in conversation with Wright’s thesis. The scene is set in an introduction by James M. Scott, who has made significant contributions to the debate. Then, in a programmatic essay, Wright clearly restates his thesis. Next come eleven essays from scholars such as Walter Brueggemann, Philip Alexander, Jörn Kiefer, Dorothy Peters, and Scot McKnight. They interact with Wright’s thesis from various perspectives: Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, early Judaism, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the New Testament. Hans Boersma and Ephraim Radner then engage Wright’s thesis from theological perspectives. Finally, Wright offers a lively response to his interlocutors.

Exile: A Conversation with N.T. Wright takes our understanding of this critical issue to a new level. It is essential reading for anyone engaged with Wright’s work and the Jewish setting of Jesus and Paul.

James M. Scott (DTheol, University of Tübingen) is professor of religious studies at Trinity Western University, British Columbia, Canada. He is the author of Paul and the Nations and Adoption as Sons of God, and is a recognized expert on the topic of exile and restoration in Jewish and Christian perspectives.

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Foundations of the Christian Faith

• Author: James Montgomery Boice
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press
• Publication Date: 1986
• Pages: 740

In one systematic volume, James Boice provides a readable overview of Christian theology. Whether teacher or student, pastor or layperson, Foundations of the Christian Faith will provide a rich source of Scriptural knowledge, covering all the major doctrines of Christianity. Boice maintains a remarkable practicality and thoroughness that have made this a standard reference and text for over two decades.

With scholarly rigor and a pastor’s heart, Boice carefully opens the topics of the nature of God, the character of his natural and special revelation, the fall, and the person and the work of Christ. He then goes on to consider the work of the Holy Spirit in justification and sanctification. The book closes with careful discussion of ecclesiology and eschatology.

It is imperative for modern Christians to develop a greater understanding of the Bible and God. As Boice states in the first chapter, “We do not have a strong church today, nor do we have many strong Christians. We can trace it to an acute lack of sound spiritual knowledge. Why is the Church weak? Why are individual Christians weak? It is because they have allowed their minds to be conformed to the ‘spirit of this age,’ with its mechanistic, godless thinking… A weak God produces no strong men, nor does he deserve to be worshiped. A strong God, the God of the Bible, is a source of strength to those who know Him… So let us learn about God and come to know God in the fullest, biblical sense… This is true wisdom for everyone. It is the special duty and privilege of the Christian.”

James Boice (1938-2000) was the pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, the teacher on “The Bible Study Hour” radio program and chairman of the board of City Center Academy. He held a B.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Theology from the University of Basel in Switzerland. In addition to authoring numerous journal articles, he was a consulting editor for the Expositor’s Bible Commentary. His books and commentaries include Foundations of God’s City and the five-volume work The Gospel of John.

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Getting Together: A Guide for Good Groups

• Author: Emory A. Griffin
• Publisher: InterVarsity
• Publication Date: 1982
• Pages: 252

Em Griffin describes three kinds of groups (task groups, relationship groups, and influence groups) and explores their dynamics.

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Good Things Come in Small Groups: The Dynamics of Good Group Life

• Author: Steve Barker
• Publisher: InterVarsity
• Publication Date: 1997
• Pages: 184

Ron Nicholas and others discuss how to begin and improve small groups in the church, stressing the need for a balance of nurture, worship, community, and mission.

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Handbook of Christian Apologetics

• Authors: Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 1994
• Pages: 416

Sensible and concise, witty and wise, Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli have written the guidebook on apologetics. Their mini-encyclopedia will be a welcome resource for students of apologetics, pastors, small groups, and church members interested in evangelism, student ministry workers, and those exploring for themselves the validity of the Christian faith.

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Hard Sayings of the Bible

• Authors: Walter C. Kaiser, Peter H. Davids, F.F. Bruce, and Manfred Brauch
• Series: The Hard Sayings Series
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 1996
• Pages: 811

Hard Sayings of the Bible offers explanations of over 500 of the most troubling verses to test the minds and hearts of Bible readers. Four seasoned scholars, all with a notable gift for communicating with people in the pew, take you behind the scenes to find succinct solutions to a wide variety of Bible difficulties, ranging from discrepancies about numbers to questions about God’s justice. Historical, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds shed light on these passages and not only help explain what they meant in biblical times but also show how they are relevant today.

Now carefully cross-referenced with over 100 new verses explained, as well as a dozen new introductory articles on chronology, miracles, archaeology, prophecy, and more, Hard Sayings of the Bible offers the combined resources of five previous volumes.

If you find yourself tied up in scriptural knots, this book will help you cut through them.

Walter C. Kaiser is Colman M. Mockler Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Old Testament and president emeritus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts.

F.F. Bruce (1910–1990) was Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester in England.

Manfred Brauch (PhD, McMaster University) is a retired professor of biblical theology and past president of Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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The Hermeneutical Spiral

• Author: Grant R. Osborne
• Edition: Revised and Expanded
• Publisher: InterVarsity
• Publication Date: 2006
• Pages: 624

In this newly revised and expanded edition of the 1993 Christianity Today Critics’ Choice Award winner in theology and biblical studies, Grant Osborne provides seminary students and working pastors with the full set of tools they need to move from sound exegesis to the development of biblical and systematic theologies and to the preparation of sound, biblical sermons.

Osborne contends that hermeneutics is a spiral from text to context—a movement between the horizon of the text and the horizon of the reader that spirals nearer and nearer toward the intended meaning of the text and its significance for today.

He develops his thesis in each of three sections: the first covering general hermeneutics (grammar, semantics, syntax, backgrounds), the second covering hermeneutics and genre, and the third covering applied hermeneutics. Along the way, he offers assessments of recent developments from redaction criticism to reader response criticism. In two appendixes he also addresses the contemporary philosophical challenges to fixed meanings in texts and discusses the implications of this debate for biblical authority.

Well-established as the standard evangelical work in the field since its first publication in 1991, this updated edition of The Hermeneutical Spiral meets the needs of a new generation of students and pastors. General revisions have been made throughout, new chapters have been added on Old Testament law and the use of the Old Testament in the New, and the bibliography has been thoroughly updated.

Grant R. Osborne (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen) is professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and series editor for the IVP New Testament Commentary Series.

He has written The Resurrection Narratives and Three Crucial Questions about the Bible. He has also authored commentaries on Revelation, Romans, and John. He coauthored Handbook for Bible Study and The Bible in the Churches. Osborne is editor of the IVP New Testament Commentary series and the Life Application Bible Commentary. Dr. Osborne was also one of six editors in charge of the New Living Bible.

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Honor, Patronage, Kinship and Purity

• Author: David deSilva
• Publisher: InterVarsity
• Publication Date: 2000
• Pages: 336

Contemporary Western readers may find it surprising that honor and shame, patronage and reciprocity, kinship and family, and purity and pollution offer us keys to interpreting the New Testament. In Honor, Patronage, Kinship and Purity, David deSilva demonstrates that paying attention to these cultural themes opens our eyes and ears to new discoveries and deeper understanding of the New Testament and its cultural context.

Through understanding of honor and shame in the Mediterranean world, new appreciation of the way in which the personhood of early Christians connected with group values can be gained. By examining the protocols of patronage and reciprocity, the meaning of God’s grace can be more firmly grasped, and the believer’s response has fresh meaning. In exploring the ethos of kinship and household relations, the perspective on the early Christian communities that met in houses and functioned as a new family or “household” of God can be enlarged. And by investigating the notions of purity and pollution along with their associated practices, the Christian can come to realize how the ancient “map” of society and the world was revised by the power of the gospel.

DeSilva’s rewarding work offers a deeper appreciation of the New Testament, the gospel and Christian discipleship. Moreover, it can inform the contemporary believer’s participation in today’s Christian community.

David A. deSilva is Trustees’ Professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio. He is the author of numerous books including 4 Maccabees (Septuagint Commentary Series); An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation; Introducing the Apocrypha: Context, Message and Significance; Perseverance in Gratitude: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews; and The Hope of Glory: Honor Discourse and New Testament Interpretation. He holds ordination in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church.

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How I Changed My Mind About Evolution: Evangelicals Reflect on Faith and Science

• Editors: Kathryn Applegate and J.B. Stump
• Series: BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Publication Date: 2016
• Pages: 196

Perhaps no topic appears as potentially threatening to evangelicals as evolution. The very idea seems to exclude God from the creation the book of Genesis celebrates.

Yet many evangelicals have come to accept the conclusions of science while still holding to a vigorous belief in God and the Bible. How did they make this journey? How did they come to embrace both evolution and faith?

Here are stories from a community of people who love Jesus and honor the authority of the Bible, but who also agree with what science says about the cosmos, our planet and the life that so abundantly fills it.

Kathryn Applegate (PhD, The Scripps Research Institute) is program director at BioLogos, where she designs and coordinates programs aimed at translating scholarship on origins for the evangelical church. She earned bachelors degrees in biophysics and mathematics at Centenary College of Louisiana and a PhD in computational cell biology from The Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla). At Scripps she developed computer vision algorithms and mathematical models of the cell’s internal scaffold, the cytoskeleton. Kathryn enjoys an active involvement in both the science and faith community and in her church.

J.B. Stump (PhD, Boston University) is senior editor at BioLogos, where he oversees the development of new content and curates existing content for the BioLogos website and print materials. He has also been a philosophy professor and academic administrator, and he frequently speaks to churches and other groups on the intersection of science and Christianity. He is the author of Science and Christianity: An Introduction to the Issues, coauthor of Christian Thought: A Historical Introduction and coeditor of How I Changed My Mind About Evolution and The Blackwell Companion to Science and Christianity.

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How to Read Job

• Authors: John H. Walton and Tremper Longman
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2015
• Pages: 208

We often turn to the book of Job when we encounter suffering. We look for an explanation for the questions “Why me?” or “Why her?” But what if it turns out that although Job does suffer, the book is not really about his suffering?

If ever a book needed a “How to Read” instruction manual, it is the book of Job. And when two respected Old Testament scholars team up—both of whom have written commentaries on Job—we have a matchless guide to reading and appreciating the book. From their analysis of its place in the wisdom literature of the Bible and the ancient Near East to their discussions of its literary features and relationship to history, Walton and Longman give us the best of their expertise. They explore the theology of Job, placing it within Israelite religion and Old Testament theology. And they coach us in how to read Job as Christians. When it turns out the book is not what we thought it was, our reading is richly layered and more satisfying.

Whether you are preparing for preaching, teaching, leading a Bible study, studying for a class or for personal enrichment, How to Read Job is your starting point.

John H. Walton (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College and Graduate School. Previously he was professor of Old Testament at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for twenty years.

Some of Walton’s books include The Lost World of Adam and Eve, The Lost World of Scripture, The Lost World of Genesis One, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament, The Essential Bible Companion, The NIV Application Commentary: Genesis, and The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament (with Victor Matthews and Mark Chavalas).

Walton’s ministry experience includes church classes for all age groups, high school Bible studies, and adult Sunday school classes, as well as serving as a teacher for “The Bible in 90 Days.” John and his wife, Kim, live in Wheaton, Illinois, and have three adult children.

Tremper Longman III (PhD, Yale University) is Distinguished Scholar of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. He is also visiting professor of Old Testament at Seattle School of Theology and Psychology and adjunct of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary. He lectures regularly at Regent College in Vancouver and the Canadian Theological Seminary in Calgary.

Longman is the author or coauthor of over twenty books, including How to Read Genesis, How to Read the Psalms, How to Read Proverbs, Literary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation, Old Testament Essentials, and coeditor of A Complete Literary Guide to the Bible. He and Dan Allender have coauthored Bold Love, Cry of the Soul, Intimate Allies, The Intimate Mystery, and the Intimate Marriage Bible studies.

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In Search of Ancient Roots: The Christian Past and the Evangelical Identity Crisis

• Author: Kenneth J. Stewart
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2017
• Pages: 304

Today it is increasingly difficult for Protestants to identify what counts as distinctively Protestant, much less what counts as evangelical. As evangelicals increasingly lose contact with the churches and traditions descending from the Reformation, and as relations with Roman Catholicism continue to thaw, it becomes harder to explain why one should remain committed to the Reformation in the face of perceived deficits and theological challenges with the Protestant tradition.

A common complaint about Protestant evangelicalism is its apparent disconnect from ancient Christianity. The antiquity and catholicity of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy seem to outshine the relative novelty of the Reformation. Some evangelical churches appear to be uninterested in the ancient historical roots of their faith as well as being liturgically and doctrinally unstable. Many within evangelicalism seem to have accepted at face value the suggestion that the evangelical faith is no more than a threadbare descendant of ancient Christianity. The result is that a number of younger Protestants in recent years have abandoned evangelicalism, turning instead to practices and traditions that appear more rooted in the early church.

In Search of Ancient Roots examines this phenomenon and places it within a wider historical context. Ken Stewart argues that the evangelical tradition in fact has a much healthier track record of interacting with Christian antiquity than it is usually given credit for. He surveys five centuries of Protestant engagement with the ancient church, showing that Christians belonging to the evangelical churches of the Reformation have consistently seen their faith as connected to early Christianity. Stewart explores areas of positive engagement, such as the Lord’s Supper and biblical interpretation, as well as areas that raise concerns, such as monasticism.

Kenneth J. Stewart (PhD, University of Edinburgh) is professor of theological studies at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. His books include Ten Myths About Calvinism, Restoring the Reformation, and The Emergence of Evangelicalism.

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In the Shadow of the Temple

• Author: Oskar Skarsaune
• Publisher: InterVarsity
• Publication Date: 2002
• Pages: 455

In the Shadow of the Temple offers a new perspective on the development of the early church in its practice (e.g., worship, baptism, and Eucharist) and doctrine (e.g., Scripture, Christology, and pneumatology). Oskar Skarsaune begins by tracing the story of second temple Judaism from the crisis of the Jewish encounter with Hellenism in the second century B.C. through the diverse Judaisms of the first century A.D. Then, from the time of Jesus and the origins of the church up to the Constantinian revolution of the early fourth century A.D, Skarsaune offers us fascinating snapshots and analyses of the interactions, the arguments, and the shaping influences of Judaism on the life, creed, and practices of the church.

The widespread perception of a decisive “parting of the ways” between Christianity and Judaism after the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. has distorted our understanding of the following decades and centuries of Jewish and Christian history. We are left with the impression that hostile polemic or mutual avoidance between Christians and Jews was the order of the day.

To be sure, there were points of bitterness and strife between these two groups, but the story of their relationship is better told as the relationship between younger and older siblings. In and between the lines of our historical data, there is abundant evidence of interaction between the early church and the ancient synagogue. This took place at the levels of both leadership and laypeople, and it left its imprint on the emerging shape of the church. But this story has not yet fully been told.

In the Shadow of the Temple will both fascinate and inform its readers. Skarsaune embraces a historical period that transcends the ordinary division of labor between scholars of Christian origins and early church history. And he offers insights into history that challenge the prevailing notions of the way it was – and the way it must be – between Christians and Jews.

Oskar Skarsaune Oskar Skarsaune is professor of church history at Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology in Oslo, Norway. He is the author of Incarnation: Myth or Fact and The Proof from Prophecy: A Study in Justin Martyr’s Proof-Text Tradition.

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Is the New Testament Reliable?

• Author: Paul Barnett
• Edition: 2nd
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2004
• Pages: 197

The historical claims of the New Testament—that Jesus performed miracles, fulfilled prophecy, died and rose again, and ascended into heaven—come to us as received tradition, and we receive them in faith, trusting that the New Testament is indeed an inspired collection of writings, that it indeed tells us the truth. Increasingly, the reliability of not just the New Testament but really any document of history is called into question. If everyone writes from a point of view and with an agenda, can we reasonably expect any historical account to be objective—to tell us the truth?

In this newly revised edition of Is the New Testament Reliable? Paul Barnett defends the task of the historian and the concept of history. He then addresses questions about the New Testament of importance to people of faith and skeptics alike:

• How close in time are the New Testament documents to the life of Jesus?
• Why should we believe the writings of ‘biased’ early Christians?
• Were any of the writers of the New Testament books eyewitnesses to the events it records?
• How can we know that what was originally written has not been altered through the centuries?

It is no small thing to trust ancient claims, but Barnett shows that we can take confidence in the New Testament, for it tells us the truth.

Paul Barnett (PhD, London University), was, until his retirement, Anglican bishop of North Sydney, Australia. He remains a visiting fellow in ancient history at Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia) and research professor at Regent College (Vancouver, British Columbia). He has written several books.

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IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament

• Author: Craig S. Keener
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 1993
• Pages: 842

To understand and apply the Bible well, you need two crucial sources of information. One is the Bible itself. The other is an understanding of the cultural background of the passage you’re reading.

Only with the background can you grasp the author’s original concerns and purposes. This unique commentary provides, in verse-by-verse format, the crucial cultural background you need for responsible—and richer—Bible study.

Based on ten years of in-depth study, this accessible and bestselling commentary is valuable for pastors in sermon preparation, for Sunday-school and other church teachers as they build lessons, for missionaries concerned not to import their own cultural biases into the Bible, for college and seminary students in classroom assignments, and for everyday Bible readers seeking to deepen and enhance their study of Scripture.

Craig S. Keener received his PhD from Duke University and is professor of New Testament at Palmer Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.

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IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament

• Editors: John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews, and Mark W. Chavalas
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2000
• Pages: 832

The narratives, genealogies, laws, poetry, proverbs, and prophecies of the Old Testament are deeply rooted in history. Archaeologists, historians, and social scientists have greatly advanced our knowledge of the ancient world of the Bible. When we illuminate the stories of Abraham or David, the imagery of the Psalms or Proverbs, or the prophecies of Isaiah or Jeremiah with this backlight of culture and history, these texts spring to new life.

The unique commentary joins The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament in providing historical, social and cultural background for each passage of the Old Testament. From Genesis through Malachi, this single volume gathers and condenses an abundance of specialized knowledge—making it available and accessible to ordinary readers of the Old Testament.

The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament will enrich your experience of the Old Testament—and your teaching and preaching from Scripture—in a way that no other commentary can do.

John H. Walton received his PhD from Hebrew Union College and is Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College. Previously he was Professor of Old Testament at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois.

Victor H. Matthews is Dean of the College of Humanities and Public Affairs and Professor of Religious Studies at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.

Mark W. Chavalasis Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse.

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The Jesus Prayer: A Cry for Mercy, a Path of Renewal

• Author: John Michael Talbot
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2013
• Pages: 156

In The Jesus Prayer: A Cry for Mercy, a Path of Renewal, John Michael Talbot examines an ancient prayer for every day: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Talbot explores the roots of the prayer in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, along with the theological and practical meaning of each word of the prayer in the lives of believers today. Talbot opens this devotional study by discussing his spiritual journey, noting that he has spent much fruitful time exploring the mystical tradition, and comments how “in the monastic and Franciscan Catholic and Orthodox streams I discovered the contemplative and mystical traditions of which the Jesus Prayer is a vital expression. This enlivened my faith in a way I had hungered for but had not found very often in my experience. After that, new richness and vast horizons began to open up.”

Talbot has been teaching the Jesus Prayer for a decade in retreats at the Little Portion Retreat Center and at three-day parish missions across the country, and now shares this teaching with readers. He notes that in his experience, “Roman Catholics and Protestants appreciate the practices from the Christian East that balance our largely Western approach to faith.” Talbot structures this text around each word of the prayer, in the hope that “reflecting on the words will bring us into a full understanding of the words of the Jesus Prayer . . . [and] after that we will pray the words with greater intuitive grasp.” Join Talbot on his exploration of this powerful prayer, as he walks through each word of the prayer, pausing to offer analysis, as “when we pray the Prayer we use the faculty of intuition to grasp its realities. But we cannot intuit them if we do not have at least a basic understanding of what the words actually mean.” Ideally suited to personal devotional reading, each chapter concludes with a brief practice using the prayer. The Jesus Prayer offers a fresh look at a rich tradition, full of insights for deepening your faith.

Studying The Jesus Prayer with Logos streamlines and enhances your experience. Scripture citations link directly to English translations, and important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Bolster your study of this work by cross-referencing and comparing with an extensive library of Orthodox and Catholic scholarship. Take your study with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.

John Michael Talbot is an award-winning musician, writer, motivational speaker and itinerant minister to churches and parishes around the world. Talbot was a founding artist on the Sparrow record label. A member of the Jesus Movement in the early 1970s, Talbot converted to Roman Catholicism in 1978 after immersing himself in the life and teaching of St. Francis of Assisi. He would go on to found an “integrated monastic community” at his Little Portion Hermitage in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and the Brothers and Sisters of Charity continue to this day with Talbot as minister general. Talbot is also the author of numerous books bringing the Christian monastic tradition to contemporary life, including Blessings of St. Benedict.

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Jesus’ Resurrection: Fact or Figment?

• Editors: Paul Copan and Ronald K. Tacelli
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2000
• Pages: 206

Jesus’ Resurrection: Fact or Figment? is a lively and provocative debate between Christian philosopher and apologist William Lane Craig and New Testament scholar and atheist Gerd Lüdemann. The volume presents each thinker’s case, their rebuttals, and responses from four additional scholars – two each on either side of the debate. Jesus’ Resurrection: Fact or Figment? serves as both an introduction to the importance of the debate to Christian faith and as a resource for those seeking a deeper understanding of how Christ’s resurrection is viewed from both sides of the debate.

This text version of a debate originally set at Boston College is edited by Paul Copan and Ronald K. Tacelli, who invite the responses of four additional scholars. Robert Gundry, a New Testament scholar, and Stephen Davis, a philosopher, argue in support of a historical and actual resurrection. Michael Goulder and Roy Hoover, both New Testament scholars, offer their support for Gerd Lüdemann’s view that the “resurrection” was based on the guilt-induced visionary experience of the disciples. The book concludes with a final response from Lüdemann and Craig.

Was the resurrection of Jesus a fact of history or a figment of imagination? Was it an event that entailed a raised and transformed body and an empty tomb? Or was it a subjective, visionary experience – a collective delusion? In the view of many, the truth of Christianity hangs on the answer to this question. Jesus’ Resurrection: Fact or Figment? helps readers understand and weigh the arguments for themselves.

Paul Copan is the Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics at Palm Beach Atlantic University. He has written several books, including Creation Out of Nothing: A Biblical, Philosophical and Scientific Exploration, and he has edited several others, including The Rationality of Theism and Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?. Formerly he served with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and taught at Trinity International University (Deerfield, Illinois).

Ronald K. Tacelli, S.J., is associate professor of philosophy at Boston College and has published articles in the Public Affairs Quarterly and Dowside Review.

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Jesus, the Temple and the Coming Son of Man: A Commentary on Mark 13

• Author: Robert H. Stein
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Publication Date: 2014
• Pages: 160

The Gospels contain many hard sayings of Jesus, but perhaps none have puzzled and intrigued readers as much as Jesus’ discourse on the coming of the Son of Man in Mark 13. Is Jesus speaking entirely of an event in the near future, a coming destruction of the temple? Or is he referring to a distant, end of the-world event? Or might he even be speaking of both near and distant events? But in that case, which words apply to which event, and how can we be sure?

Seasoned Gospels scholar Robert Stein follows up his major commentary on Mark with this even closer reading of Mark 13. In this macro-lens commentary he walks us step by step through the text and its questions, leading us to a compelling interpretive solution.

Robert H. Stein was most recently senior professor of New Testament interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He previously taught at Bethel Seminary. A world-renowned scholar of the Synoptic Gospels, Stein has published several books, including A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible, Studying the Synoptic Gospels, and Jesus the Messiah.

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John Calvin: A Pilgrim’s Life

• Author: Herman J. Selderhuis
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2009
• Pages: 304

There are many biographies of John Calvin, the theologian—some vilifying him and others extolling his virtues—but few that reveal John Calvin, the man.

Professor and renowned Reformation historian Herman Selderhuis has written John Calvin: A Pilgrim’s Life to bring Calvin near to the reader, showing him as a man who had an impressive impact on the development of the Western world, but who was first of all a believer struggling with God and with the way God governed both the world and his own life.

Selderhuis draws on Calvin’s own commentary on the biblical figures with whom he strongly identified to describe his theology in the context of his personal development. Throughout, we see a person who found himself alone at many of the decisive moments of his life—a fact that echoed through Calvin’s subsequent sermons and commentaries. Selderhuis’s unique and compelling look at John Calvin, with all of his merits and foibles, ultimately discloses a man who could not find himself at home in the world in which he lived.

Herman J. Selderhuis is professor for church history and church polity at the Theological University Apeldoorn (Netherlands) and director of the university’s Institute for Reformation Research. He is a leading Reformation historian and author of several books, including Calvin’s Theology of the Psalms.

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Leading Bible Discussions

• Authors: James F. Nyquist and Jack Kuhatschek
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 1985, 1997
• Pages: 59

Anyone can be the match that ignites a Bible discussion. All it takes is a few basic skills. This book will help you learn:

• how to start a group
• how to decide what to study
• how to prepare to lead
• how to study the Bible
• how to use a study guide
• how to write your own questions
• how to lead the discussion
• how to evaluate the study

Over 100,000 copies of this basic handbook (now revised and expanded) have helped people like you with the basics of better Bible discussions.

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Luke: The Gospel of Amazement

• Author: Michael Card
• Series: Biblical Imagination Series
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press
• Publication Date: 2011
• Pages: 272

From open to close, the Gospel of Luke is filled with amazement. “[Jesus’] father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him”(Luke 2:33). “Everyone was amazed at all the things he was doing”(Luke 9:43). “[Peter] went home, amazed at what had happened”(Luke 24:12).

Throughout the life and ministry of Jesus, those who met him were astonished by their encounter, from the shepherds at the Nativity to the disciples at the empty tomb. With careful attention to detail, musician and writer Michael Card embarks on an imaginative journey through this element of marvel in Luke: The Gospel of Amazement. He paints a portrait of Luke as he imagines this Gospel writer’s life as a gentile, a doctor, and a slave. What might Luke have experienced as he interviewed eyewitnesses of Jesus’ miracles? What leads Luke to focus on the marginalized and the unlikely in his accounts? And why does Luke include certain details that the other Gospel writers omit?

Join Michael Card as he explores these questions with creativity and warmth throughout Luke: The Gospel of Amazement, and watch as this Gospel opens in new color before your eyes. In the Logos Bible Software edition, you can expand your study of this book even further with just a few clicks. Quickly perform powerful topical and word based searches across this text and your entire library. Compare Scripture passages in different translations—finding, for example, “Luke 2” in the English Standard Version or the King James Version. The amazing functionality of Logos Bible Software will allow you to delve deeper into the breadth of this beautifully detailed Gospel, guided by Michael Card’s keen insight.

Michael Card is an award-winning musician, performing artist, and songwriter. His many songs include “El Shaddai” and “Immanuel.” He has also written numerous books, including A Violent Grace, The Parable of Joy, and A Fragile Stone. Card is a graduate of Western Kentucky University with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in biblical studies. He lives in Tennessee with his wife and four children.

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The Making of the New Testament

• Author: Arthur G. Patzia
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 1995
• Pages: 205

In The Making of the New Testament, Arthur Patzia retells the New Testament’s story. His textbook study of the origin, collection, copying and canonizing of the New Testament documents answers a myriad of questions – cultural, historical, geographical, linguistic and spiritual.

What motivated the early Christians to commit teaching and events and visions to papyrus? How were the stories and sayings of Jesus circulated, handed down and shaped into Gospels? Why were four Gospels included instead of one? What is known about ancient letter writing, secretaries and “copy shops”? Would a first-century librarian have known how to classify a Gospel, an Acts or an Apocalypse? How were Paul’s letters, sent here and there, gathered into a single collection? Are there other documents that almost made it into the New Testament but didn’t?

The Making of the New Testament compiles a vast array of scholarly research into a single comprehensible volume. The author’s introduction to the literary world of the New Testament is followed by sections on the Gospels, the Pauline literature, and other New Testament material. Attention is then turned to specific textual issues. All throughout, Patzia presents a historically informed overview of the past 100 years of critical methods in biblical scholarship.

The narratives and letters of our New Testament were shaped by worn pens gripped by calloused, ink-stained fingers. Their authors’ ears were more likely assaulted by the urban clatter of busy intersections and bustling markets than attuned to a still small voice. Scrolls that bumped across cobbled Roman roads and pitched through rolling Mediterranean seas found their destination in stuffy, dimly lit, crowded Christian house churches in Corinth or Cenchreae. There they were read aloud and reread, handled and copied, forwarded and collected, studied and treasured. Their ordinary story is true to their extraordinary message: the mystery of the Word that became flesh. The Making of the New Testament brings the remarkable story of the New Testament to light.

Arthur G. Patzia (Ph.D., McMaster University) is professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary of Northern California. He is also the author of Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon in the New International Bible Commentary series.

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Men and Women in the Church

• Author: Sarah Sumner
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 332

Avoiding the pitfalls of both radical feminism and reactionary conservatism, Sarah Sumner traces a new path through the issues – biblical, theological, psychological and practical – that arise between complementarians and egalitarians on the topic of women and the Church. Arguing that men and women are both equal and distinct, Sumner encourages us to find ways to honor and benefit from the leadership gifts of both. Men and Women in the Church is a book for all who want a fresh and hope-filled look at a persistent problem.

Evangelicals stand divided in their view of women in the church. On one side stand complementarians, arguing the full worth of women but assigning them to differing roles. On the other side stand egalitarians, arguing that the full worth of women demands their equal treatment and access to leadership roles. Is there a way to mend the breach and build consensus? This easily accessible volume looks beneath the surface at how complementarians and egalitarians talk past one another, and offers a hope for the parties on either side of the divide.

Sarah Sumner (Ph.D. Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is Special Assistant to the Dean/Strategic Development and Professor of Theology and Ministry at the Haggard School of Theology, Azusa Pacific University (Azusa, California).

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Mere Creation: Science, Faith and Intelligent Design

• Author: William Dembski
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press
• Publication Date: 1998
• Pages: 475

In this book Behe is joined by eighteen other expert academics trained in mathematics, mechanical engineering, philosophy, physical anthropology, physics, astrophysics, biology, ecology and evolutionary biology to investigate the prospects for this emerging school of thought. Challenging the reigning ideology of materialistic naturalism on both scientific and philosophical grounds, these scholars press the case for a radical rethinking of established evolutionary assumptions.

William Dembski is Research Professor of Philosophy at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He has previously taught at Northwestern University, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Dallas. He has done postdoctoral work in mathematics at MIT, in physics at the University of Chicago, and in computer science at Princeton University, and he has been a National Science Foundation doctoral and postdoctoral fellow. Dembski has written numerous scholarly articles and is the author of the critically acclaimed The Design Inference, Intelligent Design, and No Free Lunch: Why Specified Complexity Cannot Be Purchased without Intelligence.

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Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible

• Authors: E. Randolph Richards and Brandon O’Brien
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press
• Publication Date: 2012
• Pages: 240

What was clear to the original readers of Scripture is not always clear to us as modern readers. Because of the cultural distance between the biblical world and our contemporary setting, we often bring modern Western biases to the text that influence how we read Scripture. Sometimes these influences lead to utterly misreading Scripture. In this highly readable book, the insights of biblical scholars Brandon O’Brien and E. Randolph Richards shed light on the ways Western readers often misunderstand the cultural dynamics of the Bible. They identify nine key areas where modern Westerners have significantly different assumptions about what is going on in a text than what the context actually suggests. Drawing on their own cross-cultural experience in global missions, the authors show how greater understanding of cultural differences in language, time, and social mores allow us to see the Bible in fresh and unexpected ways—helping us to avoid misreading Scripture.

Throughout this text, Richards and O’Brien point out numerous examples of misconceptions as they bring awareness to the distorting factors we can bring to biblical texts, causing misreading based on cross-cultural assumptions.. For example: when we as Western readers hear Paul exhorting women to “dress modestly,” our first response is to think in terms of sexual modesty; but, most women in the culture Paul was addressing would never have been wearing racy clothing—rather, the authors argue, the context actually suggests Paul is more concerned about economic modesty (that Christian women not flaunt their wealth through expensive clothes, braided hair, and gold jewelry). Other examples include that readers might assume that Moses married “below himself” because his wife was a dark-skinned Cushite. However, as the authors point out, it was the Hebrews who were the slave race, not the Cushites who were highly respected. Aaron and Miriam probably thought Moses was being presumptuous by marrying “above himself.”

Getting beyond our own cultural assumptions is increasingly important for Christians in our interconnected and globalized world. Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes is a great place to begin learning to read Scripture as a member of the global body of Christ. And in the Logos Bible Software edition of this text, you have access to near-instant search results for words, people, places, and ideas as it will link with a wealth of other resources in your library. With the most efficient and comprehensive research tools all in one place, you can deepen your study with just a few clicks; and Logos tablet and mobile apps let you take your study wherever you go.

E. Randolph Richards is dean of the School of Ministry and professor of biblical studies at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Florida. He has frequently served as an interim pastor, and from 1988 to 1996 he was a missionary with the International Mission Board, SBC, stationed in East Indonesia. His scholarly articles have appeared in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Southwestern Journal of Theology, Bulletin for Biblical Research, and Biblical Illustrator. He is coauthor of Discovering Paul: An Introduction to His World, Letters, and Theology and The Story of Israel: A Biblical Theology. He is the author of Paul and First-Century Letter Writing and The Secretary in the Letters of Paul in the Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament series.

Brandon O’Brien received his PhD in historical theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and serves on the editorial board for Trinity Journal. He is the author of The Strategically Small Church, and has also written for Leadership, Christianity Today, and Relevant.

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Old Testament Theology for Christians: From Ancient Context to Enduring Belief

• Author: John H. Walton
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Publication Date: 2017
• Pages: 320

Modern readers of the Bible often find the Old Testament difficult and even disturbing. What are we to do with obscure prophecies of long expired nations? Why should we read and study ancient laws that even the New Testament says are eclipsed by Christ? How can we reconcile Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount with the Old Testament’s graphic narratives of sex and violence? What does the Old Testament offer that is not surpassed and even made irrelevant by the New Testament?

John Walton has spent a career engaging deeply with the Old Testament’s text and ancient context. He has studied, taught, and written about the issues. His signature approach can be introduced in one sentence: The Old Testament was written for us but not to us. We must not conform it to our own understanding. We will fully grasp the Old Testament and its theology only when we are immersed in the ancient cultural current of Israel within its broader cultural river of the ancient Near East.

In Old Testament Theology for Christians, John Walton invites us to leave our modern—and even inherited Christian—preconceptions at the threshold as we enter the world of the Old Testament. He challenges us to see it anew—as if for the first time—as guests in a strange and fascinating foreign land. Then we will rediscover its testimony to God’s great enterprise.

In this capstone to a career of studying and teaching the Old Testament, Walton unfolds a grand panorama of Yahweh and the gods, of cosmos and humanity, of covenant and kingdom, of temple and Torah, of sin and evil, and of salvation and afterlife. Viewed within its ancient Near Eastern cognitive environment, the text takes unexpected turns and blossoms into fresh and challenging insights. No matter how you are accustomed to viewing the first testament of the Bible, Old Testament Theology for Christians will challenge and sharpen your perceptions.

John H. Walton (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College and Graduate School. Previously he was professor of Old Testament at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for twenty years.

Some of Walton’s books include The Lost World of Adam and Eve, The Lost World of Scripture, The Lost World of Genesis One, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament, The Essential Bible Companion, The NIV Application Commentary: Genesis, and The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament (with Victor Matthews and Mark Chavalas).

Walton’s ministry experience includes church classes for all age groups, high school Bible studies, and adult Sunday school classes, as well as serving as a teacher for “The Bible in 90 Days.”

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Old-Earth or Evolutionary Creation?: Discussing Origins with Reasons to Believe and BioLogos

• Editors: Kenneth Keathley, J.B. Stump, and Joe Aguirre
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Publication Date: 2017
• Pages: 256

Christians confess that God created the heavens and the earth. But they are divided over how God created and whether the Bible gives us a scientifically accurate account of the process of creation.

Representatives of two prominent positions—old-earth creation (Reasons to Believe) and evolutionary creation (BioLogos)—have been in dialogue over the past decade to understand where they agree and disagree on key issues in science and theology. This book is the result of those meetings.

Moderated by Southern Baptist seminary professors, the discussion between Reasons to Believe and BioLogos touches on many of the pressing debates in science and faith, including biblical authority, the historicity of Adam and Eve, human genetics and common descent, the problem of natural evil, and methodological naturalism. While both organizations agree that God created the universe billions of years ago, their differences reveal that far more is at stake here than just the age of the earth.

Old-Earth or Evolutionary Creation? invites readers to listen in as Christian scholars weigh the evidence, explore the options, and challenge each other on the questions of creation and evolution. In a culture of increasing polarization, this is a model for charitable Christian dialogue.

Kenneth Keathley (PhD, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) serves as director of the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture and as a professor of theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He has published several books, including 40 Questions on Creation (with Mark Rooker) and Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach.

J.B. Stump (PhD, Boston University) is senior editor at BioLogos, where he oversees the development of new content and curates existing content for the BioLogos website and print materials. He has also been a philosophy professor and academic administrator, and he frequently speaks to churches and other groups on the intersection of science and Christianity. He is the author of Science and Christianity: An Introduction to the Issues, coauthor of Christian Thought: A Historical Introduction and coeditor of How I Changed My Mind About Evolution and The Blackwell Companion to Science and Christianity.

Joe Aguirre is editor in chief at Reasons to Believe, an organization in the Los Angeles area that spreads the gospel by demonstrating that sound reason and scientific research—including the very latest discoveries—consistently support, rather than erode, confidence in the truth of the Bible and faith in the personal, transcendent God revealed in both Scripture and nature.

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The Path of Christianity: The First Thousand Years

• Author: John Anthony McGuckin
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Publication Date: 2017
• Pages: 1,209

John Anthony McGuckin, one of the world’s leading scholars of ancient Christianity, has synthesized a lifetime of work to produce the most comprehensive and accessible history of the Christian movement during its first thousand years. The Path of Christianity takes readers on a journey from the period immediately after the composition of the Gospels, through the building of the earliest Christian structures in polity and doctrine, to the dawning of the medieval Christian establishment. McGuckin explores Eastern and Western developments simultaneously, covering grand intellectual movements and local affairs in both epic scope and fine detail.

The Path of Christianity is divided into two parts of twelve chapters each. Part one treats the first millennium of Christianity in linear sequence, from the second to the eleventh centuries. In addition to covering key theologians and conciliar decisions, McGuckin surveys topics like Christian persecution, early monasticism, the global scope of ancient Christianity, and the formation of Christian liturgy. Part two examines key themes and ideas, including biblical interpretation, war and violence, hymnography, the role of women, attitudes to wealth, and early Christian views about slavery and sexuality. McGuckin gives the reader a sense of the real condition of early Christian life, not simply what the literate few had to say.

Written for student and scholar alike, The Path of Christianity is a lively, readable, and masterful account of ancient Christian history, destined to be the standard for years to come.

John Anthony McGuckin held the Nielsen Chair in Late Antique Christian History at Union Theological Seminary and was professor of Byzantine Christian Studies at Columbia University in New York City. He is an archpriest of the Romanian Orthodox Church, and rector of the Orthodox Church in Lytham St. Annes, England. He serves on the faculty of church history at Oxford University, and is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society of the United Kingdom.

McGuckin has been awarded several honorary doctorates, and has written 25 works of historical theology, including St. Cyril of Alexandria: The Christological Controversy, St. Gregory of Nazianzus: An Intellectual Biography, The Westminster Handbook to Patristic Theology, and The Ascent of Law.

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Paul and the Law: A Contextual Approach

• Author: Frank Thielman
• Publisher: IVP Press
• Publication Date: 1995
• Pages: 336

No issue in contemporary Pauline studies is more contested than Paul’s view of the law. Headline proponents of the “new perspective” on Paul, such as E. P. Sanders and J. D. G. Dunn, have maintained that the Reformational readings of Paul have led to distorted understandings of first-century Judaism, of Paul, and particularly of Paul’s diagnosis of the Jewish situation under the law. Others have responded by arguing that while our understanding of Paul needs to be tuned to the clearer sounds now emanating from Jewish texts of the apostle’s day, the basic Reformational insight into Paul’s analysis of the human plight remains true to the apostle. Paul was opposing works righteousness.

Paul and the Law is a careful attempt to assault this crucial interpretive problem with a new strategy. Rather than taking a systematic, topical approach, Frank Thielman examines Paul’s view of the law in context: the context of each letter’s language and argument. While many studies have focused on Paul’s explicit statements about the law, Thielman goes further in investigating those contexts where Paul’s language is allusive and his view implied.

The result is an illuminating and significant contribution to Pauline studies. Paul and the Law clarifies our understanding of Paul’s perspective on the law in the light of his Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it reaffirms the coherence and integrity of Pauline theology as it relates to this pivotal axis of his thought.

Frank Thielman is associate professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.

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Paul Behaving Badly: Was the Apostle a Racist, Chauvinist Jerk?

• Authors: E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2016
• Pages: 223

The apostle Paul was kind of a jerk.

He was arrogant and stubborn. He called his opponents derogatory, racist names. He legitimized slavery and silenced women. He was a moralistic, homophobic killjoy who imposed his narrow religious views on others.

Or was he?

Randolph Richards and Brandon O’Brien explore the complicated persona and teachings of the apostle Paul. Unpacking his personal history and cultural context, they show how Paul both offended Roman perspectives and scandalized Jewish sensibilities. His vision of Christian faith was deeply disturbing to those in his day and remains so in ours.

Paul behaved badly, but not just in the ways we might think. Take another look at Paul and see why this “worst of sinners” dares to say, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”

Randolph Richards (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is dean and professor of biblical studies in the School of Ministry at Palm Beach Atlantic University. He is a popular speaker and has authored and coauthored dozens of books and articles, including Paul Behaving Badly, A Little Book for New Bible Scholars, Rediscovering Jesus, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes, Rediscovering Paul, The Story of Israel, and Paul and First-Century Letter Writing.

Early on in their ministry he and his wife Stacia were appointed as missionaries to east Indonesia, where he taught for eight years at an Indonesian seminary. Missions remain on the hearts of Randy and Stacia. Randy leads mission trips and conducts missionary training workshops and regularly leads tours of the Holy Land, Turkey, Greece, and Italy. He has served as interim pastor of numerous churches and is currently a teaching pastor. He and Stacia reside in Palm Beach, Florida.

Brandon J. O’Brien (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is assistant professor of Christian theology at Ouachita Baptist University and director of OBU at New Life Church in Conway, Arkansas. He is coauthor, with E. Randolph Richards, of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible and Paul Behaving Badly, as well as the author of The Strategically Small Church. A senior editor for Leadership Journal, O’Brien has published in Christianity Today, Relevant, and the Out of Ur blog, and has been interviewed by and quoted in USA Today and other national newspapers.

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Reading Scripture with the Reformers

• Author: Timothy George
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2011
• Pages: 270

In Reading Scripture with the Reformers, Timothy George takes readers through the exciting events of the sixteenth century, showing how this dynamic period was instigated by a fresh return to the Scriptures. George immerses us in the world of the Reformation, its continuities with the ancient and medieval church, and its dramatic upheavals and controversies. Most of all, he uncovers the significant way that the Bible shaped the minds and hearts of the reformers.

This book shows how the key figures of the Reformation read and interpreted Scripture, and how their thought was shaped by what they read. We are invited to see what the church today can learn from the fathers of the Reformation, and how these figures offer a model of reading, praying and living out the Scriptures.

Timothy George is the founding dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, and serves as an executive editor at Christianity Today. He is a member of the Southern Baptist-Roman Catholic Conversation Team and has participated in the Evangelicals and Catholics Together initiative. He is the series editor for the Reformation Commentary on Scripture.

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Rediscovering Paul: An Introduction to His World, Letters, and Theology

• Authors: David B. Capes, Rodney Reeves, and E. Randolph Richards
• Edition: 2nd
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2017
• Pages: 464

For some of us, the apostle Paul is intimidating, like a distant and difficult uncle. Maybe not someone you’d like to hang out with at a coffee shop on a rainy day. He’d make a scene, evangelize the barista, and arouse looks across the room. For a mid-morning latte, we’d prefer Jesus over Paul.

But Paul is actually the guy who—from Ephesus to Athens—was the talk of the marketplace, the raconteur of the Parthenon. He knew everyone, founded emerging churches, loved the difficult people, and held his own against the intellectuals of his day. If you’re willing to give Paul a try, Rediscovering Paul is your reliable guide. This is a book that reacquaints us with Paul, as if for the first time.

Drawing on the best of contemporary scholarship, and with language shaped by teaching and conversing with today’s students, Rediscovering Paul is a textbook that has passed the test. Now in a reworked edition, it’s better than ever. There are fresh discussions of Paul’s letter writing and how those letters were received in the churches, new considerations of pseudonymity and the authenticity of Paul’s letters, and updated coverage of recent developments in interpreting Paul. from Paul’s conversion and call to his ongoing impact on church and culture, this second edition of Rediscovering Paul comes enthusiastically recommended.

David B. Capes (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is associate dean of biblical and theological studies and professor of New Testament at Wheaton College. He has authored, coauthored, or coedited books such as Rediscovering Paul, Rediscovering Jesus, Old Testament Yahweh Texts in Paul’s Christology, The Footsteps of Jesus in the Holy Land, The Last Eyewitness, Rebecca’s Children, The Voice of Hebrews, and The Voice of Romans.

Rodney Reeves (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is dean of The Courts Redford College of Theology and Ministry and professor of biblical studies at Southwest Baptist University, both in Bolivar, Missouri. Previously a pastor with churches in Arkansas and Texas, Reeves is author or coauthor of A Genuine Faith, Spirituality According to Paul, Rediscovering Paul, and Rediscovering Jesus. His articles have appeared in journals such as Perspectives in Religious Studies, Biblical Illustrator, Southwestern Journal of Theology, and Preaching.

E. Randolph Richards (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is provost and professor of biblical studies in the School of Ministry at Palm Beach Atlantic University. He is a popular speaker and has authored and coauthored dozens of books and articles, including Paul Behaving Badly, A Little Book for New Bible Scholars, Rediscovering Jesus, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes, Rediscovering Paul, The Story of Israel, and Paul and First-Century Letter Writing.

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Seven Myths About Small Groups: How to Keep from Falling into Common Traps

• Author: Dan Williams
• Publisher: InterVarsity
• Publication Date: 1991
• Pages: 145

Dan Williams addresses the issues of small group life, including how long a group should last, whether a group should be closed or open to new members, what kind of leadership is appropriate for the group, and much more.

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The Shape of Practical Theology: Empowering Ministry with Theological Praxis

• Author: Ray S. Anderson
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press
• Publication Date: 2001
• Pages: 342

Too often in the life of the church, theological reflection and the practical matters of leading and serving have been considered independently. The result has been the impoverishment of both Christian faith and Christian practice.

In this groundbreaking book Ray Anderson reflects theologically and practically on preaching, worship, ethics, social justice, therapy, family, homosexuality, burnout in ministry, reconciliation in relationships and theological education itself. The result is The Shape of Practical Theology, a new and renewing foundation for engaging in Christian ministry.

Anderson lays out his threefold goal as follows:

• to define more clearly the shape of practical theology as truly a theological enterprise rather than mere mastery of skills and methods
• to demonstrate the praxis of practical theology as critical engagement with the interface between the word of God as revealed through Scripture and the work of God taking place in and through the church in the world
• to deal with practical pastoral theology from the perspective of those who are on the “field of play” of life and ministry, where preaching, counseling and teaching does affect for many persons the outcome of the game

Illuminated by stimulating discussion and helpful case studies, The Shape of Practical Theology is aimed at seminary students, at Christian educators, and at working pastors and counselors. Anderson’s work, fascinating and fruitful, brings together the Word of God with the Spirit of God in the ever-changing context of real-life ministry.

Ray S. Anderson (Ph.D., University of Edinburgh) is senior professor of theology and ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, where he has taught since 1976. He is also a contributing editor to Journal of Psychology and Theology. He has written many books, including An Emergent Theology for Emerging Churches (2006), Judas and Jesus: Amazing Grace for the Wounded Soul (2004), The Soul of God: A Theological Memoir (2004), Spiritual Caregiving as Secular Sacrament: A Practical Theology for Professional Caregivers (2003), Dancing with Wolves While Feeding the Sheep (2002), The New Age of Soul: Spiritual Wisdom for a New Millennium (2001), Living the Spiritually Balanced Life (1998) and The Soul of Ministry: Forming Leaders for God’s People (1997). Anderson’s articles and book reviews have been published in a wide array of scholarly and popular periodicals.

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Small Group Idea Book

• Author: Cindy Bunch
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 1996
• Pages: 105

Hundreds of field-tested activities will help you in the four components of healthy small group life, as well as in evaluating your small group. You’ll find ideas for worship and prayer that will help you stretch the boundaries of group members and learn from one another.

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Small Group Leader’s Handbook: The Next Generation

• Author: Jimmy Long
• Publisher: InterVarsity
• Publication Date: 1997
• Pages: 237

Now completely rewritten and updated, this IVP classic contains everything you need to know about small groups: foundations, key components, life stages, communication, conflict, planning, leadership, and more!

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Starting (and Ending) A Small Group

• Author: Dan Williams
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press
• Publication Date: 1997
• Pages: 110

The life of a newly born small group is fragile, but with proper nourishment, love and attention the group will flourish and grow. This guide for group members and leaders lays out the steps needed to bring you through the critical first weeks into a healthy group life. A good group ends well too, and this guide will bring you to a satisfying conclusion.

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The Theology of the Book of Isaiah

• Author: John Goldingay
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2014
• Pages: 160

The book of Isaiah’s imagery sparkles as it inspires. It draws us in to meditate and extends our vision toward the future. But what should we make of this sprawling and puzzling book—so layered and complex in its composition—as a whole?

John Goldingay helps us make sense of this "book called Isaiah" as a tapestry of patterned collages, parts put together in an intentional whole. The Theology of the Book of Isaiah studies the prophecies, messages and theology of each section of the complex book, then unfurls its unifying themes—from Zion to David to the Holy One of Israel. Like a program guide to Handel’s Messiah, Goldingay helps us see, hear and understand the grandeur of this prophetic masterpiece among the Prophets.

John Goldingay (PhD, University of Nottingham; DD, Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth) is David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary. He was previously principal and a professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at St John’s Theological College in Nottingham, England. His books include An Introduction to the Old Testament, The Theology of the Book of Isaiah, Key Questions about Interpretation, Do We Need the Old Testament? and commentaries on Psalms, Isaiah, and Daniel. He has also authored the three-volume Old Testament Theology and the seventeen-volume Old Testament for Everyone series.

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Transforming Discipleship: Making Disciples a Few at a Time

• Author: Greg Ogden
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 209

Many churchgoers complain that their churches lack a coherent plan for discipleship and spiritual growth. In turn, many church leaders lament their lack of resources to build and manage effective programs to help people become fully devoted followers of Christ.

In Transforming Discipleship Greg Ogden introduces his vision for discipleship, emphasizing that solutions will not be found in large-scale, finely-tuned, resource-heavy programs.

Instead, Ogden recovers Jesus’ method of accomplishing life change by investing in just a few people at a time. And he shows how discipleship can become a self-replicating process with ongoing impact from generation to generation.

Biblical, practical and tremendously effective, Transforming Discipleship provides the insights and philosophy of ministry behind Ogden’s earlier work, Discipleship Essentials. Together, these ground-breaking books have the potential to transform how your church transforms the lives of its people.

Dr. Greg Ogden is a writer, speaker, and discipleship teacher living in Monterey, California. He was formerly executive pastor at Christ Church of Oak Brook in Oak Brook, Illinois. He also served as the academic director of the doctor of ministry program and associate professor of lay equipping and discipleship at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. For 23 years, he served as a pastor with the Presbyterian Church (USA).

While senior pastor of Saratoga Federated Church in Saratoga, California, he developed a discipleship program used by over 15,000 people, and resulted in his book, Discipleship Essentials. Subsequent volumes in the Essentials Series include Leadership Essentials (with Dan Meyer) and The Essential Commandment. Dr. Ogden also authored the book Unfinished Business (Zondervan).

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Who Needs Theology? An Invitation to the Study of God

• Authors: Stanley J. Grenz and Roger E. Olson
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 1996
• Pages: 150

To many Christians theology is something alien, overly intellectual and wholly unappealing. Even seminary students are known to balk at the prospect of a course on theology. Yet theology—most simply, the knowledge of God—is essential to the life and health of the church.

In this short introduction, Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson, two theologians who care deeply about the witness of ordinary Christians and the ministry of the church, show what theology is, what tools theology uses, why every believer (advanced degrees or not) is a theologian and how the theological enterprise can be productive and satisfying. Their clear, easily understood book is ideal for students, church study groups and individual Christians who want to strengthen understanding, belief and commitment by coming to know God more fully.

Stanley Grenz (1950–2005) was Pioneer McDonald Professor of Theology at Carey Theological College, Vancouver, British Columbia, and professor of theological studies at Mars Hill Graduate School, Seattle, Washington. He authored over 25 books, including Rediscovering the Triune God and What Christians Really Believe and Why.

Roger E. Olson is the Foy Valentine Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary. Previously he served as professor of theology at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is the author of 18 books, including The Journey of Modern Theology: From Reconstruction to Deconstruction (IVP).

Dr. Olson was born and raised in the Upper Midwest of the United States and considers himself a “Bapticostal.” He grew up Pentecostal but became Baptist while attending North American Baptist Seminary. His PhD in religious studies is from Rice University in Houston, and he studied at the University of Munich with theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg. He served as editor of Christian Scholar’s Review in the 1990s and has served as consulting and contributing editor for Christianity Today. He is married and has two daughters and two beautiful grandchildren. He enjoys southern gospel music, Victorian gothic mystery books, and traveling.

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Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain

• Author: William M. Struthers
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press
• Publication Date: 2009
• Pages: 196

Pornography is powerful. The reality today is that countless Christian men struggle with the addictive grip of porn. Many of these men find common approaches like accountability groups to be of limited help.

In Wired for Intimacy, neuroscientist and professor William Struthers outlines a different approach, explaining the chemistry behind porn addiction as he exposes false assumptions about the issue and casts a vision for a redeemed masculinity. Throughout this text, Struthers unpacks scientifically how viewing pornography actually changes the way memories are formed and attachments are made. Struthers believes that with greater understanding of the biological realities of our sexual development, we can cultivate healthier sexual perspectives and interpersonal relationships. Sharing insights for both married and single men, Struthers’ book speaks to those deep in the trenches of the struggle, challenging and encouraging them to see how their sexual longings can actually propel them toward sanctification and holiness in their bodies.

William M. Struthers holds a PhD in biopsychology from University of Illinois at Chicago. He is a professor of psychology at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, where he teaches courses on behavioral neuroscience, men and addictions, and the biological bases of behavior. His theoretical research is in the area of neuroethics, the biological bases of spirituality and personhood, and the nature of integration in psychology. He is also interested in the Anglican tradition and in science/faith dialogue issues.

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