Bücher veröffentlicht von Presbyterian Publishing Corporation

This is the sixth and final volume in the Feasting on the Word Worship Companion series, which provides liturgical pieces used in preparing for worship. It offers a multitude of poetic prayers and responsive readings for all parts of worship for churches that use the Revised Common Lectionary. In...

God's Gift of Generosity is ideal for pastors who must engage in one of the most uncomfortable tasks of their role: asking people for money.Why does generosity matter, and why should we give back to God?Tailored specifically for pastors and lay leaders navigating the delicate task of stewardship, this insightful book transcends the mundane "how" of giving to explore the profound "why" behind our acts of generosity.In this book Travis skillfully discusses the essence of generosity in three thought-provoking sections. Initially, he invites readers to ponder "what" generosity truly entails, painting a vivid picture of God's boundless generosity woven throughout the entirety of Scripture. From there, he considers the "so what" question, confronting the challenges of practicing generosity today in a world consumed by materialism and acquisition. Finally, in the enlightening "now what" segment, Travis offers a practical roadmap for church leaders, equipping them with the tools and insights needed to navigate stewardship campaigns with grace and confidence.With a blend of scholarly insight, heartfelt conviction, and practical advice, God's Gift of Generosity serves as a beacon of wisdom and encouragement for those seeking to cultivate a spirit of generosity in their congregations, encouraging all to celebrate the timeless nature of God's generosity and translate its profound truths into tangible, transformative actions in our contemporary world.

Drawing from Greco-Roman history, Second-Temple Jewish studies, archaeology, the social world of the New Testament, parable studies, and the burgeoning literature on Galilee, The People of the Parables describes life in first-century Galilee as it was experienced by the characters in Jesus' parables.R. Alan Culpepper assesses both primary literature and recent research on Galilee--including important archaeological discoveries--and fashions a new and insightful social history of Galilee, the people of the parables, and the historical context of Jesus' ministry.Culpepper builds this history by elucidating the lives of first-century Galileans featured in Jesus' parables: children, women, daughters, mothers, widows, fathers, sons, landowners, tenants, day laborers, debtors, farmers, fishermen, shepherds, merchants, travelers, innkeepers, masters, slaves, tax collectors, judges, Pharisees, priests, Levites, Samaritans, bandits, and, finally, Jesus. Who these people were--their place in Galilean society, how they lived, socialized, worshiped, and conducted business; how they were educated--is described in straightforward, nontechnical language. Culpepper brings new meanings to the parables for today's readers by shedding light on the people of Galilee in the time of Jesus.

In Proclaiming the Parables, noted preacher and scholar Thomas G. Long moves away from past treatment of the parables primarily as literary devices and moves toward an emphasis on their theological impact as pointers to the kingdom of God.While the parables are indeed significant poetic literary creations that have enchanted readers over the centuries, their main power, he claims, lies in their disclosure of the kingdom of God, which is not merely an idea, nor even just a complex symbol with generative and centrifugal force, but an event: the inbreaking of the life of God into human history and experience.Long sees parables not merely as creative figures of speech but as GPS devices taking hearers to those places where the event of God is happening all around us. This book provides two chapters for each synoptic Gospel. The first focuses on the Gospel as a whole and the parables' place in it, and the second provides preachers and teachers with detailed exegetical and homiletical commentary for each major parable in that Gospel. Two introductory chapters additionally situate this book in the history and theology of the parables' interpretation and address questions that preachers have about preaching the parables. Preachers who consult this volume will be informed about each major parable, guided through the controversies regarding interpretation, and stimulated to preach on the parable in fresh, faithful, and creative ways.

The Connections Worship Companion is an essential resource for leaders and planners of Christian worship services.This volume offers complete liturgies--from the call to worship to the closing charge, with prayers and litanies for every need in between--for all worshiping occasions for the season after Pentecost of Year B. Part of the Connections commentary series, these worship resources help congregations illuminate the connections between Scripture and liturgical rhythms.The Connections Worship Companion is a six-volume series, with each volume focusing on a different season of the Christian year. Each volume provides three kinds of materials to enhance your liturgical experience. First, there are "Making Connections" essays at the beginning of each major section, which introduce the primary theological themes of the Christian year, highlight particular biblical texts, point to distinctive features of the lectionary cycle, and offer practical and pastoral guidance. Second, there are seasonal/repeating resources, which are liturgical texts intended for multiple uses during a particular span of time in the Christian year, promoting diachronic connections from one Sunday to the next. Last, there are resources for each Sunday or festival in the Christian year, which promote synchronic connections between the liturgy and the lectionary. The combination of these resources assists worship planners in assembling complete orders of worship for the Lord's Day.Contributors to this volume include Claudia L. Aguilar Rubalcava, Mamie Broadhurst, Marci Auld Glass, Marcus A. Hong, Kimberly Bracken Long, Emily McGinley, Kendra L. Buckwalter Smith, Samuel Son, Slats Toole, and Byron A. Wade.

Homiletics textbooks often discourage the use of humor in preaching, regarding it as trivializing or distracting. The result is that many preachers have failed to understand humor's positive power, demoting it to the opening joke to get a guaranteed guffaw to warm up the crowd. Humor Us!, the second volume in the "Preaching and... series," is a collaborative effort by homiletician Alyce M. McKenzie and humor scholar Owen Hanley Lynch that promotes humor, a force capable of great good, to its rightful place in the pulpit. Establishing humor as a divine gift, Humor Us! opens to preachers the world of humor studies with its positive portrayal of humor's usefulness to speak truth to power, unite people in their common humanity, and strengthen them to cope and survive in tough times.Humor Us! helps preachers understand how humor works and shows them, in very practical and specific ways, how preachers can put it to work in their sermons. It combines the wealth of knowledge of two highly regarded scholars-practitioners to show how humor can become a potent tool for sharing the good news in sermons. McKenzie and Lynch prove that humor, when applied thoughtfully, can foster compassion and a sense of common humanity, help challenge an unjust status quo, and invite listeners into a shared experience of the presence of God.

One of the theological classics of the twentieth century, Niebuhr's Moral Man and Immoral Society argues that using moral persuasion and shaming to affect the behavior of such collectives as corporations and nation states is fruitless, as these groups will inevitably seek to promote only their self-interest. He calls for a realistic assessment of group behavior and enumerates how individual morality can mitigate social immorality.This edition includes a foreword by Cornel West that explores the continued interest in Niebuhr's thought and its contemporary relevance.