Proclaiming The Gospel

Scholars have long understood that the texts we now know as the Gospels were read aloud in the Greco-Roman world, but few have actually envisioned what a performance of the Gospel of Mark would have been like in the first century and how it would have shaped the experience of its audience. Proclaiming the Gospel shows us. Oral performances in the New Testament world were lively affairs. In the performance of Greco-Roman theater, readers lose their voices from the stress of emotional passages. Audiences cheer for philosophers as if at a rock concert, and in law courts, they are paid for their responses. Storytellers compete for attention with jugglers, and some speakers must fend off hostile crowds. Congregations at churches and synagogues cheer as if at the theater. Shiner reveals the ways that Mark wrote his Gospel to compete in this arena and how his audiences would have responded: applause for the miracles of Jesus, then an altogether different response at the cross. Whitney Shiner is Assistant Professor of Christian Origins at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, and the author of Follow Me: Disciples in markan Rhetoric.

Winning souls is the greatest joy and highest calling of a Christian, but to so many of us it feels like a dreaded necessity or feared obligation. In a day when evangelism has become a confusing jumble of methodology, Spurgeon’s crystal clear explanation of what true evangelism is meant to be is life-giving. Spurgeon’s own great faith in God to win souls that shines through on every page of this book is inspirational and moves us to action. Claimed by many as one of the best books ever written on the topic of evangelism, this book will not only ignite a passion for soul winning within you; it will draw you closer in love to the very heart of God.

This volume emphasizes the Lutheran tradition for use in preaching, the Bible, its Archimedean theological insights, and its notion of preachings place within the larger liturgical and societal setting. Working from across the whole array of seminary disciplines, the faculty of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary forges this practical resource around a single vision: the Church of Christ lives from the power of the Word of God, both the law and the gospel. Preaching this Word is a means of grace by which God creates and shapes a redeemed community.

Behold the Christ: Proclaiming the Gospel of Matthew, by Leroy A. Huizenga, reveals the significance of St. Matthew’s Jesus: He is Emmanuel, God with us always, who saves his people from their sins by dying for them. In showing how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament, gave us a way to live, and taught us how to follow the narrow way to the kingdom of heaven, St. Matthew modeled the fourfold way of reading Scripture according to letter and spirit. Above all, St. Matthew’s Gospel presents Jesus Christ founding the Catholic Church as a robust, rigorous religion with rich rituals, chiefly the sacrificial Eucharist as sustenance on the narrow way to heaven. Jesus demands much of his Church, but the same Jesus who commands his Church also promises and delivers much—above all, himself. Keyed to the lectionary and featuring a section on the relevance of St. Matthew’s Gospel for our contemporary age, Behold the Christ will make the Gospel and indeed the Faith real to today’s readers.

Written by a former Roman Catholic of 37 years, Preparing Catholics for Eternity will greatly assist you to gently bring your Catholic friends to a correct understanding of the truth of salvation????????????????????????by faith alone, not of works! Mike Gendron is very clear and methodical as he exposes the fallacies of Roman Catholicism.

How does the church portray the beauty of Christ? The gospel is the greatest message of all time addressing the greatest need of all people. However, the good news about Jesus does more than just promise eternal life to all who believe. In the latest addition to the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series, pastor Ray Ortlund explains the gospel's power to transform individuals from the inside out and create beautiful human relationships. This short book helps readers experience the power of God as they are encouraged to trust in Christ and allow him to transform their beliefs, perspectives, and practices. For everyone who wants to be true to the Bible and honest with themselves, this book offers a practical guide to the fundamental teachings of the gospel and how they affect our relationships with others.

Blending the latest in Lukan scholarship with the practical needs of the weekly preacher, Keith Nickle provides clear, interesting, and instructive comments on every passage in Luke, and adds several specific preaching suggestions for each text. With the help of this insightful preacher's commentary, Luke will come alive in preaching.

In this engaging treatment of the Gospel of Mark, Dawn Ottoni Wilhelm combines biblical scholarship with a close reading of the Gospel text to meet the needs of preachers today. Swift and purposeful, the Gospel of Mark proclaims God's reign and urges the participation of all God's people in the witness of the good news that God has transformed human reality through Jesus Christ. This insightful commentary helps that message come alive while providing pertinent suggestions about how preachers can proclaim this message to today's churchgoers.