Story Luke Tells

Among all the writers of the New Testament, no one has beenmore undervalued than Luke. Not only are Luke's Gospel andActs more extensive than all of Paul's epistles put together;Luke's particular slant on the story he tells also sets him apart.In this book Justo Gonzalez examines Luke's characteristicperspective and its relevance for

Acts is the sequel to Luke's gospel and tells the story of Jesus's followers during the 30 years after his death. It describes how the 12 apostles, formerly Jesus's disciples, spread the message of Christianity throughout the Mediterranean against a background of persecution. With an introduction by P.D. James

The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.

The controversial Bible scholar and author of The Evolution of Adam recounts his transformative spiritual journey in which he discovered a new, more honest way to love and appreciate God’s Word. Trained as an evangelical Bible scholar, Peter Enns loved the Scriptures and shared his devotion, teaching at Westminster Theological Seminary. But the further he studied the Bible, the more he found himself confronted by questions that could neither be answered within the rigid framework of his religious instruction or accepted among the conservative evangelical community. Rejecting the increasingly complicated intellectual games used by conservative Christians to “protect” the Bible, Enns was conflicted. Is this what God really requires? How could God’s plan for divine inspiration mean ignoring what is really written in the Bible? These questions eventually cost Enns his job—but they also opened a new spiritual path for him to follow. The Bible Tells Me So chronicles Enns’s spiritual odyssey, how he came to see beyond restrictive doctrine and learned to embrace God’s Word as it is actually written. As he explores questions progressive evangelical readers of Scripture commonly face yet fear voicing, Enns reveals that they are the very questions that God wants us to consider—the essence of our spiritual study.

This volume offers fifteen studies on the Gospel of Luke by Nico Riemersma, who specialized in this gospel. It contains both articles in which special pericopes from the Gospel of Luke are central (Mary’s visit to Elizabeth in Luke 1,39-56; the twelve-year-old Jesus in de temple, in Luke 2,40-52; the baptism of Jesus in 3,21-23 and his testing in 4,1-13; the Fernheilung of a centurion’s slave in 7,1-10 and the raising of a young man at Naïn in 7,11-17) and studies on details (καθεξῆς in Luke 1,3; ἐν τοῖς τοῦ πατρός μου in Luke 2,49; ἐγέρθητι in 7,14 and ὁ ἐρχόμενος in 7,19.20). In addition, there are thematic studies (the parallelism between John and Jesus, Elijah in relationship with John and Jesus; the travelling motif in Luke-Acts) and articles with an eye for the structure (of the overture, 1,5-2,52 and of the whole book, 1,1-24,53). Through ‘close reading’, the book reveals Luke’s high-quality literary form and rich theological content. This meticulous way of reading allows for a deeper understanding of the text, giving this gospel extra shine. This method is extremely helpful in solving text problems that the reader(s) will face.

G. Campbell Morgan Reprint Series Foreword If it is true that the measure of a person's greatness is their influence, not only on his own time but on future gen- erations, G. Campbell Morgan must be regarded as a great person. His greatness is seen not only in the wide impact of his ministry on both sides of the Atlantic, but in the fact that his books are still read and studied sixty-five years after his death. Named one of the ten greatest preachers of the twentieth-century by the contributing board of Preaching magazine, Morgan made the Bible a new and living book not only to the congregations who listened to him, but the vast multitude of persons who read his books. Fox sixty-seven years Morgan preached and taught the Scriptures and served churches in England and the United States. What is remarkable is that his commentaries and expositions of the Bible still speak to persons of a new millennium. There have been many changes in the world since he faithfully preached and taught the Scriptures, but the wide appeal of his books testify to the timelessness of his message. Although he held pastorates in the Congregational and Presbyterian denominations, he had an ecumenical appeal to persons of all denominations and traditions. The mystic Thomas á Kempis once wrote, "He to whom the eternal word speaks is delivered from many opinions." In one of his sermons, he referred to the words of Amos that there would be a famine for hearing the word of God (Amos 8:11). The timeless work of G. Campbell Morgan addresses that hun- ger, as his books enable his readers to get beyond opinions to the living Word. Wipf and Stock Publishers have rendered a great gift to the religious world in reprinting dozens of Morgan's books. This growing collection makes his books more available, so that readers have an option other than searching the internet for used, and often expensive, copies. Among this collection is the classic The Great Physician and commen- taries on the Gospel of Matthew and John. Persons seeking a living faith and a meaningful encounter with God would profit from reading any of these Morgan books. Near the end of his ministry, in a sermon entitled "But One Thing," Morgan commented on how Portugal changed the words of a coin after Christopher Columbus discovered America. No longer did the inscription say, Ne Plus Ultra (nothing more beyond) but Plus Ultra (more beyond). It is the hope of the G. Campbell Morgan Trust that the reprint- ing of these books will bring readers to the "more beyond," and an even deeper encounter with the Word in Scripture. The Morgan Trust Richard L. Morgan Howard C. Morgan John C. Morgan

What do the books of Luke and Acts teach us about God, Jesus, and the early church? How do these two books relate to each other? And what do they mean for us today? In this accessible and compelling introduction, Michael Bird draws us into the wide-ranging narrative of Luke-Acts to discover how Luke frames the life of Jesus and of the first disciples who set out from Jerusalem to "the ends of the earth" proclaiming the Good News. Bird shows us how these two books, when read together, tell a cohesive narrative about Jesus, the Church, and the mission of God—with implications for the whole of our lives today. Situating both books in their historical and literary context, Bird moves through an exploration of their central theological themes and culminates with consideration of the books' relevance for contemporary social issues.

This volume surfaces distinct historical claims, nuanced theological conclusions, and a mutual respect in an area where disagreement often results in consignment to hell.