Study Commentaries

Jesus Christ has been given the name above all names, the highest seat of honor, the right to reign and rule. Yet the busyness of our lives and the diversions of this world often distract us from knowing the most important person we could ever know. Perhaps we need some help to see Jesus afresh. In this thoughtful study and worshipful reflection, two influential pastors draw on decades of pastoral experience in order to guide us through the whole sweep of Scripture and examine seven key qualities of Jesus's identity and ministry.

Popular writer and teacher Jeannine Brown shows how a narrative approach illuminates each of the Gospels and highlights the overarching stories. This book offers a corrective to tendencies to read the Gospels piecemeal, one story at a time. It is filled with examples that show how narrative criticism brings the text to life, making it ideal for courses on the Gospels. Listeners will gain hands-on tools and perspectives to interpret the Gospels as whole stories.

So, who are you really? In a world of endless social media and technology--where the noise drowns your spirit, soul, and body--you can feel lost, like a driver stranded in traffic. Your spirit yearns for life, your soul longs for peace, and your body craves rest under the constant buzz. In this book, H.K. Holland offers clear direction to lead you back to your true self, with every lesson drawn from the Bible. From deep insights to brief, clear points, the wisdom he offers cuts through the chaos, speaking to your heart. Step away from the noise, and rediscover yourself now!

The book of Revelation in the Bible is not meant to be a mystery. At least not to those who wish to know its meaning. It is not a fantasy, even though there are angels, scorpion men, creatures, demons being let loose and seven-headed beasts emerging from the sea. It is a message from Jesus to His followers. He wanted to reveal what was going to happen in the last days. But understanding it does require knowledge of the Bible- Old Testament and New. It is the only book in the Bible that promises a blessing to its readers. That blessing includes being informed because the events Revelation ...

The world is filled with counterfeits. And the church is not immune, as false ideas and doctrines can infect believers and congregations. So when it comes to spiritual teachers, messages, and movements, how can we tell fact from fiction? The answers are found in 2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, and Jude, where the apostles provide practical insights for discerning truth.

At every moment the author brings deep insight, conviction, and clarity about what God's Kingdom work is all about.

Written between A.D. 413 and 426, The City of God is one of the great cornerstones in the history of Christian thought, a book which is vital to the understanding of modern Western society. Augustine originally intended it to be an apology for Christianity against the accusation that the Church was responsible for the decline of the Roman Empire, which had occurred just three years earlier. Indeed, Augustine produced a great amount of evidence to prove that paganism was responsible for this event. However, by the time the work was finished, the book had taken on a larger theme.

This two-volume expositional commentary on one of the Bible’s most powerful books integrates rigorous scholarship and clear communication. Boice not only explains the meaning of the text verse by verse and section by section, he relates the text’s concerns to the world in which we live, the life of the church, and the realities of the Christian life. Based on messages preached at Philadelphia’s world-renowned Tenth Presbyterian Church, The Gospel of Matthew displays Dr. Boice’s hallmark blend of thoughtful interpretation and contemporary insight for daily living.

Millions of us use restrictive diets, intermittent fasting, IV therapies, and Ozempic abuse to shrink until we are sample-size acceptable. But for the 30 million Americans who live with eating disorders, it isn’t just about less. More, Please is a chronicle of a lifelong fixation with food—its power to soothe, to comfort, to offer a fleeting escape from the outside world—as well as an examination of the ways in which compulsory thinness, diet culture, and the seductive promise of “wellness” have resulted in warping countless Americans’ relationship with healthy eating.

Dig deep into the plain meaning of the Bible’s stories and commandments Would you like to know what the Old Testament (Pentateuch) is all about from a Jewish point of view? This book reveals the morals, ethics, and ideas behind the stories and commandments of one of the oldest books in the history of mankind – a book that serves as the foundation of Jewish and Christian religion. Given the difficult Hebrew in which the Old Testament was written and how challenging it is to translate and to explain, the author wanted to offer to the reader the simple meaning of the text (p’shat) in ...

Reaching out to listeners of all religious backgrounds, Desmond Tutu shows us how to transform suffering into joy both in our lives and in our world. He tells us that God dreams of a world where laughter, love, and peace reign, and where we realize that we are all members of one family, God's family. In this extremely personal and liberating message, Father Tutu helps us "see with the eyes of the heart" and cultivate the qualities of forgiveness, humility, generosity, and courage.

From the majestic beauty of the wild Scottish landscape to the hidden traces of its history waiting to be uncovered in every town and village, Andrew McAlindon is enthralled by the country he is lucky enough to call home. As one of Scotland’s busiest tour guides in real life and online, Andy travels around the country to ancient sites such as castles, cemeteries, burial chambers and prisons, celebrating the history, folklore, superstitions and the fascinating people that make Scotland so unique. Lochs and Legends is Andy’s love letter to Scotland.

The Bible stands at the heart of the Christian faith. But this leads to an inescapable question: Why should we trust the Bible? Written to help non-Christians, longtime Christians, and everyone in between better understand why God's Word is reliable, this short book explores the historical and theological arguments that have helped lead millions of believers through the centuries to trust the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.

Oxford mathematician and author John Lennox takes a closer look at Hawking's logic regarding what brought the universe into being. In lively, layman's terms, Lennox guides us through the key points in Hawking's arguments - with clear explanations of the latest scientific and philosophical methods and theories - and demonstrates that far from disproving a creator God, they make his existence seem all the more probable.

What is Christianity really all about? Drawing on passages from Romans 1 to 12, J. D. Greear unpacks the essential aspects of the Christian message, showing both secular and religious people what the gospel is and how it addresses our most pertinent questions. The gospel, as he explains, is not just about life after death: it’s about reclaiming the life we’ve always yearned to live.

The gospel of John comes alive in N. T. Wright's updated, listener-friendly translation and insightful commentary. He guides the listener through the world of the New Testament, explaining the ideas and events that shaped the gospel writer's account of the life of Jesus. Breaking down the gospel of John into brief, easy-to-study segments, Wright shows how the message of this ancient book speaks powerfully to the spiritual longings of contemporary listeners. New Christians and longtime followers of Jesus alike will find inspiration and practical wisdom for their journey within this book.

Genesis begins the Bible and is foundational to it. In recent years, it has become commonplace for both humanists and churchmen to sneer at anyone who takes Genesis 1-11 as historical. Yet, to believe in the myth of evolution is to accept trillions of miracles to account for our cosmos. Spontaneous generation, the development of something out of nothing, and the blind belief in the miraculous powers of chance require tremendous faith.

Jude: The Easy Study Bible Commentary Completely Revised and Greatly Enhanced! Not for scholars but for anyone who struggles to understand the New Testament! The Easy Study Bible Commentary takes The Easy Study Bible Diagramed and examines, describes and expounds upon each New Testament book, chapter by chapter, paragraph by paragraph, verse by verse and finally phrase by phrase. In my many years of Bible study, I have found this arrangement to be the easiest to follow and understand. I have done my best to write this commentary with the idea in mind of making it easier for you to ...

This seasonal addition to the Reformed Expository Commentary series presents twelve biblically and theologically grounded Christmas messages, as the authors explore the canonical teaching on the birth of Jesus Christ in the gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John. As a sample of the exposition found in the series, this volume is accessible to both pastors and lay audiences. Each commentary gives careful attention to the biblical text, is doctrinally Reformed, focuses on Christ through the lens of redemptive history, and applies the Bible to our contemporary setting.

Duffy engages with some of the central aspects of Western religion in the thousand years between the decline of pagan Rome and the rise of the Protestant Reformation. In the process, he opens windows on the vibrant and multifaceted beliefs and practices by which medieval people made sense of their world: the fear of death and the impact of devastating pandemic, holy war against Islam and the invention of the blood libel against the Jews, provision for the afterlife and the continuing power of the dead over the living, the meaning of pilgrimage and the evolution of Christian music.