Study Commentaries

Delve into a verse by verse study of the book of Genesis from a prophetic perspective. The Morning Light Bible Study Commentary is an expositional inquiry of the book of Genesis. Topical messages have their place but when you read and study the word of God in the expositional method, chapter by chapter you gain access to a level of narrative and inspiration you won't get any other way. In studying the book of Genesis it is so important to get a good grounding because if doctrinal drift occurs here the bible student will fall far afield from the central truths and tenets of scripture. If you...

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.

The spirit of our times can appear to be one of joyless urgency. As a culture we have become less interested in the exploration of the glorious mind, and more interested in creating and mastering technologies that will yield material well-being. But while cultural pessimism is always fashionable, there is still much to give us hope.

It takes courage to walk out our faith. Courage to stand for what we believe. To set our standards on Biblical truth, not cultural trends. To pursue a life defined by integrity and character. And we find no greater profile in courage than in the life of Christ. This study follows our Savior as he faced opposition, challenged critics, and courageously chose to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Exploring the relationship between Christianity and Zen, especially through his dialogue with the great Zen teacher D.T. Suzuki, the book makes an excellent introduction to a comparative study of these two traditions, as well as giving the listener a strong taste of the mature Merton. Never does one feel him losing his own faith; rather, one feels that faith getting deeply clarified and affirmed. Just as the body of "Zen" cannot be found by the scavengers, so too, Merton suggests, with the eternal truth of Christ.

“Open your ears,” says James Montgomery Boice. “Hear the voice of Christ. Believe him. Turn to him. Throw yourself upon him. Receive him as your Savior.” Even in the midst of pain and persecution, we are to live as Christ would live. Volume 3 of the Gospel of John shows Jesus turning to all who had received him in the midst of, and in spite of, growing hostility from the authorities of Judaism.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are synoptic in portraying the savior’s humanity in different aspects with his deity. Since Mark presents the savior as a slave, he does not tell his genealogy and status, because the ancestry of a slave is not worthy of note. Furthermore, in contrast to Matthew, who presents to us the savior’s marvelous teachings and parables concerning the heavenly kingdom, and John, who presents his profound revelations of the divine truths, Mark’s intention is not to impress us with the slave’s wonderful words, but with his excellent deeds in his gospel service.

Since Hamas's attack on Israel last October 7, the term "settler colonialism" has become central to public debate in the United States. A concept new to most Americans, but already established and influential in academic circles, settler colonialism is shaping the way many people think about the history of the United States, Israel and Palestine, and a host of political issues. This short book is the first to examine settler colonialism critically for a general audience.

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.

The theologian Clarence Larkin (1850-1924) examines each chapter in The Book of Daniel and its meaning. It includes a chapter on the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel’s interpretation of it. Published in 1918, the book prophesied the re-establishment of the State of Israel.

Here is Thomas Jefferson's classic abridgment of the Bible, in which Jefferson sculpted the words and ideas of Christ into a resounding moral philosophy. On and off for 17 years (including his term in the White House), Jefferson cut and pasted the philosophy of Jesus Christ, as recorded in Scripture, into one compact statement. He omitted any references to the virgin birth, miraculous healings, demonic possession, or supernatural events of any kind. His aim was to distinguish the moral philosophy of Christ from the religion that was later created around Christ.

Reading the Bible doesn't need to be a difficult journey through strange and bewildering territory. How to Read the Bible Book by Book walks you through the Scriptures like an experienced tour guide, helping you understand each of its 66 books. For each book of the Bible, the authors start with a quick snapshot, then expand the view to help you better understand its message and how it fits into the grand narrative of the Bible. Written by two top evangelical scholars, this survey is designed to get you actually reading the Bible knowledgeably and understanding it accurately.

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.

A few years ago, Mark Adams made a strange discovery: Everything we know about the lost city of Atlantis comes from the work of one man, the Greek philosopher Plato. Then he made a second, stranger discovery: Amateur explorers are still actively searching for this sunken city all around the world, based entirely on the clues Plato left behind.

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.

Over the past several decades, globalization has homogenized what we eat, and done so ruthlessly. The numbers are stark: Of the roughly 6,000 different plants once consumed by human beings, only nine remain major staples today. Just three of these - rice, wheat, and corn - now provide 50 percent of all our calories. Dig deeper and the trends are more worrisome still.

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.

In this timeless classic, American layer and jurist Simon Greenleaf's expertly applies his understanding of legal principles to the narratives documenting Jesus' life and teachings in the New Testament. Through a careful analysis Greenleaf concludes the undeniable credibility and authoritative nature of the Gospels, substantiating their status as trustworthy historical records.

The Gospel according to John has always been recognized as different from the "synoptic" accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But what explains the difference? In this new translation and verse-by-verse commentary, Michael Pakaluk suggests an answer and unlocks a 2,000-year-old mystery. Mary's Voice in the Gospel According to John reveals the subtle but powerful influence of the mother of Jesus on the fourth Gospel.

This second volume in the Patristic Commentary on the Book of Isaiah continues the journey begun in Volume 1, delving deeply into the prophet’s earliest messages—warnings of judgment, calls to repentance, and glimpses of redemption. Drawing from the wisdom of the early Church Fathers and the Coptic Orthodox tradition, this work reveals the richness of Isaiah's voice as both fierce reformer and tender intercessor. Covering chapters 1–35, this volume illuminates: God’s righteous judgment against hypocrisy, injustice, and idolatry The spiritual decay of Judah and the prophetic call to ...