Study Commentaries

"Luke Volume II", often called "The Acts of the Apostles", completes the "Pentateuch of the New Testament". The traditional title of this book is, in some respects, a misnomer: It primarily deals with the "acts" of Peter and Paul. It really should be called "The Acts of the Holy Spirit". This review will explore the continuing mysteries of Hag Shavuot in Acts 2; the surprises in the history lesson Stephen gives the Sanhedrin in Acts 7; the controversies dealt with in the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15; and more.

Acts is a book of action. But whose actions does it follow? The most obvious answer is the Apostles’. The book’s full name is the Acts of the Apostles, for it recounts their efforts to take the gospel to the nations. Yet we can also think of it as the Acts of the Holy Spirit. Poured out like a mighty rushing wind (Acts 2:2), the Spirit empowered the Apostles’ witness and opened hearts to believe. In this volume, Dr. R.C. Sproul offers an in-depth study on the Spirit’s work through these Christians and in the growth and spread of the early church.

The appearance, more than 60 years after the Spanish Civil War ended, of mass graves containing victims of Francisco Franco's death squads finally broke what Spaniards call "the pact of forgetting" - the unwritten understanding that their recent, painful past was best left unexplored. At this charged moment, Giles Tremlett embarked on a journey around the country and through its history to discover why some of Europe's most voluble people have kept silent so long.

Do you find the Book of Revelation confusing? Maybe a little intimidating? What if you didn’t have to be scared of it? Maybe you could even enjoy the book. This new commentary is designed to help you understand the Book of Revelation. It is easy to read, clear, and understandable. In these pages you will learn: How to read Apocalyptic literature. The key to understanding Revelation is in the past. The meaning of all the strange symbols. The meaning of the various numbers. The real meaning of the millennium. How the book of Revelation applies to Christians today. And much more.You won’t ...

Carrying only basic camping equipment and a collection of the world's great spiritual writings, Belden C. Lane embarks on solitary spiritual treks through the Ozarks and across the American Southwest. For companions, he has only such teachers as Rumi, John of the Cross, Hildegard of Bingen, Dag Hammarskjöld, and Thomas Merton, and as he walks, he engages their writings with the natural wonders he encounters, demonstrating how being alone in the wild opens a rare view onto one's interior landscape, and how the saints' writings reveal the divine in nature.

In a world that is “woke”, how many Christians are actually awake? This short theologically sound primer is a resource for pastors, ministry leaders, community leaders, and other thinking Christians that explains carefully and clearly what critical race theory and wokeness truly are, what the Bible teaches about race and ethnicity, why wokeness is distinct from Christianity and should be rejected, and how the church can work for unity based in the gospel of grace.

The Book of Romans stands as one of the most profound and influential works in the New Testament. Penned by the Apostle Paul, this letter is a masterpiece of Christian theology, articulating foundational truths about humanity, sin, salvation, and the righteousness of God. Romans is not only a letter to the early church in Rome but also a timeless guide, calling believers across ages to understand the essence of the gospel, its implications for personal transformation, and its role in the unfolding story of God’s redemptive work. The book opens with a deep dive into the human condition and...

A theological exposition of the Old Testament Book of Proverbs. The passages are organized into nine Bible studies taken from selected passages of the Biblical text that are appropriate for about one hour of small-group discussion or about 30 minutes of personal devotion. The passages are presented with an emphasis on the history and context of the writings, and its application both in the early church and in the church today. Table of Contents Proverbs 1:1-33. God's Offer of True Wisdom Proverbs 5:3-14. Maintaining Integrity in a Postmodern World. Proverbs 8:1-12, 32-36; 9:13-17. Wisdom's ...

In this comprehensive exposition, a leading New Testament scholar explores the unfolding theological unity of the entire Bible from the vantage point of the New Testament. G. K. Beale, coeditor of the award-winning Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, examines how the New Testament storyline relates to and develops the Old Testament storyline. Beale argues that every major concept of the New Testament is a development of a concept from the Old and is to be understood as a facet of the inauguration of the latter-day new creation and kingdom.

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells - taken without her knowledge - became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than 60 years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects.

Long overshadowed by Japan and China, South Korea is a small country that happens to be one of the great national success stories of the postwar period. From a failed state with no democratic tradition, ruined and partitioned by war, and sapped by a half-century of colonial rule, South Korea transformed itself in just 50 years into an economic powerhouse and a democracy that serves as a model for other countries. With no natural resources and a tradition of authoritarian rule, Korea managed to accomplish a second Asian miracle.

One way of reading the Bible is to take an individual book and read the verses while taking notes. In this book, Holland has picked individual verses from the books of Nehemiah, Ezra and Esther and expanded on them, drawing out lessons as they reveal themselves. This is not a commentary on these books, but a special devotion on the selected verses. When you study these verses, they will stick with you for the rest of your life without the need to cram them. They will flow out of your life and you will apply them in your life. Just dive into the book and find out for yourself...

Winner of the John W. Kluge Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Human Sciences, Jaroslav Pelikan is Professor Emeritus of history at Yale University and past president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This examination of the history of the Bible reflects half a century of study and research by the author. In Whose Bible Is It?, Pelikan traces the transformation of the Bible from its earliest oral traditions to its modern forms.

For many, the Gospel according to "the Beloved Physician" is the most readable and complete account of the life of Christ. Known for its historical detail and precision, Luke was chosen by the Holy Spirit to communicate the Gospel to an educated and technological culture. The evidences of the truly "human" nature of Jesus Christ are littered throughout this treatise.

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.

"What did Jesus preach?" asks this esteemed Harvard pastor, who believes that excessive focus on the Bible and doctrines about Jesus have led the Christian church astray. To recover the transformative power of the gospel, "the good news", Gomes says we must go beyond the Bible and rediscover how to live out Jesus' original revolutionary message of hope.

In World War II, 59,000 women voluntarily risked their lives for their country as US Army nurses. For more than half a century these women's experiences remained untold, almost without reference in books, historical societies, or military archives. After years of research and hundreds of hours of interviews, Evelyn M. Monahan and Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee have created a dramatic narrative that at last brings to light the critical role that women played throughout the war.

A haunting dream that will not relent pulls author Kent Nerburn back into the hidden world of Native America, where dreams have meaning, animals are teachers, and the "old ones" still have powers beyond our understanding. In this moving narrative, we travel through the lands of the Lakota and the Ojibwe, where we encounter a strange little girl with an unnerving connection to the past, a forgotten asylum that history has tried to hide, and complex, unforgettable characters.

Some of the Most Holy Sacraments in our Scriptures include Plants & Herbs: What Can We Learn by Studying Them? Written for The laity in Christ who are seeking a greater understanding of prayer, healing, and wholeness in Christ

DID YOU KNOW? The Bible was not originally divided into numbered chapters and verses. This was man-made and done for convenience of looking up and referencing passages of Scripture. Paul's letters were so passionately and beautifully written as he shared Jesus Christ with everyone who might lend an ear. Over two thousand years later and his words still ring in the truth of God. The Bible is meant to be read in its complete context so nothing is missed or mistaken. Paul's books are cohesive letters, and once you experience reading each as an actual letter without the distraction of random ...