Who do the Gospels say Jesus is? The title and role of "Messiah" ascribed to Jesus in the Gospels has long been regarded as a late add on, a fabricated claim or an insignificant feature. Michael Bird, however, argues that the Gospels' messianic claims are the most significant feature of their portrayal of Jesus. Bird describes how each Evangelist portrays Jesus as the Messiah of Israel, what they think is at stake in that claim, and how the claim that "Jesus is the Messiah" drives the purpose and shape of the Gospels. Emphasizing that Christianity was a messianic movement rooted in its Jewish context, Bird points toward the profound theological implication of Jesus' identity: that Jesus' messiahship is the "mother of all Christology."
42
Setting Our Affections upon Glory Nine Sermons on the Gospel and the Church
Martyn Lloyd-Jones stands as one of the preeminent preachers of the 20th century. An ardent opponent of liberalism and a defender of orthodoxy, “The Doctor’s” legacy is still being felt today throughout the Protestant world. This collection of 9 previously unpublished sermons, originally delivered during his final visit to the United States, challenges us to reevaluate the focus of our lives and the object of our affections. Covering topics such as prayer, evangelism, and the church, this timely anthology serves as a wakeup call to the church, exhorting all of us to remain faithful to the Word of God and fostering a spirit of renewed devotional fervor.
43
The Kingdom New Testament A Contemporary Translation
In The Kingdom New Testament, author N.T. Wright, whom Newsweek calls “the world’s leading New Testament scholar” provides a fresh, vivid translation of the New Testament. This is The Message for a new generation. Not for a long time has such a powerful and authoritative new translation of the Scriptures arisen for Christians everywhere, changing the way we read the books of the New Testament. In The Kingdom New Testament, Wright achieves a closer match to the Scripture’s original Greek provides a more natural, readable tone to the readings—even while magnifying the vibrancy and urgency of the original works. For Christians worldwide, this stunning new translation of the New Testament from the author of Simply Christian and Scripture and the Authority of God is a crucial way to re-claim the message of the Bible.
What is the right way to worship? Right worship does not require a return to the identical forms found in the early church or later in Rome or after that in Westminster. What it calls for is a faithful response today to the God of our salvation in light of those biblically ordered and historically informed patterns. In this study Robbie Castleman uncovers the fundamental shape of worship. What she finds—outlined in Scripture, enacted in Israel, refocused in the New Testament community, guarded by the apostolic fathers, and recovered in the Reformation—is a grand narrative of redemption offering order and meaning to all worshiping communities down to the present day.